Adventures at Rasa Ranch #139

[Guest guest]

11/22/03

 

Jim and I were outside stacking some firewood this evening with Zack

playing beside us when we heard Bodhi's excited barking in the trees

turn into squeals. We dropped what we were doing immediately and as

I stayed behind with Zacky, Jim ran down to the edge of the property.

"It's okay," he yelled, "could you get me some scissors?" Apparently

Bo had gotten himself caught on the barbed wire fence and when Jim

came out of the woods, scissors in one hand and Bodhi in the other,

Bo looked all a mess. His face was black with dirt and he had leaves

and burrs all over him.

 

While we were outside, the scissors had accidentally dropped into the

crack between the floor of our porch and a large planter box, which

was full of rocks and soil. The crack was too small for my arm and

the reach was too far for Ananda's. So Jim devised a plan using a

long pole with a hook on the end and by the time he and I were all

set to put it to use, the scissors were nowhere to be found.

 

Unbeknownst to us, Ananda had gone underneath the far end of the long

porch and crawled the whole length of it in the darkness and

dampness, with the cold dirt, prickers, vines and goodness knows what

else, in order to retrieve our scissors for us. Boy, was she shining

when she emerged, only slightly worse for wear, with those scissors

in her hand! She was beaming. "Oh Ananda!" I called out, "You

saved the day!" I picked her up, swinging her around and gave her

lots of kisses. "You're our hero, sweetheart!" Smiling and feeling

great, we walked into the warm house hand-in-hand and she spent the

next twenty minutes helping me spot and pick ticks off of Bo and cut

all the burrs out of his fur. By the time we were through with him,

he looked like a cotton dog that had gotten trapped in a closet with

a bunch of moths!

 

Later that night, just as she was getting ready for bed, she said to

me, "I didn't want to go under the house today. I only did it for

you." Unfortunately, I had been irritated and distracted previous to

that moment, but darn if her words didn't stop me cold and pierce the

very center of my heart. Tears rise to my eyes as I write this:

God, how I love that child!