The Land of Eternal Snow (and a mini-sermon)

Ah, Spring! At last...

Warmer temperatures, and the first signs of...
Oh wait - I can't quite see out there - my vision has gone foggy and white.
Horror of horrors, I am going blind.
Tragedy.

What's that you say?
Snow. Right. All is well.

It is, indeed, Spring. For a couple of days, actually, there was bare earth and grass, and plenty of mud to go around. I have been out a couple of times without a coat, and there are crocus tips nudging their way up and out. So, the season is slowly, begrudgingly, changing.

Since I can do nothing - no, truly nothing - about the snow, I generally make an effort to remain on good terms with it. I enjoy the photo opportunities it provides (and the temporary reduction in mud travelling into my house - floors, rugs, stairs, furniture, me). The degree of snow-related angst folks express seems self-imposed, to a point. To be perfectly honest, the cultural acceptability of complaining about weather and other inconveniences troubles me. I think that attitude can become pervasive, and can also become a standard way of relating to our circumstances. Can we not rise above the external, perhaps even have a sense of humour, and use these things to cultivate a character of graciousness? Is it so difficult to adopt an individual perspective, rather than latching onto the apparent mass mentality?

(A quick qualifier, based on Facebook feedback I received to a similar status update: To those, who like me, have experienced snow-related stresses, mishaps, and unwelcome adventures like car accidents and fallen trees/branches - both of which I have experienced in the snow - I empathize, and do not direct my comments at your experience of those situations. As I also noted on Facebook, clearly any "thing" can be associated with unfortunate events - other generally more welcome activities and circumstances - sunshine, hiking and biking and boating, cooking and woodworking, rain - all these things have unfortunate and even tragic events associated with them...but we do not shun them - we choose to continue making the most of them. We don't complain incessantly about them. And we don't wonder why they are part of our lives.)

Now, back to snow's lovelier qualities...

Ah, snow.

But won't Spring be delightful?

Uh Oh (and the Hounds of Christmas)

I just noticed that it has been over a month since I last posted. It seems the more I have spinning around in my head, the less I can organize myself to put it in writing (maybe I've said that before...I know I've thought it).

Anyway, in a bit of brain muddle right now, too. Just wanted to pop by and say hello to anyone who's still checking in. I have no intention of abandoning this blog, but would like to find some coherence first!

Before signing off for tonight (without having said anything worthwhile), the least I can do is leave you with a little Christmas cheer:

Springy!

The ground has re-appeared, and the air is becoming more temperate.

The girls have enjoyed TWO very rare doggie playdates this week. The first was a surprise visit from basset friend Sydney, still technically in her puppyhood. Our girls seem to quite like her, and had a good romp indoors and out while our human friend & contractor helped Geoff with a bit of soffit patching to encourage "our" raccoon to find a more welcoming home (hopefully not someone else's attic).

In this picture, the girls do quite a convincing job of looking mellow, perhaps even bored or downcast. I think subsequent photos will prove that this was a short break in the action when Lulu came to play!


Lu may be small, but she holds her own - especially when Gladwyn starts pawing at her. This was their first time hanging out together, and they settled in pretty quickly. Hesper rarely starts the action, but when she gets going, she sure goes.


Gladwyn thankfully knows the difference between small dogs and, say, squirrels, but you might not know it by the way she gives chase (and bays - have truly never heard such an intense, loud, continuous vocalization from a canine before).


Lu made the occasional quick turnaround, and became the pursuer...


Being out in the yard feels good, although there is ample evidence that plenty of work is in store to tidy things up for outdoor living. At least the Christmas decorations are down, and won't be greeting us upon our return from Thailand after Easter. Well, everything except the greenery and dogwood arrangements. But evergreens are all-season, right? I'll see what I can do about them, but won't make any promises - we now leave a day earlier than we thought (thank goodness other team members had received their electronic tickets & noticed the date was different than the itinerary we had been given). So, tomorrow is our last evening at home, and the next we head to Toronto to sleep for the night before taking off the following morning. Pretty much ready now, I think. Just a few odds and ends on the 'to-do' list...

Ah, the Irony

Just had a delivery person at the door. Could hardly communicate with the guy, or open the door enough, to get the package due to my intense, barking hounds signalling his arrival. I gave my usual "they're ok, just loud" line over the din (which he likely couldn't hear), and he was gone before I had a chance to figure out & let him know that the package actually contained books on dog barking and calming signals for dogs...really...we do want to help them improve their social skills.

It's so embarrassing, and it's really not nice having to limit chats with neighbours because the dogs won't let us alone. Hesper would often bark and "huff" a very little bit around new people, and Gladwyn was quietly timid (basically vanishing) with guests when we first got her. But now that the two have settled in together, and have begun feeding off of each other, wow, do they ever get going. True hounds who love to hear themselves, combined with some nervous excitability. Unfortunately, I think some of the bark training may involve stressful times where they are not allowed outside to roam around freely for a while. Which will mean lots of doorbell ringing (the bells are inside - their signal that they want out) and guessing as to whether they really "need" out for a few minutes or not. But it is definitely important to get this going before having kids around (or having another homestudy update...can only imagine the two of them barraging our social worker with their frantic greetings). It would also be nice to have this under control a bit more before campground season. They would bark a bit at passers-by our site last year, but I suspect they may be a bit worse now...uh oh.

Perhaps I will share any particular wisdom or success after reading (and trying out suggestions from) these books. If you're interested, stay tuned.

Cheer Up

So, this link may explain why today is, ah, a little gloomy around here (well, it may not explain the events that have transpired on this particular day, but at least it is fitting):

http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/features/Cheer-up-it39s-Blue-Monday.6010954.jp

It seems that the last Monday in January is the most depressing day of the year. The article (and the news report during which I first heard of this earlier today) mention things such as post-Christmas blues, bills, and grey weather as possible contributing factors. In my case, today, you could add a not-very-pleasant work-related email, a frightening one-hour computer crash (it turned on again eventually, but I lost lots of work time after already being off to a slow start), topped off by a growing sense that I am already running behind in 2010. It is also possible that I had a subconscious hope of waking up to a perpetual day off - like the movie, "Groundhog Day" - but alas, it is Monday.

Must get back to work again in a moment, but first, here are a few photos of the past couple of weeks:

First, the hounds, meeting a new friend. 6-month-old basset, Sydney, came for a visit. And it's a good thing our campground won't let us have three dogs (and that our friends seem to plan on keeping her), because this little beauty looks just like a Gladwyn-Hesper combo, and is a lovely dog. Our girls thought she was fantastically interesting.


Next, my Motet. Here, she is the subject of a test photo on our new camera, with Geoff holding the lens about an inch from her face:

Also a new-camera test shot, using the "retro" feature:

And, lastly, a little outdoor friend who hung around for a day (hopefully not trying to find a way to make our attic its new home - been there twice already):

Old Houses, Dog Coats, & Christmas Cheer

Just taking a little break to change position, snack on some chips & dill cream cheese, and plan what to do next, now that I've finished gift-wrapping.

It is winter here today - there has been wind, and some snow (more on the way, I think), which have already wreaked some havoc. Yesterday a couple of outdoor Christmas decorations blew over, so I may need to re-think their placement and/or anchorage. A window fell out today (hooray for old houses...really...much more interesting stories to tell). And I happened to glance out a kitchen window while the dogs were outside earlier, discovering to my horror that the verandah gate was sitting open (must have been wind, even with a barricade and spring-loaded mechanism to keep it shut). I ran out, feeling that surely the dogs were gone, and was so relieved to find them coming toward me from within the yard. I hope this does not mark the beginning of a new string of pet-escape-related nightmares. At one point I was dreaming about dogs escaping onto our busy road so frequently that I thought we might have to move. Far too many gates around here.

A week or so ago we were both feeling completely overwhelmed with pretty much everything. The house in constant reno & decoration-related disarray, Christmas pageant preparation, anticipation of busy times with holiday company and commitments...Anyway, this week has been a bit better, as we have tackled a pile or two of "stuff", put up the real tree (after shopping around and around for just the right one), wrapped the gifts, and put stamps on the cards at last (they have been sitting around for a while, after I "lost" the stamps I bought. Finding a couple of dented ones on their own under a chair last week made us suspicious that they were not lost, rather EATEN by Gladwyn - which would have happened the same week she ate a rope toy and caused a tense Friday afternoon of $$ x-rays and waiting at the vet while hoping we would make it to the Cranberries concert).

Oh, and we also found dog coats for the girls! This is newsworthy from my perspective (and perhaps for those of you with hard-to-fit dogs like mine). Gladwyn is tall, but very skinny. She would stand pretty much even with a lab-type dog, but is built much differently - closer to a sighthound like a greyhound. She usually needs L/XL for length, but then drowns around the neck and chest in any other coat I've found (and often I can't find them big enough to start with - most dog coats seem to be made for the 30lbs and under crowd). My other issue has been that most coats out there are "fashion" coats - cute but totally impractical - either too flimsy for warmth and wind protection, or styled with legs which prevent the dog from actually walking. For Hesper, even reasonably-cut coats seem to fall too far down her leg at the front, also preventing her from walking on those stumpy basset limbs, and the length/chest ratio is an issue for her like it is for Gladwyn.

Anyway, we decided to bring the hounds along when we went tree-shopping, figuring we wouldn't be out of the van long at each stop, and they could be cozy waiting for us with blankets and things around. And we also needed Gladwyn with us to try on coats at a store where they can't be returned. I had seen coats by RC Pets (www.rcpets.com) a while ago, and they are sized in 2-inch increments, for tiny to great big dogs. Turns out they fit BOTH Hesper and Gladwyn very nicely. Long velcro strips make for lots of chest adjustability, and they are cut high enough around the shoulder and under the neck so as to allow free shoulder and upper leg movement when walking. They are water-resistant, and have a fleece lining. Now, Gladwyn could still use something cozier for really cold weather, since she shivers noticeably, but it's a start (and I can easily make a fleece under- or over-coat with some extra coverage to use along with this one, now that I know what shape works for her). Yes, I could have custom-created something from scratch, but wasn't getting around to it, so these are a great find (and getting my hands on polar fleece I like, for a good price, seems harder than I thought). Anyway...it's amazing how much I can blab on about dog coats - some of you are likely snoring already - but blogging lets me humour myself a little!

So, that's the news from these parts. Lots of Christmas festivities coming this weekend. Speaking of which, I should be getting back to that do-to list now that the cream cheese and chips have been taken care of!

Dogs, and Human Nature

Yesterday we came across a great deal on a nice, big, comfy dog bed. Our other ones are a little flat, hard, and lumpy, so we picked it up.

Well, it is a hit with Gladwyn in particular. She stayed on it all evening - not even following me upstairs where I spent some time. However, she won't let Hesper on it. Typically a good-natured hound who loves to play with Hesperantha, snuggle up beside her, and who lets Hesper boss her around the food dish, she growls and blocks Hesper from the new bed. Hopefully once the novelty wears off, all will be well, but I have to say I am always disappointed when my hounds mirror the less savoury aspects of human (and I suppose, animal) nature. I mean, I do realize dogs are generally thinking of themselves - even their affection, which I enjoy, seems pretty suspiciously self-gratifying - but at least when they are being nice about their "me first-ness" they can still be endearing.

Not sure how to categorize things like our little Scat-cat's food thievery - it makes me laugh when she growls and grumbles while dragging off a piece of meat, but I do think she would let us all starve while making off with choice meats, cheeses, and milk from the counter when our backs are turned. Don't think any of my pets have ever come close to embodying the qualities of heroic and unselfish animals occasionally featured in news stories - I guess maybe that is why those animals make the news.

A Little Seasoning...

As things have been pretty repetitive here in blog-world lately, I wanted to post a few pictures to spice things up a bit. I finally have a couple of Gladwyn pics where she's not nervously glancing at the camera - here she is "camping" with us at the trailer a couple of weeks ago:

And here's Hesperantha, posing with as much dignity as she can muster. She's all grown up now, having turned two a week ago (but she hasn't figured that out yet).

One of my hibiscus blooms after a rain:

And a rainbow, spotted as we approached our campground:
We have definitely made the most of our little getaway this summer - driving into the campground provides an instant sense of calm, and it's been lovely spending nice, full days together reading and walking the dogs. Life there is just simple, and it's nice not to be surrounded by visual reminders of chores and yardwork and renovations - the trailer is easy to keep clean & tidy, the deck is fresh & sunny, and the little garden is super-low maintenance (and we don't cut the grass!). And then, at home, we've been making some headway again on renovations, so there seems to be a reasonable balance. This coming long weekend will mark the end of full summer weekends away - we will soon be back to Sunday School teaching and other commitments, so will be making shorter trips up through mid-October, when the campground closes for the season. I am always sad to see the summer season draw to a close, and this year we've certainly had some early reminders of fall, which I could have done without. However, this means that I can't get fall off of my mind, and I must admit to a hint of anticipation as I think about fall decorating, crisp air and leaves, and of course, the lead-up to the Christmas season. Don't want to rush things, but may as well savour what's coming...

Remembering Bruckner

1999-June 8, 2009

Taking a moment to celebrate my sister's dog, Bruckner (seen here hanging out with my Scat, in a backyard garden at my place), a happy guy who shared 8 years as part of the family. He was adopted by my sister in Ohio, then moved in with us for 3 years along with my sister, where he developed a lovely friendship with our greyhound, Gatsby, put up with our cats (sometimes salivating after them, especially Scat), and endured Phineas, our basset. Most recently he enjoyed meeting Gladwyn (who must have looked enough like a greyhound for his taste) and sharing his home with our new niece. He hung in there for a little while with lymphoma, enough time for some more good walks, visits, and memories.

Camping Kick-off...Not Quite as Planned

To borrow the trendy 1950s slang term popular in the movie "Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation" which we saw last night in the comfort of our trailer on our first camping night of the season...this weekend has been so "weird"...

The campground opened May 1, and we were there by 4:00pm, having left home in good time and having stopped for groceries just before the campground. Well, within about half an hour after arriving, I rounded the corner of the van with a load of groceries, on my way into the trailer, and spotted Gladwyn, roaming free, without her harness, no longer hitched to the sturdy tie-out she had been on since arriving. Sickening, sudden horror. Gladwyn has only been with us for three weeks, and while her timidity is often not apparent with us at home anymore, she is still very skittish and shy, and does not reliably come when called. And here we were, surrounded by forest, farmland, Lake Huron, and highway, in territory completely unfamiliar to Gladwyn. Few people around (and little good that would do with a dog who is afraid of people) as well. Just about the scariest thing I've experienced. She started off in the campground area, almost approached some folks and their dogs, almost came to take a treat from me, but then took the trail up the steep forest slope into the woods. We had left Hesper tethered in her spot at the trailer, unsupervised, while we scrambled up, Geoff in the lead. Both of us truly unsure we would ever see this lovely, frightened dog again, knowing she would not come to us freely. What an utter sense of helplessness and desperation, pleading out loud for divine intervention, and leaving my carefully protected Birkenstocks at the mercy of the deep mud and puddles along the wet trail. After circling after her for what seemed like ages, and almost catching her twice, I finally approached her and latched onto her collar when she left the trails and stopped, huddled in fear amongst some bare evergreen branches. Without a leash, I held onto her collar for dear life while Geoff ran back for a leash, and for Hesper, and eventually Gladwyn calmed enough to enjoy the doggie "junk food" I had grabbed as we headed after her. It still makes me sick to think what our weekend could have been like...but, I have also been oh, so thankful for a few important factors:
- That I saw her leaving, as it would have been so easy for her to slip away unnoticed and simply vanish (it turns out she managed to wiggle free of her harness, which was found still securely attached to the tie-out).
- That she never broke into a full run - despite being frightened and trying to avoid capture, she maintained a trot, occasionally stopping to sniff or to listen to Geoff's pleas for her to sit - we were able to keep her within eyesight through the woods at all times.
- That she left the trail (initially NOT something I wanted her to do) and entered thicker brush, which finally stopped her.
- That she didn't fight once we finally had her, as holding a dog by the collar can be tricky, and she could have initially slipped her collar had she tried hard enough (thankfully we were able to tighten it while I kept a firm grip).
- That we realized the potential for escape now, rather than having a tragic and unexpected incident another time.

And now, we are going to sign her up for obedience classes as soon as possible, while starting some more intensive work at home on behaviours like responding to her name, coming when called, and sitting on command, particularly when stressed. We are also going to research no-escape harnesses, and the gated deck-building is definitely the first priority at the trailer. Wow.

Moving on from that incident, we managed to settle in for a nice evening yesterday, a sound sleep last night, and a lovely day today. Had the dogs out for a couple of trail walks, got some reading in, and enjoyed part of a great campfire (complete with roasted weiners)...but before we reached s'mores time, Geoff's pager went off. So he drove up the hill where he can get cell phone reception, only to pull up a bit later, off & running to get us all packed up so he could get home and head into work on an emergency building call. So here I am, at home, typing, instead of watching a movie in cozy trailer comfort. But I am sitting here with TWO dogs curled up beside me, so I really can't complain!

Gladwyn

Happy will now be known as Gladwyn, a lovely name and a noun with both English (the name) and Latin (the noun, gladius) roots:

Gladwyn - name meaning "happy friend" (in honour of her original name, Happy)

Gladwyn - "sword grass" - used generally in regard to plants referred to as "sword lily" (including Gladiolus) and specifically to the Gladwyn Iris (iris foetidissima) - most Gladioli species are native to southern and tropical Africa, and the Gladwyn Iris grows in Europe & North Africa (so I managed to get my Africa connection in, too...)

And, both Gladiolus & the Gladwyn Iris are members of the iridaceae family, as is the Hesperantha Coccinea (evening flower) - see my May 6, 2008 Hesper post for more info on that naming adventure!

Thanks to the following sites (and more, and Google) for these research findings:
paghat.com
dictionary.net
wikipedia.com
babynamesonline.co.uk

And now, I think I am all "name-researched-out" for this week.

Remembering Gatsby

Today (April 11) marks the first anniversary of my lovely boy's death after two short weeks of illness last spring. I love this photo that captures his quiet nature - this won a 2nd place ribbon in a local fall fair a couple of years ago - thanks Gatsby! Our new foxhound girl really reminds me of Gatsby in some ways, with her lanky, muscular build and white fur with ticking...not to mention the soulful eyes. I could never replace my sweet boy, but it is a kind reminder to see pieces of him in other dogs.

Another Addition to the Family!

Here she is! Our beautiful new adoptee has arrived & is just what I imagined her to be. We were able to pick her up Good Friday instead of Saturday, which is great as we have the whole day with her today to help her settle in before our big day out Easter Sunday with church & family dinner. We met at a halfway point in a parking lot, and she was pretty shaky, but showed her curious side as well (it was fun to meet two of her friends who came to send her off, both large male coonhounds). After I opened the side van door to sit & sign paperwork, she decided to climb in & lie down on the dog bed all on her own, so that was that. She was quiet on the ride home, and pretty timid in the house and yard at first, but interested in exploring all the same. Cats weren't an issue on first meeting, which is good, and later on...

...she quite happily climbed on the couch - actually, she did that as soon as she came into the living room, where she spent the rest of the evening with us. Hesperantha seems pretty interested in her, and is quite an easy-going dog, although she has decided to make sure that Happy (new name to be determined soon) knows Hesper gets first dibs on laps & so on.

This morning, Happy is showing very encouraging signs of increased comfort. She has explored the yard thoroughly, and after being a little nervous with Hesper's rather enthusiastic efforts to initiate play, she decided to join in, as you can see! Hesper is hilarious - she just streaks up past other dogs, dashes in front of them, tears in circles around them...I think she will definitely enjoy having another young dog around who likes to play as well.

We will have to work with Happy on coming downstairs again once she gets up, as we've had to carry her down twice now...but that will come. She slept soundly on the dog bed beside me last night, and will take bits of food & treats from me - although the other dogs are making her a bit too nervous to focus on a whole meal at the moment. Anyway, she's gorgeous, and feels like our dog already. We look forward to getting to know her!

Irresistable...

Announcing our current adoption in progress...of a beautiful one year-old Penn-Marydel Foxhound who was surrendered to the Canadian Hound Rescue at 5 months of age. The plan is to meet her this Friday & bring her home! Hoping she & Hesperantha enjoy each other, as Hesper would like a playmate. We think she's quite stunning!

(Name to be announced)

Remembering Phineas

I haven't been thinking of this at all, but just minutes ago some sad, sad news of a colleague put me in a reflective mood, and then I remembered that this Sunday (Family Day weekend) last year we realized that Phineas needed us to let him go the next day - his cancer had simply taken over his life throughout the preceding week and particularly over that weekend. So, that Sunday we cozied up in the living room with blankets and pillows and movies, and slept there through the night with our little guy. Such a mixture of sadness and peace and thankfulness, knowing that he had hung in there into the new year and hadn't felt sick for very long at all, and that the decision was clear - much easier in some ways than I had anticipated. So hard, though, waiting for the next day, knowing what it would bring. I like this picture of him, on his second-last walk, before Christmas and while showing no significant effects from the tumours. He was so camera-shy the last few years that getting this shot (by sneaking the camera out quickly while he walked) was a treat!

First Hike!

Some lovely weather on May 25 enticed us to set aside garage sale preparation & take Hesper for a lovely hike at our nearby provincial park! She did beautifully - even fjorded the stream with minimal coaxing - and we're looking forward to a lovely, outdoor summer together!

Our little family in November 2007 - memories of the first phase of life at our home. Our canine friends, Gatsby & Phineas, enjoying their last fall with us. Cats Scat & Motet managing to at least be in the shot!

Puppy Side Note...

Just in case you are wondering how we came up with the name "Hesperantha" for our new basset hound, here's the scoop:

Being a bit compulsive & always trying to cover every detail, I was really hoping we could find a name that reflected our future connection to Africa AND that paid homage to puppy's birth name, "Star"

After much googling, I found a list of plants that grow in Southern Africa (then decided that wasn't quite good enough - ideally the plants had to be native to Africa, not just grow there as well as in other parts of the world). On the list was "Hesperantha" - the evening flower. I had already come across the name Hesper, meaning "evening star" (from the Greek, Hesperos) but had not given it much attention. Needless to say, Hesperantha quickly made the short list for meeting both the "star" and the Africa criteria. It took a few more days of deliberating, then during another internet search (yes, it's a bit of a sickness) of "evening star" I stumbled on evening star-themed poetry by Poe, Blake, and Longfellow, to name a few. Well, our other dogs had literary names, and I appreciate a good classic for sure, so that pretty much confirmed it.

The end.