2 dogs yet again

Yes, I went to see Bear the Big Black Dog and he came home with me on a trial basis.  He is a sweet, sweet thing and is fitting in beautifully here at 58OHR so I think he's found a permanent home.  He seems to love it here (why wouldn't he?  He hopped on the bed the first night and slept all night there).  I was cabling him outside but today he got to go out unchaperoned and he didn't wander or leave the yard.  No, I'm sure that will come later.  I haven't walked him around the neighborhood yet, or taken him to the water.  As far as he knows our world consists of the house, the yard and the car.  He's excellent in the car but insists on sitting in the front seat (that's where Tess always sat).  Treasure does not approve of him much but she's a good girl and hasn't objected too strenuously.  She did growl (quietly) at him twice and pretend-snapped at him once (a snap in slow motion) but mostly she just ignores him and when he gets on the couch she mostly gets down with a heavy sigh.  It will work out.  He is not a brown girl but he is a very nice dog.

This weather is so very tiresome!  It's raining again.  We had a nice day yesterday, sunny and comfortable.  I didn't really take advantage of that.  I did get to the gym with Annie yesterday, then went to visit with the neighbors then went to Plattsburgh to get a collar and ID tag for Bear, then picked up Marylou at the Pbg airport and took her home to Wilmington.  That was all fine.  Bear was an excellent passenger.

Today I went to Fred's for coffee, then Bill, Linda, Fred and I went out for breakfast and had a really nice time.  I love going out for breakfast.  Don't bother ordering the pancakes at the former Pancake Haven in Wilmington, but the eggs are consistently good and L. reports that the sausage gravy is tasty.

I did what I rarely do this afternoon: I napped.  A long, deep sleep.  Wow that was something, but what else could I do on a rainy day like this?  Tomorrow I absolutely have to clean my house, and hopefully will do some planting in the morning.  I have to drag the mower out of the shed and at least start to think about mowing the lawn.  It's not very long yet, fortunately.

Tonight is dinner with Annie, her brother and his wife.  That will be nice.  I think tomorrow I'll hit the gym  with Annie in the morning, then I will be productive oh yes I will.

Nattering at night

I'm up at 11:00, went to sleep earlier but woke and now am perky and full of (not-quite) energy.  OK, not perky, either, but wide awake.

The black flies are bad this year, even this early.  I remember years ago when they were so thick you really couldn't be outside, even to walk to your car, and they're not that bad yet but man are they thick and hungry.  I did some outside planting today and had to take breaks to come in for relief.  We had some very hot days last week (wow, was that just last week?  seems long ago) and that really revved them up.  It's cool in the morning and they're not too bad (maybe).

I have a busy morning, meeting Carol to walk at 6:30, phone call to my mother after that, then coffee with Linda and Fred, then my friend the potter is coming to pick up a couple of bicycles so she can use the gears for an art project in Plattsburgh.  I have 3 bicycles in my shed--1 was my sister's when she lived in Colorado in the 70's, 2 are more than 25 years old and were hardly ever used.  Boy wouldn't it be nice to get rid of them, or at least one of them!  We'll see.

I called my dog breeder today, which took courage.  I wanted to know if she has any dogs to place and yes, indeed she does.  She has a 3-year-old black male she needs to find a home for, plus she has a litter of pups born today.  I don't really want a male and I don't really want a puppy so I'm wondering.  I'm going to meet the male on Saturday afternoon.  I won't know if I want this dog until I get to know him so I need to RELAX about the whole thing.  As soon as I hung up the phone I started to cry--no, I don't want a different dog, male or female, I want my brown dog back.  Too bad for me.  That does NOT mean it's too soon to get another dog, it just means I miss Tess.  Treasure and I are doing well but we tend to cling to each other.

I was thinking of sleeping in the boat house tonight but it's chilly so I stayed home.  I think I'll sleep there tomorrow night, that would be nice.  The woods are intensely green, a very bright green, one of my favorite things.  The far shore practically glows.

Going to Plattsburgh tomorrow, have errands to run and may meet Julie in the afternoon.  or not meet her, she doesn't know what she's doing.  I'm going to town anyway, have to pick up meds and get DEET, lots and lots of DEET.  Plus more geraniums.  I've been plant shopping 3 times so far and have all I need for my deck but I still need a few more geraniums for the cemetery.  3 for my father, 3 for my brother, 2 for my grandparents and 2 for my favorite cousin.  I hogged some of the ones I already bought for my deck planters.

Life is good.  I'm slowly adjusting to summer pace with summer friends.  Better speed up the process--all hell breaks loose this weekend. 

Springing fast

Wow what a difference 2 days make.  I spent yesterday in the 1000 Islands region with Julie.  It was gorgeous there, the hotel was right on the St. Lawrence and we had a lovely little balcony overlooking the river.  I had my morning coffee on the balcony yesterday, then went to the fitness center and did 20 minutes on the treadmill.  I would have done more (wuddashuddacuda) but I couldn't get the TV on the treadmill to work right so I got bored.

I went to the meeting and 2 presentations but did I really care?  Is it possible to remove yourself completely from a profession you were proudly a member of for almost 40 years?  Apparently.  Or else maybe I'm just so self-centered that I'm not interested in anything that doesn't relate to or have to do with me.  At any rate it was an OK day and I saw some good people, it was nice to see them.  We had and OK drive there and back but it's 3 1/2 hours no matter which way you go.

Treasure boarded well and was happy to see me.  I wondered if she expected to find Tess at the kennel but who knows what dogs think and she was fine.  I asked Deb (kennel owner and dog breeder) if Treasure was, perhaps a little fat: YES she said without hesitation.  I realize I've been over-feeding her especially with doggie junk food because I was trying to get Tess to eat and you can't feed one dog without feeding the other, right?  Anyway now poor Treasure has to deal with dietary restrictions.  This will not be easy.

Today I met Carol in AuSable at 6:45 and we had a really nice walk around town.  It's warm (too warm, at 81) so we walked outside.  Tomorrow we'll go back to the treadmills if it's as cool as predicted.  I took some things to Linda's this morning.  She arrives this afternoon.  YIKES.  This afternoon I think I'll go to the boat house, put the furniture on the porch then sit there in the cool breeze off the lake and maybe read a while.  or nap.  I was up at 4 this morning, felt troubled and couldn't sleep.

Busy time here, this weekend.  There will be much greeting and happy times.  To celebrate we have leaves on trees.

Long week

It's been a hard week.  Tess' cough was terrible and getting worse so I took her to the vet on Weds.  He xrayed her lungs and found a large mass so I had her put to sleep.  It wasn't  hard decision, she clearly was suffering.  It was a hard thing to do but it's such a peaceful procedure and the vet is a compassionate and gentle man so it was I suppose as easy as it could be.  Anyway it's over.  I'm cried out (well, almost) and moving on.  What does Treasure think?  who knows what dogs think but she stays pretty close to me and stares at me ALL the time.  I've been giving her lots of affection and attention.  We're a good team I think and I do know that all will be fine.  I don't know when or if I'll get another dog.  I may contact my breeder to see if she has any adult dogs she's looking to place--that's how I got Treasure, and Chances Are.  I've had 4 of her dogs, all sweet.

So that was last week.  The weekend was all right.  I went to the gym twice--Carol was out of town so I went by myself but there were people there I knew so time didn't drag (too much).  I had lunch with Barb on Friday, she's a great comfort to me so that was good.  Saturday I had coffee and a long visit with Julie.  Tomorrow Julie and I are going to the 1000 Islands for an overnight.  We'll have a good time together and doubtless it will be an adventure of sorts.  It's a library thing.  I don't belong at library things any more.

Today I went to the dump and had to tell Bob the Dump Man that I only need one biscuit for my dog, not two any more.  He was sweet, gave Treasure an extra one and told me how sorry he was for my loss.  People are good.

The weather has been rotten but right now it's 59 and the sun is out.  We've had cold and rain for a long time but it's due to warm up this week.  This is a big week in Hawkeye, summer people start arriving on Thursday.  Soon enough it will be Memorial Day weekend an then all hell will break loose.

I have a pair of rose-breasted grosbeaks at my feeder, a trio actually, 2 males and a female.  That's pretty cool.

BIG feet, REALLY BIG feet

This is what the snowshoe hares look like these days.  They're really called varying hares because they change their colors with the seasons, but we call them snowshoes because, really, look at the size of that hind foot!

Treasure remains unimpressed, however.  She chases the bun-buns but never even gets close.  Turns out those huge feet make for massive speed.

Midnight musings

Haven't done this in a long time, but I'm up (I'M UP!!) and wide awake and it's not quite midnight.  Tess has been coughing and hacking ceaselessly so it's hard to get back to sleep.  I'm wondering if this behavior has become as much a habit as a symptom, but that's probably not right and a mean thought.

I've been reading The stranger in the forest, about a man who lived hidden in the Maine woods for 27 years with no human contact.  It's supposed to be a true story but man is it suspiciously like a made-up story.  It's interesting but worth a whole book?  I'm not sure.  Anyway the author posits that some people have a predisposition to living a solitary lifestyle.  It makes me wonder about myself--although sometimes I feel I'm swimming in social contacts, I spend a lot of time by myself with just 2 dogs to keep me company.  And they are great company, but they are not human.  I don't mind being alone, fer shure, mostly when I spend a day without human contact it makes me feel as if there's almost something wrong with me.  Not so much that something's missing from my life, but more that there must be something missing from ME.  I don't think I've ever spent more than 2 days without seeing anyone, and I almost always talk to someone on the phone.  I certainly email my friends and sister every day at least once so I guess in modern days I'm never without human contact of some sort.  Does email count?  I think it does.

Anyway I have my daily fix of human contact at the gym most mornings now.  That can do it for the day.  Carol and I talk for the half hour we're treadmilling, rarely do we run out of conversation (though that does happen sometimes).

It was Derby Day and my horse didn't win, or even come close to winning.  I wonder if the winner (whose name escapes me) will end up being a Superhorse this year.  Seems doubtful.  I didn't really enjoy watching the race, I'm always nervous that something bad will happen, especially in mud.  How can they not slip and slide in that stuff?

Sunday looks quiet.  Gym time is 8:00, then I'll come home, read the paper and watch Sunday morning television (thank you, Jane Pauley), visit with the neighbors around 11 or so, be home by 1:30 or 2 and most likely call that a full day.  What I hope I'll do is take my winter clothes, now nicely packed in bins upstairs and out of sight, which means I'll need to do some work in the master bedroom to make room for the bins.  As my grandmother used to say "Horrors!"

It always snows in May

So it was no real surprise that we had snow this morning.  Nothing really worth reporting, just splashes of white on windows.  What we mostly have now is mud, even though I'd call "official" mud season over.  It's just rained and rained, and with the exception of tomorrow is supposed to rain more.  There are signs of spring for sure and the poplars continue to green up the hills.  This afternoon I watched an ermine (weasel) climb trees and run along the edge of the woods on my lawn.  It was still almost totally white except for the black tip of its tail.  Where was my camera?  In the car of course, so I retrieved it and later took this shot of a varying/snowshoe hare.  Very different from the ermine, the hares have almost turned into their summer fur of brown.  They have white footies and underbellies but are hard to see against the dead leaves on the lawn.  Hard for me, maybe, but Treasure and Tess have no problems spotting them.  Treasure is convinced that someday, just maybe someday she'll catch one but she never returns with rabbit's feet in her mouth.  When I was growing up we had a female dachshund that was the greatest huntress.  Once we found her with several baby bunny feet sticking out of her mouth ("They're MINE, I found them, I get to keep them.").  She was a sweet dog but incorrigible about running off.

Anyway here's the hare of the day: