Hello everyone. Welcome to another installment of life at Mercy Spring Ranch (MSR), as reported by your humble correspondent Gimli Black.
As I mentioned last week, I received a pile of letters from my fans at the last Heirloom Tomato Tasting event. I’d like to devote this week’s blog to answering some more of them.
The first writer asks, “Where do you get your horse cookies? Can I make you some?” My current stash of cookies is the all-natural Mrs. Pastures brand, donated to the ranch by a generous couple. I am touched by your offer of making me some more, but I fear that Miss Mo would not find them helpful for my diet. Perhaps if you were to make your family some chocolate chip cookies, your baking skills will be put to good use.
My next writer asks, “Do you ever try to escape from your stall when everyone is asleep?” Well, I would never want to truly “escape” since I really like it here at MSR. However, I have been known in the daytime to try to slip out when my paddock gate is opened. I attempt to go for a quick run to the pasture in the hope of finding a snack. As for my middle of the night escapades, I will simply wink in your direction, since I know that Mr. John reads this blog, and he might become suspicious and put a fourth lock on my gate. Let’s make this our little secret (wink wink).
One of my riders asks, “How can you train horses to stand still when you are getting ready to ride them?” Well, it is obvious that you are not talking about me, since I have mastered the art of standing still to the point that I now train other horses (and humans, as well). But what I have found is that when the rider is relaxed, the horse will pick up on this as well and calm down. A gentle rub on a horse’s withers (the ridge behind the shoulder bones) will also go a long way to relax a jittery horse.
Finally there is a question from a feline admirer. The cat writes, “I am a Siamese cat, but I think that we are related. My companion human does not feed me as much as I want, just like your human. I also like to drum on the kitchen cabinet. So, do you think that we are related? Even if we’re not, can I still be a part of your band or work with you in the studio?”
Ah, my little feline friend, I doubt that we are related. My parents are from Austria, not from Thailand. Besides, I rarely eat Thai food. The fact that we are both musical and being starved by our human guardians does not make us related.
As for your joining me on my next recording, you will have to audition like everyone else (except the kit foxes — I already know that we are not musically compatible). Send me a demo mix of your work and we will take it from there. I will not promise anything, since my agent screens all band submissions before I even see them. If you survive the audition process, I will not be averse to having a cat in the band. It might even expand my demographics into the feline community!
Well that’s all for this week. I still have plenty of questions to answer next time. I hope to see many of you on the ranch this week.
Happy Trails,
Gimli August 29, 2022