Archive for the ‘Chronicle’ Category
Transition Month
August seems like a transition month. It doesn’t really stand alone as a destination month that we look forward to arriving. Other spring and summer months really carry their own weight (my local geographic region-centric take). April showers and May flowers. Everything about June is great. July being smack dab in the middle of summer and including the U.S. Independence Day makes it the jewel of them all.
Then August arrives and the shortening of days becomes more noticeable and the onset of fall sports training camps begin opening. Everything about the month tends to point toward the arrival of September when sports seasons start and schools begin classes.
Sure, locally grown sweet corn becomes available in August, but we’ve been watching fields growing all summer long so it just doesn’t seem like an exclusively August thing.
Cyndie arrived home yesterday and Asher and I were both thrilled to see her again. She gathered produce from her garden and reported that her trumpet vine is going to flower. Her new pond vacuum arrived so she assembled that and gave our landscape pond a serious going-over.
While she was opening the mail and packages that had accumulated, she noticed one was for me. I hadn’t even looked. It was my tent rainfly from The North Face!
I had received no prior communication from them since sending it off to Texas for assessment. They did what I hoped they would, and what I wouldn’t have been able to achieve if I tried to do it myself. They completely resealed all the seams like new.
The North Face has made me very happy once again. Such incredible support to one of their customers!
It’s got me thinking that August is a really great month after all and deserves to be appreciated on its own merits.
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Staying Ahead
My second day of solo Asher duty went a little better than the first. I planned on working to keep a closer eye on him and hoped to stay one step ahead of his shenanigans. For the most part, it worked.
At the beginning of Tuesday, Asher gave me a little time when he hung around and chilled in the shade near where I was working on a new wood sculpting project. Hoping to buy a little more time similar to that, yesterday I offered him a portion of an antler to chew on while I worked. It kept him occupied long enough for me to get set up and start working before I noticed him walking away to bury the barely-chewed antler.
A brief moment later, Asher showed up with a spool from our trimmer in his mouth. He had gone into the shop to find an object that I very definitely didn’t want him to have. So much for my time to sculpt.
I gave Asher almost no time to himself and when he was off-leash I did my best to keep his attention on me. There was no new stink from horse manure rubbed into his coat throughout the entire day. That was a victory for me.
He didn’t seem as sharp as usual at figuring out where I hid treats in his bin of dog toys. Probably because he didn’t witness me putting anything in there. It was all a part of my staying one step ahead of him in hopes of reducing his chances of doing things I wished he wouldn’t.
Asher is doing a good job of teaching me to let go of my urge to have things in an orderly state. I feel like I’m being groomed to become more comfortable with chaos in my surroundings. Do I want the bathroom trash bin on the floor or up on top of a high surface? Maybe I’m not supposed to care.
Do I want a landscape pond that is beautiful to look at or one with netted fencing surrounding it?
I outsmarted Asher by squeezing food pellets between his Kong ball and a circular chew toy.
If he would just pop the ball out the treats would come free all at once but he didn’t figure that out. He tried licking after them instead. Didn’t offer him enough reward. I was surprised to see he didn’t have the patience to stay engaged with it long enough to be rewarded the first time.
If I’m going to stay ahead of him another day, I’ll need to change something in my “hide-the-treats” exercises. For half a day anyway. Cyndie returns today and that should be enough to keep him occupied for a long while. I’m sure he’ll want to show her all the new places where he’s found things to chew on that he’s not supposed to have.
I suppose I could put the bathroom trash bin back on the floor for him.
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Horses Easier
My first day of solo Asher duty was not a pretty one. He got the better of me more than I’d like to admit. It seemed to start well with his perfect off-leash companionship on the morning walk through the woods to the barn. I emptied over 2.5 inches of water from our rain gauges on the way.
Asher waited patiently in the barn for me to finish feeding horses and cleaning up manure. I got him to stay with me on the way back to the house for both of our breakfasts. I confined him to his crate in the house while I mowed down by the road and then let him out with me while I mowed around the barn.
He took advantage of my being fully occupied to find manure out in the hay field and completely smeared his orange vest as well as his body, face to feet. I tried to wash him off despite his vehement objection to the process and ended up feeling like the smeared horse shit just went from him to my soaking wet pants and shirt.
That stink just sticks to everything it touches. I couldn’t wait to get out of my clothes and thoroughly scrub with soap in the hope of clearing that stench out of my nose. Well, Asher’s collar still stinks so the smell just lingers.
In my clean clothes after the shower, I was hoping to avoid contact with the dog for the rest of the night. He took that as a sign he needed to up his antics to get me to give him a hug. First, he got into the bathroom trash and shredded used tissues.
I took him outside where he could chase thrown balls. When he tired of that exercise, I offered to head back inside where he would have the choice of many dog toys. He didn’t want to come in with me so I sat outside with him. He found a stick to play with. Next, he grabbed the Jolly Ball that was in the yard.
He would pause to chew acorns or think about digging into the mole tunnels in the grass. Then he disappeared for a while.
What else could he find to coax me into a wrestling match? Well, there’s always the landscape pond that Cyndie resorted to fencing off to keep him out of it.
He came running into the front yard with the pump intake filter in his mouth and proceeded to shred it before my eyes. When I tried to negotiate an alternative chew option, he knew the game was on.
“Keep away! My favorite game,” Asher says to himself.
All I wanted was to be clean and dry and all Asher wanted was for me to get wet and stinky again.
I went around back and saw he had flattened the netting that was supposed to keep him out of the pond. He figured out how mad I was getting and decided it was time to bolt out of sight. I don’t know where he went but assumed it likely would have something to do with getting dirty or stinky or both.
Honestly, I was prepared to leave him outside all night at that point.
Taking care of the horses is so much easier than watching Asher. He finally returned just before dark and I avoided checking too close before ushering him to his overnight crate so I could be done with him for the day.
Only two more days until Cyndie gets home. I wonder how dirty he can get in that amount of time.
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Special Greeting
Upon arriving home yesterday around noon, I was greeted by this sight:
Hmm. The two chestnuts, Light and Mia, were outside all the fences! I showed up at a very good time, indeed.
The other two horses were still inside the small paddock showing keen interest in the two escapees but not acting overly anxious about the situation. The scene was surprisingly calm given it was an extraordinary circumstance for horses to be roaming free beyond their usual boundaries.
I stopped my car well away from them so I wouldn’t trigger a reason for any change from their calm state.
Having learned a lesson when I became overly anxious the time Swings escaped the fences, I didn’t even approach the horses. Offering a friendly, gentle greeting, I eased my way directly toward the barn, scanning the fences for some clue as to how they had gotten out.
A gate in the larger paddock on the other side of the barn was open and in the moment that caught my eye, Light and Mia showed up behind me, just as I hoped they would. In the split second of trying to decide if I should go shut that gate or stay with the horses at the gate right in front of us, Asher came running up.
Our animal sitter’s boyfriend, Tyler was on duty, and seeing Asher led me to believe Tyler would be showing up right behind him. I’d hardly finished that thought when Tyler did appear. He looked more surprised than I was to discover what was happening.
I sent Tyler to go close that far gate and began the tricky process of opening the gate in front of me to let Light walk back into the paddock while struggling to convince Mix and Swings to not come out. As that exercise was succeeding, I glanced around to see if Mia would immediately follow.
I should be so lucky. It looked like Asher was trying to do some herding of his own, only in the wrong direction with her. Luckily, Mia didn’t overreact to the dog and promptly made her way around, showing interest in getting back in with the other three.
This was no easy feat. Now three horses were wanting to come out the gate I was trying to hold open for Mia and she is the most intimidated by the other three so she had no intention of stepping forward until they got out of the way.
Swings must have felt for me because she saved the day and turned away which helped direct Light and Mix to follow her and create a window of opportunity that Mia accepted. Somehow I pulled off all that without getting stepped on in my non-horse-wrangling shoes.
Tyler learned the fundamental lesson of NEVER leaving a gate unlatched thinking you will get right back to it. There is always a possibility of something distracting you from returning as planned. He had taken out a wheelbarrow of manure and was tending to Asher and thinking about getting laundry and dishes done before my return. All noble goals to keep owners happy with your service, but losing a couple of horses would have tarnished any sparkle of all the other deeds he and Anna are so conscientious about doing.
Thankfully, in this case, the horses helped to keep this from becoming a much bigger problem.
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Color Splashes
Shorter hours of daylight are becoming more noticeable but the colors of summer flowers are as vibrant as ever around the house at the lake. Not that the length of a blossom isn’t limited. I took a picture of one bright flower when I arrived last Thursday and then noticed how quickly the look of the whole planting had changed by last night.
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There were plenty of colors still glowing from the plantings Cyndie and Marie and helpers installed around our landscape in the spring.
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After a substantial dousing of rain a couple of days ago, we were dismayed to see how much of the beach sand had washed away into the lake. It happens all the time but is no less disturbing to see the large rocks and hard soil exposed where it was previously soft sand. Even though the DNR is against adding new sand to the shoreline, that seems to be a fix that is called for in these instances.
There is a rake being stored among other gear on our beach by the caretakers that I’ve become very fond of using. It occurred to me that I could try dragging prime-quality sand from the water’s edge using this rake to cover the exposed surface after heavy rain.
It worked better than I imagined it might. In fact, after subsequent showers the last two days, the improvements I achieved were still holding fast. I believe I have discovered a new activity to entertain me while hanging out on the beach that feels so much more productive than sand castles, sculptures, pyramids, holes, or pattern drawings that I am naturally inclined to create.
Too bad I will be departing for home this morning and exchanging lake escapades for dog duty, horse care, and lawn management. Cyndie stays up for a few more days to help Marie entertain guests, giving me a chance to pretend I live alone –a welcome feature every so often for couples who’ve been together for over 4 decades.
You know, sleeping diagonally on the bed, leaving my stuff out wherever I please, skipping a meal if I feel like it, or watching guilty pleasures on tv.
One downfall, however, I won’t have my hero around to soothe my nerves in the case of any unwelcome close encounters with our resident snakes. It’s as if they’re slithering in herds these days. Anna, our animal sitter over the weekend, sent us a picture of a disgustingly large shed snake skin that showed up on the driveway. [shudder]
I much prefer our splashes of color to come from flowers instead of wriggling reptiles.
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Double Adventures
There was no great plan for my day when I woke up yesterday but I was pondering the possibility of a bike ride on the roads around our lake place. On a whim, I checked the “Ride with GPS” app on my phone and noticed it showed options for paved routes and one caught my interest for being a nice change of pace from my regular riding routine.
I headed north toward Seeley and was rewarded with a fabulous adventure of a ride.
I thought about pausing at the Sawmill Saloon in Seeley for lunch but since I had forgotten my wallet, I decided to ride on toward the Double-Oh (OO) trailhead where the American Birkebeiner ski race trail crosses over the road where I could eat the mixed nuts and homemade gingersnap cookies snack I brought with me.
Little did I know that I would show up at a time on a day when I would get to meet the president of the Birchleggings Club, Paul Thompson, preparing for a presentation of a new electric snowmobile donation to the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation. The Birchleggings Club is a non-profit organization and close partner of ABSF, whose members have skied 20 or more American Birkebeiners.
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Paul has skied 42 Birkies! I have skied zero but shared several of my crazy adventure stories as a spectator, including the time my friend Paul Keiski got me a press pass granting us special access for taking pictures. That year we sat in front of one of the finishing booths where we witnessed a wild sprint between two world-class racers from Scandinavia.
Even though I could have lingered to enjoy the Birkie people and activities for the rest of the day, I had a bike ride to finish. The roads I picked were smooth pavement through some fabulous forest that offered a very rewarding finish to the 32-mile loop ending right back at our driveway.
After I hopped off my bike, I wanted to stretch my legs a bit which brought me to the Whitlock’s place next door where I knew a project was underway. Before I had even changed out of my biking shoes, I suddenly found myself engaged in the second adventure of my day.
The Whitlocks are installing a replacement hot tub this weekend. Another set of hands was a welcome sight at a time when boards kept shifting as new ones were tapped into place.
After the first “fit” was accomplished, it all needed to come apart and three beads of caulk were applied to each board for the final assembly. Getting the last two boards to ‘pop’ into place in order to get the metal straps attached was something of an art that required a number of trial-and-error go-rounds.
The straps were secured just in time for a dinner break, leaving plenty of finishing work to be accomplished yet today. I remain on call for assistance as needed.
Yesterday was one of those when I had no idea how much adventure awaited me when I decided to head out alone on a little bike ride. It ended up being more than doubly rewarding!
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One Solution
There is one easy solution for me to get a break from any more close encounters of the slithery kind at home. Pack up my things and get out of Dodge, as the saying goes.
But where would I go?
We left Asher at home and skedaddled to the lake where conditions were perfect for floating under the afternoon sun.
The poor pup got as anxious as ever over the obvious signs of our impending departure. While I was finishing up tending to horses down at the barn, Cyndie brought Asher up to the house for his breakfast. My mostly-packed bag was on the floor in our bedroom and Asher helped himself to a box in one of the end pockets that contained a pair of my eyeglasses.
When I stepped into the house, I commented that it seemed strangely quiet. Cyndie told me Asher was on a time-out. I noticed she was holding my glasses and a long-nosed plier. She could work on them all day long but after a pair of eyeglasses have been chomped on by a dog, they will never be the same.
My spare pair made the trip to the lake with me.
I drove up on my own and Cyndie came later with her mom. On Monday, I will head back to take over for our animal sitter, Anna, and Cyndie will stay for a few days to help host a gathering of Marie’s friends.
I’m going to enjoy this break from dog duty to the fullest because when I get home it will be all me and only me in charge of keeping the pooch safely occupied.
I wonder if I can teach him to hunt snakes.
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Unwelcome Surprise
She was repotting some houseplants and pouring potting soil from a previously opened bag into one of the pots. Suddenly, Cyndie shrieked, jumped, and dropped the bag as a very long snake slithered out.
That bag of soil had been stored in the garage attached to our house. This means that the snake had been rooting around in the garage long enough to make its way up onto the lower shelf and find the bag opening to get inside.
For a better perspective of how disconcertingly long this snake was, here it is with our shadows for comparison:
Much to my dismay, it didn’t make haste to wriggle its way off into the woods. In fact, while I was sitting in the glider nearby as Cyndie worked, I suddenly noticed the snake had turned around and was making its way back toward us.
No thank you. Suddenly I was the one making haste to remove myself from the vicinity of our front door. It will be bad enough if I encounter this snake in our garage but if it somehow makes its way into the house I may be looking for a new place to live.
As far as I’m concerned, winter can’t get here fast enough. Ice-cold temperatures and oodles of snow. No bugs. No poison ivy. NO SNAKES!
In the eleven years we have lived here, I haven’t seen nearly as many snakes on our property as I have this summer.
For the record, in case you haven’t noticed, I. Do. Not. Like. Snakes.
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Smoothing Edges
Imagine if your dentist did house calls. Great, yeah, but then imagine that your dentist sedated you and put a contraption on your face so you couldn’t close your mouth just so you wouldn’t bite the grinder that was filing sharp points from your molars.
Looks like fun, eh?
Tell that to the horses. They had been given a dose of “I-don’t-care-about-anything” medication that left them all rather drowsy in their stalls.
They didn’t seem to care and they definitely didn’t seem like they’d had any fun.
At least the horses weren’t stressed by being in their stalls after our frequent periods of giving them chances to get used to the inside of the barn again. Unfortunately, it was uncomfortably hot inside and they worked up quite a sweat despite the fans positioned to move air through the barn.
We couldn’t let them out until enough of the sedative had worn off that they’d regained their senses.
It’s hard to tell whether they feel as good to have this process completed as we do knowing it’s done. I’m not the one trying to eat the little feed pellets but I am feeling really happy that their mouths have been inspected and cared for by an equine veterinarian.
At the same time, I’m under no illusion that this will mean they waste any less food by letting it fall out of their mouths while chewing.
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Asher Stung
We were having a good time working in the backyard yesterday morning while Asher romped around nearby off-leash, periodically coming over to “help” by digging ferociously. Just like the horses stomping their feet to shake off biting flies, Asher frequently swings around and chomps at flies when they are bothering his butt.
When he made that gyration with amped-up energy to both his left and right yesterday, it caught my attention. There wasn’t anything visible to bite but he reacted as if the problem wasn’t going away. He then sat down hard for a second before twisting around and lifting his leg to bite the inside of his thigh.
That’s when I saw it. The classic yellow and black of a stinging insect was the target of his bite. I guessed that poor Asher was getting stung by a bee. He seemed to cope with it pretty well, although he stayed down for an extended period and licked that spot.
Later, Cyndie caught him standing in the pond so maybe he was looking for added relief from some cool water. We contemplated ways to help him but he wasn’t demonstrating any further signs of need and we had no ideas for any tolerable ways we could effectively soothe his immediate pain.
No other issues arose throughout the day beyond Asher getting a little too hot waiting for us to finish tending to the labyrinth for the day. I was mowing and Cyndie was pulling weeds.
When I finished, I invited Asher to tag along with me as I climbed the backyard hill to return the mower to the shop garage and head inside to cool off. He seemed thoroughly happy with my plan.
After he cooled off enough to stop panting, he and I played some “soccer” in the house with one of his squeaky Kong balls. Then he conked out for a respectable nap.
At bedtime, he loaded into his crate and went down without a peep. Apparently, he has gotten over whatever was stressing him out the night before.
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