Saturday, January 24, 2009

Question

Does anyone know if using youTube for videos brings more exposure?

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Striped cat next to coral and unopened jam

Wise, small, plastic dog from China

Seeking wisdom from those containing it has been a constant practice of the ancients as evidenced through history. Are we any different today?

Sam on the move

Here's a quickie of Sam moving about.

Post Kayak


I had the good fortune of being offered a kayak on my last day. So I got up at 6:00 and scurried out to the gulf to spend three or more hours doing what I like. At one point a fin appears about 10 feet away from me. All the images from Jaws flew back into my mind without any invitation as I reduced the amount of white water I was creating with the ores. Then, as I watched for the resurfacing, it became clear that my neighbor was in fact a dolphin. I followed him as long as I could, visually, then concluded that he was gone. It made my day.

Samuel Cushing


Here's the ol' boy having a seat.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Samuel's face


Here's one I snapped of Sam from my bed.

Others around the farm


There were several of these guys around but they all got precious little attention from me because all my energy was focused on the goal at hand.

Sleeping Mate


This little one found his way to my bed the last few nights in the barn. He wasn't as agreeable as the boys up in Maryland but I still enjoyed having him around. I was told he was a pizza eating cat so the rats which I kept hearing rustling around may not have cared he was there, but I enjoyed his company.

Boys on the couch


Here are the boys on Warren's couch. I wonder if he even remembers I am storing it for him?

Being dragged around by a camel

After several very short training sessions involving taking Samuel from his paddock to the work area, he seemed to have had enough. Instead of standing in front of the gate and waiting for me to open it, he turned and ran down the corridor to the closed fence which was the entrance to the barn yard. Here is a video of the marks left in the sand.

Sleeping arrangements


Here is the bed I created in the barn so I could spend the nights with Samuel. Hay bails are underneath the sheet. Observing his behavior throughout the night helped me learn about him in a context where he would otherwise be alone.

Homosapiens and Happenstance

In the human experience it is practically impossible to gauge when good fortune will strike. Let's try to be positive and expect that at any moment the best will come to us.

Farm Work

Plan on making great sacrifices in your personal life if you intend to raise mammals. These animals need your love and support and need to be kept on a strict rhythm in order to get the maximum millage from them. When implementing a clear routine remember to keep feeding time as near to the exact moment each day as is humanly possible.

Law breaking crackers.

If society does not come to grips with the responsibility it holds in the training arena of other species, soon there will be an overthrowing of law and order as we know it.

Animal Crossing


When training is not done thoroughly enough, mammalia can go awry. For this very reason one spends the utmost time preparing for interaction with other species to arrive at the optimum result. I plead with you never to settle for quick results, or this what you observe in the video could end up being repeated for to many times.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Palm Harbor training Samuel

Haultering him up. Believe me, if a camel does not want you to do this, "it ain't happenin!" Luckily, Sam allowed it and associated it with fun activity, at least 'change'. Very curious these creatures are.

Bringing the boy back after some training.

I thought this one showed a bit of the intensity in my body language that was always the state of affairs while with him.
The whole thing was a rush. One needs to constantly be aware and on one's toes next to such a beast.
Each night I searched the Internet for answers to questions I discovered during the day. I found out that only recently a local trainer suffocated when a bull knocked her down and sat on her. She had a lot of experience but even with that, when something this size becomes aggressive all the parameters change.

Proof I'm not in my basement lying about camels

Leading Samuel to the work paddock. This was the easy part, a straight line ten feet long, until he discovered the path to our left was more interesting and room enough for him to run.
The bed I made on top of hay bails in order to spend the nights with him as well.


The fan is actually back in the center of his stall, not as it appears here.

This task was more than I'd bargained for. Terribly interesting creatures, not simple to train. Daunting I'd say. Just got started and needed to return home.

Friday, January 9, 2009

Camels

Camels are not as small or easy to work with as you might think.