Rescue, Rehome, Reward

Penelope on Payment Lake

I'm thinking about Penelope today.  Her surgery to remove two tumors is scheduled for this morning. We have been fostering this 12 year old silver Weimaraner for a week and yesterday I brought her back to H.O.P.E. Animal Shelter so they could prepare her for the operation.

Penelope & Pete at H.O.P.E.

 RESCUE

Like Callie Blu, Penelope was surrendered by her first owners after a divorce.  Life circumstances prevented them from keeping her.  One can get angry with the owners; call them unkind or irresponsible, but that isn't the way to look at it. I  don't know the couples or their troubles, but I do know that the result is that 2 wonderful Weimaraners have joined our family this year.

Asher & Penelope - First Morning Walk

Some people like to call dogs like Callie and Penelope rescues.  I think this implies some sort of tragic, abusive, neglected previous life.  This characterization doesn't apply to either dog. They are both healthy, well-trained, good-looking pets and I know they were loved.  Callie Blu was with a wonderful foster mom for a year before she joined us.

3 Dogs on a Log at Net Lake

REHOME

I like to think of the dogs as being re-homed.  They moved from one home to ours. It's as if the pups finished their "projects" at their first home and came to ours to help us.

Penelope with the World in her Mouth

I agree with Mike Dooley's writings on the subject in his book, The Top Ten Things Dead People Want to Tell YOU

". . .their presence in your life is just one more invitation for you to love as you could not have loved otherwise, even as they teach you lessons of compassion, tolerance, patience, or whatever else you stand in need of."

Penelope = Play

" Animals absorb and react to the energy of those they live with. . .as reactors, they mirror the energies they receive. . . reflecting the patience, compassion, exuberance, anger, openness and shyness of those around them."

Pete & Penelope in the Woods

"Owners can always find 'themselves' in their pets."

Callie Blu & Penelope - Our Rewards

REWARD

". . .that you 'found' who you 'found' and that they 'found' you has deep meaning and occurs with flawless precision.  The world would not and could not have proceeded even one more day on the path it was on until each of you was present for the other, to be shaped by each other's love, to lean by each other's example, to teach, to laugh and to heal."

When I'm an old woman, my dogs shall behave while I pick blueberries

Tasha Tudor picking blueberries with her Corgis

When I purchased the Russian sage at 30% off from Stoney Creek I noticed their blueberry plants were also on sale.  Both Pete and I agreed we wanted more blueberry plants and I began wondering if I could plant them this late and have them established before the cold weather.

As I looked to my Wisconsin gardening books for answers I bumped into Tasha Tudor's Garden, one of my mother's gardening books that I had never really looked at.  As I paged through the book of beautiful pictures of Tudor's rural Vermont garden I was struck by the wide variety of plants she was able to grow in the harsh climate.  When I came across the photograph of her picking blueberries I was convinced I needed to get those blueberries. I had visions of quiet mornings of blueberry gathering with the dogs, but I was dressed a little differently than Tasha Tudor in my vision.

My dogs, unlike Tudor's Corgis, do not believe in patiently watching others; they like to participate.

Maddie Jo looking for berries

Madie Jo eating berries

I decided to get the blueberry plants now and worry about training the dogs about picking etiquette later. I bought five Northcountry blueberry plants and planted them on a little hill near a few pine trees.

Future site of Blueberry Hill

Northcountry Blueberries
photo from University of Minnesota

This variety comes from the University of Minnesota and is known for being hardy in colder climates. I planted two Northcountry plants last summer and both made it through the winter just fine. The bushes grow to be between 18 and 24 inches high and will be 30 to 40 inches in diameter. They are self-compatible which means they don't need another type of blueberry for pollination - bees are the main pollenizer. The literature recommends removing flowers during the first two years to encourage growth and plant strength. They need one application of acid-producing fertilizer a year, preferably ammonium sulfate.

In a few years Blueberry Hill
will be just like this.

The berries are produced on one-year-old wood. The branches need to be strong to hold the fruit. If you prune too much the wood is weakened and the crop is reduced. The bush should be kept open by cutting out weak, older stems. Blueberries will overproduce if all the flowers are left to develop. The weak branches that have a lot of flowers and few leaves should be removed. A good balance between berry production and growth of new shoots is key.

In a couple of years our plants should be producing medium sized berries with a mild sweet flavor. If the meantime, there are loads of wild blueberries to be picked if I can get them before the deer, birds and Weimaraners.

Tasha Tudor's Blueberry Coffee Cake

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup shortening

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon sale

2 cups blueberries

Topping

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup flour

1/2 cup cinnamon

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup pecans

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Grease and flour a 9 x 9 inch square baking pan.
3. In a mixing bowl, cream together the sugar and the shortening. Stir in the egg, and then the milk. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt and mix quickly. Then carefully fold in the blueberries.
4. Spread the batter in the pan. Combine all of the topping ingredients and sprinkle over batter. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes.

Blueberry picking is hard work!

Skunked!

Asher, Maddie Jo and I went for an early walk yesterday. Asher took off to explore while Maddie and I relaxed on the dock at Net Lake. Our peaceful morning was interupted by a burst of excited barking. Asher was about a hundred yards into the woods; his barking grew more intense with some growling as we approached.
I smelled it before I saw it. Asher was running circles around a medium sized skunk who was doing his best to keep his tail end pointed at the dog.
Asher was too frustrated to come to me, so I went after him and tried to stay out of the line of fire. We were both running circles around the skunk while Maddie Jo grazed the forest floor and completely ignored us. Finally, the skunk ran between my legs and stopped. I took the opportunity to grab Asher as he lunged at the animal and then carefully considered how to extricate myself. I think the skunk knew that I had Asher under control; after a bit he just waddled out from under me and on his way.

We walked back home and my eyes and nose were burning. Asher had been skunked by the skunk, and I had been skunked by Asher been I grabbed him and tried to get the leash on him.

How do you de-skunk a smelly Weimarner? First we tried a combination recommended on the Internet of hydrogen peroxide, liquid soap and baking soda.

Sudsy Asher

Beth between bathings

After two rounds of sponging, sudsing, rinsing and drying Asher still smelled like Pepe Le Pew and I was soaked.

Asher waiting for
his shower.

Dr. Bronner's Soap -
no magic today.

So, then we decided to try Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Soap.  This soap can do amazing things, but after our shower Asher smelled like a skunk dipped in mint.









The next step? A call to our neighbors, Dan and Jean. Their suggestion was a twist on the old tomato juice remedy - no, not bloody marys, but tomato paste and water.  Back to the shower to paint the dog red.

Another remedy.

Back to the shower.

Will this work?

Was the smell going away or were we getting used to it? He was pungent enough to spend the rest of the day outside.

Banished outside

"I don't smell that bad,
do I?"

"Oh yes you do!
We're staying down here."