Toby Too's Progress

Toby Too is very happy with his new life in the country. He is loving and eager to please.

I love him, too.

The cats still prefer to live in the polytunnel, the log store and the gardens.

As long as they get fed and can assist us with the vegetable gardening

without 'that dog' being around,

they are content,

for the moment.

I am trying to broker peace between them

because

I like all my furry animals under the one roof at night.

The hens occasionally get a little more exercise than normal.

Sometimes Toby just can't resist giving chase.

I'm working on that.

Toby has taken an inexplicable dislike to my brother (Owl Wood).

Toby is not drawn to him, which is very unusual -

I assume he reminds him of someone in his past.

He growls, he barks.

So does Toby.

I'm working on that relationship too.

It is a long list!

A few days ago we began some 'serious' training. I say we, because I have as much to learn as Toby Too. We are using reward based 'clicker' training. He is responding very well and enjoys his training sessions,so do I.I know that the time and effort invested now will pay dividends for the rest of his life.
A friend in the village has agreed to train us. She has over 20 years of experience in dog training and it showsin the ease with which she 'shapes' the behaviour she wants from him.Watching her instruct Toby is like watching a ballet, or reading poetry.He recognises her authority and responds.
Our instructor has twice been asked to represent 'the South' with her agility dogs, at Crufts!

with a lot of success and placements. She knows her stuff.
Toby and I are putting in lots of homework. We don't want to let her down.

The dog shows great promise, shame about his mama!



Wherever I go, Toby follows.

I enjoy gardening, so he enjoys gardening. I love poppies - he says he does too.



Bennie, however, finds all this gardening exhausting.




Spinach and chard are growing well, beans and peas have begun to climb higher.



The gardener in chief is working dawn to dusk.

Problems with my laptop computer have meant that I am way behind on

reading your posts, commenting, etc.

Apologies!

I hope the problem has now been resolved, but if I go quiet....

"Can I Recover Christmas?" ~ Our New Song

The unplanted bulbs and falling leaves will keep for another day!
Last year I wrote a Christmas song for Roots In Austin, using my power as the author to break up the character Caroline's romance shortly before a Christmas season began. That may not have been kind of me, but the breakup let Caroline sing a holiday song as the approach of Christmas reminded her of what's been lost rather than what she expected. The song was recently finished and I think it will work well for her lovelorn situation in the play. But undertones in the lyrics told me they had deeper meanings, for other situations. Over this long Thanksgiving weekend Philo and I added photos and turned the song into a video for our Station Kaefka on YouTube. So far the reception for our latest musical child has been very kind - thank you to all who have already watched it. To the rest of you - get out your handkerchiefs!

"Can I Recover Christmas" music & lyrics copyrighted. If the screen won't play, try this Link to YouTube.
Although "Can I Recover Christmas?" wasn't ready last year, another of our copyrighted songs was finished by the beginning of December ... It's a happy song about the lovely annual tradition of Spinning Under the Tree of Lights at Zilker Park in Austin. This year the tree will be lit at 6 PM on Sunday December 7th, with the rest of the Trail of Lights festival beginning on Sunday December 14th, running nightly through December 23rd. The Trail hours are 7 PM to 10 PM.
A few days ago I had a conversation with Laura Esparza from the Cultural Affairs Division of the Austin Parks Department. Laura told me that the Trail of Lights festival will be more environmentally friendly this year. The change over to LED lights is in progress and food service now emphasizes recycling. She also noted that the power for the lights comes from wind farms. I loved the tree and like having another reason to think Austin is cool! You can go to the Austin Parks Department if you'd like to find out more about Spinning under the Tree, or Walking the Trail of Lights. Now here's an encore of our Spinning Under the Tree song to get you in the mood. Either click the screen or try this link to YouTube.

The safe and general antidote against sorrow is employment. Samuel Johnson, The Rambler

Happy Birthday to Me

I wasn't going to mark the occasion, but I couldn't resist after I received a JibJab card from those wacky blogland friends who travel in a motorhome called Therapy. Thanks Donna for taking the time to create and send me this fun greeting.

Between the penguin serenade I received from Aylin and Mom ...



... and this rollerblading escapade, my day is made.
(Click the image below to see me in action. I had no idea I could move like that!!!)




And for those who haven't seen Donna's post on their blog, I share this special day with her dear hubby, Russ. Happy B'day to a fellow Aries!

P.S. And to my friend MBZ -- may I just say that I will continue to prefer scrambled eggs over that concoction you suggested in your b'day message :-)

Someone had an Accident - and one more Iguana Photo

St Thomas must have the best drivers in the world. I have not seen a single car accident since I got to the island. There are no straight aways, no passing because you can never see around the next curve... Everything is on a hill and the condition of the roads are anembarrassment. There should be more accidents than what there are.

BUT...

I have just never been around when a car accident happened. Every single car has a dent or ding, half the bumpers on the island have a serious dent, one third of the side mirrors are busted off. When you rent a car, the insurance is $18 a day (higher than I have ever paid anywhere else).



And the mail boxes that were in a neat row, convenient for the post office trucks to deliver mail and not get out of their car are now lined up on the ground...

Mail is still delivered in them.



Anddespitepromising mo more Iguana photos... here's one more...

See the baby!

UnBRAKEable

Earlier this year, just before my New Zealand tour, I noted some wear on the brake pads on my bike. I considered replacing them, but decided against it at the time, figuring that if I really got into trouble I could probably replace them while I was in New Zealand. That was well over 16,000km ago. I still haven't replaced them -- and they are still working just as well as the day I bought them. Yesterday they did the job on a 22%, 83km/h descent, at the bottom of which some wizard or road planning decided to put a sharp right-hand corner. It wasn't even a problem.
The only problem is that the brand name has long since disappeared from them, and I can't remember what it actually is. On the other hand, if current trends continue, I'm likely to have a while yet to figure it out.

Rainier After the Storm!

After receiving nearly 8 ft. of snow over the past week at Paradise, the mountain is looking particularly PHAT!(View from the Tatoosh)

Broad-winged Hawk

As we drove home from kayaking the other day we had the distinct pleasure of an encounter with this beautiful little Broad-winged Hawk. We were driving slowly down an old logging road when we came around a corner and this hawk, who had been sitting in the road, flew up into a tree. It's not that uncommon to run across these guys while driving the back roads of northern Minnesota, but usually they fly further into the trees and you can't see them. This one landed on a branch in a tree right next to the road and sat there for a minute or two before flying away. I was able to get several nice shots of it. It was definitely a nice little bonus to our day!

Need to catch up

WOW, where did the week go?
Monday marked 2 weeks of radiation treatments to go. Some recovery time from the Sunday bike ride.
Was going to wait until later in the week to ride again but Tuesday it was just tooooo nice. Upper 60s when I got home from the Med Center. Changed clothes, grabbed the hybrid for a bike ride.
Wind from the WSW. Headed from the bike shop toward the trail center. From there, on up to the Bob Bridge.

The river has receded back into its banks. The new park between the levee and the river is still very wet. The same for the construction area West of the levee. At least the gravel detour just at I-480 is drier and ridable!
From there, it "coasting? with the wind toward Big Lake. Wanted to ride op to Big Lake to see how construction was taking shape. The North lake actually looks like a lake, now! And, the new "boardwalk" is completed and open.

Good job Council Bluffs. Looking good!
From Big Lake, completed my "tour de bluffs" (first for the season) down N. 8th, and through town. On up Harry Langdon, Woodbury, and to the Mall. Back at the Xtreme Wheels, visited for a while.
Off the bike Wednesday - needing a good rest!