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April 20, 2021: Going to the Dogs

It’s late – the days are now longer. The snow is melting. In a few days it will be quite muddy. Right now, it’s just patchy.

Spring, yes, spring. The snow berms are shrinking – they are in places black and sooty looking because of car exhaust. One area in particular has the horses skittering to the other side of the road. This is just an act, a last-ditch attempt to convince me that we should turn around and head home. Once we round the bend, well then, I am the victor. They never win.

I got Tyra out for a lengthy ride this morning, then Raudi and Tinni out for a short ride. The two have had slight


Hrimmi is ready for a ride

coughs, I both wanted to give them a break and to access the situation. Neither coughed, so tomorrow a longer outing for Raudi.

Mid-morning, I headed to town, to the Meeting House, in order to assist Nan and Lois in sorting, cleaning, and categorizing books. Lois was a no-show, but Sheila showed up and gave a hand. I was very glad to have their help because I was feeling very overwhelmed.

There, in the library room, were the 10 or so boxes of books that were dropped off yesterday. Most contained animal books, mostly dog books. And there were more than the usual number of children’s books. Nan and Sheila, they stepped up to the plate and did an amazing job of bringing order to disorder.

We had a great time talking about the books that were surfacing, some brought back memories of books we’d read in the past. Nan found a book that her son had read when he was nine. She was going to send it to him. Sheila found and took a copy of Virginia Woolf’s book Flush.

The dog books – I took some and Nan took some. There was narrative, how to, and even dog craft books. There were, in addition, some older classics. All were in pristine condition. I won’t have a difficult time finding places to take these books. Tomorrow I will call the Mat-Su Animal Shelter and see what they have to say. Fingers crossed they’ll take them.

After the grrrls departed, I put children’s and adult books in my backpack and went over to the distribution sites, and there I put them on the shelves. This is one of my favorite activities. I like taking my time and mulling over where the various books might go. I also enjoy taking a backwards glance before I leave, for this gives me a much-needed sense of completion.

Earlier, I’d set a copy of Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson on the top shelf. I had just finished reading it and was deliberating about parting company with it. When I came back, it was gone.

I returned home and got in a lengthy ride on Hrimmi. In my head I wrote the above. I revised it as I, later, was pen cleaning.

Next: 110. 4/21, 2021: Shadow’s Dog Blog

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