New Day 59 – Spring! YAY!

It was in the 61 degrees today. Unbelievable! The snow is fast disappearing and much of the sunnier woods was bare today. It’s hard to believe we had 6 inches of snow a few days ago and it’s only been the last few days that I haven’t had the heat lamp on in the chicken coop.

Glory be! We headed outside to wander the yard with no coat on and Buddy’s old Frisbee in hand. Oliver loves the Frisbee but today he was just too excited exploring parts of the yard he hasn’t seen before, to play.

Finn came out and joined us.

A little nose to nose greeting.

The old cat netting has mostly come down and need repairing. I’ve removed much of it but left a good expanse just to keep predators out. Oliver appears to be a wanderer, so I will repair it just to deter him from taking off into the woods.

Exploring the old straw filled cat shelter.

What? Where are you going?

Any room for me?

Ha! I found a place where the dog doesn’t go!

Oliver thinks he’s a cat.

I’d completely forgotten I’d hung this out for the birds last spring. How nice to see it was used. And there’s plenty of wool left for this spring.

After a 360 degree tour of the yard, we were back where we started and it was time to go in. Guess who did not want to do that!

As I type this he’s whining, barking, and pulling on my sleeve. He wants to go back out there. So…before the sun heads below the horizon, I think we’ll head outside again.

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New Day 58 – Do I have To Head Outside?

This blog has been centered around outside activities. It’s amazing how many things there have been to write about that happen outside: chickens, croquet, cats, dogs, spiders, grandchildren, constructing outbuildings, snow, weeds – well, you get the idea. But the one requirement for the blog is that I open the back door and step outside.

Not something that has come easily this VERY cold winter.

After taking a long break from posting on this blog, I began it again a month ago the day I brought Oliver home. I was l all geared up for a new chapter in outside activities. Oliver’s first few days here were balmy with no snow on the ground, and we made a good start on heading outside. Since then we’ve had negative degree temperatures and lots of snow.

But…despite the cold, I have spent a lot of time heading outside with Oliver – just about every half hour during the day, and sometimes once or twice at night in my pajamas and slippers. But not for the great adventures I’d had in mind. House training a puppy is not exactly the greatest subject for blogging and photo taking.

I did try sending Oliver out on his own while I watched from the warmth of the house. But no dice.

“Are you coming out, or what?”

Here he is on the trail to the bird feeder.

After the next storm the trails were so deep I had to follow after him to make sure he was performing.

Though our trips outside have been brief, we have had some beautiful photo ops.

I transplanted this beautiful double balsam from the woods behind to this spot in my yard 7 or 8 years ago. It is a beauty!

Oliver’s first snow experience was hilarious. Where was the grass he needed? He raced around the yard trying to find a bit of green.

“What is this stuff?”

While he dashed about, I madly shoveled a spot for him down to the grass. Over time he transitioned to the snow as the appropriate place. Yesterday we had warm weather and masses of rain. When we headed outside for the usual, all his habitual places were down to grass again, but Oliver’s habits had changed. Now he didn’t like the grass – and wouldn’t put his feet on it. He tromped through the snow that was left, sinking in to his belly, nose down, searching for a familiar aroma.

A few days ago before the rain, we warmed up – not above freezing, but so much warmer than the days before that it felt like spring. So Oliver and I took our first decent walk in weeks – this time with harness, and leash.

There was clearly something of interest in that hole. On the way home he stuck his nose in the hole again.

Oliver absolutely loves to walk. He trots along at a good pace without pulling on the leash. That is until we turn and head home again. Then his pace picks up and he starts pulling me home. It makes me wonder if he was accustomed to running home before I had him, and that’s why he took off running like a mad doggie for home on that first trek (See: New Day 56 – New Puppy – Old Friend?)

We are back in another deep freeze, and my camera is refusing to behave in the cold. I keep getting the Canon E18 error, which I have had repaired once and am loath to do again. The camera does not like any moisture! Most annoying.

Perhaps I’ll have to start a new blog “Staying Inside”. Plenty of blogging fuel there too!

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New Day 56 – New Puppy – Old Friend?

Introducing Oliver.

This is my new excuse to head outside for some exercise. Oliver is a four month old Morkie. So far he is a spectacular little dog. As long as I take him outside every half hour or so, he does not do things inappropriately in the house. He sleeps on the bed beside me in his little crate and sleeps through the night – no accidents! He loves to play and to walk which is an answer to my prayers. He fetches endlessly as Buddy used to do. He eats, sleeps, and plays. What else could you want in a dog?

I’ve had him now for four days. He’s been out for short walks down the road with me and follows along perfectly. The harness I bought is too big for him, so I made sure he was close enough to scoop up if a car approached – but no cars so far on our walks.

Today I made him a little coat and took him out on the trail across the road to see if he was up for the hour’s trek.

Here he is on my side of the road, just checking out the dead bracken.

We.re on the trail now, and he’s sticking very close behind me as we walk along. When I stop, he investigates the surroundings. There’s a lot for a new little puppy to discover.

I’m wondering what he’ll think about the water.

It’s frozen over and he stays safely on shore. (But for a moment I was afraid he was going to step out.)

Note to self: We need a harness and a leash.

We continue along the winding trail, me turning to be sure he’s with me every half minute or so. Every time I check he’s right there, only inches from my feet. I can’t hear him, so I need to keep checking.

But suddenly, when I turn to see if he’s there, he’s gone! I look back along the trail and he’s standing there, maybe 40 feet away, looking at me. I start running back to him, calling his name.

Either he no longer recognizes me, and I frighten him, or he’s fed up with the walk. He turns and runs as fast as he can back along the trail the way we came. I run like a mad woman, but I cannot catch up with him. Soon he’s completely out of sight. I say a few prayers as I’m terrified he’ll just dash across the road and get hurt. We live on a dead end with only three houses, but still – there are cars occasionally.

I’m praying he’s gone home, but I can’t really believe it can be possible. This is the first time we’ve gone left out of the driveway and down the road, and he’s never been on the trail before.

I exit the trail, rush panting up the hill and into the driveway. Then I hear him barking. He’s at the back door and want’s me to let him in. He seems confused when I appear behind him.

My conclusion is, he didn’t recognize me when I turned and ran back to get him. so he ran for safety – back to the home he has known for only a few days. How is that possible?

Reincarnation?

Now Here’s a Question? Do you think Dogs Reincarnate to be with a former person? This little dog reminds me so much of Buddy that I find myself wondering if it is possible that he is the reincarnation of Buddy’s soul.

In my search for a new best friend, I asked Spirit to let me know with some sort of sign, that the dog I found was meant to be my dog. When I went to meet this little puppy, he was living with a family of cat, dogs, child, and parents. I met the mom who was very warm and friendly. At one point while she was chatting about the dog, she said, “I don’t know why, but this is his favorite toy.” Then she reached into the laundry basket, pulled out a sock, rolled it into a ball, and tossed it for the puppy to retrieve. Which he did, bringing it back to my feet.

Now if you are a long time follower of this blog, you may remember that socks were Buddy’s favorite toys. Surely that was my sign that this was my dog.

Since then Oliver has displayed many behaviors that remind me so much of Buddy, that I find it hard not to ponder the reincarnation possibility. Also, my cat Abbey who knew Buddy, has been very affectionate from the first time she saw him – no hissing! Here she is greeting only minutes after his arrival.

Now, I do know that dogs have strong noses, and it’s not impossible that Oliver could have found his way home again. But still – where is home to him, here, or where he’s lived for the past 4 months? And how was he able to race back without putting his nose to ground?

Just wondering!

He’s a sweetheart!

And yes, don’t worry – lesson learned! NOT going out for a walk without a harness and leash again!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Day 24 – Beauty and The Beast

Beauty

It was a lazy day. Outside activities were limited to picking beans and enjoying the beauty of the Morning Glories which are particularly lovely this time of the year. The gray skies and lower sun mean that the blossoms stay open most of the day. I see these flowers first thing in the morning from the bathroom window as I brush my teeth. I plant them every year. I first fell in love with them when I was young and spending a year living with an aunt and uncle. The whole back side of their house where my cousin and I played was covered in these beautiful blue flowers.

The Beast leaves his mark.

It was when I was at the kitchen sink that I noticed the destruction of the bird feeder. The beast was here. Unlike last year when Mama bear came and gently lowered the feeder to the ground before helping herself, this must have been the male. The squirrel protector was completely smashed along with the feeder, which was pretty much on its last legs anyway. The whole thing was a jury rigged affair that allowed some protection from the squirrels, and me to bring the feeder in at night to avoid bear attacks. 

Savoring the seeds.

Mama Bear last year - a gentler approach.

Down but not broken.

Around the corner I found the hanging feeder down and empty – fortunately not broken. It too is removable for safe keeping inside over night. I have only myself to blame.

Cat scan.

Max arrived when I was out inspecting the damage, and had a good sniff before heading for the back door and breakfast inside.

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Day 1 – Commitment

Today is Buddy’s birthday. Buddy is a white toy poodle and he is eleven today. I’ve been telling people for a year or so now that he’s twelve going on thirteen. Thanks to starting this blog and my desire to be accurate, I discover that he’s younger than I thought. This pleases me very much since he developed a heart problem this year and is on medication. He also developed asthma which made breathing difficult for him (and nearly gave me a heart condition every time he had a gasping-for-breath episode). Thanks to various drugs, everything seems to be under control. And now that I find he’s only eleven, I can shed my fear that he’s about to expire, and start manifesting some good years ahead for the two of us.

Actually there are quite a few more than two of us. I live with seven cats, and in addition to Buddy, I adopted another toy poodle about 16 months ago – Bo. Bo’s owners moved to a  no-dog-allowed apartment (it was the only one they could find), and with that plus other dog-incompatible issues, Mr. Bones found his way to my house, and is as happy as an old dog can be. I’m his forth owner, and according to our local pet psychic, I’m ‘his person.’ He certainly acts as if I am. He makes no attempt to leave despite numerous opportunities to run off (as I was warned he would do). I abandoned the dog run I set up on day two of his arrival. It was clear he wanted to stay. I live in the woods and his first time running completely free was a joy to watch. 

Yesterday dawned with a distinctly autumn feel. Buddy, Bo [I couldn’t hack the name Mr. Bones, so Bo he has become], and I headed down to the edge of the stream at the north end of my property to continue sawing up a fallen Ash tree before winter sets in. A year ago I bought a wood stove. I have oil heat, but when the ice storm of 2008 hit and I was without heat, electricity, and telephone, for three weeks, I was determined to avoid a reoccurrence. So I got myself a Jøtul. Thanks to the huge maple tree that came down on the house, I had enough insurance money for the stove, and plenty of wood for several years.

Every hardwood tree is potential heat, so I salvage what I can myself. The ice storm brought down dozens of trees in my yard. I’ve been cutting up the hardwoods ever since. I use a hand saw I bought from Lee Valley in Canada years ago. It’s a portable wood saw, and it works like a charm. I’m afraid to use a chain saw. The obvious reason being – I’d probably cut my leg off.

I spent some time clearing away debris and undergrowth around the fallen tree, and then started cutting off 18” lengths. Most of this summer I have spent outdoors. The weather has been hot, but glorious. Between tending the vegetable garden, cutting the lawn (a.k.a. weeds), and piling up ice storm debris to allow negotiating the property again, I have barely been indoors. My passion for being out in the open has become an obsession. So much so that I’ve taken to getting up at all hours of the night and early morning just to stand out under the stars. A few days ago I awoke to a cacophony of crows out by the pond across the road, so I raced out in my pajamas and slippers to see what the hullabaloo was about. I didn’t discover the reason, but I was bathed in the deliciousness of having the freedom to run outside at a whim with no neighbors to see or care. I am so lucky.

While sawing away at the fallen tree, the idea for a blog came to me. Ideas often come to me when I am doing hard physical labor, or asleep. I suspect they are related, but with no ability to turn on whatever happens that brings up the ideas, I simply take them as they come with gratitude. In any event, I was mulling over how passionate I had become about being outside, and was already bemoaning the fact that winter was coming and my days outside were numbered. Then it hit me – why stop? There was no reason winter should slow down the drive to be outdoors, or the ability. All that was needed were some warm clothes and boots, and a commitment.

So…I begin today as day 1 of my commitment to heading outside every day for a restorative recharging and balancing. Tune in tomorrow for more.

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