2010 – Page 40 – Cerakko Farm

Barks & Belly Scratches

claudiaFebruary 5, 2010Animals, On the Farm

Mike got a visit from a neighbor this week while working on a fence. “Sissy” from across the way stopped by to say hello. Actually, we met Sissy last year on our second visit to the farm…right before bought it. We were checking out the upper pasture when this crazy dog started barking furiously from across the road, then ran toward us at breakneck speed. Well, I tucked tail and starting running, too–AWAY from the potentially mad, rabid dog. But Mike stood his ground (as Mike usually does) and when Sissy reached him and Adrian, she dropped and rolled onto her back for a belly scratch.

claudiaFebruary 3, 2010Miscellaneous

SOME PIG.

Daniel Handler (a.k.a. Lemony Snicket, author of the Series of Unfortunate Events books) said in an interview, “You never really love a book like you love a book when you’re 9 years old.” For me, that was Charlotte’s Web, a book that changed how I (and millions of others) saw the world. I think about this little tale a lot and all its life lessons. Author E.B. White described his book as “a story of friendship and salvation on a farm.” He also once told a young reader that, “In real life, a spider doesn’t spin words in her web…But real life is only one kind of life–there is also the life of the imagination. And although my stories are imaginary, I like to think that there is some truth in them, too–truth about the way people and animals feel and think and act.” Sure, in real life words to live by aren’t usually found in webs. But, still, most of us do try to be radiant and terrific, don’t you think? Personally, I’d consider it the highest compliment if a friend just called me “Some Pig.”

happy new year!

mellow monday

claudiaFebruary 2, 2010Miscellaneous

happy new year!

mellow monday

Drive

claudiaFebruary 2, 2010Inspiration, Life-Work

In 1997, a dear friend, Jean Frankenberger Nottingham, took me to lunch and handed me a new magazine called Fast Company. On the magazine’s cover in bold type were three words: FREE AGENT NATION. “I think you should start your own business,” she said. “You’re ready.” Little did Jean know how those three words and that lunch changed my life. I had been dreaming of starting my own PR firm for several years but was too fearful to leap blindly off the cliff. In his article, “Free Agent Nation,” author Dan Pink highlighted the growing number of “free agents” or independent workers who left big corporate America behind to pursue their own visions of what a real work-life balance ought to be. “Jump and the net will appear,” he wrote. I cut that statement out of the magazine, taped it to my bedroom mirror, and for three months stared at it every day. Soon after, I did jump. It’s now been 12 years and that ole net, well, has always been there. Ironically, a couple of years later, Dan Pink asked me to particiate in an entrepreneur time-tracking experiment for his book of the same title. Free Agent Nation (the book) came out in 2001. http://tiny.cc/euW2z

This week Mr. Pink’s newest book hits the shelves…Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. You can read the Wall Street Journal review here: http://tiny.cc/zyks7 . Anyway, like many of you, Mike and I are still trying to figure it all out…how to live a purposeful life while facing the realities of raising kids, providing for a family, and pursuing work that matters. That’s part of the reason we took another leap and bought our farm. To have a place of peace and nature away from a big city where we could go to think and play and breathe more easily. And this little blog is my humble attempt to share part of that life with friends and family, and thus keep the conversations going about what truly motivates us and brings deeper meaning to our lives. Thanks, Dan, for helping me and many others get on the way to this journey. www.danpink.com/drive

Are you a two-sided southerner?

Adopted Alabamians

Your Happy Place

Busy-ness…

Riding My Bike

claudiaFebruary 1, 2010Inspiration, Stuff We Like

When I was little I had, like most kids, a bike I loved. Mine had a big banana seat covered in bright mod flowers, and a woven plastic basket up front with a fake flower. I put plenty of miles on that little bike–and got plenty of scuffed up knees wrecking it. The ’70s bike is long gone now, but Mike recently got me a spiffy new Diamondback so we can cycle the Chief Ladiga Trail together. Living in the city, we never ride. But that’s no excuse. Now, with 33 miles of bike trail near the farm and a connection to the Silver Comet, we’re going to get out there soon and start pedaling.