Hannah, Fireflies, Puppy Jake Foundation

First off, I don't mean to go on and on about my dogs or my mules, but they are my immediate 'family' at this time.

My sons are hours away with busy lives and their families. My older grands are busy with working and figuring out their lives too. Most of them that have jobs and vehicles live 2 to 3 hours away. I have heard twice from the stepdaughter since her dad passed away 9 months ago.

I do have my friends, so don't get me wrong at all. I do have a life with humans involved.

Now I better understand people who wrap their lives around their pets. Pets are constant companions who don't have distractions. Their lives depend on you. They are toddlers that need constant affirmation of love and care. Who doesn't love that?

So, I will write about them and talk about them. They are the main focus of things happening in my life at the moment.

Years ago, I had Morris, a Jack Russell Terrier. He was not a typical terrier. He was not fearless and brave, but he was kind and sweet. But he was sure that Fireflies were insane little monsters that were going to eat him.

In 2007 Morris made me aware of the evil fireflies that surrounded our house and fields on summer nights. He knew he had to protect me from the conniving little flashing bugs. We laughed and laughed that such a mild mannered dog was so upset over flying insects. 
Night of the Fireflies is the original post. 

Each year after that, Morris would go out and watch for them with his hair on end and a soft constant growl. He'd even jump on the bed to look out the window and protect us.

Fast forward 19 years [has it been so long???]

Last night Hannah stood on the porch and when Fireflies lit up the yard and garden in front of her. She backed up and growled. Her hair was on end. I thought 'No way!' Charlie never even gives the little flashes of light a second glance.

But there it was. Hannah and the Killer Fireflies. I tried to tell her that they wouldn't harm her. No use. She has her mind set on the fact they are a threat.

Hannah will be 6 months old on the 24th and she'll visit the Vet for being neutered on the 25th. She still nags Charlie but not as bad as she did at first. She is maturing and learning to walk on a leash without distractions and sit when I stand still. Baby steps. 

During this last hot and humid week, I spent some time indoors bored. So I flipped on YouTube to browse things to watch. I ended up on a documentary about the Puppy Jake Foundation in Iowa that trains service dogs for Veterans.

What transpired next was fascinating.

She watched the whole documentary. When a commercial came on, she walked away and looked out the door, when the narrator came back on, she walked back to that spot and watched intently.

I thought it was a fluke or maybe she was interested in seeing the dogs in the program so I put on a dog training video featuring a dog and a person explaining how to use a leash.

Imagine my surprise when she growled and backed away from the TV as if it offended her. She barked and looked at me then at the TV. I doubt she made the connection that I was in charge of the programing, but I changed back to the same documentary we'd been watching.

She was enthralled once more.

I changed the video again to another dog video of sorts. She had the same reaction. 

She is the first dog I've had in all of my years on this earth that has 'watched' TV. Did she like the narrator's voice? Did she like what she was hearing and seeing?

I showed the video to some friends and their reply was 'She wants to be Trained to be a Service Dog!'

Hah.

She is my Emotional Support Dog, right? 

Years ago, I went through a dog obedience class with my first dog Missy. The class was 8 weeks long and by the end of the class Missy would walk off leash and ignore other dogs and distractions. She was insanely good at obedience. The instructor only docked her because she wouldn't take cues from him, but he did suggest that we go to the next level for a working dog and eventually train for Search and Rescue.

It was a path I wished to explore but couldn't as I had two young kids at home. 

Hannah is a quick learner. When she has her 'working line' on she is all business.

Here, she is learning the basics of 'heel' and sit when I stop. It has only taken her two sessions to figure this part out. 

She is 80% consistent with no distractions at this point.

Of course, she already understood sit. However she didn't get the concept of walking at my side with a loose line and sitting when I stopped walking until we started.

At the end of each session [no longer than 15 minutes] I give her a release word and unclip her. She immediately checks with me and then goes into Zoomies.

I wonder what I can accomplish with Hannah.

Charlie? 
He has always been an extremely smart dog. The one thing I had to teach him was to 'come' when called, his manners and leash walking have always been good without any extra work. His duty since puppyhood had been to be with Rich and other elders as a lap dog and petting dog. 

He's decided that it looks like Hannah is going to stick around.

He even allows this:

I've had dogs since I was a kid. It all started with Albert the female mutt we got from my uncle's farm. Some day I'll reminisce about her.

Fun Friday stuff

I ordered the Woodland Mushroom Botanicals for the new Lego release on June 1st. I figured it was a good birthday gift for myself. 

It seems that my Sprite minifigure was absolutely delighted to find the set when I opened it. This is an 'adult' set which means it is a bit complicated. I figured it would be great for when the weather got so hot and beastly humid out. I could spend some time relaxing inside and enjoying cooler temps in the house.

Sprite shares her excitement with her good friend Lilith...

...who brings her magic star wand to help with the difficult parts.

I have to say that it is a beautiful set for display...

and to pose minifigs in.

Sprite seems to think that this should be her new permanent home. I agree, she looks perfectly happy amongst all the amazing fungi.

I'm just going with some things that make me happy. This week was horrible with heat, humidity, and bad weather so I busied myself when I wasn't staring out the window or sweating while mowing the yard...

and I did some distracting play....

I really really needed the distractions.

I'm just going to toss some shots in here for fun with no real explanation. Yesterday was my indoor day because of the non stop storms that were occurring.

My pick from the junk pile to do photography for Thursday.

Siera's Diagnosis.

Don't laugh!

She is fat. I wasn't paying attention. But Rich used to say that Siera could gain weight 

on

Hay Dust.

A couple of years of being idle haven't done her any favors. The nice lush grass in the pastures didn't help her either. She will be going to have to live in a dry lot. A grazing muzzle wouldn't work as she rubs her head against trees and walks through brush. I'd hate for her to get caught on something.

Sure. I take good care of the land and we have an amazing spring with grass and weed growth. Now I have to limit one good grazer.

My hope is to help her recover and gain strength. Her last lameness this week only lasted 3 days. So maybe on top of being Fat, she is a Drama Queen. Or she was lame from a tiny bit of exercise. 

There was the mention of possible beginning stages of laminitis but that is not a sure thing. We'll take all the precautions we can for her to live a good and health Senior Life [with exercise!!!].

We will see what happens. 

To me she looks pretty ordinary but a but chunky over her tail head. The red heads seem to be in much better physical shape than her. 

They are always on the move and doing things.

Chunky Monkey Siera [shhh, don't tell her that out loud]...

Maybe we need to go to the gym together.

The red headed girls below, Sunshine on the right. 

It will be an adjustment for Sundance on the left to adjust to her sister leaving the farm for a while.

Oh to be in charge of these three goofs. They are pretty sweet animals and I really do enjoy them. Feet trimmed, manes trimmed, and pastures mowed. Huh.

Siera just walked across the pasture out front of here with her long gaited strides just to thumb her nose at me.

Life in the slow lane.

Hannah goes to town and settles in...

It has been years since I've had a puppy. Hannah has been a blessing in a way. She fills my heart with joy when I watch her run willy nilly through the sprinkler like a toddler on a hot summer day. She plays with the heart of a terrier.

But I want her to be sociable and a good girl in public. 

So Saturday I put her in the car and not in her crate. I wanted so see if she'd sit in Charlie's pet booster [she is too big!] and ended up putting her in the back seat with the seat folded down. She promptly laid down and was quiet. She didn't get excited, jump around, or whine. She was so quiet [unlike Charlie]. 

When we got to town I parked on a side street and got my doggy poo bags attached to my backpack. We walked around the Farmer's Market so she could get a feel of the downtown with traffic and people walking by. 

Hannah's response to seeing people and strollers was pure puppy bliss. She bounced and strained against her harness. 

I let her bounce around for a bit to reduce her high energy. Then I picked a place to squat down and lean against a building so she could watch people walk by.

After a few minutes, she sat and watched too. She turned often to see if I was okay. We got up and went around the block. 

We came to a spot where a Brass Band had set up. Viroqua is filled with music everywhere in the downtown on summer Saturdays. 

Hannah was afraid of the players [or the music??] at first. So I sat down and let her watch. The guys were playing a tuba, a horn, drums, and another brass instrument I didn't know the name of.

Quickly they realized that we were watching and they all turned towards us and smiled and played to Hannah. I guess they could see the joy on my face and watch Hannah go from being frightened to a wiggly waggly pup who seemed to enjoy the music.

I dropped some cash in their donation box and we entered the Farmer's Market with the rest of the crowds. The Market allows pets and so this was a new experience for her too. She met a Collie, a Rotty, a Cavalier, Lab, Poodle, and some other very large dogs. All the owners asked if they could sniff each other. Hannah did the proper thing of getting down low on the ground to submit to the big dogs.

We stopped at two of my friend's Vendor tents and Hannah took time to settle down each time. She sat and watched people wagging furiously if anyone stopped and asked to pet her.

A boy parted from his parents that were watching us.

"What is your dog's name? Is she a puppy? What breed is she? My folks want to know because she is so cute!" A couple other folks had stopped to watch.

"Her name is Hannah and she is 5 months old. She is a mutt or as I prefer to say, an All American Dog. Her mom was supposed to have been a Rat Terrier and anything else in her heritage is a guess." 

"Are you going to DNA here or find out more? Where did you get her? How big will she be?" These were questions from the parents of the boy.

I answered, "I won't do an DNA test because she is what she is. She came from a Foster Home. As for how big will she be? I don't really know. She might get a little taller. I picked her because she was part Terrier and I like Terrier energy and playfulness."

I don't refer to Hannah as a 'Rescue Dog' or as an 'Adopted Dog' because I feel the muses in charge of the Universe put us together for a reason. We both needed something.

She a home. Me? Help with mending a broken heart. She wasn't rescued, she rescued me.

And how is Charlie handling this new addition these days?

He is finally accepting her. He plays with her, chases her, and then tells her when he is done. They have figured out their places in my life.

Charlie is still in charge of the house. Hannah Belle is allowed to snooze next to him and he has accepted the fact that she too likes to sleep at night with us. No growling, just snoring.

Funny thing is, I get better sleep with them in bed at night. Plus, I never need an alarm to get up. Hannah creeps up to my pillow at the first hint of dawn and snuffles my face carefully.

Charlie joins in and despite efforts to NOT get up, I start laughing and wake up.

After years of sleeping on the love seat and listening all night for hubby, this feels like the lap of luxury.

My early mornings are easy. Make coffee, feed the dogs, and have some quiet time before going out to do summer time chores. 

Charlie has his chair:

Hannah stretches out on the couch:

By 7am we are out the door on our way for a walk or some other adventure. With the heat of summer, we do early morning adventures and outdoor work.

Work work work

 Patrick promised he'd be back and fix the side yard.
And he did show up!

This is how I have been 'mowing' it for 10 years now. 

I tried using a push mower and a weed whacker. 

I tied Little Richard out there and also moved him around. For the past 10 years since the house was remodeled, this area has always been rough and full of huge high and low spots.

Basically, when construction was done some dude [husband] pushed all the sand and dirt around to the west side of the house and called it good.

That pile of stuff below next to the old house? That got pushed into the side yard and never properly graded. 

[Rich had a stroke that next spring when we were going to get that done]

Just for reference, the picture after contstruction was completed.

Finally...

The side yard mess is leveled off matted and seeded. 👇👇👇

Yes, it cost me about $$$$ to get it done, but dang, I don't have to weed whack, and kill myself mowing, fencing, and putting animals on the yard to keep the place looking somewhat like a yard!

Color me happy!

For reference the photo with the mules and this one both have the same stump in it. 
I can't wait for the grass to come in and the yard to reappear.

Patrick's magic machine.

Patrick then brush hogged the pastures to keep down the weeds and tidy things up. A regular mower cannot handle this land, it is crooked, dippy with divots, and rocks that would kill any rider in about 20 minutes.

Hiring someone with equipment is less expensive than constant mower repairs.

If Rich had stayed in good health, we were going to get a brush hog attachment like this for his skid steer. By the time we priced it, he was no longer able to get in and and out of his skid steer so it was a no-go.

Patrick will repeat this job in August to help me fight the weeds.

Now I have too much pasture. Crazy, right? 

[Because this doesn't include the meadow out back.]

Don the Junk Dude came out and picked up a pretty heavy load of stuff. I have to move the tractor tire and move the old wooden posts yet. Then everything in front of the machine shed will be cleaned up except for the T-posts.

At some point I'll move them into the now...cleaner shed and stack them.

Here is a shot of Don's trailer full of heavy stuff leaving the property. I can see what they were doing with the security cameras. 

Strange world we live in right?

We start with the top left shot being the day before Don and his brother came. The right hand shot was after them coming for a month.

And now....

I'm going to throw cosmos in the dirt next to the door. 

The tub has marigolds coming up in it. I may as well toss extra harvested seeds from last year into the bare spots of dirt where metal used to live and see what happens.

The cord is for the fencer on the back of the busted garage. I need to move the fencer. So many things to take care of!

The Garage. 

After the storm in June 2015:

The Garage mess is ugly but so far I am beyond pleased with the progress I have made this spring.

I've decided the structure is too dangerous now for anyone to even try to go in. I'm going to call Frank and tell him I'm ready for him to come and give me an estimate to clean it up.

It is demolition time.

I know it will cost, but I have budgeted for it.

I've always considered it an eyesore after the trees fell on it. But my husband assured me that he would take care of it himself. Perhaps it was just too huge of a project for him to tackle. 

I'm glad in a way that he left it for me. 

Less angst and stress about the cleanup.

And that is it for this week's contracted work.

I do want to look back at what I went through to clean this area up. It was often a sore point in our relationship. I like a tidy place. He did too, but he also liked his 'stuff'.

Below is one of my favorite photos of hubby during our construction. He was supervising the guys working in the basement part of the addition. His stance sums up his character. 

Geeze, I miss him!

That look !!! 

Who can argue with this guy???

A Little Sunshine....

Decisions, decisions.

I've come to a final decision.

I'm supposed to take Siera next week to my friend's place for summer riding. Siera needs to stay home until we figure out her lameness issue. Is it an abscess occurring, arthritis, or something else? 

I cannot in good faith take a mule that has issues to a friend's place.

Kristi would stress out  worrying that it could be her fault somehow. 

[Even though the mule would be on pasture]. 

She is a worrier. Kristi cares for her boarded horses as if they are her own children.

I know Siera's vitals are all perfectly normal. Siera is a wonderful animal with a good mind. However, I need to figure out what is causing her troubles and see if she is to be permanently retired or what.

So tonight I took Sunshine out and saddled her up to go get the mail on the ridge. My trail cam in the driveway caught us leaving.

Naughty me, I was in shorts and tennis shoes with no helmet but it was a last second decision and we just mosied up to the ridge, took a look around and grabbed the mail on the way back.

Sunshine acted as if we'd never stopped riding for the past two years. Good girl.

When she was first in 'training' to be a trail mule, I rode her nearly every single day for doing something. Checking fences, looking for mushrooms, taking the Jack Russell out for a jaunt. Giving the grand kids a ride on her -- leading them of course.

We trailered her all over. Sometimes Rich would ride her and sometimes I'd ride her. 

From 4 years old to nearly 20, she was ridden often. I'd trade between her and Siera.

When Rich got sick the mules became pasture pets. Still, kids would sometimes come and take rides in the yard.

Tonight we just went. It was short, but it was sweet.

I felt more relaxed with Sunshine than I was with Siera. 

Maybe it is because Sunshine was born in my lap so many years ago.

Maybe it is because I can walk out into the pasture with a lead rope and halter and sit down. 

Sunshine walks up to me and puts her head down to mine as if to say. "Hi, long time no see!" Her half brother Badger used to do the same thing.

Sunshine may be a better choice anyway. Kristi needs some confidence building while trail riding and I have a little red mule that has been there, done that and is mostly unflappable. 

I feel better about this decision. 

I can take time to figure out what it happening with Siera and take a good little red mule to her house.

 If we get a handle on Siera's issues, I can always swap out mules.

But tonight brought some deep emotions to the surface.

I recalled sitting in the pasture with Sunshine's mother during Sunshine's birth. I recalled all the miles I put on with Cheyanne her mom and then all the years with Sunshine. 

How I thought at first she'd be too short, she wasn't stunning enough, she wasn't a blazing drop dead beauty like her mom. But she was steady. And to her credit, Sunshine still thinks I'm her mom. She will follow me to the ends of the earth.

I've posted this photo before on my blog. For those who didn't know, this is how Sunshine came into the world nearly 29 years ago.

I think it is appropriate to recall that this little red mule is on this earth because of the Muleman I met on a Wagon Train.

I've been so busy with everything the past few years that I've forgotten the incredible relationship I have with this little red mule.

You 

are 

my 

Sunshine....

Relaxing trip to Wyalusing

We decided to go on a hike to Wyalusing State Park. There was a fair breeze and I figured we could stick to the shaded trails up on the bluff to take advantage of the shade and the light breeze.

With all the bright greens, I thought it would be fun to limit myself to my Infrared camera and shoot IR black and white.

I did bring a filter that allowed the camera to shoot in regular light. The greens and the sunlight through the trees were stunning.

The contrasts in B&W IR are startling. The 850nm light spectrum
shows green as white which gives the whole world a different look.
This filter also shows water and skies as black, and highlights barely perceptible clouds in the sky.

These are shots from deep in the woods from the Sentinel Trail.

This trail is has some demanding areas to negotiate.

The best part of this hike was being able to sit on some rocks and just have some peace and quiet while listening to the forest around us. Charlie enjoyed the rests, Hannah wanted to keep going.

I had brought plenty of water and snacks for the dogs to keep them occupied while we just chilled out.

In these shots, one can see how Hannah compares to Charlie. She weighs the same as Charlie, but Charlie is a small compact dog that has the Dachshund build and muscular body.

Hannah is slender, long, and taller. She looks as though she was built for running.

Her terrier energy seems boundless.

When we got to the 'stairs' I had to be cautious. The dogs are supposed to stay on a leash and I used the double leash. Hannah wanted to rush down the stairs and Charlie had to take one at a time. I may have to figure out a different way to handle that next time.

The double leash worked great until Charlie got tired.

At that point, I pulled out a separate leash for Charlie so Hannah wasn't pulling him.

More stairs!  👇

Our 5 mile route took us down to the boat launch at the Mississippi River.

We spent more time relaxing at the launch and cooling off to take the hike back up to the ridge top.

Hannah was in heaven when I tossed sticks into the river. She does everything with a certain amount of pure exhilaration. 7 seconds of fun....

Charlie got warm and tired on our way back up the Long Road. I tried to stick to all the shady spots, but at one point, Charlie just sat down and looked up at me. I can't refuse my pal so we took more breaks and a few times I lifted him up and carried him.

This is the Long Road ~ 

Seriously, that is the name of this trail/road that leads to a boat launch on the river at Wyalusing State Park. I walked this last fall with Charlie and was struck by the beautiful gentle curves through the forest.

November 3, last year...
It is amazing how different times of year
and the light changes the look of places!

Our last stop was a picnic table overlooking the overlook.

We had a fun trip and were tired enough for short naps when we got home.

I was relaxed and ready for the workers to show up on Thursday and my meeting with the person who has been our Financial Consultant for 14 years.