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It’s Labor Day as I write this, a vacation that deserves numerous consideration. There’s controversy about precisely who received it began, however forces gathered in 1882 to pay tribute to laborers and employees who not often get consideration and acknowledgement. It feels particularly vital now, given the Author’s Guild of America strike and the present cosmic forces altering work as we’ve identified it previously.
Right here’s the factor about that: I’ve an overview written about what to say subsequent–the significance of laborers and unions, then, transitioning to the work that canine do, from sheepdogs to the companion canine that enrich our lives. However, apparently my mind is occurring it’s personal form of strike, as a result of I’ve written what must be the subsequent paragraph about ten occasions and hold deleting it as a result of it’s not ok. I lastly discovered the issue: I would like the day without work. Which is ridiculous, as a result of, as you’ll see under, I’ve spent the previous couple of days as if on trip. However, nonetheless, who I’m to interrupt a picket line, even when it’s in my very own mind? I concede. (Jim approves, as a former union organizer.) I anticipate my mind to be again to work quickly. Keep tuned.
MEANWHILE, again on the farm: It’s been a really completely different weekend than anticipated. We had deliberate to spend a lot of it at my favourite trial, the Midwest Championship Sheepdog Trial in Hudson, WI. Right here’s a photograph of a part of the sector from 12 months’s previous:
You’ll be able to see why I like being there, it’s so stunning. In case you squint, you may see the tiny dots of a canine and a gaggle of sheep under the gates. What you don’t see is that the course extends an extended strategy to the left, and likewise to the suitable. It’s an enormous, sprawling course, yet one more similiar to that used within the World Trials within the UK than to ones run within the states.
However, sigh, the climate forecast was for prime 90’s for a lot of the weekend, and Jim and I made the troublesome resolution to not go. Temps that scorching might kill Skip (actually, along with his coronary heart situation), and make life exceptionally onerous for me with all my medical adventures. So we stayed residence, which meant not placing in our volunteer shifts as deliberate, and making life even tougher for the hosts to fill within the gaps. I nonetheless really feel badly about that.
Final week it was 100 right here, and insanely humid, and I might barely stand letting the canine out to pee, so I simply couldn’t think about residing by being exterior all day, a lot much less working the canine. The excellent news is that it hasn’t been almost as humid as final week, a lot, a lot simpler on all of the mammals concerned.
The unhealthy information is I’m nonetheless struggling from a significant case of FOMO, though not a lot a “Concern of . . . ” as a “Remorse for . . .”. I like the trial, most of the folks concerned, the realm round Hudson itself, and am bummed to overlook it. And, it turned out to be a lot much less humid than final week. However, there you’re: You make the perfect resolution you may on the time, and go along with it.
As soon as we made the choice I made a decision to make lemonade out of lemons, and instructed Jim I needed to behave like we had been on trip in a brand new metropolis. We did simply that: On Thursday we went to the Meat Folks Butcher in Monona, picked up one in every of their now well-known sandwiches, and munched away at Olbrich Park, adopted by strolling round Madison’s premier backyard, Olbrich Botanical Gardens. We dwell far west from the opposite aspect of city, so don’t get there a lot. I didn’t final too lengthy; I simply can’t stroll all that far proper now, however savored each minute of it. The water lily show was particularly stunning within the heat summer season solar:
Friday we spent at residence (extra time to work on the novel revisions!), then went out to our “Cheers” equal, Bistro 101 for dinner. Bartender Gina is a giant canine lover and makes a imply Mock Cosmo for me. Saturday we went to the little city of Paoli for a breakfast snack on the Seven Acre Dairy Cafe and strolled across the Paoli Artwork Truthful. A lot expertise! We couldn’t resist bringing residence this “yard artwork” crane, who’s now looking mice and snakes in one in every of our entrance gardens.
The afternoon was spent totally on the sofa, watching soccer and the US Open tennis (Alcaraz! Keys!), studying an excellent new e book, What An Owl Is aware of, and coping with the countless parade of emails that sprout up in our inboxes like weeds.
Sunday we ate your primary American breakfast at down-home Grandma’s Cafe, and went to dinner at upscale Sardine in downtown Madison. You’ll be able to’t get a a lot greater vary of restaurant experiences than that, and we liked them each. In honor of Labor Day, we gave all of our servers 50% ideas. Nicely earned, and so appreciated. At present, as quickly as I publish this, we’re going to see a film, Oppenheimer. Seen it but? We noticed Barbie awhile in the past however didn’t need to do a Barbenheimer. (Favourite Barbie scene is when the Kens play guitars to “seranade” the frozen-faced Barbies. I laughed so onerous I most likely embarrassed Jim. I can barely depend the variety of occasions, a gazillion years in the past, when that occurred to me. The final word in awkward, most likely for the boys too. ((Be aware to guys: Don’t do it.)))
The canine have gotten plenty of grooming (brushing out Skip is like sweeping the seaside; you get the identical quantity of undercoat each time you do it), and work on sheep when it wasn’t too scorching. Right here’s Skip after cooling off in a pal’s water tank just lately. Picture title: Canine with tongue.
Final excellent news: After gashing my hand with a chunk of damaged glass hiding in soapy dishwater, I can truly sort simply now for brief durations once I take off vet wrap and free my fingers. It’s been per week, but it surely’ll be one other one earlier than I feel I’m out of the woods. All of it most likely would’ve healed quicker if I’d not been cussed and gotten stitches, however, you already know, who desires to go to the ER at 9 at evening? I thought of taking an image of the kitchen sink space, aka, Horror Film Scene One, however figured I’d higher spend my time staunching the bleeding.
I hope your weekend was simply what you needed it to be, that you just averted excessive warmth, floods, mud, fires, and heaven is aware of what else. Sloppy kisses to your canine, and my everlasting appreciation for being a part of our village.
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