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Loki has always been a good watch dog. Unlike Tova, who we acquired in Florida, Loki is generally a quiet dog. Tova was a very noisy dog. She seemed to enjoy barking just to hear herself bark. She would bark if people came to the door but since she barked so much it was not always a good warning for us. When Loki barks we usually know the reason. Both were/are good dogs but Loki is head and shoulders better as a guard dog.
We know if the mail carrier pulls into the driveway or if UPS arrives. We also know when other dogs are running up and down the road, chasing cars or returning from having just chased cars. She has different barks for different alerts.
Other dogs trigger single barks followed by guttural muttering sounds. She’ll sound off and then run from one window or door to another looking for the best vantage point. She will sit in the front room with her head on the window sill watching the road and our land for interlopers. She is highly territorial and does not consider most dogs welcome. However the Newfoundland Retriever that lives up the valley seems to bring out the groupie in her. Like all Newfies, this is a beautiful dog that moves with purposes and grace. It seems to be very shy or perhaps frightened of people. On the single occasion when we met its owner it took the dog nearly half an hour to begin to make friends with Gloria and me. Loki would most likely follow this dog anywhere. It is the biggest dog in the valley as far as we know.
Cars or trucks in the drive cause a series of sharp barks and rapid motion to the front door, followed by circling and barking. We know to check the door. Once we reach the door she stops circling and the barking quiets. We can tell her to stay while we open the door to the deck and deal with whomever has climbed the stairs.
Small fuzzy creatures such as rabbits and squirrels elicit an explosive growling bark and a jump at the window or door behind which is the intended target. If she encounters such animals outdoors she chases them. She seems to stop at pre-determined boundaries, ones she has set. To date she hasn’t been rapid enough to catch either a squirrel or rabbit. We’d prefer she not. The larger scavenging animals, raccoons and opossums are here and often visit Gloria’s carefully tended bird feeders. Loki could be hurt by either one of those. Raccoons care rabies and several infected animals have been reported this year. We make sure all her shots are current. She received a three year rabies immunization last year in November, ’08. We purchased her other vaccinations last week at Tractor Supply in Greeneville and I did the injection to keep her immunities current.
Tonight I’m fixing ginger-pepper seared cube steaks for dinner. I’ll rub them with grated fresh ginger root and freshly ground pepper then sear them for about 1 minute on each side in a cast iron skillet. We’ll flesh out dinner by warming up the left over latkes from the first night of Hanukah. Tonight is the third night. Gloria’s chanted the routine blessing for lighting Hanukah candles as well as the special blessings for nights 2 & 3. The flame gives off a warm glow that is amplified and reflected by the wooden walls of the office and the sundown color of the living room walls. It’s pleasant to look at and the festive nature of the holiday is fun. But the origins of Hanukah are found in cultural and physical warfare. Judaism could well have vanished but for the Maccabean uprising. Assimilation is all too often easier than any alternate path.
There is a lot of commentary about just wars and justifiable wars today. When caught in the middle of them it can be damnably hard to figure out which war is just, which is justifiable. Sometimes the answer won’t be apparent until long after the last combatants are dust. Others are easy to classify and can be immediately catalogued. The more difficult wars to classify are often cast as “holy wars.” The Crusades were not at all holy but were fought over trade routes, merchant profits, and such cultural factors as the way property was inherited among ruling families in Europe. 2nd and later sons who had no hope of inheriting a title or lands in Europe were encouraged to free the “Holy Land” from Moslems and in passing, carve out as much territory as they could hold and defend. WWII was not a holy war but it saved a bit of European Jewry from wholesale extermination at the hands of anti-Semitism that riddled much of Europe. The recreation of Israel opened another so-called “holy war” as millions of Arabs declared war on the new state of Israel. In truth, economics and cultural/social factors are as much at fault in the Mid-East wars today as any religious cause. However, the fanatics in three religions are doing all that they can to label the Israeli-Arab conflict and the Afghanistan/Pakistan wars as the righteous uprising of Moslems against infidels. Call it that or not, there is an ongoing cultural war between the West, believing that religion should not be involved in governing; and the Moslem world, willing to accept religious control of legal, governmental, and cultural matters. Arab states, in particular have used Israel and the U.S. as scapegoats to distract their citizens from their own lack of personal rights and freedoms and the Arab world’s failure to reform religious and social/cultural matters. Until such reformation takes place we will continue to be at risk of attack by Islamic fundamentalists.
With that in mind, we’ll light the third candle tonight.
LIGHT ONE CANDLE
Peter Yarrow- ©1983 Silver Dawn Music ASCAP
Light one candle for the Maccabee children
With thanks that their light didn't die
Light one candle for the pain they endured
When their right to exist was denied
Light one candle for the terrible sacrifice
Justice and freedom demand
But light one candle for the wisdom to know
When the peacemaker's time is at hand
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