WE GET SNOW

On Thursday (April 19) I had to mow the rapidly growing grass in the back yard. I thought of this little ditty:
Alas! I need to mow the grass.
Little did I know that I would miss the snow.

Monday, April 23: It seems that I shouldn't mention snow if I don't truly want some. What a strange season we're having. On March 20 I wrote: "... we're having sunny hot weather ..." Shortly after that I met friends outside an Embrun store and we joked whether we would bet that there wouldn't be snow again before May 1st. Nobody would bet that it wouldn't snow. We know our crazy Canadian weather too well.

I haven't been able to add posts to my blog for a few days. For some reason, I can't log in -- when I click the LOGIN link at the top of the page, I get a "page not available" result. This happens very frequently and this is why my posts seem delayed.

The snow photos should have been posted the day they occurred (April 23).

PUPPY WEEKEND

It's been almost a month since I last posted. That wouldn't matter except that it indicates my lack of tracking practice. Bad me!

Fun weekend: Surprise! I met a man not far from my home who has puppies. He called them English Sheepdog. Knowing that people don't always name dog breeds the way CKC and AKC do, I thought there might be a chance that they were English Shepherds. Well ... guess what? They weren't either! I'd call them Bearded Collies.

Anyway, after seeing the pups and talking about them, I decided to take one home to see if he would be any use as a rodent killer. (Saturday)

While Terri played fetch with her Kong, he walked politely behind me and flopped down whenever I stopped. This is ultra lazy to me. After Terri & I played for some time, I took her inside and did a hunting test.

He didn't pay much attention to the mole tunnels & entrance holes. He did trot along behind me very nicely when I walked to a hidden entrance to the field behind. Lots of holes and tunnels above ground and under the grass. There must be field mice there, at least. He was attentive to those holes but didn't find anything.

You might think I'd set out traps in the tunnels in my yard. A dog would also get rid of rats and mice that come into my yard. (You can see where this is going ... a good excuse for another dog!)

On Sunday, after the puppy had had a good long sleep, I took him to hunt again. The one hour walk/hunt test through the fields and near holes & tunnels in my yard produced nothing. He was amazed at the 3 mares in the next field but didn't approach them.

His owner had phoned while we were outside so I returned the call and took him home. I told Claude that the pup would be a wonderful addition for a family that doesn't want a fast, noisy, destructive dog like a Belgian Shepherd. I hope a very nice family is found for him -- he's a real sweetheart.

CHET THE DOG

Dog on It is the first in a delightful series of books by Spencer Quinn. Bernie and his dog Chet have their own detective agency -- luckily for the human, Bernie, Chet is always ready to chase the bad guys.

I discovered a copy of the second book in the series, Thereby Hangs a Tail, at Giant Tiger today so I'm happily following a new mystery/adventure narrated by Chet.

I'll want to read the others in the series: To Fetch a Thief and The Dog Who Knew Too Much. Meanwhile, I'm going to enjoy the website about Chet & Bernie at http://www.chetthedog.com/.

Since we're having sunny hot weather, I feel like I do in the summer sitting on the deck, tossing Terri's toys for her to fetch while reading a light-hearted book. THIS IS FUN!

SUNNY DAYS

Sittin' stoned alone in my backyard
Askin' myself "Why should I work so hard?"
Sittin' dreamin' 'bout the days to come
Half-undressed, just soakin' up the sun

Sunny days
Oh, sunny, sunny, sunny days
Ain't nothin' better in the world, you know
Than lyin' in the sun with your radio

-- Lighthouse

Imagine this song popping into one's head in mid-March -- WOW! The weekend started off very foggy but ended up with some hot sunshine Sunday afternoon. Better yet, this great weather should continue Monday through Wednesday unless we get a thunderstorm.

Terri, Flower and I had a good time Sunday afternoon in the back yard. I walked as close as I could to take photos of geese in the plowed corn field. The geese were cautious, moving away towards the other end of the field. Not having much "zoom" in my camera lens, the results weren't great. After that, Terri insisted that I throw her toy over the fence for her to fetch. Again and again and again ...

MARCH TRACKING

Monday, March 12: LENGTH = 150 paces | U-shaped | heading west, north and east | a little kibble over whole track | AGE = 50 minutes | WIND = unknown | RESULT: 2-3 off tracks, good circle to find track.

Saturday, March 17: LENGTH = 180 paces | O-shaped | heading east, north, west, south, southeast | a little kibble over whole track | AGE = 1 hr 20 minutes | WIND = E 6km/h | RESULT: POOR. Terri didn't keep her nose down, only found some of the kibble. I had to keep directing her to the track.

MONDAY MARCH 12

Today Terri and I started our 2012 tracking practice. After we had played fetch for a while outside, I put her in the car crate so she couldn't see the track. Then I laid a 150 pace U-shaped track heading west, north and east with a few kibble left along the track.

For something to do while aging the track, I went shopping at Giant Tiger, etc. The track was 50 minutes old when Terri started on it. She knew exactly what to do while wearing her tracking harness. She followed my steps quite well but had a couple of detours. I used a leash instead of a tracking line in order to get her used to footstep tracking. I'm experimenting with that to see if it helps train her to stick closer to the actual track instead of following wind blown scent. She did a nice circle to look for the track at one point. Progress was good.

The treat at the end was her red Kong. We played with it for half an hour; then it was major yard cleanup time. It's a good thing I only have one dog.

I will list the tracking practices in a separate post. Perhaps making them public will force me to practice more often.

It was the first day for geese flying overhead. Some flew over my yard heading northeast. Of course, I didn't have my camera. (They were seen on Friday on a creek a few km from here.)

SPRING IS HERE

It's only March 11th and the back yard has turned into a lump of ice with grassy patches after rain and above freezing temps the past few days. The daytime highs predicted for this week: 11°C to 15°C . That, combined with an early start to Daylight Savings Time should make springtime lovers very happy. I love sunshine and warm (below 28°C) weather. The temperature increase will mean lower heating bills for me.

So, why am I not happy? Although I'm enjoying this sunny day sitting on the deck with Terri and Flower, I fear the global shift to vastly different weather patterns because it can lead to habitats no longer suited to the animals that live there. The polar bear is just one example of endangered species. Will/can humans solve the problem before it's too late? Will humans be too busy moving their own homes inland away from the rising oceans and seas to help other animals in need?