How Much is That Doggie in the Window?

How Much Is That Doggie In The Window?

By Melody Adams

How much is that doggie in the window? The one with the strange reference to its breed, the sign in the window says, “Rare, North American Cat Herding Shih Tzu.”

Intrigued, I went inside for a closer look. The pet shop looked no different than the ones you see at the mall with one small exception. Except for the fish, who I’m sure were only keep in a tank for their own survival…there were no cages, the animals all ran free. The birds sang their beautiful songs in a hypnotizing harmony flying from perch to perch all around the store. The puppies frolicked about playing dog games of keep away, tug of war, and chase. I looked around and I saw the keeper of the shop, a short round man of middle age.

“What can I help you with today?” He asked.

“I was wondering about that sign you have in your window…Rare, North American Cat Herding Shih Tzu. What are you talking about…Cat Herding Shih Tzu?” I asked.

“RARE, North American Cat Herding Shih Tzu. And I ought to know. I bred them.” He said proudly.

“Oh, what exactly does a Nachst do?” I asked. “You don’t mind if I call them that do you? North American Cat Herding Shih Tzu seems like such a mouth full.”

“Why, they herd cats, of course.”

This was said like he was talking to someone of questionable intelligence.

Exasperated, I said.

“I guessed that much, what I mean is…How? WHY? I mean how does it herd a CAT! And why would anyone want to herd cats? Herding sheep or cattle I can see but CATS?”

“Well then, we’ll start with the why and if you’re still interested; I’ll tell you how. As you can see none of my animals are caged up. I like giving them the run of the place. It socializes them. I can spend time training them so when they go to their new home they know how to get along with folks and other animals. That being said, cats don’t necessarily want to get along. Left to their own devices they may or may not come when you call. And most importantly cats don’t seem to believe they are co-tenants in any space but rather that they own all that they survey and that can be a problem. Here, the cats were trying to take over. They knocked things off of all the counters and shelves. Why I spent hours every morning picking up after them. They terrorized the birds until the birds no longer sang. They had even begun killing even though I kept them well fed. This would never do, so I decided to train a dog to keep an eye on them. At first, I tried training a big dog, a Great Dane. But the cats were too smart and quick for him. In no time at all they had the Great Dane chasing his own tail. Then I tried training a small dog, a Chihuahua. The cats just acted like thugs and intimidated that one. Then one day I noticed my Shih Tzu, Suzy watching the cats. I noticed that Suzy didn’t let the cats push her around nor did she fall for any of their tricks and I noticed the cats got into less mischief when Suzy was here. So I started leaving her here overnight and training her to herd the cats during the day.”

“Herd, the cats? Why herd the cats?”

“Well, I’m sure you noticed when you came in the all of the dogs ran to greet you and show off. See how they look at you and seem to say…Pick Me…Pick Me. Well, the cats aren’t as good at social skills or selling themselves after all they need loving homes, too. I just thought I’d teach Suzy to bring them out so folks can get a good look at them. A lot more of them have been finding good homes since I did that. Look I’ll show you….

“Suzy, go get the kitty.”

Suzy made a beeline for the back room and within moments a pretty little calico came strutting out with Suzy right behind her.

“Wow,” I said. “That’s pretty cool. So you’ve trained those puppies over there to herd cats, just like Suzy?”

“Well, actually those are Suzy’s pups and they seem to have come by it naturally…just like her last litter. One fellow got a pup from her last year’s litter and came by a few months ago to tell me what a fine job his little boy was doing. Yep I’m really proud of Suzy and her pups…they are the first Rare North American Cat Herding Shih Tzus.

Fire

I am searching
for
a fire in my heart

I know it’s there
But
I can’t see it

A smoldering heat
to
stir it up

I want to burn
with
creative desire

An illumination of the spirit

~Luna

Spiritual Clutter

Can I donate my spiritual clutter
and get a tax break?
Is there a shelf at the Goodwill
for discarded ideas?
Is there a velvet display case
with a key?

Can I give it away to the sky
on a windy day?
Can I bury it in the garden
under the tomatoes?
Will next year’s crop be blood red,
the color of my distress?

Can I change by simply
willing it?
Can the universe make room
for a new me?
But how can I
let go…

-Luna

A True Gypsy Stew

I was wandering around the net in search of snippets of Gypsy news for Riversleigh, when I found this recipe for Joe Grey Stew. How well I remember this dish served around campfires all over Britain and Ireland. We made it with chunky strips of bacon and no sausages. My Irish family called it Coddle.
The little tribe that shared the recipe travel no more, yet they still keep their caravans in a circle and cook their meals outside – it is very hard to let go of your traditions. (Although the barbeque proves, I think, that many people enjoy cooking and eating outside, not just the travellers). We often eat outside here at home, and our new filipino family member says it reminds him of home. He cooks up a big pot of Pork Adobo for us and we sit under the stars talking long into the night. Traveller, Aussie or Filipino tradition? It is all one. The camaraderie and good feelings must have been what our distant ancestors were seeking when they learned to capture fire.

Gail

Wabi-Sabi Wastewater

Art has odd by-products. Often they are resuable. While painting handmade paper bowls, I loved the look of the wastewater. To find out what happened to some crumpled paper and the wastewater, visit my art studio. There are orange-ginger brownies, too. Just grate some orange zest and fresh ginger into a package of fudge brownies. It’s a pretty easy shortcut and the chef is glad he doesn’t have to be in the kitchen today.

Here

(Through the woods. Photo by Robin. 2006)

Lost

Stand still.
The trees ahead and the bushes beside you
are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,
and you must treat it as a powerful stranger,
must ask permission to know it and be known.
The forest breathes. Listen. It answers,
I have made this place around you.
If you leave it, you may come back again, saying Here.
No two trees are the same to Raven.
No two branches are the same to Wren.
If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you,
you are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows
where you are. You must let it find you.

David Wagoner, Who Shall Be The Sun?,
Indiana University Press 1978

I love this poem. It’s very meditative to me. I like the idea that “if you leave it, you may come back again, saying Here.”

I frequently engage in visualizations during meditation when I’m working on healing myself (body, mind or spirit). My safe spot, so to speak, looks a lot like the photo above. It’s a pine forest, sometimes a redwood forest. Recalling it has become simply a matter of saying “Here.” Whenever I’m tense or afraid or wide awake in the wee hours of the morning, unable to sleep, I can take myself back to this space: Here.

I’ve always thought the woods, especially coniferous forests, are more cathedral than many churches I’ve set foot in. Light from the heavens pours right in through the roof of the trees, flooding the sacred space of earth. There’s no need of stained glass windows, walls, or circles. The sacred and the magical are just… Here.

A Contradiction of Terms

“A Contradiction of Terms”

Digital Collage

L.Gloyd (c) 2007

Lightbulb

OK, I think I finally figured this out. Any of the members can post here and just add their own category. I’ve been getting the messages on the group for weeks and wondering how to participate meaningfully. So here we go. think I will begin with uploading one of my favourite artworks:

Oops, can’t do that, haven’t joined Flickr yet, remember Kris sending me a post about that, will look it up and follow instructions.

In the meantime I will share some things about what I love:

cups of tea

knee high boots

the way my son Edward squinches up his little face when he laughs

bearded men

elephants

river stones

firelight

funniness

chaos inside order

order inside chaos

other peoples collage

my collage

drips

piles of foam matresses under a tarp in the bush near the beach

robust discussions about god

light through lace

cuddles

challenges from my peers

challenges from my elders

dancing in the living room with friends

oh dear I can’t stop

old wallpaper

lists

pictures of cells reproducing themselves

driftwood with holes for incense

technology

photos of my lover

oil paint randomly applied to fragments of things

faces

by Purple Irys

Happy Belated Lunar New Year!

Paper Dragon in Rose and Greys

Digital construction

L.Gloyd (c) 2007

 

Gong Hay Fat Choy!

Poets Seeking the Wild Divine

Night sky glitters with flaming stars

While Eros drinks his purple wine,

Golden tongued poets murmur in memory

On the parting Muses for whom they pine.

Bittersweet desire lies on the altar,

Tokens of moist lotus trail in the dawn,

To sing and dance in the sea as they bathe

And caress the desire for She whom they yearn.

Wild girls heard singing in ecstatic tongue

Daughters of Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love,

Who drink the bee’s nectar from the heavenly urn,

Then lie on the earth with the red-fingered dove.

Heart broken poets burn incense at twilight

Walk down from the mountains in procession and song,

Find sweet ambrosia to quench dry, parched lips,

Then dance in Her grove a-cloaked all night long.

(Soul Sister)