Rafer and Redford join in Sheaffer's outrage

Our dear friend Sheaffer has posted this about the Russian donkey who was harnessed and parasailed up and down a beach by the Sea of Asov.

We were alerted to the story first by a camera-obscura reader, and appreciate the information and heads up.

Please join all our donkey friends and family in expressing outrage against this act of extreme cruelty to an innocent donkey.

If you live in the US, you can contact the US Ambassador to the Russian Federation, John Beyrle, at:

U.S. Embassy in Moscow

Bolshoy Deviatinsky Pereulok No. 8
Moscow 121099, Russian Federation
Tel: +7 (495) 728-5000, fax: 728-5090
(Moscow is 8 hours ahead of Washington)
Consular e-mail (for questions regarding visas and other consular services): consulMo@state.gov

Let him know that you want this act investigated and punished to the full extent of the law. 

dreaming about the keebler elf (my interpretation added at the end)

My hilarious husband sent me this image a bit ago following my a.m. dream report in which I told him the dream I had just before waking this morning.

In the dream someone had given me a very large herd of driving horses and equipment, and I had a brief time in which to find a place to move them. I was working with a realtor, looking for a piece of land large enough to provide plenty of pasture for this herd of big horses, and she talked me into going to see a place she thought might have "potential."

Guess where she took me?  Apparently, the Keebler Elf died, and left behind his mansion, many-acre property, and elf factories. We arrived at the very stylized mansion, and she convinced me I had to see the inside to get the full sense of the potential.

The inside was everything you might imagine the Keebler Elf's home would be: curlicue molding of many colors, elf-like decorations dripping from every inch of wall and ceiling space, and all the accoutrement that an elf might end up with by the end of his long elf life.

"There is no way I can live here!" I said to the realtor, who assured me there was a HUGE market for elf decor and that I would make enough selling the stuff to collectors to pay for the entire property.

Still not convinced, she took me outside and instead of showing me the land where I might house the driving horses, she led me to a little gravel lane, which had tiny elf factories on both sides. "All the equipment is still in place!" she said. "You could sell it or put it back into operation and have a working farm that pays for everything you need!"

I woke up feeling like I had been through an ordeal, and like I had a huge decision to make - horses needed a home! There was a property that would allow it to happen! But the private estate of the Keebler Elf????  I just wasn't sure if I could do it.

And I'm still not sure. However, it has kept me chuckling to myself all day long.

(please note that I am hereby starting to label my posts, in a very belated effort at creating some order here on camera-obscura!)


And now, let me write my interpretation of this wild and crazy dream, after it's been sitting in my subconscious/conscious most of the day today:

The big driving horses being offered, if I can only find a way to house them, are not horses at all, but "big dreams" - likely writing related since I am in the process of launching a "small" press. In my mind, big driving horses are powerful and capable of huge forward motion. Galloping forward, in a big way. But that estate is too small - the mansion is packed with elf stuff, the factories are too little.

The Keebler Elf - well, who knows, really, where that crazy image came from, but my guess is that my unconscious was really trying to knock me over the head with something so outlandish I couldn't fail to pay attention.

The Keebler Elf is small, has died, and has left behind a huge "field of possibility" - but much of what exists there is useless to me - crowded and gaudy and not my "size." I could make the connection to big publishing here, but that might be pushing it. :)

I'm thinking the Keebler Elf also represents the part of me that is being cautious, keeping my dream of a "small" press "small" - and not allowing for the "potential" the realtor promises is indeed there: she says there is a huge market for the stuff in the mansion, the factories can be sold or used, in other words, make use of what you have, get it all out there so it can work for you. Go for it!

There's more to be said, but it's subtle stuff that would only make sense with a longer explanation - but I am reminded of the Keebler Elf commercials that were so prevalent on TV when I was younger. Lots of making and baking and sending those cookies out the door to be sold.

All that activity, all those cookies - from a little, tiny tree.  What's small can still have a BIG impact. And, elves have magic!

Isn't it pretty fabulous what our unconscious can use to get our attention? If this dream had incorporated any other symbol I would have forgotten about it by now. But the Keebler Elf made me stop and pay attention.

the very best thing about July is...

celebrating Rafer Johnson's birthday!!

Rafer Johnson, miniature donkey extraordinaire, is 3 years old!  We have postponed his party until this heat wave breaks, when I will hopefully have the camera back in my hands, when party treats don't melt down into mush, and when Cody is over his sudden patch of hives.

But meanwhile, a very very very happy birthday to the donkey who has taught us about the best hugs in the world, about courage when a bone is broken, that a happy donkey is a fast-healing donkey, and that all those things people say about donkeys (in the vein of stubborn, etc.) are so far from true it still befuddles me where the sayings came from in the first place!

We love you, Rafer!

stopping for as long as it takes

This morning I was reading Ponies At Home and Maire reminded me that one of the many lessons we can learn from horses has to do with attention and intention and being present in each moment.

Sometimes I get too busy rushing around the barn/barnyard, doing chores, etc., and the horses and donkeys seem to be sending me the message: Stop!!  Just stop for a moment!

The sound of all those equine voices is silent and yet very powerful, like a wall of noise I can't ignore. So I stop, and stand, and let myself be quietly with any one of them, or all of them in turn.

And when I do, they test me - will you stand here for as long as it takes, or will you stop, pat, rush on? Are you in a hurry, or are you willing to be here, quiet, listening and absorbing, but mostly just being?

They remind me daily that we lose nothing and gain everything when we stop for as long as it takes, which in the scheme of things, isn't very long at all.

miscellanea

Last week I had the camera on my desk but no cord, and this week I have the cord but no camera. I will eventually add some photos and video, but if I keep waiting until I have both necessary parts to that process, it might be awhile before a new post goes up!

Lots of little stuff going on here, though.

Saturday I went and met three Pembroke Welsh Corgi puppies and ended up putting a deposit on a tri-color male, firstborn, big, cute as can be, called Bear by the breeder. Bear has a certain presence and self-assurance that I think will mix well with Kyra Corgi and the five felines here. Not to mention the donkey boys, who are going to get well acquainted with this little guy right from the start so there is no question that he is allowed in the barnyard.

Bear (who will get his permanent name soon) will be coming home in 3 weeks and I'm very happy we've found the new Corgi family member. I did not take photos, but you can bet there will be a ton once he gets here.

Thanks to Catherine who sent me the photos!

We've had rain daily since Friday, and the grass is growing at an astounding rate. Today was fairly mild at 90, but we're back into the upper 90s starting tomorrow and I'm not looking forward to it. July is when I wish we had a mountain farm to escape to, although I'd surely be a nervous wreck transporting every one of our animals at once to anywhere, much less up the side of a mountain. The thought of that makes the heat a little more bearable.

My son started driver's ed today, and was there for one hour before my cell phone rang and he said I needed to come back and pick him up. Apparently they spent the one hour being lectured to about cell phones and the fact that the teacher feels they are unnecessary. Until someone came in to the classroom and informed him that the water pipes weren't functioning, class was canceled, and the students would need to "get out your cell phones and call your parents to come get you."

Needless to say, my son is not all that enthused about his very first experience with the public/formal school system!

And finally, I have done a bit more work on my very important project, something I care a lot about, and something you'll be hearing more about as time passes. For now, if you're intrigued, head on over to November Hill Press and see the little bit that's there. Slowly, but surely, another lifelong dream is coming to fruition.