James Brubaker

The Neanderthal may not have had the ability for complex speech like the Cro Magon (The ancestors of Homo sapiens) – us folks. So, how did they communicate? Maybe the answer is more like dogs and horses – through extensive use of their eyes.

Therefore, we photographers and artists are sort of Neanderthal – we communicate with images!!! Quiet – not like a Rock Band!

May I come in?

When I trained Dyna Mite the first thing I taught her was “Watch Me.”  When we did agility competition – each course is unique and you must communicate with your dog-partner to tell them which obstacle  to do next. I could run a new course with Dyna without saying a word – we communicated through my body language – she watched me. 10 years later she still watched people a lot!

Watching and body language

Watching – for food most likely but still communication with body language

I like this photo – voiceless communication!

Saying, I love you without a word spoken!

We come before God this day in sadness. Dyna, (Conquest Dyna Mite) our beloved Cardigan Corgi, who brought us so much joy in life, has now died. Dyna’s happy times in our family’s embrace have come to an end. We miss Dyna and will miss her for a long time. She brought joy to our family for nearly 17 years –

1. She Joined us on our Texas ranch right after the new year 2000. On the ranch she partnered with deer, herded cow’s, helped as my teacher’s assistant in dog obedience class. – and of course an ever present partner to me as I tended cows, mended fence, or sat in my office working late at night.
   

   On the Texas ranch, Dyna partnered with all animals – They were her friends. She played with them, she lay down beside them, they were friends.  I believe the deer chose to live around our house because their friend Dyna lived there.  That is the kind of dog Dyna was!!!

2. In Florida she brought the crowd to laughter as she took a bow of apology after missing the entrance to a tunnel in dog agility competition. “Oh, no Dyna” – the crowd shouted.
3. In Texas and Florida, she was my teacher assistant in dog agility class. – she was competitive winner in both obedience and agility – winning top levels in each.
   

   Any deeper snow and she had trouble – short legs

4. On Block Isand, Rhode Island she was ex-rayed at the clinic and found to be with child(s), and delivered four beautiful puppies in the back of a station wagon while returning to her Texas ranch home.
5. In New Jersey, she became a service dog for two handlers (Heather and Me).
   

   A friend to all humans and animals

6. In new Jersey she became a member of my daughter Heather’s family. A family with two growing children, two other dogs, one cat, gerbils, birds, and animals I am not aware of – and she became a legend at the Vet office that helped her live such a full life, she was a legend at the St Hubbert’s Animal welfare Center where she got her Service Animal degree. She was a legend at the family dinner table, at wiener roasts, at school functions, at the lake house – You know – she was a legend everywhere the family went – Dyna was famous – why?   Because of the loving life my daughter’s family gave Dyna – She was one of the family to each of them – and of course, because Dyna had a special personality to start with and a special DNA makeup like no other dog!
   

   At nearly 16 years old – still bright eyes that loved all of life around her

7. We miss you Dyna!.

Sixty Five years ago, when I was 15, I lived a farm routine.  Now my friend has drawn me back into the idea of the farm routine. It goes sort of like this:

6:00am get out of bed check the weather, read the headlines, have a cup of coffee.

7:00am check the health of each animal, clean out the barn of all of last night animal manure – throw it onto the manure pile – get the hay needed from the the hay pile

8:00 am milk the cows (at 15 years of age) –  curry, massage, and train the horses (at 80 years of age).

Training Perla to let me squirm around on her bare back doing things like taking photos of my shadow while trotting down the lane!!!

9:30am feed the animals hay or take them out to pasture to feed on grass.

10:00am into house to wash hands, and have breakfast

10:30am do the chores of the season. (At 15 go to church on Sunday)  Weekdays, at age 15 make hay, cut wheat, maintain farm equipment, fences, buildings, thrash grain, etc. At age 80, maintain lawn equipment, maintain fence (to keep deer out of garden), maintain computer software, up-date web site for Photo Club and myself, do banking/finances on the computer………mow grass, wash cars, weed gardens, clear trash from wooded area, wash windows, work on boat dock, …..

1:00pm – At 15 – have dinner, at 80 – have lunch

4:00pm check the weather, have a snack

5:00pm check the health of each animal, clean out the barn and pasture of todays animal manure, throw it onto the manure pile – get the hay needed from the the hay pile

6:00 pm milk the cows (at 15 years of age) –  curry, massage, and train the horses (at 80 years of age).

7:00pm feed the animals hay or take them out to pasture to feed on grass.

7:30pm into house to wash hands, and have supper(at 15) – have dinner(at 80)

8:30pm Read and Sleep (no TV at age 15 – no TV at age 80)

We three mature folks doing three different training exercises – learning to lead, learning to drive, and learning to let me squirm around – all the while there are nice things to munch on along side the road, deer jump across the lane, – maybe even a coyote, bear, squirrel , grouse, etc – – these are three great horses and 2 great friends to be with.

Training to even deal with the modern steel horse that we must share the road with.

In Florida I live in a community called “The Great Outdoors” – In Michigan I live in an Island off the Upper Penisaula – It is the great outdoors and except while doing these web sites I live outdoors there.

Snakes always fascinate me – I seem to encounter them more often the most people -maybe ’cause I am always looking for them.

This is Butlers Garter snake – I laid in the grass with my camera – He/she came right up and looked in the lens – You can see what he thought of his own reflected image in the lens!!!

Despite being legless, snakes inhabit most environments on earth. Deserts, oceans, forests, grasslands, lakes, rivers, marshes, mountains, farms, and cities – all are homes to some of the 2400 known species of snakes. Only 18 species are found in Michigan. I think the UP only has 4 species

The other one I found while riding my bike at 10:00pm – Yes, it is still light at 10:00 up here:

Looks a little like a Florida Pygmy Rattler – but no snake with poison up here – He/she is n Eastern Water Snake.

I have been using all my time to build the web site for the TGO Photo Club in Titusville Florida. That site is http://photohappenings.com Now I hope to bring, this, my own site active again.

I will add photos here and write notes about anything that crosses my mind that day –  Think I will select one photograph that I take each day, post it here, – then write a note to explain why that scene  prompted me to snap the shot. – We will see!

Todays note: I love our Drummond home – each view is great. Gloria took this particular photo – This lilac is what we see out our front window – to our west-  each day from early June to early July.  I feed it, weed under it, spray it with deer-off (terrible smelling stuff- I think it is fermented wolf pee),  deadhead it, trim it, wrap it in burlap in winter to protect from -40 degree wind, I talk to it – God produces this beauty for us –  and finely I digitally oil painted it – Hope you enjoy it as much a I do!!!