No More Animals

2ndUse From Dogma to New Joy

So we have the 'limit plus one' for animals on our property (county code). The animals are well-cared for and we have no complaints from our neighbors.

We told our four girls, "No more cats or dogs," even as animals pass in our family we aren’t replacing them right away.

My daughter Annie is 17.  Finding her ‘own way’ very quickly. She is so full of life and creation.  She has a boy friend, Jess, and they are quite serious and perhaps he will be the one and only, the gods know for sure.

They got a puppy, Ruger, yep named after a firearms maker. Jess's passion is to hunt; he does so very responsibly. They promised us that the dog was theirs to care for, they would take care of everything, and for  most of the time he will be at Jess’s parents house. I must admit that they are brilliant custodians but needless to say, we have a new dog.

I must admit Ruger has added vitality to our household, along with some chewing.

A typical joyful Ruger greeting

Friendship gate

2^nd Use from acknowledging  property lines to removing boundaries

In the 90’s I went to Ireland with my friend and boss Patrick Murphy to fly fish for salmon.

As we went from property to property following the stream with an Irish fishing gilly, John, I noticed that there were ladder-like step structures used to cross over wire fences that kept the sheep and cows in but not the neighbors out. I asked Patrick about these constructions from neighbor to neighbor. But what if the relationship changed with your neighbor? Patrick said with a bit of a bollix grin- "they are easily removed."

Today, we have great neighbors to our north. We are so much the same—sharing family, food, arts, and horticulture. I thought about the crossings between properties I saw in Ireland. "Hey Michael, what if we put a gate between our back yards so we don’t have to walk around to the front?" He liked the idea.

Photo by Rebecca Woulfe

 Michael and I made a friendship gate between our properties.

Photo by Rebecca Woulfe

This act acknowledged a relationship of trust and the future love between our families.  And then I heard a small voice in the back of my mind, "True, a bit of a commitment but the gate could always be locked."

We Laugh

Photo by Rebecca Woulfe

Halloween 2011

 2nd Use From Costume Accessory to Dad is "That Good"

Maura posing with wand

I told a dear friend, Shelley, that my daughter was Hermione Granger this year for Halloween. Shelley asked me if I took pictures because she wanted to see  Maura as Hermione. So Shelley is the inspiration for this blog.

As the story goes, Maura announced to us that she wanted to be the Hermione character from the Harry Potter series.  Why not? She is of Anglo Northern Irish decent so she looks the part. We can buy the Hogwarts costume at the WallyMartType store. The catch was she wanted a wand that was more like the movie version, and had rejected a store bought wand because it looked wrong, too twisted.

I, being a dad with a complete wood shop including a lathe, volunteered to make her a wand. But I wanted her there to watch and art-direct the project. Her delight, or perhaps relief, as she saw me set up the lathe and start to carve the wand, increased my resolve for the project. If you have ever watched something turned on a wood lathe it is magical in the way the wood takes shape as it is carved. Following her lead, we pretended it was a real magically empowered wand being made. The wand truly did have the power to create a shared moment and feelings of love between father and daughter. Needless to say she was thrilled.

The next evening my wife, Rebecca, told me that she noticed the wand being used as a substitution for a lost drum stick for a certain interactive video game.

Rebecca said to Maddie and Maura, "I bet daddy could make you a new drumstick the same way he made the wand."

Maura told Rebecca,” Oh ya, daddy could--he is that good!"

I have never received a more impactful review of my work in my life.

Maddie being a zombie

 

FYI

Maddie was a zombie cop and she designed her own costume and makeup.