Introduction to the Barnyard
My purpose in moving to the country was to search for stillness. Not the stillness of ok-the-tv’s-turned-off-now-what‘, but the richness of a silence alive with possibilities. Silence is kinetic – moving, searching for thought. It is NOT a vacuum, it is filled with wisdom and learning. But sitting on my porch looking out at the woods, preparing to do some serious pondering I found I was awash in the concert of nature. Birds. Bugs. Leaves applauding the wind. And chickens. And goats.
Well, since they were so intent on their barnyard business I moved my old wooden bench outside to the yard and watched to see what was so important in their little barnyard world. To my surprise I found the chicken/duck/donkey/goat world to be very like my own. My little creatures were the same as me, worried about the same things I worry about. There was angst, hunger, passion, fear, joy, sadness, distress, curiosity and at times, arrogance. This was a whole new universe I was discovering. The barnyard was full of situations and moral dilemmas that were totally familiar to me.
I am a cartoonist, which means I am an artist with a short attention span, so the natural progression of things lead to my chronicling their lives for the world. For more barnyard wisdom click here. Be warned, you may find your reflection in my little cartoons – believe me, it’s not intentional, but surely inevitable.
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Lengthen Your Stride
Never stop learning or doing and don’t pass up an opportunity to acquire a new skill. There’s no such thing as superfluous knowledge. Just because you’ll probably never visit Bangladesh doesn’t mean you shouldn’t learn Bengali.
Karen’s new hobby was beginning to annoy some members of the flock.
