Redefining Impossible

In the past, many of my jobs have involved meetings.  Often these meetings would have ill-defined invite lists which would result in people being invited, such as myself, who really didn't need to be there.  Before becoming empowered enough to just excuse myself from such gatherings either before they happened or once I realized I didn't need to be there, I used to have a way to pass the time.  While the convocation droned on, I would find an object on the table, generally a soda can or a coffee cup, and I would focus all of my mental energy into trying to make it move.  As a child who grew up addicted to the Star Wars movies, it shouldn't have been too much of a surprise that I would want to have "the Force", but in reality my thought process was a little different.

For all intents and purposes, moving objects with your mind is something that is generally considered to be impossible.  My motivation was to prove that this impossible act was possible and in doing so invalidate the whole concept.  Once the impossible is possible, all bets are off.  If I had ever moved a can with my mind, it would have changed my whole world view.

While this is a fanciful example, I have recently encountered another one that reminded me of this whole idea.  A month ago, if you had offered me a million dollars to run ten miles, it is quite likely that I would have scoffed at my ability to do so.  It would have been impossible to me!

However, an interesting thing happened a couple weeks ago.  Kate and I have done a couple of 5Ks this year and I was eager to see if I could run a 10K.  A normal person would have identified a course and tried to run it.  Me, I decided to just go out and run until I felt like I had run far enough.  My first attempt at doing this came up a bit short; I went 5 miles when I needed to go 6.2.  For my second try, I didn't want to take any chances so I kept adding new loops and blocks on to my path.  When I got home and checked my route, I was shocked with the answer - I had run 9.38 miles!

Suddenly ten miles didn't seem like such a feat and it became my new goal.  Within a week, I found myself going for it - This time with a mapped out course (I finally learned my lesson).  After about an hour and a half of running, what was previously "impossible" in my mind is now quite possible.

Why am I sharing all of this?  When we label things as impossible, it's like flipping a switch in our brains that tells us not to even consider it.  If we take the time to actually assess this, we may find that we are confusing the "impossible" with the "difficult".  Imagine how much richer our lives can be if we were to take on some more of these "impossible" tasks and accomplish them.  This is especially important if we think locally.  For example, we could say that making sure that everyone has enough food to eat seems impossible,

Images from the Farm

Today I remembered that I own a camera and got some pretty good pictures during my lunch break.  Since I get to see these guys everyday and you might not, here are some of my favorites.



Slater, one of our Santa Cruz Sheep modeling the latest in winter wear for the discerning ovine.



Bruce reminding me why he is so special.



Miss Hattie and Cecil make a great couple!



Miss Hattie explores alternate uses for her gate as a headrest.



Justin Goat and his crew



Juanita, Baabette, and Bleu



Cassie Jo with Grandma Polly in the background



Cassie Jo in profile



Beautiful Zuri so grown up



Melvin doing his best, "You Talkin' to Me" pose



Oliver showing off his horns



Marcus is glad he is not in Montana this time of year



Whitaker...what else can I say



I love Bea...even if she is "on the fence" about me

Oh Scribbles, you have food all over your face!



Carey is ready for his close-up

 

Wonderful Whitaker

Speaking of Heidi, she used to have a very unusual trait that I thought was specific to her...but I'll get to that in a minute.

A couple weeks ago, I had the opportunity to spend some quality time with an old friend.  In fact, he was my "O.C." (Original Calf) buddy: Whitaker.  He was hanging out in the Cattle Barn (Appropriate) and I decided to see if he enjoyed being brushed.  It turned out that he enjoyed it a lot more than I would have expected and proceeded to follow me around anytime I stopped brushing him and started to move away.  I found this to be yet another great example of how animals experience pleasure just like we do.  There was no other reason for him to want the brushing to continue.

 

 

I imagine that the brush bristles probably feel a little bit like a cow's tongue and that he enjoyed this like he would being groomed by another cow friend.

 

As this grooming continued, I made a discovery.

 

 

Back to Heidi - Heidi had a spot at the base of her tail that when scratched would cause her tongue to stick out.  I always imagined that she had some rogue tendon connecting those two spots and that this was somewhat unique.  Well, it turned out that Whitaker has a spot just like this, only it is on his back.  It is on his side, just below his spine and approximately even with his last rib.  At first I thought it to be a fluke, but it turns out to be amazingly repeatable.  Sooo, without further ado, here is my cute Whitaker video of the day:

 



Frosty Reception

Today while we were driving in town, I saw something that really amused me - so much so that we went back so that I could get a picture. 

Maybe I have a latent snowman, or should that be "snow-person" fetish, but it really seemed like that was a more seductive pose than I normally see them in.  It certainly isn't explicit, but I have to imagine that if I assumed that pose on my desk at work, it may make some people uncomfortable... and that would be with me wearing pants (Notably absent in the picture)! 

Greater Love...

Greater love for a dog hath no man than this, to allow him to continue to share his house after he did this (Saint Brian, 12:15)

My "Luckdragon" Melvin

Since moving to the country, the tattoo bug has come calling more often than it did when I was in "corporate America".  After getting my "Vegan themed" sugar skull...

 



I decided that it was time to get an animal specific tattoo.  After a lot of thought, I decided that Melvin Goat had the perfect mix of panache and uniqueness that I was looking for.  While I trust my artist's abilities (Chris Chrome at Heart and Soul Tattoo in Yuba City), I have seen way too many portrait tattoos that struggle to capture the elements that define the subject so I wanted to steer clear of that since a non-perfect Melvin would be worse than no Melvin at all. 

For those who have never seen Melvin, he has a very distinctive strut.  His whole body wiggles as he moves and this combined with his face gave me the idea of having a "Melvin Dragon".  This was not without risk because of the fact that Melvin is a very hairy Angora goat.  I was keenly aware that this could turn out looking like a character from "The Neverending Story" - the Luckdragon.  The thought of having to explain that I was not a fan-boy for this movie for the rest of my life was not appealing.

As it turns out, when I introduced the concept and sent in the source pictures, my artist had the same worries. 

As it turns out, I think he did a great job pulling it off and five and a half hours later, I am as lucky to have the tattoo I wanted as I am lucky to have Melvin as my friend.

Lessons from Harold

Harold is our newest member of the family.  He was found at my work and was in need of a home at the same time that fate left us with a vacancy.  He helped us all (Including Henry our other fuzzy buddy) through a rough patch.

If I am honest, I have recently been worried about whether or not Harold is "all there".  He is an adorable and loving dog, but he often has a vacant expression that leaves you wondering what he is thinking, or if he thinks at all.  He struggles with some of the things that I would expect that a dog his age shouldn't have any difficulties with like avoiding "accidents".  Every time he is left at home, regardless of the duration, we are almost sure to find a wet spot in the same general area of the carpet.  It has become somewhat of a running joke as a means of maintaining our sanity about the situation.   He is freaked out by noises no matter how may times he hears them.  He will chew his racquetball for hours on end and get excited when it pops out of his mouth mid chew - even for the hundredth time.

Tonight as I fret over the uncertainties of life I am able to lean a lesson even from Harold, particularly a dubious source.  His doggie IQ could certainly be debated, but what is unquestionable is that he is happy.  This leads me to believe that maybe, just maybe, he thinks just the right amount.