It's hard to believe that Olive and I have been together eight weeks. On one hand, it seems like she came to me only yesterday, on the other hand it seems like we have been through so much together it could not possibly have happened in only eight weeks. Of course, we have only just begun and we have (I hope) many years of being together and memorable experiences together ahead of us.
After my fiddle lesson yesterday I decided to head straight home to Olive. Although my sister spent part of the day with her, she had to drop Olive off at my place around 3:00 p.m. If I stopped to relax with coffee and a magazine as I often do and then simply go to my Tuesday supper group that would have left her alone for at least six hours. I figured that was too long. I got home, took Olive for her walk, brushed her, then headed up to Windsor. I got home around 9:30, and wouldn't you know it, it started to pour. I thought Olive wanted to get her last walk of the night even with heavy rain, so I put on a rain jacket and girded myself for a very wet walk. It seemed that Olive changed her mind when it started lightning and thundering. She rushed me through the walk and made a beeline to her bed upstairs. When the thunder subsided I showered and turned in myself. At that point Olive seemed to want to stay with me; after she had dried off she curled up on the bed near me and stayed there for the night. Scared of thunder? Nervous because I left her for so much of the day? I can only guess.
Today I thought to do something of an adventure with her. Since I had to come up with something we could both do, I thought we could check out a state forest, Natchaug forest, in Windham county in the rural eastern part of the state. Within the forest is a small park dedicated to Connecticut native GENERAL NATHANIEL LYON, a Civil War hero. After a bit of hiking and searching we found it. It's a rather odd memorial in that it consists of a stone chimney, all that remains of his homestead.
Olive was curious as to what this thing was. I suspect that this chimney was in the middle of the house against an exterior wall, one side in a kitchen, a second side in a living room, a third side in perhaps a dining room or bedroom, and the fourth side on the outside of the house. Note the box to the left of the fire area, which may have been an oven for baking. As such, this would have been the kitchen side.
I was saddened that the "monument" seemed rather neglected. The lawn around it looked as if it had not been mowed yet this year, there was no plaque identifying it as General Lyon's, and the chimney itself seemed to be deteriorating. Windham County was once bustling with textile mills, including one in nearby Phoenixville. During the late 1950s and 1960s much of that work went to anti-union Southern states, and from there to China and other third-world countries. Many of the small mill towns are now disappeared or are barely noticeable remnants of an earlier era. Willimantic, the largest town in the county and once the center of Connecticut's textile industry, is still a sizable town but quite depressed. Ditto for Putnam, perhaps the county's second largest town, not far from the Natchaug forest. There has been much talk about promoting tourism in the area; how can we promote tourism when we neglect our historic sites? Much of the state forest seemed neglected, the paved roads deteriorating, trails not maintained. In a depressed area hiring some teenagers as summer help to mow the lawn and maintain the trails could make a big difference. Hiring a stone mason to see what could be done to preserve the chimney and a paving company to repair the roads (or remove them if they are not needed) would provide work for a local business. Alas, Republican politicians continually scream about "austerity" while they cut taxes for the rich and large corporations. No country in the history of the world has ever "austeritied" their way to prosperity.
I had brought along a lunch which we ate at a dilapidated picnic table near a broken and rusted charcoal grill. I had a doggie snack for Olive while I ate a sandwich and apple with a Pepsi. As we finished up, a group of people came by. They bypassed the dilapidated picnic tables and sat on a fence around the chimney while eating their lunch. I didn't really have any contact with them, just loaded my things back into my car and left them to enjoy the monument.
On the way home we passed an ice cream stand. I was tempted to stop, but decided that the Pepsi was enough sugar for the day.
I had stopped at an outdoor equipment store yesterday and picked up a canvas water dish for Olive. I figured I could keep it in my pack and pour some water into it for Olive to drink. I tried that, but Olive would not drink. I am guessing that she didn't understand that it was a water dish for her. I will try to use it at home and see if she will use it. Perhaps she will get the idea in time for our next adventure.
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