Mad Cows, Mad Sheep, Mad Elk, Mad People
by Donella Meadows
— July 27, 2000 —
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (known familiarly as CJD) is something you do not want to get. Your brain degenerates, piece by piece. First you feel depressed, then you have trouble coordinating. You lose sight, speech, motor control, as the disease travels through the brain. When it reaches the control centers for breathing or heartbeat, you die.
Medical [...]
Dear Folks: April 28, 1995
Dear Folks,
Slowly, haltingly, tantalizingly, spring creeps toward the farm through all of March and most of April. Until this week we were marking time, moping at the gray, stormy weather, wandering outside on the occasional nice days, kicking at the ground, poking for signs of life, and making up work to do. Too wet and cold to till the garden. [...]
Dear Folks: February 24, 1995
Dear Folks,
It’s only February, but the first lambs are in the barn!
They were born yesterday. I found them out in the barnyard, wet and wobbly when I came out to do the morning chores. We had barely started watching for them. They’re the result of an accident. A kindly neighbor mistakenly let the errant ewes into the pasture with Wally [...]
Peace on Earth, Good Will to Sheep and Men
By Donella Meadows
–December 22, 1994–
As rams go, Wally was a real gentleman.
Rams defend their territory by backing up to get a good run going, putting their thick necks down, and charging at anything they regard as a threat. Once, before we had Wally, I was walking heedlessly across the pasture and suddenly found myself flying through the air, both sneakers [...]
Dear Folks: November 27, 1994
Dear Folks,
It’s the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and I’ve just permitted myself to put on the Messiah for the first time this holiday season. I’m alone for the weekend and having a great time. Mostly I like it when this house is full of people and activity, which it very much has been lately. But now and again, I enjoy putzing [...]
