Excitement at the Findlay's!
Once upon a time, by the dock in a little town called Surry, Maine, there was a very special house. It was special not only for its location, which was next to a babbling brook emptying into the salt water of Surry Reach, but also because this house belonged to a family of little pug dogs. Well, they weren’t a family just yet, because there was only Pugnacious T. and Pugnella R. Findley living in the house, but, as we’ll soon find out, things change.
You see, Pugnella (Nellie to her friends) was pregnant, and she and Pugnacious (Nash to his friends) had been hoping to start a family.
“How nice it would be to have a little Nellie or Nash junior padding around the house to keep things lively!” Nellie would often tell Nash when things got quiet.
Like many houses in the town, their house was a simple - one and a half stories high, a single window in the peak and two roof gables looking out. The house had a handsome dark oak door, with a bright, shiny brass door knocker in the shape of a bone. There were various sheds and barns attached to the house, because it was New England, where the winters are cold and snowy, and one could go from house to shed to barn without having to shovel paths through the snow or go outside in the cold winter wind.
There was a tall chimney made of stones and seashell mortar topped by a fine red clay pot, with a whisper of smoke coming out of the top. It looked perfectly proportioned to fit the size of its occupants.
The light from the windows spilt yellow onto the ground as the light faded to dusk. You would even have to look twice to even see the house, the way it blended in to the hawthorne, juniper, and bayberry along the side of the road where there was usually a chickadee this time of year eating its bright red fruits.
The sight of chickadees was a joy. Even the sometimes grumpy politicians in Augusta saw fit to make it the state bird for Maine. It’s chirping and flitting about dressed in that fine black cap made everyone smile.
One fine day the pugs received a visitor, an important man from the Town Offices, Bill Doak. Just as Bill reached for the brass bone shaped knocker, the door opened. Bill had forgotten that it is almost impossible to approach the pug’s house unannounced, because they can smell you coming up the walkway. The door knocker was merely for decoration.
Standing on his hind legs, with one paw on the door and the other holding a copy of the Ellsworth American, stood a fawn-colored pug dog, a big grin on his shiny black muzzle, his pink tongue quickly darting around his mouth as he greeted Bill:
“Hey Nellie, what a surprise! Bill’s here!” Nash the pug exclaimed to his wife, who was doing something in the back of the house. “Come on in!”
Coming in wasn’t easy for Bill, as he had to stoop down to get through the door, but once he was inside he could stand up, his head just brushing the ceiling.
“Thanks, Nash,” said the man, as he stepped over the threshold into the warm, cozy room. “Nina asked me to stop by to see if Nellie needs anything, and I caught a bit of news that I thought you might find interesting as well!”
(Nina was Bill’s wife, who was always looking out for her neighbors, and more often than not would have a pie in the car she was delivering somewhere, or a game of mahjong to play with shut-ins who couldn’t get out of their houses in the wintertime.)
As Bill put his coat on the hook he looked around the room. The first thing he spied was a pair of candle lanterns on cleverly bent iron hooks high on the walls. The inside of the house was paneled with warm pine boards, and beautifully fitted cherry wood beams held up the roof. There was a mellow color to the wood, having been coated with years of smoke and pipe tobacco. At the peak of the room there was a loft, and a ladder made of smooth oak branches reaching up from the first floor. In the back, behind a curtain Bill could hear Nellie working away on something. It was never certain what Nellie was up to behind that curtain or out in the shed, because not only was she one of the best pie bakers in town, she also was a renowned inventor of handy and amazing devices for home and industry.
Bill looked around the room for a place to sit. Bill had very expressive eyebrows that moved independently of one another when he was thinking hard. Just now they were moving up and down like black caterpillars as he looked at the easy chair, where the pug had been sitting, then at the rocking chair, which was way too small to sit in, and the big padded bed by the stove. He shrugged and decided to lie down on the bed and was immediately happy with his choice. The bed smelled of fresh pine and balsam needles, and was covered with soft wool. Bill rested his head on his hand, elbow on the floor and waited for Nash to sit down. It was very comfortable, with the warm stove and soft lights, and for a minute Bill had an urge to settle in for a nap.
Now you might think that this is a highly unusual state of affairs, a talking dog living in a house and reading the newspaper by a nice fire in a wood stove, and you might be right. But it isn’t unusual for this particular town, where all sorts of people and creatures make their happy way through the beautiful, summers and snowy winters. In fact, Surry by the Sea is one of the most unusual (some would say even magical) places in the entire state.
Once Bill had settled in, Nash sat back down in his easy chair and said “Now what brings you out tonight, Bill? We just saw each other at the volunteer fire department meeting this afternoon!”
(The pug was known at the fire department not only for his punctuality, but as the best firefighter to have around when you needed to snuff out a fire really quickly by throwing dirt on it.)
“Well Nash,” Bill said, “I thought you should be the first to know that the St. James family out on Newberry Neck is thinking about putting a swimming pool in - thought you might be interested since they’ll need a big hole for it.”
Pugnacious was known far and wide as the best hole digger you could find, whether you were putting up a new mailbox or digging fence post holes. One year he even got the contract to dig telephone pole holes all the way to Blue Hill, which made for a very busy and profitable summer.
“This swimming pool project would be just the thing,” said Pugnacious, “because I’ve got some big expenses coming up!, As you probably know,…….”
Before they could take the conversation any further, they heard a big rattling of pans out in the kitchen, and Nellie called out, “Nash, you better get in here, fast!”
In alarm, Pugnacious jumped down from his chair and went into the kitchen in a mad dash. Before Bill was even out of the chair to see what was up, Nash came panting back into the room, eyes wild, and his tail curling and uncurling so fast it looked like a window fan.
“Bill, thanks for coming,” Nash hurried, “But if you’ll excuse me, Nellie and I are about to become parents!!!”
And that is how the story begins!
To Be Continued...
You see, Pugnella (Nellie to her friends) was pregnant, and she and Pugnacious (Nash to his friends) had been hoping to start a family.
“How nice it would be to have a little Nellie or Nash junior padding around the house to keep things lively!” Nellie would often tell Nash when things got quiet.
Like many houses in the town, their house was a simple - one and a half stories high, a single window in the peak and two roof gables looking out. The house had a handsome dark oak door, with a bright, shiny brass door knocker in the shape of a bone. There were various sheds and barns attached to the house, because it was New England, where the winters are cold and snowy, and one could go from house to shed to barn without having to shovel paths through the snow or go outside in the cold winter wind.
There was a tall chimney made of stones and seashell mortar topped by a fine red clay pot, with a whisper of smoke coming out of the top. It looked perfectly proportioned to fit the size of its occupants.
The light from the windows spilt yellow onto the ground as the light faded to dusk. You would even have to look twice to even see the house, the way it blended in to the hawthorne, juniper, and bayberry along the side of the road where there was usually a chickadee this time of year eating its bright red fruits.
The sight of chickadees was a joy. Even the sometimes grumpy politicians in Augusta saw fit to make it the state bird for Maine. It’s chirping and flitting about dressed in that fine black cap made everyone smile.
One fine day the pugs received a visitor, an important man from the Town Offices, Bill Doak. Just as Bill reached for the brass bone shaped knocker, the door opened. Bill had forgotten that it is almost impossible to approach the pug’s house unannounced, because they can smell you coming up the walkway. The door knocker was merely for decoration.
Standing on his hind legs, with one paw on the door and the other holding a copy of the Ellsworth American, stood a fawn-colored pug dog, a big grin on his shiny black muzzle, his pink tongue quickly darting around his mouth as he greeted Bill:
“Hey Nellie, what a surprise! Bill’s here!” Nash the pug exclaimed to his wife, who was doing something in the back of the house. “Come on in!”
Coming in wasn’t easy for Bill, as he had to stoop down to get through the door, but once he was inside he could stand up, his head just brushing the ceiling.
“Thanks, Nash,” said the man, as he stepped over the threshold into the warm, cozy room. “Nina asked me to stop by to see if Nellie needs anything, and I caught a bit of news that I thought you might find interesting as well!”
(Nina was Bill’s wife, who was always looking out for her neighbors, and more often than not would have a pie in the car she was delivering somewhere, or a game of mahjong to play with shut-ins who couldn’t get out of their houses in the wintertime.)
As Bill put his coat on the hook he looked around the room. The first thing he spied was a pair of candle lanterns on cleverly bent iron hooks high on the walls. The inside of the house was paneled with warm pine boards, and beautifully fitted cherry wood beams held up the roof. There was a mellow color to the wood, having been coated with years of smoke and pipe tobacco. At the peak of the room there was a loft, and a ladder made of smooth oak branches reaching up from the first floor. In the back, behind a curtain Bill could hear Nellie working away on something. It was never certain what Nellie was up to behind that curtain or out in the shed, because not only was she one of the best pie bakers in town, she also was a renowned inventor of handy and amazing devices for home and industry.
Bill looked around the room for a place to sit. Bill had very expressive eyebrows that moved independently of one another when he was thinking hard. Just now they were moving up and down like black caterpillars as he looked at the easy chair, where the pug had been sitting, then at the rocking chair, which was way too small to sit in, and the big padded bed by the stove. He shrugged and decided to lie down on the bed and was immediately happy with his choice. The bed smelled of fresh pine and balsam needles, and was covered with soft wool. Bill rested his head on his hand, elbow on the floor and waited for Nash to sit down. It was very comfortable, with the warm stove and soft lights, and for a minute Bill had an urge to settle in for a nap.
Now you might think that this is a highly unusual state of affairs, a talking dog living in a house and reading the newspaper by a nice fire in a wood stove, and you might be right. But it isn’t unusual for this particular town, where all sorts of people and creatures make their happy way through the beautiful, summers and snowy winters. In fact, Surry by the Sea is one of the most unusual (some would say even magical) places in the entire state.
Once Bill had settled in, Nash sat back down in his easy chair and said “Now what brings you out tonight, Bill? We just saw each other at the volunteer fire department meeting this afternoon!”
(The pug was known at the fire department not only for his punctuality, but as the best firefighter to have around when you needed to snuff out a fire really quickly by throwing dirt on it.)
“Well Nash,” Bill said, “I thought you should be the first to know that the St. James family out on Newberry Neck is thinking about putting a swimming pool in - thought you might be interested since they’ll need a big hole for it.”
Pugnacious was known far and wide as the best hole digger you could find, whether you were putting up a new mailbox or digging fence post holes. One year he even got the contract to dig telephone pole holes all the way to Blue Hill, which made for a very busy and profitable summer.
“This swimming pool project would be just the thing,” said Pugnacious, “because I’ve got some big expenses coming up!, As you probably know,…….”
Before they could take the conversation any further, they heard a big rattling of pans out in the kitchen, and Nellie called out, “Nash, you better get in here, fast!”
In alarm, Pugnacious jumped down from his chair and went into the kitchen in a mad dash. Before Bill was even out of the chair to see what was up, Nash came panting back into the room, eyes wild, and his tail curling and uncurling so fast it looked like a window fan.
“Bill, thanks for coming,” Nash hurried, “But if you’ll excuse me, Nellie and I are about to become parents!!!”
And that is how the story begins!
To Be Continued...