Notes from Here and There

Happy summer! We are in peak fireweed now!

Wowee!

And the bees are out and about. We have extremely fuzzy native bumblebees, but also honeybees from neighbors who keep them.

And our CSA is cranking out giant veggies. The girls lovelovelove KALESTEMZZZ!!!

MMMMMmm KALESTEMZZZZ!!!

And that, my friends, is how I liberate DL when our meals are ready for consumption. I reserve a nice veggie-buhl and Cricket jumps off him. Then he can get up and eat!

We went to visit Trout and her mama to make sure she and Raven would be friends. Trout's mama used to be the dog handler at Dew Claw, so Trout knew Cricket and Thistle already. Seems they get along just fine, and they GUD SITS!!

Unfortunately, later that day Raven had an encounter with a porcupine. My first dog-porcupine incident! All these years I've carried around pliers in my pack, so I was prepared, or so I thought. When the time came, I could not grab them though! Raven didn't seem to be in pain, but she was just like, "YAAAAAAY!!! I'M OUT HAVING FUN WHY YOU HOLDING ME?!? YAAAAAY LOOK HOW HIGH I CAN JUMP!" And I could not even get the pliers around one quill! Anyway, fortunately my vet is open 7 days a week, so we just headed back to the car and I called them and told them we were on our way. They sedated her to remove the quills, and apparently that is a good idea anyway. Apparently dogs can get them inside their mouths!! Yikes!! And also any quills you miss can migrate inside and do more damage, so they really should be sedated for a full exam. Raven only got those few you can see in the photo, and they were really shallow.

Having a young dog means fewer life-threatening vet emergencies that frighten me and/or make me worried and/or sad, but young dogs have their own veterinary needs that older dogs do not have. Upon reflection, humans are like that, too. Young kids in general don't have tumors or cancer scares, and they certainly don't have arthritis. But they have young-people things like allergies, asthma, and mechanical injuries that come from lack of wisdom. When I was younger, I had far worse hay fever, as well as athlete's foot, occasional warts, eczema, and yeast infections. I don't have any of those now! So, too, did Raven get itchies, a fungal growth on her ears, and now this porcupine incident. But... these are all easily remedied, and do not add to my anxieties. :)

Cricket, on the other hand, is like Autumn and Linden and causes me no anxieties at all. She will be 13 next month, and she's only ever been to the vet for vaccinations! And she's still crazy strong and active as a puppy. I hope that like Autumn and Linden, she also has a long, happy life.

Look! Both at their places: Cricket snuggling and Raven doing her Watchdog thing. Those Shepherd genes really show, but Shepherds can also be reactive and territorial and downright vicious, and I'm sure greatful she did not get those genes. Or maybe they were diluted since she's only 40% sheppy. She really is a great mix!

Walking on Murphy Dome!

Denali was visible yesterday.

Raven's first time here!

Cricket knows the way.

Girl selfie!

The blueberries were blue, but still sour. But we have raspberries in our own yard that are sweet and ripe!

I wish my 14 loyal readers a peaceful summer!

Summer summers

Sorry for the long delay in posting. After an extended, gorgeous, cool spring, summer came in hot--literally--and I've spent the last few weeks wilting on the floor like a dramatic Victorian heroine. While I still achingly miss my Thistle girl, I don't think she is missing this! Now the rains have come, cooling us down, and I feel like a functioning human again!

We've been doing a lot of nice dayhikes.

And my perennial garden is as lovely as ever. Look at all of my colors of columbine! With the exception of the purple and white ones, which were a split from a friend, I started these all from seeds I gathered myself, and now they are self-maintaining, hardy perennials. I don't even water them!

These gorgeous and hardy lilies are also perennials, and started from bulbs from a different friend.

And of course the eternal rhubarb. It's HUGE!!

Feed me, Seymour!

I did not have the courage to start harvesting until a friend agreed to take half. With the other half, I put half of THAT into the freezer, and with the remaining quarter, I made a pie.

The sound of slicing things on a cutting board always draws an audience in my house!

Nice pie, if I do say so myself!

Pie out, pizza in. I'm so happy it's cooler and rainy and I can turn on my oven!

I made this one with smoked mozzarella!

At the end of a storm, is a golden sky, and the sweet silver song of a lark!

Look at this pretty fireweed at the edge of my parking lot on campus!

Raven has graduated Basic Obedience, Beginner Scentwork, and Intermediate Obedience. She also picked up two Official Obedience Titles as well as her Canine Good Citizen certificate along the way! She's a very smart girl! Obedience titles are earned by doing 10 tricks from a long list that are at the appropriate level. The lists did not include any of the things she had already mastered that have made her such a great dog for us: "Gee", "Haw", "Come Gee", "Come Haw", "Over Gee", "Over Haw", "Whoa", "Stay", "On By", Walking By Moosey Without Going Apeshit, Lifting Paws In Correct Order to Put On or Remove Harness, Ignoring Other Dogs Who Appear to be Jerks... hey that is over ten things right there! But no, those did not qualify her to be a Trick Dog. Her Tricks are not half so pragmatic, they are things like Balance On a Strange Thing and Spin in a Circle. But these sorts of nonsense are good for brain development and dog-human bonding, so we had fun.

I have the Goodest Good Dogs. How do I keep getting so lucky??

Spring springs

Look! Official Leafout!

Not only that; my perennials in my Lazy Person's Garden have all begun to appear, starting with these lilacs.

And of course the rhubarb.

And the columbines, which I love so much.

I only put in these strawberries last fall! It looks like they set.

Not all dogs like hugs, although many of them tolerate them for our benefit. But Cricket loves hugs.

My snuggly girl.

Raven is also cuddly, but in a different way. She also flops in these silliest of positions!

Although she looks Very Dignified while watching me fold laundry. Important Supervisory Duties!

The snow has been gone for a few weeks now, so we figured that our favorite trails around Ester Dome would be mostly mud-free, and we were correct in that supposition.

A lovely walk indeed!

I have the nicest fuzzy companions!

Shepherd Mix fetching vs. Racing Dog fetching

Some Elderly Dog Care Notes, and Life goes On...

In her last days, Queen Thistle was not in pain. Our vet assured us of this, so we could take our time deciding when her quality of life was too poor to go on. We would not let her suffer. She was very comfy.

A friend of ours who also had had an elderly dog with failing mobility gave us her old harness. It's from this company called "Help em up", and it may look complicated, but once you get it all adjusted and you practice a few times, it's pretty quick to put on and take off, and it's quite ergonomic to use. There is a handle on the front (if the dog's shoulders are weak) and one on the back (if it's the back end that's failing, like in Thistle's case). If you go to that website, there are videos that show how nice it is. There's also a strap thingy that you can loop through both handles to support both the front and and the back end at once. I only tried this once, so here is a photo, but it turns out Thistle's front end remained strong the whole time, so I never used it again. I ended up just holding the butt handle.

Here is a better view. They can pee and poop while wearing it, too. However, I was warned against leaving it on 24/7 as some parts do rub. In Thistle's case, we never got to that point. But I guess the late Kaia dog used it for a whole year. I think anyone who has a dog ought to save that link! You never know what the failure mode of your dog will be, and if it's mobility, this is a great thing to have.

We decided to let her go on the day that I realized that I was holding all of the weight of her back end. Her poor legs could contribute nothing at all. So I splurged and got her an out-of-season honeydew. She effin' loves melons! She is all "Holy crap! A melon!!!"

MELON!!!

Princess Cricket likes melon, too!

And so does Duchess Raven!

Our vet does casts of their paws. Here is hers.

I sure loved her little jellybean tootsies.

I'm sure glad Cricket and Raven are friends. It'd sure be hard to be an "only dog" mourning alone.

And we still take walks together, of course. Life goes on, and mourning can and should include that going-on. No point moping about the house. The trails are melting out, and we can no longer ski, of course. But the roads are also clear of snow and ice, so we might as well be in summer mode.

I did recently have the most touchingly apt targeted ad appear to me, and I had to go for it. A beautiful Thistle pendant of enamel set in sterling silver. I did some googling, and it seems her name fit her very well. "In Celtic regions, the thistle represents devotion, bravery, determination, and strength." It's from Skye Silver, if you'd like to have one yourself, or any pretty silver bauble.

The last skiing we did before the snow went away was... I entered Raven into our first skijor race! We entered the 4-mile, 1-dog class, although had I realized that they had a 2-dog class I'd have registered with Cricket, too. But it's okay. It was good training for Raven to learn some leadership skills by running solo. We placed 6 out of 7, which is about what I expected. Neither Raven nor I am competitive. Cricket and/or Thistle probably would have pushed to win. After the race was this crazy "Le Mans" loop where all competitors do a last sprint race of a 1-mile lap. Mass start and no poles! I thought that madness would ensue, but it did not! And Raven and I placed 8th out of 11, which is like wow! Yay, us! Not dead last!

That same day, Raven graduated Basic Obedience, which is doggy charm school. Raven is my first dog who is NOT a prior sled dog. My first who is young, and my first who did not arrive pre-trained. She's a Very Good Girl and a people-pleaser. In fact, the instructors at doggy charm school thought she must have had some obedience work before, which I'm pretty sure she has not. She was a street dog! But she's very loving and very smart. That was a long day! We had to get up at 6:30 to make sure that Thistle got her Queen walk and Cricket got her Princess run before we rushed off to the race. Then Raven and I killed time throwing and chasing her ball at the dog park before it was time for doggy charm school. A long day!

As for Cricket, she's still going strong, cuddly as ever, and the best Communicator. Here she is doing her impression of a Vermeer.