Day is Done
Thursday evening.
Day is Done.
Archive for ‘May, 2015’
Midweek
End of Wednesday and “ALL IS WELL” !!
I’m still working on a synopsis of last week, but this week is flying by.
It was supposed to be cool and rainy.
We got barely a sprinkle yesterday and now, it is a tiny bit cooler, but no rain in sight. We really need a good rain. I know that I should probably be careful what I wish for, but at this time of year, I’d rather it be too wet than too dry.
However, it is not something I can control.
Meanwhile, all is very well in the fambly Summers.
Here, there and everywhere…
All is good this Wednesday evening.
Midweek.
Day One post fox encounter
It is always hard to let go.
I know the statistics for outside cats.
Gus and Bob both beat them. I hope Auggie does also.
When I got my first cat, Gus, I thought he’d be an inside cat. But he made it VERY clear from early on that he wanted to be outside.
Bob came to my house as an outside cat.
Auggie, as did Gus, made it clear that he wanted to go in an out.
So.
Gah!
It is hard. Especially so after an encounter with wild things.
I love the darn critters so much and yet I also want them to LIVE…and so I’ve let Auggie be an in and out cat and every time he goes out, I hope he comes back unscathed.
So far, so good.
We are in for the night…well, Auggie is in. Bear and I will go out twice more…on leash.
Day One post fox encounter.
And the morale of the story is: Stay close to your Beardog!
First, we are all fine :)!
Second, this is another “Wild Kingdom” story and I am unsure if there were any victims…
Onward.
About 10:30 a.m. (Sunday morning), I went out intending to do some yard chores. Bear came with me. Auggie was out somewhere. Bear was extra excited and could barely stand still for his collar which is unusual. Then we heard noises of an animal in distress. It sounded like a bird.
Bear started barking and his hackles were up but thankfully he came to me and I leashed him on the 3 foot lead I keep in my pocket for such events.
We went toward the sound which was coming from the state land. Halfway there I tripped over a rock and went down but thankfully on softish ground. I got up quickly and there was Auggie trotting toward home and about 50 feet behind is a fox and it is making the sound Bear and I heard. The fox was moving toward Auggie but it is trotting also, i.e. not running. Bear is ballistic by now, but not pulling me badly.
The fox saw Bear and me and turned around away from us. Auggie kept moving toward the house, but he was not running and he was moving normally, i.e. did not look injured. Bear quieted and then the fox turned back toward Auggie. I yelled, Bear barked and the fox turned away again.
By now, Bear and I were between Auggie and the fox. Bear wanted to go the fox direction but came with me on lead, looking back toward the fox often. Auggie stayed ahead of us moving toward the house. We all got inside.
Auggie did not have any obvious wounds. I ran hands over all of him, ruffled hair … no blood and he did not react as if in pain and he moved fine but immediately went behind the kitchen chair which is not usual. I left him for a bit and then pulled the chair away and examined him again…nothing.
I can only guess that there are fox kittens – Bear has been wanting to go to an area on the state land where we never go so I suspect they are there. I’ve heard sounds, but they sound so bird-like that I didn’t suspect fox or skunk. But, I found some videos with fox vocalizations and they sound like what we heard and also like the adult. AND both Bear and Auggie reacted to them. Bear was up on the chair barking and running to every window. Auggie hid. I felt really bad – usually they do not pay attention to computer sounds, but it was so like what we just heard, I guess. Maybe Auggie just got too close to the den?
The aftermath…all of that adrenalin!
Both of them, down for the count.
Me: I have been nursing a sore hip flexor and knee and it was just about better until I fell. I caught that leg on a rock. I probably could have prevented the fall if I’d not had Bear on leash. By the time we got home, I could barely put weight on the leg, but I immediately took 3 Advil and then iced both my hip and my knee and have been icing and also walking around every 30 minutes at least. It feels much better so hopefully just a minor setback.
Today’s planned yardwork will have to wait.
This is after I listed to the videos with the fox vocalizations.
YIKES!
It took about 15 minutes and another walk for Bear to calm down.
I felt horrible about playing the video.
Finally, Bear and Auggie settled…
The morale of the story: stay close to your Beardog!
***Edit 5/4/2015
I’m pleasantly surprised that my leg feels fine this morning – yea!
And kind of replaying what I saw yesterday, I am guessing that there was no confrontation, but that Auggie probably got closer to the den and kits (I’m assuming there is a den and kits) than the fox(es) liked – and was being warned off.
I think, if there had been any action, both Auggie and the fox would have been running.
If you listen or know the fox sounds (google “fox vocalizations”), they sound awful.
Kalispell Farmer’s Market: Opening Day 2015
Today’s first Kalispell Farmer’s Market had a beautiful opening day. Obviously, it is a bit early for produce in Montana, but the vendors who WILL have produce eventually, mostly had starter plants for home gardeners. The craft vendors were there as well as the cheese folks from Polson and other food vendors. The sun was shining, the temperature at 9:00 a.m. was 51F and everyone was smiling and greeting one another.
I bought the above jellies. The folks with this booth do a great job of display and also offer tastes of everything. One of the things I enjoy most about the market is talking with the vendors. I didn’t hear the whole story here, but I know I’ll be back for more…good stuff!
That yellow and red area on the near corner is home to Shelly’s Jelly’s (www.shellysjellys.com). Shelley and Al have done a great job of putting together their selling venue and website. So much fun!
My other find was fuschia hanging baskets. I was thrilled to find the fuschia. On my mostly shaded front porch, fuschia do very well, but they are hard to find. In fact, I have NOT been able to find them for 14 years!! The women who have the greenhouse that grew these fuschia said that they started growing them because one of their father’s also had a spot that only fuschia could handle. And like me, he also loved them. They had 3 baskets and I bought all 3 … for less than 1 basket at a regular nursery. Obviously overhead costs are less for the market, but I was so very happy to find these beautiful baskets!
The green top “tent” is home to the growers I bought the fuschia from. They were fun to talk with also. I asked if they took credit cards as I had only enough cash to buy the baskets which would leave me nothing for anything else. Many of the vendors do take credit cards via the little swipe things that go on smart phones and thankfully, they were set up for that. Both women were laughing at me conserving my cash as they do the same and said that their challenge was not spending everything they made at other vendors at the market.
The market happens in 2 parking lots on the campus of Flathead Valley Community College. It is quite a pretty campus with lots of green space and attractive buildings. The College provides access to rest rooms as well as Wi-Fi for the vendors. Parking for buyers is ample and close. I think it is an impressive market and it is only one of 5 in the vicinity: Whitefish, Bigfork, Columbia Falls, Polson and this one in Kalispell. Additionally, the markets all run on different days, so vendors are able to participate in all of the markets, if they choose.
One of my baskets hanging…they are still smallish, but hopefully, they will do well on my front porch.
A beautiful day and a fun first market!
May Day: Redux 2011
Today, May Day 2015, I looked through some previous May Day posts and found the one below. I decided to re-post it. It ties in with some things that I read and experienced this week (Bear and Auggie are FINE :) !) … experiences that I will share – hopefully this weekend. (*** For new blog readers and/or reminder…Karl, dog of my heart, passed on 4/18/2011. Bob, my marmalade Garfield lookalike was my cat-boy then.)
This was a very good week in so many ways.
And tomorrow is the first day of the Kalispell Farmer’s Market! Bear and I plan to be there for the 9:00 a.m. opening. Hoo-RAH!!
Meanwhile, Happy May Day to all.
May 1.
This past week was as varied in my heart and soul as was the weather in the week’s photos.
Monday and Tuesday…after walking the loop…”crossing the Rubicon”… – Monday and Tuesday were good work days and a bit of normalcy returned to Bob’s and my life. And then, taking the motorhome for service, running out through the woods to catch the light – WHAM!
Loss and grief are experienced by each one of us in ways unique not only to our own experience but for me, every loss I have ever experienced is different. I spent the last 8 1/2 months with Karl focused on enjoying and staying hopeful and positive – for both him and for me. I did not want to waste a moment of whatever time we had together in anything other than joy.
I wish I could say that I accomplished that, but I can only say that most of the time I did and I’m grateful that there were only a few moments lost.
So…now, I don’t feel like I need to NOT grieve. I cry when I feel like it. I let the bits of panic and anxiety come and go. I sit still and let memories come and bring me back to a point of Joy. It is neither good nor bad, it just is.
Everything changes – always. The Road Home…it is always changing. It is greening up at the moment – this May Day.
Bob and I. We’ve changed. Our routine has changed and is changing.
I miss Karl with a fierceness that makes my chest ache. And I am glad for that. I am glad that I am capable of loving so deeply that I can ache. And that gladness turns the ache to joy.
Karl and I started our lives together on May 18, 2001. The photo above was about 9 weeks after. He looks so serious … I have no idea why my one leg is extended except that the camera…my first digital camera…was on a tripod with a timer and I had a 16 week old puppy in a down stay while I set up the camera and hurried back to be in the shot :)!
So this week as my emotional state slid from ok to not so much… I started thinking about another dog. …after all, I found Karl, just a week after losing Zack and Karl brought Joy back into my life then, even while I still grieved for Zack. I believe my life will always include a dog. It is part of who I am.
I found a Karelian breeder in WA that thought she might have puppies in mid-June, which would mean they would be ready for homes in mid-August. That seemed like good timing…far enough “out there” that I might be ready. I sent an application, even though I was unsure whether I could really have another Karelian… Karl.
The week progressed. Work did not go well. I spent a lot of time on the front porch. Bob started looking at me somewhat aghast as I was picking him up every time we passed. If you’ve ever had a cat, you are well aware that when they want lovin’ they want it now, but otherwise, not!
The details of Friday I’ll write about at a later time but the bottom line is that via an accidental google and click a website was found. A day was spent in research and soul searching. A phone conversation followed. A deposit has been sent. And not a Karelian Bear Dog, but rather an English Shepherd puppy may become part of the fambly Summers sometime in early June.
Some of the time I am “over the moon” about this. Some of the time I am scared and feel like it is too soon because I just want Karl. Just like the moments of grief, I let all of it just happen and trust that all will unfold as it should.
I got out all of my puppy training books. And I found the puppy leads and collars from Karl’s puppy hood.
It was not sad. It was fun. I feel like I’m taking Karl..and even Zack and Gus…along with Bob and I on this next part of the journey.
I said that to my friend Judy, in an email, and she responded:
of course they are with you on this next journey – they always have been and will continue to be! In my mind’s eye, you may have one dog on the leash, but the rest are romping along with you, too!
I am so grateful for that picture… for her mind’s eye view – it suddenly brought the JOY I’d been struggling to find – back to me. All of my dear ones, always with me.
May Day.
