Birthdays come and birthdays go....

Yes, I am a year older, for sure, and wiser (huh?).  Had a great birthday full of laughter, good friends, and lots of fine foods.  Of course, none were really healthy choices except for the home made applesauce.  My husband is the cook in the family and created an outstanding meal.  I feel very thankful for his high quality expertise in the kitchen.  

TCM had Godspell on Easter afternoon, and having done that musical twice with our music students, it was a nice treat to hear all the selections not slashed to pieces with commercials, as is usually done on television these days.  A thumbs up to TCM for realizing the importance of flow in a movie, and understanding that hearing about medicine concerning maintaining an erection is not something needed to be heard during the Last Supper.
Thank you, TCM.

Happy Easter!

Photos

Time Change

It's that time of the year when we all reset our clocks and slip into a jet lag sort of feeling for three or four days.  Still, it is uplifting to have that extra hour of daylight in the afternoon.  I find it so annoying that society makes rules to mess with the time twice a year.  It is as if someone gets high on the power trip of being able to "control" nature, including the sleeping patterns of most every US citizen.  I love the little pockets of places in the US that refuse to adhere to this silly concept.  The Universe is set up to run smoothly, and when we don't try to change it, our bodies are healthier, and our lives flow along with less stress and angst.  

This has been a tough winter but one filled with great beauty, too.  Some of the harshest New England storms have brought us brisk days of shimmering beauty to admire as we dig our ways out of our homes, storm after storm.  It isn't all bad.

Take care,

Gardeningartist

How a border collie problem solves:

He stares, he pounces, he tries to clutch it, he opens WIDE, and off he goes.

GO ZAC!!!

You know you're getting old when....

You know you are getting old when you spend an afternoon working outside in the cold and come in feeling wasted.  My husband and I do not recover from activities like this as well as we used to.

On the positive side, we got the little ramp pictured above completed a week or two ago, and finally got an outside ramp off the small deck completed today.  For Lucy, our sheltie that is slowly going blind, this makes things much easier for her.  It is worth the work to have her feeling more secure.  The dog in the photo is Sam, our little "Messy Marvin".  He said we did a pretty good job with the ramps and he gives his approval.  

Take care,

gardeningartist

What a difference.....

What a difference a day makes.  Today we had bright sunshine all day, and with our passive solar airtight little home, used no fuel except for the sun's heat.  Being in a cold wintery climate, a day with no heating bills is a pleasant gift.  This afternoon, while many folks are burning oil, we were so warm we actually had to open the door for ten minutes to let some of the heat out.  It got up to 35 degrees outside, but inside we were close to 80 degrees.  No solar panels, no equipment.  By just building our home facing south, into the side of a small hill, only one small window on the north side, and huge windows on the south side, 6 inch insulated walls, and a well insulated attic, we stay very warm on sunny days. We use our wood stove on other days, and at night.  3 cords of hardwood is all we need.  When the power goes off, we are still warm.  Just imagine how much less oil, gas, and electricity the country would use if every home was built with these specifications?  Wow.  A positive thought to ponder.

Hope you all are comfortable wherever you are.

Snow and Ice Day

We are having a pretty tough winter this year, but one of the nice things is my husband gets a day off and we get to enjoy the day together.  The freezing rain makes travel difficult, so it is just smarter and more enjoyable to stay in our little home, enjoy the toasty wood fire, and enjoy the moment.  Thankfully, we have not lost our power, so can snuggle in, watch some movies, and enjoy our dogs.

Poor Sam, our little male "messy Marvin" sheltie had a seizure the other evening, his 3rd in three years, so we had to rush down to visit the emergency vet in Portsmouth, NH.  Thankfully, an IV with Diazepam works quickly, and on the way home, he was just fine.  Still, it seems a terribly long ride to the emergency center when my little boy is in distress.  Our regular vet has now given us some Diazepam pills so we can treat him immediately and cut down on the time he has to be in distress.  I am just very thankful he is okay, and thank God we are able to still hug him and care for him.  Our dogs are so important to us.

With the bad weather, my husband is having an open agility practice this evening.  A few dogs and handlers have an agility event this weekend, and need to have a chance to work with the equipment, especially since bad weather cancelled last week's classes.  Presently, the weather is all rain, without any icy mix, so some handlers will certainly want to take advantage of the free practice time, while others will feel more comfortable not having to brave the weather.  Thank Goodness we have a nice large building for all to use.  Our students say their dogs really perk up when their owners turn their vehicles into our driveway and up the long steep driveway.  The dogs know they are going to have lots of fun, and get some much needed exercise.

Time to snuggle in and enjoy this unplanned gift of all being together.  May you all stay safe and happy.

Take care,

Gardeningartist

Bath Time!

Saturday morning was bath time for our dogs, all six of them!  Bathing six long haired dogs is not something we can rush.  Of course, we end up using every towel in the house, and the floors are still sopping wet, but things get all straightened out eventually.  Since we heat with wood and sunshine, the dogs are able to dry out nicely before the dog door is allowed to be accessed.  Winter fur takes longer to dry since it is so full and dense.

Today our dogs smell heavenly....well as heavenly as a pack of wet dogs can smell...lol.  We got around 4 inches of snow, and the dogs went in and out of the house all day, bringing most of the wet stuff right into the house with them.  Our Collies and Shelties love the snow, and get a kick out of burrowing under it to cool down, then heading directly for the dog door, to be inside when they shake.  How nice of them to share with us so many many many times in one day!  

My husband and I spent a wonderful Sunday together with our dogs and birds, and felt totally relaxed and content in our tiny home.  Ralph did some preliminary work on our taxes, and I washed a big load of sopping towels, followed by yet another.  Ralph started up our old tractor and plowed back the new snow that fell in the driveway, and I did the cooking (reheating, really)...baked beans, of course.  Very predictable New England cuisine.  We share our chores well, get things completed, and then snuggle in, play on our laptops and just enjoy the peaceful quiet of our home.  

Hope anyone who reads this is finding some time just to be still, embrace an hour of quiet, and discover that sometimes that is all that is needed to feel satisfied.  

Take care of yourselves!

Gardeningartist

Winter Wonderland

I guess I write about once a year, but that is okay.  No one is keeping score.

We got heavily pounded today with a foot of snow.  Schools were closed, so my husband and I spent a beautiful bonus day together.  I like it when the weather closes everything down and we are forced to experience a simpler sort of day, giving us unplanned time to catch our breaths.  It is a special gift.

With our old 1930-something Ford 9N tractor, my husband has plowed all the snow out of our long entrance driveway, our parking area, plus the whole area around our agility building.  He is now taking a quiet walk with three of our six dogs.  This will give him some precious time just to amble down the dead end road, listen to the stillness of the woods, and take in the beauty of the heavily laden fir branches spotlighted by the moon.  For city people, a solo walk in the snowy woods at night might seem a little lonely and spooky, but to us New England country folk, it is just another one of those super special treats that our remoteness has to offer.  

I am snuggled under a heavy comforter in our cozy wood-heated home, listening to my budgies chatter softly.  It is nice to enjoy the company of the three dogs (who chose not to walk), and to have some time to write down my thoughts.  This is one of those treasured moments of contentment in an often very chaotic world.  Mother Nature is forcing us to slow down and enjoy what we have.  At this moment, we need nothing more!

Our son...

Our very loved son is 35, lives in Manhattan, and likes to travel as much as possible. He is soon to take off to spend a year in exotic China. He chooses to experience the treasured cultural habits of each area he visits, instead of adopting the tourist frame of mind. At present, he is viviting us for a few weeks before his year abroad. He is an interesting, educated man who has friends all over the globe. We love spending time with him, sharing ideas on a wide array of topics. There is always plenty of humor involved in our conversations, too.

We feel blessed!

Let there be rain!

New England has rain in the forecast for today and most of next week. In a way, that is depressing, but in another way, much more acceptable than getting pounded with snow. Much easier to avoid the growing mud puddles than to shovel several inches of snow off the winding pathways. Our little house has a doggie door that exits to a very large fenced in play area for our dogs. This mean that six very wet, muddy, but loved creatures go in and out steadily, bringing in dirt, leaves, sticks, and all sorts of natural decorations to add a bit of "flavor" to my floors that are cleaned daily. Also, there is nothing like the smell of six wet dogs huddled around me off and on for a solid week. Since I am their pack leader, they are honoring me with their presence, albeit a very wet one.

These weekend days when my husband is home, and all the dogs are around us, are so special to me. One never knows when the whole scenario could change, so I absorb all the goodness of these moments with thankful enthusiasm. My husband is my soul mate and has been so for 36 years. We are so comfortable together, both so happy to be sharing our lives in such a positive way. Although the rain outside is drumming down heavily, it only adds another element to my feelings of great peace and security.

Let there be rain!

Homelife in Autumn

Fall is a beautiful time of year in New England. The air is clear, the nutty smell of the dried leaves heavenly. Temperatures in the 50's F are t-shirt days for stoics like us, but sweatshirts are kept handy for when the sun sets. All my tender crops are history for the growing season, but a few hardier roses and violets are still going strong. All our dogs romp joyously in the colorful back yard, so glad to leave the hot summer days behind. Since they all have very heavy coats, the crisp cold air is a wonderful relief for them. This creates a season I term "Happy Feet Season". My dogs just love to run, tumble, wrestle, and play without facing the malady of becoming over-heated.

If my husband and I had more money, we would most likely spend it on adopting more rescued dogs. Being simple New Englanders, we have all the materialistic things we need, and can't think of anything that gives us more happiness than keeping our six dogs groomed, fed, hugged, and exercised. Except fot their regular vet visits, we do all the bathing, brushing, and nail clipping ourselves here at home.

We recently purchased a new used doggie van, since our old one bit the dust. Now the dogs are hard at work "hairing up" the inside of the new van. They have to get it looking as lovely (by their specific standards) as the older van!

Our son joked one time that he would like to have signed us up for Extreme Home Makeover, so we could have more space for rescued dogs, but he knew that since we had built our own little home ourselves, stick by stick, we could never relish the thought of seeing it bulldozed to the ground. Our home is tiny, square, easy to heat with wood, and passive solar construction. Built into a hill, we have a direct window filled southern exposure. The shell of our little home is thickly insulated, and the windows coated to keep reflecting the heat back into the interior. We burn three to four cords of wood a winter, and are always toasty warm. Our older dogs like to lie in the sunbeams in our living room and let the heat warm their muscles. It is so relaxing for them.

I will close with a photo of our "children".

Take care,
Beth

Going to the Dogs!

My husband and I have six happy dogs, all rescues from different situations. Dogs take a lot of work and attention, but the rewards we receive from such attentive furry friends is nothing short of amazing. Well worth the effort. No matter what kind of day we are facing, the dogs can keep our frayed thoughts from wandering too far astray. My dogs can keep me focussed on the beautiful simplicity in my life.

I simply do not understand folks who tie their dogs out, keep them away from the family "pack", and just perceive them as materialistic things without feelings. It puzzles me, since dogs are pack animals and thrive well in a family unit. On my way shopping, I pass a home where two similar dogs are chained to their respective dog houses several feet from each other. There is always food and water for each dog, but this is basically their lives. They cannot interact with each other. They cannot play with the kids who are out playing. They just get to sit, pace, and fight boredom, day after day. The dogs are taken inside at night, then put back out the next morning.

Three of my dogs are on our bed right now. The border collie is chewing on a toy, the rough collie is sleeping, and the tiny sheltie is lapping my toes. The other 3 shelties are on the floor, encircling the bed. They have all done their chores for the day, had agility practice, gone for walks, played in the fenced yard, and now are just enjoying the pack feeling of belonging. With them around me, I feel safe, loved, and special.