Goat Whisperer

Anderson the Goat Whisperer

 The Carl Sandburg Home

c/o Connemara Farms

September 13,2015

Horsey

These two.

They are my shadows.

True constants.

Anderson is, perhaps, more interested in Syra,

than she is in him, but she is his protector for sure.

More than once I have caught Anderson 

draping himself over Syra for a standing hug.

Syra tolerates it and a lot more.

Anderson tries to play "ho-sth-ee" ::

his version of "horsey" said with the cutest little lisp.

She tolerates it.  Watching the world go by - 

ignoring the weight on her back.

I hope, secretly, she loves the extra attention.

Because she has been getting a lot of it lately

from her faithful companion.

Dog Gone

When I was little, I left my favorite, prized stuffed animal, Pooh Bear, at my Grandpap's house in Pennsylvania.  This was long before the days of car phones, cell phones, or guaranteed next day delivery services.  Knowing the turmoil that would ensue from discovering the loss of my favorite toy, my Grandpap got in his car and drove at speeds over 90 MPH down the Pennsylvania Turnpike to catch up with our family's red 1972 Ford 500, flag us down, and return my beloved friend. I can imagine his proud, sheepish grin of being the hero who saved the day.

Flash forward 30 years...

A sunshine-filled 4-mile walk with Aunt Tessa Bug; a stroller loaded with snacks, water, toys, and the occasional big brother taking a break from 'scooter-ing;' a date filled with content boys and sisterly conversations. Anderson either zoned out or pigged out in his comfy seat, but there were a few times when a book or a cup was ejected from the stroller; luckily we heard or saw it happen and scooped it up mid-stride. After about an hour and a half, we made it back to the car after walking, stick collecting, and lessons about blind spots, and got home and got busy making dinner.  Randomly Anderson mentioned "Dog Go," but I didn't think much about it until we got back in the car a few hours later and I could not find his dog.  I knew it must have been lost somewhere along the walk and started to panic; it was already dark, and even running, I knew I couldn't/shouldn't cover the distance by myself. Andrew armed me with a cell phone and flashlight and planned to meet me a 1/4 mile down the greenway with the car.  We extended our meet-up point by another 1/4 mile and there, illuminated by our headlights, was "Dog Go" - sitting patiently and properly on a bench, waiting to be found.  The dog was not gone! 

An anonymous 'hero' had found him and propped him up - making our rescue mission successful!  Within five minutes of reuniting Anderson with his pup, Anderson was snoozing peacefully in his car sear with his treasured friend.  So thankful for a happy ending, fresh air adventures ... and guardian angels of beloved stuffed animals!

Evolution of a Costume

Though I do not sew, I was determined to create a 

Martin Kratt/Blue Cheetah costume for Alekzander.

He had been planning for this since early summer,

and he has an eye for detail, so I knew he would be my biggest critic!

Thanks to Mia's long distance creativity, bargain shopping, and knitting skills,

we pieced together something perfect for our little Kratt fan.

Matching blue sweatshirt and pants, a black t-shirt, blue fabric, 

Heat 'N Bond, hand-knit ears and tail, a laminated creature power disc,

some black face paint, and a lot of love, a hot iron, and a little muscle made it happen.

Daddy gets credit for the final detail - a must have Creature Pod Communicator.

And the last touch :: {delivered on Halloween at 4PM} a 'real' cheetah 

for activating CHEETAH POWER!

Best Friend Birthdays

These two shared a special day ::

Syra turned 8 today, and Anderson is now 15 months old.

They also shared in soaking up some Vitamin D

as well as a good book, fittingly about best friends.

Some open mouthed wet kisses may have been shared, too.

Anderson loves Syra.  Syra tolerates Anderson.  

Actually she does love kissing him because {truth} he normally

has some sort of food crust left on face or behind his ears.

{Gross yes, dog kisses - maybe even grosser...}  

These two are pretty cute though. 

Anderson loves to hug his doggy,

and will mimic gentle pets as well.

Syra got spoiled today with love, extra treats,

a car ride to preschool, a walk, and even 

a hand drawn birthday card from his other best friend!

 Happy Birthday, Syra.

A New Friend

SYR :: Zoo

We got to meet up with some good friends 

and explore the Syracuse zoo.

We saw lions, tigers, bears, raptors, birds, 

deer, monkeys, elephants and more.

Anderson was all about animal spotting.

{Tigers, Penguins, Monkeys}

Alekzander was too!

He found his favorite animals :: 

meerkats hanging out in their hammock.

 Anderson's chipmunk cheeks are big with a cheesy, excited smile!

Hi Big Kitty.

 Kisses for the sad kitty.

Childhood friends and their babies.

 Jocelyn and her mama.

 Cute penguins.

 Penguins mate for life!

SYR :: Elephants

If he could, Anderson might tell you that elephants are his favorite.

He is also becoming a fan of dogs, cats, ducks, 'moos' and 'baaaas',

but the way he loves his knit elephant from Mia 

and makes an elephant noise that is pretty convincing!

So we were pretty excited to see the elephants 

in their new habitat with plenty of room to roam.

Anderson was even more excited when he got to

take home a stuffed elephant from his "uncle" Donald.

Goats Go Up

We visited our friend's urban farm today

and met these goats that were pretty awesome and cute.

I was sure Alekzander would love them,

but he was a little overwhelmed by the goat love he received!

Goodbyes from a 4-year old

Oh to have the perspective of a 4-year old.  

To not know the hurt or permanence of certain situations.

To see things at face value rather than feel things in the depths of your heart.

To have faith. To naturally pray.  To provide humor on a sad day.

Alekzander, Anderson, and Andrew were the bright spots of my day today. 

Alekzander for his humor and straightforwardness, 

and also for his faithfulness and sweetness.

Anderson for being pure joy; pulling on me, smiling at me, trusting me.

Andrew for being our family's rock and leader.

We had to make the difficult decision to say goodbye to our sweet 14 year old cat.

I struggled with this for close to a week, but our big guy was sicker than we knew.

We knew we didn't want him to suffer nor did we want to put Alekzander in a position

where he would be traumatized as Ryelee's health deteriorated.

Talking about death, even the death of a pet, and heaven is not an easy thing.

Talking about it with a four year old is hard, 

but we decided to be as honest as necessarily appropriate.

Before nap, I had Alekzander say goodbye to our good, good cat. 

He explained to Ryelee that he was going to have to go to the vet and maybe to heaven.

He promised that we'd send up meat to heaven for him 

(as we spent the last week hand-feeding him ham, turkey, and chicken).

He wagged his finger at Rye and told him not to scratch God or be mean.

He told him that God would give him "big, killed rats" to eat if he wanted.

We told Ryelee we loved him and that he would get to play 

in heaven with Harleigh and other animals soon.

After nap, we explained that the vet said Ryelee had to go to heaven.

"How did he get there?" 

"I don't know, but God took care of it; God loves the animals."

That was kind of the end of the conversation.

I think sadness may hit more in the coming days,

but in Alekzander's four years, he knows what heaven is and 

that it is something to look forward to,

whether our pets are there or not.  

He has a deep, wise heart.

At dinner, Alekzander prayed for God to take care of Ryelee 

and to remember to feed him good cat food.

At bedtime, Alekzander asked if there would be a comfy chair in heaven for Ryelee. 

And then said he cannot wait to pet Ryelee again.

Heart wrenching to hear, but so good for my soul

to be blessed by his sweet 4-year old perspective.

If pets do go to heaven, I hope there are Christmas trees for Ryelee to sleep under.

Head bonks from Jesus.  Snuggles with Harleigh. Lots of good meat to eat.

And a comfy chair to sleep in.

Patient Ryelee in his big, comfy chair.

December 2011.

Our first furry baby inherited from ATB and my parents.

Joy and Winter Wonder

A Boy and His Dog