Today’s Civic Holiday in Ontario, so I’m taking it easy (thanks for understanding). Be cool, dudes.
Tag Archives: Baxter
Uncovering a favourite perch
So you have a spot like this in your yard, right? Somewhere that you just let things go a little bit?
My pledge this year is to not worry about the yard and focus only on the vegetable garden. But this clump of overgrowth at the edge of the south lawn finally got to me. My inner Edward Scissorhands came out (along with a pair of clippers, since I don’t actually have blades on my hands).
Who knew there was a dead curlicue bush, a mostly dead catalpa, a huge flowerpot and two stone benches hidden in there? (Well, we did, since we’ve seen them before… and put some of them there during our previous yard clean-up episodes).
The bush and the tree froze to death last winter. The big flowerpot is a gift from previous owners that I haven’t bothered to get rid of yet. The benches? Well, the benches belong to Ralph.
While she didn’t express gratitude (are cats capable of gratitude?), I think she appreciated our work.
The benches allow her to ascend to the perfect height for convenient scratching.
But most importantly, the benches allow her to assume a superior height over her brother.
So our landscaping meets with the cat’s approval, if not the dog’s. Now to convince Matt to get out his chainsaw and deal with those dead trees…
Do you have an overgrown spot at your house? Does anyone else’s animals “help” with the yard work? What furniture belongs to furry friends? Who’s the boss, your cat or your dog? (I think I know the answer to the last one… in my experience that relationship only goes one way).
Gotcha Day 2
Tomorrow is the second anniversary of when Baxter came to live with us. Since he joined our family, I’ve become a complete dog person–as demonstrated by the number of dog blogs in my reader.
One of the blogs I enjoy in particular is Oh Melvin and Yo Jake (what Tracey and Jake went through with Melvin–and are still going through–is amazing and heartbreaking, and I can’t even think of it when I think about Baxter). But anyways, Tracey has a tradition of writing a letter to her dogs on the anniversary of their gotcha days. I love that idea, so I’ve copied it for Baxter.
Dear Baxter,
It’s been two years since you came to live with us, and the novelty still hasn’t worn off. Sure I don’t love it when the alarm goes off at 5:45am (and I know you don’t either), but I do love our morning walks together. We see so many corners of the farm when everything is still quiet. We sometimes see the deer eating their breakfast in the back field. I get to see you finding all the new sniffs and enjoying the morning. Starting the day with you is pretty special.
You’ve done so well this year as you’ve learned about off-leash hiking. I am very proud of you, to see you walk without the long line dragging behind you. I admit, I still get a little nervous, but I know you’re working hard at remembering to stay with me.
Getting to know our hiking group has given you a chance to spread your unique brand of love and wiggles around. It makes me happy to see how much everyone loves you. And I’m happy too to see how much you love hiking. Watching you dart to the car and hearing you urge me to go faster as we’re driving to meet the group are part of the fun.
You’ve learned so much about staying close when we’re working outside, being calm when you say hi to Ralph, hitting Grandma and Grandpa up for treats. We’re going to keep working on coming when you’re called and that little people are okay–they’re weird because they’re as tall as you and they’re very grabby, but you’re a very gentle boy and you can teach them how to be polite to doggies.
Matt and I both love coming home to you every night. You give us such good wiggles and tell us all about your day. Watching your tail go around in circles never gets old.
Happy second gotcha day, bud. We’re so happy that you’re part of our family.
Love,
Julia
Odds and sods
I took advantage of the mid-week Canada Day holiday to turn this week into a bit of a vacation. I’ve been trying to embrace the “summer time and the living is easy” mantra, so I don’t have a DIY or farm update to share today.
Here’s some of what we’ve been up to instead:
- We spent Canada Day with Matt’s brother and sister-in-law, as is our tradition. I cannot say that Baxter the Canadog embraced his adopted country. He tolerated his patriotic kerchief, the parade, the crowds and the fireworks. He wanted to meet all the dogs and smell all the smells, and was a bit disgruntled that he didn’t get to spend every second socializing. He got lots of compliments on his kerchief though.
- I planted some more peppers–4 more red and 12 jalapeno plants. Matt and I both keep adding lots of plants to the garden. Good thing we have a big property.
- I’ve visited a few antique stores–not my usual haunt–during this vacation. I think I might have found a set of dining room chairs. They’re on hold until Matt can check them out later this morning. Fingers crossed he likes them.
- Chiot’s Run is a new blog for me. I don’t have a lot of gardening blogs in my reader, and I’m really enjoying this one. After spending a fair amount of time yesterday thinning my beets and rutabagas, I’ve decided that next year I’m going to follow Susy’s lead and make myself a square foot gardening template for root vegetables.
What have you been up to this week? What’s your definition of easy summer living?
I wish you all a wonderful weekend. And to my American readers, happy Independence Day.
It never rains but it pours
For the past few years, it seems we’ve gone from winter to summer. Just skipped over spring completely. This year, we’ve seesawed back into winter a couple of times (brrr). But we’ve definitely missed spring–and its spring showers.
The grass seed that I sprinkled has sprouted–thanks to diligent daily waterings.
Our fields are going green and our soybeans are growing, but my hose doesn’t help them, and I wasn’t sure how long they’d hang on without rain.
Saturday morning, we watched clouds building to the north of us, wondering if rain was finally going to fall. (If you look closely, you might be able to see the bright green watering can halfway down the driveway, next to a newly planted tree).
A few hours later, we had our answer. Yes, it was finally raining, but it was pouring. More water than the dry, dry ground could possibly absorb.
It doesn’t seem like we just have rain anymore. It’s either a deluge or nothing. Maybe the gentle rain is hanging out wherever spring has gone.
Poor Baxter did not appreciate the cooling moisture as much as the plants did. Apparently, melting from the heat is preferable to melting from rain.
The torrential downpour did eventually ease. By the end of the weekend, we had a full day and a half of rain.
So I won’t have to do any watering for a little while.
What season is it where you are? What season should it be? Have you had too much, too little or just enough rain? Are seeds sprouting where you are? Does your dog like the rain?
Too close for comfort
Baxter here, y’all. Last Monday was an exciting day. It was Victoria Day, so Matt and Julia and me were all home together. (I dunno who Victoria is. I don’t think she’s from Kentucky.)
The best part of the day was when Julia and I went for our afternoon walk. It was sunny and sniffy. We were walking across the field behind the driveshed. There was lump in the field. I always investigate the bumps, the longest grass, the tallest weeds (and usually pee on them too). I was going to check out the lump, but Julia called me back. I went. (I’m getting very good at not wearing my leash.)
I was almost beside Julia when I saw that she was looking at the lump too. I took another look, and I saw what she saw. The lump had ears, and eyes, and a nose.
I’ll show you what it looked like (sorta). Her head was low to the ground between her paws and her ears pointed straight up. (And her furs were grey and brown just like the dirt. That’s why we couldn’t see her at first.)
It was the doggie that Matt and Julia never let me meet: coyote!
I wasn’t going to miss my chance this time.
I heard Julia land on the dirt as she tried to tackle me, but I was speedy. The coyote was speedy too. She stayed just in front of me all the way across the field, down the hill and into the marsh. I’m not going to tell what happened in the marsh. Julia said she called me, but I didn’t hear her. I was just trying to meet coyote.
Eventually, I realized coyote didn’t want to meet me, and I remembered I’m supposed to stay close to Julia. But I couldn’t find Julia. I left the marsh, but she wasn’t in the field. I went back to the house, and the door opened when I got there. Matt and Julia were both there. Matt was holding my leash and wearing his tall boots and long pants even though it was really hot out, and he’d been wearing shorts before.
I gave them lots of smiles and wiggles, but I couldn’t help dancing too, so they saw that my legs and feets (and other parts too) had some black marsh mud on them. (Okay, there was lots of black mud.) They weren’t as happy as me. Julia grabbed my collar and gave me a couple of hard shakes. Then Matt took my collar and clipped me to my long line.
We could see the field behind the driveshed, and we saw my coyote come back. She climbed over the top of the hill and walked to the tree line. Matt went out to the field, but Julia stayed with me. She went and got the hose and washed off the mud. I usually don’t like the hose, but I was so hot from running that the water felt good. Plus I was still pretty excited.
I stayed outside for awhile to dry off, but I didn’t see the coyote anymore on Victoria Day. We’ve seen her pretty much everyday since then. But I haven’t gotten to introduce myself again.
Addition from Julia: We officially have coyotes. I was very excited a month ago when I first saw the coyote, as I hadn’t seen one on our property before. But now they (yes, we’re up to two coyotes) have become regulars, and it’s a little less exciting–Baxter’s opinion notwithstanding.
I’m a live and let live kind of woman, but I’m not sure the coyotes share my philosophy.
Their confidence and comfort grows quickly. So far they seem to be mostly curious. One followed–just followed, not stalked or hunted–Bax and I on our walk on Friday morning. When he got too close, I shouted at him, and he ran away.
Our biggest concern is Ralph. We can keep Baxter on leash, but we can’t lock Ralph up in the barn. She’s a pretty savvy girl, and she sticks very close to the barn, but the fact that a coyote was sitting on the driveway the other night–and that Ralph likes to hang out on the barn ramp in the middle of the night–isn’t a comfort. Plus, when two coyotes were cavorting in the field, her reaction was to roll on her back and ask for scratches (from us, not from the coyotes).
Argh. I wish coyotes were vegetarians.
An evening walk along the pond trail
The nature of farm living is that it’s tough work. Last night, after a day full of hard labour, my skin was stinging from scrapes, thorn pricks and a pretty decent sunburn.
My muscles and grip strength were gone. At one point, Matt had said, “Pull!” as we were stringing the fence in the garden. And at my response–“I’ve got nothing left!”–he just laughed.
It was after 5 o’clock, and the dog still needed his afternoon walk–a daunting prospect.
But the nature of farm living is that there’s also an incredible setting, right in our backyard, so Baxter and I headed for the pond trail.
Matt cut this trail for us last year. Some of our hard work earlier earlier in the day had been sharpening the mower blades (with help from my parents), attaching the deck to the tractor and mowing the grass.
In addition to doing the lawn, Matt did a pass over the trail, so Bax and I had a lovely space to hike.
We walked alongside the lilac hedge that leads from the house down to the water.
We turned left and followed the trail along the shore towards one of our old apple trees. This tree is a showstopper this year. Absolutely covered in blossoms.
From there, the trail heads into the small pasture behind the barn, following the fence at the edge of the marsh.
It loops around past the manure pile and then up to my favourite tree.
We took a detour by the garden to check out the new fence.
And as I headed to house, Baxter decided he was going to stay out for awhile yet. He laid down beside the garden and gazed back down the trail and across the farm.
The view is fields and forest and trees and marsh, and it’s worth any scrapes, pricks, burns, aches, hard work and exhaustion.
The payoff–this farm–is exactly where I want to be.
Picking up after the litterbugs
I’ve decided that smoking, drinking and littering should all be added to the list of deadly sins.
Saturday was the annual spring clean up in our area, so I headed out with a roll of garbage bags, two pairs of gloves and, of course, my usual sidekick.
Most of the litter that we picked up was cigarette packages, paper coffee cups and beer cans. Given that most of the trash was thrown out of the windows of passing cars, I’m concerned that so much of it consisted of empty containers that formerly contained alcoholic beverages.
So perhaps to clarify, the deadly sin should be drinking and driving, not just drinking.
The annual litter clean up invariably leaves me feeling disgusted with humanity.
Not all of humanity, though. This year we had professional help from 1-800-Got-Junk. The team was driving around the concessions, picking up the bags that had been left on the roadside.
Baxter was also his usual helpful self. He appreciated the opportunity to spend as much time as he wanted wading in the ditch.
When he tired of getting muddy, he returned to sniffing and sunbathing.
Here are a few highlights of this year’s clean up:
Various car parts–headlights, bumpers, hubcaps, a license plate. Our ditches are very deep, and apparently the stop sign across from the east field is invisible.
SPB, I have your gloves… Well, two of them. The third odd one went in the trash.
We made it approximately halfway around our 2km of roadside. The grand tally over three hours of clean-up was three bags of garbage, three bins of recycling, three hubcaps and three gloves. Oh, and those three new sins.
Have you done a spring clean-up at your house? What’s the weirdest trash you’ve ever come across? What sins would you add to the list if you could?
Woman vs. tarp
Baxter here with a garden update for y’all.
At least that’s what Julia says we’re making. It doesn’t look like any garden I’ve seen before.
Two weekends ago, Julia lit the “garden” on fire. I used to love that spot of the field. The long grass was super, super sniffy. But now it’s gone. And I got to say, I didn’t love the fire. First, it was very, very big. I thought it was going to reach out and singe my furs. I’m a short-haired fellow. I don’t have many furs to spare. Second, I got all tangled up in the hose which was not very comfortable. And third, smoke makes me sneeze.
I went into the garden to check it out last Saturday. It’s not as sniffy as it used to be. But it didn’t make me sneeze either. I rolled around a bit ’cause that’s what I used to like to do in the long grass. It felt different, but it was okay.
Julia was not very happy after I rolled, and she decided to cover up all the ash.
She and Matt got out the World’s Biggest Tarp. Matt probably should have stayed with her in the garden ’cause it took her a long time to get that tarp unfolded. I dunno what’s so difficult. She’s got thumbs!
Even though she used the World’s Biggest Tarp, it still wasn’t big enough for the garden. Then she decided to use the big roll of carpet she found beside the garden. It wasn’t frozen anymore–I walked all over it and sniffed to make sure–but she still had a really hard time moving it.
Julia vs. the carpet was more interesting than Julia vs. the tarp, but she didn’t make a video of that one. I was sunbathing, but I opened my eyes every so often to watch.
I got up when she went to get Wiley. I keep an eye on that tractor. It took them a couple of tries, but they finally got the carpet into the front end loader. Then Wiley carried the carpet around the fence and dumped it in the garden. He’s pretty helpful even though he doesn’t have thumbs either.
It still took Julia a long time to lay the carpet all out, but eventually it was spread out in the garden. Even though the carpet was wet and dirty and buggy and had plants growing in it, it was nicer to lay on than the pokey dry weeds.
Julia wasn’t any happier when I laid on the carpet than she was when I rolled in the ash. After my afternoon walk with Matt, he took me from the front door right into the bathtub. That was not my favourite part of the weekend. Honestly, what’s the matter with a few smudges on my furs!
The carpet and the World’s Biggest Tarp and two other little tarps still aren’t enough to cover the whole garden. Plus, some of them blew around in the wind, and we had to spread them out again the other day.
I think we’re going to be working in the “garden” for awhile yet. Hopefully it starts to look like a garden soon.
First snowshoe of the year
Today is a holiday in Ontario. While I’m taking the day off, Baxter’s covering the blog.
Since coming from Kentucky, I’ve learned that fresh snow is fun for bounding and sniffing.
But trail-blazing is hard work, especially with four legs to push through the snow.
Lesson for other puppies out there: When y’all get tired of bounding, it’s okay to follow the footprints.
Another lesson for other puppies: If snowshoes are involved, don’t follow too close. Snowshoes have tails that are easy to step on–or that can whack you in the chin if you’re not careful.
Anyone know if snowshoes come in doggy size?
Home on 129 Acres 