THE ADVENTURE OF DHARMA DOXIE A CHILDREN'S STORY
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Skijoring Fun!

1/26/2019

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A great picture of Gonzo and Mama getting ready to fly over the hills and over the dales on a snow driven winter's day.

 Hello
FRIEND'S OF DHARMA!!

Sorry we have been missing lately,
but my Mama has been sick.
Much better now.

Skijoring is the Norwegian sport of
using cross country skis while being pulled
BY A HORSE OR A DOG!!

CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?
I mean that is truly
a dog's spirit in action
when they get to run.
And in the snow no less.


Anyway here is a Mama and Papa story that you might like.
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Skjoring with a dog (Picture from internet).
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Skjoring with a horse (picture from internet).

When Mama's old Papa Grumpy was  was in a hospital he made a new friend.
Anyone who knew Grumpy
knew that he made friends

EVERYWHERE HE WENT.

AND I MEAN EVERYWHERE.

FOR GRUMPY
A FRIEND WAS JUST SOMEONE
WHO HE HAD NOT MET YET.


And Grumpy
LOVED TO SOCIALIZE.

So of course he started chatting with his room mate
who was Budd Zahn.

Now Budd lived in Mama and Papa's town.
And guess what?

Old Budd had a Christmas Tree Farm
where you could cut your tree,
and your kiddie could get a free dog sled ride
from any of his three huskies,
FROSTY, LOKI AND GONZO.

In the summer you could also go and pick blueberries.
Mrs. Zahn did some pretty cool crafts that she sold in her shop
along with her blueberry jam.

One day while visiting her old Papa,
Mama met Mr. Zahn.


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Mama had lived in Germany once
and she and Papa had traveled many times to Germany. They loved going there.

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To the left here is the sign for Zahn's Alpine Guesthouse that greeted everyone who came north or south to Mont Vernon on route thirteen for years. After Budd died Mrs. Zahn remained at the farm for many years until finally sold the property.

Above is the inside of the guesthouse which had this beautiful ceramic heater in the kitchen area. It was a lovely building Mama said.

So my Mama and Papa began going to Zahn's farm.
For many years they cut down Christmas tree and hauled it home to give it a make over.
They even got to watch the HUSKY BOYS give free
SLED DOG RIDES
to the children in families who came to
CUT THEIR OWN.
Mama would return to the farm in the summer and pick blueberries and can them for the winter.
She would always stop to visit the three HUSKY BOYS who were in the kennel in the barn.
It was such a treat to visit with the Zahns
EVERY SINGLE TIME!

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Loki the woolly bear
at his winter home in Maine.

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So one sad day Mama came by  and found that Old Budd Zahn had died.
What was also sad was that the oldest sled dog Frosty had died shortly after.
He was 15 and clearly knew
HIS BEST BUD
was gone and it was time to
GET OUTTA DODGE!!

Mrs. Zahn told Mama that Loki and Gonzo,
the remaining two sled dogs were with her daughter Melody
and that she was not sure but that they might need a home.


So Mama called Melody who shared that indeed they did
need new homes.
Both dogs needed more care than what was realized initially.
That is how
my Mama and my Papa adopted two sled dogs.


So Mama the dog lover that she was,
and Papa her MAIN MAN,
brought these two guys home.


Loki was young and only around six. He was a big woolly bear of a husky.
It took about two weeks before Mama realized he needed a real, ONE ON ONE HOME.

So after a lot of searching, Loki went to his FOREVER HOME. You can see him in the snow peeking out.
DON'T YOU JUST LOVE IT,
CHICKA BOOM, CHICKA BOOM?
H
e clearly is happy in the pictures above. 

Gonzo, named after a MUPPET,
was nine when he came to live with us and spent those remaining three years
with us we think,
VERY HAPPY INDEED!!

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Gonzo is in sled dog heaven here.

And so for our story.
Mama saw something on television on skjoring.
She saw the
BIG WIG SKIERS
WITH ALL THE FANCY EQUIPMENT AND THOUGHT

"HOW HARD CAN IT BE?"

INDEED.


So first she wrapped a dog leash around her waist,
with her on cross country skis,
then she put on a harness lead attached to the dog leash
at one end and the harness on Gonzo on the other end.

Now it seems kinda crazy but
Mama thought Gonzo might make it all work.

WHAT THE HEY!!

Now Melody had shown Mama how the minute you put the harness on a sled dog,
the head went down, and that dog was ready to go.
Both Loki and Gonzo came with sled dog harnesses.
Melody showed how it was much easier to catch them
by the harness should they

EVER GET LOOSE.

BECAUSE, IF THEY DID, THEIR HEADS WOULD GO DOWN
AND THEY WOULD JUST RUN.


So Mama first got set up on the town farm with a little  down hill slope
which took Gonzo
all of 12 seconds to take her through a

CRASH AND BURN SCENARIO.

YIKES.


He might have been old,
but Gonzo was a rocket.

Then they found a rambling country road with a slight incline,
up under snow frosted trees,
two inch powder on the dirt road,
no traffic
that ended at Mama's house.

Papa got Mama set up with Gonzo in front
and Mama on her skis and dog leash get up.

The second,

and I mean the second Papa let go of Gonzo's harness

the head went down and off they went.

They were freaking flying.

Mama never knew she could ski so fast.

GONZO WAS IN PUPPY DOG HEAVEN.

Gonzo knew exactly what to do and how to do it.
Wow.
ALL THE WAY UP THAT
RAMBLING COUNTRY ROAD,
TO MAMA AND PAPA'S HOUSE.

It was so much fun. Both Mama and Gonzo
went cross country skiing together many times
before he died.

Gonzo lived with us for three years until he
was over twelve.

Thank you for listening to me tell the story!

Dharma Hugs
Dharma Dharma

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Kafka, Chapek, and Me!

1/16/2019

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 Hello Friend's of Dharma!

This past week I went on a
ROAD TRIP!

WHAT ABSOLUTE FUN THIS WAS!!

I have met quite a few
FANS OVER THE PAST 8 MONTHS!
And even if I meet other dogs.
I don't really get to do
REAL DOGGIE THINGS.
LIKE
BARK, AND SNIFF, AND BARK,
AND SNIFF.
YOU KNOW, LIKE TO MY HEARTS DELIGHT.


Here is Chapek. He is a mixed Chiwa.
We are not sure of what kind.


Another thing dogs

JUST LOVE TO DO
IS SNIFF EVERYTHING!!
AND I MEAN EVERYTHING.


Much to the chagrin of many owners
ACROSS THE WHOLE OF THE WORLD.
Ha ha, you know who you are.

And so when I got to meet two dogs,

LOW TO THE GROUND LIKE ME,

SNIFFERS OF THE BEST KIND,

SQUIRMY,

HAPPY,

WELL I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I WAS IN

PUPPY DOG HEAVEN!


Did you know that the olfactory canal of dogs
has 200 plus million receptors?

THAT IS A LOT OF SMELLING POTENTIAL.

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Here is Kafka. He is a
Chihuahua
and every
time Mama turned the lens onto him, he would run over to Liz who was making deviled eggs at the counter and sit next to her. It was funny.


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Here is Chapek who after about a half of an hour of smiling, and squirming and barking and sniffing, well he finally JUST NEEDED SOME SPACE!
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Anyway we went to a new home and I met
FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME
Auntie Liz,
cousin Chapek and cousin Kafka.

Now once auntie Liz's big dogs
all went to
DOGGIE HEAVEN
living without a dog,
well
IS HARD.


LIKE I ALWAYS SAY,
WHEN IS THAT EVER RIGHT?


And so
OFF SHE WENT
OVER THE MOUNTAIN
AND THROUGH THE VALLEY
AND
INTO THE LOCAL SHELTER.


There they were
in a crate
together
squirrley
wiggly,
THOSE HAPPY SMILING FACES
SAYING

TAKE ME! TAKE ME!


Of course,

IT'S LIKE A GREAT POTATO CHIP
YOU JUST CAN'T HAVE ONE!!


And happy she was
that both of them came home
with her on that day.


Auntie Liz knows all about dogs and she told Mama right away
that she did not have to worry about the barking, or any thing else,
like little doggie accidents,
sh sh sh
NOT THAT WE EVER WOULD,
hush hush.
She said

THAT IS WAS JUST NORMAL DOGGIE BEHAVIOR AND THAT IT WAS JUST OK.

Mama was a little nervous for me because
when I meet new dogs
I always
get nervous,
and then I bay like a basset hound,
HAROOO!!!.

And so Mama puts me on the floor and these two guys,
there was so much

BARKING

AND SNIFFING

AND BARKING

AND SNIFFING,

that for a brief moment I was nervous,
but after we

GOT IT ALL DONE,

we were all good.

And I didn't even bay once.



Picture
Picture
Just having fun with
THE BOYS.

A really good picture of Mama and Kafka
don't ya think?
THANK YOU PAPA FOR ALL YOUR GREAT PICTURES TODAY!

 Now Kafka is a chihuahua, and he was named
after a writer from Prague
which is in Europe.

MY GOODNESS!!

And Chapek was named after a
Czech writer, also from Europe.

I think their Mama Liz likes writers
or something.

Anyway we hung out and had a
VERY GOOD TIME!

Auntie Liz,
WHAT A GOOD SPORT,
said sure you can take pictures
and so
I hope you enjoyed my story and pictures.

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ALL OF US TOGETHER!
THANK YOU LIZ FOR HAVING US!
Dharma Hugs!
Dharma Dharma
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Ponies for you and for Me!

1/7/2019

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Hello Friend's of Dharma!
Here is Bumble Bee taking riding lessons on her
Chintogeau pony.

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Here is a Mama story.

When Mama was small
she lived in the country.


Her neighbor who
lived up this old country road with
big maple trees and rambling stone walls,
had a
Welsh pony.
Mama was in love,
                                             AT FIRST SIGHT!

This pony would graze out in the field, with the cows.
It was very funny to see him out there.
At one time she thought to jump up on his back ride off into the sunset.
      JUST  
like
the
Lone Ranger!


And so on one bright sunny summer day
she jumped up onto his back
and off he galloped
with her hanging onto his mane.
And then off he bucked her
right
onto
the ground.

Ouch!

This however did not dissuade her.


The pony's owner often called him a
WILD CHILD
because he would come racing down
the rock cliff embankment on his property,
at full tilt.


Since that time
my Mama
has
loved ponies.


She dreamed about them.

She read every single book she could find about ponies, and of course horses.
Her favorite read as a 11 year old was "The Ginger Horse".
And of course
She also loved "Misty of Chincoteague".
One year she and Papa and auntie Heather
even got to see
the
CHINCOTEAGUE PONY ROUND UP
down in Virginia.





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Mama's very first horse was
Brandy.
An
ABSOLUTE
WILD CHILD
!
This appaloosa baby
LOVED TO
BUCK AND RUN.

One lovely afternoon,
after a reasonable walk through
an autumn forest, she decided,
HAH, I HAVE HAD ENOUGH!
And off she went,
BUCKING AUNTIE KELLY OFF HER BACK,
NEIGHING HA, HA, HA,

to
Mama and Auntie Kelly
who THEN chased her
through the woods and out the valley and down the road to
Grandmother's house, oh sorry, I meant home.




And then there was Socks.
Socks was a paint cob pony.
She was low to the ground
so she was so smooth getting up onto her.
SHE WAS A WILD CHILD TOO!
Socks did not like to get her feet in water,
so
if you
just weren't paying attention
and walked into a stream while you were riding her,
she would gallop
all the way out,
with you bouncing all the way out.

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Bumble Bee and Socks
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Socks decided after a ride that she was tired and wanted a good roll, while Bumble Bee was still on her back.
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Bubbie and Socks.
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 Finally
we have
Bilbo.
Now Bilbo is a miniature horse.
Mama fell in love with him
because
he had that roly poly shape
that a Shetland pony would have.
Bilbo is
WAY TOO SMALL
for any of us to ride,
BUT WE LOVE HIM ANYWAY.
Here he is
doing
WHAT HE LOVES BEST.
You can see him here,
one MORNING IN THE GARDEN
ENJOYING  THE SUMMER FEAST.

Hope you like the pictures
and our stroll
down memory lane.



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Dharma Hugs
Dharma Dharma


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Flat Stanley and Me.

1/2/2019

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Hello
   to  the
 Friend's of  Dharma!!

Have you every heard of
 Flat Stanley?
Mama and I did some research
BECAUSE
 a
Flat Stanley
was coming
to see little ole me.


 I had no clue about
WHO OR WHAT
Stanley Lambchop,
AKA FLAT STANLEY
WAS.

WE LEARNED
ALL ABOUT HIM, via GOOGLE.
CHECK HIM OUT!!


Flat Stanley, 
is a paper doll cut out of a book character.
He is mailed in an envelope to people
who then take him on adventures.
This "little man" was mailed to Meg Baker
who lives here in Mont Vernon.
Meg is grandmother to Ryan,
who is in second grade at the
Florence Sawyer School in Bolton, Massachusetts.
Ryan mailed the cut out to his grandmother
hoping that she would take him on adventures and then
send back those stories.

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Here I am with Meg and Mama ... I'm like, what, what ,
where is Flat Stanley, I mean,  I don't see anyone here! Do you see anyone? I mean, I AM LOOKING AT THE DOOR!

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Here is Flat Stanley getting ready to leave for ANOTHER ADVENTURE!! I am so jealous. HAVE FUN FLAT STANLEY!

I LOVE THIS IDEA!!

When Ryan's grandmother Meg got her
Flat Stanley in the mail,
she decided to bring him on
ADVENTURES ALL OVER OUR LITTLE TOWN.
She had pictures taken with "the man" and then
WROTE DOWN THOSE STORIES.

Once she
AND THE FLAT MAN
are done traveling,
she will
put Flat Stanley back in the envelope
and together with the pictures and stories she has written down,
mail the whole thing
BACK TO RYAN
and his teacher Patrice Heffernan.

HOW COOL IS THAT!?

Papa and Mama and I
had already met Meg a couple of times
during our own
DHARMA ADVENTURES!
So when she called and said,
hey "WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT"
Mama was like, "WHY NOT".
Meg thought it would be great to add to the other stories
a DHARMA DOXIE story.

I LIKED FLAT STANLEY A LOT.
HE WAS A LOT LIKE ME.
HE DEFINITELY LIKED ADVENTURE.


And so,
Thank you Meg for coming for a visit
and good luck
with the rest of your
Flat Stanley Adventures.

We enjoyed the visit!

And also
A GREAT BIG THANK YOU TO
TEACHER PATRICE HEFFERNAN,
for making it so that
I could become part of
ONE OF STANLEY'S
ADVENTURES.



Happy New Year to Everybody.
Dharma Hugs!
Dharma Dharma

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    Author

    Chell Sommese is a retired teacher.
    The Adventure
    of Dharma Doxie

    is her first book.

    Picture
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