Went to see Rocky and give him an apple, and he chomped on the apple and stuck  his tongue out at me – giving me the razz, I think. Rocky has his own path to follow, and he follows it. When he hears the car now, he heads right for the fence and sniffs around until he locates me and/or the apple. It is eerie how he knows where every thing is – the barns, fences, gates, water, fallen trees to rub against. He snorts and whinnies when I call out to him, and comes over to me.

Curious, but I think the conversation I’ve been having about Rocky with many of you has been one of the best I have ever had online. Most discussions on the Internet devolve into arguments, people staking out fixed positions like sacred ground and hanging on. But this discussion about Rocky has been different – real listening on both ends, and true understanding. I have come to see how loving people would worry about an animal like this alone on a farm, and many of you have come to see that he is not piteous or abused, or in need of rescue. I think it has been a genuine conversation, a lot of learning and listening and thinking, and I am happy about that, because if you look around it is easy to get discouraged about the ability of people to listen to one another. See what animals  can do? It is a wonder. It is important to think about our perceptions of them and our relationships with them, and Rocky has helped us to do that in a rare and meaningful way.