Tuesday, September 3, 2013

NEW HOME FOR LUKI AND THE TEPEE

Sarah and Luki
          Seems that things have finally slowed down; not quite so busy anymore.  Sarah's pretty much closed down her wee coffee shop as of yesterday and the Golden Unicorn Arts Festival, although still on people's minds, has ended as well; the last remnants belonging to one of the artisan participants, finally leaving the yard.  However, that being said, already about half a dozen artisans have signed up and picked their spots for the 4th Annual Golden Unicorn Festival being held on Aug. 17, 2014. 
          Most of the leaves are still green but hints of crimson, sienna and ochre are beginning to invade the forest surrounding our little farm.  The days are getting shorter too; the crack of dawn beginning around 6:30am; the rooster's crowing announcing it's prompt arrival.  Fall is definitely in the air. 
          This summer, like the past summer, was really difficult for our Great Pyrenees dog, Luki.  Although the rain fell in torrents; the rain wasn't what bothered Luki; it was the thunder; seemed like every two or three days, the thunder roared and the lightning flashed.  And if it wasn't thundering, summer-time people living alongside the lake set off fireworks almost every night, especially on weekends.  I felt so sorry for the dog because it was driving poor Luki literally insane with fear.  He went from having about an acre of pasture to run around in, to being closed up in the barn at nights, that is until he chewed a huge hole in it, large enough for him to escape.  Luki broke his thick leather collar twice, and a light chain once, trying to get away from the thunder and the fireworks and if that wasn't bad enough, he totally destroyed a chain-link dog kennel too.  Realizing that he was beginning to even fear approaching nightfall, as much as we all loved Luki, we decided to find him another home.  Sarah was fortunate to locate a woman in Nova Scotia who re-homes large dogs because she found him a home on a 200 acre farm, which had similar dogs, which they used to protect their sheep and other livestock.  I took the photo of Sarah as she led Luki around the house for the last time so he could pee everywhere and mark his territory - keep those nasty coons, coyotes and foxes at bay.  I think we should have named Luki, Houdini, because while we were driving him to Nova Scotia and about half way to Canterbury, he tore out the bug screen in the back of the truck and jumped through the window.  Luckily, Sarah managed to get the truck stopped in time and I dread to think what would have happened, if he had done that while we were zooming down the highway.  Luki didn't like being inside a truck or for that fact, inside any vehicle.  Sarah and Jessica were very teary-eyed when they said good-bye to Luki and although I was feeling sad as well, I was happy to see him finally go to a place where he would be allowed to freely roam without the fear of fireworks blasting off all summer long, which was the worst.  I miss Luki's friendly persona and wagging tail but I don't miss those rainy nights when I could hear him yelping to the roar of thunder and fireworks. 
          After having bare poles standing in the yard for a long time, I finally bought a green tarp, cut it to shape and put together the tepee.  The hardest work in making a tepee is skinning the poles; once the tarp was cut, it only took about 15 minutes to put it in place.  Although the tepee is not really erected properly, it was a big hit at the Arts Festival and with the locals.  I'd like to have left it in the middle of the yard so people could enjoy a cup of coffee inside, but it would have narrowed down the space during the festival and perhaps caused a problem for the artisans trying to sell their creations.  I'm not sure if I'll take it down for the winter, because it might be kind of fun to sit out there around the fire when the snow is falling and the wind is howling through the trees.  But it probably would be a good idea to dismantle the tepee and store it over the winter because it would last longer - something I'll have to think about while we enjoy its unusual karma during the fall - cheers, eh!  
          

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