Anybody's guess

Andy says, "Dutch is going to make it."

             (He means as a working Leader Dog.)

How do you know? I ask.

"Because if he can stand up to Gypsy, he'll be just fine."

With every new puppy, my crabby old mutt Gypsy makes sure everyone knows who's boss. Lip curled, her worn-down teeth bared, she snarls and growls. This usually causes a new puppy to keep a wide berth.

Not Dutch.

FLD Dutch considers Gypsy's threat.

From a safe distance, he give her a Golden warble back.

Another Gypsy-under-her-breath-snarl and Dutch decides to hightail it out of there!

After a couple of weeks, a growing-bolder Dutch ignores Gypsy's warning to "leave Andy's shoes alone!"

Last night Dutch was curled up tight in a ball, his back tucked against the blue dog bed under Andy's desk.

Gypsy was in it.

And she wasn't snarling.

      (You'll have to take my word on this. When I went for my camera, they both got up and moved apart.)

Gypsy looks at me as if to say, "What's with this pup?"

Dutch sings another Golden tune and works his charms on the old girl.

Les Cheneaux Snowsfest--Fun in the UP

SNOWSFEST - A celebration of winter, UP-style. Here is a picture diary of our first UP (Upper Peninsula) Leader Dogs for the Blind puppy outing of 2012.  Eight Future Leader Dog puppies and their raisers have fun in Hessel, on the northern shores of Lake Huron.

FLD Scout looks over the festivities.

FLD Ruckus looks up at raiser Tammy as if to say, "Do we really have to hang out with these young pups?"  FLD Autumn checks out FLD Yooper while FLD Atlas looks on.

FLD Hope flirts with Scout.

FLD Scout sees her first snowmobile...a young boy practices on the race track out on the ice.

We find a giant "snow dog" sculpted on the ice and I try to get FLD Scout to pose...

...she rather liked the view from the top, instead.

"Aw, jeez...not ANOTHER picture!"

FLD Jet meets his half-brother, FLD Yooper. (They share the same mother, Leader Dog Mom, Amber.)

Jet's raiser, Suzanne, and Yooper's raiser, Gary, try to get the brothers to pose for a picture.

Suzanne gets their attention--with a treat?

Awwww, good puppies!

FLD Yooper poses nicely on a hay bale in the Leader Dogs for the Blind warming tent.

FLD Autumn says she can sit pretty on the hay bale too! ("Why do people think I'm part Shar-Pei?")

These "licky-labs"--here Yooper plants one on Gary's nose while Phyllis looks on...

...and Scout gets a few slurps in with a visitor.

This family loves the puppies. Here FLD Jet tries to sneak a lick on a cold little boy.

The outing provides excellent distractions: kids playing games, snowmobile races, and a chili-cook-off. Here FLD Scout looks on while participants show off their pets' tricks in the "dog show."

FLD Scout thinks FLD Autumn looks great in her "big dog" working jacket.

Take Me Home, Scout

The day before Valentine's Day...

I tie the red 15-foot lead around my waist so I can have my hands free to take pictures. FLD Scout is clipped to the other end. It is a crisp, cobalt-sky morning with a new dusting of snow.

FLD Scout on her red "play" leash before our hike.

Scout and cc'd Gus and I take to the woods for a three-mile hilly hike in the park abutting our land to see what has been out and about.  If I was a naturalist, like Jonathan Schechter (who writes his Earth's Almanac blog for the Oakland Press), I could identify what creatures made the tracks in the snow.

Alas, I am not. I can only imagine what scampered by in the wee hours before light.

I CAN identify coyote scat. Scout sniffs, but forgoes the snack with a hearty LEAVE IT from me.

Frozen scat.

"Forrest Gus" does his bit to keep the trail clear, and carries a long limb like a high-wire walker. Then he zigzags with it through the woods as an elk or moose might run, swooping heavy-antlered crowns between the trees.  I hear a CEEEEERRRAAAACK and turn to see Gus sporting a shortened limb after being waylaid, however briefly, by trees too close. There's something to be said for brute strength.

Forrest Gus grabs a limb.

He breaks it free, balancing it as he runs toward us.

Gus thinks his job is to keep the trail clear!

I hand Scout a smaller stick and she carries it with import. I am proud when she bounces out to the end of the long lead and eases up when she feels tension, but it would be nice to get a little pull UP the hills!

The sticky snow is tough going. Gus and Scout leave prints behind as big as bear paws. Gus trots twice the distance Scout and I hike, chasing scents off-trail, racing ahead only to turn and race back as if to hurry us up. He never wanders far.

When the trail curves left toward a section of sharp dips and climbs, I call right to the dogs. We veer off to take a shortcut to avoid the steepest of the hills. I cannot afford a fall with my camera, or my still-healing finger!

Scout, I say, take me home.

She plods ahead, stick in mouth, turning me a little more to the right. She finds the route that Jeff, my step-son-in-law, and I bushwhacked from the other direction on snowshoes last month with his two German Shorthair Pointers and my three dogs.

Scout weaves between towering poplars that squeak in the wind overhead, passes near woodpecker condos, and carefully steers clear of long, snow-blanketed humps that I know are tree falls by the naked roots reaching skyward.

She confidently leads me back to our "patch."

I am amazed. Our showshoe tracks are long gone (to quote Ernie Harwell) after rounds of thaw and fresh snowfall. Her pace quickens when we reach the well-worn paths on our property. We are a quarter mile from home.

Patterning. That's what Leader Dogs for the Blind trainers might call what Scout did in remembering the route home.

Here are some pictures of the tracks we saw this day.

 

What a Difference a Week Makes!

Earth Day, 2011.

One week ago today, I took FLD Gus and Gypsy on a three-mile hike through our woods and into the Rifle River Recreation Area.  My mission:  to wear them out for the long drive south to the city.  It was a beautiful morning in the spring-preparing woods.  (And the dogs were no trouble during our drive!)

This morning, back at home in the north, the dogs and I revisited the woods.  Only, it had snowed again while we were south!  There wasn't much left, and by this afternoon the trails were mostly clear, but where the shadows deepened, the snow lingers still.  Gus didn't seem to mind.

The following video illustrates the difference a week made...what will another week bring?

The Little Brown Creeper

SUNDAY, JANUARY 30, 2011

Jeff caught something out of the corner of his eye bulleting down into the sparkling snow bank next to the back corner of our house.  Gauge instantaneously shot after it, burying his entire German Shorthaired head.  FLD Gus wasn't far behind.

"Gauge, LEAVE IT!" Jeff yelled.  He wasn't sure what Gauge was after, but it was best not to wait to find out.  Gauge lifted his head briefly, noticed Gus about to dive into the hole he left, and plunged back in.

As Jeff struggled in the snowdrift to reach Gauge, I repeated his command to FLD Gus.  Gus.  Leave it.  I was surprised when Gus looked over his shoulder at me and relaxed his lunging black body.  Good boy, Gus!

Jeff yanked Gauge out by his collar and peered into the fluffy snow-hole.  What is it? I asked, struggling over myself to make sure that Gus didn't get any more ideas.

"I don't know.  A bird, I think."

Jeff's bright-yellow-leather-work-glove-clad hand dipped beneath the snow and brought up a tiny brown and white fuzzy bird.  He cupped the barely breathing creature and stroked it gently, saying, "It doesn't look very good."  The bird's eyes were closed and its long, curved beak was just open.

Gauge nosed Jeff's arm, sniffing.  "Let's put it somewhere safe," Jeff said, raising his arm out of reach.

A plethora of birdhouses pepper our yard.  Rustic wood boxes on the top of tall poles; red, white, and blue patriotic houses on shorter poles; houses with peaked roofs and slanted roofs; houses square-shaped and diamond-shaped--one on the side of the "potting shed" sports a painted handprint over the opening.

Jeff carefully carried the little bird to a birdhouse with a glass jar side-room and set it on the jar-lid balcony.  We hoped the bird was okay; Jeff didn't think Gauge got his mouth on it.

Back inside our house, Andy and Jen enjoyed a late morning coffee together while Jeff and I were in the woods tiring out the dogs.

Did you see that bird? I asked when we stomped in.

"Yes, there were two of them right there on that bush."  Andy nodded toward the window facing the yard.

Jeff and I never saw the second one; we explained how Gauge went after the bird that seemed to take a free-style dive straight down into the snow.  "I don't know where it came from," Jeff exclaimed.

View from the window.

Jen jumped in.  "I heard a noise from the back bedroom, like a BANG." 

We decided that the little bird flew from the bush smack dab into our bedroom window, falling like a rock right in front of Gauge's nose.

"We put it on that birdhouse beyond the flower garden there," Jeff gestured.  We all looked out.  The little brown and white poufy bird was gone!  "Guess he just knocked himself out." 

I pulled out my Christmas gift from Jen and Jeff, Birds of Michigan Field Guide, by Stan Tekiela, excited to put it to use.

Jeff rescued a "Brown Creeper."

(Learn more about Brown Creepers on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's website:  "All About Birds.")

Way to go, Jeff, for rescuing the Creeper!  I am proud of Jeff, and proud of FLD Gus for paying attention to "leave it."  (And Gauge, too, for not eating the unconscious bird!)

Jeff and Gauge napping it up on the couch.  Odo gets the floor.

FLD Gus's Trip to Town

GROUNDHOG DAY

(Here's a video of the storm, taken early this morning.)

We won't be going to town today; at least not until the roads get cleared and I can snow blow the driveway.  It's still snowing and drifting, so even if I clear the drive, it will fill right back up.

Andy and I postponed our trip downstate on Tuesday in deference to the "Snowmageddon" that was predicted for last night and today.  We'd rather be stuck up here where the snow is FUN!

FLD Gus snuggled up to me on the floor late last night; I wondered if he was grateful to get a "snow day" from puppy-class at Leader Dogs for the Blind.

LAST SATURDAY'S TRIP TO TOWN

The road west to Rose City.

We had no trouble getting to Rose City last Saturday.  It's nice not having so much salt on the roads...

The hill up to our house.  Dirt is spread instead of salt!

...and NO traffic!

Except for a few days before when we had to slow for three four-wheel-drive pickup trucks stopped in the middle of the road, men in camouflaged, insulated gear milling about.  I was sorry I didn't have my camera that day (and wished we had stopped to find out what was going on).  As the men maneuvered their vehicles out of our way, we saw what we thought was a massive cougar carcass strapped on to the bed of one of the four-wheelers.  Its head seemed to be the size of a volleyball!  Researching this later, I realized that the creature was most likely a bobcat, caught by these local trappers.

This picture on the Department of Natural Resources and Environment's website page, "General Fur Harvest Information" is close to what the carcass looked like, but BIGGER.

OUR VERY OWN WINERY

(We can't be too far back in the woods!)

Andy tasting wine.

FLD Gus experienced his very first wine tasting at the Rose Valley Winery, but I don't think he was impressed.  We took home a very nice bottle of "Summer Trails" (an interesting blend of 14 different varieties of grapes "left-over" at the end of summer) and "Clear Lake" ( a "light and fruity" white made from Edelweiss grapes).  Who knew that northeast Michigan is an up-and-coming wine community?

GREEN ACE HARDWARE

Of course, no trip into town is complete without a visit to our friendly neighborhood Green Ace Hardware!  Andy found what he needed to hang the stained glass that my Uncle Tony made for me years ago.

Me and FLD Gus trying to leave the hardware store.

I paused at the door so Andy could take my picture with FLD Gus, who was once again very well behaved.  

When Andy took a second shot, Gus looked up at me as if to say, "Well, are we going or not?!"

FLD Gus wanting to make sure we are leaving.

FLD Gus is a WINNER!

Philanthropist and filmmaker Charles Annenberg Weingarten founded the multimedia organization "explore" to highlight individuals and non-profits all over the world (via photography and documentary films) who selflessly bring about social change.  His Annenberg foundation has granted over $15 million dollars to "more than 100 non-profit organizations worldwide."

"Dog Bless You" is a FaceBook channel to Weigarten's explore and features his dog Lucky (explore's official canine) in travels around the world.  Dog Bless You posts many interesting stories about dogs that make a difference, and welcomes stories by dog-loving fans.

This past December, Dog Bless You held a "25/25/25 Challenge Grant"--get 25,000 FaceBook fans by December 25 and Guide Dogs of America would get a $25,000 grant. Dog Bless You reached their fan goal, and explore upped their grant to $50,000! (Read about the Challenge on Guide Dogs of American's website: http://www.guidedogsofamerica.org/1/2011/01/we-did-it/.)

A "WINTER WOOFY AWARD" WINNER, FLD GUS!

Earlier this month, Dog Bless You opened "The Winter Woofy Awards" photo contest.  Fans could submit photographs of their dogs enjoying anything winter.  The top "like-getter" was supposed to be the winner, but Dog Bless You said that there were too many "amazing" shots, so they picked the top ten!

FLD Gus is one of the ten winners!

Snowboarding FLD Gus--our winning photograph!

On Friday we received a customized Dog Bless You coffee mug with his winning picture--FLD Gus snowboarding in Green Bay, Wisconsin (see my post of December 29, 2010 for a story about "Snowboarding Gus").

Gus and his winning coffee mug.

FLD Gus wonders what the fuss is about.

Thank you, Dog Bless You, for this fun and memorable gift.  As you can see, FLD Gus really enjoys it, but wonders what all the fuss is about!

And thanks to all of Gus's FANS who voted for him!

"What's that?  Is something in there?"

FLD Gus, checking out his new winning mug!

To read an interesting interview with founder Charlie Annenberg Weingarten, go to explore's website:  http://www.explore.org/interviews/charles-annenberg-weingarten/.

Poetry: Haiku Flying Puppy

FLD Gus comes flying when called!

"flying puppy"

I merely called "come"

little black Lab wheeled and launched
transformed super-pup!