A Poet and his Tropical Fish

Besides drinking eggnog and telling fibs about intended New Year’s resolutions, it is a time when some – okay most – of us dream of tropical islands, warm tradewind breezes and ocean surf lapping rhythmically against white sandy beaches ...

Living in the not-so-tropical north, Poet Jim Bennett has created a more practical way to imagine himself in those balmy climes – at least, while he feeds the many colorful fish in his tropical tank.

Is it then an oxymoron that Jim’s poems reflect the cold and deep snow

of his native Canada?

I say not.

His words reflect not his dreams, but his innermost feelings; 

the mark of a true poet.

About Jim Bennett’s evocative writing:

Cold Comes Through

Life is about loss. In the end, we all die. Yet we may face illness and reduced capacity, expected and unexpected, with fear or courage, faith or despair. These fifty poems are about that experience....

Behind the Lime Kiln

This collection is about relationships. These poems were written for human beings living in today's world, that is, for us, and thus for you.

Hard Landing

Fifty-seven unique, sometimes scary, experiences. This selection of poems is not for children, nor is it for squeamish adults. The collection probes unique personal problems of different lives in difficult situations.

The Scroll of the Violin

These poems cover a range of philosophy, religion, belief and unbelief: religious poems, atheist poems, questioning poems, and answering ones.

Jim Bennett’s poetry books can be found at Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Jim-Bennett/e/B005HSHNLE/

Print versions are available from the Lulu Store in paperback and as e-pubs:

http://www.lulu.com/shop/search.ep?contributorId=1103364

I urge you to visit Jim Bennett’s website where you will find some great images and also a few interesting observations about life in today’s Canada.

http://jim-bennett.ca/

Authors and Their Water Buffalos

Now, that I have your attention (I am not putting you on either), I would like to introduce you to Dr. Stewart McFarlane, Author of the wonderfully spiritual book:

  

Of Mice and Zen.

Animal Encounters in the Life of a Wandering Buddhist

Stewart McFarlane lives in Thailand.

These pictures are of his lovely wife Phai who used to work with those gentle beasts on her family's farm.

Now, Stewart and Phai have given their hearts over to stray puppies. 

Here are their latest rescues:

“This is about a brave little puppy who pretty much rescued himself, then helped rescue his brother and sister.

Last week he tagged along with my pack of four dogs at the reservoir near our home in Thailand. He was very friendly to me and the dogs. Full of scabs, ticks fleas etc. He wouldn't be left behind, so we brought him home, then straight round to the vets for blood tests and a clean up. He is clear of internal parasites etc, and will start his injections tomorrow. He seems to take everything in his stride and loves all the dogs & my family. He is about 3-4 months and is a charmer.

Sometimes you meet a dog and something just clicks and you know you cannot give them up. We are calling him "Long Ma" which roughly means "Origins unknown". Our rescued Bangkok street dog, "Soda" (11 months old) has appointed himself the guardian and playmate of Long Ma, with Pepsi our German Shepherd, as their leader. 

Back at the reservoir, our brave little puppy led us to an abandoned house, where we found his brother and sister, in a really bad state. No sign of their mother. I figured there would be other puppies around, but had no idea where to find them. Long Ma led us straight to them. They were really shy with humans, but are getting more confident with hand feeding. My two regular dogs and two others belonging to my sister in law, have already befriended them and are letting them get access to food first. I have already administered heart worm tablets and front-line. Since they are already sleeping in a house, with open access (ie no doors or windows), I am letting the 2 shy puppies stay there for now, but I have cleaned up and de-flead the rooms, and got them a comfy treated mat to sleep on. They are lovely puppies and will make fine dogs, given love, attention and some training.

Now we have daily doggie picnics at the reservoir, so Long Ma and his siblings can play together, and start getting used to people and a variety of dogs.”

Alpha Dog "Pepsi" Overseeing Picnic Protocol

And guess what? True to this animal lover’s tender heart, Stewart tells me now:

“They are all with us at home now, and are settling in well and getting stronger.”

(Obviously, they know a good thing when they found it).

Boss puppy Long Ma already learned how to stay and sit, and all are coming back to the whistle but – more importantly – Long Ma found a good place to snuggle with Stewart’s daughter Geem. (Now, there is a "wild" dog if I ever saw one...)

In his book, Stewart reminds us:

 Respect all animals and remember that dogs and humans belong together.

The domestic dog is an ancient companion of humans, and it is possible that domestication was taking place as we ourselves were emerging as a separate species. This helps us understand the close and symbiotic relationship between dogs and humans. I think it is reasonable to say that our attitude to animals and to nature is part of what defines us as humans.

When we are in harmony with nature and treat other species with respect, we elevate ourselves as human beings. I believe this is a spiritual and ethical matter. Of course, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, and many indigenous and ancient religions endorse this attitude, but I think it applies whatever your personal belief system.

Respect for nature and kindness to animals are, I believe, fundamental human values, just as respect for and kindness to other people should be. I hope that the stories which follow help to illustrate that belief as it is actually lived, and hopefully, does so in an entertaining way.”

Stewart also tells me (probably in deference to Pasha) that there is a cat story in OF MICE & ZEN and some basic information on the cats of Thailand and that they have a literary history there.

And, since his book’s title mentions MICE, he shares his latest encounter:

“I was coming back from a long walk in the hills with my five dogs.
I stopped off to feed two stray dogs I have known since puppies. They live on waste ground near my house, and sleep in the shade of a huge tree. As they tucked into their meal of rice, mince and kibble, there was a rustle in the tree, and three tiny mice dropped own from the tree and came running past the dogs' noses and were sniffing round my feet for food.

The amazing thing is, these dogs ignored them. I would have expected stray dogs to gobble them up with their breakfast. But they just sniffed the mice & carried on eating. I got some rice & biscuit for the mice and put it away from the dogs. They happily tucked in. These mice seemed to know me and have obviously been feeding on the dog leftovers for a while. I have been used to seeing the mynah birds flying down to pick up the scraps, but I hadn't noticed the mice before.”

Obviously, the gentle world of Stewart McFarlane embraces all of God’s creatures, Great and Small.

Thank you, Stewart. We all do need reminding sometimes.

* * *

Learn more about Dr. Stewart McFarlane and his life:

http://www.taichi-exercises.com
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stewart-McFar...

When a Cat has An Episode

I have handled a lot of kittens and cats, and not only love-demanding lap-kitties like my Pasha. At the shelter, they came in scared, defiant, and – yes – sometimes hissing and lashing out until they realized life was better in a warm cage with lots of food than cowering hungry in a ditch.

But never before did I have a cat go completely berserk on me. Once again as many times before, the now adult sleek cat came to visit for a few days. He has always been a bit jerky, and so I gingerly tried to pick him up to check him over as I always do to make sure he came alone (if you get my drift).

Out of the blue, he began to scream (yes, scream), and literally flew through the house like a deranged banshee. He wound up on top of the kitchen cabinets and while the hair on my neck stood on end, I tried to calm him, speaking softly, reaching up with tempting treats. But every time I looked at him, he went into this psychotic behavior racing back and forth, screaming.

(Perhaps an ancient Ba - with big ears -  took over his little soul)

It lasted all day until I finally gave up and went to bed (early). The next morning, there he was, lying at my feet together with my own two cats. La-di-da – when’s breakfast?

Considering that this used to be the sickly kitten I had ‘diapered,’ for heaven’s sake from when he was nine days old, and that he often comes to spend time at my house when his ‘mom’ is traveling, this odd incident left me shaken. And Pasha was totally confused, to say the least.

Sadly, the little bugger just might have bansheed himself out of this one baby-sitter...

Sola, Perduta, Abbandonata

Listening to Maria Callas sing the famous aria 'alone, lost and abandoned' from Puccini’s Manon Lescaut, I realize that this was exactly how I felt last night during this icy winter storm. Outside, everything was encased in a sheet of ice; the neighbors were holed up (just as I was), and the tall pines are still leaning ever more ponderously over the house, bent to the breaking point under their icy mantles.

 If it weren’t for my two furry buddies, Pasha and Lilliput, I’d be packing my bags and driving south; Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica; any place free from the wrath of ice and sleet. Wait! I can’t even get out of my frozen-shut garage door. Bummer!

How could I have so miscalculated my research on Arkansas. To me, this was The South: languid, balmy, full of hospitable people with sweet tea, mint juleps and a stronger accent than I have (so they say—of course, I don’t believe it).

Don’t be too harsh with my rash decision to flee the crowds of Southern California. As I said, I had done my research and other than falling in love with a huge Palladian window that made me buy this house sight-unseen, all those wooded hills and lakes looked good to me (the price was right, too). The annual Arkansas average temperature was touted as being 65 Fahrenheit. The thing I hadn’t realized was that this mild “average” temperature was derived from 103° in the summer and some minus 20s during these infamous ice storms. Duh!

“I can do that,” I gloated to my West Coast city friends who repeatedly asked me, ‘Haven’t you seen Deliverance!’ (Poor Arkansas. It does have an undeserved “mountain-folksy” reputation.)

But today, ‘the morning after,’ the sun is out and everything is looking up; albeit the temps are still way below the freezing point. The birds are pecking away at their sunflower seed – and there come the squirrels. Funny how the jungle drums work around here.

So far, we have not lost power, and I dragged in lots of wood and have kept the fireplace going all night. Alas, tonight is another night...(lousy paraphrasing, I admit) – and another bout of freezing rain is predicted.

I was just having a little moan. I feel much better now ...

Pasha and I are Hunkered Down

Pasha, Lilliput and I are hunkered down (that's what the Weather Channel tells us to do).

It may look pretty right now, but as the ice accumulates on the trees - especially the tall pines all around my house - bad things might happen at any time. It is 3 AM and I am up, dressed, and in my boots with all doors unlocked in case we have to make a quick get-away. Wouldn't want to be caught running out of the house in my jammies.

That's why I think I'll postpone my Friday-blog hop celebration until I can breath easier; apparently not until beginning of next week.

Until then, be safe everyone - and, as always, thanks for stopping by.

And Speaking About Elephants

I belong to a Goodreads Group called "All About Animals," where animal-loving readers and writers come together exchanging thoughts, news, and reading/writing habits.

Someone there posted the link below that speaks about new funding for an elephant-survey. Of course, a survey is one thing; preventing poaching actively is another. We can only hope that this is the beginning of the end of the African elephant slaughter.

Please, take the time to read it.
http://www.eturbonews.com/40353/microsoft-billionaire-fund-pan-african-elephant-survey

Every year, tons (yes, tons) of contraband ivory are seized by customs and other authorities to be destroyed...alas, too late for the magnificent elephants who had to die for it.