MORE ABOUT PAWS.

I spent a frustrating morning trying to print out visas for Turkey, yesterday morning. After four hours, it turned out to be my credit card. Changed card and the embassy accepted it. YAY.
After the adoption certificate arrived I signed up for PAWS newsletter. I should have done it years ago. They have great videos of what they do. Check out the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwZ5vf1R6Ns&feature=youtu.be

I visited the ARK in 2010. Here is a link to that album if you are interested:

10-17-10-PAWS

MYSTIC SEAPORT-THE MUSEUM

 We have a whole working town as a museum in the Mother Lode, its Columbia, a gold mining town. Mystic Seaport has a whole bay and harbor as a working museum, called Mystic Seaport. Like Columbia, it has the old buildings, still plying the trades they did in days of yore. Printing, barrel making, clock works and so on. The star of the port when we visited in August was the restoration of a whaling ship, The Charles W.Morgan, though other rescue efforts go on at the same time.

Its possible to see the workers of today, like the sailor below...

and their equivalent occupation from yesteryear.

Of course, these guys were officers of the vessel, not a swabbie like the woman above.

 To me, the most fascinating business on the wharf was the rope making building, because the building had to be as long as the finished rope, which meant about 250 feet, if my memory is correct.

Its a marvel to watch how the strands were twisted to make huge, heavy duty ropes, much needed by the shipping industry.

 Ropes were made of the hemp plant which makes it illegal in the U.S. Too bad! We could use that industry here instead of importing from Canada or Germany or China. Our early colonists knew a good thing. Hemp makes cheaper paper rather than cutting down trees, as well.

Another good occupation might be the carving of figure heads. They are definitely obsolete, but look what beauties. And, collectors love them. This particular vessel was engaged in rescue training for their sailors the day we were there. Young sailors learn real skills in how to operate these vessels and it made for a fascinating day at Mystic Seaport.

The hardest part of this rescue was learning how to lower the small boat.

THAT SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY IS REAL.

Out of the blue, Jim and I received an irresistible invitation from a stranger, would we like to come visit her place, and stay, and play and get acquainted with some local folks of Cajun heritage?
For real?  Southern Hospitality is very real and we promptly accepted.
Michele Boulet is camera shy, but we found befriending strangers and animal rescue is just a small niche of Michele Boulet's personality. She and her friend Russell fill their days caring for critters who have come upon hard times, five horses, two of them blind; multiple dogs, a mule, and a boer goat. Independent is another name for cat and Michele's wouldn't have anything to do with me but it was puppy love at first sight.

   

Besides a passel of puppies, her newest acquisition is Helper, a stately bulldog who fits right into the menage and imperially guards the porch or flowers, or whatever needs a lookout.

The horse on the left is totally blind, the other has shadow vision. I forgot to ask Michele if the animals will eventually be placed with others? She says she is learning as she goes. Horses are not a critter to be taken lightly. (The picture below is Michele's, by the way.)

Her Boer goat, resembled my daughter's herd of milk goats from a 4-H project. Michele handed me a reference identifying her meat goat which looks quite like the Nubians..

Michele invited strangers, but we soon found we had a lot in common, a love of cooking, art, books, film production, animals, learning about family heritage, and people. We never fail to learn something new and I'm looking forward to more time and the killer lunch she promised us.
Below is Dancing Pig #6 by Chris Landry. 

She threw us a list of names and I failed to remember this handsome fellow's.