Happy Days

 

Chuck and Bogey at a recent impromptu wiener roast

Bogey has brought light and de-light into our lives.

It has almost been a month since he joined our nomadic tribe (I guess we are a pack now) and he enjoys, learns and thrives each day.

Last night he met a new friend Wags and they played and romped together for an hour or more as my friend and I walked and talked.  He was so tired from that escapade that this morning he needed to be prodded out of bed for his morning walk.

Today after lunch a friend with her dog came by and the two dogs wrestled and tussled to their hearts content as we humans chatted. 

Bogey with yet another stick!

 

People tell Bogey that he is lucky to have been adopted by us.  But really, we are the lucky ones!

 

Planes and Stars

Time seems to disappear.  I just uploaded the last blog entry, which sat as a draft for a week.  Busy with Bogey, with work...with life!

Bogey is settling in.  We are working on a few things, his response to "come" varies from rushing to you excitedly to pointedly ignoring you if there is something better going on.  That is the first and foremost command to solidify.

He has anxiety about the car too.  We think the broken tail might be related to an unfortunate mishap with a car door...

I firmly believe that patience, consistency and cheddar cheese will overcome these things.

Just now, as he slept beside me, his tail wagged and his feet scraped along the carpet - running after some imaginary squirrel as he dreamed.  This is the first time I have seen him do it.  Hopefully it means he is acquiring some happy things to dream about.

On Friday night we had a bonfire.  Bogey was trying to catch the sparks as they flew away - after catching two, he still chased them but stopped snapping them up.  Too hot on the tongue I suppose.

He was fascinated by planes flying over, by the stars in the sky. He tried pulling half burnt sticks out of the fire.  He has not had much experience in the great outdoors it seems, but he learns quickly.

Chuckles has almost finished the shed. 

I have almost finished the cabinets. 

 

 

Two days a week is not enough time to make a dent in all we have to do, and we felt very overwhelmed by it all this weekend.

The furnace was not working (again) and rather than trying to figure it out, we just left it.  The house is heated very nicely by the two gas fireplaces.  Add fix the furnace to the To Do list.

 

I cooked up a storm on Saturday, spaghetti sauce, venison-vegetable soup, Bogey's food and grouse breasts with mushroom sauce.  Working at the island all day left my back with a huge kink in it.  Add raising the island countertop to the To Do list!

More snow on Sunday morning, too.  Bogey seemed happy about that....

Bogey Arrives

Bogey came into our life on Saturday Feb 22nd, along with the start of a snowstorm, just so we don't forget the very beginning with him, I think!

The shelter phoned Saturday morning to tell us we were the "chosen ones" -  he received lots of applications for adoption.  We jumped in the car and went and got him right away, before they could change their minds.

We spent most of the weekend getting to know him.  He is tall and gangly, still a playful puppy, with beautiful brown eyes and a dark nose.  We discovered a real kink in his tail, which doesn't show, and doesn't hurt him, but it seems as if it may have been broken in the past.  Poor boy!

He enjoyed the snow which was thick on the ground and in the trees at the country estate.  We went to friends for dinner Saturday and Bogey and their puppy played in the snow for what seemed like hours.  Perhaps that's why he slept very well, getting up with us at 4 to watch Canada win Olympic Gold in hockey!

 

Dodging Doggy Dung

Lately the trail in the park has been peppered with dog turds.  Large ones.  One night last week we cut through the park on the way home from our walk to the waterfront.  Guess who ended up with dog poop in every crack and crevice of one shoe?

Me, that's who. 

This morning I walked a bit later than usual and met a guy walking a big German Shepherd.  We used to run into each other daily when Seymour was still alive and he had a different dog.

Today, as we were saying good morning, his dog took a major dump right beside us, and he just carried on like nothing was happening.   If I had had a bag in my pocket I would have offered it to him, but since I didn't -  I did nothing too.  Except fume silently.

Judging from the size of the poop I observed, and the other poops along the trail, I am pretty sure this is the culprit of all of them. 

Next encounter I will be sure to have a bag in my pocket and will offer it and will tell him I use the trail daily and don't want to have to dodge landmines.

In the nicest way possible, of course.

 

A Poem for Mom

I have a daily phone conversation with my parents.  Lately their health has  featured in the conversations often.  At 89 Dad decided to have his few remaining teeth extracted and plates put in.  That was almost 2 weeks ago now and he seems to be improving. 

 

Mom has been waiting for surgery for carpal tunnel for ages and ages.  She is usually unable to sleep in bed because of the pain, so her nights and days are spent in her recliner in the living room.  If you ask, she says she's fine.  She is not fine, she is in agony and uncomfortable all the time.  I know she had a bad night last night because she was asleep when I phoned this morning.  Sitting here, thinking about them, I wrote this little piece about mom.

 

I send my dad emails often and he gets a lot of pleasure from receiving them (I think he does, anyway!).  Since mom doesn't use the computer, I sent this to Dad and asked him to print it out and give it to Mom.  Just to brighten her day.

 

My Mother is Many Things to Me

 

 

My mother is strong                                My mother is resilient

My mother is intelligent                         My mother is soft

My mother smells nice                          My mother is funny

My mother is beautiful                         My mother is thoughtful

My mother is gentle                              My mother is loving

My mother is a great cook                   My mother is a reader

My mother is aged                                 My mother is kind

My mother is determined                    My mother is stubborn

My mother is wonderful                       My mother is sensitive

My mother is English                            My mother is special

My mother is gifted                              My mother is essential

My mother is happiness                     My mother is freckled

I love my mother so much and hope she feels better SOON!

 

Sanctuary

Cold. Sunny.  The park was like a bird sanctuary this morning with peeps, caws and squawks from every tree as the birds celebrated the sunshine.

Around a bend in the trail I met Mario, a mechanic who I often see jogging through the park in the morning when I walk.  He was having a conversation with a fat robin.  Really.

At first he seemed a bit sheepish when I encountered him, catching him talking to the bird.  When I told him how the treed area reminded me of a bird sanctuary and how thrilling it was for me to hear all that birdsong, he relaxed.

When I told him I look for the heron every morning we bonded.  He does too! 

 

Suddenly

Suddenly, it's time for a new dog.

After 15 months of dog sitting for others, meanwhile scrolling through pages of pets for adoption on the internet with no real intention to take action, we are both motivated now, for some reason.  Spring around the corner? 

I have contacted agencies about dogs three or four times in the past few days, and for one reason or another those leads haven't panned out.

We are going to meet a dog tonight, we will see if he is the one.  I am hopeful.  Enough said.  Will fill you in with the details later.

Fingers crossed.