Wake up, Foster Mama!!!

Foster Mama, wake up!!! It is eight o’cwock already!!! Yesterday you feds us at six-firty! Why are you such a sleepy-head today?

My brudder Toddy found his way outside through the piggy door and into the big pig yard because the gate from the potty area was open. Did you leave that open because you knew you were going to sleep in, or were you just too tired last night and forgots it?

Anyway, I knows we is not supposed to go into the pig yard until the big barn doors are open so I is just standing in the feeding stall wiv some of my brudders screaming for you. Can you hear us??? We is squealing as loud as we can!

I know there is still some of those loverly gweens Auntie Ewwen brought us and some cawwots and apples toooo, and maybe you even has a soft tomato or an overripe banana in the people house? We loves tomatoes and bananas. I think everybody should save their overripe tomatoes and bananas just for us!

OOOOOOhhhhh, I fink I see the back door opening.....is that yooouuuu???? Is we getting our breakfast now??????????? Oh, goody, goody, cuz we is starvin’!!!!! Good morning, foster mama!!! Good morning, world!!

Love, Lizzy (the only female piglet in the litter)

Piggy Magic: The All-Natural Mood Enhancer

I have been grumpy all day today - in fact for the past couple of days. Possibly my bad mood is due to chronic back pain after standing on concrete all day Saturday (thank goodness I’m getting in to my chiropractor tomorrow morning!), but more likely it is also due to the never-ending saga of animal rescue......too many dogs, cats, rabbits, piggies, and other critters needing homes; too many “in-it-to-make-a-quick-buck” irresponsible breeders; too many “whoops I’m moving and can’t [read: don’t want to] take the pig/dog/cat with me”, and on it goes.

And so I sat down and wrote a long tirade about the irresponsible people who churn out animals and sell them without screening, without follow up, without being willing to take them back if the buyers change their mind. A tirade about a local potbellied pig breeder who advertises on craigslist every few weeks, who separates piglets from the mom as young as four weeks old, who doesn’t take back a piglet when just a couple of weeks later the young girl she sold it to realizes it’s not what she wanted. A tirade about the person who didn’t want a pair of piglets from us (we only adopt out bonded pairs as they are herd animals) and so bought the piglet the young girl was selling, and a month later decides she doesn’t want it either. A tirade about the person who bought two 4-week old piglets at the auction and just a couple of months later is moving and “can’t” [won’t] take them with her and wants the sanctuary to take them.

Of course all these unwanted pigs are unneutered, and none of the people are prepared to build a shed and pen to house them or to provide a lifetime sponsorship to cover their food and vet bills. Meanwhile, I have ten piglets here from an SPCA seizure for mistreatment, ten sweet, healthy, neutered piglets for whom we are unable to find suitable, committed, caring homes...and still the breeders churn out more.

And so, to put it politely, I was grumpy. Just as I finished typing out my tirade, I glanced out the window, noticed it was getting dark, and remember I had not yet closed up the barn for the night. Out I rushed, expecting all the piggies to be snuggled down in the straw sleeping, and thinking I could just slip into the pig yard and close the barn door from the outside.

Except Rickey, one of the piglets, was out in the yard all by himself. As soon as he saw me he came racing over to the gate. And as soon as I bent down to pet him he started oinking and erfing and oofing and squealing....and calling all his brothers and his sister to join him. “Hey guys, Foster Mama’s back, get up, get up!!!!!”
And so nine more little piglets came streaking out of the barn for a little late night fun – tearing around the yard one after the other squealing and squeaking the whole time, running up to me to see if I had treats, racing to the gate to say hi to the dogs. Ten little upturned snouties; twenty beautiful, soulful, inquisitive eyes looking at me hopefully; forty little trotters trying to climb up my pants leg to check my pockets for treats.

How can one not laugh out loud at those faces, those eyes, those funny little characters who want only to have the attention of someone who adores them, the companionship of their herd, and a plentiful supply of treats? And so my anger and frustration dissipated instantly, and the evening became magical once more.

G’night little piggies. Thanks for making my day.

Those Kodak moments

New growth

Whether I am hiking in the mountains or sitting in my own back yard, nature never fails to inspire me, to soothe me, to fill me with wonder. While I do believe I live in the most beautiful place on earth, I also know that anywhere that one can see nature, unspoiled by human destruction, one can find a spiritual connection to the earth and a sense of oneness with the universe. It is a deeply emotional and spiritual experience and humbling at the same time. We are just one small part of this natural world, no greater or no less than all other parts.

Today was an ordinary day. I got up early, fed the pigs and alpaca, walked the dogs in the first light of morning, organized my lecture notes and headed off to work. I taught, I visited the library, I stopped for a few groceries, I came home.

And that is where the magic begins – those Kodak moments that are captured in the mind even when the camera is not at hand.

As I pull into my driveway and climb out of the car to collect the mail and open the gate, I hear the familiar scree-scree-scree of bald eagles overhead. I see them often around here, and live not too far from a major nesting site, but I never tire of watching them. There at the top of a tall cedar in the vacant land across from my home are two adult baldies, calling to each other with beaks open wide, flying at each other with wings stretched across the horizon. I silently watch them until they disappear from sight, swooping and circling and soaring as they move across the sky.

I drive down to the house and let the dogs out for their after-work run in the pasture. As I open the pasture gate, I see that the old cherry tree nearby has a very fresh large hole drilled into it, about 2 feet from the ground. It was not there this morning, so I know the Northern flickers were here working industriously while I was away, seeking who-knows-what insects from the soft rotting core of the dying tree.
Flicker hole

Turning to say hello to Martin, I see a leaf unfurling through the wire of his fence and a robin hopping along the top of the fence with a piece of twine hanging from its beak. Down by the creek, the skunk cabbage is emerging from the winter straw, its Easter dress of green and yellow heralding the longer days of spring.

Skunk Cabbage

The three dogs and I walk to the top of the rise at the end of the pasture and, as usual, I sit on the bench with my companions on the ground around me. Charley wanders off to explore a bit, and Princess Belle demands to be picked up, changing her mind when Sadie’s big furry face plops down on my knee, right near where Belle is sitting.

And then Charley comes prancing back, and Sadie gets up and play-bows, and the game is on! Both Charley and Sadie are play-bowing, chasing each other, jumping up in the air with a canine version of a high-five, wrestling and chasing some more. Belle, little Ms. Referee, barks her encouragement and tries to keep out of the way of two crazy dogs.

Charley and Sadie playing

It is wonderful to see them play, not only because it marks Sadie’s acceptance into the pack but because my Charley has rarely, in her ten and a half years, been a playful dog. But there they are, two senior border collie/rough collie crosses, egged on by a little sheltie, playing and playing and playing until Sadie (the heavier of the two by far) lies down exhausted.

Charley and Sadie resting

Charley recognizes that Sadie is resting, and sits beside her, occasionally nuzzling Sadie’s ear or her neck as if to say “you okay pal?”
And in time Sadie stands back up and all three of the dogs sedately stroll back down the path to the pasture gate and home again.

Just a few Kodak moments can turn an ordinary day into a memorable one.

Dogs on the hill

Best friends, happy dogs

Snapshots of today

I didn't have the camera with me, but here are some images of today, in words:

• A male and a female mallard on the creek, quacking away in the early morning light until two black and white collies decided to investigate and cause them to take flight.

• The sound of a Northern flicker drumming for insects in the dead tree in the pasture, stopping to cry its unique weeka-weeka-weeka-weeka-weeka call across the fields.

• Charley play-bowing to Sadie as she runs down the hill. Sadie looking at me in puzzlement. Sadie barking at Charley to play…..and Charley looking at me in puzzlement. Those two will get it together sooner or later!

• Ten little piglets tearing out of their pen onto the front yard to meet visitors, and getting the zoomies around and around the yard – the Pigianapolis 500.

• Ten little piglets each with a big slice of watermelon, each running to their own little place in the yard to consume it without having to share with their brothers or sister.

• Sadie deciding that she would like to be a lap dog and practically knocking me and the chair over backwards.

• My friend Kath, a cat person, totally besotted by Belle as they sit on the bench at the top of the rise, Belle cradled in Kath’s arms and lapping up the attention like she’s been starved of affection for months.

• A teenager from down the street, coming over to ask if she can volunteer to help with the piggies once a week – Yay, Rochelle! You betcha!

• Sadie, tail and head held high, racing off into the pasture for one last walk of the day, then taking off with nose to the ground following the scent of a coyote or a lynx or maybe a rabbit right down to the creek and back up again. She is a happy dog adjusting well to her new life.

• Charley and Sadie, sides practically touching, noses buried deep in the grasses and dirt as they snuffle after the fieldmice that have been running through the pasture.

• Charley and Belle, treking side-by-side down the pasture path as we come home from our evening walk at dusk. Big sister and little sister, as if they’ve been together all their lives.

More magic moments in a memorable day - life with the critters is good.

Happy International Women's Day!

Today is International Women's Day - a day hardly recognized here but a nation-wide holiday in some countries and widely celebrated in many.

International Women's Day was born in 1910, as a day of international action in the struggle of women worldwide for fundamental rights, social justice, peace and democracy. It is a day about recognizing not only the struggles that some women face but also celebrating the progress that many have made and the empowerment that enables women to challenge oppression and break down barriers to equality. For further information, check out the International Women's Day website.

For the first Saturday in a long, long time I spent all day away from the animals and the farm. My friend Ellen and I signed up for a "Women in the Workshop" hands-on seminar at Lee Valley. The focus was on using large-scale power tools: table saws, band saws, drill presses and so on. Although I use power tools routinely, mine are all handheld ones, with the exception of my power mitre saw. So it was interesting to me to learn more about the larger tools and think about which ones I might want to add to my workshop.

I did discover, however, that my forte is the outdoorsy stuff I already do like building gates and fences and piggy stalls, and not the finicky little detail work with a horrible little tormentor called a scroll saw - I will NEVER master the fine art of starting the turn at just the right time to get nice smooth circles and scallops and curves.

However, since Ellen dared me to post a picture of what I built today, I will. (So there, Ellen, never let it be said that I lack guts. I am woman, hear me ROAR!!!)



But the absolute best part of the day was coming home to my critters, even though they let me know their displeasure at being left alone all day. The piggies were mad at me and didn't come out of the barn squeeking and squealing like they usually do. Martin the alpaca was as far back in the pasture as he could be and refused to come down when I called. Even the dogs didn't rush to the door when I opened it - I had to call them and then they slowly sauntered out of their respective beds. However, once I had fed everyone and walked the dogs I was forgiven for daring to take a day to myself.

And the big news? Sadie, dear sweet new-to-the-household Sadie, survived the whole day without me, without a single accident, without a door chewed or a wall scratched or a pillow destroyed. So much for assessments that yellow-flag her as having separation anxiety!! This girl is right at home and that's all she cares about.

Happy International Women's Day, Sadie. You are one courageous girl.

The Universe is unfolding as it should

I have always been a believer that things have a way of working out for the best. Sometimes when faced with a difficult decision one has to have the patience and faith to just wait a little while and the right choice will emerge. Or when something wonderful is lost, it sometimes paves the way for something equally wonderful to appear. And so it is with dogs.

I miss my Caleb. I miss him a lot. And then into my life comes Sadie. I didn't have to go looking - she needed a home and I was there. From the moment she walked in the door she belonged here.

The first sign was when the cat didn’t even make her great big saucer eyes at Sadie or arch her back and her tail, as she usually does when a newcomer invades the house. Allie just sauntered past, gave her a sniff and went right on with her business of persuading me that I am starving her. And today, for the first time EVER, I found Allie lying side by side with a dog – with Sadie. The universe is unfolding.......

I was a little anxious about taking in a dog I'd never met. When I picked her up after her transport, I was told she was “yellow flagged” for separation anxiety. So today I did a few very short departures where I left her in the house while I went out to the barn, or down the road for the mail. No problem. No barking, no whining, she just waited inside for me. Then late this afternoon I left her for over an hour. I came home, parked at the top of the drive, tiptoed to the house and peeked in the windows. There’s Charley, fast asleep on the couch. And Belle, fast asleep in one of the big dog beds. And Sadie, separation-anxiety Sadie, fast asleep on my bed. The universe is unfolding....

It is always important to me to crate train a dog so that if ever they must be confined they will consider it a “safe place” not a punishment. I start the process gradually, by feeding them right next to a crate. At each meal I move the feed dish further inside, until eventually they have to go all the way in to eat. Then I start closing the door for a few minutes at a time, and so on.

Sadie was having her third meal here this evening, so the feed bowl was just partly inside the crate – far enough that she had to put the front half of her body in to eat. She was fine with that. And half an hour later, as I was checking my email, I suddenly realized that there was a black furry beastie in the crate by my desk --- Sadie!!! She had gone right inside of her own accord and was softly snoring away. The universe is unfolding.....

I know she misses her family and wonders when they will come for her. She runs to the patio door and looks out with anticipation when a car goes by. When I go to the back door, she quickly trots down the hall, head and tail high, full of anticipation that mom and dad are here. When she looks out the door and sees no one, her tail drops and she stands on the threshold looking about with a puzzled expression.

But slowly she is realizing that this is home now. She already loves the pasture and runs to the gate when we go outside. Today she was pushing her nose into the pasture grasses trying to catch the poor little field mice – just as Charley does. I don’t think there’s any doubt that I will be failing at fostering and will adopt this girl. She was just meant to be here. The universe is unfolding.....

And that brings me to one last “the universe is unfolding” story: Two of Caleb’s littermates, also seized by the SPCA for neglect in 2006, have been returned by their adopters and are back in the rescue/shelter system once again. Two brindle girls, sweet and loving like Caleb. One in an SPCA, one in a foster home. I was already making inquiries about them when Sadie suddenly came into my life. I had already set up an appointment to meet one of them, and I kept that appointment this morning.

I was sitting on the couch in the foster’s home when Macy, Caleb’s sister, came over to me and planted herself between my legs just as Caleb did, leaning her back against me. And suddenly, she raised her head and gave me one of the most wonderful, amazing pitti-lab face-washing kisses! I totally melted! And so the dilemma: could I manage four dogs, two of which are new to the household and whose true personalities may not emerge for several months? (It takes anywhere from three to six months for their full personality to emerge when they have been through a traumatic event and rehomed).

And so I contacted Macy’s rescue and told them my dilemma. And they let me know someone else is also interested in this sweet girl. And so we shall trust providence....if she melts the other family’s hearts the way she did mine, then she should go with them. And if not, then the rescue knows I would like to try her here. If it’s meant to be, it will be.

Meanwhile, there is a lovely brindle pitti-mix girl named Edie at the Victoria SPCA still looking for her forever home. I’d love to see both girls get perfect forever homes – they have been through so much already. It’s time for their universe to unfold as it should.

And Okanagan Collie Rescue??? I think Sadie has found her forever home.

Sadie says hello

Sadie

Hi. My name is Sadie and I have been having kinda a bad time lately.

I grew up with a loving family, and they taught me how to be a well behaved dog. Then they fell upon very hard times and things got worse and worse until we were all homeless, living in a car – my humans, the cat, and me. We were in a cold place, too, so it was not very comfortable.

But my humans loved me very much, and eventually they knew this could not continue and so they tearfully took me to the SPCA and said goodbye to me. They didn’t want to, but they knew that they could no longer look after me.

I didn't like it there. There were lots of scared, confused dogs barking. I shared a kennel with a very nice dog and the people were very kind to me, but it wasn’t home and my family was gone, and my heart was hurting, and people who came to adopt a dog passed me by because of my age. Most people don't want seniors even though we are very , very nice!

Then one day there was a phone call. I heard the human at the SPCA talking to someone from Okanagan Collie Rescue. OCR said they would get me out of the kennel and find a nice place for me to stay.

So last night someone put me in a van and we drove all night long! Early this morning I arrived at another SPCA. I didn’t know what was going on, so that was scary too even though the humans there were very kind and reassuring. But I barked and barked and barked until they brought me inside instead of leaving me in the kennel outside. Then I barked some more before going to sleep.

But then this afternoon, a nice woman arrived. She said she was my foster mama and that I was going to live with her. We got in her car and drove some more, and then we stopped. She took me into a vet’s office, but I didn’t have to see the vet. I just had to stand on the scale. I weigh 87 pounds!!! My foster mom says I have to lose about 30 pounds. Ooops.

Back in the car again. Again we stopped. We got out of the car, and the nice woman opened the door to her house, and was I ever surprised!!! There is a dog who looks JUST LIKE ME!!! Well, a skinnier version of me! Hahahahaha – that is so funny. It is the first time I have laughed in a long while.

Sadie and Charley


And you should see this place! The house is little and old, and the barn is kinda funny looking, but it is a FARM!!! I’m a FARM dog!!! I met some piggies and didn’t bark at them at all. And there’s a funny looking large white thing my new mama says is an alpaca (never heard of that!). And there’s another little dog here too – looks kinda like us but much smaller and a different colour. And there’s a cat too – and she LIKES me!!! She came right up and sniffed me and she thinks I’m pretty nice. I think she’s nice too. She’s not scared of me at all!

And after I had my nice dinner, we all went for a walk in the pasture. That was fun, and I was very well behaved and didn’t have to be on leash cuz I come when I hear my name – or at least stop and look. Hahahaha! I got stared at by two llamas in the next field, but they didn’t sound an alarm cuz they know my foster mama doesn’t let us dogs bother them.

Llamas checking out the newcomer

Three dogs in the pasture


I miss my family very much, but I think I’m gonna like it here. I will try to be very, very good. Maybe my foster mama will adopt me!

I hope my other family is well and that life gets better for them. I hope they know I am okay. I’m sending them kisses on the wind. Maybe if everyone would help blow those kisses north, they will get there. Please?

Sadie

New Incoming!!

After work today, I will be picking up Sadie, a senior border collie/rough collie cross I will be fostering for Okanagan Collie Rescue. She has quite the story to tell (which she will tell you later, as I still have a stack of prep to do for my 8:30 class!).
I have a feeling Charley may tell me she's a keeper - take a look at this:

SADIE

CHARLEY

Matching bookends!!! (However, Charley says SHE would never be caught with little pink bows in her fur!!! That's much too girly-girl for this farm dog :) )

Belle the Shetland Sheep(Pig)dog

Shelties, also known as Shetland Sheepdogs, were traditionally used for herding sheep. We don’t have any sheep here (though my landlord has tried to persuade me to get some in order to keep the pasture trimmed), but we do have pigs.

And today was Belle’s first time intermingling with the piggies. I won’t go so far as to say she was actually “herding” them (and Janice the piggy lady would have my head if I did let the dogs chase the piggies around willy-nilly), but she certainly demonstrated the instinct is there!

At first she cautiously approached them and measured them, observing that they are a bit bigger and a lot heavier than she is. Then she got a little friendlier, checking out their butts and snouts, and ending with a sharp Sheltie bark to say “HI!”
And then as the piggies started their usual games of chase and root and snuffle and chase some more, Belle decided to join in the act.

"Watcha finding there?"


As little piggies tore around the yard, Belle was right there – but instinct took over as she moved to the outside of the herd and gently eased them closer together by running in a circular motion. They, of course, were oblivious since they were just a bunch of very happy, lively piggies playing tag with each other, quite comfortable in the presence of my dogs.

Next she decided to check out Scotch. Not such a good idea, Belle – he’s MUCH bigger than you and much pushier when he wants to be. She barked a time or two until Scotch started to get a bit huffy, at which point I picked her up and moved her away.

Belle meets Scotch

And then I learned something about my deaf little Belle. I had been trying to get her to sit using a gentle hand on her back end. But as I went to lift her from Scotch, I put my hand on her chest just back of her front legs and she went into a perfect sit! Coincidence? Nope – I tested it out five times over the next ten minutes, and every time I put my hand on her chest, she sat ever so nicely!!

Not only did she sit, but she then understood that she must STAY sitting until I signaled for her to come. And so, we had it – Belle sitting perfectly still while the pigs hovered around her, no more barking or chasing or trying to nudge them. She sat, she watched, she only got up when I gave her the “come” sign.

Sitting with the piggies


And so she has now graduated to being out in the yard with Charley and the pigs and me. What a good girl!!!

"This is fun"

Ummmmm....Piggies, we need to talk!!

Apparently, there is a plot afoot. This morning I uncovered an interesting set of emails in which the piggies confess to having been in the house while I slept. One read, in part, "Pwease don’t tell Foster Mama we was using the 'puter – she is asleep and doesn’t know we snuck in here to see what a couch is like to sleep on, but there’s a doggy on it. An the doggy doesn’t share. We’s goin back to the barn now."

Why would they want to know what a couch is like to sleep on, you ask? Well maybe it is because of the ideas a certain "Auntie Ewwen" is putting in their heads. It appears to be in response to this:

WELLLLLLLLL, I have it on good authority that your Foster Mama is going to a “class” on Saturday, a class where girls can learn how to use tools and you know what????? Those tools can be used to build houses. So I think she is taking the class to learn to build a house for you, one with a comfy bedroom and a proper bathroom with a TOILET which you will have to learn to use so she doesn’t have to shovel poop so much.
I think the new house might also have a TV and a play room in it for you little ones and a kitchen and a living room for Mama Soda and Papa Scotch, where we can have fancy drinks with little umbrellas in them. Oh, and I saw in the newspaper that Mama and Papa have placed an ad for more servants for the house. But piggies, don’t let them take away my exciting delivery job of bringing you greens or I’ll be very sad. But I understand if your new big house will require more servants. There is a certain Auntie Janice that I’m sure would also like to keep her job at your house being the Cookie Lady. And of course your Foster Mama wouldn’t give up her job in the kitchen and as the Puter to Bedder Lady.
All we have to do now is find someone to clean up your bathrooms, that is of course unless……………… do you think you guys could learn to squat over the toilet and flush???

So, clearly the piggies and I need to have a little chat. And since they apparently know how to use a computer, I expect they are also reading the blog. So:

Piggies , I know that I promised you a very comfortable life, but just because I brought home a piggy poster (“Piggy Wisdom”) for your wall, this does not mean that you should now be planning for a TV, a couch, coffee tables, indoor refrigerator, popcorn popper, and the assistance of an interior decorator to plan the paint scheme and pull it all together.

You do realize that I am supporting a family of 17 (one human and 16 critters) on my sole salary and have other finanacial responsibilities as well? And that renovations cost money? And having furniture in the barn would mean first of all insulating it, re-roofing it, and having the wiring redone?

So unless you have a personal “IN” with a man named Ty who does Extreme Makeovers on television, I think you better scale back your expectations and be content with the poster and the straw and the nutritious food and treats. ‘Cuz it just ain’t gonna happen, piggies, it ain’t gonna happen.

Love, Foster Mama

What a beautiful day today!!!

The sky is clear blue, the sun is shining brightly, the birds are singing.....it is an absolutely gorgeous day. Unfortunately, I am up to my eyeballs in midterms and assignments, but with a bit of luck it may be warm enough to pull the adirondack chairs out of storage and sit in the yard to do the marking, distracted (of course) by piggies and dogs at play!

Hopefully, my friend Colleen will be dropping by to visit the piggies and me (and the dogs!), and later this afternoon the piggies hope to see their Auntie Ellen with a big bag of lettuce leaves and other greens, as they are once again right out of them. They are not starving - in addition to their very healthy Mazuri Potbellied Pig feed, this morning they also had chopped apples and carrots, alfalfa, hay, and some leftover vegetarian lasagna (they LOOOOVE pasta!).

I took my camera out with me when the dogs and I went for our morning walk in the meadow. Both dogs were groomed yesterday and I really wanted to get some pictures...but, Murphy's Law presided, and just as we got to the top of the rise the batteries on the camera died.

Here, however, are some pictures taken just after the grooming. Note the Charley series......very funny, Charley!


Belle


Belle, the runway model!


Belle


Charley and Belle


Clean Charley


Charley


Charley


Not-so-clean Charley!

Emma

Emma, Feb 29/08

Emma is a three year old yellow lab who lives with my ex. Unfortunately, the courts consider dogs to be property, not family members. Therefore, when a divorcing couple have two dogs and contest who should get one or both of them, the courts will generally order each person gets one . “The best interests of the child” doesn’t apply to canine “children”. And so Charley came with me, and Emma stayed with my ex.

But this entry is not to air dirty laundry about a nasty divorce or complain about an archaic court system. It is about Emma, a happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy lab. Did I mention she is a very happy lab????

Three years ago, while I was searching rescues and shelters for a young yellow lab to add to our family , my then-husband walked in the door with a little wriggling pup bought from a back yard breeder. [Unclench gritted teeth here – we’ll deal with why NOT to support back yard breeders in another post another time!]. She had entropion, a condition in which the eyelashes turn inward and scratch the surface of the eye, so he got her at a bargain price since she would require (rather expensive!) surgery. But she was a sweetheart.

Emma, age 3 months

I was just beginning an eight-month sabbatical, so was an “at-home” mom to Emma and (don’t tell my employers) spent an inordinate amount of time training her, socializing here, playing with her, and simply being amused by her when I should have been working on my research. And it was fun. It was an experience to remember. Although I’d had many dogs, it was the first time I’d really been able to attend to training a dog well, to research training methods as well as health and nutritional and socialization issues, and to become totally besotted with the daily life of a pup.

Emma and her daycare buddies - May 2005

I was told by several people that labs are puppies until they are about eight years old; that it is rather like having a perpetual toddler or a child with ADHD; that they are smart but very, very, very active. Right on all counts. But those people forgot to mention lovable, endearing, huggable, affectionate, eager to learn, very food motivated, and just plain cute as a button. We spent lots of time playing and walking and running and swimming and training -- a tired dog is a good dog!

Emma's favourite activity

Tired Emma. Dec 2005

Quickly, she learned to sit, stay, wait, come, heel, leave it, and generally to be an active but well behaved pup. She could still cause mischief, but most of the time she knew her boundaries and respected them.

"Watcha readin' mom? - Noooooo, I'm not trying to get the popcorn! Me?????" March 2006

Under the terms of our divorce agreement I get to see my Emma for 30 minutes one day a month in my ex’s backyard. It’s not much but it is better than nothing. And I stubbornly and insistently exercise that right.

"Mom! You came!!" December 2006 - Emma's second birthday

"Your serve, mom!" November 2007

Emma is healthy and just as bouncy as ever, though I suspect she is lonely without a doggy companion during the long hours she is left in the backyard while my ex works. [Unclench jaw; no, I do not support leaving dogs alone in the backyard!]

Her exuberance when she sees me warms my heart; her insistence we play ball is relentless; her eagerness to run through the routines I taught her is gratifying; and her appetite for the tasty morsels of dried liver and other treats in my pocket is unending.

"It's not yucky, Mom - throw it again!" February 2008

I miss having my Emma in my life every day. I worry about her. I know she is loved, I know she gets fed regularly and has warm shelter both inside and out, I know she does spend time every day with her dad, sleeps on his bed and is likely spoiled rotten when he is home. But dogs are pack animals and Emma, in particular, is a little social butterfly who was used to lots of company (canine and human), who attended daycare on days when we both had to be away from home for a long time, who loved walks in off leash parks. And I love her. Leaving her was one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life. And I cherish those 30 minutes, once a month, that I get to spend with her.

I don’t write much about her because it is painful to do so. But my friends ask after her, and my time with her is so special, and so I wanted to share these pictures of my Emma. She deserves a place on this blog.

Love ya Ems.

The Bears are Back

Well, winter is officially over. Yesterday the llama next door sounded his distinctive alarm cry as he stared at the field across the road. I followed his line of sight, and there it was: a black bear.

Last spring we had as many as seven at one time in our neighbourhood. Generally they are in the empty fields and old orchard across the street, but occasionally they wander into someone's yard or pasture, or take a little stroll down the road.

They will clamber over fences, and on more than one occasion I have spotted them in my fields. Martin, the alpaca, always sounds the alarm and unless they are blocking his path, will rush up to the gate that divides my yard from the pasture. I'm never sure if he is rushing to me for protection, or preventing me from going into the pasture when danger is near. I open the gate to let him through, and he stands with me until Mr. or Ms. Bear wander away again.

The most dangerous bears are the yearlings - they have the strength to do much damage but haven't yet developed the smarts to flee from humans. The one across the street was a yearling.

Shortly before I moved here, the previous tenant had let garbage accumulate in the barn and a bear came onto the property and was trying to break down the barn door. Last year, I came home from work to find a bear at the end of my driveway contemplating whether to climb the gate to pick fresh hazelnuts from my trees or head over to the fields and apple trees across the way. Fortunately the apples won.

I worry about the piglets, but hope there is safety in numbers and that the number of fences between public property and their piggy yard is enough to deter bears in an area where other sources of food are plentiful. Certainly the coyotes that visit almost daily have made no attempt to bother either the piggies or the alpaca, and in fact seem to live quite harmoniously with Martin who neither sounds the alarm nor acts afraid. In fact, he has been seen to lie down in the sunshine not 10 feet away from Mr. Coyote.

I shall be ever vigilent for the next few months, and especially the next few weeks as hungry bears search for food on bushes that have not yet born fruit.

Life in the country is certainly never boring!

Country Living

Charley at sunrise

For a woman who spent the first 35 years of her life in small to mid sized cities, I’m not sure where my love of country life comes from. I suspect it has something to do with the fun I always had at Brownie and Guide camps and camping with my family. There is nothing like the cool crisp morning air, the sounds of nature, the huge expanse of sky, the scent of the plants – both growing and decaying - to awaken the senses.

Take this morning, for example. Belle decided that 5:30 was the perfect time to get up, so by six o’clock, just as dawn was breaking, we were out in the barns feeding the piggies and getting ready for the day. The warm musty smell of twelve piggies amidst the straw and blankets, the oofs and erfs and squeaks and squeals as they greet me, the click of Belle’s nails on the wooden barn floor bring a sense of peace and purpose to the morning.

Out in the pasture, Belle and Charley and I enjoy our walk to the top of the rise. There we sit, watching the mist rise from the fields across the way, the sun’s weak rays washing a yellow glow over the pasture and casting the still-bare trees into silhouette. As we wend our way back down the trail, I breathe in the smells of the damp growth around the creek and listen to the music of hundreds of birds beginning their day. In just fifteen minutes, I see sparrows and Stellar jays, chickadees, swallows, robins, a female mallard, a flock of starlings, and two Northern flickers. A large hawk or young bald eagle flies high overhead, and a blue heron takes flight from the pond next door.

Last night, when I returned home from downtown Vancouver where I had dinner with my daughter and son-in-law, I stepped out of my car to hear the frogs filling the air with their music after the silence of winter hibernation, and I stood for ten minutes gazing at the cloudless night sky lit by millions of brilliant, twinkling stars.

I love my daughter and son-in-law deeply, and their new home is beautiful. The dinner was amazing (it's great to have a son-in-law who is a chef and a daughter who is an awesome cook in her own right!), the company wonderful, and the view from their new condo spectacular.

But even if I was guaranteed the winning ticket on the next big lottery, I wouldn’t trade my star-filled night sky and the sounds of nature for their city lights and sounds of traffic. I am truly a country woman to the core.

A morning conversation with the piggies

Me: (feeding pieces of apple through the slats in the stall as two or three of the most boisterous ones vie for attention): "Don’t be such piggies!"

Them: “But Foster Mama, we are piggies!”

Me: (as Toddy stays standing at the slat so no others can reach my hand): “Quit being a hog! You have to share the space!”

Toddy: “Silly Foster Mama, I’m not a hog, I’m a pig!”

Me: (As Soda stubbornly refuses to move out of the doorway, despite my repeated requests of “Excuse me Soda I need to get by”) “Soda you are so pig-headed!"

Soda: “And your point is??? I’d look pretty silly with any other kind of head.”

And then there is ever polite, ever stable Scotch. He took one look at the rain and decided not to join the others for the greens outside. As I slipped back through his stall to the interior of the barn, he looked up at me with those beautiful, soulful eyes.
“Got a a minute?” he asked.
“Sure Scotch, do you need some affection?” said I.
“Yes please. A little belly rub and a song, please.” So I rub his belly and sing him his sunshine song, and he lifts his snout to my face:
“Thanks mom. I love you.”
“Love you too, Scotch.”