Sandbox Studios: 52@40: Week14: Animal Space

January 14, 2001 8:00pm Como Zoo, Timberwolf Woods Minnesota Timberwolf It's a warm night and the snow is wet, melting snow dripping from the barren tree branches above. I'm in the woods on the west side of the wolf area down on all fours. There is no sign of the wolves in woods on the other side of the chain link fence although I know from past experience that they are there and they are watching me.	After crawling around for a while I become acutely aware of the smell of the air and how vulnerable I feel, particularly my back. Sound becomes my primary focus, what first seemed quiet now seem loud. As I glance back through the fence I begin to see the large shadowy shape of a wolf curiously approaching me. I eyes meet and she stops and stares back at me, completely still, for at least five minutes. I decide to move and so does she, watching my every move. Eventually she decides to stretch and so do I. She an I then sit in typical dog fashion and stare at each other for the remainder of the hour. When I eventually get up to leave she whines repeatedly. Note: To read more about the Minnesota Timberwolf visit the International Wolf Center site at http://www.wolf.org/
January 15, 2001 2:30pm Tammy and Jay Perlman's House Scully the Super Dog Scully and I hang out for an hour and a half. She loved to have someone to play with on her level and tormented me with the sock she loves to chew on. Luckily she never gave it up for me to chew on. After things settled down, we both went to sit on the furniture on the front porch and watch for welcome and unwanted guests out the front window. This was almost too relaxing so Jay suggested we get some exercise at the Airport dog park. The ride in Jay's van was exciting and Scully easily won the contest for who can get their nose closest to the windshield. Eventually we arrived at the dog park and life became a circus. Scully was off and running 20 mph and all I could do was watch with envy. She quickly introduced herself to dozens of strange dogs and showed most of them who was boss dog. Even the Mastiff bowed down to her. I would have never guessed. Soon it was time to head home where Scully and I both had some water, she laid down for a nap and I bid her farewell til another day. She's a great host.
January 16, 2001 8:45pm Lake of the Isle's Park Stand of Oaks It's a very cold night and I've picked an isolated hillside to plant myself. I close my eyes, extend my arms and begin to truly feel the living world that supports me. Once again, sound slowly becomes my greatest sense. The surrounding world is swirling in a sound collage that rivals the greatest of compositions and at times makes me dizzy. Wind, planes, cars, dogs, trains, peoples voices and the mysterious roar of a cold Minnesota night. I lose all track of time until I am snapped from my trance by a quickly approaching dog. It is distracted at the last minute by its owners call and I remain a tree undisturbed. As my branches wither, regretting my unfaithful commitment to yoga, I sip water from a thermos with a long straw. I wonder how my fellow trees survive the parching freeze through which they slumber.
January 17, 2001 7:45pm Woodlock Stables, Hugo Scout the Horse The stable is quiet when I arrive, the last instructor is packing up. It's very cold outside, 8 degrees and windy. While though the stable is unheated, the warmth of the 50+ resident horses takes the edge off. All of the horses are standing, either a sleep or eating the remainder of their nightly hay which is strewn on the wood chip covered floor of the stall. Scout, who is standing with his head in the back corner of his stall, hears me arrive and is excited at the prospect of me having a treat for him. I enter his stall, brush him and comb out his mane. By the time I'm done, he's relaxed and used to me being in his stall. For the next hour we stand there together quietly staring at the wall, occasionally rummaging through the wood chips on the floor for some remaining hay. The rest of the barn is filled with the constant gentle crunching of the other horses chewing hay. Occasionally the calm is broken by a whinny or the sound of a frustrated huff kicking wood. At the end of our hour together, I gave Scout his expected sugar cube, bid him goodnight and turn off the light. I'm sure he's looking forward to breakfast at daybreak.
January 18, 2001 9:05pm Home No Name Cat Spending an hour with our cat is really not that unusual. She usually spends a good part of the evening with us on either the floor or the couch. Tonight was not too much different. We started off the evening on the bookshelves over the radiator at the front of the house. From there we could look out the window while keeping the paws warm. Ten minutes later Kris sat down on the couch to work on her needlepoint. The cat and I went over to the carpet in front of the couch and laid there, eyes closed, for the rest of the hour.
January 19, 2001 11:30pm Home Massage with Kris It's been a long day and we have just returned home from having a great, relaxing dinner at Mike and Abigail Mouw's home. Kris is getting over a cold and is very interested in a concentrated shoulder massage. As the hour passes, her shoulders relax as does she. We both settle in for a good nights rest and postpone the full massage.
January 20, 2001 2:30pm Underwater World Mall of America Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle Upon entering one of the glass tubes in which you can tour Underwater World, I had no idea which of the hundreds of marine animals I would be spending my hour with. I had my eye on the rays and the sharks until I caught a glimpse of the Kemps Ridley Sea turtle. They call her "Aggie"and she seemed to fly while the other residents just swim. I began my hour with Aggie as she rested in a rocky corner of the gigantic meandering "tank" that is now her "home". After resting for over 15 minutes, we decided to surface, tour the entire tank, and eventually come to rest in a similar place in a far area of the tank. To "swim" with her I had to wind back and forth through the tubes. As we began to rest again we were bombarded by Atlantic Spade fish which looked to me like giant versions of the Angel Fish we had in our childhood fish tank.	Eventually the pesky Spades gave up, not getting any reaction from Aggie. About 20 minutes later we met up with "Oyster", the other Kemps Ridley Sea Turtle chase each other around for a while. Oyster seemed to get frustrated and left after a couple minutes. We spent the remaining part of the hour resting by a large outcropping of rocks fending off the friendly attacks of the Spade fish. Note: The Kemps Ridley Sea Turtle originates from the Gulf of Mexico and is endangered due to net fishing in the area. More can be learned about the Kemps Ridley at www.cccturtle.org.

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