BrownStone Chinooks

Maku Update

2012-02-11T21:31:00.000-08:00

I was finally cleaning out my in-box and I came across a very important November post that I had missed. One of the best things about being a breeder of these wonderful dogs is hearing from their forever families. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Hi,
Muku is getting all fuzzy for the winter, and has already been up trail running and playing in the snow. She's such a happy and fun dog!
Deavah, Brad and Ben

Five Chinooks at Rest

2012-02-07T15:06:00.000-08:00

After a day full of 5-way, Chinook tag games, the dogs were ready for some zzz's.

Koyuk, McKenzie Cedar, Willy and Lupin. Oops, I disturbed them by taking a picture.

Sun

2012-02-05T12:30:00.000-08:00

Yesterday the sun hit the back patio for the first time this year. I grabbed the paper and my coat (it was only 38 degrees), camera, and coffee and went out to soak up some rays. Lupin and Koyuk tried mightily to get the ice out of the dog's water bowl until they tipped it and gained their prize.While the youngsters played keep-away with the chunk of water bowl ice, Willy and McKenzie "chilled" on the warm pavement.
Lupin in her lion pose.Within minutes the sun traveled back behind the trees. Before it did, I was able to grab a picture of McKenzie, Willy, Cedar, Koyuk and Lupin. Love those ears!

Not-So-Much Slumber Party

2012-02-04T10:04:00.000-08:00

Kerstin, Anna and Klara brought Lupin over yesterday for a play date. The dogs immediately engaged in a 5-Nook game of tag, with rules only they can interpret.

Koyuk ready to ambush anyone taking a short-cut through the pond While the dogs zoomed about, the girls headed for the trees.Anna is "riding the porpoise" on an obliging, springy branchKlara attempting to join her sister.

I got no further pictures of the dogs. They were all way too excited to sit for a picture. Besides, Lupin is our guest for the weekend. There should be plenty of photo-ops once the novelty wears off.

Last night was akin to a 'tween slumber party. Five Chinooks, one cat and two humans on one bed is totally nonconductive to sleep. I knew the dogs would stay where ever I was so I took the "no-dog" couch and let Dave sprawl in freedom without four legged beings vying for the most human contact. The dogs made the most of the greatroom non-slumber party. Every toy in the house was brought out and tested for tugging strength and quality of squeaker. Bones were chewed; dropped on the hardwood floor; and buried under dog beds. Chase the cat became a favored game.

At one point I finally fell asleep only to be awakened by malodorous kisses. One of the dogs had figured out how to open the kennel door. McKenzie knows but has not done it in years. They were able to push up a 5" bar out of the sleeve without pushing on the door then push on the door before the bar slid back into place. Once free, I can only assume the party resumed outside. I do know that at one point it included rolling in deer poop. Later after they are all bathed, I will attempt to get 5-Nook pictures.

Hospice?

2012-01-27T19:39:00.000-08:00

Today McKenzie, Koyuk and I went to dad's for a family meeting with the hospice social worker and nurse. Dad and Iris love the dogs and provide unlimited ear scritches and pats. Before the meeting I asked if anyone would like the dogs to go out to the car. Everyone felt better with them in the room. Koyuk and McKenzie seemed to know this was a stressful occasion. When everyone was gathered for the meeting, they both laid down in the center of the group and no longer bugged for attention. Koyuk's head was on dad's feet and McKenzie mine. What wonderful dogs they are. Koyuk is a puppy yet calmed herself and others. McKenzie is always in tune with my mood and feelings.
Medically, intellectually I know it is time to think hospice for potential comfort care for dad. We all want him to stay at home with Iris. His labs and medical conditions say it is time. Seeing dad and Iris, my heart says - "NO! It isn't time. Go away." His spirit says "NO!" Dad is still very independent and full of life. Daddy-Do still gets bored when not producing or fixing something. Dad impressed the hospice providers with his vigor. On paper he is very near death. In person he looks and acts as if he was 30-40 years younger than his 93 years + 331 days.
When the nurse asked dad about any recent falls he replied: "Well, not long ago Iris and I were in the kitchen smooching and we both closed our eyes..."

I NEED a Geek

2012-01-22T18:56:00.001-08:00

In 1976 I was part of the first Women's Expedition of the Nahahanni River. We were 6 women chosen from all over the U.S. Our original plan was something never done before: to pull up the Ross river in the Yukon Territories; portage the Rockies; run the Nahahanni from it's source; then run the Laird to the confluence with the great McKenzie river. Record rainfall and snow prevented us from the first part. We had to get a pilot drunk at the one cabin town of Ross River to fly us into the moose pond source of the Nahahanni. A book about the lower 1/2 of the river is titled "The Most Dangerous River". The maps of upper 1/2 were almost useless at 24 miles/inch scale and were highly inaccurate as few had ever run that part of the river and none of them were surveyors. The names of everyone who had run the river, including the vast majority that had started in the lower 1/2 were scrarched into a 2'x2' board in Deadmen's Valley. A group of elite British Marines tried to run the upper river a week before us - all perished - hence the reluctant, drunk pilot. The spectacular lower 1/2, called the South Nahahanni, became the first United Nations International Park a few years after we were there.

The geek part comes in the preservation of my 450+ photos. They are all on deteriorating slides. I took them to Costco to have digitalized. I no longer have a light board so I could not organize them before I emptied the boxes of slides. I thought I would be getting back a DVD that I could just put into my photo editing program. My plan was to organize then edit/spruce up the photos and make a permanent, in-order, record. Well, I did get a nice CD of random pictures. I spent over 4 hours on initial editing and decided I might be better off putting them in order so I could just delete the bad ones before I went to the trouble of any more editing. The editing program would not arrange. I switched to another program and they became again arranged randomly. I now had 800+ photos with the edited ones scattered throughout. I spent 8 hours matching photos (think a mega child's game of matching the pictures) and arranging everything in order. I hit "save" and walla they were saved again unmatched in random order. AARG! Today instead of skiing in fresh powder, I put them on Picasa and rearranged them in order but I can't edit them to the detail I want in that program. All of my intuitive attempts to put my Picasa file into my photo editing program have failed. AARG! I need a geek!

Me portaging my canoe on the upper riverThe Nahahanni has 3 canyons deeper than the Colorado Grand Canyon. I am floating toward the first. Lunch in the third canyon.Our group (I am back row L) at the confluence of the Nahahanni and Liard Rivers.

The poor Chinooks are missing out on training time while I tackle this project - geek anyone?

Water, Water, Everywhere

2012-01-20T10:51:00.000-08:00

It appears the more experienced weatherman was correct - we have had rain and a lot of it. Yesterday I awoke to several inches of muddy water on on top of the ice on the big pond. The high water was threatening to breech the pond walls. Before breakfast I chopped through the ice to open up the outflow pond pipes and removed a section of retaining wall. Once the water flowing out, I tackled the drive. I wore my ski helmet while digging out over 1/2 mile of ditches to redirect the water washing out our road. High winds, ice, snow, and rain had stressed many trees beyond their breaking point. Thirty to fifty MPH winds caused branches to rain down on me. They then floated in the stream that had been our drive damming up the weed clogged ditches causing even more flooding. We still don't have heat. My living room looks like a teen's boarding house with wet clothing hanging everywhere. Yesterday when I got soaked through, I came in, took off the wet layers, warmed up by the fire, drank hot coffee and checked e-mail for news of Chinook people in Washington. Their conditions are worse with snow and freezing rain coating a foot of snow. Today we were supposed to meet in Portland but even I-5 is closed due to a major transmission line down across the freeway.
A little flooding adds a new dimension to a game of Chinook tag.The rains continue. A couple more inches are expected each day for several days. Our back yard is flooded. The garage has a stream flowing through it. But with the very real danger of the 22' deep, acre pond bursting the wall and taking out the neighbor's house diminished; and my ditches confining the road and spring run off; I can spend lots of time doing taxes and sorting through old picture slides.

Wood Heat and Snow

2012-01-17T12:23:00.000-08:00

Last evening we discussed whether I should go out and clean the snow off the kennel roof. One TV forecaster said we would continue to get a lot of snow the other, more trustworthy, one said we would get a couple inches of rain a day for the next three days. We went with the second forecaster, enjoyed my birthday dinner and got up to 4 more inches of heavy snow. The kennel roof is corrugated plastic over 12 foot, 2x4 spans. It is stout enough to handle yesterday's 4" of snow but when the second story roof slides, trusses break. I awoke to about 8 inches of snow on the roof. I quickly went from PJs to ski clothes and before breakfast, cleared off the roof with a long handle, industrial squeegee. My other big concern is the magnificent horizontal branch on our oak tree. I always stake up up in the winter but with all the fun I had yesterday, I forgot. I can normally stand with up stretched arms under the branch. The yellow wasp trap hangs way over my head. This morning I could look over the limb and the wasp trap was about 1' from the ground. Not good! First I had to find the very heavy, 60' ladder buried in the weeds, under the snow. Then I had to haul it from behind the greenhouse, all the way up hill to the oak tree. I considered harnessing the dogs and having them pull it but I did not want it 1/2 mile away at the road. I got as much snow off the branches as I could and wedged the ladder. This ladder would be vertical if I had placed it before the snow. Not liking the slope of the ladder, I hauled the 12' red ladder to place under a branch further out. Heavy winds are expected this afternoon and it is still snowing very hard. How hard is it snowing? I shoveled the back patio bare then the front to free the dog sled. When I came in, the back was already covered. Lore has it that you get warm 5 times when you heat with wood: when you cut the tree down; when you cut it into rounds; when you split the rounds; when you stack the split wood; when you burn it. I just added a 6th: when you shovel snow so you can get the wood from the pile to the house.

Kitty behind the wood stove. We still don't have other heat.Damp clothes from doing this mornings chores are drying in front of the woodstove.

Not Quite Enough Snow

2012-01-16T11:29:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Ma Nature gave me a special birthday present: snow. (Dave gave me a hula-hoop. I can see a lot more laughter as I try to get back in shape.) I also got to grab a ride to the mountain at the more reasonable hour of 0730 instead of 0545. The ski area still doesn't have quite enough snow to open anything but the north peak, black diamond runs. The temperature was 16 degrees and it snowed about 1 foot of powder during the day. Except for the buried stump I ran into sending me floundering, skiing was amazing. My ride home left before final sweep. We crept down the mountain at 25 miles/hour in a line of cars and trucks that seemed to stretch from the ski area to town. The road was blizzard on ice. Eugene itself was actually bare but on the road from town, I passed three cars and a full size moving van in the ditch less than a mile from our drive. Dave left the ski area about 1/2 hour after us and encountered a major pile up of crashed cars. When he called to let me know he would be a few more hours, I put my birthday dinner back in the fridge and went outside with the dogs to play in the snow.

This morning the excited dogs would not let me sleep - there was snow to run in.

The view out the window above my bed.

The caboose.

And play they did as the sun rose. Chinook tag - Cedar and Koyuk awaiting Willy to come crashing trough the bushes.Taking pictures was not easy. The dogs were in constant motion. Only when it was their turn to tag the others zooming by, was I able to get a shot.

Willy

Cedar

McKenzieKoyuk

We then took a harrowing sled run. 4+ inches of snow in my yard was not quite enough to cover the road under the trees. The dogs are strong enough that pulling the sled across frozen gravel did not phase them at all. My problems started after they got tangled around the fire address sign by the mailbox. I knew that as soon as I untangled them they would jet forward back across the icy road. They did. I managed to jump on the runners but the newspaper bounced out of the bag. Once back on the gravel I was able to stop them but, when I stepped off the sled to reach back and grab the paper, they took off.

I had decided to use a drag rope on this run since they seem to have forgotten the word "stop" no matter how desperately yelled. The rope got caught on my wrist and I was unceremoniously drug on frozen gravel until I could free it. The sled finally stopped the team by getting stuck in some blackberries after going off the cut bank on a sharp corner. Had the dogs come back to get me, they would have released it. But they just stood there tugging and barking to go on until I got to them. I made them pull the sled back up the cut bank with me on it and we were off again happily running back to the house.

The sled tied to the tree before hooking up the dogs. I was wise not to trust carrying my camera on this trip.

You would think that after so many trips around the sun, I would have enough common sense to take up less body damaging activities - like hula-hooping. Um - maybe Dave was trying to tell me something.

Busy Friday the 13th

2012-01-13T21:18:00.000-08:00

Our 3rd - 20 degree night/morning in a row. The pond is frozen enough to skate on and infinitely amusing skipping rocks across. I repeated Anna's tossing dog water bowl ice. The initial crack then concerto of harmonizing tings - thrilling, delightful and just plain fun.In preparation for expected snow, I stripped the last firewood from the rock house wall and stacked it inside the great room. I also emptied the dog's bathtub toy box - our tubs are too shallow to use as such but perfect to confine a myriad of toys and bones - and filled it with water in anticipation of the inevitable loss of power that comes with a wet snow storm. I then made curtains for the mudroom. I hate curtains but am desperate to not loose what little heat the wood stove provides.

Kitty checked out the view from the novel ironing board the green house trough water is a bit cold for watering wintering plants I am slowly mastering the Wii balance board exercises but my laughter makes it even tougher to keep the red dot in the yellow zone.
The dogs love the cold. They spent much of the day playing Chinook tag and hunting the fox that must be living somewhere near my boom truck. By the end of the day, they huddled for comfort and warmth - yes it is that cold in the house.

Sled Dog Titles

2012-01-12T19:05:00.001-08:00

I have been wanting to put Working Dog - Sledding titles on my dogs for quite some time but never got around to the proper documentation of their pulling adventures. Today I decided to change that and in the process, baring committee DSQ, Willy, Cedar and Koyuk should have a NSD behind their names sometime soon.

Our training road is the old Weyerhaeuser haul road. It is closed off to all motorized vehicles thus is safe to run the rig on. Unfortunately it is paved but the interesting, winding, trail with ups and downs makes up for foot wear and tear. Thus far the tough Chinook pads have suffered no ills.

The red line is 2 miles. Willy is making sure I know it is time to go.barely panting at the 2 mile turn around I wanted to capture a picture of them going under the powerline (easily seen on the Google earth picture) but had to get off the rig to take it. Forget anything I have said about Chinooks not taking off without you. All I got was a picture of the powerline shadow and a brief jog.These guys are pulling to fast for me to safely - my safety not theirs - take pictures while moving. I needed a trails-end picture for the documentation, so I grabbed the camera and just aimed forward when Koyuk was a little slack. a very happy, now un-officially NSD Team Nookies dogs. Our next title requires 100 miles. Stay tuned.

More Than One Way to Keep Warm

2012-01-11T10:43:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, after another harrowing rig ride to get the paper, I decided that besides exercise, I need something to improve my recovery-after-thrown-off-balance ability. I loaded up the dogs and headed to town to buy a Wii with balance board for my birthday present from me.
To add a bit of luxury to my dog van and because it takes a few miles before the heater kicks in, I have put in a seat heat pad. This trip I got a bit more heat than I had planned. On the way to town, the smell of an electrical fire and melting poly padding alerted me to the smoldering heat pad internal wiring. By the time I could safely pull over, my butt was not only overly warm but the seat leather was scorched. Oops. Not good!

Kitty seeking warmth on the batting "snow".

Last night Dave added the Wii wiring to the cat's cradle behind the TV then spent the next hour laughing hard while watching me try various balance and strength exercises. Both of us were warmed by my uncoordinated efforts.
The ultimate way to get warm was my midnight hot tub soak. Ahh yes - wine, near full moon making frozen surfaces sparkle, stars, 20 degrees out while soaking in a 104 degree hot tub. Of course that was followed by 4 Chinooks and 1 cat smothering me while I fell asleep.

Keeping the Home Fires Burning

2012-01-10T09:53:00.000-08:00

I have not written for 9 days because except for a day of skiing on powder over rocks, all my energies have gone into trying to keep the house and me warm. I am tired of being cold and damp. I did not want to whine, so did not write. Except for the wood stove and a small heater under my desk, we have not had heat since the week before Thanksgiving. The weather has been in the 30's with bone chilling fog. Beyond the fire's semi-circle of warmth, the fog's dampness has penetrated the interior of the house. Last night it warmed up to 36 and sleeted. This morning when I went out to get more wood, the patio and grass were coated in a layer of ice. One hard-won load of fire wood will have to hold until the ice melts.

The wood under the rockhouse eve was double stacked and meant to last he winter.Only Willy and Koyuk ventured out to help me get wood.I guess it is just getting old that is wearing on me. I spent almost 10 years living all seasons mostly out-of-doors the Oregon and Canadian wildernesses. I celebrated my abilities to live with the challenges and inconveniences the weather brought.

Whining over - when the ice melts off the rig, I'll take the dogs on a run. The exercise will do all of us good. For they too have been huddled, mostly on top of me, for hours on end.

Last Day of 2011

2011-12-31T21:51:00.001-08:00

The last couple days of the year brought the first snow to the mountains. Not enough to open the ski area but that did not stop the Jr. Ski Patrol, SPYteam, from getting out of town. We were able to get a lot of the training covered. When Dave and I started the SPYteam 10 years ago, the kids took on the preparation of the sleds as their own responsibility. This year's group too learned the ins and outs of making up the sled packs and getting the sleds ready for transport up the slope. After learning where everything in the aid room is; how to put regulators on O2 tanks to check the pressure; how to tie boo fencing and getting checked off on radio communication, it was time for some fun. The kids learned to mush. Everyone got a turn on the runners. Willy, Cedar and Koyuk made 16 - 1/4 mile trips. McKenzie ran along until she tired then just cheered the kids as they flew past.I do owe the ski area owner a big one. Not only did he groom a trail for us to use, he caught a run-away sled after one of the kids fell off. Great guy!After a hearty lunch, the kids got certified in CPR and using the defibrillator. While they were pumping Anne, I took the dogs on another run. To my surprise they ran over 1/2 mile up a ski run and wanted to keep going. It took a lot of manual persuasion to turn them around. Poor Koyuk became hopelessly tangled in the process. With the sled claw brake set, I unclipped her to free her legs from the tug lines and her inside-out harness. She bolted ahead before I could hook her back up. Willy and Cedar gave chase. The sled dragging the useless claw brake, went by me so fast I couldn't jump on. These guys really need a lesson on "STOP!". At least I was running downhill after them.

All agreed that learning how to apply splints and use the backboard could wait. After a few last snowballs were thrown, the day ended with sleeping kids and dogs in the backseat on the drive back to the fogged in town.

I can't think of a much better way to close 2011. The ball has dropped in NY. Happy New Year!

Student of the Month

2011-12-26T17:08:00.000-08:00

One of our SPYteam members, was her high school student of the month. WAY TO GO Alysha!Now all we need is some snow so she can shine on the ski slope too.

Christmas Day

2011-12-25T15:59:00.000-08:00

Ho-Ho-Ho no snow but Santa did bring us much needed rain for Christmas.
Ever curious Koyuk helping Dave open a present.surely there is something under the tree for ussilly Willysweet Cedarmatriarch McKenziefestive Koyukkisses for Santashucksthe BrownStone pack wishes you and yours the merriest of Christmas'...and Peace on Earth

BrownStone Holiday Greetings

2011-12-24T21:42:00.000-08:00

WinterSpringSummerFallWe wish

Happy Holidays

and

a Joyous New Year to All.

Kay Lee, Dave, McKenzie, Koyuk, Cedar & Willy

Twas Two Nights Before Christmas

2011-12-23T23:19:00.000-08:00

Twas two nights before Christmas, when all through the house
not a creature was stirring, not even David my spouse.
The stockings and undies were hung by the chimney with care
in hopes that the fire would dry them with warm air

The Chinooks were nestled all snug on their beds
while visions of dog sledding danced in their heads
where across snowy fields the Chinooks they flew,

with the sleigh full of treats and Kay Lee too.When off the counter there arose such a clatter,
all sprang from their beds to see what was the matter.
Away to the kitchen all flew like a flash.
Counter surfing Kitty had caused the cookie plate to crash.

With noses so keen, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment all crumbs and glass they would lick.
More rapid than eagles, rooing they came,
I whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

"Now Koyuk! now, Willy! now, McKenzie and Cedar!”
(At times like this, I was the leader).
"To the top of your beds next to the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

Got Snow?

2011-12-22T15:25:00.001-08:00

I used to take pride in my chosen breed of sled dog by saying: "if you fall off a sled, powered by Siberians or Alaskans, the dogs will delight in the lighter drag, pick-up speed, and take off for the horizon (been there-done that). Chinooks however, will come back and give you kisses as you try to get up and dust off. You may end up with a huge tangle of harnesses and lines but you still have your sled."

I am not so sure that is still true with Team Nookies.

The PNW is almost a month into very cold, foggy but otherwise dry weather. In preparation for the day when we finally get snow in the mountains, I have been daily running the dogs with the rig. Our drive is 1/2 mile with three steep hills. Today was the first time I did not have to assist the dogs on the hills. Today was also the first time the dogs have taken off without me. I had left them in a stand-stay and the rig brake locked on when I went across the road to the mail box. Before I could get back, they had the rig turned 180 degrees and were running back down the hill. Fortunately the brake held good enough to keep the rig from overtaking them. Paper in one hand and mail in the other, I ran a 100 yard dash after them yelling "whoa!" "stop!" Only when they were part way up the next hill did they pause long enough for me to jump on.

No pictures. We were going too fast and I was trying to keep the rig upright.

Weary of week after week of cold fog and bare ground, I went in search of snow rituals.

Snow Ritual #1: Wearing Your PJs Inside Out
And backwards. This snow ritual encourages everyone in the household to spend an evening in their favorite PJs and turn them inside out. This is meant to confuse the snow gods in some strange, very strange way and prompt them to deliver a blanket of snow for the participants.

Snow Ritual #2: Leaving a Spoon Under the Pillow
Putting a spoon under the pillow is a longstanding superstition that dates back to the days of the Pilgrims. It's a superstition that still lingers in the Midwest and Eastern states, and many people follow it religiously each winter season.

Snow Ritual #3: Flushing Ice Cubes Down the Toilet
This snow ritual is meant to signify a 'cold front' to the snow gods. Apparently they'll get the message through the sewer system and (hopefully) take action immediately.

Snow Ritual #4: Running Around the Table Five Times
It's difficult to determine if you need to do this clockwise or counterclockwise, but five seems to be the magic number for the snow gods to pay attention. Four times just won't cut it, and six may be far too many (you might encourage a tsunami instead). Just be careful that you don't knock your knees on the table's edge while doing this.

Snow Ritual #5: Repeating a Snow Chant
There is limited information on what this magical snow chant may be, but it's likely a variation of the classic 'Let It Snow!' song of the season. Snow lovers in Michigan get busy singing the 'Heikki Lunta' song, a tribute to the snow god Hank Snow.

Make It Snow
By Derrell Syria
Make it snow, make it snow.
Come on, Heikki Lunta, do a little dance in the ten below.
Miss La Niña, let the cold wind blow.
Together with Heikki Lunta, lay down a blanket white with snow.
Make it snow, Heikki Lunta.

You may develop your own snow chant and just keep repeating it until you see those flurries-or the neighbors make a formal complaint.

Snow Ritual #6: Throwing Ice Cubes Into the Tree
Grab a few bowls of shaved ice and sprinkle them on trees and bushes around the yard. This ritual is meant to encourage a big freeze, and send a 'cold message' to the snow gods as a prompt.

Snow Ritual #7: Hop and Scatter
Go outside and hop around a tree three times on one foot and then scatter ice cubes sprinkled with cocoa powder at the trunk. - Sacrifice chocolate?

Ready to play snow conjurer?
Try any or all of these rituals. We are in dire need of the white stuff . Just don't try them all at once, or you might really confuse the snow gods for good.

Brown-Terrell Christmas

2011-12-20T21:27:00.001-08:00

There are a lot of Brown's in the family when both you and your sister marry a Brown. Our second Brown Christmas was at Dave sister's beautiful Portland home. I didn't get any pictures of the house and it's decorations so you will just have to believe me - it was spectacular. Susan even had my favorite treat: Oak Grove Bakery, mini ,custard filled, cream puffs coated in chocolate - yumm! I was afraid she had forgotten to order them. We always pick them up at the bakery but alas, I always make a sizable dent in the mouth melting heaven before we get them to her house. This year she had them delivered and hid them until after lunch.
The great room was full of dads, uncles, nephews, great-nephews, moms, aunts, nieces, great nieces, wives and girlfriends.

nephew Brian and niece Molly - all grown upbig brother Davelittle brother Johnbaby sister Susan The dogs had created their own White Christmas while we were gone. It is amazing how much stuffing there is in a crate bed.

Lee-Brown Family Christmas 2011

2011-12-17T19:33:00.000-08:00

Tradition has that the Lee-Brown Christmas celebration is held at my house. When my 5 nieces were younger, they could count on adventure, the Cookie Monster (Uncle Dave in costume) and going home wearing one on my tees as a night gown. My sister could not make it this year but three of the nieces, now grown, brought my Dad, Iris, boyfriends and a babysitting charge.

For adventure, the dogs took Quinn on a very fast, one mile, rig ride. So fast that I did not have time to take a picture as I sped along ahead of them on the quad.

Vanessa and Fera waiting for Quinn to fly by

Everyone experienced the joys of skidding stones on the frozen pond. The day was above freezing. The ice was quite thin but instead of the fun being diminished another element came into play - air bubbles under the ice created when a stone broke through. With a little skill the bubbles could be moved about.

In past years, dinner needed two even three tables. This year, without my sister, her husband, two my nieces and their families, we all fit in elbow-to-elbow fellowship around one.

The guests of honor: my Dad and IrisFera was the present elfKoyuk helping FeraVanessaLife is good when your nieces bring home their boyfriendsEmilyAndrewNataliePrincess BeatriceQuinnEnd of a wonderful day.Cookie Monster will again make an appearance when the great neices and nephew join us next year. As for the tees - unlike all those years of sleeping in the back seat, this year the girls were driving.

Joys of Pond Ice

2011-12-15T12:18:00.000-08:00

Lupin's family came over for a five Chinook, four girl play date. Last night the temperature warmed and we got our first precipitation for the month - unfortunately rain. I was not sure if the large pond was still frozen so we loaded up with rocks and tested it. Yup frozen. The layer of rain water on top of the ice added a wonderful new tone.

Anna is tossing a huge block of ice from the dog water bowl.Shattered chunks of ice scattering on the surface was the best sound yetBirthday dogs: Lupin and WillyClara, too short to throw her rocks over the cattails, got a boost from mom. Oh the joys of simply throwing stones on a frozen pond.Ultimate test of ice thickness - Koyuk The other side didn't hold up. How about the far side? - Nope. Before we had to do a dog through ice rescue, we moved onto other joys - tree climbing. Fearless Anna Clara found her joy in picking up pine cones... mom's affection and...dog kisses.

Birthday Girl

2011-12-14T18:20:00.001-08:00

BrownStone Nala is Willy's sister. Her owner had planned on a male pup but during the two days she stayed with us, little pink/Nala followed her everywhere. She even kept getting inside the air transport crate. So it was she picked her forever family.

Nala's last trip to the milk bar. McKenzie and Willy say good-bye to Nala.

Sweet Nala with her 8th birthday present. Obviously a keeper.

Happy Birthday

2011-12-11T16:37:00.000-08:00

Happy 8th Birthday to the Willy, Lupin, all their BrownStone Christmas littermates...(Willy one day old)(Willy 8 years old)and Lupin's dad, Jon.

Muku the Canadian Reindog

2011-12-10T19:48:00.000-08:00

Christmas Chaos

2011-12-09T22:39:00.000-08:00

A tray of no-salt, heavy on the hot, spice bottles; Christmas floral picks; a 9 yard roll of sparkly ribbon; and dumb me for leaving four dogs with cabin fever and one cat alone in the house while doing my volunteer nursing job.

Kitty in the middle of my ornament project area. Soon after the dogs spotted her, everything on the table was tipped or on the floor.

I love to decorate the house for Christmas. This year is heavy on red. For a new fireplace swag I had bought red floral and berry picks, ribbon and balls to adorn greens from the property. Everything was still in bags when I left. I had no reason to expect anyone getting on the counter. That had not happened since Cedar was a puppy - oh-oh - like mother, like daughter. Then again, it could have been Kitty who pushed the bags and spice bottles to the ground for the dogs to have their way with.

I came home to an amazing mess. Fortunately the balls were unbreakable but they were tested for squeakers. The picks became covered with spices, either before or after they were used as tug toys. Now tasty, they had been chewed on but did not stay down. Embellishing the spice coated dogs, rug and floor was the dusting of gold glitter scattered during unrolling and tugging the ribbon. Luckily the tree is wired to the wall.

You Know It's Cold When...

2011-12-06T11:16:00.001-08:00

You know it's cold when your fingers stick the the poop scoop handle.
You know it's cold when all the ponds freeze over.One of my little joys in life is skidding pebbles along the frozen surface of the large pond. The tinkling, chiga-chiga-ching sound always delights me. It changes pitch depending upon the thickness of the ice and the depth of the water. This ice has a very high pitch sound - except when Koyuk tried to stand on it. That was just a splosh, high-pitch-yelp. The ice on the deep end, which is in the sun, is not yet thick enough to hold an inquisitive Chinook. The dogs and Kitty also enjoyed the cold novelty.

Koyuk trying to engage Kitty in play.Willy knows better than to chase Kitty or test the ice. Mischievous KoyukYou know it is cold when, four dogs and a cat barely keep you warm at night. We are into the second week of below freezing temperatures. The power went off last night and just came back on. Our two heat pumps died three weeks ago. One was jury rigged to give 60-67 degree heat in the greatroom. It has run constantly to maintain the tepid, down the neck draft. My office has had no heat for three weeks. You know it's cold when four Chinooks crowd the office couch for warmth.

More La Pine Mushing

2011-11-30T22:59:00.000-08:00

A friend sent me some pictures of Team Nookies at LaPine.

Ferrari's new brakes did not hold with Koyuk on the team. I am trying to release them as we were racing through the staging area.The next day the snow was gone but it was 15 degrees as we ran through gauntlet of a several hundred excited sled dogs in the staging area.Team Nookies with after burner Koyuk going strong.All smiles at the end of four brisk miles.

Lisa M

2011-11-29T13:13:00.000-08:00

A friend just died. I never saw Lisa not smiling and laughing. Everyone around her had to smile and laugh too. She was like that even when life dealt her some pretty tough times. I am having a hard time dealing with her sudden death and finding the words to say. Words are never enough at a time like this. Lisa bred, raised and trained the world's best mannered and talented Bull Terriers (the dog with the egg shaped head you see on the Target ads). Bullies are banned from many areas, even whole countries. Lisa proved even with their squished, out-of-shape brain they could do wonders. She put the first ever tracking title on a Bully. Her dogs titled in agility, rally-O, obedience and tracking. They showed as national champions in conformation. Lisa leaves behind a husband and four Bullies. Like them, I will really miss her.

Beautiful Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T19:13:00.001-08:00

Ma Nature beautifully decorated our yard for Thanksgiving Day. Thanksgiving is a time for families. I went to my sister's house for the food and festivities.

My Beautiful Great Niece Abby before she fell backwards off the rocking horse.
My Great Nephew Luke was so busy, this with his Aunt Natalie was the only picture I was able to get of him.My sister and her husband cooked two complete Thanksgiving meals so everyone would have leftovers to take home. They only sat long enough for pictures then back to the kitchen.Iris and Dad. They just keep looking better.My beautiful sister with four of her gorgeous daughtersSleeping beauties resting up for Black Friday shopping.

1 CPR Class + 4 Chinooks

2011-11-20T18:13:00.000-08:00

Normally when we have guests, I can straighten, dust and vacuum. But today's guests would be on hands and knees on the floor within sight of bunnies under furniture. A more thorough fur-from-surface removal was necessary. With four dogs, any cleaning efforts done yesterday would have been fruitless. This morning I rushed around vacuum and dust cloth in hand, peering under everything at 3" above the floor eye level. The dogs thought this was great fun. My hands might have been busy but my face was at kiss height.
At 1 o'clock National Ski Patrollers and the Jr. Ski Patrol needing CPR certification came to our house for a class. Dog heaven: 13 sets of idle hands to give ear scratches.

When Dave began CPR on baby Anne, Koyuk thought he had a new toy for her. Baby Anne's whistling and arm wiggling with each compression was just too much to ignore. "obviously these kids are on the floor for kisses""Is he really dead? Sure looks dead.""don't hurt my baby""do I get to play with her after you are done?"

Everyone went home souvenir furry knees but a couple hours spent with four loving Chinooks made it worth it.

Let It Snow!

2011-11-18T10:35:00.001-08:00

0700 - morning game of Chinook tag. 1000 - snow added another dimension and a lot of excitement to the mid-morning game of Chinook tag. How many Chinooks in this picture? Cedar ready to tag Willy and Koyuk McKenzie rejoins the gameThe joke around here is that I never get the excess Christmas greens cleaned off the front patio before our first snow buries them. This year Ma Nature decided to bury the fall leaves too.

La Pine Mushing Weekend

2011-11-14T13:58:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I packed up the motorhome and took Cedar, Willy and Koyuk for four days of dryland mushing at La Pine. The state campground was filled with mushers and teams from BC to southern California to Idaho. Some mushers brought one dog and a scooter. Some brought 20-40 dogs and motorized quads. There were several, multiple-seat rigs giving passengers thrilling rides through the pines and sage behind impressive 8 to 16 dog teams.

Thursday we set-up camp and went for a couple mile run.

Friday morning we were on the trail in 15 degree sunshine. I have been wondering how to speed up Team Nookies. No longer a problem. Chill the air. Add Koyuk. Throw in a squirrel sighting or two and we flew over three miles. I also found that my brakes don't stand a chance of stopping the wheels turning when these guys want to go forward.

Resting in the sunshine.Saturday morning brought freezing rain ice covered with snow. The staging area was crowded with hundreds of excited dogs and their mushers. We met the Chinook team from Portland. Unfortunately Willy and Koyuk were too reactive from all the stress to try to combine our teams. Team Nookies had our longest and most adventurous run ever. We followed some large teams on a 4.5 mile course. By the time we were back to the trailhead 20 minutes later, most of the snow had melted. I pulled off the side of the trail to take pictures of other teams. Meanwhile... Team Nookies became hopelessly tangled.Saturday afternoon was jam packed with potluck entrees and desserts, wine and beer and mushing talk. Trail hardened mushers answered questions and were egged on to share some of their adventures. Much later, once the snow started, we abandoned the campfire to raid the leftovers and resume mushing tales.

Sunday morning I wanted to track with the dogs but it was so stormy that what treats didn't blow away, were eaten by flocks of migratory birds before I could complete even one track. Team Nookies did not go for a run. I decided that we should head back over the mountain pass before the roads got too bad. I also wanted to stop at the ski area to check in on Dave and the SPYteam members cleaning and stocking the patrol aid room.

Lonely McKenzie was very glad to see us when we finally got home. Happy to have the complete pack, she and the exhausted dogs soon crashed

Busy Sunday

2011-11-07T21:36:00.001-08:00

Sunday started at 0400. After I had gotten my winter gear on, cleaned the kennel, fed the dogs and cat, made the crock pot stew, coffee and breakfast, Dave let me - the one who never willingly does early mornings - know that he had forgotten to change the clocks. I had a spare hour to get ready for the day.
We were up that early to attend the Ski Patrol On-The-Hill training which involved more first aid; search and rescue; general patrol stuff like radio communication, policies and procedures; and ski lift evacuation. Six of the SPYteam members were "injured skiers", "lost skiers" and "stuck on a broken down ski lift for hours in freezing temperatures skiers".

0730 - time for strong coffee, day old bagels and paperworkSPYteam members at the ready

SPYteam "lost skiers" "Injured" SPYteam member being bandaged, "packaged" and made ready for transport (by a former SPYteam member, now patroller)SPYteam member lowered from the ski lift after a very, long, cold wait

piece of cake - where's the hot cocoa? down time between scenariospatrollers lowering SPYteam members from the liftpiece of cake - where's the hot cocoa?

These kids are the best - even worth getting up much too early to work with. The 2011-2012 SPYteam is going to be so much fun and rewarding to work with.

Busy Saturday

2011-11-05T20:50:00.001-07:00

After completing the entire OEC course, every year the National Ski Patrol members cover 1/3 of the Outdoor Emergency Medicine Course (equivalent to an EMT with a outdoor/winter environment twist) during a one day refresher. Everyone is expected to be able to handle a series of scenarios and skill stations. The Jr. Ski Patrollers - SPYteam - were patients for the 150 or so patrollers completing these senerios. After getting professionally applied mouloge - complete with squirting blood if necessary, the kids are taught the signs and symptoms they are to exhibit when each group of patrollers happen on their scene. Today the kids had chest pain; pelvic fractures; thermal burns; injured knees; femur fractures requiring re-alignment and ski boot removal; thoracic trauma/back pain after a fall in the bathroom behind the toilet; diabetic hypoglycemia with laceration to back of head and concussion; and laceration to arm with severe bleeding. Three of the kids were practice patients for helmet and boot removal; taking vital signs and securing to a backboard.

He has a pump for the blood coming out his arm wound. Waiting to find if they have any vitals Yes, that is a real defibulator.Removal of a helmet without injuring his neck. Successful toilet stall removal. Chest pain. He's hurting. Guess she won't be skiing any more today. Chest compressions while going downhill in a sled. I truly believe by the time the SPYteam members perform as patients for all the ski season patroller training, they too become competent first aiders. They know when a bandage has been securely applied. They see competence or discomfort in the different patrollers performing first aid. And they learn injury and illness symptoms from being a patient. As co-leader of the SPYteam, my job is to oversee the kids. Today this group of SPYteam members made a great start learning to be patrollers. Patrol trainins was not all I did today. Willy, Cedar and McKenzie were tested on their tracking progress. It was pouring rain the whole time. The dogs were to track where a stranger had walked. During the 20-40 minute between when the tracks were laid and the dogs were put on them, the rain and wind scattered the scent. My dogs performed amazingly. We then set tracks on the uncut grass and weeds on the parking mediums. The dogs had not tracked on grass before. Again they were amazing. I did not know exactly where the track was in the grass but all three followed it dead on - right through rain, weeds, tall grass and blackberry vines.

Team Nookies

2011-11-04T16:16:00.000-07:00

Koyuk is back in the BrownStone Pack. Unfortunately, her owner was not able to keep her but she will be making visits in the future.

The temperature was in the mid 30's this morning - perfect for a Ferrari run. Koyuk has not had any pulling instructions and has only been in harness once before but her Chinook mushing instincts made her look a pro. I hooked the dogs in a fan hitch with Koyuk's tug line a bit shorter. That way she was free to keep her own pace and could watch Willy and Cedar. Her pace turned out to be on par with the other two. In fact I think having her there spurred them to go faster.

We flew past the 1/2 mile point and were still going strong at the 1 mile. I rested them before attempting a hill and turned us around at the 1.5 mile point. (Gotta love Google Earth. Last night, I was able to take a virtual trip down the road and identify landmarks as mileage reference markers.) They ran the entire way back with only one brief rest before another hill. I laid tracks for the dogs while they were catching their breath. McKenzie's ability continues to amaze me. Her 300' track was 45 minutes old with treat drops at every 10 to 15 feet. Debris on the road prevented her from being able to use the treats to indicate where she was to go. She had to rely on her nose to know where I had walked. She didn't miss a one and only got a little confused where a jogger had jogged through her track. Cedar completed a 300" track and Willy did a 100' one. I got smart today and laid Willy's going up hill. He still dragged me along but it was easier to keep up.Now all dogs are resting. Koyuk has her won chair next to the dog couch.

Oh What a Beautiful Morning

2011-10-31T14:20:00.000-07:00

Willy, Cedar, and Lupin took me for a ride on Ferrari while Kirsten, assisted by McKenzie, jogged Klara in the stroller. Lupin soon decided she really wanted to be back with Kirsten and Klara. With their desire to go forward, Willy and Cedar actually pulled Lupin off her feet - not good. We unhooked Lupin and let her run with McKenzie and the stroller. Once there she set her sights on staying up with the other dogs giving Kirsten and McKenzie a good run. The cool morning was great for running. Kirsten urged us all to go up one more hill effectively lengthening our run to somewhere between 1 1/2 and 2 miles.This time of year until late next spring, the sun only briefly reaches our back yard. Even though the light was far from perfect, I could not resist taking pictures.

At Last - A Training Road

2011-10-25T15:54:00.001-07:00

I think I have finally found my mushing training place. Weyerhaeuser has an old, abandoned, haul road that runs from Springfield to south of Cottage Grove. I love the Cottage Grove end (where we did the tracking seminar). No one is there and the road runs beside a beautiful lake but the drive is over 60 miles. A friend told where to access the end starting in Springfield. I called the Weyerhaeuser lands office and got permission to run the road.

This morning I went to check it out. From the city street it looked like I could not make it by the main gate so I drove to another entrance I had spotted on google earth. It was at the end of a narrow street and blocked by huge boulders and a "no parking" sign. Determined to check the road out, I unloaded Ferrari (my rig) and wrestled her through the boulders; took the trailer off the van: turned them around: re-hooked; drove down the road to where I could park; unloaded and harnessed the dogs and hiked them back up to the rig.
Our run was fantastic. With easy hills and frequent turns, the road is not boring for the dogs. We quickly went the 1/2 mile back to the gate (where there actually is plenty of room to get the rig by) turned around and ran back to the boulder blocked entrance. Once there, the dogs headed right through the boulders. Other than some paint chipped because I was not being fast enough lifting Ferrari over the really tight spots, the trip was a success - well almost. When I had taken the trailer off to turn around, I noticed that the pin on the trailer stinger on was missing. The drag chain was the only thing holding the trailer to the van. Not good. Fortunately part of the cable and a locking beener I use to hold Ferrari as I am hooking up the dogs just fit between the trailer and the van tie down. When I get a new stinger pin, we are heading back to the main gate.

Temperatures cool enough to run the dogs are too cold for fuchsias and plants in pots. This afternoon everything was moved into the green house, including the last of the transparent green tomatoes.

Tractor Wheel Gardens

2011-10-24T20:02:00.000-07:00

I have been busy taking advantage of our cool fall days to deal with "before winter hits" chores. That and a trip to Salem to see my dad in the ER are my excuses for poor blogging. Today while I was cleaning out my tractor wheel gardens I remembered that I had recently received a way-too-cute post from my niece. This morning Cadence and I were playing with her Fisher Price Little People. I put a girl with a straw hat on her head and a carrot in her hand on the tractor. Cadence said "she just pulled the carrot out of the tractor wheel. Because that's where carrots grow. In tractor wheel gardens." And it took me a minute to catch what she meant. ha ha ha! She remembered your tractor wheel garden beds and was pretending that's where this little girl's carrot grew. Oh how this girl and her memory makes me laugh. Life is never dull now that she is talking! :) Love, Amanda

No carrots in the tires when she was here but Cadence is pretty clever to realize they must grow there too. (I picked my last strawberry from this patch this afternoon.)

More Honey-Do Projects

2011-10-19T15:14:00.000-07:00

Dave took a vacation/honey-do day yesterday. With the help of our 91 yr old neighbor, the hot tub was unloaded from the trailer. The tub is small and relatively light but we needed a third person to help figure out how to best get it off the trailer without busting the tub or our backs. Bud is a great problem solver when it comes to maneuvering heavy things. A couple of straps; the tractor bucket; a bit of pushing and the tub was on the ground in one piece.

the dogs helped Dave with the mechanical set-up

While the water was warming up, we took the dogs and rig 30 miles south to the old Weyerhauser road. Dave was a great sport in going on this adventure but he did not get pictures of our run as he followed us in the van. A word picture will have to do: sunlight, filtered through fall colored trees, fell on duff covered pavement as the dogs silently ran beside a deep blue lake.

After we got back, I took the dogs tracking. Lesson learned: do not set a track for Willy on a downhill slope. He inhaled his treats as drug me along at a rig running pace.

Dog Crate Play Session

2011-10-18T20:34:00.000-07:00

What do you get with two girls under the age of 4 and four Chinooks?

A lot of excitement!

After everyone, canine and human, zoomed several laps around the kitchen counter and great room couch, it was time to hit the bedroom dog toy box. I did not get my camera fast enough to capture 2 girls and 3 dogs in the dog crate and the 4th dog trying to fit in. Nor was I able to capture the squeals of delight and squeaks of dog toys from within the crowded confines.

Clara with her toy box prizes Clara enjoys a ride, while Lupin enjoys Clara's bone.

Busy Weekend

2011-10-16T23:41:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I drove to eastern Oregon for a mushing club meeting. I had planed to take my rig and run the dogs but the trailer I use for my rig proved to be the perfect size to transport my new (used), 2 person, hot tub. (I need to stain and move the hot tub so I left it on the trailer). I took the dogs anyway hoping that I could borrow a scooter for a run. Unlike the cold, foggy valley, eastern Oregon was sunny. Being too warm to run dogs, no one brought their scooter. Making the most of the trip, I laid two tracks each for the dogs. The dogs are up to 120' long tracks with tiny treats 30-40" apart. The tracks were 20-30 minutes old. All the water evaporated leaving only my scent to follow. Dogs are pretty amazing!

sorry guys - running the rig will have to wait a few days

It poured last night and was foggy and calm this morning - perfect for burning. This year's burn pile was the hottest and fastest burning one I have ever had. I even managed to singe my hair and burn three holes in my tee.

15 minute old, one match fireUsually burn pile fires take a whole day of constant stoking; blowing with the leaf blower; and pushing around with the tractor. This one was 1/3 burned by the time Dave finished breakfast leaving me almost a whole day to clean the garden; prepare 20 lbs of apples and pears for the dryer; and can 13 quarts of tomatoes.

The dogs love apples and pears. (They have picked most of the ones growing on the espaliered trees). After the fruit was put into the dryer, I threw the peelings out on the lawn for the deer but...

Well, the today I am writing about is now yesterday. Better get off the computer.

Tracking

2011-10-12T21:04:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Cedar and I went to a Kathleen Monje', two day tracking seminar. McKenzie loves tracking so I thought I would try it with Cedar.

There were 6 dogs. Between lectures we took turns laying tracks for each other. Even though the first two levels of tracking titles are done on grass, Kathleen starts dogs tracking on asphalt so they learn to actually track human scent and not just crushed grass.

A track is laid with a spray of water and treats every few inches. The water holds the track layer's scent and the food gets the dog's nose down. Gradually the tracks get longer with the treats further apart. Riley is giving his owner quite a pull as he runs down the line of treats.Gabe is so excited his legs bypass his nose.Cedar took to tracking like a hound. We did six tracks during the two days. Her last track was 20 yards long with treats every 24". Her treats blended in with the forest duff. The track had aged long enough that the water had evaporated. She was so into the game she also pulled to get to and run the treatless, day old, tracks.

"Vacation"

2011-10-10T09:26:00.000-07:00

Friday, Koyuk went to her new home and dad. Her owner got married and moved to an apartment while Koyuk was here. I do get to borrow her for mushing this winter. She is a special girl.No posts this week. Dave was on vacation and my wonderful life routine was seriously thrown off. I am not saying I did not love the fact that Dave actually took a "vacation" and was home - I did. He just schedules his days differently than I do.Dave is fully awake and ready to go by 0530. I am used to a leisurely start to my day at a much more reasonable hour. When he goes to bed, I am hitting my stride on household chores and creativity. He can't stay up later. I can't go to sleep before midnight and struggle to function during the early morning hours.Dave does not take vacations like normal working people. He has to be within easy driving distance from home and likes to be in his own bed at night. In 33 years, I have gotten him to take 6, week long, away from home, vacations. (Actually, I have no excuse to whine. This time last year we did not know if Dave would ever be able to go to work again.)This year's vacation was a honey-do week. The plan was to get all the fall chores done. It did rain all week. But, we did get a lot done...
We met with the 9 new and 5 returning Jr. Ski Patrollers and their families. The winter wood is mostly split and stacked. The road is graded. The huge boulders framing another garden are in place. Most of the garlic is planted and many of the garden weeds pulled. Lawn furniture is away for another year.
Saturday it was briefly Sunny. I took my camera for a walk on a friend's property.One thing not done this "vacation" was the canning. Tomatoes, pears and apples are just now getting ripe enough to process. Guess I'll be spending this week putting up winter's food - on my own easy morning schedule.

Season of Red

2011-10-02T09:30:00.001-07:00

With the rain, Fall started yesterday around here. As I madly rushed the last chores in the garden, it dawned on me that this is the season of red.

Red chain saw and Dave with red chaps cutting up firewood.

My red tractor scurrying about.

50 pounds of tomatoes with any hint of red brought up from the garden to ripen indoors.The dogs wore red to (hopefully) avoid being shot the opening day of hunting season. Not that they moved far from their couch. It was raining after all. The first fall storm left my summer faded flag tattered. I hung a new red, white and blue.

Leaves on the trees turning red.
The peppers on the plants moved into the greenhouse are turning red.

Not red: naked tomatoes. That experiment was a flop. Tomatoes on the plants I totally denuded were a shriveled orange.

Than and Now - The Lake

2011-09-28T21:27:00.000-07:00

A month ago Lisa and I bushwhacked into a lake to camp.Last week, Nonna and I went into the same lake but it had greatly changed. These two pictures were taken from nearly the same spot.Our old underwater footprints now had flowers growing in them.
The osprey and her chick were gone. The lake is now mostly a quiet meadow...
with water only where it had been over Lisa and my head
McKenzie went for a swimNonna and I hiked aboutEven without a deep lake, it is still a beautiful spot.

Nonna's Pictures

2011-09-25T14:47:00.000-07:00

Nonna just sent me pictures she took during our trip.

McKenzie and me at the McKenzie Pass observatory The view (North and Middle Sister) from where I was sitting in the previous picture. McMenzie's namesake river from our campsite

Then and Now

2011-09-23T13:53:00.000-07:00

In September 2001 I took 5 month old McKenzie to the CCC Observatory on the Old McKenzie Pass. This is an annual excursion of ours but I have not had someone along with a camera until our trip two days ago. Darn - I did not have the older picture with me to pose the shot. The butte over my head was on fire last week. There still was smoke coming from the butte to the left - which is the butte to the far right of the older photo. This fire threatened Nonna and my annual backpacking trip making the decision to stay at the resort a no-brainer.

Never Too Old For S'mores

2011-09-22T14:16:00.001-07:00

Nonna, McKenzie and I took our annual fall camping trip over the past three days. This year instead of backpacking in 15 miles or so, we "camped" at a hot springs resort and day hiked. We both agreed spending time reading good books; lounge chairs around the camp fire; eating S'mores without guilt; soaking in the hot springs pool; and just relaxing was on order this year.

Taking potty walks with McKenzie was a delight. Even though it is the end of September, the gardens were spectacular.I took this picture to show our campsite from across the river but the echinacea stole the scene.Home on the river's edge. Not too bad.The hot spring fed swim pool right on the river's edge.The resort has many great examples of chainsaw art. Morning coffee and garden stroll.

Willow and Cora Visit

2011-09-19T22:41:00.000-07:00

This evening Cora and Willow came for a visit. Five excited Chinooks running everywhere proved too much to photograph together. However, I was able to capture Cora mastering the dog walk - with a little canine supervision.

Poor Inquisitive Koyuk

2011-09-15T12:57:00.000-07:00

After 8 days in the 90's the weather has finally become more seasonable. I am taking advantage of the cooler temps to do heavy-work landscaping. This morning while moving the rocks from my bone pile, I uncovered a yellow jacket hive. I wasn't stung but curious Koyuk, checking for newly exposed amphibians, had her face in the wrong place at the wrong time. After giving her Benadryl, I wanted to take a picture of the poor girl. All of the dogs rushed the door and started a rousting game of Chinook tag. The Benadryl has not slowed Koyuk at all. Wanting to be able to observe her more closely for worsening allergic reactions, I decided to take break from the tractor and sit to blog the pictures. I love watching the dogs play and trying different camera settings.

All dogs are now asleep on the floor around me.

Cedar and Koyuk

2011-09-12T19:27:00.001-07:00

With Koyuk here, I realized that I have not posted the official pictures from the Chinook National Championship. The judge is holding the impressive trophy Cedar won as National Champion of Champions. At the judge's feet is the keeper trophy made from my design for the Chinook National Specialty Show. Cedar, me and daughter Koyuk with our their show ribbons

Naked Plums

2011-09-11T20:28:00.001-07:00

We had blissfully forgotten how little sleep occurs the first night of a dog visit. The dogs are so excited and full of themselves. The visiting dog has different potty habits and I am always unsure if they will go out to the kennel; wait by a door; or just give up waiting and pee wherever. Are they pawing me awake and giving me endless kisses because they need to go out; miss their owner or are glad to be with me? Add to that the fact that Koyuk is in season and horny Willy has totally lost his brain. All night Koyuk would jump on the bed, paw, give kisses and then snuggle down only to be followed by Willy with other snuggling on his mind. Both would summarily get shoved off only to be repeated a few minutes later.

Koyuk Cedar and KoyukDave and I got up exhausted but as this was a slated honey-do day we mindlessly charged through it while the dogs napped in the shade. Our first chore was plum tree pruning.

overgrown plum tree Naked plum tree. Amazing what you can do with a pole saw.Once again the temperature was 90 degrees. We stopped at one plum tree; took a break to cool off; did some less physical chores and later in the day started on the landscaping around the satellite dish. Dave broke into my stash of waterfall-of-my-dreams boulders and moved some to form what will be a camouflage and keep the satellite dish from being backed into parking area garden. In the meadow below is my even much larger burn pile.At the end of the day, the dogs awoke and let us know it was time to head in to dinner. Update on the naked tomatoes: no sunburns yet but some are starting to turn red.

One Lucky Fox and Other Wildlife

2011-09-10T11:42:00.001-07:00

This morning I got up early (for me - I am retired after all) in anticipation of of Koyuk arriving for her visit around 0700. After feeding the dogs, I rushed outside to check the live trap. There was another unhappy fox hissing at me. What to do? I could not take the fox in the critter taxi all the way over the ridge to the back pond. Dave had already left for the Duck game festivities. Koyuk would be arriving soon and her owner had to get back home for her bridal shower. I was also concerned about the fire danger of a hot muffler on the overgrown trail. Setting the trap was majorly dumb. I did it last night out of habit and frustration with all the blueberry and plum seed poop left each morning in the gardens. Guess the smart thing would be to ignore the garden raids until we get rain. Lucky lady fox not only got a feast of marshmallows but set free to eat my plums and blueberries again.This morning was a mini wilderness adventure. On the way to get the newspaper I saw a ferret, ducks on the front pond and a turkey hen with a late, possibly second, covey of 2 chicks. I have never seen foxes or ferrets around here. I wonder if they were drawn in with the profusion of wild turkeys and voles (along with my productive blueberry patch). The turkey numbers have greatly decreased during the past two years. We went from routinely seeing 30-40 turkeys at any one time in the yard to 3 or 4. We had no chicks earlier this year. The vole holes also seem less numerous. Our neighborhood association has received reports of several daylight sightings of a cougar with her cub, bears and bobcats. I wonder what these predators are going to do when the small game is gone?

Hot, Muggy and Smoky

2011-09-09T21:17:00.000-07:00

Another 90 degree day. There was so much forest fire smoke in the air that the light was a dusty orange haze. Not wanting to disturb the birds on the pond, I took these pictures from my bedroom window.Even the Jasmine bush can't overpower the smoke smell. The outside atmosphere is getting pretty unhealthy. The dogs and I laid laid low - well as low as cleaning bathrooms with three dogs cramming in beside me. Actually, can't say that the inside atmosphere was that much better.
No sunburned tomatoes to report yet.

Summertime and Naked Tomatoes

2011-09-08T22:26:00.001-07:00

It's finally summer! Today was the 6th in a row day over 90 degrees. Maybe not spectacular for the rest of the nation but our summer has hovered in the 60's. The dogs and I went for our first pond swim together yesterday. No pictures - I have gone through too many cameras (4) while around water.
Today I decided that I would help Ma Nature ripen the tomatoes by cutting away all flowers and unnecessary foliage. My thought (no science behind this) is that the plants will put all the reserves that were going into the jungle of leaves into the green tomatoes. A little fresh air and direct sun couldn't hurt either. Do tomatoes sunburn? Just maybe that is really why they turn red and mine are still green. They have had so little warm sol this summer.

there are tomatoes in there just waiting to ripennope - still too much foliageWell maybe I got a little carried away, but when they do ripen, they will easy to find and pick. The greens from just 9 plants. I have 10 more to go.today's harvestPictures I did not get: the huge bag of zucchini I snuck into Dave's car for him to take to work; the four pints of green beans (under the tomatoes) I put up; the 5 racks of tomatoes currently drying in the food dryer; and the nice glass of wine I am finally relaxing with.

We Labored for Larbor Day

2011-09-05T21:39:00.000-07:00

For Dave's birthday I got myself a gas fire table. (I got him the Uof O letterman's jacket I earned and he coveted.) I have really wanted a fire table for years but they are expensive and not really something on Dave's capital budget (or want) list. Recently, I actually gathered the materials and have been planning how to make a funky one out of re-claimed redwood from the old yacht club docks. A trip to the high end patio furniture summer sale relieved me of the construction task (disaster). Though it is a bit fancy for our place, the price was right.
I did almost catch my hair on fire the first time I lit the fire table. The ignition switch is now up wind of the prevailing evening winds. Thursday, I made a "do before winter" list of chores to get done. We spent the weekend checking off items on the list and now we are exhausted.
Some of the things we accomplished: my dog rig now has breaks that work and a basket; we dug a 12" deep x 300' long ditch to hopefully decrease the standing water in the garden (Dave with backhoe -me with shovel); about 1/4 mile of our drive has been weed-eated by Dave; the tractor runs again; I canned 60 lbs of peaches (yum!) and picked 2 gallons of blueberries; the dogs got pedicures; the entire lawn is mowed; the sprinkler system for the gardens is almost working; we even threw in a trip to Costco and the local True Value. The to-do list is still long but some of the biggies are now behind us - and I have breaks!
Drinking a glass of fine wine while sitting by my new fire table was the prefect way to relax after three days of hard work.

Happy Birthday

2011-09-01T16:20:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday to the most wonderful husband in the world.

Green Beans

2011-08-31T14:29:00.001-07:00

While I love the idea that I am somewhat self sufficient and that I am providing delicious and nutritious food, I wonder if green beans pencil out.

Plant the beans. Grow the beans.

Get the pressure cooker and other canning supplies from the attic. Sterilize jars. Pick the beans. Wash the beans. Snap ends of each bean. Cut beans into 1" lengths. Fill caner with water, boil and cook beans for 5 minutes. Put jars in boiling water bath. Drain beans. Pack beans into hot jar. Cover with boiling water. Put on two part lid. Put into pressure cooker. Add boiling water. Vent for 10 minutes. Add weight. Cook with weight rocking for 20 minutes. Wash, snap and cut next batch of beans. Let pressure cooker depressurize. Put jars out to cool. Fill more jars and start second batch. Read paper while second batch is rocking away. Special in grocery ad: Green Beans 3 can/$1.

Clean up mess. Take stuff back to attic.

All this before 3 p.m. so no wine to make the process more entertaining.

Critter Taxi

2011-08-30T22:37:00.000-07:00

When I entered the garden today, I heard a new-to-me bird call - "pur-chirp" - in my berry patch. I thought a wayward bird brought in by our strange summer weather was feasting on my blueberries. I was excited to see it and pissed at the same time.

I now know what a raccoon sounds like when it is not hissing and growling.

Around here raccoons wreck vegetative havoc on par with a herd of deer. Perhaps more. They can raid the garden. Raccoons have an uncanny knack of knowing exactly when fruit is ripe. They wait until the night before my planned harvest to feast leaving me only colorful, pit filled poop. They can strip a fruit tree before the sun rises.

This girl was really pissed watching me pick the blueberries she had her eyes on. She actually bent the bars on the trap. Hopefully a noisy, bouncing ride in my quad trailer, aka Critter Taxi, was enough to dissuade her from ever again coming to the garden side of the ridge.
Calliope Hine Up-Date:

Calliope lives in New England and experienced her first hurricane. Her grandmother sent me this post:
"We just spent two days with a droopy dog, two kids and three grown-ups with no running water and no power...Nonna"
I think Nonna and Gwyn have topped me. I can't imagine caring for a new born during and post hurricane. I will never again whine about a litter of puppies with no power and water.

Dad

2011-08-28T22:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a day of agonizing misery. I had about 20 hours of migraines, complete with repeated auras, nausea, unequaled pain... I could not get on top of them. My wonderful Chinooks knew I did not feel good. They would not leave my side even with the doors open and the ability to roam as far as they wanted. They did not bug me - just stayed near. My plans had been to visit my dad but I hid in the dark.
Today I felt well enough to don dark sunglasses and drive to Salem. It has been far too long since I have spent time with dad and Iris. Only McKenzie went with me. She is so mellow and Iris really loves to sit by and pet her. Calm as they are, I was afraid three big dogs might overwhelm and possibly trip Dad or Iris. They are in their 90's after all.
I learned more about dad's childhood. He never really talked about it with us while we were growing up. He told a great story about when he and his brother Hector got into trouble at his grandfather's farm. A cousin had told them about the "wild" chickens that roost in the trees. Wanting some money, that night after a day of plowing the field behind the horses, they rigged a snare on a pole and caught some chickens. The next day they sold them to the store keeper only to end up paying his grandfather back for the chickens and having to plow a few more acres.

Stranded

2011-08-25T10:36:00.000-07:00

Every Thursday my niece writes "Awkward Thursday" on her blog about awkward events from the previous week. This week I am joining her. After missing several weeks, I finally was able to flee to the lake for Wednesday night dingy racing. Heading out to the race course I realized I did not have any kind of wind indicator on my Laser and the wind was variable direction, 1K to zero speed. It was 92 degrees out and I really wanted to be on the water and make the most of racing so I drifted back to the dock and headed to our trailer to get a piece of mylar cassette tape for the boom. The door was locked! The keys were inside along with my purse, car keys and cell phone.
The door on our trailer has not locked for about 10 years. Heck, it hasn't even completely closed for about 5. But after paying different pros to fix it over the years, Dave and I took it apart this spring and totally rebuilt it. Our coercing into shape, adding braces and hammering of the door must have somehow jolted the lock mechanism. AARG!
I went to the yacht club caretaker to see if she had a key. She did not have mine (we haven't needed one for a door that did not even close) but we grabbed keys from the other trailers to see if one might just work. Nope. I then called Dave from the caretakers trailer. He was teaching a Ski Patrol Outdoor Emergency Care (EMT) course to patrol candidates and really could not get away. The drive from the classroom to our house to get keys then out to the lake is about 2 hours anyway.
Plan B. The caretaker and I took her truck to a trailer junkyard to see if they had a master key. (I owe her big time). No master key but we gathered all the keys they had accumulated over several years and headed back to the lake. I tried every key. While many fit, none opened the door. Usually I can get myself out of whatever situation I find myself in but I was stranded. I called Dave again. He had found a replacement and was on his way home.
It was getting dark by now with lightening and threatening rain. Everyone had gone home. I was still wet from rigging my boat. My dollar hamburger dinner was in the locked trailer. On the bright side, I had a warm Mike's lemonade from my non-sail and it was still in the high 70's.
Dave showed up as I was searching a comfortable place, out of the rain, to hang out. He had not found his set of trailer keys (they were locked in the trailer) but he had grabbed our motorhome keys along with my car keys. The motorhome key worked! I gave him a kiss; put on dry clothes; threw my lifejacket into the trailer; grabbed my horrible tasting dinner and purse and headed home as it started to pour. I got here in time to catch the nightly news.
When we got home, Dave told me his Plan B: call the county Chief Sheriff. He lives near the lake and surely has ways of getting through locked doors other than breaking them down - doesn't he?

Welcome Calliope Hine

2011-08-23T20:55:00.000-07:00

Gwyneth was in my Camp Fire group and her mother was my co-leader. Her mother sent me this message about the birth of Gwyn's second child:

"Calliope Hine made her appearance in the shower at her home on Wednesday, her due date. We were just thinking of getting Gwyneth to the hospital, in a leisurely manner, and while we were sorting out dogs and toddlers, Gwyneth shouted for help to wrap a baby!! The emergency services were called, and arrived within minutes, and we had five or six people wandering around with emergency packs, plus an ambulance outside the house. The dog (huge Great Dane) loved the big guys with uniforms, and the toddler (big brother Luther) was impressed, too. Ted (husband) headed for the hospital with Gwyn, a nice neighbour took Luther to have supper with her family, and I mopped up. Gwyn and baby are home now, and baby was declared vigorous at her post-hospital check-up. The story had preceded us to the clinic, and we were asked ' Is this the Hine baby?'. Muse of epic poetry seems a suitable name choice!"
KLB note: Gwyn herself had an amusing birth on Halloween. Her mother was at a party, dressed as a pregnant witch when her water broke. She was rushed to the delivery room still wearing her black gown and tall pointed hat.

Catch-Up

2011-08-22T19:00:00.000-07:00

I have been away from the Internet for over 3 days - an eternity - and barely on-line for a week. Life has been busy.

This summer the bird condo saw 2 families of swallows in the old vent fan housing and Mother Robin decided to hatch a second batch of chicks in her nest above. After watching a Red Tail Hawk raid a Robin's nest in a yard apple tree, I can understand the lure of this location even if it makes my patio table and chairs directly under the flyway. They all left the nest yesterday.
No one could ever be accused of calling me a Domestic Deva but I worked toward the title last week. I not only picked and put up 10 gallons of blueberries and canned 60 pounds of apricots I pulled off a last minute dinner party for 11 the same day (Thursday). No big deal unless you saw the condition of my house prior to the "oh by the way, I have invited 9 people to dinner" warning. Just so the guests didn't open any doors... Friday Willy and I headed for the Where's Waldo 100K ultra marathon run by the Ski Patrol. With a minimum altitude of 5000' and climbing 5 peaks along the course, running the Where's Waldo 100K in 12 hours or so is sought after by crazy people from all over the world. We staff a MASH aid station at the end with ER doctors and nurses.
Four years ago someone sabotaged the race by changing around direction signs. Needless to say, this could have been a life threatening prank. The runners are out there with shorts, running shoes and little else. Instead of the aid room (boring until the end of the day) now, my station is a trail junction located 3.3 miles from a trailhead. Runners pass by this spot twice. The first runner came by at 0718. The last was back through at 1900. Before I have taken all three dogs and the motorhome but this year I was going to "camp" in the van so opted for just Willy.

Because of the dinner party, we did not have time to remove the van middle seat. I started the night on the very short, very uncomfortable, 3/4 bench seat. Move over Willy. I joined him in the 4'x4' x-pen. Two problems: Not being able to straighten my legs at all, I felt like a Viet Cong prisoner and I could not close the rear doors or we would have been locked in the floor to ceiling x-pen with no way out. Actually I did not have a way to close the doors from inside the x-pen so mute problem. Did I mention the mosquito's? About 0230 I threw the dog pad and my sleeping bag onto the ground, slathered on another layer of 100% Deet and attempted to sleep for the remaining 3 hours of my night.

Willy hauled a gallon of water, water bowl and his flexi to our assigned trail junction. I had the first aid kit, folding chair, a wonderful book, camera, cowbell, Deet, coat and food. Our day was spent nowhere, deep in the woods, slathering on Deet (I have lived and worked in the Artic, these mosquitoes almost rivaled their northern sisters. Willy's legs even got bloody) and reading The Help between enthusiastically ringing the cow bell for the 134 runners as they passed by - twice. After the last runner, we dashed back the 3.3 miles to the van and drove to the finish line. I was not needed at the aid station so after a few congratulations to those who had finished the run and were still standing, we headed home for some Cedar and McKenzie nookies and much needed sleep.

Paradise Found

2011-08-12T19:14:00.000-07:00

Before she heads away to become a doctor, Lisa, the dogs and I took a last minute backpacking trip into a lake I discovered last fall. The lake has everything I desire for paradise: isolation, a Sisters view and an old ladies' distance from the van. To get there, you must bushwhack. Other than a piece of litter wich we packed out, we saw no human signs.

The dogs carried the wine, air mattresses, my tevas, towels, food bowls and their food. They were the first into the water - packs and all... quickly follow by me... (the water gets deep and cold right where I am) then by Lisa. Unfortunately the air mattresses did not hold air long enough for a float in paradise.We hiked much of the lake edge to find a camping spot. The snow pack had just melted away leaving a high waterline and boggy edge. A slightly sloping tent space was at a premium. While watching an Osprey fish then feed her young in a nest across the lake, we feasted on gourmet wedding dinner salmon, green beans and pino gris wine - paradise. Special friends; sunset mountain view; coals perfect for som'ors - paradise. ParadiseKnowing that I would be camping on a lake with water loving dogs, I brought along a cheap tent for us. Dumb. Twenty dollar tents don't breathe even without the rainfly. After a short night filled with trying to convince the dogs that their sleeping spots were not on my pad, bag or me, I awoke to a tail thumping shower of condensation. The sun was up (barely) and there were SQUIRRELS out side to be chased.

After all the squirrels were treed, the dogs cooled off by "herding" a flock of ducks. time for a canine morning napAfter a breakfast of Starbuck's coffee, cream cheese and salmon on bagels and of course som'ors there was time for one last swim before putting on the packs and leaving paradise.McKenzie Cedarwet Willy

Good Neighbor Credits

2011-08-11T09:17:00.000-07:00

The hedge is finally done. What started out as "just cutting the top off a hedge" became a multi day project. While I had been whacking at it for years on our side of the fence, it had grown to an amazing tunnel completely covering the neighbor's drive from car top height (without rain or snow weight) to 40'. In places the hedge base itself is 10' from the drive. Now that light can reach the lower areas of the hedge, it should fill in. On November 5th, Guy Fawlks Day, I should have a celebratory bonfire to rival those of England. The hedge brush pile is a compact circle.

Lindsey's Wedding

2011-08-08T22:45:00.000-07:00

This weekend Dave and I went to wedding of a very special girl in our lives, Lindsey. Eric and Lindsey both love the out-of-doors. Eric is an Eagle Scout and Lindsey has her WoHeLo Medallion. They wanted an outdoor atmosphere for their wedding so picked a wonderful old lodge with cabins on the McKenzie River.

Friday, each guest staying for the three days received a personalized gift bag full of practical things including a monogrammed water bottle. strike anywhere matches, gorp, tissue, homemade sugarless jam for Dave, cookies, a candle...After the rehearsal, we were treated to a BBQ party.I could not resist taking this picture of dinner for 80 cooking. Yup, they are serious outdoors people.Saturday was the big day. I had a blast helping everyone get dressed, fetching things and taking pictures - over 400 pictures. These are not technically the best - but they best capture the event from my eyes.

Lisa, Lindsey's sister, was in my Camp Fire Group for 9 years and always my favorite. I loved being a second mom and watching her grow up.Lindsey was on the very first SPYteam Jr. Ski Patrol. Her spark and enthusiasm set the tone for the group. As the leader, Dave got to be her second dad. They are very close. On the wedding program, Dave is listed as "Director of Lindsey". Between pictures and the ceremony were a couple of hours of down time out of the hot sun. the ceremonythe river is right behind the gazeboMr. and Mrs. having a quiet momentThis may have been the more formal day but the outdoor theme still prevailed. The cake stand was a polished round of Doug fir. Along the line to the amazing huckleberry cocktails, was a string of individualized cards with compasses and the directions to our dinner seating. Luckily the power finally came back on for dinner. Candlelight is romantic. Rustic has it's place. But 200 guests, huckleberry cocktails, porta-johns (no power=no water) and formal wear... Besides what would a wedding be without the couple's first dance? (no power=no music) They did dance and she was beautiful.the happy couple

Berry Thief

2011-08-05T08:29:00.001-07:00

With the honey bees help, we had a bumper crop of blue berries and raspberries this year. The berry patch is on a raised bed filled with many year's accumulation of sawdust. A slowly leaking soaker hose provides constant dampness. The dogs love to lie in the soft, cool, moist shade under the bushes. Every year I plan on the birds getting the bush top berries and the dogs nibbling on the berries they can easily reach by merely lifting their heads. I get the middle. Last year without bees we did not have any berries. I am determined not to have to buy berries again this year. However, I wasn't the only one to take notice of all the ripe berries. Overnight a huge percent were gone. You'd think scarecrow Anne's skin condition would be enough to frighten anything away from my berries.But no - so I added Mylar streamers to scare the birds and a live trap to get the pesky, garden raiding raccoons.To my surprise a very pissed off fox and telltale blue poop were in the trap. The fox did not cower. It charged whenever approached. After admiring the fox, all the while getting hissed and growled at, I put the trap in the garden trailer and took it for a bumpy ride over the ridge to the back pond. I have never seen a fox up that close. It was really beautiful. But, I knew it could do some serious damage to my berry patch and am sure could just as easily do serious damage to a dog. I let the fox go in the meadow by the pond. Hopefully the trap experience along with it's tranquil new home will dissuade the fox from coming back to raid my berries.

Now to get rid of those pesky raccoons...

Nome Update

2011-08-02T20:46:00.001-07:00

Kay Lee, By the way, Congrats for the great show earlier this summer. Sounds great. Would really like to get down to meet you and have my family and Nomie meet your pack. Koyuk and Nome look so much alike.
Nomie has really mellowed lately. He did ok in boarding for a month - got out of shape - but is getting back in shape lately. He got lots of good visits with Carrie and her dogs including he met Kaltag (Kole)
We haven't left Nomie's side since returning from Maine and his being boarded. Nomie's become quite hotel and travel savvy since then. Stayed with us for a soccer tournament down in Olympia at the Red Lion recently and even better, we went to Vancouver BC last weekend (Sheraton in Surrey is dog friendly) and he had lots of new experiences. He crawled across a suspension bridge near Vancouver (he didn't love that hence the crawling) then he hung out and played in the river with us - which he did love. He's been on ferries to Vancouver island and back and went high atop a bridge over Nanaimo River Gorge that my son was crazy enough to bungy off of. He's getting calmer about meeting other dogs and people (he's so social).
I'd like to him trained to pull, that would be so fun for he and I. I've been having some success with roller-blading with him which allows him to get a faster paced exercise and still be on leash. It's hard to find a good flat area but the Red Lion Hotel parking lot was perfect and it was great way to get him some solid exercise while spending lots of time in car rides that weekend. This coming weekend he's going to Idaho with me and will do a 13 mile hike there. I hope he and I are ready for that. He'll camp with me and my old college buddies there and one of his favorite lab friends.
Again, Congrats on the show and pulling experience described in your e-mail and hope to meet you guys one day. Sue

Nome listening to Keen playing the saxophone

Honey-Do Weekend

2011-08-01T17:57:00.000-07:00

No volunteer obligations made this a 2-day, Honey-Do weekend. I can do just about anything around here but there are some chores that take both of us. To me running the chainsaw with no one around is just too dangerous. That said, we headed out early Saturday morning to clear trees from the quad trails.

I could drive right over this little bunch but decided they too should go.The other tree blocking our way was more formidable. Not only was it off the ground and a good 1 1/2' in diameter, there was no safe way to get around it. The road there is on a steep side hill. While Dave cut, the hot dogs and I went onto the back pond.Dave was still cutting after their swim so we took a walk through the meadow. Since smell-O-blog does not exist, I can only tell you how amazing the meadow smells. Especially with all the mint underfoot.Log removed, time to head back home.Years ago the neighbors planted an olive tree hedge along our adjoining drives to keep the dust down in their yard. The tall branches bend right over with the lightest snow and block our road so every fall I trim our side of the hedge.The hedge is now taller than the telephone pole and there is no way I can cut it back to prevent the branches from draping our side. Well actually there is one way - cut it all off. The neighbors were all for it. The hedge droops car top scraping high over their drive all the time. The lower branches no longer have leaves because they are shaded by the upper ones. Thus the dust from our road blows through. Sunday's Honey-Do was cutting the hedge. Our neighbors are elderly and have very limited mobility. We felt good about being able to do this chore for them. And a chore it was (is). The hedge is about 100 yds long and at a minimum 10' wide. The branches at the height of Dave standing on top of the quad trailer, are a good 4" in diameter.

Usually when we tackle the hedge, I stand in the tractor bucket with a hedge clippers and a human powered pole saw. For this chore, we decided to use the quad trailer roof as a platform. Dave stood on top and used a hedge chainsaw to cut branches at his waist height.

My job was (is) to pick up the branches, load them into my work trailer and unload them onto the burn pile. These pictures go not do the hedge perspective justice. The hedge is still a good 10' high where Dave cut. What looks like non fir trees in the background are actually uncut hedge branches on the neighbor's side. We still have about 50' left to cut on our side and then do the neighbors. I still have numerous loads of branches to lug to the burn pile before we can resume work. But once it is done, the neighbors should get their dust barrier and branch free drive back and I won't have to trim the hedge up high for a few more years. Win-Win.

Very Special Visitors

2011-07-28T19:27:00.001-07:00

Today the dogs and I got a really special treat: my niece Amanda and great niece Cadence flew in into Eugene on their way to Grandmas. We got to enjoy their company for most of the day.

Cadence is enamored with Harley's and tractors but at three has never gotten a chance to ride on either let alone drive anything with a motor by herself. Well, the World's Best Great Aunt doesn't have a Harley but she has a quad and a tractor.

I put the tractor in low gear and off went Cadence, solo at the wheel. She drove a good 500 yards with only a little corrective assistance to avoid hitting dogs or trees.Next up was the garden tour. Cadence loves berries but had never seen them on the bush. First the blueberries -then the raspberries. The dogs also love berries and Cadence's basket was just the right height for an easy snack.Cadence showing her mother the empty basket.To the dog's chagrin, the strawberries did not make it into the basket. With Cadence's hands on the handle bars we took the quad to the back pond. The road is almost completely grown over making our trip as adventurous as a carnival ride. "Sorry about the new bump over the eyebrow Cadence. I really did need to hit the breaks to avoid the rock I didn't see in the tall grass." A couple seconds of mom comfort and we were back on the bumpy trail. Once back at the house, it was time to explore the yard. The most outstanding lawn ornament is the dog agility dogwalk. The dogs showed our guests how it is done. Cadence's first couple of trips over were a bit tentative but a strong grasp on mom's hand made it doable. Then she could not get enough. "Hey, that is my dogwalk." Only a little time left for a walk through the overgrown pond garden and we headed on the freeway north to Grandmas where more fun adventures awaited.

the Answer

2011-07-25T20:26:00.000-07:00

Interesting information regarding checking your shampoo’s bottle label next you shampoo your hair. I don’t know WHY I didn’t figure this out sooner! It's the shampoo I use in the shower! When I wash my hair, the shampoo runs down my whole body. Printed very clearly on the shampoo label is this warning: FOR EXTRA VOLUME AND BODY! NO wonder I have been gaining weight!!! Well! I have gotten rid of that shampoo and I am going to start using Dawn dish soap instead. Their label reads: DISSOLVES FAT THAT IS OTHERWISE DIFFICULT TO REMOVE. Problem Solved! If I don't answer the phone I'll be in the shower!

Unfortunately, I can't claim to be the author of this piece. I wish I had been and wish more it was true.

Short Nights

2011-07-23T11:42:00.000-07:00

Wild Willow is here for a visit. She is mellowing over time but nights are not good. I got no sleep the first night trying to keep her quiet. Dave had to get to work early. Seems she gets the same energy burst I do about 11 p.m. But then she gets Dave's 5:30 a.m. energy burst too. Dave and Willow are up so everyone else must get up and play - no excuses.

The game of Chinook tag involves one or two dogs running in large circles, usually tightly around landscaped shrubbery. The other dogs jump out and tag the runners. As the current youngest, Willow is usually the designated "it". This game along with chasing squirrels, swimming and helping me weed tired her last by night. I went to bed about midnight. She then decided that she had to join Dave, Willy and Cedar on the bed. She also decided the prime spots next to me were hers. About 1 am, I finally convinced her that she belonged on the nice bed on the floor.

This girl howls in her sleep. Not just a little yip but a howling, wolf pack chorus. I had forgotten that until startled awake about 3 a.m.

When Dave got up at 5:30, she was ready to start the day. She made sure I was up too by running across the room and jumping up on top of me. I would fend off kisses and pawing until she would decide to attack and wrestle with the other dogs. The game evolved into all four dogs taking their turn running across the room; jumping on me; pawing; kissing then launching down onto the others. This ensued until about 6:30 when bruised, scratched and heavy headed, I got up for breakfast and much needed coffee.

Now that my day is going, all four dogs are asleep.

Recovered Entry Walk

2011-07-22T20:55:00.001-07:00

No one ever uses my front door. A few years ago I even went to the trouble of building a walk way from the drive to the front porch. This month long project involved finding, digging up and transporting large rocks from up in the woods and creating a massive 30' x 5', 3D jigsaw puzzle. The 3D part is the under side of the stones - none of which were anywhere near flat on both sides. Most weighted 15lbs or more. I then planted Corsica mint between the stones. Front door foot traffic did not improve but the curb appeal did (if I only had a curb).

This year has been so wet. The weeds rule all landscaping. Today sun was predicted so I decided to make recovering the entry walk my project.

before When you sit to dig weeds from between stones, your face is the perfect height for dog kisses. With Willow here, I had four Chinooks vying for my attention and trying to help. It has been so long since I have taken a picture in glaring sun, I blew the exposure settings. Trust me, the difference is major.

after

Besides a lot of Nookies and an inviting walkway, another benefit of today's work is a minty smelling rear.

Muku - Takotna update

2011-07-21T12:05:00.000-07:00

This e-mail came just before I left for the National Speciality. I bet they still have snow.

Hi Kay Lee,
I took these photos a few weeks ago but have been slow at getting them off to you. Muku is a happy little girl and enjoying her life here! She's got a new best friend who she trail runs with every week, and she is having a great time getting to know my mom's new little border collie pup, Luna. They play very well together and hopefully as Luna gets older she can join us on our trail running expeditions! We can still find snow on the local mountains (as you can see!) and Muku loves it! Hopefully for us, it will all be melted soon, but I am sure Muku will miss it. She is finally coming along much better with her leash walking and general obedience, but it still mostly goes out the window when a dog or people friend approaches. She is so quick at learning new tricks though....i taught her to take a bow in about 5 minutes. Ben really loves training Muku and getting her to perform all her tricks, and is looking forward to the day when Muku will be allowed to sleep on his bed with him.
Hope you and your family are doing well.

Deavah, Brad, Ben and Muku

Company Picnic

2011-07-18T13:29:00.000-07:00

When I was growing up the company picnic meant dads playing softball while moms kept the kids "seen but not heard" by stuffing us with hotdogs and ice cream sandwiches. Well times have changed. Dave's company holds a 3 day macho fest. The only time anyone else has made more noise than this group's annual picnic was when a Rave moved in the next dune over.

the sound system (minus the huge speakers)the HD movie theater (rained out)

This year they took over a State park along a small river. Friday, until early evening was sunny and warm. The dogs got to swim in the river and go for hikes in the woods. Friday evening through Sunday saw record rainfall. The dogs got to go out on potty breaks.

Dinners are a competition with a generous budget. This year's theme was North vs South. Stores Eugene south were the Confederates. Salem north made up the Yanks. Friday night the South went deep south. Only the sides of mashed potatoes, cornbread stuffing and greenbean casserole were not deep fried. Everything else from the imported alligator, pork bellys and crayfish to the turkey, pumpkin pies and ice cream spent time in the bubbling peanut oil.

deep fried turkey

deep fried pies

deep fried ice cream

cardboard "fort" for the kids

and of course Southern Comfort.

After a hearty breakfast Saturday morning, the guys went skeet shooting in the puring rain. This was not your ordinary skeet shooting. One of the weapons was an AK47 assault rifle. Games for all were played after the victorious, skeet killing, guys returned.

find the green jelly bean in the cream pie (adults played too but the kids were much cuter) hands free donut eating
and move the cookie from the forehead to the mouth were three of several games

Saturday night, the North team tried to go pure Yankee. They rented a commercial meal truck to prepare and serve their summer fare. Unfortunately the truck broke down ten miles out of town. The driver stripped the truck of all but the grill and left it by the road. This is a serious contest after all. The generous South loaned the North tables, grills, deep fryers and generators. We knew we had won this battle and did want to eat.

Saturday afternoon kicked off with cotton candy (does not hold up in rain), popcorn and snowcones. The Margaretta, adult snowcones were quite tasty. Competition is heating up.

Dinner was an All American fare of hamburgers, hotdogs, deep fried onion rings, deep fried tater tots (hey isn't deep frying a southern thing?) and apple pie. No wonder these guys were concerned when the South brought out the crayfish and alligator.

We awoke Sunday to more rain, a soggy, collapsed cardboard fort, wet tents and sleeping bags...you get the idea. Another hearty breakfast everything was packed away. After the last truck, trailer and motorhome left, Ma Nature could once again restore peace to a grassy clearing next to a opal river.

Koyuk Mushes

2011-07-11T20:26:00.000-07:00

Koyuk and Cedar got to go scooterjoring on the 4th. This was Koyuk's first time in a harness and Cedar's first time pulling a scooter. Both dogs ran full lope for the entire two mile run. I was constantly on the brakes to keep us behind a team pulling a mountain bike. That team has already logged several hundred miles this year.

I would be hard pressed to see something more beautiful than matched Chinooks running along, side-touching-side, with synchronous stride. The dogs and I were all smiles at the end of the run.

Couldn't Ask for Better

2011-07-09T09:52:00.000-07:00

Marleen graciously opened her wonderful, historic home, with views of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mts, to Cedar, Koyuk and me while we were at the Chinook National Specialty.

The Chinook dogs got along beautifully. The virgin boys were excited about the girls and the girls were all flirt. Yet, there were no squabbles - only rousting games of Chinook tag and relaxation.

Koyuk, Oscar, Toby and Cedar enjoy the views of the ocean and mountains - well actually it was a squirrel that caught their attention while Marleen and I enjoyed the views. Marleenhandsome Oscar, who earned ribbons of his owngentle (and also very handsome) Toby Coy Oscar loving the attention of the girls the four dogs dressed for the 4th of JulyMy bucket list includes as many opportunities as I can get to watch the Seattle fireworks from Ivar's Salmon House. The restaurant is a beautiful cedar replica of a Northwest Indian Longhouse, complete with an open-pit Native American-style barbecue for preparing the salmon. Large windows overlook Lake Union, Seattle and the Space Needle. Lights are dimmed during the fireworks. Wild huckleberry ice cream, excellent wine and most of all great friends make this spectacular even more memorable. Marleen, Donna and I had the best table in the house to enjoy our dinner; watch the hundreds of boats flood into Lake Union and the fireworks.

our view of the lake, boats and fireworks (the Space Needle is behind and below all the light and smoke)

Champion of Champions

2011-07-06T22:56:00.001-07:00

Over the July 4th weekend, I took Cedar and her daughter Koyuk to the Washington Classic and Chinook National Specialty dog shows. There were Chinooks from all over the nation visiting and competing. We were entered in 6 shows. I borrowed a young handler to show Koyuk on the chance that she would win her class and end up competing against Cedar if Cedar won her class. The first show Koyuk did just that and then went on to beat her mother and all the females in the show.In the second show, Koyuk also won her class as did Cedar. Cedar won their match-up and earned her Champion title. At the first show Saturday, Koyuk again won her class. Cedar competed for the first time against all the Champions. It was hot and muggy. We got to the show site at 0730 and did not show until after 3. The dogs were exhausted from the heat and stress of the show.
I took them to the river for a cooling swim before the National Specialty. The trip must have worked. Koyuk got a second against all the females. Cedar won the title of National Champion of Champions! Sunday was a major bad hair day - me not the dogs. I handled both dogs. Koyuk really performed well but after winning her class did not catch the judge's eye for best female. Cedar showed herself proud and earned a Reserve Champion ribbon. I don't know if she was embarrassed to be seen any longer with me or just did not want the show to end, but Cedar refused to move out of the show ring. She, along with her new pink ribbon got a lift back to join Koyuk in our shelter. Over the six day trip, 979 pictures were taken by my camera. Lots of blog material and wonderful stories of other events of the weekend to come.

Home At Last

2011-06-25T19:57:00.000-07:00

For the past 7 days, I have been away, teaching sailing at the Eugene Yacht Club sail school. I have missed the dogs terribly though I have to admit that sailing my Laser comes close to the fun I have with the dogs.
Today I picked up Koyuk for a week visit. She is always a treat to have around and the other dogs, especially Willy, love to play with her.

Willy and Koyuk

Koyuk is a water dog and leads even her mother, who is not a water dog, into the pond.
wet and happybeautiful Koyuk

New Digs

2011-06-15T09:35:00.000-07:00

Houdini McKenzie was aided in her escape from the kennel attempts by Willy's propensity to pee on the highest object. After 7 years, the kennel dividing gate finally rusted through. The function of the dividing gate was to allow us to keep the dogs in the outside kennel when closed. When open, the dogs have 24/7 access to the house through the dog door. At 7 months old, McK could scale the 7' kennel walls. Thus a roof was added to the kennel. She still managed to climb the rock wall and squeeze through a space between the kennel wall and window. Thus a chain link section was screwed to the roof support and tie-wrapped to the kennel upright. She can climb the rock wall and break the tie-wraps but it takes her quite a bit of time. Thus they are checked and replaced frequently.

McKenzie can open any out-swinging, human door (mouldings and wooden doors have suffered badly from her attempts to open in-swinging doors); our double-click pantry doors; anything in the pantry; and the bear proof, dog food containers. Fortunately she only performs these maneuvers when we are not at home. When she breached the rusted dividing gate last week, we moved it to a place we could jam one edge into the rock wall and tie-wrapped the other to the kennel wall. We could not move it but came home to see all three dogs happily jumping back and forth over the tilted, panel. Time for a new panel.

the culprits and the too well marked gate panel

Since we were replacing the panel, we got a 10' section to eliminate the need for the chain link spacer. Replacing the panel was not easy. The kennel is fixed to the roof to keep the roof from again flying away. We needed to rearrange the kennel panels so there would be a joint for the new panel - no more tie-wraps. The roof had to be raised to get the panels over the 7" rebar posts drilled into the concrete. The very heavy, 12', double pane, glass wall had to be moved away from and then put back against the kennel wall. After a lot of jury rigging to temporarily raise the roof and a truce from ill mannered words, last night, we got the job done.

Cedar inspecting the new digs

Rural Mushing

2011-06-09T13:12:00.001-07:00

I am proud to say that loading up for a carting trip is now down to mere minutes. Early this morning I took the rig to a county park at the reservoir. It was a long drive but worth it. We ran from one side of the bay, through the park and campgrounds, to the other side and back again. In all it was over 1 1/2 miles. The dogs got to take a dip at the end of the run.

Note to self: bring flexies. As mentioned before, the breaks on the rig do not work when wet and the gangline was not long enough to let the dogs swim.

Spring Finally Here?

2011-06-08T22:37:00.000-07:00

The weatherman keeps promising Spring but Ma Nature has had other thoughts. My vegetable garden still has standing water and waist to head high weeds and grass. I can't even find the hardscaping. The greenhouse is getting overrun with plants needing more root space. On the plus side, I have not had to water; work in cool overcast is better than blazing sun and my Rhodys are about 1 month late so I can enjoy them without going out in pouring rain.

I put on my coat this morning to go outside to take this picture.

This year the Robins think they are swallows are are forgoing trees to nest under cover. This Robin chose to build her nest right over a vent containing a swallow nest.
Five solid hours of running a heavy duty weed eater and the garden is "mowed". The weeds weren't the only thing that took a beating today.An idle hand means an ear needs to be scritched. Willy positioned himself right under my hand as I attempted to take a picture.

Nome

2011-06-07T23:05:00.000-07:00

I love getting updates and pictures from the BrownStone families. Susan just sent me this one of Nome. Handsome boy!

Logo Design Finally to Printer

2011-06-06T15:26:00.000-07:00

This summer the Chinook National Speciality will be hold in the Seattle area. Chinook dogs from all over the nation will be competing against each other on confirmation. The last time this prestigious event was held closer than Kansas was nine years ago. I completed my design for the Chinook National Speciality logo a couple weeks ago but had to hide it away so I would quit fiddling with it. I just took it out to get ready for the printer. I wanted to incorporate traditional Northwest Coast Indian (sometimes referred to as Chinook) Art into the design to celebrate the place and breed name tie in. This final version is a long way from my original idea (rough draft below). The creation of the logo was an arduous process but worth it. I am excited about how well it has been received.

Rain and Flower Clouds

2011-06-03T16:28:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, between rain showers, Nonna and I took Cedar for a stroll through Eugene's Rhody park. The park is a magnificent place to be when the rhodys are in full bloom. Many are actually large trees. Hiking the paths is like walking through clouds of reds, oranges, pinks and purples.Cedar was not really excited about posing but I did get a couple of pictures of her.

Calm, Gale, Rain, Hail

2011-05-31T17:26:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, the Eugene Yacht Club hosted it's annual Memorial Day Regatta. Summer still has not yet come to Oregon. Cold, winter rains prevail. Over the weekend, racing conditions were very challenging. Winds came from every quadrant. Each weather cell brought it's own calm before the storm.

calm from East

blow from West

calm from NE

funnel clouds to the eastcalm from Southa blast from the SWnot where you want to be, no matter the wind direction

While we were getting soaked and freezing, the dogs were home - warm and dry, gnawing their new marrow bones.

Urban Mushing

2011-05-23T11:44:00.001-07:00

Thirty minutes to load the dog cart, gear and the dogs and hook the trailer to the van. Thirty-five minutes to drive to the park. Fifteen minutes to unload the rig, hook up the dogs and get them headed in the right direction. Less than 4 minutes to mush .7 miles. Thus was our first urban mushing experience. I would have gone further but there were loose dogs. I never want to repeat having my dogs attacked while in harness again so we swung around and headed back to the van.
Finding a traffic free, flat place to run the cart is difficult around here. After scouting various options, I decided to try the maintenance road for a large city park. Once the dogs get more comfortable around joggers, dogs and bikes, we have miles of paved trail options from this location.

About 1/2 way I stopped to grab the camera.

I am always amazed at how quickly and how tangled dogs in harness can get when not pulling forward.off and running again
time to load back up

Future trips should take much less prep and pack time. After being attacked while in harness, Willy can be reactive with other dogs. Increasing our distance traveled will probably take several trips until he feels safe and can just enjoy the run. But I am committed to the effort. Chinooks were bred to mush. Ferrari is just too much fun for both the dogs and myself.

Play Date

2011-05-21T08:35:00.000-07:00

The dogs resting in the meadow that once was a lawn.Yesterday, Lupin and her human family came over for a long overdue play date. The excited dogs immediately engaged in vigorous games of Chinook tag. While the dogs were zooming around the house, Anna was checking out the agility equipment. She has mastered the dog walk. The teeter is a new addition. To her, sitting on one side was not how the teeter-totter was to be used. Fearless Anna wanted to go on it the way the dogs do. Unfortunately I did not have my camera. Anna convinced her mother that she could walk the length of the teeter. Just as Anna reached the tip point, Klara put the metal dog water bowl on the down end. Thunk!, Bang! Splash! Anna was right, walking the teeter is much more entertaining than just sitting there and going up and down.
Once inside Lupin always raids the toy basket. Klara is quick to follow the search for a new toy. Yesterday, Lupin first found the dog bed full of bones and settled in for a chew. After rummaging through the pile, Klara grabbed her own perfect bone to gnaw. (not!)How I wish I had grown-up like Anna and Klara! My parent's mantra was "don't - you will get hurt". We lived in constant fear of bumps, bruises or worse. My run-away tricycle accident, which left permanent scars on my knees and an almost immobilizing fear of going downhill, was always alluded to whenever I attempted anything adventurous including riding a trike again. It was a pretty confining childhood for a tomboy. Fortunately, I have been able to lead a life of adventure and exploration since leaving home. Though as much as I have tried to overcome it, I still fear going downhill.

Skunk

2011-05-16T17:34:00.001-07:00

I now have two swear words: squirrel and skunk. Last night Dave forgot to close the kennel door after powerwashing. Around 2330 the dogs came in reeking. (I have not been able to smell for weeks. This was not a pleasant reentry into the ofactory world.) The dogs had encountered either a skunk or a civet cat and got the worst end of the experience. Two dog shampoo baths and one Dawn soap bath did not alter the stench. The dogs sleep with us, either on the bed or right next to it. When I finished their bathing, about 0045, I locked myself in the guest bedroom and left the dogs and Dave to our bedroom. Cruel I know but I did not leave the kennel door open. My maneuvers sort of worked. The dogs parked themselves outside the guest room door and whined all night to be with me. Of course neither Dave or I got restful sleep but we both got a bed without skunk smell.

rain rinsed, bleached dog towels

I took Willy and Cedar to class which was not really fair to the other humans but the dogs have missed so many classes with me being sick. Stinky Cedar was isolated from the other dogs during the "down stay'. Even the other dogs turned away.On the way home from class I bought a gallon of tomato juice then did a web search of de-skunking dogs. Apparently tomato juice is a myth. Unfortunately the official recipes state: "keep the mixture away from dog's faces". Well, where do you think they got hit?! SKUNK! and SQUIRREL!

"Dismal doesn't begin to describe..."

2011-05-15T18:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I put on my winter coat, ski hat and tall rain boots to tackle the garden weeds (second full weeding this year) in hopes of being able to rototill once the soil dries out. The local paper, front page, headline read: "Not your imagination: It's been a dreary year" "Dismal doesn't begin to describe the kind of spring we are having...(along with all the rain) Oregon had the 5th coldest April ever logged and May hasn't shown much improvement. The high temperatures recorded were almost 5 degrees below the long-term average...In the mountains, spring is just an abstract concept. Snowpacks, which were barely above average on April 1, now range from 180 to 225 percent normal...The bottom line: 'Don't expect thing to change real soon. I'm thinking write off all of June. I don't think we're going to get any break in the weather until mid or late July'."
Today we put on rain suits over our winter coats. Not able to beat the weather, as long as we would be getting wet anyway, we are power washing the moss and mold covering everything. Several more days of rain and cold are predicted. Hopefully garden weeds won't again germinate before I can plant. Then again, maybe I'll just do the entire garden in the green house this summer - if we have a summer.

A Few Hours of Sunshine

2011-05-13T18:48:00.000-07:00

I mowed the lawn less than a week ago, but we have had so much rain, it is once again very long. During today's brief sun appearance the honey bees made up for lost time pollinating all the wild lawn daisys while I set up a small agility course for the dogs. (Poor things have not had practice for about a month. I still have chest congestion and running is painful, but it was good to give the dogs a challenge.)
The greenhouse is filling-up with vegetable starts - some of which have had to be transplanted into gallon pots - and my hanging baskets. The weather is still too cold for the fuchsias and begonias to be hung outside and the garden is still under water and becoming very weed choked.
Rain is again here and is predicted for a few more days but today was good with it's few hours of sunshine.

We've Come a Long Way Baby

2011-05-07T22:05:00.001-07:00

I have been waiting a long time for tonight - 249 women received our long. overdue Athletic Letters at a first rate dinner and ceremony in the new, several hundred million dollar Matt Arena basketball court. During 1968-1972 I was on the U of O women's varsity swim team. Back then, women athletes were not acknowledged at all. We had no financial or equipment backing. Heck - we had no equipment except what we as individuals supplied. There were no scholarships. We car pooled to away games. Our facilities were second rate. Our exercise field was the Pioneer cemetery because after the ROTC building was burned during an anti-VietNam campus riot, we could no longer use their parade ground. The swim team swam in a pool that was 5 yards too short, making timing nearly impossible but women were not allowed in the regulation size, "men's" pool. What a thrill to see my name scroll across the arena marquee; to talk with other female athletes; to share in their pride and to walk across the stage to receive my letter.

Boy, Did I Blow It

2011-05-04T09:08:00.001-07:00

Monday, Dave used my tractor to help someone. He parked the truck with tractor bearing trailer on the road just beyond the house successfully blocking access to the bee hives and cabooses. When our caboose guest, Mindy, came home, I decided to move the truck/trailer to another location. I put the ramps up and secured them. I made sure the trailer was chained to the truck. The truck started pulling with effort but being a diesel truck, it is always slow to start forward and it had a load. However, after about 4 feet forward, I knew something was not right. Dave had just put rear jacks on the trailer. Not expecting them, I did not notice that one was down until I had a 4" trench in the hardpack, gravel road. Whoops! Mindy and I dug the jack out and tried to make it go up but no luck - even with a bigger hammer. Plan B - just deflate the truck airbags and the front end of the trailer will go down, lifting the rear and pressure on the jack. Still did not budge. Plan C - take the tractor off the trailer to take the pressure off the jack. Tractor battery was dead, thus the reason Dave had left it on the trailer. He was going to take it back to the repair shop because even after two, spendy service attempts, the battery still does not charge with the motor on and drains charge at an alarming rate. Plan D - make a nice dinner for Dave.

Needless to say, Dave was not happy when he got home. To compound the problem, Dave had burned up the truck air compressor on his Monday errand. (Something I did not know.) There is no way to re-inflate the air bags, thus there is no way to lift the trailer tongue to set the front jack so the trailer can be removed from the truck. A battery charger and long extension cord got the tractor charged enough to get it off the trailer and relieve the pressure on the rear so the jack could be straightened and raised. The truck/trailer is now moved out of the way and is ready to go back to the tractor shop for a battery charging fix and the truck shop for a new air bag compressor. Of course by this time, dinner was a bit overdone. Yea, I blew it.

Walk in the Park

2011-05-02T13:57:00.000-07:00

This morning I bundled up (it froze yesterday and snowed the day before) and took Cedar to competition obedience class. It was raining hard and cold. Fortunately the park has a nice shelter we can work in. When the rain stopped, some of us took a long walk for the humans to check out the flowers and newly hatched goslings and the dogs to check out every bush and tree.The rhodys are just starting to pop. Soon these paths will have walls of flowers.

Birthday Girl McKenzie is 10

2011-04-29T17:20:00.000-07:00

CH "PR" Frontier Raindancer McKenzie, CGC, HIT, NJP, NAP - the tongue with a Chinook dog attached - has given us so much since she was whelped 10 years ago.

4/29/2002 - first birthday partyToday I tried to replicate her "party pooch pose".

that's the right side

McKenzie actually "flunked" her CGC (Canine Good Citizen) exam not once but twice because she could not hold back from kissing the judges. McKenzie produced 14 Chinooks in two litters. I have lost track of all her grandpups. She was an extraordinary mother and refused to wean her pups. She even tried to nurse and take over the care of Cedar's pups. McKenzie has been my companion on mountain back pack trips and wilderness adventures. Poor girl got to be the one I learned to do clicker training, confirmation showing, tracking, competition obedience and agility with. In classes, she did suffer a bit because as I made (still make) mistakes, she is sure she has caused my error and always wants to comfort me even though it is me sending her over the wrong obstacle. At all times, she is keenly sensitive to my mood and frustration. Skijoring was a huge misadventure. On one of our first trips, she fell through the snow into a creek below. I couldn't stop so skied right over her. She endured Mushing Boot Camp and being hooked with a team that later ran the Iditarod. She has yet to allow me to put her in the dog sled bag, but has let it be known that she prefers running along side to pulling in harness. McKenzie is almost frighteningly intelligent. Opening doors and scaling the 8' kennel wall was no problem by 7 months old. She has earned titles in hearding and agility. She has all the skills and is more than ready for her CD title (competition obedience) but we just never seem to be around for the trials. She earned Best of Breed at her very first confirmation show - which also happened to be the National Chinook Specialty. She went on to earn her champion title and was only one win away from her grand-championship when I had her spayed.McKenzie has relinquished her spot in our bed but still sleeps on her pillow within reach of my nighttime ear scritches. She is my constant companion. Getting her agility titles was especially difficult because she did not want to leave my side and during many trials, though she ran clean, I could not run the course fast enough to qualify.

"enough mom! Where's my birthday bone?"psst!

Both of us are a little greyer and heavier than we were 10 years ago but she has kept me young. Happy Birthday McKenzie.

Snow?!

2011-04-28T13:23:00.001-07:00

It got dark - very dark - while I was eating lunch and reading the paper. I looked up and saw that not only was the sky black - very black - but the sky lights were totally coated with hail. Then the snow started. This picture does not clearly show it, but it is snowing. My pus filled head is not taking these extreme barometric pressure changes lightly. Ferrari will have to wait another day before the dogs take her for a spin.

Big Day

2011-04-27T13:01:00.000-07:00

First and most exciting to me is that I finally go on antibiotics today. The cold that made me such a wimp took over my sinuses and eustachian tubes a couple weeks ago. This has been over one month of misery and the foulest sinus discharge you could ever imagine. Poor Dave has had to live through me attempting to cook no-salt, low-glycemic meals when I can't taste and everything smells like rotten garbage mixed with dog poo. Add coughing all night, vertigo and headaches. It has been trying. But now I should start to mend.

This morning the bees came! The year before last we removed a hive of a few hundred thousand bees that had set up home in our chimney. We loved the work the bees did for us but the thought of wax and honey dripping through the flue when we lit fires for winter warmth was just not good. Last summer we had horrible harvests. There was almost no fruit at all - not one blueberry and only a few plums, apples and pears. Even the zucchini and cucumbers were practically barren. This year we are helping out a bee keeper. He gets lots of pesticide free pollen for his bees and we get pollination.

Ferrari, the dog cart is now red. I put it back together and hit it with a last coat of paint. I have been too sick to even think about running the dogs but soon I will be well.

"still has wet paint guys"Seven pounds of premium dog training treats came out of the food dryer. One batch is chicken gizzards that I have been saving up until I had enough and one batch is orange chicken with yams. I wasn't sure what the dogs would think of orange chicken but turns out to be a hit. Next batch is going to be different. Instead of flour or oatmeal with the meat, I plan to use beans and rice to make the dough.The big pond has a new tricolored wing blackbird nest and an approving female.

Oh Sh#*!

2011-04-23T20:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday all was beautiful down by the big pond. A tricolor wing blackbird serenaded me while I waged war on the horsetail. Actually he was trying to lure a mate to his newly built nest but as I weeded, I could imagine his Cong-a -lee' was also for me. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught an osprey silently circling the pond. He did not make the usual high pitched chirping cry. If the amorous blackbird saw him, he gave no indication of it. Now most people know of the human sympathetic nervous system "fight or flight" response to extreme terror. I did not know that birds have the same reaction. The osprey suddenly folded it's wings and dove toward the water. His path took him within inches of the blackbird. Mid-song, the blackbird whitewashed his new nest. The osprey did not get a fish on that dive. The much lighter blackbird did not stick around to see. He took the flight option. I guess the tricolor guy had second thoughts about nesting on our pond. He was not there today while Dave and I did honey-dos. The satellite dish hole was finally filled in; large landscaping boulders were moved into place (if you can't kill horsetail, maybe you can bury it) and my white dog cart was sanded and received it's first coat of Ferrari red paint. We may not be the fastest team but we will look it. note: Alexis wrote to let me know about a YouTube video of the Mush Without Slush weekend and that she and her pitbull, Sage, we not in the one mile race. They competed in the 6.5 mile race. I checked the results - they got second place.

Mush Photos

2011-04-19T13:42:00.001-07:00

Other mushers sent me some photos of Team Nookies at the "Mush Without Slush" races.

On the road before hitting the 3 mile soft trail section.Team Nookies finally across the finish line after 3.5 milesTeam Nookies on way to the starting line on Sunday."Come on Mom! We just pulled you 3.5 miles. Where's our treat?"