Just a typical spring day around here.
Go to the tractor store. Go to the cute little neighbor boy’s birthday party. Start some seeds on the enclosed porch. Play with dogs.
And watch dogs play!
And play…
Is it any wonder we enjoy spring?
Category Archives: Country Life
Normally Mischievous? Don’t Be Fooled.
Zekie is not always anxious and getting into trouble. He can also be a happy and playful dog. He plays with toys and invites us to chase him too. In fact, if we never went away from home, we could be tricked into thinking that he is a normally mischievous pup.
But we know better. The separation anxiety and leash reactivity are still lurking beneath the surface and waiting to come out. We haven’t done a good job of walking dogs lately. Between icy or rainy weather and bouts of flu, the walks haven’t happened. So I haven’t been working on the reactivity.
On the plus side, the damage to Zeke’s cruciate ligament must have been a partial tear. He runs on that leg with no problem now. He even leaps to catch the frisbee. So either the leg is healing, or the muscles are strengthening enough to compensate for the injury. The thigh muscle on that leg is still slightly smaller than the other one but the bulk is greatly improved. That leg is well on the way to recovery.
So life with the Zekester continues, status quo.
Spring Is Here!
This is what dogs do on a sunny spring day! It’s still only 42 degrees but the sun made it feel a little warmer. The sheltie girls, Shelby and Nikki, supervised from the sidelines. Shelby takes her job seriously and barks and chases the others for a short distance telling them to get it right. Nikki just sleeps.
All four of the dogs pictured above have been known to catch the frisbee, but mostly it’s Paisley and Baxter, each getting it about 50% of the time. They catch it and bring it back, over and over. Paisley is a tough little girl. She got rolled in the mud yesterday but still keeps trying for the frisbee every time. She weighs only 22 lbs. to Baxter’s 62, but she’s fast and agile. She’s also two years old to Baxter’s ten.
Here is what the dogs look like in action. You can even see Shelby playing referee from the sidelines. Their just happy to spend more time outside again.
The Olive Tree
Even in the off season for gardening, we have things growing. These are future olives. We have an olive tree that my daughter gifted my husband with for Father’s Day last year. It resides in our spare bedroom right now, along with a gardenia that we are wintering over.
We don’t know whether these are flower buds or actual olives. Either way, they will eventually result in olives. It was an exciting day when we found these little orbs. Gardeners can go through a form of withdrawal when nothing is green or growing outside. These indoor plants help.
As for myself, I am happy in the spring when plants resume growing again. But I am also happy (relieved) when frost comes. After a spring and summer’s worth of planting, watering, weeding, and harvesting, I am tired. I enjoy the best of both these worlds.
So, will we get olives? Only time will tell.
A Tired Dog Is a Good Dog
Zekie had a great couple of weeks. He has a job now and it suits him. He is my husband’s shop dog. Every day he’s been heading across the driveway with my husband in the morning when it’s time to start work.
My husband paints, runs the saw, and uses the automatic staple gun. Zeke lays under the plywood sheets on the sawhorses or under a workbench and supervises from there. The noises don’t concern him too much. He doesn’t really like them but they are a small price to pay to be near one of his humans.
If my husband doesn’t get out to the shop early enough, Zeke sits by the door and gives him the look. Come on dad, we have work to do. He even went across the driveway with my husband one Saturday when I was home! Work calls.
My husband is taking the pellet stove out of the shop and one day last week he pulled out the old flue pipe which left a hole in the side of the building. As soon as the hole was visible, so was Zekie’s head. He shoved his head through the hole in the building to see where my husband had gone and what he was doing.
That Zekie. Always on the job!
Having a job tires Zekie out. Burning up some energy is a good thing. A tired dog is a good dog. And Zeke needs all the help he can get.
The Dogs Have a Busy Life
It’s been a busy week for dog activities so far. Nikki and Shelby did their bi-weekly nursing home visit on Monday evening.
Then on Wednesday evening Shelby was my assistant for therapy dog training class.
This lizard and the guinea pigs are just a few of the animals residing in our classroom.
The other dogs are enthralled. Shelby remains unimpressed.
Zekie has been accompanying daddy across the driveway every day to keep an eye on him while he’s working in the shop. Apparently this is very exhausting. At least it keeps him out of trouble!
The Long Winter
Throw the ball, dad!
Winter can be long and boring for the dogs. Between all the snow, cold, rain, and ice, they don’t get as many walks or as much outside time as they would like.
The snow is not too bad. They can still go out in the fenced pasture and run around playing with toys or sniff things.
In the cold they can be out for limited amounts of time. Cassis, the greyhound, stays out for lesser lengths of time than the others.
During the winter rains the dogs don’t go out to play because, well…mud.
And the ice makes things too slippery. I am especially leery of it since I slid, tripped on a hunk of frozen ice/snow and landed on my shoulder a month ago. It is slowly recovering.
Sometimes it’s just better to hang out inside!
Fresh Bread
I have been enjoying baking bread. It is such a heartening cold weather activity. It is good for the palate and the soul.
There is nothing like slicing a piece of bread while it’s still warm from the oven and melting a pat of real butter on it. That is all. The yeasty simplicity needs nothing more.
Tomorrow when it’s day old, will be the time to have it toasted and drizzled with honey.
This particular loaf is whole wheat. And there is enough dough in the refrigerator to make a second loaf later in the week. Something to look forward to mid-work week.
Playing Fair
Hey look, it’s Bat Dog! I think Cassius looks like a bat with his ears standing up and his fangs showing.
He was trying to stay warm in our subzero temperatures last week. Cassius doesn’t generally like to wear clothes but it was so cold that he tolerated a sweater.
Our dogs really are our kids. They even wear hand me downs. The sweater Cassius is wearing belonged to our greyhound Phoebe who has been gone for a couple of years now.
The sweater still has a pink heart and Phoebe’s name embroidered on it. I did remove the white satin bow before I put it on Cassius. But I couldn’t bear to remove the pink heart. I did promise Cassius that I would add another heart in red with his name on it.
That seems like playing fair to me!
Snow Path
We awoke to much new snow this morning. Somewhere between 10-12 inches. My husband ran the snowblower to clear the driveway and sidewalks, then shoveled snow off the porch roofs.
I refilled the bird feeder and shoveled a path for the dogs to go outside.
The snow was deep on poor little Nikki and she is twelve years old. She’s a game little girl though and even went before I shoveled a path. But she prefers to sleep on the dog bed.
Even the taller dogs appreciate the path. They appreciated the snow too. I guess novelty is good amusement.
Sanctuary Acres 