Christmas with Tucker **** by Greg Kincaid
I’m ending 2011 on the same note as 2010. . .Tuckered out and ready for a nap or the very least, curling up in a chair with a good book (or twelve :) for a month. . .
I posted this edible review for Food for Thought last December after our White Christmas. Here it is again~ and I’m offering a chance to win this Chloe & Gracie-approved tail :) along with some canine treats to wrap up the Holiday Season!
I’m happy to report that Food for Thought is starting back in January with pre-selected books to review throughout the year! If you’d like to join in the fun, you can email Jain or me for a list of books to review and dates.
It will be fun reading with a playful purpose again :)
“It is the winter of 1962, and Kansas is hit with one of the worst blizzards in its history. It is during this cruel season that twelve-year-old George is called upon to endure more than even most grown men could withstand—the death of his father and the upkeep of the family that his legacy. When his mother and sisters leave for Minnesota, George has only his grandparents and the companionship of Tucker, an Irish setter, to help him persevere through these most difficult challenges. Can he find the strength to walk the road that leads to healing, find his true self, and ultimately become a man? A coming-of-age story for readers of all ages, Christmas with Tucker is a classic Christmas tale about a young man’s love for his dog, his family, and his farm.”
Young George has a lot on his plate with his responsibilities helping out on his grandparents’ farm. Snow days may mean a break from school, but there is no rest for the weary on a dairy farm. . .
Dairy cows require lots of water, with each cow consuming 25 – 50 gallons of water a day depending on the weather. When the electricity goes out and their stock tanks freeze, their next available source of water is a pond that needs to be ice-free so they aren’t trapped by the ice in their search for water & drown.
I hung my glittery snowflakes on the tree for a snowy effect for this review. . . not dreaming we would be gifted with a White Christmas, the first one here since 1947.
Our snow started Christmas Day and continued through the following day~ quickly melting~ but not before providing me with an opportunity to photograph some snowy barn scenes. . .
“There was this vague but growing conclusion settling in my young mind that life does not always bestow upon us everything we want or think we should have. We are forced to move away from hoping others will give up what we want, to a new place where we must discover how to find happiness on our own. Santa was the last vestige of youth where all our wants are magically delivered by some other.”
“It was like being in the middle of a really great Zane Grey novel, and when I got to page 100, just as I victoriously led my mare over the top of the windswept hill after outwitting the bad guys, someone switched in fifty pages of the bleakest scenes by Charles Dickens and messed up my perfectly good life.”
“Farm boys operate machinery, big machinery, by the time they were thirteen, and I was no exception. I’d learned to drive a tractor as soon as I was tall enough to reach the pedals.”
“He kept the harness and the old horse-drawn blade stored in the implement shed along with other McCray prized possessions: an International Harvester and a Massy Ferguson tractor, plows, cultivators, seed drills, rotary and sickle-bar mowers, hay rakes and balers.”
“My guess was he kept the horses and old blades around for a reason. If the maintainer ever broke, he was prepared to clear the roads with the horses, though by 1962 they were far too old to do the job. If the horses couldn’t pull the blades, he owned countless shovels and we would get at it one scoop at a time.”
George’s grandmother bakes chocolate chip cookies to fortify him for his wintry weather chores~
“He backed a few feet away from me and started barking, demanding that I play with him. I started to run away, hoping he would chase after me, but he was so excited that he set out circling the house at full speed, his big, floppy, red ears going up and down as he bounded by me. I wondered if doggie Christmas had arrived early for this pooch.”
“His warm body helped me feel safe and secure. I pulled him close to me, buried my face in his coat, and realized that all I could do was hunker down and get through the winter. I would have to accept that things did not always turn out the way they should. Maybe that was the new rule.”
The author, Greg Kincaid is a pet-adoption advocate who lives on a farm in eastern Kansas with his wife, two cats, and two dogs, including Rudy adopted from a local shelter. My searches for adoptable dogs on Petfinder not only pulled at my heartstrings, but led me to search for dogs named Tucker that ultimately landed me on Dogster.
Dogster lets you create a profile for your dog, upload a photo and show off your pooch. The most popular pet-based social network with nearly half a million visitors each month, you can find advice on dogs, connect with other dog owners, find a breeding partner and even adopt a new dog. Shhhh, don’t tell Chloe & Gracie there’s a place in cyberspace to receive virtual bones & make friends :-)
My search led me to 1,201 dogs named Tucker on Dogster. . .let me introduce you to a few of them~
Blazes of Glory Tuckers~
The Toy Group~
Tuckered out Tuckers. . .
The Sporting Group . . .
I’m dreaming of a White Tucker. . .
To find adoptable pets near you, visit Petfinder.com.
Just mention in a comment if you’d like a chance to win a copy of Christmas with Tucker.
A winner will be chosen December 31st.
Happy Reading & Bone Appetite!
Mary, I’ll take every dog you pictured! Truly man’s best friend ;o) This is the first year in a long time that we have had a green Christmas. I loved seeing your White Christmas!
I’d enjoy reading “Christmas with Tucker”.
I loved this post! I too am an animal lover and have two cats that I love and are aging. I enjoyed the excepts in your post from Christmas with Tucker and would very much enjoy having a copy of Christmas with Tucker.
LOVE this post. Would really like winning a copy of Christmas with Tucker. I promise to give it a good home!
I am so ready to curl up with a good book after the hustle and bustle these past few weeks. Christmas with Tucker sounds like a book I would really enjoy. Please pop my name in the hat for your generous giveaway.
I’m so glad to hear that Food for Thought is coming back. You do such a great job with your posts and I always enjoy the creative ways you review the book.
ruff..those cookies looks yummy…and how come people name their pets Tucker?
What a fabulous post! I have read this book and it is wonderful and a perfect read for an end of a year and a birth of a new year. I am very much involved with animal rescue so this book also pulls at my heart strings. Right now I am trying desperately to find a home for a wonderful 4year old mix little doggie who has seizures. He is the sweetest dog but his owner is ill and can’t handle having a dog anymore.
I LOVE your snowy barn photos. When I lived back east I did a photo study of old barns. Unfortunately they are all on film not digital. So I was thrilled to
see your wonderful photos. Thank you for this wonderfu post. I am not entering your giveaway because I’ve read the book and I would like someone else to have the same pleasure. Thank you, Mary.
Snow?! We’re in central Ohio and had none–sunny, beautiful day, almost balmy. While I didn’t miss the snow AT ALL :), I can certain appreciate its beauty, especially at Christmas. What a treat for you that it came on Christmas day and gone the next. You took beautiful advantage of this gift from above and took beatiful pictures. Where oh where do you find those beautiful barns where you can be so close to photograph them? Beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
Your photos are always such a treat! Lovely snow! I would love to read this book so put my name in the hat please! I have an adopted kitty named Charlie so no doggies here right now but they do tug at my heart! hugs, Linda
Dear Mary , I am excited that Food for Thought starts again and can’ t wait for the first review . Your photos are amazing …I can’t believe we still don’t have a single snowflake here in Canada and how I love the white snow ….
Enjoy your quiet time !
No snow here in Iowa so I loved looking at your snowy barn pictures. We have two dogs, Bullet a black and white terrier and Sparky a 120 lb. yellow lab. Would love to have all the dogs in your pictures!!! Please consider me for your Christmas with Tucker giveaway.
What a joy to see this one again, Mary. This is a special book, and all your dog shots are precious. Happy New Year! ~ Sarah
Thanks so much for a chance to win this wonderful book. I love all the different Tuckers that you found. Thanks for giving a plug for Petfinders!! We rescue Bichons and there are many out there awaiting their forever homes.
so good to see this again… its pure magic. your pics and enthusiam always amaze me, you know it was such a fun year playing with you. i feel the pressure already coming on for next year, i don’t even have the first book yet, i am on 3 waiting lists hoping i get it in time do read and think up something worthy to compete with you! i feel like defualting already, oy what have i done to myself next year!
wishing you a very happy new years, i am home for a couple of days while scott works on the cottage. its too tiny to have me there with the dogs while he replaces old things, i just hope i am not one of the things he trades in for a prettier, younger shiny model! can’t wait to get back, it feels more like home than here now… but first real storm and i will come running back!
happy reading and cheers to you, see ya next year, book and camera in hand, frankly i am terrified of our first challenge but i know there are some better books out there for me!
I would love a chance to win the book :) Love the picture of the old ’60’s era Chevy truck and the tractors.
What wonderful photos, Mary! I love them all.
The book sounds like a good read. Your photos as usual, are outstanding.
Your barns in the snow photos remind me of some of the paintings by South Carolina artist Jim Harrison (he is from Denmark, SC where I used to live for many years)
Love all the cute doggie pics….We haven’t replaced our Phoebe yet (not that another little dog would ever really replace her – but you know what I mean) and looking at these tugged at my heartstrings!
I would love to win! It rained off and on here on Christmas and it was warm enough we didn’t need a coat.
What an amazing post! Your photos are fabulous. I have my two fluffies so I’m hooked on the love they provide.
– The Tablescaper
What a beautiful post.
Happy NewYear
Wonderful posts and photography!!
No snow here; but it will come. Love your photos of barns and snow and more snow photos. Happy New Year!
Joyce M
Seems like a swwetbook. I have 2 babies i have gotten from petfinder and will get my next one there, too. Happy Holidays! Carol
Oh Mary! How did I miss this post!!! I think it is my most favorite of all of the posts you have done!!! LOVE all of the pics of Chloe and Gracie!!! Love all of the TUCKER dogs….I wish I could bring them all home…except my husband says two is the limit…
Wonderful post!!! Wishing you, Chloe and Gracie, and your whole family a very Happy and Healthy New Year!!
xo
Jeanne
Wonderful to see all the snow! May all your dreams come true in 2012. Happy New Year! xo marlis
Great snowy pics Mary! Happy New Year:@)
Your photos are so beautiful! I especially love the one with all the tractors in the barn. Happy New year!
Beautiful photos! Happy New Year.
I love the barn photos and of course, the gorgeous canines…
I grew up around dairy farming and it is soooo much work. We did not have a white Christmas for the first time in a long time!
Your images are an absolute delight – each and everyone! Will have to check out Christmas With Tucker…just finished reading 2 other doggy books, and very tearful…I need one with a brighter outcome!
Have also developed a craving for chocolate chip cookies..wonder why???
:o)
First off, you can almost never go wrong when going with the dogs! And second, LOVE LOVE LOVE the snow photos, especially the ones with the red tractor! Beautiful!! Happy New Year.
What a wonderful post, your photographs made the story come alive.
I’m very happy to hear that food for thought is to return, I didn’t join in too often last time but always enjoyed reading the book recommendations from those who did.
off to check out Dogster and maybe sign up Mr Ben the cocker and M’selle Fleur our 1 year old German shepherd.
What beautiful snow you got! Your photos make me want snow here.
What grand and glorious pictures you shared here!
I need to move. Immediately. No desert for me…I want that exact setting. And a big pile of really warm clothing!
Sounds like a wonderful giveaway. I bet the winner was happy!
Thanks for a great link for the letter “G”.
A+