By the Garden Wall
by nj
Once in the pale green light of Springtime,
In the palest light of all,
When the mists began to take form
And the dawn began to bawl.
Liquid light ran down thickly
And the drops began to fall.
The pale green drops of tear-light
Through the mists began to call.
The slimly, leafy green things
Felt the misty swirling tear-fall,
Heard the dancing tiny light drops
And were born beneath the wall.
In pale misty green of dawning,
Stretched to gow up, O, so tall,
With their fingers tightly grasping,
Inching upwardly, they crawled.
Ever looking toward green dawning,
Knowing not what will befall,
Lift their waxy pale white faces;
To the dawn, they are in thrall.
Blaze their purest white in midday,
Closing up with daylight's pall,
Lovely morning glory flower,
Evening sees its blossom fall.
Speaking of dog's intelligence
At Aquarobics exercise class the other day I talked to a friend who lives on a farm. Dana told me that she had always owned dogs that were sort of "dumb" dogs but now she has a German Shepherd and she's so surprised at how smart this dog is. She talks to this dog and the dog responds in ways that show she understands what Dana is saying.
Since I've had dogs that are really my dogs, as opposed to "family" dogs, I have had intelligent dogs. It surprises me when people talk about how stupid their dog is. I like having an intelligent dog, but they are more apt to get into mischief if they are left unattended too long. They find something interesting to do.
Holly Wood, who helped us train Rusty, told me that Desy is just as smart as Rusty. I was not sure that she was right when she first told me, but since then, I have paid more attention to what Desy does and I put more credence into what Holly said about her. If she isn't as smart as Rusty, she's very nearly that smart.
The thing about Desy, though, is that she usually isn't as responsive as Rusty. She's used to not being alpha. If Rusty wasn't around and I just worked with Desy, I think she'd respond to commands more quickly.
Now I wonder if Desy is smarter than her sister. She's a pretty smart dog, too.
A Pet's Heartstrings
I'm in Lower Burrell this morning but I'll be in Corry tonight. Before I got up this morning, I knew it was raining outside because Desy came to me and I reached out to pat her and her fur was wet. Marlin had let her out for her bathroom break and she came back into the house and right back into the bedroom to make sure I hadn't gone anywhere without her. Sometimes when we visit here, we leave her here for a while and we go somewhere else. Desy really likes to be with me, so when I'm out of her sight for a while, she hunts for me to be sure I didn't go home and leave her here.
It was funny to me that when I was getting ready to make the trip for Thanksgiving, I took things out the car by way of the front door and then came back in by way of the kitchen door and after a few minutes, I heard Desy crying. She was sitting on the stairs where she rests her chin on the woodwork in the bannister and she was crying! How odd. Then I realized that she didn't know I had come back into the house. She thought I'd gone away for a long time and left her behind. I called to her and she came running to me, both surprised and very relieved. She is certainly a faithful friend.
I give her baths and cut her toenails, both of which she doesn't like, but gets over it right away and she loves me anyway.
No wonder we enjoy our pets. Even if they get hurt feelings,it's just for a very little while and they get over it quickly and love us.
Wondrous fine is Dreamworld. I wrote a poem about it a couple years ago. I don't have it with me to include it in my writing this morning. I do enjoy dreams, most of them.
Last night I dreamed about teaching again. I wasn't feeling well, so I took three days off. "I have lots of sick days coming to me," I told someone, "and I don't intend to teach for all the rest of my life, so I might as well use some of my days when I'm not feeling well." But now it was Thursday just before the end of school and I was feeling better. I decided I might as well go back to school for Friday. Instead of calling to tell Mr. Patterson, my principal, I went to school to see how it was going and tell him in person. He was not pleased.
First he told me that I hadn't followed the correct proceedure and he would not allow me to return to the classroom on Friday. I was a bit taken aback but decided it wouldn't really bother me to be home another day. Then he told me that I hadn't made adequate plans for lunch hour in my plan book. He asked me if I thought I could do that in the future. I said that I didn't know how to write plans for my lunch hour, that I probably couldn't do it, but I would try. Then he said, "I was just testing you to see if you remembered."
I went to my classroom and saw that Sharon Lesh was my sub and she was in a wheel chair. I wondered what was wrong that she now needed a wheel chair. I remembered the days when I was a sub and how much I wanted to teach, especially in the days near Christmas, to bring in a little extra spending money for gifts. I thought that it would be nice for Sharon to have three days pay to help with buying Christmas gifts.
When I dream of teaching school, the dream is never a smooth easy one. There's always trouble or turmoil of some kind. Usually it's that I can't make the kids sit down and pay attention. This dream wasn't too bad. I didn't feel too frustrated by it. I didn't mind having an extra day off, and I passed Patterson's unexpected test. I felt great when I woke up and was very curious about my dream.
Sweet dreams!
travel
Let me tell you how I feel about travel. I know that many people love to travel and think it's wonderful fun to see new sights and have adventures, but I have always resented the time I have to spend as a captive in a moving vehicle. From the time I was a child, I have felt this way. My dad had the idea that reading in a moving car would be harmful to one's eyes and he wouldn't allow me to read while we traveled. I wouldn't have minded riding in the car so much if I could have lost myself in a good book.
Today I can read or do crossword puzzles while I am in a car but I still resent the amount of time spent in a car when there are so many things I can do at home that I really want to do.
There was a time when I worried about travel, afraid that some dire accident would befall me. But then God met me and took this fear away, so that I really don't anticipate doom and gloom when I travel but I still think about the things at home that need me, --the lawn care, the house plants, things like that. I think about painting pictures and doing projects with materials too bulky to take on trips with me.
But, happily, once I'm really underway on a trip, I usually can forget my 'druthers and just enjoy myself. Sometimes I even have an enjoyable adventure. Some travel companions make a trip great fun. Often the destination is worth the inconvenience.
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