Frog Meets Snake, Dog Meets Fence

While we were working on a willow fence out back by the pond today, Lynda spotted a snake in the pond. Soon after I declared that our frogs were too big for that snake, the snake must have taken that as a challenge because he got a frog by his presumably delicious frog’s leg. (Tastes like chicken?) He held on long enough for me to run (okay, walk briskly) inside to get my camera.

Just as I was despairing about the cruelty of the universe and/or realizing it’s all part of Nature’s Grand Pageant / Life’s Rich Tapestry, a burst of violent, valiant thrashing about and the frog was free! He fled to the middle of the pond and hung there, looking a bit blue in the face, one leg dangling unnaturally. A nearby tadpole says “Dude, at least you have legs!”

Meanwhile, work continued on the first section of our willow fence, meant to dissuade Cody from tearing up the scenery where I worked so hard to get grass growing again. If he can confine his mad dashes to the wood-chip path, we’ll all be happy. We do love to watch him run.

R.I.P. Bell, 2002-2016

Oh boy, this is hard… we had to say goodbye to our sweet Bell today. She was all out of life, but too much of a bulldog to admit it. We didn’t think she would make it to Christmas, back in 2014. She got TWO more Christmases under her belt, as it turned out.

Bell was a very sweet puppy. She was part of a litter of Valley Bulldogs that were so similar in appearance, that one time we brought home the wrong puppy from doggy daycare at the breeder’s. But we got that straightened out. Pretty sure.

Bell was the last of the fabulous furry foursome, Silver, Tiger, Bell, and Lucy. It’s going to be so strange to not use the plural: time to feed the dogs, shall we take the dogs for a walk, etc. I used to walk them in shifts: big-big, then little-little, or sometimes big-little, then the other big-little. I think matched-size pairs worked best.

Bell was happy to hang out with me, especially around meal times, but if we’re being honest she was Lynda’s dog. Bell became especially important to Lynda during the time her daughter was away at school, and Lucy and I were still at the condo during the week. They had a very strong, almost mother-daughter bond.

It was devastating to have to say goodbye. I’m so glad we all had some quality time near the end, even as she was starting to struggle, walking, breathing, in a way we knew we couldn’t allow to go on much longer.

Night night sweet Bell.

Baltimore Oriole, Nuthatch, Grosbeak, etc.

Spring Birds and Squirrel

Woodchip Mountain

♫ Oh to live on, Woodchip Mountain ♫

Barely made a dent in Woodchip Mountain, but I’ll be back… It disappears quicker than you’d think possible… people love free mulch…

Cody vs cushion

Cody vs cushion – we have a winner!

Cody gets a little excited just before kibble time…

(HDR via Nik Efex Pro)

April (Snow) Showers

April 2, 2016 – Late season snow flurries in the backyard, getting all over the dogs. Music is “Afternoon of a Fondue” by me. (Whole song here: https://youtu.be/abv_-F38yHw )

(YouTube link: https://youtu.be/IqtFcVUSrqY )

Apr 6, 2016 – Seriously April? Again with the snow? (Music from a work in progress called “A Matrix of Subs”).

(YouTube link: https://youtu.be/wJFVdnrAtjs )

Bell vs Garbage Can Lid

I stepped out into the workshop for less than one hour. When I came back into the house, I immediately noticed the small garbage can in the laundry room was tipped over. It normally only holds lint from the dryer, but this time it also happened to hold the remains of an empty can of goldfish food, which is apparently also of interest to dogs. I went to set things right, but soon realized the garbage can lid was missing. Oh wait, there it is. Around Bell’s neck. She may be old and feeble, but she’s not beyond a few hijinx…

Run For Your Lives!

I was out for final pee of the night with the doggies last night, in the middle of the ice storm, under our enormous willow tree, when I heard a large CRACK like a rifle shot. I threw my hands over my head, so as not to get killed, and Cody ran for the gate, Bell and I right behind.(Bell is deaf, so she probably didn’t understand the urgency). We skedaddled in time, but literally five seconds after we made good our escape, on the path back to the house we heard ANOTHER loud crack. This morning we saw the evidence, two rather large branches came down RIGHT WHERE WE WERE STANDING!!! (You’d “shout” too if you were me). Oy.

Neighbour’s whole tree came down in the ice storm. Fortunately it was leaning into the open area of his yard, and not the other way, which would have taken out our fence and sheds.