Learning to Live in Idaho...

June 2011

Oh my, it's been too many months since I filled you in on Scorch's trials and tribulations!  Things have been so busy - closing down our other business, the loss of our beloved (& Scorch's best friend) Jack Russell terrier, moving ChainWeavers into the carriage house, welcoming our Russell Rescue 'Willa' into our hearts and finally the start-up of our 'sistah' site www.chainmaillejumprings.com - CMJR.  

Scorch was extremely disconsolate after losing Boudreaux and we listened to his snuffling (right along with our own!) for several weeks until Willa came to cheer us up.  She is much smaller and faster than Boudreaux had been and she never stays in the same place for more than a second or two, so she had Scorch totally discombobulated for a short time.  Now he anticipates her rather manic movements and has avoided stepping on her.  She has been swept off her feet a couple of times with his sometimes unruly tail, but she's resilient and he's always so contrite.  She gives him a quick slurp on his pointy nose and any transgression is always forgiven.  Now that the weather is warming, he stretches out across the roof and stretches his tail down to the deck where she is... and gives her a soft place to sleep when he curls it around into a little nest.  Dragons can be so accomodating when they know they are loved...

Around the property, Scorch has proven SO helpful - we live on 10 acres with gravel roads.  Of course, every spring there are millions of weeds that force their way through the sand and gravel.  One big breath and Scorch takes care of all that formerly tedious weeding - we love to watch that stuff just crisp and wither!  He's also a big help when Rick gets ready to torch off the burn pile down the hill.  Rick used to have to take fuel and a big propane torch to get it going - not a problem now.  Scorch just blasts all that dry stuff and 'poof' - no more pile of debris!

Scorch was also a big help during the move into our new 'headquarters'.  All we had to do was box things up, load 'em on a pallet and with the harness that Rick rigged, Scorch could sit in the yard between the 2 buildings, pick up the load and swing it right onto the second story deck of the carriage house.  We could unload the pallet and he'd swing it down for another load.  Our own personal 'crane'...

As I said, the weather is finally warming and he is spending many more hours perched on the roof, wings spread to catch all the rays he can.  I'm sure he'll get even more lethargic as the heat increases - after all, he is just a big reptile!  We do enjoy his presence every day and hope that he'll always be with us... 

February 2011

Scorch seems to be settling into his new life here without much trouble.  He still complains when things start to melt off, but we're used to that.  Just wait until we have a really tough winter and a l-o-n-g s-l-o-w melt-off in the spring - I have the feeling that then many of you will hear his complaints from many states away!  He is learning to be more careful about the trees and shrubbery, but once we get some pictures of the things we'll have to cut back and prune, we'll share those with you.  Obviously, sheltering a dragon does involve a little 'collateral damage'.

Since Scorch has made his debut, I have heard from many people who also share their lives with dragons.  Many across the USA and several in the UK and even a couple w-a-y down under in Australia!!!  We always want to hear from anyone with a dragon(s) in their lives, after all, I may need a little 'parenting' advice along the way.  Having never had children of my own, I sometimes have a problem understanding the behaviour of a rather immature dragon.  Sometimes he seems like nothing more than a very overgrown, cranky toddler!  These occurrences are few and far between - for the most part, he is loveable and very tractable and even trainable.  But there was that time when I tried to explain that he just couldn't make a buffet down in the neighbor's cow pasture!!!  But 'it's so easy to catch those cows when they can't run far' he said.  'Yes, I know, but your meals need to made from the wild animals in the forest and not on people's livelihood.  And preferably, many miles away from here...'   Keeping good neighbor relations seems to be a bit beyond his understanding, but he has learned to range farther away and I've had no complaints... so far, so good!

As I write this, I hear the roof creaking - since we have bright sunshine today, I'm sure our scaly friend is stretching himself out on the roof to soak up as many rays as possible *grin*

January 2011

We live in the far northern part of Idaho, just about 100 miles south of the Canadian border.  Our winters can be very snowy and icy and those things don't seem to bother Scorch much at all, but he really hates when things start to melt.  Dragons usually live in extremely frigid climates, very high in the mountains, but as their numbers have declined, many have sought places a little less extreme.  Though he says he loves bathing in icy lakes, having to traverse through mud or lie down in it is just something he doesn't like to do.  (I think his vanity is to blame - he's a very handsome dragon and doesn't like his looks 'tarnished' with smears of mud.)  This year, our winter has been rather mild, with plenty of snow and then warmer weather to melt off quite a bit of it... hence the complaints about mud.  Dragons are not shy about voicing their complaints, so we've gotten used to the grumbling.  Spring will be here soon and then I'm sure that he will be sprawled across our roof, spreading his wings and warming himself in the sunshine.