Don’t take that to mean I know what I’m doing. Seriously, who knew this 140 character stuff was so complicated? Expect me to tweet like a 5 year old in kindergarten for awhile. FYI, it seems every variant of my name is taken, so I ended up taking the handle @McConnellWrites. Come say hi.
Speaking of writing, that’s all she wrote for today. I’m deep into creating four different talks for 12 book tour events in February and March for The Education of Will. Not to mention the logistics of traveling to Milwaukee, Green Bay, Madison, Columbus, Denver, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco (or close to anyway), Boston and Philadelphia in a brief period of time, and arranging for AV, hotels, etc etc. Enough already. I do hope you’ll forgive me for being a bit less prolific on the blog during the next two months; things are already starting to feel like a bit of a roller coaster. Of course, the only person I really need to forgive for not writing more is myself, right? Oh wait… that’s what I wrote a book about–forgiveness.
In place of additional words, here are some more photographs from Nick Berard, who came out to the farm to take some photos for the book tour and website. I wish he could come every week and take more dog and sheep photos.
MEANWHILE, back on the farm: Ah, life in the upper Midwest. We’ve had rain, snow, and sleet, pretty much all at the same time for several days in the past week. One snowfall was so heavy (because it was mostly water) that it broke the supporting pole of our tent up the hill. Just getting the snow/water off the tent’s fly was no easy task. Jim did some serious makeshift carpentry to keep it all from collapsing until we can create a permanent fix. It’s hard to imagine that in a few months we’ll be able to sleep there again.
But, at least we are now looking at snow scapes, instead of mud or ice. The BCs are crazy happy, because now they can run and run to their heart’s content. I’m happy too, because I love to see them happy, and I love it when it’s pretty outside.
Here’s smiley Willie waiting for me to throw his toy; he’d just lifted his head up from the snow, and his flying snow mustache makes me laugh.
Here are some other views that make me happy. I’m so grateful that I took a Contemplative Photography course!
I hope you have something beautiful to look at too. I’d love to hear what making you happy right now. . .
LisaW says
I’m afraid Twitter has been too trumped up for me, but I appreciate the social media forays of others. (You’re on Twitter, but you still call it AV. I like it!)
I love, love, love that single leaf silhouette. Just beautiful. That should be framed.
What makes me happy is anticipating your book in my mailbox in just a few short weeks. Also, this clever, easy, and yummy recipe for homemade dog treats (I know, dorky, but it really does make me happy). http://eileenanddogs.com/2017/01/11/making-500-non-crumbly-dog-treats-from-a-mold/
We made them last night, and the dogs love them. We’ll save a bundle since we do so much treating around here.
Good luck with the planning and tweeting, and I’m still hoping you’ll come to the Northeast someday.
Sue says
I could think of many things that make me un-happy at the moment… but it’s good to think about what does make us happy – count your blessings and all that…
So, it makes me happy to see just how much my hound loves the feather duvet she’s been given for Christmas – and the fact that she now sleeps on ‘her’ side of the bed, rather than sneaking onto mine…
It makes me happy that the days are gradually getting longer and it’s still a little light now when I come out of the office – although it feels just as dark in the mornings.
It makes me happy to see the dog chase crows with enthusiasm (and just hoping she’ll never catch one!) – after many month where she wasn’t quite herself and seemed to turn into an old dog it’s great to have my old (i.e. younger) Tiffany back.
It makes me happy to see how much more confident and happy she is around other dogs – except the rather huge Newfoundland puppy the other day, who was very calm and friendly but just her sheer size must have scared Tiffs.
Oh, and I love those photos, inspiration for taking some pictures myself…
Chris from Boise says
Snow dogs indeed! Took our two border collies on a four mile snowshoe hike at 6,000 feet this morning – happy, happy, happy dogs! Twelve year old Habi kept up with (and put more miles on than) six year old Obi, both plunging through belly-deep snow just for the joy of it. (She’s sound asleep now, after a dose of arnica to ward off the stiffness that will follow). Happy to report that we met two other dogs on the hike, and she greeted them with perfect body language! Miracles do happen! And social butterfly Obi sets a fine example.
Robins and house finches perched on our gutter this sunny afternoon and sipped from the drips melting from our snow-covered roof. Bird feeders are covered with house finches and American and lesser goldfinches.
Have ‘fun’ with Twitter – yet one more medium I have no intention of using, but understand it’s necessary in today’s business world. Hope the book tours are fun as well as exhausting; Boise would welcome you if you happened to be passing by. 🙂 How do we find out where you’ll be when, so I can alert friends in Portland, Milwaukee and Philadelphia?
Nancy says
Columbus! Columbus, Ohio? When and where and what time?
Frances says
I am another enjoying happy moments when and where I can – and really welcoming the slow increase in daylight hours. I do not envy you what looks like an exhausting promo tour, but hope that you meet lots of really nice dogs and people to help carry you through it.
Is there a UK edition of the new book? I can only find the large print version.
Stephanie Van Horn says
Portland, Oregon? When and where?
Mary Beth Stevens says
What makes me happy? The first cup of coffee out of my French press in the morning (only after the wailing cat has been fed and the ever-patient pooch has been taken outside for her morning “ablutions.” More hours of daylight -afternoon doggy walk doesn’t have to get underway by 3:45 at the latest?. Having a full lap at night, sleeping dog flopped over one arm, sleeping cat flopped over the other, and me, immobilized, saying, “honey, could you get me a” – fill in the blank here- as I couldn’t possibly get up to disturb”the babies.” oh! One more thing! The daily speculation in our house over how many times a day we say, “She’s the best dog in the world,” or “Suzie, you’re the best dog in the world,” or “”we’ve got the best dog in the world”, or variations on that theme. We keep promising that some day we’re going to keep a running tally on those phrases …….
lee says
So happy to see you (finally!) on Twitter! Twitterverse needs you. Dogs and dog parents need you. Don’t forget to tweet the link to your blog posts!
I’m happy there is a comment section of something I’ve read that’s enjoyable to read. Yet another reason for you to tweet your blog. (:
You should have planned to go south for the first (winter) part of your book tour. Florida can be warm this time of year, and GA/AL are so lovely in March/April. NC’s spring, which arrives later, is beautiful.
Don’t forget to tweet to let us know how you’re doing on the tour and to show us pictures!
May you have safe and hassle-free travels to all your destinations.
Trisha says
Thanks to you all who asked where I’ll be when on book tour. To save time (with apologies), I’ll just sent you the link to the tour information on the memoir’s website: http://www.theeducationofwill.com/events-memoir. Hope to see blog readers there, come up and say hi, it’ll make my day.
Thanks too for the “what makes me happy” comments. I need them too right now, so keep them coming.
Laura Harrington says
Well, if you can do it, then maybe I can too. I’ll get my teenager to help me with Twitter (gulp). Looking forward to seeing you in Philadelphia!!!
Best,
Laura H
Chloe De Segonzac says
You are coming to Portland? When, where?
Trisha says
OK, grabbed a few minutes between things: I’m speaking in COLUMBUS, OH on Thursday, Feb 23rd, at the Veterinary Medical Center, 601 Vernon L. Tharp Street, 5:30 to 6:30 pm. I’m speaking outside of PORTLAND in BEAVERTON, OR at 2pm, Powell’s Books, 3415 Cedar Hills Blvd. Thanks to the Oregon Humane Society for making the arrangements! I hope you can come!
Adrienne Karoly says
I love the picture of smiling Willie. And your leaf picture looks like one in my own backyard.
Katia Sagovsky says
I am in the UK & have ordered a copy of the book via The Book Depository, it doesn’t say it’s a large print edition…… Looking forward to it!
Elizabeth says
Awww, and I’ve had to leave Twitter as well, because it was keeping me from sleeping at night (not because I was on it all night, LOL, but because of the anxiety it was causing). I wish we had snow – here in Maritime Canada we just have ice and bare ground and the dogs are not impressed. But seeing the sunshine makes me happy, and seeing the end of January…and some of the perennial seeds we’ve sowed indoors under lights are sprouting, which means spring will be coming!
Julie says
I agree with Lee! ” Twitterverse needs you.” WELCOME!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wupPGIyYmYI
Bruce says
First of all, best wishes for the book tour, and every success for the memoir.
Two things are making me particularly happy at the moment.
Mrs. B volunteered to watch her boss’ little dog – perhaps a Bichon / Toy Poodle cross? We have not done any dog-sitting since Red Dog joined the family, and we were a little worried because 55-pound Red Dog frequently gets obsessed with little dogs. She does not hurt them, but gets 100% locked in.
We had the dogs meet in a neutral location, and then walked them together for a while before going in the house. We have also been paying extra attention to the home dogs, and avoiding potential conflicts over high-value resources. Fortunately, Red Dog has been great so far- whew! The last thing we want is to break the boss’ dog, right?
Last night Mrs. B watched TV under a pile of dogs – Red Dog, the Pug, and visiting little dog.
The other thing that makes me particularly happy is getting a new-to-me (in other words, used) Fuji digital camera. I love my Nikon, but the Fuji is so small and compact that it should be a pleasure to take on hikes with the dogs. I am figuring out the controls and hope to give it a full test this weekend.
Not that I don’t have a million dog pictures already.
Maureen Finn says
How can one not be happy surrounded by dogs and nature? The utter faith and magic, and their continuing example of how to live life in the present. (dang hard for a human in these times)
I just came inside from feeding my sheep and am so happy after seeing the amazing triangle of constellations in the sky – the sliver of a crescent moon, Venus shining so bright I thought it was a plane at first, and Mars, tiny but vibrant and yes, red! As I filled the hay nets, my old Setter boy insisted I throw the ball for him (in the dark). Nothing makes him happier. So I got the tosser thingy off the shelf, inserted a fluorescent orange (if a little grubby) tennis ball and tossed it into the dark. Next time I went out to the sheep pen he insisted I throw it again. I couldn’t see it (even searching with my flashlight), and thought he was trying to get me to throw another one. I told him to find it and bring it to me, went in to fill another net. I came out and he again inSISTed I throw for him. It was too dark to see his eyes (during the day he uses his eyes to point me to the ball), so I again got the flashlight out…to see it just to the side of the doorway – I’d missed it earlier!
I tossed it again, to his delight (and, frankly, mine), into the darkness. He ran off after it and i went to put the hay net in the manger. I came out of the sheep shed and could see he was having a hard time finding it, quartering the hillside where I’d tossed it in the dark. It wasn’t until I got Setters that I truly understood the term “birddog it.” I tried to help, quartering the hillside with him, using the flashlight and looking in the leaf litter and winter detritus and even down the hill, thinking maybe it rolled into the back yard. All the while, the magnificent moon and stars shone on us.
“I can’t find it.” I said to him. “Maybe the pixies got it.” (I seriously do wonder about them.) It was very cold, so I went back to fill the last hay net while he kept looking. The Rottweiler gave up and went to wait on the porch, and the other Setter boy patrolled the perimeter, looking for varmints.
And of course, when I came out with the last hay net there it was, fluorescent orange in the darkness, waiting for me. And my beautiful old guy, a big grin on his face, knowing I had seen it, his tail wagging and old-dog happy-panting “Just throw it!” And I did.
MIreille says
Aaaaah Willy looks so utterly happy!
Love your contemplative photo’s tooo.
Looking forward to your book and I wish you a lot of happiness and succes in your trips & talks! Enjoy !
Julia says
I’ve just joined Twitter and am still not sure whether I like it or not. It is a little overwhelming I find.
What makes me happy is that the dog that I have today is not the dog that I adopted almost a year ago, and that there was this wonderful blog that helped me through the rough times of dog depression (I was NOT prepared for that and it took several weeks of not wanting to eat until she finally got better), wondering if we will ever fit together and if it is ok to find a better home for her (which I seriously considered, but fortunately we’re a good match by now), wondering if she will ever learn to play with toys (thanks to stuffed kongs and squeaky toys she now runs after a ball like the wind) and so many more uncertainties and question marks..
What also makes me happy is that the sun is winning today over the otherwise often rainy west coast skies, and that there are so many people out there fighting the craziness of this world.
Very much looking forward to your book!
Trisha says
Julia: Glad to know it is not just me. I too find Twitter visually tiresome, and I’m a very visual person. Honestly, I like the blog so much better! I do get that Twitter is a great way to spread information around, with incredible reach and speed, but there is a cost…
Love that your adopted dog is doing so well!
I love the ‘happy’ stories. Thanks Maureen for telling us about your setter, love the commitment to the search.
To Bruce, great news about the visitor. Congrats on the TV huddle and how well it is all going. And good luck with the new camera. That’s something that makes me happy too!
Diane M says
What has made me happy today is a co-worker who said, “I used to shake my head at people who treated their pets like members of the family. They are just animals! But now I am looking after my niece’s dogs while she recovers from a car accident. Now I get it. I’m getting so attached to these guys.”
This has made my day.
em says
What a whirlwind you have to look forward to, and what fantastic pictures of the farm! I am sorry about your tent, but hopefully you’ll have it shipshape in plenty of time for summer- one more advantage of long northern winters, I guess 😉
I, too, am happy to have snow on the ground, which makes me something of an odd duck in my circle of acquaintances, but once I actually invested in decent winter gear (real, heavy duty, coats, hats, gloves, boots, stabilicers, etc.) and started walking outdoors every day, winter lost much of its sting, and started being a season of joyful, bounding, elated dogs, free to play without worry of ticks or mosquitos or deer flies or mud. I’ve always rather liked winter, being more the’ glass of wine, warm sweater, and a good book’ than ‘sunbathing and waterskiing’ type, but now it is my favorite season.
Let this be my short tribute to winter, then- I love the crystalline sparkle of the world snow on days of fresh snow and dazzling sunshine. I love the hush that deep snow creates- smoothing the sharp edges off of every sound, I love the deep blue light of evening and the slow pale lemon of morning, I love the blast of heat against my face when I crack open the oven door to check on my bread, I love the gentle warmth of the dogs resting against me on the couch in the evening, and the golden squares of light in my windows when I come home from work.
So oddball or not, I admit it- winter makes me happy.
Trisha says
To em: Who could described the joys of winter better than you? I love what you wrote, it speaks to me on so many levels. I’ve been inside for about 23.5 hours a day the last few days, but the few minutes I’ve been outside, under a turquoise blue sky and “the crystalline sparkle of the world” have made me exquisitely happy. A day with the sun above and fresh snow below is like living inside a jewel. Yesterday, I walked the dogs up the steep hill behind the farmhouse, and the crisp air on my face felt so refreshing I actually said, out loud–and to myself, the dogs and the land only–“I love winter!” I am the anti-orchid. I am miserable in hot, humid weather. A perfect day for me is 25 degrees F, no wind, snow on the ground and sunny. I’m not sure I’d call winter my favorite season, but I so understand why em does. So em, if you’re an “oddball,” then you’re not alone. (And oh yes, what is more beautiful than that rich, deep blues that descend just after sunset, and the whipped butter yellow color that streams from the barn when the light is turned on?)
lin says
I’ve followed you on twitter, but I only follow, never tweet myself. Twitter is too rapid-fire for me, whereas the blog, and even FB, feel like more like a meandering stream.
So glad you are coming to Marin Humane, and want to let all the Bay Area people know there are still slots open last time I looked. Sunday, March 5.
R G Pleal says
Will you be in Monterey, CA any time soon?
Trisha says
I’ll be speaking in Novato, north of SF on March 5th. Hope you can come! http://www.patriciamcconnell.com/all-upcoming-events