a week of firsts

Thanks for the comments on my Harrier pictures. This blog just does not do them justice. The first one really is the better one.... very Robert Bateman.... but on some monitors it is too dark. I may blow it up and frame it.

It's been a week of firsts. Spring is finally arriving here in Central BC. The Sandhill Cranes are back .... the Mountain Bluebirds (I love this one ... he has a bug in his mouth ... I took this photo) ..... Oh yes, and the black bears. I didn't get a picture, but we saw him down by the river as we drove past the other day.

I've been waiting patiently for the hummingbirds to return, putting the feeder out perhaps a little too early (what's that white stuff?). And look at how the crazy thing hangs crooked like that. I've gotta figure out how to fix that.We also put the seed feeders up on a rope and pulley system that Art designed (for sneaky cat purposes). You can't really see it very well in this picture.This one's a little better. Hey, wait a minute..... what's that?could it be?.... YAHOOOO !!! My buddies are back. This little fellow made his first appearance at 8:00pm on Apr.30. You can almost set your watch to these guys. (sorry the pictures are a bit fuzzy. I took them through a smudgie nose-print covered window). Notice a few pockets of snow still in the background.Our mud is finally drying up, but not before Cleo had some fun playing in it. Art calls this her "Seven-of-Nine" look.On one of the morning walks, Xena found a super good treasure in the bushes. She was NOT willing to share this with Cleo.The cats are still not too warmed up to Cleo. She does terrorize them a little, so it might be a long process. I'm hoping that this morning ritual of them eating their breakfast while she sits and watches will help with that.I want her to know they are part of the pack. I'd just let them all work it out amongst themselves if I could be sure she wouldn't do harm if she ever caught one. Time and patience.

Northern Harrier

This guy was hunting over our fields yesterday. This is my favourite of the pictures I took, but I can't decide which version I like best. What do you think?

today it feels like spring

Can you guess what I'm doing? Yup .... getting ready for hummingbirds. I'll put one feeder up today, just in case there are any early arrivals. Woot - woot ! My favourite part of summer.

visitors and doggies

It's been a busy couple of weeks. After Cleo arrived, we made a trip to Prince George. We took the mini-van because we were getting some plywood and also so that we could take both dogs.

Cleo travels differently than Xena, in that she pants heavily ... and continuously ... in my ear. Eventually, we had to clip their leashes to the rear seatbelt holders, just to keep them at the back of the vehicle.Viki warned us that Cleo likes to bark at oncoming vehicles as they pass. She did do that .... once .... to a cop car. Yikes!

We got a present for Cleo while in PG. A heated bed for her dog house.Art also lined the bottom with some thick foam. She seems to like it.It was such a busy day, that Art didn't notice this until he got home. Do you see it?Art's been very busy in the shop, building a birthday gift for his brother. Until Cleo is shop-cat-trained, she's not allowed in there, but is VERY curious about what goes on. She just lays outside the door waiting for Art.Sometimes, she goes over to the makeshift cat door and sticks her head in.Xena wonders what she's doing."I don't think you should be doing that...."From the inside .... Boose is not too amused.Our friends from Prince Rupert .... RT and Rhoda with their dogs Tom and Molly .... came to spend the Easter weekend. It must have been confusing for Cleo because everything is still so new, but hanging out with a "pack" was good, I think.

They went for many long walks ........ and played a lot. Many naps ensued. If you look carefully you can see Molly sleeping behind Art's chair.The day that RT & Rhoda decided to leave it was doing this.As for the cats, there was one unfortunate incident where Cleo went after Ewie (my little white kitty) out in the yard. It scared me, so am making it my mission to acclimatize Cleo to her new feline family members. Blackie is clearly annoyed ........ but did not strike. Just layed down, but Cleo is DYING of curiosity.Normally, to avoid hysteria, I feed the cats before allowing Cleo into the house. This morning we started a new training idea. I want her to know that the cats are part of the pack, not something to chase and/or eat. She must integrate with them. So, after I prepared everyone's meals, Art brought Cleo into the room (on a leash), had her sit beside him at the table while I fed the cats in front of her. Of course, convincing the cats that it was safe took a little doing, but 2 of the 3 did come and eat. Cleo just watched. When they were done, then I fed Xena .... then Cleo. She is definitely not a dumb dog and is catching on quickly. I'm very pleased. When she does something right, we lavish her with praise and "scrootches". She knows.

The other thing we are having success with is that she must sit and wait while a door is opened and does not go barrelling through until invited. She just doesn't know her own strength, the big lug. We now spell the word W-A-L-K.

Xena's new sister

Viki and Ron arrived on Friday night and brought Xena's new sister, Cleo.She's a 4 year old Rottie and is kind of a bulldozer of a girl. For the most part they are getting along pretty well, with a few territorial imperatives to work out.I'm not worried, though. It's an adjustment for all, including the home and family that is now missing her.

Just by chance yesterday, our niece and boyfriend came to visit with their 4 dogs, so I'm sure Cleo thought she was in some sort of doggy resort. There was much running and chasing for the rest of the day.It was sad this morning when Viki & Ron had to go. Cleo cried for a little while. I think she was worried about where Viki had gone. After a few hours, Art took her and Xena for a long walk and she stuck close by.There was a little incident of chasing the shop cat out in the yard, but Cleo listened pretty good when Art told her "NO". I believe things are going to be just fine.

the month of March

That month went by fast. I've been so absorbed in my genealogy project that I haven't been paying too much attention to anything else. Art made 2 trips to Vancouver while I kept the home fires burning and did research on the computer. Data and statistics and puzzle solving....right up my alley. I had a birthday in there, too (we won't talk about which one, OK?). Thank you all for the nice wishes.

In between Art's two trips to Vancouver we were dog sitting Lucy.She's a very high energy Coon Hound, so having all the room to run was welcomed I'm sure. Her and Xena get along and sharing wasn't as much of an issue as it has been in the past.We practiced staying calm while in the house and she was starting to get the idea that the cats are not toys.It's funny because Ewie was the most afraid (at first) and he's the one who is best friends with Xena. You just never know who's gonna be friends with who. Kinda like people, I guess.The only real problem we had was when Lucy saw Boose, the shop cat, outside. All bets were off. At one point Lucy chased Boose up into the rafters of this shed. Can you see her there?How the hell did she get up there? From inside the shed you can see how she probably went.The next time, though, it was a chase across the yard. There was a lot of shouting, some hissing and spitting and scratching, and a little bit of yelping. Somebody was pretty subdued for the rest of the night.I think she could smell Sara in that chair.

So, now we await the arrival of Cleo, Xena's new sister. She will be here late tomorrow night. I'm a bit nervous. I hope everybody likes each other.

Xena was playing ball toss with Art the other day and suddenly was limping around. Her foot was bleeding like crazy, so we brought her into the house to have a look. Somehow she pulled a toenail right off!! Good Lord. I called the vet, but they said if the whole nail was gone that was better than only part of it because then they'd need to pull the remainder off. Their advice was to let her run around in the snow and let the cold cotterize it. It's been a couple of days now and there's no sign of infection or swelling. Just a bit tender and when Xena's outside she jams it in the snow. It must make it feel better. Poor baby.

Doesn't keep her from wanting to go for walks, though.

Speaking of snow....and walks.... these were taken this morning. Just before Art and Xena went for their morning walk. It's snowing like $*%#@. Doesn't it know it's April 2?