1.11.09

puppy and change of plans

Today M and I drove outside of town to a conglomeration of farm houses and every kind of animal milling about- peacocks on the porch, chickens in the drive, goats and cows munching on maturing thorn apples, and kittens lurking while a family of blue heelers panted around, going from one person to the next to be petted and loved on. We went all the way out there because, well, the other night we were drinking a bottle of wine in our bedroom suite here (it was so rainy and dreary, and you can't watch episodes of this American Life every night). Well, so, then we started looking at photos, banksy graffiti, and a tent overflowing with polyurethane foam as an art piece, etc, when I decided I wanted to look at craigslist in the farm and garden section. Turns out we got the last pup in the litter born on August 9, so he's been weaned and socialized out on the farm with mom, dad, and a year-older sibling. His mom is from Australia, has a naturally bobbed tail, and this may be his 12-year old dad's last season. The old farmer guy selling them has been raising them for a long time, and his daughter and granddaughter were there helping us out, granddaughter remembering when they last were wormed while grandpa remembered wrong. He's a beautiful little puppy, 12 weeks old today, so he got a lot of good farm time in. He's like a little little kid, hasn't slept all day, keeps waking himself up and grumbling at me. He likes to be physically connected, and he won't take his sleepy head off the crook of my arm. :)

He's our Halloween dog. Maybe we should give him a name reminiscent of the occasion. It's hard to name another being, and that's the first thing you're supposed to do for training I guess, and everyone asks that first. Blue Heelers are so sweet. They're super smart, love working and playing, have tons of energy, are super friendly, and they're cute as a button I think. This guy likes to be outside (duh), and he LOVES eating. and not once has he nipped at anyone.

On to the change of plans- well! The boy and I are leaning toward a little house of our own in the ghetto of Springfield, right between our friends at the real Little House ( lhintheghetto.blogspot.com ) and our newest Springfield friends, a couple who are really interested in living more sustainably in their $2000 tax-auction little house. That would mean a whole community of folks within a few blocks, including the guys formerly haunting the main LH and now living it up a couple blocks away. I don't know anywhere else where you can pick up a $6000 house in the middle of an OK and mostly habited neighborhood and be spitting distance from plenty of friends. It's like a little village in town. Besides, the pup needs a yard to run around, and we need a space to plant and tend chickens. M's pretty excited to have a footprint in his hometown, besides. I think that's really what made him want this pup so bad.

So, yeah, still heading down to the FL for the warmth and holidays, looking forward to that. The plan to move to NC is still tentatively on for a slightly later date, it's just important that we throw down some roots and make a place for ourselves here, since we end up here all the time. It will help my sanity here. :)

with love, and help me think of a good puppy name,
Abby

4 comments:

Ijon Tichy the Nth said...

...ehm, how about Vector for the pup?

abby said...

Well, Eli is kinda in a way close to Vector. M wanted to call him Mendel, until we remembered who Mendel was. and I still think Levi woulda been OK, but everyone said O jeans, so it's Eli.

He's responding to it and everything!

Ijon Tichy the Nth said...

... how about Zappa?

Ijon Tichy the Nth said...

... had a friend that named her dog Spanish style, starting with Ditch(sp?) something, something, something. Impossible for me to remember but sounded fun.