Tag Archives: kids

May 28 2024

Sand Dune Pony— a retro review

Sand Dune Pony, by Troy Nesbit was one of my “annual reads” when I was a kid. The reader must suspend disbelief rather a lot, but I re-read it recently, and I still enjoyed it. Yes, there was a bit of nostalgia for me, but the story is fun.

When I perused a few reviews on Goodreads, I saw that some folks had the same affection for this little yarn that I have, while others took a modern view and were either skeptical or horrified. The plot, which is nothing like the AI garbage on big A’s site, is simple: A youngster named Pete has come to spend the summer at his uncle’s large ranch in Colorado. Pete had been looking forward to having his own horse for the summer, along with the promise of learning how to be a real cowpoke. However, his Uncle Lem and Aunt Clara lost their barn to a fire, so Lem has had to sell off almost all of his horses to cover the cost of replacing it. Pete is stuck doing chores and watching one of Lem’s hands try to break a stubborn horse, because there is no horse available for him to ride.

Kids have shorter attention spans, so Nesbit’s narrative moves swiftly. A new character, Hatsy, enters the picture in the second chapter, and the older gentleman takes an interest in Pete and his situation. Hatsy offers to take Pete along on a fishing trip, which Lem and Clara agree to, but the goal is not just catching fish. No, Hatsy has in mind catching a horse for Pete. No spoilers, but there’s a mystery interwoven with the finding a horse for Pete plot, and there is enough suspense to keep the pages turning.

Being somewhat chronologically gifted myself, I know that kids were not nearly as sheltered in the era of this tale as kids are today. Probably not many parents would allow an underage child do most of the things that happen in this book in the time it was written, and certainly not modern parents. No, today, Pete would have to play video games on an iPad and wait for Uber eats to deliver, instead of camping beside an old-fashioned covered wagon, eating canned corned beef warmed over a fire, while planning to capture a wild horse with a septagenarian mentor. Fortunately for the reader (and Pete) things were different in back then, and there are many details about the West, horses, and people sprinkled into the story. In short, this is an adventure, and safety isn’t much of a consideration.

Parents or grandparents could read this one aloud to younger kids, or just hand it to a third (or later) grade student. There’s a Kindle version available on big A’s website, for that kid who has a tablet instead of a horse. My daughter bought me a copy off of eBay, as a gift, when we were talking about books that we had enjoyed as children.

Honestly, I was amazed that the one I got looked so good, considering the 1952 copyright. Whitman Publishing books were inexpensive items for kids, so the quality of the binding and pages lacks that heirloom feel! While the cover looks good, the pages are darkened with age and crumble on the edges if the reader isn’t careful. This is an old book! There are several cover art versions, but I chose to display the cover on the book I lost decades ago, rather than the one I received.

Feb 8 2020

Snow in the South

In celebration of a rare snowfall in Georgia, here’s a picture and a poem:

IMG_1559

The Snow Storm

Ralph Waldo Emerson – 1803-1882

Announced by all the trumpets of the sky,
Arrives the snow, and, driving o’er the fields,
Seems nowhere to alight: the whited air
Hides hills and woods, the river, and the heaven,
And veils the farmhouse at the garden’s end.
The sled and traveler stopped, the courier’s feet
Delayed, all friends shut out, the housemates sit
Around the radiant fireplace, enclosed
In a tumultuous privacy of storm.

Come see the north wind’s masonry.
Out of an unseen quarry evermore
Furnished with tile, the fierce artificer
Curves his white bastions with projected roof
Round every windward stake, or tree, or door.
Speeding, the myriad-handed, his wild work
So fanciful, so savage, nought cares he
For number or proportion. Mockingly,
On coop or kennel he hangs Parian wreaths;
A swan-like form invests the hidden thorn;
Fills up the farmer’s lane from wall to wall,
Maugre the farmer’s sighs; and, at the gate,
A tapering turret overtops the work.
And when his hours are numbered, and the world
Is all his own, retiring, as he were not,
Leaves, when the sun appears, astonished Art
To mimic in slow structures, stone by stone,
Built in an age, the mad wind’s night-work,
The frolic architecture of the snow.

Apr 22 2019

Earth Day

planetI have mixed emotions about this day, but I do like some of the promotions associated with it. There is a nifty kids’ consignment store over in Buford that is having a big sale today, urging their customers to buy used. For kids, that’s generally a win-win, as children’s clothing is often not worn out before it is out-grown, and as kids are hard on their clothes, cheaper options are better for play clothes. I noticed some emails from an online clothing vendor, which is offering sale prices and promotional buttons which say “used.” I’m not going so far as to wear one of those, regardless of how good buying and wearing pre-owned items is for the planet.

One of my friends works with elderly folk, doing both house-keeping and care-giving, and she recently brought me some bags of fairly nice clothing from a client who is downsizing. I’ve been going through those, listing some items on eBay, and setting aside some for charity. She was told to “get rid of them” by the client, so my friend had the choice of trash or wholesale charity, but she is a thrifty sort, as I am, so she went through them first. Some readers are going to say, “Yuck, I can’t imagine being that poor.” But, the truth is that neither of us is especially impoverished, but we do realize that the planet is better off when things are re-purposed or re-used.

In my kitchen, I have a compost bin, and I take it out regularly, adding to my compost pile in the back of my property. When I set out plants, I use the composted material for fertilizer, instead of using chemicals that aren’t good for me or the planet. When I’m away from home, I generally take a water bottle, rather than buying those. I use rags and towels when cleaning, rather than always using paper towels (which I can’t get hubby to do.) And, I’ve learned that Dawn+vinegar+water trumps most pricey cleaning products.

As a reader, I enjoy new and old books and magazines. These days, most of the content I read is in digital form, which sometimes saves significant amounts of cash, but it also prevents the waste associated with old or remaindered books. If you haven’t tried eBooks, this is a great time to take the plunge, as there is plenty of free and inexpensive content. Try the “Nook” app from Barnes and Noble, as it works quite well.

Earth Day is a chance to think or re-think consumption.