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| Domenico wants to tend a vineyard with oxen. |
First, I took the class with Dulcy Perkins and Rob Burdick teaching it. Next, I helped out a little bit while my daughter, Justice, took it for her 10th birthday, just prior to getting our first team. Over time, I've taken on more of a teaching role, but I still believe that I learn more than I impart in the class.
Yesterday, after getting acquainted with everybody, we headed out into the cool, damp air to spend the morning driving oxen without a load. All of the students did quite well and made great progress, particularly Elise and Domenico, Tillers' interns for the season. Nancy, from Wisconsin, learned a lot about body position with Castor and Pollux, while Ivy worked with Susan, Mary-Margaret, and Tom Nehil using Buck and Charlie, Tillers' youngest team, getting them to perform the basic commands well with just a few turns at the crop.
After a wonderful lunch and a quick discussion of yoke dynamics to wait out the drizzle, we pulled carts and stoneboats and even managed to weave through some stakes in the ground with great success. Generally, by the end of the first day, people are overloaded with new skills and they need a break. A good night's sleep consolidates the new learning and they start the 2nd day with better skills than they left with on day 1.
And what did I learn? A couple of things: 1. I really love pondering the craft and looking for a better way to describe what the animals need. 2. I really love teaching new people. That moment where they can't being replaced by the one where they can is magic. 3. Oxen are cool (ok, I knew that already) 4. Walking a straight line may be a secret to success. More on that later.
We'll be back at it at 9:00 today. Stay tuned.
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