Memorial Day Weekend

I know you were expecting a rant today. It is Monday afterall. But since today is technically a holiday, I am going to take the day off from ranting. I have too much to be thankful for today to rant about much.

We camped this weekend. Because that's the American thing to do on Memorial Day weekend. That, and to remember our past veterans and soldiers.

But also, to BBQ. And boy did we BBQ.

I brought my camera. I haven't been much for taking photos lately. I don't know why that is. But I'm back, baby!





My sister lives on a lake. Lucky cracker, she gets to live right here. I'm soooo jealous.

But we slept in tents and technically, it was camping! Breakfast was cooked over a fire. And we slept in tents. And that qualifies it as camping.

I think I have a thing for Jake's sailboat.





I snapped more pictures of that thing than anything else this weekend.





Can't help it. It's a weakness. I didn't even think I liked sailboats.

Moving on.. Apparently, my camera has a thing for sunsets.



It wouldn't stop taking pictures of them.



And when I tried to shut it off, it put up a fight. Snapping pictures even if the shoreline wasn't lined up right.












Naw, I'm just kidding. My camera and I are partners.

We like taking pictures of dogs, too.






Oh my, Frankie. What big teeth you have there.

Looks like something from MonsterQuest.

MN Temperature Conversion Chart

TEMPERATURE CONVERSION CHART:

~60 Above ~ New Jerseyites try to turn on the heat ------ People in Minnesota plant gardens
~50 Above ~ Californians shiver uncontrollably ------ People in Minnesota sunbathe
~40 Above ~ Italian and English cars won't start ------ People in Minnesota drive with the windows down
~32 Above ~ Distilled water freezes ------ Lake Mille Lacs water gets thicker
~20 Above ~ Floridians don coats, thermal underwear, gloves and woolly hats ------ People in Minnesota throw on a flannel shirt
~15 Above ~ Philadelphia landlords finally turn up the heat ------ People in Minnesota have the last cookout before it gets too cold
~Zero ~ People in Miami all die ------ Minnesotans lick the flagpole
~20 Below ~ Iowans fly away to Mexico ------ People in MN get out their winter coats
~40 Below ~ Hollywood disintegrates ------ The Girl Scouts in MN are selling cookies door to door
~60 Below ~ Polar bears begin to evacuate the Arctic ------ MN Boy Scouts postpone "Winter Survival" classes until it gets cold enough
~80 Below ~ Mt. St. Helen's freezes ------ People in MN rent some videos
~100 Below ~ Santa Claus abandons the North Pole ------ Minnesotans get frustrated because they can't thaw the keg
~297 Below ~ Microbial life no longer survives on dairy products ------ Cows in MN complain about farmers with cold hands
~460 Below ~ All atomic motion stops (absolute zero on the Kelvin Scale) ------ People in MN start saying "cold nuff for ya?"
~500 Below ~ Hell freezes over ------ The Minnesota Vikings win the Super Bowl

Heehee... Sorry Vikes. I love ya. But c'mon already!

Monday Rant

Subject: There is nothing worse than...

I have a bone to pick with people who say things like "There is nothing worse than finding pickles on my hamburger!" or "Boy, there is nothing worse than finding a chip in your nail polish" or some such crap like that.

You know what? I can think of a few worse things, my friend.

How about, not having a roof over your head?

Or, a loved one passing?

Or not being able to put food on the table?

Society today has taught us to speak this way. The English language has taken many wrong turns, unfortunately.

I hope think about what you are about to say before speaking.

You might hit a nerve with the wrong person.

Funny Legs

Ruger has funny legs.



And funny feet.

Ruger is just funny.

Canine Love

I finally charged my camera last night.

Oh yeah, the reason that I haven't posted any fun and new photos lately is because my camera has been on the verge of battery death for about 2 weeks now. I just never felt like charging it.

Yeah, I'm that lazy.

So this morning, with a fully charged camera, a gorgeous sunny morning and a full day off of work, I walked around outside and started snapping photos of things.

And realized that I haven't taken any real photos since before things started blooming. Yikes.

The construction outside was starting to ruin my photo taking mood, so I moved it indoors.

And was enthusiastically greeted by 2 of my favorite beings. Even though I had been 'gone' for less than 10 minutes, and just in the backyard, they kissed me and hugged me as though I had been gone for days.

I love them so...

Jake and Frankie are my favorite photography subjects. They are both so beautiful, both in body and spirit.

Their eyes say it all. So that is what I will leave you with today.






They are the canine loves of my life.

I Chipped

I am fostering a dog for a Corgi rescue.

While I am no stranger to fostering and rescuing, I am still learning the ropes of how they do things. Every rescue is different.

I received a very large needle contraption in the mail the other day. What is this, I thought to myself. I turned it over and around, and I saw it. Home Again. It's a micro chipping company.

Since I got my foster dog directly from the surrendering owners, I was responsible for making sure that she was fully and correctly vetted before she was adopted.

Fully vetted includes micro chipping. And since most vets want an arm and a leg to microchip a dog, it's easier for rescues and shelters to do it themselves.

Makes sense.

Except I have never done it before. Nor have I ever seen it done.

So what did I do? I turned to Youtube. Surely Youtube would have videos of how to insert a microchip. I mean, I had learned how to thread my sewing machine on youtube. And I had learned how to crochet on youtube. Of course, youtube was the answer to this conundrum.

Pfft. Easy peasy. These videos would build my confidence so that I could sit down, microchip Bindy, and move on.

The first youtube micro chipping video had a Chinese Crested who screamed when that huge needle was inserted. Screamed bloody murder like a human child. Oh my god! That was my first reaction.

The second youtube video had a Pug, who also screamed. This wasn't going well for me. The blood was draining from my face and I was starting to feel queasy. No way could I be the one to exert this kind of pain onto such a precious little dog.

The third youtube video, well the guy missed and it was terrible and that's when I shut the computer down. Nope. I wasn't going to be the one doing it. No. Nope. Uh-uh. No way.

I went to work yesterday feeling a little deflated. There is probably a good reason I never became a vet. I had given horses vaccines before. But basically you just jam the needle into their neck muscles, which they don't even feel, and you're done. I have a big problem with needles. Them and I don't get along well. I'll never have a tattoo.

Finally I tried youtube again. There was a video with a vet and a Beagle. The vet explained as he went through the motions. He lifted the skin between the shoulder blades. He held the giant needle horizontally, and inserted it into the skin. Boom. Done. Dog didn't even react.

Finally, I went home. I wanted to wait for Red to get home to help me hold her. But the microchip package was staring at me from the coffee table. "Just do it you big weenie!" That's what it said to me.

So I grabbed the package and ripped it open. I scooped up Bindy and set her on the top of one of our large crates. My vet table. I lifted her shoulder skin and put the giant needle to it. And couldn't do it. All I had to do was shove it into her skin and it would be done. I sat there, hesitated about 4 times. I was sweating. I was near panic. I had to do it. Bindy was standing there wagging her little stump of a tail, panting down at Ruger who was probably making fun of her for standing on top of a crate. She was so happy. I couldn't cause her pain.

Finally my brain started working again. I picked up the skin again. Held the giant needle horizontally and up to her skin. And I jammed it in. And I pulled it out. Bindy didn't scream bloody murder. She didn't throw a fit like the Pug in the video. She flinched. Then she jumped down and started playing chase with the other dogs, while I was left there, holding this stupid giant needle that had been stressing me out for 2 whole days. It's a huge needle.

That's what I love so much about dogs. They always live right there in that moment.

When I go in for a shot, I stress and sweat about it for days leading up to the appointment. Then when I am there, I agonize over the pain it will cause. Then afterwards I whine and bitch about the whole experience, not because of the pain, but because of the stress and agony it caused me beforehand.

Dogs don't live like that. Bindy didn't know about her 'appointment'. She was put up on a crate and stood there while foster mom played with her shoulder skin. She got poked. Then she was over it. She went on to play with the other dogs like nothing had ever happened.

Some days, I want to be a dog.

Addicted

Frankie and I have a new addiction. It's a real obsession, tride and true, and it's not something that will soon be done.

We have a problem.

An addiction.

And nothing can remedy it.

Yes, Frankie and I have some issues.




Disc.

We're obsessed with these round, plastic, uncooperative circles called discs.

Frisbees.

Flying Saucers.

Pluto Platters.

Wham-O's.

I'm told by my fellow disc doggers that I have to keep sessions with my dog short in order to build her drive. Well, I've discovered that this in turn builds MY drive. Frankie doesn't want to end the game. I don't want to end the game. We are both left sitting there, wanting more. Which only makes the next time the disc comes out even that much more intense for the both of us.

Today I played with Frankie for about 5 minutes. Which was probably about 3 minutes too long. Don't tell the disc doggers. I put Frankie away, and then I went back outside with a handful of discs. Frankie was devestated to see me walk outside, with discs, withOUT her. I heard her yips and cries even as I shut the door behind me.

I felt like I was cheating on her.

But I had to get another 5 minutes with those discs. And 5 minutes turned into 10. And 10 into 20. And before I knew it, I had mastered a new throw.

Okay. I haven't mastered anything in the game of disc. But I'm getting the hang of it.

I know I pissed off my dog. But since a dog can only be as good as her handler, and it turns out that my throwing sucks, I'm really doing it for her own good. Right?

That's what I'm going to keep telling myself!

Look at my Aussie disc freak. Who likes the disc...?


~Photo courtesy of Larry Hotchkiss @ Canidography.com~

Monday Rant

Subject: New & Improved

Have you ever heard of someone refer to something as 'new and improved'? I have. Like 14 times in the past week.

Now maybe I'm just looking into it way too much. Way too much. But in my own opinion, nothing can be both new and improved.

If it's new, there is nothing else of it's kind. It's a new product, therefore given the name 'new'. It it's improved, than that means that something like it already exists, and this 'improved' state means that it's a better version of the previous one.

So how can they be both? I don't know. That's why I'm ranting about it today. Stop referring to things as new and improved. Either its new, or its improved. Pick one!

On a side note... Have you ever noticed how sometimes I put an apostrophy (') in words and sometimes I dont? Like right there, I didn't put it in 'dont' but I did put it in 'didn't'?

Ya like that?

Oldies

Something that many of you don't know about me is that I grew up listening to, no, completely emersed in, 50's and 60's music. Oldies. Doo Wop. Malt Shop music?

My daddy's bands played it. Therefore they practiced it often. We listened to it in the car. And if it wasn't playing around us, Dad would sing it there on the spot. It's one of his true loves. And growing up with it, it's also one of mine.

When I think back on most of my fondest childhood memories, there are oldies songs playing in the 'background' of them. One of my favorites is when I was like 7 years old... Maybe less? We went to Oklahoma to visit some of my aunts, uncles and cousins. My aunt and uncle had a reining horse operation and I remember my dad, my uncles Greg, Fred & Cy, and myself (and probably more people, but this is what I remember) and we were sitting out on a deck or patio, and somebody was telling the story of these nasty black bugs that could bite huge holes in your skin. And there was one on my dad's beverage can and I freaked out and they were laughing at me. No, that isn't the fond part of the memory, but since it happened then, apparently I retained it. But then after that, all of them started singing 'Blue Moon' by The Marcel's. And I remember them trying to make me sing it because it was one of my favorite songs, but I was too shy or embarassed to sing. I remember it all very clearly. Navy blue, summer evening sky, pretty stars.

Or shortly after that, or maybe shortly before? We took a family trip to the Black Hills of South Dakota. And at the time, Tess and my's favorite song was 'Denise' by Randy & The Rainbows. So my dad recorded it like 10x in a row on a cassette tape and we played it all the way to SD. Until everybody else finally got sick of it and made us turn it off. But to this day I can't listen to that song without remembering the caves that we explored, the gold that we panned, and even the fact that our cabin there was called 'The Vulture'.

Whenever I hear "Popcicles & Icicles" by The Mermaids or "Be My Baby" by The Ronettes, I think of my sister Tess. Tess and I used to jam in the driveway to these songs when our ages were still single digits.

Sure I grew up in the 80's and 90's. But that crap has got nothing on the golden oldies.

Monday Morning Rant

Monday Morning Rant

Subject: Construction Season

We live in Minnesota. Obviously. You saw the big Minnesota at the top of the page right? You didn't think I was some cool, hip California chick, did you? Come on.

There is an ongoing joke here in the Lakes State about our seasons. Winter & Road Construction. Haha... Not. So my question to all of you is... And you've heard me ask this before, I'm sure...

For all of the damn road construction that happens across this state, making me late for work, ripping up my front yard, sending bright orange cones into my path... How come our ROADS SUCK SO MUCH!?

Have you ever noticed how bad the roads really are around here? What exactly are they working on when they are ripping the roads up? Because it's certainly not the roads!!!

*deep breath*

Better.

Mine That Bird

Congratulations to Mine That Bird on his win in the 135th Run for the Roses!

What a fabulous win!

Please remember Eight Bells, who passed away in 2008 after that last Kentucky Derby.

I no longer watch horse racing, as I don't like where the sport's intent seems to lie. However I do watch the Triple Crown races every year. Gambling or not, those horses love to run.

The Dog Whisperer

I love Cesar Milan's work.

I remember, back when I first started rescuing dogs, that there were many heated discussions between rescuers over the dog whisperers methods. At first, I went along with it, if everybody hated him, I had to as well.

But then I saw an episode, and I've been hooked ever since.

Today, I got into another heated battle over the ways and methods of this man. People called him cruel, anti-dog, abusive, etc. Everything under the sun. So rather than argue about it like I have in the past, trying to defend one of my heros, I simply asked these two people who were 'anti-Cesar' a very simple question.

"Well, why don't you list for me, right now, what he does that makes him abusive and cruel, and maybe I'll see your side of the arguement."

They looked at me for a minute. They looked at each other. Then one retaliated that Cesar hit dogs. "When?" I asked. I've never seen him hit a dog. I've seen him touch dogs. I've seen him block a behavior or distract a behavior. I've seen him turn red zone aggression type animals into well behaved family dogs. Dogs that would have otherwise been euthanized, simply because we as the human race are very adept to ruining dogs.

95% of the dogs that I have fostered here were huge. They were untrained. They were wild creatures, some even dangerous, and every one of them benefitted from Cesar's methods. I'm not Cesar Milan, nor do I claim to be an expert in regards to using his methods. But I am very confident in teaching new dogs the walk. I am very confident in using the 'chhhhsshh' noise to distract. I am the pack leader in my home, and that's why these once unmanagable dogs live so happily here. That man is why I can have 8 dogs from an array of different backgrounds living in peace together in our little home.

Cesar doesn't believe in humanizing dogs. And I agree with that thought 100%. Yes, I will occasionally call them my babies just to annoy Red... But that's as far as it goes. My dogs are my world, make no mistake. But I don't let them run my world, either.

The methods that Cesar teaches make perfect sense. Dogs are social, pack animals. And since humans decided to domesticate them and seperate them from their natural packs, we become their new pack. And if you don't maintain your pack leader role, then they will take it over. And not because they want to, but because they don't trust you to do so.

Dogs respond to energy. Dogs respond to body language. They don't understand baby talk. They don't want to wear sweaters and diamond studded collars. You can't hurt a dogs feelings by doing human things, nor can you benefit them by applying human emotions to them. They want to be dogs! So let them!

That's what Cesar brings to these families that he helps.

He let's dogs be dogs.

I still don't understand why rescuers especially seem to have this hatred towards the dog whisperer. I've seen rescuers do more cruel things than Cesar ever has.

If anyone would like to shed some light on this subject, my comments section is wide open for discussion!

Dogs in Heaven

Red's uncle Pat sent this to me this morning. I love it.

A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead.
He remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them.

After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight. When he was close enough, he called out, "Excuse me, where are we?"

"This is Heaven, sir," the man answered.

"Wow! Would you happen to have some water?" the man asked.

"Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up." The man gestured, and the gate began to open.

"Can my friend," gesturing toward his dog, "come in, too?" the traveler asked.

"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets."

The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and continued the way he had been going with his dog. After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to a dirt road leading through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed. There was no fence. As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree and reading a book.
"Excuse me!" he called to the man. "Do you have any water?"

"Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there, come on in."

"How about my friend here?" the traveler gestured to the dog.

"There should be a bowl by the pump." They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it. The traveler filled the water bowl and took a long drink himself, then he gave some to the dog. When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man who was standing by the tree.

"What do you call this place?" the traveler asked.

"This is Heaven," he answered.

"Well, that's confusing," the traveler said. "The man down the road said that was Heaven, too."

"Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope. That's hell"

"Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?"

"No, we're just happy that they screen out the folks who would leave their best friends behind."