Making a way where there is none, and the weather, of course!

OK.... that's a misleading subject title. There's always a way. It's about finding it. That's basically what I've been doing. Now, about the weather, what else does one who lives in the country with dogs ramble about? Ahhh, it's a quiet life with much less 'noise' and stress.

It's been so long since I last blogged about anything (outside of a new puppy announcement) so I forget were I left off.  Vague memories of struggling to get my little Etsy shop going and being jobless are coming to mind. I'm too lazy to go rummaging about in past entries.

Jango is the cutest little dog! He's a joy, smart and sensitive...  almost one year old already. 

I've gotten myself a few steady clients that I do some graphic design work for and I'm determined to put more effort into my store. I tend to get distracted too easily so my goal will be to stay focussed and committed to at least one listing per day. I keep asking myself, "How hard can that be?" Well.... apparently, I have a stumbling block to push out of my way. I HATE, LOATHE and STRUGGLE with writing the descriptions. I get through it eventually but when I'm stuck and researching similar items to help me determine a price point, I get lost in other sites. It's crazy.

I have winter on my side when it comes to indoor time and making good use of it. And what a roller coaster winter it's been so far. On New Years day, I made a video in -20ºC temps to document all the snow we got in December. We had several storms and below normal temperatures starting earlier than usual. Yesterday, it went up to 8ºC but not until early evening, staying that way overnight. And, wow... did it rain! It's going to be mild all week and that will mean lots of snow melt, a river of water passing through the property and eight very muddy paws to deal with several times per day. 

Jango. Rhymes with tango

It's forever ago since I last blogged. Life just got busy and I don't seem to do busy very well anymore. I could go morning to night and never be caught up so I'm just going with the flow and prioritizing. It's far more relaxing.

We got a puppy in the spring. While we hoped for a purebred Australian cattle dog, it was too difficult to find one without putting it through the wringer of shipping him to us. And the expense. We have other priorities so we put aside our wants and deal with our needs. 

WE didn't NEED a puppy. Our Blind Guy, Colby did. Being an ACD means lots of stimulus and we can only throw a ball so many times. He's free to roam the yard but he was getting bored, I think. He always had our other dog, Mikey.

Jango is a mix of Australian cattle dog, Australian shepherd and border collie. He's 7 1/2 months old now and is my sweetheart. He's a mama's boy and a darn good frisbee catcher (well, he's still a bit off on his landings but he's loving his new 'thing'). He's also been wonderful for Colby. They have tons of playtime, both with us and each other. Takes a bit of pressure off when we have other things to tend to. 

This succession of photos starts at 8 weeks of age (end of March) and ends at six months of age (end of July). His growth spurt in the first couple of months was amazing. Sharp teeth, puppy breath, and full of mischief. See the last photo for proof. We only left him alone for a very short while. Hubs was mowing the lawn and I scooted off to the store for groceries. It only happened this one time although we did have to curb his love of not-good-for-eating type plants. He learned very quickly. He's one smart and sweet little guy.

Bird Song

Wow... it's been a long time since I blogged. Life has gotten busy as I endeavor to become self-employed. I have a few irons in the fire... some freelance work, an online store finally launched and my foot in the door at the Post Office, just relief work but 'foot in the door' is a good thing.

I'm working on new listings for my shop and listening to the most beautiful bird song. I heard this bird singing last night at midnight when I took the dogs out. The full moon made it seem like dusk and this bird was singing it's heart out. So many different sounds!

Hubs and I heard it this morning and we noted it's mimicking bird song of robins, sandpipers and more. I did a google search for our region and it may be a catbird. Whatever bird it is, I am delighted with its singing and hope it says around. 

This video is for sound only as I was just standing in my doorway hoping to capture the sound and it worked wonderfully! These are just a few of the different sounds coming from this lovely bird.

Snowstorm, Snowblower & Birds

Pushing gargantuous amounts of snow.

Yesterday's massive blizzard spared us no mercy. The end of our driveway is so vulnerable to the drifting snow brought on by the nor'easters. Add to that the plows, pushing heavy mounds of snow up the slight incline and into the driveway. It's so depressing. 

As Hubs began clearing snow this morning, he was hearing a wretched clunking sound. In the video below, I said the tranny was gone but it was actually the gear that drives the wheels. Kinda good news (if there can possibly be good news to being snowed in with a failing snowblower). The snow could still be cleared but the bad part was pushing a 385 lb machine manually on a double-wide 60 ft (or longer) driveway. Factor in a stomach flu, a bad back, shoulder, hip and more.... well, you get the picture. It was a big and painful ordeal!



I have no clue who the troops might have been. It's farm country and tractors with snowblower attachments abound. We'd have figured it out but didn't have to after all. 

Tomorrow, we'll take a drive into town and purchase a new blower - a 13 hp Honda! It wasn't in our budget whatsoever but needs are needs so it must be done. One HUGE bonus is our tax refund was much more than what I figured and will cover almost half the cost. And it's 'lady' friendly, too so I can operate it. Our Ariens served us well for almost 9 winters but it's tired now. It was too much for me to handle so I was never able to go out and relieve my pain-ridden Hubs. Now that we're going to be better equipped to handle what comes, watch our next couple of winters be nearly snowless. Isn't that the way? 

Visitors!

I was over-the-moon happy to see these lovely visitors meandering through our front yard this morning. I ran for my camera and hoped my blurred vision wouldn't be transferred though the lens. I was not disappointed.

Where have I been?

Life moves slowly in the country. Things don't change much so blogging about nothing is kinda boring.

I'm in a transitioning stage since gainful employment is scarce and, when found, you're required to speak both French and English. I could easily go on a rant about balance, fairness to all, how the majority in this province are not bilingual. I'll spare you because, to me, the subject has gotten old and we did choose to live in a French community, after all. But still.... everyone knows English. So, whatever. I need to move on and find ways to survive without this monkey on my back. 

Oh.. I'm sorry. Do I sound bitter? Nah... I just have moments. I honestly didn't know it would be like this when we came here regarding the language issue. There are four Maritime provinces where jobs are not plentiful or desirable or good paying and I kinda knew that. I thought I'd be able to find something in my trade with enough pay to make a long commute worthwhile. I was naive.

I'm learning a bit about myself, though. Seems I have a mountain to move. I need to break through an invisible barrier that's holding me back in order to launch my vintage online store. Like, I really need to get on this! I've laboured over my photos, gotten positive feedback from great friends who visit my other blog where I post images, researched my wares and added to my growing list of great finds. So, what's stopping me now? Well, that's a good question. I'm dealing with it and chipping away at the 'thing' so I can get this show on the road. I have made small steps and there's just one more big one to make. I'm literally on the threshold of crossing over the last barrier. I've never seen myself as a 'fearful' person so this has been an ordeal. I'm not giving up! I think that deep down I don't believe in myself.

In early October, I took Colby, blind guy to the vet about his left eye. It didn't look good and I feared the worst. My gut feeling was right that he might lose the eye. He had glaucoma as well as an ulcer on the eye so three days after calling the vet, he was in surgery. It wasn't cheap and I'm thankful we had the means to deal with the costs but those funds were designated for other things. Let's just say the timing was really bad.

This (above) was the day after his surgery. The cone was hell for him. Bad enough he's blind. That cone had him so disoriented. He didn't know his way around, would walk head-on into a wall or cupboard door and just stand there. I couldn't see him going through 2 weeks of this. He had pain meds for five days which made him sleepy and as much as I didn't like giving him meds, it was a small comfort to know he wasn't suffering more than he could have been.

That cone, though! Arrrggh. I did some online research about other options and learned about this Optivisor, then managing to track one down in the nearest 'city' after a few phone calls. What a relief! It was too long and he had a hard time eating his food so I cut it back. After a week or so, I was able to take him out with his favorite squeak ball and throw it a few times. He lives for that. Being a working dog by nature, it's important for him to have a 'job' so three or four times a day, he's busy doing what a dog's gotta do. Rainy days are a real drag for him so sometimes I'll suck it up and not worry about how wet and muddy he'll get (or how bad of a hair day I'll have). He's healed now and back to his barky, goofy self. More importantly, he's not in terrible pain anymore. 

Peak colour of our maples

What a difference a few days makes to our maples! The sun was filtering through them and I just had to try and capture the beauty. We are blessed.