We had rain last night. That wouldn’t ordinarily be spectacular, but this year it has only occurred for about the third time since early in June. Banner didn’t sleep through the night. Maybe she had forgotten that flashing light during a thunderstorm is just part of a storm. Or perhaps she was enthusiastic about it. She barked to get me to go outside with her a couple of times, but I responded, “You have your own door. Go, go, go . . . and hurry back.” I’m not sure why she has decided that she needs accompaniment to go out in the middle of the night, but it can leave me with a sleep hangover the next morning. This time, I went back to sleep easily enough, but woke again a little early to some insistent urgency. I needed to get up. Banner has a lot of credibility, based on my experience with her assessment of urgency, so I began asking: What do you need? Water? (OK, but that wasn’t it.) Do I need to take Emily out before the rain hits? (Seemed likely, and she agreed, but that wasn’t “it” either.) We will have breakfast in a little while. OK. Do the cats need to be fed? – Dierk is always hungry. Yes, but that wasn’t “it” either. Is it something else? Yes.) I can’t always unravel the answer by asking questions, and this time it remained a mystery. I gave her fresh water, then took Emily out. There were cows at their tank (Banner’s backup from her side of the fence) and they needed water. The float hadn’t been installed for this tank all summer, and water going into the tank from the hydrant is very exciting. She remained inside, though, waiting for Emily to have her turn. OK. Maybe this mystery will be revealed, maybe not.
Banner had gone into the kitchen and laid down in her waiting spot, where she waits while I make coffee or breakfast. A few days before, I had brought back some cranberry-pecan bagels from Braums, and this was breakfast yesterday morning, along with cream cheese. When I brought the bagels out, her enthusiasm surged. She was at my elbow, or close, while I double-tasked, making coffee and heating bagels. When I began spreading cream cheese, her eyeballs were practically spinning. I think I have found another favorite. : ) And I’m fairly certain that was “it”.
I woke to reminders again, that Banner wanted to go for a walk, that there was chill in the air and that it was Happy Friday! This means that instead of simply going outside to take care of business, I was summoned with emphasis, as if she needed company for this activity, at around 5-5:30 in the morning. (Love you but no thanks) I told her that her door was open and she could go outside. After a few attempts, she went out on her own. Shortly afterward, we repeated these steps, and I began to wonder whether she had a uti. Upon the third round, I was ready to get up, less bright-eyed than my Newfoundland companion, but ready to start the morning, after a cup of coffee.
Good coffee has been hard to find. After looking through several bags, I decided to mix two. It still needed improvement, but the bad traits of each were diluted.
Banner took a relaxed position to wait out the time it would take for me to prepare and enjoy my coffee. I complimented her on her patience. Then I put my mug away and went to the back door, with the Newf still napping in the kitchen. A bit surprised, I walked back and asked whether she wanted to go to town for a walk. Oh yeah! She jumped up and gaited toward me quickly and happily.
There is a narrow window of time when the sidewalks around the park are almost fully shaded. Timing yesterday was perfect. Today there were some sunlit stretches. The highs are still high, but the length of sun intensity is only a few hours, so the sidewalks were still cool, like an air conditioner for Newf feet.
The maple leaves were colorful, dropping onto the sidewalk. Some of the Maple leaves glistened with sugar crystals. I collected several for countertop art, along with a couple of shiny new acorns.
Banner spent the morning walking at a joyous pace with her head up. It was a bit cool for a human in shorts still, but since my exercise therapist was not in a take-it-slow mode, that didn’t last long.
At some point in the wee hours, I was summoned. Without fully waking, I replied, “You have your own door.” To which I heard some restlessness followed by the sound of the dog door opening and closing. Later I heard her come back in. Without opening my eyes, I didn’t know what time that was, but she was restless again early, letting me know that she wanted me to get up. I started wondering: was it the partial cup of dog food I gave her last night? Sometimes she feels left out when the terrier is fed. Did the dog food upset her GI tract? The weather has been a little cooler, which is inspiring for a Newf with less heat tolerance than most. Perhaps she was wanting to be outside to enjoy the cool morning and she wanted company. Within a short time, she used one of the tactics that was recently made off-limits to communicate her interest: she stepped on the trash can lever. This challenges her self-control, so after a couple of compromises, that one was nixed a few weeks ago. So how does a Newf communicate her interests, which appear somewhat urgent, to a human? She breaks the rule. So I ask, “Are you hungry?” She replies with a direct stare but no affirmation by eye blink.
Being a human less capable of Newfoundland communication, which I sometimes wonder is telepathic, my conclusion is that the dog food made her hungry and that she wants breakfast. I ask, “Do you want to eat breakfast before we go for a walk?” To this she affirms, but not with the usual emphasis that lets me know that I “got it”.
This meant that we would be going for our walk while the sun was fully up and bright. It would also mean that I would need to delay taking the van in for its appointment.
I got up, made breakfast, took care of a few tasks under careful supervision by a restless Newf, then we left. As we reached the park, there were barriers on the road to where we usually park. Looking around to see why, there were food trucks along the north side. Ahhhh. She did it again.
During the hot months of summer, July and August, she doesn’t seem to notice this monthly event, but the weather was cooler with a gentle breeze and it was Food Truck Friday! Now the reason for her extra excitement was clear. It still baffles me how she knows this. We had been at the park late in the afternoon yesterday, and there were no indications about what was coming. The wind would have to be blowing directly from the west to carry the aromas here. It is usually from the north or south, or blowing from the southwest, which would pass by. For Banner, the increased enthusiasm is for the combination of food and social activity. The indicator is probably the smell, with enough molecules of food aroma to signal her senses. In my 40 years of experience, Newfs have better than good scent abilities. They are also very interesting creatures to live with, curious, social and very smart. It is genuinely fascinating to watch how she engages with me and how she engages with other people. Their social skills and problem-solving skills rank with their scent abilities.
At this time in the morning, most of the trucks were still setting up, but Chuy’s Tacos was open, so we had an extra breakfast snack. The double soft corn wrapper is good for sharing, along with some of the carnitas. The thing to remember about Chuy’s is that the green sauce, not the red sauce, is the hot one.
And, at this time in the morning, there were no lines, but there were plenty of people curious about a Newf, so she had some good social interactions.
Pleasant Friday Wishes to All from The Bigfoot Club!
This morning, Banner was banished from the kitchen, again. She doesn’t like having her freedom of choice impaired. At first, she stayed outside the perimeter being cleaned. (I don’t know how she knows that precise point, except that she is regularly asked to stay out of the kitchen when the floors are being cleaned.) Later she moved into the room with Emily, being very offended as she always is about the use of floor cleaning tools. (“Why ya gotta do that?”)
Banner has been neither curious nor amused. She does not see this gadget as a threat. Emily, however, interprets any shadow or almost imperceptible sound as a threat and goes into full-throttle assault. (on my ears) At 6, she is beginning to slip, missing a couple of deliveries. The gadget is fairly quiet and unnoticeable except for the sound when solution is sprayed, and that isn’t bad either.
I’ve been watching this little self-navigating device for a week now. It covers the area well, and avoids obstacles surprisingly well. It’s a bit like a blind rodent in that it strikes surfaces then backs up and strikes them again. Clearly it is a trial-and-error learner, but while watching, it isn’t always easy to recognize where it will go next as it executes its algorithm. It moves forward in a branching Y pattern, first to one side, then it backs up and goes to the other side. After it completes an “area” by its definition, it may run back to a baseboard, then follow the baseboard closely around a perimeter, or it may drive across an area and start some points again. I’ve watched it navigate obstacles tightly such as legs on chairs, the curved base on the legs of a stationary bike, rugs and the edge to a step-in shower. It also responds to drop-off edges surprisingly well. It cleaned the bath floor without falling into the shower, and yesterday I watched it clean the edge of the first step to the basement stairwell, backing and moving forward. I decided it would be safe and turned my back, only to find it cleaning the top of the wood, which is about 3/8″ higher than the floor, a little later. But it did not fall onto the next step.
Watching it is like watching a toddler learn to walk. Some actions are predicable, others are curious. I can’t tell whether it is learning about the shape of the available floor or doing all trial-and-error navigation. It appears to have some memory, but that may be a deceptive incidental observation, except that it will park in the original spot if it doesn’t run out of battery. In any case, there is some level of entertainment, if not studious relaxation, just from observing.
So far, it hasn’t found a place to be stuck, even in tight fits. Before starting the mop, I move some things that are on the floor, like the desk chair, a rug or the guitar stand, onto a rug so it can use the battery more efficiently (with less wasted effort to navigate). I leave a navigation path for other things, like the kitchen trash can. For this house, built about 3 years ago, we used all hard surfaces and selected furniture that doesn’t harbor dust bunnies. After about 40 years with Newfs, I hope to have learned a thing or two, but you never quit learning. The loft floor is engineered wood (hickory) and the basement floor and dog room floor are finished concrete. The main floor is otherwise tile. We chose a tile pattern that was very light in overall color, and it was modeled after finished concrete, so there are color variations. It has a deco tile about every 8-10 squares. A couple of times I found the gadget circling, as if it perceived a color spot on the tile, which was actually part of the tile. Yesterday I cleaned the living room and entry floors. It is good for almost 2 hours of battery use, but the cleaning fluid will run out in-between times. I start by wetting the mop pad (not soaking it), and yesterday I sprayed an area on the tile while it was cleaning rather than stopping it. I’m not sure whether it would pick up where it left off once it is turned off to refill, and I didn’t want to restart the entire floor’s navigation. After a little while, I conceded and refilled the cleaning solution, and it didn’t go back over the entry floor.
Those floors were fairly clean, so I recharged the battery and restarted it in the kitchen. The kitchen floor was dirty, a real test. (I used it first in the bedroom, which was also a good test.) This tile has a glazed, honed surface. A finished concrete floor was originally planned, but apparently those don’t hold up well to big dog toenails, and some dyes/stains are toxic. The integrity of the main floor surface was especially important, to allow the surface to be sanitized, so a glazed floor was imperative, as was traction. The honing on the glazed surface provides very good traction, even when the tile is wet. The weak link for tile is always the grout. We used “Power” grout, which includes a urethane hardener, with epoxy grout in the shower. Our tile resource was certain that this would hold up, but even the epoxy grout at the lab gets dirty and needs special cleaning (although it is more easily cleaned), so. . . I didn’t hold my breath. And it hasn’t. After yesterday’s cleaning, using the same pad as the living room for a first pass, this morning I used the tile brush on a broom handle to do a quick clean-up before restarting the mop with a fresh pad, and I cleaned a drop of dried egg yolk that it probably would not remove. It is doing a nice job. For other floors, a quick vacuuming or sweeping is sufficient prep to keep hair from accumulating and being pushed around. I started it inside a corner of the kitchen cabinets, and it completed an area about 8′ x 20′, then it restarted inside the cabinet area and followed the baseboard and an invisible line across the open area and went back and forth in this area about three times in what appeared to be a random hit and miss cleaning. Next it ran back and forth across this area as if it were inspecting its work and looking for missed spots. Again, that may be too much assumption. So far, it gets the job done, with good coverage. The limitation is that it needs to be refilled at about 45 mins. There isn’t a sensor that shuts down the device when it is out of cleaning fluid, and if the battery runs out before it determines that it is “finished” and reparks, you may find it anywhere, like under a bed. If it parks, you will hear a musical notification that its battery needs to be recharged.
I generally prefer reusable materials, and there is a mop refill option that can be washed. I’ll also add an extra battery, to keep it running for longer periods of time.
As with any new product, your satisfaction will depend largely on your initial expectations. My expectations were for a maintenance level of support. I wanted some assist but plan to continue the heavy duty cleaning every so often, followed by a rinse mopping. This device fits my expectations and needs for basic support. Most of our floors are open, so I’ll set a timer, stop it and refill when I’m here, or not worry about it if I’m not. One reason I have been a holdout on the robotic vacuums and mops is that I don’t want a WiFi connected device that uses a camera and measures every inch of every room. This is the basic Braava which doesn’t use WiFi navigation, and reviews looked like it might work. Another was reservation about performance. And the worst reason was that an automated device might run over an “accident” and distribute it throughout the house. (If you haven’t seen one of these Youtube videos, you may not want to.) Now I’m thinking about giving up and getting the larger one that runs using a WiFi on a schedule and self-parks. Newfs are neatniks, after all; if they are in dire straits and no one is home to help, they look for a rug, and this device avoids rugs well.
VISUAL: The Bot met the rug head-on, as it did the chair, then chose a way to navigate:
