B COOL

Posted on September 4, 2018 by BigFootClub

Banner has been delighted to take us for walks recently.  Well, she always is, but the weather is a little cooler recently, so her spirits are up a little more.

The newest thing is that I’ve been asking her where she would like to go when we reach an intersection, and she has been learning to lead.  Giving her that role when she was younger was not a good option – she didn’t need any reinforcement about that idea.  But as she has begun to mature and become more interactive, it is fun to let her explore.  So, along with this, she must be more aware about crossing streets, looking both ways – first.  Her normal mode is Go!  But the past couple of days she has been a little more responsible, looking before stepping into the path of traffic, rather than the obligatory looking 2/3 the way across.  It is the same principle that moms are beginning to learn, about how children are motivated by the sharing of responsibility.

On Sunday, as we walked around the park, there was a family, with Dad standing back holding the camera and Mom assisting the eldest young daughter who was sitting on a blanket cross-legged under a string of glittery triangular banners having her photo taken while two siblings watched from nearby.  The girl was wearing a black cat mask and this seemed to make Banner uncomfortable.  As we walked past, she issued a loud chastening/complaining bark, while focused straight ahead.  The guy with the camera had asked as we passed what kind of dog she was.  I replied, a talkative one!  I didn’t have time to explain that she didn’t hesitate to express her opinions, but Greg gave the proper reply, “a Newfoundland”.

She continued as Banker used to do in the “Nothin’ gonna break my stride” walk, except for the occasional legitimate reason to pause long enough for people to pet a Newf.  I had been suspicious that she was walking in patterns, depending on the day of the week, and consistent with her new interest in people.  She used to like to walk around the park every time.  But she has discovered that there is more opportunity for interaction if we walk toward the square.  On weekdays, we often walk near but not around the square, and on Saturdays, the Farmers Market is open, so we walk around the square.  Surely enough, she took us around the square on Saturday.  But she is beginning to try a more adventurous path occasionally, some that we haven’t walked before.  Although she does like to find the path back by the place where the Crazy Black Cat is (or used to be – “crazy” may be literal in his case).

As we reached our return point, and the walking leash was traded for a harness, she walked right past me as I reached to pet her, with an expression and gesture that would have easily passed for “S’up”.

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Rainy Days and Breakfast

Posted on August 19, 2018 by BigFootClub

Suddenly, there were rain drops falling on the roof and striking the window glass.  Heavy rains were due this afternoon, and my leisurely Sunday morning turned into an urgent set of activities.  The dogs had to go outside first, before the downpour began.  This storm appeared to be long in duration, so a break may not come for a long time.  The cats and Whippoorwill had not yet been fed.  After running the dogs outside, while still in my sleeping shirt, I grabbed the raincoat out of the closet and rushed out to the barn.  The cats were nowhere, as cats aren’t fond of being wet.  I scooped Whippoorwill’s breakfast, slogged through the already soaked pen and fed her under the shelter of the barn.  Summer, with its long drought, was clearly passing.  There had been rain a few days earlier.  It was time to re-orient to the wetter season approaching.

A warm breakfast sounded good, so I opened the refrigerator door to see what inspiring items may be inside.  There was no bacon, but a little cherry-smoked ham was left.  Banner and I tasted it to be sure it was good but decided to leave it out of the scrambled eggs.  There was spinach and carrots, leftover from cooking dinner for Banner last night, but that didn’t stimulate the senses, mine anyway.  Eggs with cheese seemed good for this morning, along with some reheated macaroni and cheese casserole.  It was sufficient to meet nutritional demands for the moment.  The dogs thought it sounded delicious.  Recently, Banner has retreated to a puppyhood behavior on the kitchen, so I had to bring out the “No Noses” rule:  No noses on counters, no noses on stoves, no noses on food.  Her nose had picked up each aroma and led her to further examination.  I explained, yes, it smells good, but I don’t have to put my nose on the stove to cook the food.  To which she responded with a change in expression.  I felt as though I was making what would be short-lived progress, so I continued.  I have to use my hands, but, as Greg would remind her, I have opposable thumbs.  Some people don’t have thumbs, and they can still cook, so I have no doubt that you would be able to learn how to do some of these things but let me do it myself for now.

Using a microwave, breakfast was ready in minutes, finished by a cup of hot tea.  Wet, cool weather begs for hot tea, in particular #55 tea from Smith’s.  This is tea!  The leaves are long rather than crushed, so the fine particles don’t flow through the tea basket, making the tea more bitter.  This special blend will lift your senses.

I fed Banner a good serving of eggs and a couple of bites of macaroni and cheese.  I watch her “figure” and condition better than I watch my own.  I have more presence of mind for the Newfs than myself in general, but Newfs are only here for a short time, and you know you should make it last.  Eventually, awareness seeps in that this is true for humans also.

Banner seemed sore in her right knee, so I asked if she needed a certain pill.  No response.  I asked again.  No response.  Lately she seems to think I should just *know* stuff without her having to respond, so I’ve gone back to question exercises.  When she blinks to respond affirmatively, I address that need.  But, sometimes you have to ask the question in the right context.  So I asked, “Does your knee hurt?”  Yes.  OK, I thought so.  Wondering if one type of med was creating irritation in her GI tract, I gave her an alternative one.  She seemed eager to take it, like she usually is for the other.  She usually responds firmly to the first question.  So, as she is observant, perhaps she is right, that I really do know when I ask the question.  But, being human, with her not being able to speak my language, I want a method of being sure.  So I teach her that I respond based on her answer when she answers questions.  Her answers are reliable, most of the time.  Sometimes my questions need improvement.  But our communications generally improve as time goes on.  Life with each Newf is an adventure, and communication is near the heart of all experiences.

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THUNDER-CAT

Posted on January 30, 2018 by BigFootClub

Our newest member of the pod is a yellow tabby kitten. He thinks as most kittens do that Newfs are wonderful, soft and warm snuggle-buddies. Even Linus, the older heavily muscled protector of all cats, including the now frail (and no longer fat or hissy) Fat Black Cat, thinks that Banner is cat-friendly, or at least cat-safe.  Except that when Banner is outside, her wild-thing trigger pops.  Excitability is still her weakness, and she’s a bit of a thrill-seeker, even with bad knees!  Inside she can also cause cat-panic, although for the most part she is smitten and can’t believe that she can get so close to a CAT!

Banner reminds me of Banker when he was young.  He learned how to “accidentally” step on a cat tail or foot to get an exciting reaction.  Banner has learned about this too.  Most cats are surprisingly lenient in that they come back to the Newfs later.  Sylvia was less forgiving.  She was Jade’s bud, and she thought Parker was OK, but once in a while she would make a regretful mistake about which other black furry dog was outside.

Emily (terrier mix) on the other hand is read differently by the cats, with good reason.  Her mood swings range from the similar can’t-believe-I-can-get-that-close reaction when the cat is inside (and she’s in her crate) to a full-blown assault on all ears with crate-climbing and clamoring.  I try to keep her castanets trimmed, but it doesn’t take long for her to figure out how to make loud noise again.

At about 6 months, S’kerit is still a baby.  He spends days outside and comes inside for bedtime.  Except, like a Newf, when the snow came, he was fascinated, too fascinated to come inside!  He’s only missed bedtime on a few nights over the winter, and sometimes he comes inside during the morning for naps.  Whenever the construction people are here, he wants to come inside.  He doesn’t like noise, unless like Emily, he’s the one making the noise.  Today the cabin roof is being rebuilt, as the original builder cut some corners.  He has adjusted to the people doing the concrete work on the house, but this was new noise, so he sought the safety and comfort of his crib.

The cabin porch roof frame was built when the cabin was built, but the posts weren’t tall enough to install the frame.  It became one of those things that we intended to finish but didn’t.  Then we re-planned the garage for the house and there wasn’t room for a porch roof.  That’s right!  The garage is being built about 8’ in front of the cabin!

The cats think the concrete maze is a jungle gym for cats.  They like to hop onto the different walls, climb the mountain of earth and rock that was under the basement and walk the stem wall perimeter to survey their territory.  It’s a great place for a baby cat to prepare his attack of the Lion King.  Fortunately, this Lion King is very good-natured and very nurturing.  (and now neutered)  Another discovery point for S’kerit was the porch frame, leaning against the wall next to the bedroom.  There is a train track not far from us that runs from the center of town both directions, crossing the back of our farm.  When it passes, it can be felt and heard at the cabin, but that is nothing compared to the Cat of Thunder’s landing and running along that porch frame.  Even knowing what the sound is, it can still be startling.  How can one large baby cat make so much earthquake-rattling, booming noise!  He’s good morning shadow-art, too, well-profiled in the morning sun outside the bedroom window, behind the blind.

This morning the brave beast is taking his comfortable snooze inside his crate, in the company of two dogs.  When I put him in his crate, I scoop him up and cradle him on his back, then bend down to let him touch Banner.  He reaches those thick hairy paws down to pat her nose and knead the top of her head.  They’re both in heaven for a moment, then it’s time for naps.

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BEAUTIFUL EYES

Posted on January 12, 2018 by BigFootClub

Happy Friday morning!

As I walked through the kitchen nearly awake, looking for coffee materials while the water boiled, I came to the awakening realization that we were out of half and half.  Making coffee is a precise ritual, and all ingredients must be present in the proper amounts.  I tried substituting with creamer, but this wasn’t quite right.  There was a small bottle of Bailey’s, not quite empty, and not quite fresh, so I added this.  It helped provide the dairy creamer effect, but since I had already added sugar, it was overly sweet.  Like a teenager, I tuned out the sweetness then sat on the sofa to enjoy my morning cup of coffee.

My little girl ambled over and sat in front of me for some pleasant dialog.  Happy Fridays bring out the optimism in our Newfs, and her expression revealed a particular pleasantness.  She had this same pleasantness when she offered hug time, as the coffee water boiled.  She enjoys morning hugs, and these include tip to tail affection, beginning with a wrap-around hug, one arm under her neck and one wrapped around her belly, face next to her head, nose up, followed by rubbing and kneading along her back, with caresses around her head.  These are very important.

As I sat on the sofa, her expression conveyed a softness that invited another head caress.  There is a valley between the orbital skeletal structure of her eyes where a Newf can’t lick or scratch, and this is an area where she appreciates being rubbed.

I continued following the curves of her head with my hand, then began doing the “mom” thing, inspecting her ears, lifting her jowl flap to check her teeth, smiling at her and telling her that she had pretty teeth.  Enough is enough, so as I lifted her right jowl, she raised her paw and put it on my arm as she looked intently into my eyes.  I said, “OK”, and continued rubbing her head, looking back into her eyes, into that deep pool of brown.  Deep brown is one of my favorite colors.  In the past few years, it has re-emerged as a color option in material goods.  I found some long-sleeved and three-quarters sleeved shirts in a lovely shade of dark brown, and I found one suit in a nice brown.  When we built our cabin in 2014, we used a beautiful deep brown quartz countertop.  In the past year, I haven’t found such beautiful shades of deep brown in clothing, and now that we are building the house, the deep browns in countertop are not as available.  There are some dark colors with brown hues, but not the deep, reflective, beautiful brown like the eyes of a Newfoundland.

Banner smiled.  Her concerns are not about the color of the countertop, and this morning being a Friday morning, her concerns were not about anything at all.  She was simply happy.  She is simply happy, and joyful.  Last night she was so happy that she played with toys, mostly that party toy, the noisy cat-ball, in pre-celebration until after I fell asleep.

Each of our Newfs learns that Fridays are special, a time to be shared and appreciate your company more than other days, the 7th day of the week in a Newfie calendar.

Happy Friday!  Pass it on!

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