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Shoes in trees...
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28 April 2002
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I went away to a cabin in Big Bear for the weekend. It was so nice! One of my teacher friends owns a cabin up there, and the three of us third-grade teachers decided to go up there to do a little bit of planning for our grammar programs next year. We also organized our time for this next week while we are administering the SAT-9's.
The drive up there is a beautiful one. I live in part of the Mojave Desert, and much of the land is covered with Joshua trees. The mountains that surround us are also very rocky and scattered with shrubbery and small dry-adapted trees. It's beautiful in its own way. One of these days, when I am going to the cabin by myself or something, I will periodically stop along the road and take pictures. There are a few interesting spots - a hill of rocks that people have drawn on with spray pain or something, some little homesteading shacks that are, I hope, vacant and other various little spots.
One of my favorite things along the way to the cabin is the shoe tree. If I described this tree, one might think that I was weird. They'd not fully be able to *see* the interesting facets of the tree without actually seeing the tree. I remember the first time I saw it; I was driving up behind the other two cars. We were rounding the bend at Baldwin Lake (which has no water in it) and these shoes caught my eye. They were hanging from the branches of the tree. I thought it was quite strange, and as I got closer, I realized that there were shoes all over the tree. How bizarre. The next day I mentioned it to the girls. None of them had seen it. I looked at them, befuddled. "You didn't see that big tree with all the shoes dangling from it?"
"Ummmm, and what kind of drugs did you take this morning, Maggie?" they asked amidst a clatter of laughter.
"No, really, there was a big tree - right around that dried-up lake thingy. It had a whole bunch of shoes on it," I said, trying to convince them.
Well, I got those *looks*. The kind of looks that say Yeah, whatever you say, Maggie.
"You'll see it on the way home. Hrmmmph!" I declared.
Well, they did see it on the way home. In fact, when I came around the bend, they were stopped in front of it, taking pictures. So there! Hehehe.
I really wonder what the story is about the tree. Did it start because the people living there kept finding shoes along the road? Did some stranger put the first pair up, and everyone else followed suit? My favorite - are they the shoes of the family members... as they grew from little toddlers to adults? I really do wonder about that tree...
Back to the weekend... Because the cabin has a fenced-in yard, P. said that I could bring Lucky-boy with me. He loves going on trips, so he was very excited when I told him. We discussed it the night before. He had to understand that we were going up there to work; it wasn't to be an opportunity for him to have three times the attention that he normally receives from me. He seemed to understand, so he rode along with us. He's such a good boy! Although he feels the need to be either in the center or actually the center of attention at all times. I should make a button for him that says, Is it just me, or is it all about me?
He's a dog, so his main interest is FOOD. No matter how he gets it, he wants food. He's never been the kind of dog to get into things. I can leave food on the table, uncovered, and he'll sniff around it, but he won't touch it. Well, his whole character changes when he is a)in a different house, or b)with other people. That little munchkin snarfed a piece of pumpkin bread from the plate as it sat on the coffee table. Wow! He's never done that before - at least with me. I have, after all, only had him for about nine months.
This morning we wanted to go for a walk after breakfast. P. made her famous pancakes, I made some scrambled eggs, and K. made some bacon. It was filling, so we got ready for a walk. I put Lucky-boy's leash on him, and we got started. We began our walk to the east and soon came upon a house with a few dogs, one who was barking a lot. K's mother had seen a man walking his dog earlier, and she had also noticed one of these dogs (the barking one) had followed the man and his dog all the way up the block. Well, sure enough, the barking dog had worked the gate door open and was trundling on over to my Lucky-boy. We were all initially a little bit startled because this was a big dog - a rottweiler, I believe. It started sniffing at Lucky, and Lucky became threatened; his territory was being usurped. Therefore, Lucky, a small cocker spaniel, felt the need to bark at the big, mean-looking dog. That, of course, meant that the other dog now felt threatened annoyed. A little barking-snapping fight ensued. Remember, I have the leash, so all of this is happening not only to my sweet, innocent pooch, but it's also happening right at my feet. That means the big, scary dog is lunging at ME! Well, I was more concerned about Lucky because he seemed to care very little that the dog was both bigger and much stronger than he. A couple of us tried shooing the rott away, but to no avail. Lucky is winding himself around my legs with the metal-chain leash. I am a bit afraid that there is going to be a real dog fight at my feet. I wanted to pick my little pooch up, but was also a bit afraid that if that big, scary, mean-looking dog was going to lunge at Lucky while he was in my arms, that he'd take me out at the same time. Yikes! What a conundrum.
We finally got the dog over to his driveway and back behind the gate. He started pawing at K., which showed us that he was most likely not as dangerous as we thought he might be, but... still.. One of the neighbors came out and took the dog (who had once again gotten out of the gate and started following us) by the scruff of the neck and tied him up - I think. Such an eventful morning. We were then on our way, with dog in tow, to collect pinecones while we walked through the little neighborhood. Other than getting into food that wasn't his and nearly finding himself in a fight, Lucky was a pleasure to have up there. He's so sweet and cute, it's hard not to love him.
I've been up to the cabin one other time, a few months ago, when my friend had just bought it. We went up there to help her clean it out. It came furnished; it had EVERYthing, including dishes, appliances, bedding, etc. Well, I don't like to clean my own house much less someone else's. However, I do like to help out, so I had gone up to do that. We had a great time throughout the cleaning. Big Bear is really a quaint little place, yet it is... now. We went out to eat (because that is what we do best) and we went shopping (because that is what they do best.) One of the things that is the most fun about the cabin (and many cabins, I'm sure) is the fireplace. Ohhhhhhhh.. .there's nothing like a cozy evening in front of the fireplace with friends, talking and laughing, and sipping on our wine (or for me, amaretto sours.) It makes the work seem to be a little bit easier to tolerate. I anticipate going up there a whole lot more - and not just to work!
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