Icicle Beard

Today we walked the bike path again. It was only 19 degrees when we left the house! We met a German Shepherd mix who wanted to play at the ball fields. They ran and ran chasing each other around a spruce tree. So funny! By the time we arrived home, I noted that he had icicles in his beard! So I had to take a picture.

Camera day

We went back to the bike path today with camera. New snow was falling, but the beauty of two days ago had dissipated. I did take a movie of him doing a come from being distracted. If you watch the beginning closely, you will see that he is happily sniffing the ground, then suddenly looks at me attentively before I have said a word. So I missed capturing him from a “cold start.” Come!

I took a few shots of him in the park, but I should have used a flash since it was overcast and snowing. This one taken in our yard when we arrived home turned out better though still could have used a flash.

Then he found a lawn sprinkler behind a holly bush which I had forgotten to put in the garage in the fall. So you get to see a little catch-me-if-you-can game. The Gingerbread Man

Why didn't I take my camera?

Some one turned off the global warming switch and winter has descended upon us. Yesterday we had a blustery day called “wintry mix” – freezing rain, sleet, and snow. It was too yucky for anything except a double “prom” (aka promenade) around our property. Today, it is only 17 degrees with enough sun diffusing through a layer of clouds to create bright spots and shadows. I donned my winter dog walking outfit: purple sweatsuit, super warm double-layered purple jacket, purple windproof pants, purple Uggs, topped off with a black neck scarf tied across my nose and mouth. My warmth was not in question.

Guinness and I set off for the nearby bike path. I was concerned about how slippery the walk might be, but the frozen precipitation on the ground is a hard crust of ice and snow dimpled by sleet creating fair traction. Our normal destination on the bike path is the ballfields. If no one is around, I drop the leash, allowing him to wander, dragging the leash behind for easy retrieval if necessary. When he is distracted by something, I pull out treats and call, “Come!” from across the field to test his recalls. He races barreling towards me and does a front sit. He has become so used to this drill that, after wandering on his own for a while, he will stop, stare at me expecting a come command. If I don’t respond promptly, he bolts without being called and sits before me expecting his treat for being such a good boy. I can even allow him to wander out of sight, and he will still respond with enthusiasm.

We usually cross the soccer field, round the baseball diamond, then cut behind the row of trees, mainly spruces, which create a secluded walkway. Today, as we took that turn, we were facing the sun. Guinness’s dark brown body ran over the white snow creating a striking contrast (winter is the best time to take a chocolate lab’s photo!). The deciduous tree branches, laden with a thin coating of ice and arching over our path, were loaded with tiny bulbous diamonds sparkling due to the soft glowing of the sun directly ahead. The snow was something I don’t think I have ever seen in my sixty years! It was as if Swarovski crystals had been finely ground and dusted over the landscape. Blue, green, and red glints were dazzling my eyes! Even if I had had my camera, I don’t think I could have pulled it out, turned it on, and snapped in time to catch that fleeting visage of brown dog on white snow with diamonds over his head and under his feet. It is doubtful that the amazing glistening crystal snow could ever be captured on film or CF card. But it is in my memory – a phenomenal sight!

When we arrived home, I looked to see if the Swarovski fairies had sprinkled their magical crystals in our yard, but they weren’t there – only colorless clear sparkles twinkled.

A New Greeting

“Have a Guinny Day! (That means bouncy, happy, loving, fun filled and nutritious.)” My husband wished that for me today. Ü

You ask: what does Guinness eat that is nutritious? Carrots! While he was in his fancy obedience school, we started training him to lie under the table and be a good boy while we eat meals. At first, we used the mini-treats used for training. We wanted to get away from using treats, so we started giving him ice cubes, which he loved. For some unknown reason, we gave him carrots instead of ice cubes once. That did it. He would not eat an ice cube during dinnertime again. He insisted on carrots.

Just yesterday I was wishing we had never started this treat-while-eating business. If we forget to keep giving him a carrot, he will sit. If we don’t notice him sitting and waiting for his next carrot, he will paw at one of us. How do we end this?! We have created a vexation.

The power of suggestion through thinking

I heard Guinny prancing around making funny noises. When I walked out of the den, he raced from the dining room – his favorite place to chew on things he shouldn’t have. There were rippled pieces of white plastic on the floor. I did not recognize them. Of course, he would not let me near him. I grabbed a treat to get this over quickly. He had the lid to my blender. Some of the edge is chewed off, but it is still useable (I think) though it looks disgusting.

Earlier this morning as I made my smoothie, I was thinking how grateful I am for my Waring Blender! It was a wedding gift almost 38 years ago. It had very irregular use until a couple of years ago when a friend hooked me on smoothies for breakfast. Now it is used every day. I bought a blender “for Greg,” so that I could make smoothies when I am at his house. It is not nearly as good as my old Waring Blender. In fact, when I have used blenders at anyone’s house, they are not as good.

Fred Waring was well known for his radio show and as the founder and conductor of the singing group, the Pennsylvanians. The summer of 1973, we attended a concert of Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians at Chautauqua Institute. I learned that night that Fred Waring was the financial backer behind the invention of the Waring Blender, making his name a household word. I had no idea that my kitchen blender was related to the musical Fred Waring!

In recent years, I have thought that my blender, even though it is a superb performer, appears dated. Then I saw a Waring Blender in a Williams Sonoma store for about $100 which looked exactly like mine. No wonder the performance of the average $20 to $30 kitchen blender does not match mine!

While making my smoothie this morning, the memory of my dated-looking blender and the cost of a new one, looking equally as dated, crossed my mind. Now that I am officially an “old” person complete with pension and senior rebates, I wondered if mine will last my lifetime. As is my custom every morning, I made my smoothie, rinsed out the blender and lid, placed them upside down beside the sink to dry. Today is the last time I will do that.

My smoothie recipe for 1 serving:
½ cup orange juice
1 banana
4 frozen strawberries (or other frozen fruit)
½ cup of low-fat yogurt

My favorite combinations:
Strawberries with cherry yogurt
Mango with raspberry yogurt
Peach with blueberry yogurt

Body Language

We picked up Guinness from his 13 days at the pet hotel on Tuesday morning. At this stage in life, I am always a zombie for a day or two after a trip. Guinness is also a zombie his first day home again. He slept at my feet or in his crate all day. I still was not ready for a big walk on Wednesday, though he was. He had to wait for Thursday, when I had a bit more energy and felt more in control of life being put back together again. For a reward, we went to the beach. He was so cute leaping through the water! The other beach walkers enjoyed his show as well.

If we walk to and from home and go to the pier at the far end of the beach, it is an hour and a half walk. I prefer to only spend one hour walking. There are other things to do in a day. So when we were three quarters of the way down the beach, I turned around to head for home. Guinness knows that the beach goes all the way to the pier, and he was not going to miss out on one inch of his beach walk. He jumped at me repeatedly and barked. His body language told me in no uncertain terms, “No way, Mom! We are not going home until we finish our walk!” I had to give in. How could I say, “No”?

Walking the Lake Ontario beach has many similarities to the NC beach we enjoyed over the Christmas holidays. The main difference was the water -- the lake was perfectly smooth today, unlike the roiling ocean. And the birds, except the Ringbilled Gulls, are different. Here we have the Trumpeter Swans, Canada Geese, Mallards, and Longtails. In NC, we had mainly Pelicans and Sandpipers along with two or three species of gulls. And then the dolphins pretend they are birds, leaping out of the water.

When Guinny and I finally were on our way back down the beach towards home, we encountered a 10 year old German Shepherd. He didn’t have Guinness’s energy, but he was happy to meet a friend. The two of them frolicked on the sand, then Copper led Guinness into the lake. That was the first time that I have released the leash and allowed him freedom in the water. I knew he would not run or swim away from Copper. He has not had the opportunity to get out in the lake far enough yet to need to swim. I look forward to that day, but with trepidation! What if he swims away from me too far? I would prefer him to experience that with a dog friend who will bring him back to shore.