Kelly and I made conversation and I liked him immediately. He could tell he was a sensitive man, full of thought and dreams, and with his amiable demeanor he had a lighthearted sense of humor. We talked the entire drive back to his homestead, grabbing my first Colorado meal: McDonalds. I was exhausted from travel and so when we arrived back to his house, I was not able to process the fact that he lived in the middle of nowhere with goats bleating and chickens clucking in the night at their newfound visitor. Instead, I fell asleep the moment I hit the bed.
Morning flooded into me as I opened my eyes at 9 AM. I got up and looked around: I had a bookshelf and desk combination to my right. There was no room for a chair, so I would just have to sit on the bed to reach the desk. To my back and right were hand designed curtains by Kelly Ogle, embroidered with strange creatures. Down the hall I found two dogs awaiting me, Tyke and Ardy.Tyke was an old dog, deaf and slow. Ardy was a pup, eager to play and greet his new friend. I made friends with them quickly due to my experience with dogs and I stepped outside.
My first breath of Colorado air could be described as dry and arid. The thermometer had already hit 100 degrees Farenheit by 930 AM and in this heat I saw Kelly already hard at work. I went up to him to see him wrestling a goat and a tire, trying to stake his goat down. I would later learn that that goat was Billy, an aptly named Billygoat known for his stubborn and annoying disposition. Kelly finished his chores with the goats and then gave me the grand tour of his homestead and the chores I would be performing.
To the west a garden with five vegetable boxes that housed things like cucumbers, lettuce, chard, and corn rested nicely among the desert background. There was also a greenhouse for tomatoes, rosemary, and other goodies. As I looked eastward there was a grass lawn with two more vegetable boxes and a little doghouse that housed the baby goat, just born this year. As I kept looking east, I found the goat and horse shelter. From there it was fields of weeds and dirt amongst fallen fences, manure, and chip. There looked like a lot of work to be done, and I was right, there was.
译文:
与凯利先生交谈后,我立刻喜欢上了这个人。可以看出来,此人很敏感,满脑子的想法和梦想。他 和蔼可亲,幽默诙谐,令我轻松愉快。我们一路聊天往回开,路上吃了顿麦当劳当晚饭。这趟旅程把我折腾得够呛。一进他家,顾不得东南西北,精疲力竭的我,一 头扎在床上昏睡过去。夜半朦胧醒来,我听见不远处传来山羊咩咩的叫声,还有鸡群的咯咯声。不知道是否在交头接耳,偷偷议论家里新来的客人。
一觉睡到九点钟,我才睁开眼。我起床四周打量:在右边靠墙,有一个书柜与桌面组合而成的写字台。因为房间很小搁不下一张椅子,所以我坐在床沿就正好可以够 到书桌。在我背后靠右手边,是凯利先生手工制作的窗帘,上面绣着奇怪的图腾。走下楼梯,客厅里两只狗正等着我。一个叫泰克,一个叫阿迪。泰克是一只上了年 纪的老狗,耳朵聋了,行动迟缓。阿迪是一只小狗,调皮贪玩。看见了我,它欢跳着迎接新朋友。对狗我有经验,很快地,我们便成为了朋友。随后,我走了出来。
干燥,枯竭,是我深呼吸第一口空气之后,对科州的最原始描述。清晨九点半,外面气温已高达100华氏度,而凯利已经在干活了。只见凯利正在和他的山羊较劲,似乎想捆绑住山羊而制服它。后来,我得知这头山羊名叫比利,恰如“Billygoat”这个英文词汇的顽固不化之意。忙活完比利,凯利开始给我分配农活。该我上场了。
西边菜园有五个蔬菜箱,里面种植着黄瓜、生菜、甜菜和玉米等,背景衬托着不远处的戈壁荒滩。一个绿色温室大棚里,则种植着蕃茄、迷迭香等其他农作物。东面 有一块草坪,那里也有两个蔬菜箱,还有一个狗窝,里面养着一头今年才出生的小羊崽。再往东看,就是山羊圈和马厩。那块空地杂草丛生,倒塌的围墙,到处都是 粪便和乱七八糟的垃圾。看样子有大量的工作等着我去做。我来的正是时候。
(未完待续。。。)此文的英译中,完全是我自己根据原文作者的文字理解翻译而成,若有不妥之处,望海涵。