A bit of this, a bit of that while waiting, waiting, waiting

(A long ramble of life around here while I wait for late delivery people to show up with materials for my new roof.  I hate waiting. Poor Eddie wants his morning walk.)

Outings:

I missed the Elder College hike last week (they went to Kinsol Trestle, which I described in an earlier blog post here), as Sadie was not stable enough to leave. But on Thursday, Gail and I took her Sadie and my Eddie up to Crofton Lake. It was a great day for being outdoors, and we met several other people with their dogs on a trail where I seldom see anyone. Judging from these photos, I'd say Sadie B and Eddie had lots of fun:

Sadie B runs up the bank with a ball

Off Leash Eddie trots happily along the lake trail

Other Dog Stuff

Eddie is a smart little boy and VERY food motivated. I have been using a treat ball for him for some time

Eddie and his treat ball

as well as a clamshell, and recently added a tug-a-jug to his food dispenser toys as the others were just too easy. He figured out that one in about 30 seconds flat.

Gail loaned me a Nina Ottosson canine memory puzzle - a canine version of Go Fish with treats attached! The dog watches you hide a treat under one of the nine bones, then must remember which one it was and touch that bone with his paw (or nose). Too easy for Eddie - he got it in a second. I put treats under all the bones, then as he pawed one I gave him the treat and replaced the bone. He touched ONLY the bones with a treat underneath, and never once pawed at a bone where the treat was no longer there. What a smart boy!

Eddie knows just which puzzle piece hides a treat!

After a couple of peaks and valleys, Sadie seems to be doing okay with the help of Flagyl. I've started moving her back to her regular diet, even though she still has somewhat colourful, soft poop. If it doesn't return to normal this week, we'll consider more tests - though with palliative dogs one always has to ask the question "how might the results of this test change our protocol?". Clearly, Sadie is not a candidate for surgery, and she is already on the drugs she needs for her insulinoma, so will knowing whether the liver and pancreas is deteriorating even more change anything in the way she is being treated? If not, is the money better spent/saved for other more critical vet care? This is always the challenge in caring for senior or special needs dogs - the drive to have as MUCH information as possible sometimes blinds us to what will actually be USEFUL information. Fortunately, the vet I deal with most for Sadie understands this and we will weigh the pros and cons of putting her through more tests (even blood tests stress her out). For now, we just treat the symptoms.

Ah'll just snooze on the couch, thank you.
Mah mama made me a box so I can still get up here.

Petey was chilly the other morning so I put his warm jacket on and covered him with a little blanket and he settled down for a snooze on one of the dogbeds. A little while later I looked down the hall, and there I saw this:

SuperDog!

Silly Petey, trailing his blanket from his shoulders as he waddled down the hall to find me.

Garden stuff:

The crushed gravel is now all shovelled into its rightful place alongside the carport - no more putting passengers at risk of a broken ankle due to an 8" drop off onto large round rocks!. And hopefully no more blackberries and other weeds trying to wrap themselves around my car.

New and improved side of carport - two yards of crushed gravel
and a sore back later.

I'm working on the front garden bed - the one that was all weeds last year - trying to salvage a few plants in there, planting lavendar and rosemary which should do well in this hot, dry side of the house, and using some 6" rock and smaller beach stone as cover and hardscaping.  Only 25 more feet and a half yard of large stones to go.

A small section of the new bed
(and why didn't I see that dandelion before I took the picture?)

And other stuff:

I have drainage guys developing a plan for the back yard so we can reduce the muck and eventually landscape,  and I have roofers coming to put a new roof on the house on Thursday (which is why  I am sitting around waiting...waiting...waiting for the materials to be delivered today).  I have firmed up a contract with a kitchen design/reno company - a complete gut and re-build (that should be fun!) that will likely begin around end of June. I have hikes, dogsitting, a trip to the Okanagon for my sister's Celebration of Life, and several other things scheduled for the next couple of months. And of course the usual book club and writing group and newspaper column and dog care stuff.  Oh, and Petey will be having his eyes removed as soon as I can figure out a date that will work to get him to Victoria and back. Life is busy. Too busy. I think I am a wee bit overcommitted.  Oops.

Ah, but the flowers are blooming,

Blossoms against a blue spring sky

Wee daisies cover the ground

Yellow skunk cabbage adds cheer to swamp

The eagles are calling,

Eagle on tree along seawalk

Spye, the pigeon who began showing up daily (now twice daily) a couple of months ago is in love - or at least bringing a friend to dinner:

Spye and friend dine on birdseed

The campers are arriving

Crowded RV park along Crofton shoreline
(Shudder!  Not my idea of camping - but good for the local economy!)

The kayakers are cruisin'

Kayakers pass a barge from the pulpmill

And the sunrises are spectacular:

Easter morning sunrise from my backyard

Life is good.

(And I hear a big truck pulling into the driveway - talk about good timing!)