Cold, but no snow...

Chill days. Bright sun, brisk winds, short daylight. But no snow. A couple days ago we had an entire day that looked and smelled like snow, but it all fell south of us. The ground is still green-n-brown.

Suka and Dakota have come to extra-energetic life - Cold weather is simply a God-send to these heavy-coated girls. Dakota, especially, has taken to bouncing and looking at me wth her head turned sideways every time I get to my feet. She *knows* the routine, but still she's looking for an exception. Every. Single. Time. Suka mostly reacts by being much more noisy than usual, and more persistent.

Dakota has made things a bit more interesting... She and Suka had a resource spat a week or so ago, and Suka bellied-out immediately - and Dakota stopped. This is a good thing; Exactly the way a dog fight - if you *must* have a dog fight - should go. But it was Suka submitting. That's a first. And yet, at any other time, including after the fight, Dakota still defers to Suka, whom hasn't changed her pushy, bitchy ways one iota. It's as if, having made her point, Dakota has decided to humor Suka. And smart as Dakota is, I'd not be surprised if that wasn't exactly the case.

So it's still not the desert... Nor the jungle.

But weeks straight of 90 deg(f) weather, including two back-to-back days of 103 deg(f) temps, have pretty much shocked the dogs.

I've been to real desert, here in the US (Death Valley, Johsua Tree, Painted Desert, and the like) and abroad (Bahrain, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Fujairah, etc.). I've been to real tropics, too (Guam, Penang, Singapore, P.I., among others). So I know the heat and humidity can be far more beastly elsewhere. But still, when you hit temperatures a full twenty degrees (f) above normal, you have to sit up and take notice. Certainly, the dogs have!

Both of them, Dakota especially, have taken to looking cross-ways at me when I go to let them out. They'll stand in teh door of the garage, and look at me out by the door to outside, and cock their heads at me like I've lost my mind. After all, only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun, right? And clearly, whatever else they may be, my dogs are far from mad! Except this isn't the noon day sun - We're talking evening hours, after a long day without play or head calls. Still, they look at me, checking to see if I'm seriously going outside, and do I really want them to accompany me? Even at 7pm, temps have been hovering around 90 deg(f), and that's just too warm for comfort, what with the fur and all.

For Dakota, especially, this is unusual behavior. Normally, she can't wait to scramble out the doors and race off to bark at all four points of the compass - once at each fenceline to let the neighborhood know the backyard security peremiter is armed and active. Then she'll go pace the back fence and look over her shoulder at me to see if she can get away with barking at the dogs on the other side - A favorite activity of hers if she's not being watched. After exchanging unpleasantries with the dogs on the other side (or at least checking to see if she can get away with it), she'll usually pace the peremiter a few times looking for potential intruders, and make use of the trees, as needed. Suka, meanwhile, will have taken a ring-master position in the center of the yard, and will be watching the goings-on with keen interest. Or she'll be rolling in the grass - whichever strikes her fancy.

But not these days.
These days, the pair of them will stand in the doorway and cock their heads at me like I've taken leave of my senses. And when I lead them out, they follow reluctantly, attend to their needs as quickly as possible, and bee-line for the door back inside.

I've a small kiddie pool available for them, but that's not as cool as inside, and besides, they'd rather drink it dry than actually splash in it. Suka has even given up on the den she's dug under the back steps - just too hot for comfort there!

Normally, I'd try to say something witty at this point, or at least deliver some kind of summation. But not today... my brain's melted.

First snow of the season.

Wet, sloppy snow today... Essentially no accumulation, as anything that built up was so wet that it washed away in short order. But for a short while, there was some slushy snow on the grass. It was coming down so fast that for a while the rain mixed in with the snow couldn't quite wash it away as fast as it was falling. Only for a while, mind you. :-p

That was enough for The Girls - Much running about, mixing the scant snow liberally with mud, rolling in the slush, and stuffing their faces into the deeper spots. Dakota, especially, made a point of plowing snow with her face... She's undoubtely been missing the white stuff!

Sorry, no pics - Between the rather heavy rain admixed with the snow, and muddy slush being flung about, I didn't dare chance the camera outside. *shrug* It was a dark grey overcast day anyway. I doubt any pics would've turned out well.

Still, The Girls got a good workout just prancing about in the cold and wet. :-)

Lums Pond

Lums pond is one of my favorite places in the whole state... Beautiful woods, lovely (HUGE!) pond, lots of convenient places to BBQ and sit, or walk and relax, or do whatever comes to mind. Plentiful facilities, well-located and convenient, but unobtrusive and discrete. Basically, it's a civilized and convenient place, cleverly disguised as wilderness.

So, a bunch of us from the SSDCA-MAC (Shiloh Shepherd Dog Club - Mid-Atlantic Chapter) got together at the park, with yours truly serving as local host. 15 massive ISSR Shilohs, a couple of large GSDs, a Chinese Crested, and Suka... That makes roughly a ton of dogs.
Literally. ;-)

Good food, good people, great weather, and all the dogs were on their best behavior... At least until Suka rolled in something stinky. Then a couple of the bitches wanted to take a bite out of her, and a couple of the males were waaaaay more friendly than they'd been previously... What the hell did she roll in? I dunno - I couldn't smell it, but the other dogs sure could! Anyway, even that was easily managed - ISSR Shilohs are big as houses, but they're also obedient and generally mannerly. Leah and Nana took correction well, whilst Loki and Elwood made do with longing looks. Suka, on the other hand, was loftily dismissive of the effect her new perfume was having.
Who knew she was a minx..? ^,^

Lind and Ian were there, and generally well behaved, and Jenn made time out of her busy schedule to meet some of the club, their dogs, and eat the lunch I grilled for her... Then she took off with the kids, leaving me to the dogs. ;-) Not a problem... I hung out, walked Suka through the woods, played with some the Shilohs (Loki, fer instance, loves to jump up on you. He's a 7-month old pup, so it's understandable, but at 91 pounds, and looking me square in the eye on his hind legs, it's a bit of a wrestling match to get him back down again!), and shot the breeze with people I normally only meet on-line.

It was a good day.
:-)

http://s111.photobucket.com/albums/n124/Tranquilis/Lums%20Pond%2007182009/?action=view&current=da45075c.pbw

The hot, not-so-lazy days of summer...

Long time, no posts... Not terribly sorry about that, to be honest. Job responsibilities change, Jenn's Chorale group is putting on their annual summer musical - Camelot, this time - and the kids are settling into summer camp(s).

So, among other things, I'm attending canine gets-together. First one was in Manasas, Virginia, at Bull Run State Park. Yes, that Manasas, and that Bull Run... But not at the actual battlefield! This one was for my friends in the SSDCA-MAC. That's Shiloh Shepherd Dog Club of America, Mid-Atlantic Chapter. This is the home club of the ISSR Shiloh Shepherd dog... Giant-breed dogs descended from GSDs, but not actually GSDs! No police work; gentler, more family- and child-friendly. These are working companion animals, and are not for Schutzhund or other aggressive work - Think SAR, therapy, tracking, and the like. Didn't get many shots of Suka, though there are other slide shows out there with Suka at this event... Didn't get many shots of Ian, either, though he was there... Like he was shot from a gun! Little guy clamped on to one owner's fox-terrier, and the two went runing all over the picnic site like ions out of a linear acclerator. ;-)

Anyway, slide show:
http://s111.photobucket.com/albums/n124/Tranquilis/Bull%20Run%2006062009/?albumview=slideshow

Most of those dogs are puppies! Otis, the pup Lin is mooning over, was a mere 13 weeks. Penny is 4 months - and 48 pounds! That makes her 15% heavier than Suka, a full-grown Border-mutt. And she's taller, too! Dude and Elwood are six months, and Ginger wasn't quite a year. Orion and Kuma, however are full-grown.

Anyway, the dogs were chilled-out, and Olga - the President of MAC - was able to use a somewhat skeptical Ginger as model for a number of grooming tips. It was hot enough that Ian and Jack the fox-terrier were the only real activity. Everyone else clung to the shade, and hung out. All said, a successful day. :-)

The weekend walks down Main Street are continuing and Suka does ever-better; Her willingness to relax and just 'be' are improving each time! Much of this socialization has been hampered by the disrupted schedule, and by the near-demise of Jenn's car. We're back to two functional cars again, so things are moving better than before.

Today, we were back down to Victory Farm for an Open House at the Rescue. Jenn has never been to The Farm, so I've been teased more than a little about my 'non-existent' wife. Well, today they met her! Also, Ian got his first visit to The Farm, and was very well-behaved. How a-typical! :-p Got a LOT of shots of MABCR alumni, so many, in fact, that I pruned it back pretty sharply.

HOT day, but there was a lot of shade, a good breeze, shade pavilions set up, and lots and lots of water available - stock tanks filled and set out everywhere you turned. Some of the dogs even tried out for the scuba team, submerging themselves in the stock tanks until only the tops of their heads were showing, like so many furry bullfrogs! :-D

Lots of MABCR alumni, lots of adopters; everyone looking good and happy. Add lots of good food (even if Sarah did charcoal some hotdogs!), and it was a pretty darn good day! Jenn and I went for our usual walk down Main Street, but poor Suka was wiped out - We let her sleep it off in her crate.

Slide show:
http://s111.photobucket.com/albums/n124/Tranquilis/MABCR%20Open%20House%20June%202009/?albumview=slideshow

Summer's here...

The grass is thick, and growing too fast. Rain, rain, more rain, then sun... Muddy paws on my trousers, wet dog to greet me, chores, gardening, and maintenance to distract me... My days are full.

Soon, the children will be out of school - Lin isn't old enough, quite, to leave home all day. I actually trust her, and she's certainly mature enough, but Qestions Would Be Asked, and I really don't want to deal with that drama. So, I'm pawning her off on my music-teaching psuedo-sister. Whom also happens to be Lin's voice and piano coach. Pricy, but more than worth it! The girl needs a bit of social polish anyway, and my sister is just the one to gently help her down that path. :-) That leaves Ian, and he'll be easy - The Child Development Center here at work runs a full-day summer camp.

OK, kids handled. What about Suka? I'm changing my hours to stagger my wife's schedule a bit with mine, that'll keep Suka from being alone too long. I've found that she's no fear whatsoever of the lawn equipment, though she's not terribly fond of the noise. So, I let her supervise my yard work, which she's content to do at a distance. The front yard not being fenced, she watches from the porch on a 30' lead, and is happy, though she does on occasion rearrange the slate border of the center island with the lead. In the back yard, she normally hangs out in the garage, and observes from the shade of the doorway. I'll need a child's wading pool for later, when things get hot - Some place in which for her to lay down, get wet, and cool off.

We're continuing our trips downtown, and she's really shaping up - her winter or more-or-less isolation is sloughing off, and her 'public' face is coming out to shine.

I've plugged the gaps in the fences where Suka has managed to slip through, and no longer need to watch her quite so closely. Likewise, I've sealed off the undersides of the shed, so the skunks are less likely to camp in our yard, though there's always the off chance of one wandering through. Now, if I could only stop the squirrels from chewing up the roof of the shed...

Gonna be a busy summer. I'll try and get some more photos, when I've got the initial rush of tasks handled.

Mud Puppy!

It's been raining.

Much, much rain. Seattle weather, to be honest. :-p

Jenn was out at one of her Chorale's performances this evening, in the pounding rain. I left Lin in charge of herself and Suka whilst I took Ian with me to deliver Jenn to her car pool to the performance. I come back to find that Lin and Suka have taken the opportunity to play in the rain (They're a matched set of lunatics, IMO). Anyway: dog; outside; pouring rain... I'm sure y'all know where this is headed...

This is what happens when it rains...

OK, so this was all just an excuse to post a cute picture of a repentantly muddy beast... ;-)

Anyway, mad scramble to clean up the dog before Ian and I headed off to collect Jenn again. She wears formal black when performing, and I was quite sure she'd have been less-than-charmed to have been greeted by the ambulatory mud-clod on her return.

Needless to say, when we returned, guess who was outside and playing in the rain and mud again..? Teenagers... Not only not quite bright enough to come in out of the rain, but also crazy enough to go right back out into it as soon as your back is turned. :-p Fortunately, I saw what was up before we opened the front door, and was able to intercept Suka before she splashed Jenn, whom made an inspired sneak-n-dash upstairs before the dog could enthusiastically greet her in a very muddy fashion.

And just so you know; This is what Suka looks like after being cleaned. The second time.

All better now - Time to nap.

That's all. :-p

A pleasant evening's stroll

No pictures. :-p

Jenn and I took an evening to just be. The kids were at my mother's place for the evening, and we took Suka down to main street, and went walking. Glorious weather, perfect night... Cool but comfortable for t-shirts; the day's light breeze tempering down to the merest hint of a breath - just enough to waft scents from the numerous restaurants along. Being the first really excellent weather of spring, the college students were out in mass force, spilling out of bars, chatting in the sidewalk-seating of the various restaurants, walking, joking, moving from party to party. One street over, there's a frat house that always has live music on Saturday nights... Local college bands, many of whom are quite good. Walking along, the music filled in the missing peices of atmosphere.

Suka was generally well-behaved, though there were a few examples of uncertain barking at people she found to be exceptionally strange - smokers all, and mostly men. I need to work on that - We've been neglecting her socialization; Shame on me! However, as I've no doubt said too many times, she's a good dog, and took correction well, and was willing to make friends with those strange burning people... Or at least was willing to accept that they weren't a threat, and accept a bit of scritching from them after suitable introduction. I have to say the college students were really game, working with me to help defuse Suka's anxiety with their good nature and cooperation.

Despite a thousand opportunities to snarf spilled food, raid public trash cans, and otherwise ingest things she ought not eat, she didn't take one single scrap of food from anywhere but my own hands; she really isn't food driven. :-D Instead, Suka put her nose into every nook and cranny where an interesting scent might be found - Scent driven, she most certainly is!

Jenn and I sat down at a favored spot, California Tortilla ( http://www.californiatortilla.com/ ), and I watched the world go by with Suka whilst Jenn went in and placed our orders. Suka was a bit anxious to get moving along again and sniff more scents - I spent maybe fifteen minutes working on getting her to settle. Settling in public is another thing that I've been neglecting; well, last night was a good chance to work on it. As we were eating, my sister and brother-in-law walked past, and also ordered. We didn't pester them, though - It was too perfect an evening, and we didn't want to intrude on their evening.

Of course, college kids being college kids, and this being a Saturday night, someone had to get stupid; every patrol car in town pulled up in front of the shop and a small swarm of blue uniforms went purposefully down the alley and into the parking lot behind the building. There are a couple bars fronting onto that parking lot, and some drama was going on. Dunno what exactly it was, but shortly, a large swarm of college kids came back out of the alley, and one kid was frog-marched out. I love small-town police - They basically walked this kid along, all in a big gaggle, two officers supporting and moving him along, the rest kinda chatting; with the kid, with each other. If it weren't for the uniforms and the handcuffs, it'd have looked like any other group of strollers out for the evening air. Suka, having settled by this point, was supremely indifferent to it all.

Strolled a bit more afterwards, stopped by Cold Stone Creamery ( http://www.coldstonecreamery.com/ ) for some really evil concoction of Jenn's, and finished up our walk juggling soda, icecream, dog, and conversation with random people who wanted to meet Suka.

Really a pleasant evening, even with the drama.

Skunk Catastrophe; Averted

Suka has a routine - Don't all dogs? - that requires that I let her out into the pre-dawn air for her first 'business' call of the day. Letting her out is the second thing I do after waking, only following behind pulling my wellies & coat on. It's a nice time of the day, even if I am a bit muzzy-headed with sleep, and even if it's bitterly cold - The neighborhood is quiet, the Rude Dogs are still sleeping, no one is hammering at me for crisis deliverables, and I can stand there, watch Suka as she sniffs her way about the yard, and just be. It's a zen moment - a chance to open myself to the posibilities of the day.

When let into the yard, Suka patrols the boundaries, nose to the grass, checking out all the new scents that have accumulated from the night previous. She first jets straight to the back fence, to see if the Rude Dogs on the other side are available - I don't let her fence run, but she still wants to check attendance. Then she'll hook to the right, pass behind the shed, turn and follow the chainlink of the neighbor's fenceline, then cross the yard to my left, hook right again, and follow the fence back under the large pine in the corner. Only after she's done the patrol will she do her business, and run back for the house.

This morning, we awoke to a hard frost; Winter may be over, but it's leaving behind calling cards. Suka started her patrol, and as she passed behind the shed, I saw something waddle out from under the shed, headed the opposite direction... Something low, long, fluffy, and white. No - Not a cat. A skunk. A BIG skunk. Yeah, I know - Traditionally, skunks are BLACK and white. Not always, though - We've got some cocker spaniel-sized skunks around here that are predominantly white or cream, and this was one of them. My zen moment vanished in a puff of horror; Suka was within feet of one of the largest skunks I've ever seen, and she's a fiend for interesting scents...

'Left' went the skunk... 'Right' went Suka... 'OMG' went I...

Left, left, left... Right, right, right... OMGOMGOMGOMG...

Suka hooked right at the corner... The skunk vanished under the pine... Suka started to cross back to the left... I was frozen, afraid that any action might precipitate the event I feared...

Then I saw the pale bundle of fur waddling through the neighbors yard; Safe! A heartbeat later, Suka saw it too, and charged the fence, but it was already too late for her to ruin my day; The skunk was out of reach.

Sometimes, you get exactly what you pray for.




For those of you whome don't know about it, there IS an effective remedy for 'skunked' dogs; invented by research chemist Paul Krebaum, it uses common household products, and it works. There may be some slight bleaching, but, in my opinion at least, a pale dog is MUCH better than a skunked dog. I keep the ingredients in the house, just to be on the safe side. Thankfully, I didn't need it today. However, for your reference:

http://home.earthlink.net/~skunkremedy/home/

http://home.earthlink.net/~skunkremedy/home/sk00001.htm

Saturday in the Park

These photos were taken just six days after the photos in the previous post... What a difference a few days makes!

Lin walking Suka into the neighborhood park

No, there's no love here...

Neener-neener, Dad! I'm sucking up to Lin today! :-p

OK, OK - Don't cry - I still love you, you big sissy!

For a "pocket park," there's a surprisingly large number of acres here... Just behind the treeline runs White Clay Creek, which give our neighborhood a micro-climate substantially more cool that the rest of the county. White Clay Creek is nearly a small river, and frequently floods into the flat grassy area you see here:

Lots of room to explore!

The periodic flooding means that the land is useless for almost any purpose, other than public parkland. And most of teh time, it's useless for that, too... Flooded, or soaked and muddy. Nothing much, other than flood-resistant trees grows here. There are swingsets and slides and ball parks sattered through the park, but most are damaged beyond safe use by the frequent washouts.

Nothing much to look at, but, oh! The scents!

At the entrance ot the park, there's this huge old pine tree, which I love to look at... It's got character. The hole here is big enough for Suka to curl up inside.

Probably a death wound

Anyway, winter is gone... Spring is here. Soon, the park will be flooding every other weekend... Time to enjoy it whilst we can!

Winter's Last Stand

This snow storm is a few weeks past, but I only now have had time to pull the photos out of the camera. This is no doubt the last snow until November.

Somewhere in this shot, there's a dog. Can you find her?

There she is!

Snow or no snow, she's still finding all the interesting smells...

This snow lasted a little longer than many previous storms have, this past winter, and it was a pretty darn cold - roads were treacherous. If not for four-wheel drive, I'd have not gotten out of the neighborhood at all - We were losing traction the whole way.

Then, five days later, it was gone. Easy come, easy go. :-p

Miscellaneous and Random...

So, what do I want to say here..? Hmmm. I know - I can clear up a couple back stories, with images.

It snowed last night (Saturday night, I mean). We woke to another Delaware Decorative Snow, this AM. By the time we left church, it was gone... Completely. It's snowing again, now, but this time, with a bit more enthusiasm. So... What does a Delaware Decorative Snow look like? Here ya go:

Deciding if she really wants to go out...

...Patented snow trot in mid-pace.

The camera puts more contrast on these shots than is actually available to the human eye. Without the camera and the benefit of the zoom lens, Suka's coloring really does her good service as camoflage in these conditions. I knew white-factored red sable existed for more reasons than just to look good!

Suspicious of the neighbor's dog - one of the Rude Dogs.

If you look really close, you'll see some roughness in her coat along her hips... She's blowing coat, and is seemingly less happy about the cold now. Sorry... No rolling and wriggling in the snow today.


Did I say "blowing coat?" I meant to say "Trying to reupholster the house." For instance - This is what 30 seconds of shedding dog can do to a nice fresh pillowcase:

Say now... Where did that fur come from..?

Who, me..?! Nope. Didn't do it. And I'm not on the bed right now, either.

I believe I mentioned that Suka likes to snuggle on the couch when I nap there? Well I finally got an image of that, too... Though I think she was a bit non-plussed to have her nap interrupted...

Whyfore you wake me with the flashy-thing..?

And lastly... To remind us all that spring *is* coming, and green things will be here again, a shot from last July, when Suka first came to join us - It's a shot pried out of the old camera, and more than bit fuzzy (I should known then, that the camera was dying):

Getting used to the new digs.

Anyway, that's all for now. I think I'll go out and sand the walks once more, and call it a night.

Ministry of Silly Walks, Canine Division.

The last couple of nights have been pretty frosty, at least for Delaware... Temps in the low 20s or high teens. Suka really comes alive in the cold, especially if there's no frost or ice on the ground. Snow, she loves. Frost and ice weird her out.

Last night, the grass grew hoarfrost again... Still air, clear skies, temperatures plummeting from the already low daytime temps towards something rather cooler than shirtsleeve weather; you could actually see the frost growing. Sweater weather, for me, really - As long as there's no humidity or winds to speak of, a sweater is plenty sufficient for me in mid-teen temps. WAML again, and all that rot, so, it seemed like a good night to go and perch on the old playset and just kind of chill out, in several meanings of the phrase. Suka happily joined me, energetic and playful in the chill air, but the hoarfrost was messing with her mind again. This time, rather than mincing (which really was out of the question - She had too much energy), Suka tried out a Silly Walk: Run two strides; pop her front legs off the ground and run two strides on her back legs only; repeat. I've never seen anything like it - I don't even know to what I should compare it. She wasn't bounding, she wasn't bear-walking, but some crazy hybrid of the two on the two-beat.

It's supposed to be pretty cold the rest of the week... I wonder what else I'll see Suka do before it's done?

Brrrr...

Bitter cold this AM - not the coldest we've ever seen 'round here, but cold enough. 15(f) this morning, topping to 27(f) and rapidly sliding back downhill. Add a couple degress of windchill, and it's cold enough to get even my attention, and I don't generally mind the cold. Oh, I subjectively know when it's cold, and when it's not, but you've really got to get into the low 20s, or add some serious wind chill, before I complain. But when my hair froze between the front door and the car this AM, all of maybe 75 feet, I noticed. I've got a curly mop, and it's a wonderful insulator, but it's a bugger to get dry. This morning, I'd wished I'd tried a bit harder - My hair was still frozen when I got to work.

Suka has even been reluctant to go out, and I *know* she's used to the cold. Maybe it was the freezing rain of a couple days ago, which coated all the blades of grass in their individual icy sheathes - that must've felt a bit weird on her feet. Pretty, but weird. Today, the grass is more-or-less dry, if something covered in hoarfrost can be considered to be technically dry. Maybe it's that the frosty grass looks, well, feathery. Maybe icy feathers feel weird on one's bare feet?

Well, it isn't going to last... no clouds today, no clouds tonight; dang cold overnight and tomorrow, then a maybe a twenty degree jump, and rain. No white Christmas this year - The liar's accademy (weather services) are reasonably certain that we're going to have wet Xmas this year, and that's the kind of prediction they're sadly good at. Well, we need the rain anyway... If any actually soaks into the newly-frozen ground. Cold wet rain? Ah... Suka's not going to be terribly fond of that, either.

Decorative snow...

An intense but brief little snow storm visited us yesterday evening. Tiny, jewel-like flakes, sifting down like flour, blanketing everyting in a soft, shallow blanket of white. The ground was too warm for the roads and sidewalks to take any coating, but the grass, tress, and rooftops recieved their customary gilding - lovely, and yet at the same time, utterly harmless. Delaware Decorative Snow.

I look out the window this morning, and everything is accented in white - Not thick enough to conceal shapes, it never-the-less conceals what ought to be concealed - All the little details that might detract from the image before me are made innocent in their icy white lace clothing - There are no scars on the neighbors' lawns, no discouloration where the county came through and tore up yards to replace water mains. The raw stump of the massive maple that was cut down no longer looks like a broken tooth -It's now a snowy cairn marking the place where that looming giant once stood.

Into this innocent view, Suka trots; her normal fast, prancing gait reduced to three-quarters time, as she savors the sensation of snow on her feet. She dips her head and skims some snow into her mouth, like a gull drinking on the wing, and continues her detailed examination of the world, trotting daintilly along, checking each corner, and following scents that ought to have vanished under the snow. Her forelegs fold up under her, like collapsing landing gear; her hind legs never miss a beat, driving her chin and chest along in the snow. Over onto her side, she rolls her shoulders, head rolling even further. Still, her hind legs drive forward. Head rotating further still, finally her hips are torqued out of line, and she flops over onto her side, laying there, as if simply luxurating in the feel of snow against her fur. Then, with a snap, Suka whips over onto her back, and begins to wriggle, writhe, and luxuriate in a good old fashioned back-scratching, hind legs kicking alternately, spastically, in delight. I grin at her groans of pleasure; she looks so silly, and so obviously loves a good roll in the snow, I cannot resist.

With a sudden flurl, she springs back to her feet, and gives heself a vigorous shake... Time to move on, and find a new spot to flatten.

One of these days, I really must replace my camera.


Coda:
As I was writing this, the snow returned. Suka's smooshed spots are rapidly vanishing. I guess I'll have to let her out to try again. Oh damn.
;-)

Cold, indeed.

So, another trip to The Farm, to do a donation sort. I'm not sure who the donor is, but they always seem to 'see us coming,' and use that as an opportunity to dump everything in their warehouse...
So, the load was about one and a half tons - Three pallets worth, packed in large tri-wall boxes. Of course, the bags weren't loaded in anything like order - Everything was just dumped in, higglty-pigglty, and with no care to whether or not they'd play nice with the other contents. End result, not only did it take two of us about three hours to unload, sort, and stow, but we had a lot of bags re-burst, and had to make like mad with the tape.

This time, we had not only the usual variety of burst bags of dog and cat food, but also cans of "kong wiz" aerosol-propelled goop for baiting kongs, dog treats of random sorts (which I suspect didn't sell worth a damn), about a half-dozen different kinds of kitty litter, rabbit food(?!), bird food (!!), some toys, and a couple items I've got zero idea what the hell they are - They look like plush fuzzy beehives, and have an obvious purpose, but what that purpose is, no one knows. Also about 3150 little sample packs of some kind of dried raw dog food from, of all places, New Zealand. Little sample packs - each individually-packed folder contans about a heaping tablespoon-worth of the food. WTF..?! I have a hard time imaging something more useless for feeding dogs. Now, for a vet's office, where they could be handed out to patients to help keep their dogs distracted, yeah, that'd work. And, I suppose, if you wanted to go to the trouble of opening up all the little folders, they'd make pretty decent training treats, but man, the work involved for the value recieved! I know, I know... I should be grateful for the donations... And I am. But donations of this sort are actually counter-productive. Feh.

At the bottom of one the tri-walls was a very phalic-looking dog chew toy that makes cow noises when you move it. It looks, to be blunt, like a noisy, red, semi-anatomically-correct dildo. Only the most confident of men would let their dog chew on that! I think I know why that item wound up in the shipment - No doubt it's been on the shelf for years, no one willing to buy it.

Oh, did I mention somewhere that it was cold? It was. Now, in Alaska, this probably isn't anything to note, but here, it's bitter - I woke to 23f temps, and it never went above 27f. And windy... Especially on The Farm, where there's no land features - none - to stop the wind blowing across the Chesapeake Bay. And of course, the wind was dragging lovely moisture with it, so the wind was a nice, biting, damp ice-pick kinda thing, finding every gap in your clothing, or simply ignoring the gaps and stealing your warmth right through your clothing. It's the kind of weather that brings snow out of a clear blue sky, as the humidity freezes out. Yeah, we had snow like that all day. Of course, we were humping donations back and forth, working up a healthy sweat, and didn't that just combine well with the wind! Not.

The farm is absolutely swimming in dogs right now - Someone had been busy since the last time I was down, and there were three new kennel runs established, and all were already full. Plus, someone dumped a couple pregnant cats on us, too, which had littered a passel of adorable kittens that were busily making the HBIC's kitchen their kingdom. Donations are down, intakes up, and volunteer hours are down... I've said that before, I know, but it's still a central, inescapable fact of what we do. This last shipment of food is an absolute godsend, as the shelves were damn-near bare, and purchasing food enough to feed the residents at commercial rates would blow a huge hole in the already-stretched finances.

The shelves are packed now, the ready-use cannisters are full to bursting, and there's enough that we could pass some along to the local food bank. Yeah, the food bank - people who can't make ends meet have pets, too. Every family that can get a bit of pet food from the food bank is one less family that'll be looking to place their dog or cat in a shelter. It's all of a piece with our mission; if we can prevent a dog being placed in the shelter in the first place, it's better than actually intaking and placing a half dozen dogs, in terms of resources used.

Oh, and we've also got a large stack of the food samples, too. I wonder if we leave them out, if the rats won't make them vanish for us..? Naaah... I suppose we'll find some way of putting them to use.

Snow! Yay!

OK, it's a "Delaware Decorative Snow" - The kind of snow that gilds the houses and cars, frosts the grass and trees, but otherwise has no impact on life. It's a lovely thing - Pretty and harmless both at once.

Suka, however, has decided that snow is an invitation to roll. In the back yard, the soft green-white blanket is stippled by dark green circles where Suka has flipped onto her side in her curious approach to a good back scratching, then proceded to roll onto her back for a vigorous, wriggling, foot-kicking roll-n-scratch. Anywhere there was a good coating of snow, there's a nice smooshed-down patch where she went and had herself a party. ;-)

I can hardly wait until we get a proper depth of snow - I'm expecting a proper snow monster to go with the precipitation.

The snow's cleared out, and the stars are crisp and clear. The air has that sharp prickling bite to the nostrils which means real cold is coming - No clouds, no heat retention, and the thermometer is plunging. I'm due at The Farm tomorrow to sort a dog food donation - I'll be dressing heavy.

Dog Day Weekend, redux

So, once more unto the breach!

Sarah contacted me, asked for a special run down to The Farm, to get things squared away. Times are tough, volunteer hours are down, intake requests are up. And we've gotten a couple HUGE runs full of dogs from things like Hurricane Gustav - the Humane Society of South Mississippi brought us a truck full of rescuees, for instance. And more are coming...

So, down to The Farm, to do a little scoopin' and scrapin' and whatever else needed done. Got there early enough that 'Yappy Hour' was still going on, but things were looking a little unsettled, so I didn't take Suka into the field with the rest of the resident pack; A couple of the dogs seemed to be having status issues, and Suka wasn't keenly interested in joining the ruckus. That's fine - I was there to work, anyway. So, walked Suka about, then crated her up and got to work. About that time, the rain arrived. Oh, wait - Did I forget to mention that it was a grey, dreary kind of morning? Well it was. Until it started to rain. Then it was a grey, dreary, WET kinda morning.

There are a LOT of puppies at The Farm right now, though I think they're secretly a genetic experiement gone wrong - They've been crossed with cow DNA. I can think of no other explanation for how something so small can poop so much! The cute little buggers are pooping at twice the rate (and volume!) as their older counterparts! Oh, and they've got sharp little claws, too! So, I'm in with the pups, scrapin' and scoopin' as fast as I can, before the rain turns their mess into something truly horrible... And the pups are all jumping and clawing and whining for attention, and, oh, incidently, covering my boots and pants in kennel muck - which contains pretty much what you think it does. Once the kennel runs are clean, time to clean the pups, and their bedding. Then feed and water them... OK, done, and on to the older dogs, whom have the sense to 1) stay out of the rain, and 2) not stomp in their own mess, and 3) are generally much better behaved. Except one - Him, I had to save from hanging himself. This is a dog who comes from an area where bull-headed BCs are common, and he's stronger than most. Plus, I think he's a retriever mix, too. He's managed to pry up a corner of the heavy-duty chainlink fencing of his run, and shove his head through. In the process, he'd hooked his collar on the wire, and was well and truly stuck. I have to say, he took the indignity of the situation with fair aplomb - Waiting patiently for me to come in and unclip him from his self-inflicted peril. Whereupon he immediately sat on my foot and grinned at me. This is why I'm thinking "retriever mix" - He's got zero sense of shame. "Whoo-hoo! I jest 'most died! Let's play!" Clearly, this is a redneck dog.

So, into the kennel house with him, while I break out some fencing wire and whip the bottom of his kennel fencing to the bottom rail. When I way "whip," think whipstitch. With fencing wire. Which means taking a seat on the ground with a spool of wire, and sewing the chainlink fencing down to the bottom rail. Did I mention it was raining? And I'm sitting in wet, muddy grass and/or streaming wet concrete? And there's guaranteed to more poop in the squishy/streaming mess, somewhere. So, a couple flesh wounds later, Bubba the Redneck Pooch ain't gettin' out of this kennel, nor can he hang himself on the bottom of the run. I've no idea how, but I'm sure he'll find some other way of getting into trouble, though. Probably while yelling the canine equivalent of "Hey, lookit me!"

Carrying on, did a bit of laundry to get some more bedding clean and ready - they're gonna need it! Also fixed a couple gates for the main fences - these are big stock gates, the kind with wheels to support the open end whilst they're being swung. Had to replace the support wheels where time and circumstance had managed to destroy them. More sitting on the ground. In the mud. And rain.

Along the way, Sarah stops me. "Is Suka in heat?"
!!
Gods, I should HOPE not... I'd been told she was altered - But something is definately up! All the classic external signs of the early stages of heat, and now that I was thinking on it, many of the emotional ones, too - She'd been much whinier, much more clingy than is her usual, and much more submissive than usual, too. Damn... Now it's time to confirm what I *thought* I knew... And come to find out, I didn't know as much for certain as I thought. What I thought I knew turns out to be "whisper down the lane" kinda information, and not as reliable as it might be. It's possible she was never altered. Or it's possible some ovarian tissue was missed. Whichever, I've got a new mission - Keep Suka away from male dogs, especially intact male dogs, until I can get her to a vet to confirm her status! Yee-haw! Just what I needed - I'm soaking wet, covered in mud and the kind of sludge you find on a working farm, and now I'm paranoid, too!

Well, that was pretty much the capper for me - The chores were done, and I wasn't hanging around in the rain to socialize, not with a possibly intact bitch in heat by my side! Fortunately, I brought a tarp to cover the seats of the car - I left smudges when I sat down, but a tarp is easy to clean.

Oh, and by Sunday, the external signs were no longer "maybe" but rather "Oh, yeah" obvious. This isn't an anal gand infection or a UTI - It's the real deal. She's either intact, or there's definately some ovarian tissue floating around inside her still. Just what I was looking forward to... Not.

I hope my vet has a sense of humor, cause she's gonna need it.

The weather turns... And so does the dog.

Fall is here. Oh, these last few days have been indian summer, but even so, Autumn is in the air.

With the crisper air, the shorter days, the turning leaves, Suka has turned as well. Her personality continues to unfold, and she's much more active, engaged, and inquisitive. Still, she remains a sweet, well-behaved dog, but she's also prone to fits of wrestling, and has taken to pestering for walks, pestering for play, and even pestering the cats. The cats, needless to say, don't speak 'dog,' and are most confused by Suka's attempts to goad them into a romp.

Feline confusion doesn't stop Suka, though - Her ears pricked up and forward, she bounces at the cats, eyes bright with potential mischief, only to be rebuffed by indifference, confusion, or (in Max's case) a most impressive display of curmudgeonry. Curmudgeonry? Is that a word? Well, I guess it is now. Max is slowly learning to tollerate this bounding oaf in his kindgdom, but is not willing to put up with shenanigans of any sort!

Well, if the cats are no fun, she can count on me for a bit of "squeaky chase." She's got a little squeaky donkey, which is her favored toy. She's got a squeaky elephant, too, but that one doesn't taste as good to her, for some reason. ;-) She'll chew her donkey, drag it around the house, and will nail it in mid flight with unerring accuracy. Getting it back for a second toss is a bit of a challenge, but once it's back in my hands, well, she's locked and loaded for another catastrophic mid-air kill. Ziiip! Goes the flying donkey! Clack! Go the jaws of doom, and the poor donkey meets its grim end once again. As the weather cools, Suka's more and more inclined to punish the poor, long-suffering quadruped. Or maybe she's just fed-up with 'political season'? Naaaah.

Suka's walks are growing longer, too, as the air chills, and her coat is filling back in. By Alaskan standards, this is a heatwave, but by local standards, well, it's time to grow the coat back in. She doesn't tire so fast, and doesn't wind up sucking up near as much water as previously, either. I can hardly wait until a proper chill - I bet I can have her chasing that poor donkey for hours!