Tag Archives: Country Life

A Snow Day

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, Thoughts On Life, , ,

After being a substitute teacher for a room full of second graders yesterday, I decided that I needed a day off. So I stayed home and hung out with dogs. Shelby demonstrated relaxation techniques.

It snowed throughout the day, so in the afternoon, the dogs and I went outside to play and enjoy nature. Even 12 year old Nikki likes to lay down in the snow.

Zekie, foster dog Claire, and Baxter (rear).

Shelby stayed indoors to watch the house, but all the other dogs went outside to play. The preferred game is frisbee.

Cassius prefers a rousing game of jolly ball.

Zekie is a snow dog and will play anything you want to play.

I am recharged. Spending time with dogs always reenergizes me. Next week will bring more subbing adventures and I will be ready!

Photo Shoot

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, ,

Baxter, Shelby, Zekie, & Cassius

The Sanctuary Acres dogs (minus Nikki) posing for a photo during their walk.

It was a beautiful 46 degree December day. I estimate the average temperature for this time of year would usually be about 30 degrees.

New Adventures

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I am enjoying my first week of retirement. This morning I decided to take Zeke and Shelby for a walk down the road and back for some exercise and some training. We walked down to the township park which is about 3/4 of a mile away. On the way we stopped occasionally to practice sits, downs, and stays. The picture above was taken while practicing stays in front of the local church. They had this pretty garland up for Christmas and I thought it made for the perfect photo opportunity while we were working on holding a sit. The pups did very well, especially considering that the recycling truck was emptying dumpsters just a few houses away. Shelby was not a fan of the grinding and banging but she did hold her stay.

We live in a small, rural community and apparently people are active in the morning. I never knew this because I was at work. On our way home a lady opened her front door to greet us as we passed by on the street. When she first saw Shelby, she thought her dog got out because she has a sheltie too. Once she realized it wasn’t her dog, she opened the door anyway to introduce herself and say hello. We talked for several minutes and I’m sure we will talk again as we had lots to say.

The dogs and I walked a short distance farther and another lady driving by in a van stopped to say hello and introduce herself. She said she knew where we lived and that I had visited another nearby homebound neighbor with two of the shelties before. We visited for a couple minutes then went on our separate ways. I learned that she also lives nearby.

What a lovely morning getting to meet two neighbors that I had never encountered before. I think that I am going to like this different life outside of the work environment. It is foreign to me but that just means it is a new adventure.

This is Zeke shortly after we returned from our walk and training. When the lady stopped in the van, he wasn’t sure if this was ok or if he should protect me. I told him it was alright and as the lady and I talked, Zeke relaxed. He was a good boy. This was a relief because he can sometimes be reactive to people or dogs that he does not know. But his response this time was just right. All the activity and decision making apparently wore him out. He needed a nap, so crashed on the living room couch with his head on the pillow.

I can’t wait to see what adventures tomorrow brings!

Zekie’s New Adventures

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, , ,

Zekie’s life just got immeasurably better. I am retired officially as of today. Zekie suffers from severe separation anxiety that we have never been successful in treating. We tried training, behavioral therapy, holistic medicine,  prescription drugs. None of them have made a difference. We have only been able to contain him, and that has not been without extreme challenges.

Now Zekie won’t have to deal with me leaving every morning and being gone all day. At least not unless I get a job sometime down the road. Any time that I go away should only be for relatively brief periods of time. I can also be here to work on more extensive training with him and see if I can get control of some of his other behaviors.

He is an extremely smart dog. This has not always been to his or our benefit. Yesterday I went out to the pasture to bring the dogs back inside. Zeke grabbed the frisbee and was taking it to the house. I asked him, what are you doing? He stopped and looked at me. I told him, leave that outside. He put the frisbee down. I told him, go put that back in the pasture. And so he did. He picked the frisbee up, ran out and put the frisbee down inside the pasture fence, then followed me back to the house.

If a dog is that smart, there must be some way that I can communicate to him that we will always come back, that he is not being abandoned. It is just up to me to be smart enough to figure it out. But while we are working on obedience training and emotional health for Zekie, I get the pleasure and joy of hanging out with him and the other animals everyday.

Life is good. Peace be with you.

 

Soup’s On!

Cooking, Country Life, ,

Hot soup after working outside on a cold afternoon. My husband has been making and installing old-fashioned storm windows for our old-fashioned house. I help a little bit (very little) when I get home from work. So soup hit the spot this evening.

I sautéed some garlic, onions, and celery, then added the rest of the broth that I made a couple weeks ago and put in the freezer. I added some Slovenian sausage, also from the freezer, that we purchased on a trip to Rogers Flea Market back in the summer. Then I threw in some green lentils so I would have some protein as I avoid eating meat and would pick that out, saving it for my husband. Next came cubed sweet potatoes, chopped zucchini, some celery leaves and spinach. For spices I used salt, pepper, basil, oregano, garlic and onion powders.

You may notice that I use fresh garlic and garlic powder in the same recipe. I do this on purpose because each adds a different, unique flavor that complements dishes in a different way.

Everything simmered in a pot on the stove while we finished up a storm window. When we came back inside, the house smelled wonderful and dinner was ready. Bliss.

Jewel of Fall

Country Life,

One of the benefits of fall. This wreath is made with bittersweet berries harvested on our property. The colors are bright and cheerful and the berries last for weeks. We had plenty to share which resulted in a family wreath making session. I could join in because I was participating in a dog event. Go figure. This wreath was made by my husband and sits on one of our mantels.

Winter Preparations

Country Life, Gardens, ,

Today was a beautiful fall day. We took the opportunity to do winter preparations. I dug up all my gladiolus bulbs and spread them out to dry before bagging them up. There were also a few dahlia bulbs as well.

After that I helped my husband put storm windows on the house. The storm windows are newly built and should help keep things warmer this winter.

This evening I saw the weather forecast for the next couple of days. It’s a good thing we got those tasks done. Six to ten inches of snow is predicted in our area. I’m glad I didn’t wait for another day to get things done. When summer comes again and we enjoy all the beautiful blooms, I will be doubly glad.

Artwork

Country Life, Gardens, ,

Nature is a work of art.

On display in our garden from dawn until dusk.

Showing until frost.

A Grand Performance

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, Gardens, , ,

Even though it is officially fall and only one more day until October, the garden is still putting on a grand performance.

The roses look better than they have all summer. Many of them are new this year so they may just be getting established.

Rosebud unfurling.

Rose in peak bloom.

Cleomes’ majesty.

Even Zekie seems to relax and enjoy the garden beauty.

The peaceful days of autumn are some of my favorite. Weeds have slowed and there is less garden work to be done. It is a fine time to read a book on the patio and enjoy the breeze and cricket song.

Fall Hiking

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, ,

The summer heat is tapering off.

Except for today when I refused to go outside in the afternoon.

Cooler weather means a return to hiking for us.

Last Saturday I took Zeke and Shelby for hike.

And then on Sunday we took the dogs and hiked at Towners Woods. Although I am out of shape, it was a fun time. And I am in better shape than before I went.

We did try to hike this morning before it got too hot but Cassius re-injured his toe. He tore the nail off it while running at high speeds and turns in the pasture. The trail was rather rocky so it didn’t go well. We turned around and came back home when Cassius started having trouble. There were also quite a few mountain bikers using the trail so it was crowded.

But with fall being near, we should have numerous opportunities for other hikes. Looking forward to it!