Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Chapter Ten: A REAL HOME

...and such gardens are not made by singing:-"Oh how beautiful!" And sitting in the shade.
-Rudyard Kipling


Hurry!  There's something going on up the trail!

Ranger, the Redbone hound, relived the arrival of today's visitors in his dream.  He lay on his side with his eyes closed, and his feet twitched vigorously in a run pattern while muffled barks escaped from his mouth.

It was a relief that the big four legged creatures with the shaggy manes and tails were friendly.  It took him a while, but he decided that these intruders were no threat to his dear Anna and Harlan. He was not a dog to be fooled.  He had a job to do, and he was on it!

Anna and Harlan could never know what they meant to Ranger, but he tried to show them.  He had been a lost dog, and they understood him to be a drifter, as they had been.  That was only part of the story.  He was roaming, but he was also looking for a real home; a refuge of kindness with people who accepted him for the odd fellow he was.  He was a dog whose nose got him into trouble.  He was a hound, and that meant that at times his nose took over his mind.  He couldn't help it!


Anna and Harlan understood.  They graciously accepted the groundhogs he killed to protect their garden, and they prepared them for food because they were respectful of the sacrifice of life the groundhogs had to make.  Groundhogs ate a lot of garden if he didn't stop them.  He proved that he could stop them, and he was appreciated.  What more could a dog want?  He will be happy for the rest of his life if he remains able to help and protect them.  This is his job!

*I am adding pictures using my iphone; the easiest for me.  This original HH woodblock is turned to side a bit to avoid glare on the glass.  But notice, Harlan or Anna with two dogs in the johnboat collecting driftwood!  A nice print showing lots of action.  Signed.  

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