RDP Wednesday: ASLEEP
When I was little and my family to the cemetery for a funeral or to put flowers on graves,
I thought we had to be quiet
because
the dead were sleeping.
Oakwood Cemetery
Beaver Dam, WI
A.M. Moscoso
Photo A.M.Moscoso
Riverside Memorial Park
Fox Lake, WI
Photo A.M. Moscoso
Oakwood Cemetery
Beaver Dam WI
October 2023
WPs Daily Prompt: Do you ever see wild animals?
Hamish Macbeth
This is my dog Hamish Macbeth.
Hamish and I have crossed paths with a bear and a wolf.
Hamish being the most sensible creature I have ever known, saw the bear before I did and thought it would be a good time to turn around and go home.
This is what happened- all of the sudden Hamish stopped in his tracks, he dropped his head level with his shoulders and then calm as a cucumber he tuned around and headed home.
From the direction he had been looking I saw something big and dark make it’s way into the trees and that’s when I realized what Hamish caught scent of was that bear and I’m pretty sure the bear had caught wind of him.
But Hamish didn’t bark and he didn’t growl, so I guess the bear didn’t see him as a threat.
Then one morning we walked out the front door and Hamish turned around and went right back in and that’s when I saw the Wolf stroll by our yard.
There aren’t supposed to be wolves in the part of the state we live in, but there are a few people around here who have tried to make pets of them and failed. I think the wolf that we saw was one of those.
The one thing Hamish always pays attention to is anything that flies.
He is transfixed by animals with feathers or wings.
Hamish always zeroes in on geese and ducks and even bats- he wills stand and point ( some Labradors do point- just like other well known hunting dogs- Hamish came by that naturally. He’s never been a hunting dog.) Oh and if we are out walking and I try to take him off our usual route, he will point in the direction we normally take.
But will he stand there and point at something that could make an easy meal out of us or cause us great bodily harm?
That’s a hard no. Hamish isn’t into conflict ( BOL).
Masterly retreat is in itself a victory.
Here is a video about someone who was caught by surprise when their Lab pointed at some Halloween decorations and at the end a dog trainer who breeds pointing Labs.
Gertrude Abercrombie
I remember my Grandma Ginger telling me that the worst thing a ‘lady’ could do was to draw attention to herself.
Be modest, she told me, be quiet she told me, don’t show off she said.
At some point I noticed that wasn’t advice she gave out to just anybody- she didn’t give it my sister or my cousins or even herself. Nope. That little gem was something she gifted to me.
Now when realized I was being shuffled into the role of everybody else’s personal cheerleader- that my job was to make other people feel good about themselves and to never EVER ask for that kind of support in return- well.
I didn’t take it well.
I joined rock bands and played lead ( not rhythm LEAD guitar) I rode motorcycles and wore black eye shadow and I had anger problems so I got into a few fist fights where I did NOT come out on the losing end.
This rebellion of my took place in the mid 1970’s so I sort of stuck out in a crowd.
Which was the idea.
Gertrude Abercrombie
I suppose I was angry because I felt like Ginger saw me as being inferior and damn it, that was so unfair. I wasn’t perfect but who was?
Now I have a granddaughter of my own and I can’t imagine telling her to be less of who she is so that other people could feel better about themselves.
I think that when we are bold and vibrant and showy, when we are at our best and we can feel it- it’s better for everyone involved.
WP Daily Prompt: Share five things you’re good at.
I’m not really good at anything.
I’m sort of good at a few things- like training dogs and writing and knowing how to take a fall because I used to ride dirt bikes.
I think I’m good at knowing when to make myself scarce. Also, I don’t scare easily- and I don’t mean I can sit through horror movies without jumping . It’s just that I’ve been scared so many times throughout my life by people and events that I can’t feel the horror of the world anymore. So I don’t panic. I’m a champ at not panicking.
But not a day goes by that I wish there was one thing I could do that mattered- like I wish I was good at writing poetry or that I could make homemade candies and people would say of both those things ‘ wow that’s yummy.’
That would be cool, wouldn’t it?