It was cloudy and rainy today, but I found a lot of autumn beauty in the low light, this is Leica 2 weather, and the beautiful leaves are giving me a second wind.

The mums, marigolds, and begonias are still going strong, although we have a tough cold front that could finish off some of them.

I spent an hour on the farm in my office offering Dog Support. I like doing it. People keep asking me what took me so long, and the answer is I just don’t really know.

Maria is busy shipping the yarn she has already sold and running back and forth to the Post Office. She is almost phobic about getting the stuff she sells out right away.

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This is a special day on the farm, Maria just put a bunch of beautiful yarn skeins up on her Etsy studio, and they are already selling briskly. She is also selling a lot of roving in 4 and 8-ounce packages. You can see the yarn here.

The Dog Support idea is going very well; all the scheduled lots for the week are total. (I can squeeze in one or two more appointments this week if people are struggling or anxious and need some help with their dogs)  I’m simplifying all of this. Soon,  there will be a button on each blog post that says “Dog Support,” and there will be a paragraph explaining things and a link to my e-mail.

Clicking on the link [email protected] will take directly to my e-mail you, and I will respond and tell you how to pay and when we can meet (its $50 an hour, I might move to charge $75 for 75 minutes or an hour, we’ll see. I’m not sure yet.)

 

I want to respond personally to each e-mail, be in touch with the people I’ll be meeting, and get a feel for what kind of help they want. I’ve turned down several requests; I’m not a vet, a professional dog trainer, or a seer. I can’t help people who have dogs who kill other dogs or harm people.

People can choose Zoom, the telephone, or  Facetime; any of them are okay by me. I like seeing photos of the dog in question, if possible.

I’m shooting for three or four sessions a week, but I can usually squeeze in an extra season or two if there’s some urgency to it. I suspect I’ll end up doing five if there is a demand.

I am overwhelmed by the support so many of you are giving the refugee kids at Bishop Gibbons. It is practically raining packages and big boxes. It matters. and they and their families are deeply grateful to you.

 

My mums are beginning to express themselves; (above) one or two days of sunshine will liberate them.

 

I’ve always wondered how to capture the colors of autumn, and my work with the flowers has helped. Go in close and take advantage of the wind; use it to my advantage.

This evening, I’m scheduled to talk to someone with a dog-pulling on-a-leash problem, and then someone suffering awful and deep grief over the loss of her border collie five months ago.

Animal grief can be severe and dangerous. I’m no shrink, but I wrote a book on animal grieving and thought I could help.

More later.