Monday, February 27, 2006

Big shaggy dog

My neighbor, Hank, has a fondness for Mackenzie River huskies. Mackenzies are noted for being very large and strong (the dogs are freighters) and for having very thick, long coats: potentially excellent sources of wool. He had one of these enormous dogs, Sgt. Pepper, for many years. Sgt. Pepper looked like a giant malamute to me, and he was one of those dogs you could go right up to and hug and he loved it. Very tolerant, easygoing, gentle dog. The village was sad when he finally died of old age.

Then Hank got Scoby, not quite as big as Sgt. Pepper, but much shaggier. Scoby is also an even-tempered canine, and his fur is about a foot long on his flanks in the winter. I heard through the grapevine that Hank was looking for someone to take away the wool they would brush from him (and Scoby takes a LOT of brushing), so I called him up. Alas, Hank had given up and recently tossed a bunch of wool that he and Myrna had collected. But Scoby continues to shed (a lot), and Hank is quite willing to save more for me. So soon I will commence adventures in spinning!

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