Carrots!

Growing up, I loved the story of Anne of Green Gables. Dad bought the first three books in the series for me the year of our trip down east. I was going into grade 6 that summer. I finished the first Anne with an 'e' book before we left and absolutely loved our day spent at Green Gables in Cavendish. Years later, the movies captivated me.

"Carrots. Hey. Carrots."

Do you remember that? Gilbert, calling to Anne in the schoolroom and Anne yelling at him, "How dare you!" while breaking the slate over his head. Good times.

Speaking of carrots, I had a few of the past-their-prime variety to go out to the chickens today. I placed them and their basket ever-so precisely on the front porch to take out later. Within a few minutes, I saw Rosie, through the window, standing with the basket by her side, eating a wee carrot on the grass. Awww, our little red riding hood. When she came in, I gave her one from the fridge. She took it to the livingroom, dropped it, turned her nose up and strutted away. Moments later, Cooter wandered along and absconded with the treasure. (He had probably just peed in the kitchen, too.) Finding a safe spot between his crate and the back wall, he gnawed away. Carrots!

Eh, what's up, Doc?

Meet Cooter

A couple weeks ago, Nolan was at the YMCA celebrating his buddy Josh's birthday. Six candles on the birthday cake, don't you know. As the party neared its end, we gathered Ri and Cameron, told them we were going into town to pick up Nolie and then go out for supper. Once at the Y, Paul stopped at the main doors and Cammy and I went in. Nolan and the friends that still remained were having a grand time chasing each other with balloons. The best part, though, was beating up on Josh's dad with said balloons. Pays to be tall.

We thanked Josh's family for the invitation, wished Josh a very happy birthday and hit the road. Where should we go for supper? Oh. But wait. Paul needed to pick up a "tool" (ahem) from a "coworker" (wink, wink). Our bathroom was largely torn apart, you see. So, we took a quick drive over to the "coworker's" (wink, wink, nudge, nudge). Luckily, he was home and, well, here's what we came home with...

Alright, alright; I cannot tell a lie. He's not a coworker - we'd just met him a few days earlier when we went to see the pups. And, we didn't go out for dinner. The bathroom bit was real, though. I'm happy to report that it's all back together with - are you ready for this? - a shower that doesn't leak! And new DRY flooring.

* wipes a wee tear from eye *

Ain't he just the cutest darn pup you've ever seen?

The Water's Fine

Do you remember this time last year? No? Well, take a look here. No doubt about it, last April was exceptional. Warm, warm, warm. Fast forward to 2011 and Environment Canada has predicted a cooler than normal spring. They definitely called that right. It may not be warm enough for swimsuits, but that's not gonna keep winter-weary kids and their dogs from playing in the water.

Snow's almost gone

Where's the ball?

Basking in the sun

Yep, life is good.

These Golden Days

Rosie's been with us for a month now. When she first arrived out here in the sticks, she didn't know quite what to make of us. Paul is a little weird, so I could kind of understand her apprehension, but I'm pretty awesome to hang around with. Yet, she ran away from me when I came in the door. She loved to play ball but as soon as the lacrosse sticks came out, she cowered. Poor girl was scared of every little thing. But now, ever so slowly, she's coming along. The other evening, she finally braved the upstairs hallway to explore our bedroom. That night, while we slept, she joined us on the bed. Rosie's home.

Walking to the village

"Come on, throw the ball, throw the ball!"

"You can't catch me, Wosie."

Longer days means more time to play

Yes?

This Is Embarrassing

"As long as they don't start calling me 'Flash'..."  *rolls eyes*  "People."

...Kitchener

Once home from the ski hill, everyone went to the bathroom, donned their coats and boots and got comfortable in the van. We had a good two hour drive ahead of us and something very special waiting at our destination.

Way back in November, I'd received a picture from Marian of a litter of wee golden retriever pups down in Kingston. Turns out, their mother had been turned into an organization called Golden Rescue and soon was found to have a belly full of puppies. Well, it doesn't take much to get our full attention when pups are involved, especially when they're of the retriever variety. Within a day or two of seeing the picture, we had filled out the online application and waited to see what might happen. 

Some time went by and we were told that the foster parents thought it best that the pups go to homes where someone was around most of the time. We didn't qualify. No big deal, though. It was only a short time since we'd said goodbye to Kokanee and our plan had been to wait for spring before we started looking for pups.

Shortly after this, we heard about a couple of dogs, both male and a little older. They, too, were placed elsewhere. Then, a few weeks ago, we heard about Rosie. 

Rosie, we were told, was a year-and-a-half old, red, golden retriever...just like our girl Chimo had been. She had been living with her foster mom for a few months in Kitchener and was ready to placed in a 'forever home'. 

Last week, a gentleman from Peterborough who is with Golden Rescue, came out to our place to check us out. We were interviewed, asked lots of questions and then, later that weekend, received the phone call. We passed.

Yesterday, we brought Rosie home. She's a quiet, shy, beautiful girl and we're so happy to have her. I can't tell you how nice it is to have a four-legged creature in the house again.  Slowly, she's exploring, checking things out and learning to trust us. We're smitten.

Rosie and her family

Turns out, Rosie's foster mom also has a one year old male in her care who took quite a shine to Riley. But that's all I'm gonna say about that right now.  ;-)

Kokanee

A lifetime ago, when I lived in Calgary, there was a guy a few doors up with a husky. We'd often see him roller blading down the road with his four-legged friend running alongside in high gear. Kokanee was this blue-eyed gal's name. He'd named her for the beer that could be found in every bar and beer store from Manitoba west. I thought it was kind of a cool name and tucked it away, deep inside my brain. A few years later and living in Oshawa, our best friend Chimo shared ten rambunctious golden retriever pups with us. Paul and I kept two - the bear-sized tail-wagger, Waylon and the cutest little fluffball you could ever imagine, Kokanee.  She also answered to Puff...when the mood struck.

Puff wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer. If you asked for a paw, a horrified look came over her and she sat, eyes wide, not really believing that you would ask such a thing. She was the last to come when called and was generally in her own little world...where the sky was always blue. But you know what? She was the only one of the bunch who could open the screen door to let herself out. Or in. Maybe there was more going on in that pea brain of hers than we thought. A grand act, it was.

Last week, we said good-bye to our ole girl Puff. She was two weeks shy of her fifteenth birthday and just couldn't do it anymore. We laid her to rest out back with her mum, Chimo, her big brother Waylon, her little brother Willie and her pesky little sister, Sandy. Finally together again, I bet they're having the finest game of tag up there.

Love you, Puff

Willie

Willie was the best friend a guy could ever have. He came into this world on November 30th, 1995, one of ten pesky puppies born to our girl Chimo. We almost lost wee Willie as a pup but, darn it, he was a fighter through and through. With a tail that never stopped wagging, Willie happily pounced through life with a smile and always with something in his mouth. He was brother Enos's best friend. Willie fought the good fight and today we said goodbye. He joins Chimo, his sister Sandy and his big brother Waylon in a magical puppy place where there is no more pain and no more sadness. Nothing but blue skies...and dog biscuits.

Rest in peace, Willie. We love you.

Waylon

We had some sad moments around here two weeks ago. We had to put Waylon down. The ole guy had lost the use of one of his front legs and, well, it was time. He'd had a good long life - with us from the moment he was born to Chimo over fourteen years ago. We'll miss him. And so will our neighbours across the road who always treated him to a snack when he wandered over for a visit. He was a good dog and will be buried here when the ground thaws, with his mum Chimo and his sister Sandy. Love you Bubba.

Waylon & Kokanee

The Next Thing You Know...It's Winter

Snow Day!

Snow Bubbas

Yesterday, brother Enos' puppy and our puppies, Willie, Waylon and Kokanee turned 14. Oh, they got scratches behind the ears and belly rubs, they received kisses and hugs and treats. Lots of treats. And, of course, a card in the mail from Auntie Marian.

But, as far as Waylon was concerned, the best gift was here when we got up this morning. Snow. Now, I'm not talking about the light fall-from-the-sky-and-melt-when-it-hits-the-ground stuff like we saw on Friday. No. I'm talking about the snow that sticks. The first real snow of the year. It wasn't much - only a few centimetres - but the ground and trees were white and the kids and I knew that ole Bubba (that's what we call Waylon) was going to be one happy dog.

After their breakfast today, I followed the puppies outside with the camera. Waylon had a pee, turned around, walked a few steps and sat down. He sniffed the fresh morning air. And then, as we figured he would, he dropped to the ground and made the first snow bubba of the season. I smiled. Pretty sure he did too.

Arctic Chimo

Years ago, we planted this late summer flower called Arctic Chimo. I loved it the second I saw it, not so much for its look as for its name. Chimo. Our first dog was Chimo. Oh, she was a good dog. A red-headed golden retriever who snuck under fences to play in the park, who stole cabbage rolls off the counter at family get-togethers, who gorged herself on Aunt Marian's wedding chocolate and threw up all over her rug, and who gave us ten tiny puppies that turn fourteen this year. I love this flower. It always reminds me of her.

Rest In Peace Sandy

We were sitting down to supper tonight when the phone rang. I could tell something was wrong by the way Paul spoke. It was brother Enos calling to let us know that his dog, Sandy, passed away today. He came home from work to find her lying in the livingroom with her brother Willie by her side.

Paul asked Enos if he wanted to bury her here with her mum, Chimo who died last summer. He did. Paul and I dug the hole and an hour or so later we buried our girl on the top of the hill next to Chimo. Enos thought it a fine spot with a wonderful view. And mother and daughter are together again. Rest in peace.

Dog Tired

(Waylon and Nolan)

Who Looks After Whom?

Woof Woof...Woof - a guest post by Waylon

* In celebration of his birthday, Waylon wanted to say a few words. Keep in mind that Waylon (Bubba as we call him) is a laid back 85-lb golden retriever. You should read this using your best Eeyore voice. He refers to Puff here - that's his sister Kokanee. Now without further ado, here's big Bubba...


"It's me. Waylon. Today's my birthday. In your years, I'm thirteen. Kinda old. When I came downstairs today, the Happy Birthday sign was up. That was nice. My humans do stuff like that. My sister Puff liked it too. She's fat."

"Auntie Marian called. She said happy birthday. Nice. She always brings us a treat. That's important."

"After lunch, Uncle Guy came. So did Willie and Sandy. They're my brother and sister too. Yup. Our humans named us after a couple of outlaw singers from Texas. Singin' songs about clean shirts. And Mamas. And babies. And cowboys. You gotta wonder. Must've been drinkin'."

"We got bickies. All of us. And my humans had cake. It was fun. I'm gonna lie down now."

~ Waylon

Happy Birthday 'Puppies'

Thirteen years ago, on November 30th, 1995, our dog Chimo (rest in peace, my girl) gave birth to ten puppies at Auntie Marian's house. Happy birthday to our puppies Waylon and Kokanee and to Enos' puppies Willie and Sandy. And we're thinking about Chelsea, Molly, Jesse, Taz, and the two others that we lost track of. Time for some cake!