Small Town Hound
On the Trail of History
and Up on Stage
- Æsc
Woof!
Happy New Year! For those just joining us, I am Æsc (pronounced Ash) and I joined Owl Light in 2021. I am a dog, and a writer.
Two thousand and twenty-one ended quite nicely for me. I did have a sore leg for a bit, but I am back to full action, including continuing my training for search and rescue (SAR). I have mostly worked with airscenting in wilderness areas. Airscenting is not scent specific because you are searching in remote areas and if you happen to find the wrong person that’s okay (maybe they are out there lost too). The important thing is to go all the way back to your human partner so that you can lead them back to the person you found. I am getting very good at this and turn around to “recall” and “show” almost immediately. I also find people pretty fast. Hunting season has limited our search areas, so we have been working some on trailing, on a leash. With trailing (also called tracking) I sniff a specific scent at the point where the person was last seen (PLS) and then follow that specific scent. We are working hard on a regular basis and make a great team.
SAR dogs need to do really well in all kinds of situations and my writing gig is great for that training, even if I never become operational. My human takes me many places and I meet many people as I explore and write about all the places I visit. Since last sharing (we all took a break in December) we took a drive to Fillmore Glen State Park, in Moravia, NY. A side fact of interest (at least to readers) is that Moravia’s Powers Library, built in 1880, is the oldest continuously used library in New York. We drove past there while in town. When we go to natural areas, I always assume I am there to work even when my human does not put my vest on (and especially when she does put it on and shows me my duckie). This time was no exception, and I trailed a couple until they saw me coming and stopped to say hello. However, I soon realized that this was not a work trip but a chance to visit with some wee humans and their parents. I have not been around many little people, so we took it slow at first, until I got familiar with them while we walked the trails together (the one little guy even held onto my leash). I like looking at views, and we did this together, which was so cool. This is another place with great waterfalls. It is beautiful and, thanks to the Nature Conservancy (TNC), it now has 200 more acres of land, including forested and shrub wetlands with two seasonal streams that flow north into Dry Creek, within Fillmore Glen State Park. On the way there we stopped at Aunt Sarahs Falls in Montour Falls. We often stop here when going through and I love the rush of the water.
Another trail I visited since my last article is in Penn Yan. We often go to this town to pick up grain for the chickens at Lakeview Organic Grain, and this time we also stopped to walk along the Keuka Outlet Trail, which is part of a former railroad path along a former canal dug along the natural drainage of Keuka Lake to Dresden, NY. This may have been where I hurt my leg, as I tried to run up some wooden stairs, part of a children’s play structure. I love being outside and also love local history, so this is my favorite kind of adventure. Birkett Mills Inc., which is still in Penn Yan, was started in 1797 when a mill was built in what a few years later became the incorporated village of Penn Yan. The waterway was called Crooked Lake Canal and for a century mills for grain were powered by its numerous waterfalls. Birkett Mills specializes in buckwheat (which is technically a seed rather than a grain, just as a FYI) is still around and they sell a variety of organic grain products.
I am getting into theatres (and theaters) a bit lately and one theatre I have seen is the Sampson Theatre, another historic place in Penn Yan. The Sampson Theatre is an example of a vaudeville house. It was built in 1910 by a human named Dr. Frank Sampson (hence the name). After twenty years this live theatre venue fell into disuse, due to the rise of motion picture theaters, but a local group, the Penn Yan Theatre Company (PYTCo) is working to rebuild and reopen this historic venue. This brief return to Penn Yan offers a nice segue into my final destination—and some exciting Owl Light news.
In November of last year, I had the opportunity to spend some time in the limelight (vs. in the owllight, where I often linger in the evenings). I hammed it up on the stage at the Park Theater, which is in Avon, NY. This trip was a bit confusing at first as I heard my human mention going to the “park” and I thought we were going to a park, like the one in Moravia. That said, the theater was really cool, and I quickly settled in. I went up on stage and relaxed in the seating area. I love the space. The theater is owned by a dog-loving human named Ann Younger and she has totally refinished the space. She plans to have movies there—like in the olden days, only a bit different—music, and other performances too. These will mostly be too crowded for me to attend, but there is one event I will definitely stop in at. Here is the big news. On the weekend of April 9-10th of this year, 2022 (mark your calendars!), Park Theater in Avon will be co-hosting, with Canadice Press, Owl Light Live at the Park—a celebration of our first five years in print! This will be an opportunity to meet many of the really incredible humans who are part of the Owl Light adventure. This weekend event is your chance to meet the Owl Light people while enjoying some fantastic entertainment. I am super excited about the new year and all the new adventures to come and hope you will join in my adventures in each and every issue of the Owl Light.
Mentioned in this article:
•Fillmore Glen – FillmoreGlensp@parks.ny.gov
•Nature Conservancy – nature.org
•Lakeview Organic Grain – lakevieworganicgrain.com
•Birkett Mills–thebirkettmills.com
•Penn Yan Theatre Company–pytco.org/
•Avon Park Theater–avonparktheater.com