Emberville in July

 

Labrador retrievers are known for their odd sleeping positions, but it is rare that I get a photo before she magically flips over and is ready to GO!

Overnight from Friday to Saturday, I was alerted by a bark at about 2 a.m.  Yes, a bark!  My silent dog voiced a concern.  When that happens, I get up and go down to investigate.  Sure enough, she needed to go out.  I found out when I went on poo patrol later in the morning when I discovered the resulting pile, about twice the normal size.  She had demurred on going during last call Friday night... guess there are side effects to shifting meal times?  I had overslept Friday morning, so she got fed late.

I skipped out on Tai Chi Saturday morning the 11th because I've been overpeopling the past couple of weeks.  Ember took me 'round the neighborhood in the cool of the morning, then we went on our coffee run.

Deck time of a Summer evening.  

I have noticed that in the summertime our dog walks are getting longer on average.  We're up to over a mile and a half, sometimes 2 miles.

I "slept in" three mornings over the weekend.  Saturday to Sunday we had a repeat of the 2 a.m. "middle of the night" play time.  Sunday poo patrol showed another similar need that drove the 2 a.m. barking.  Oh, yeah, I had given her a bone on Saturday, that explained that "extra helping".

Sunday night to Monday, Ember did not wake me up.  

Tuesday morning, she was very happy to be back in day care where they have a doggy pool for the hot weather days.  I was feeling lazy and did not vacuum, but I did human laundry and recharged the front doorbell battery (which is a bit of a "process").  

Wednesday morning, Ember decided a bunny was vastly more interesting than keeping Mommy on the sidewalk and dragged me well into "somebody else's yard".  I lectured her the whole way that this was "not our yard" (by then the bunny had completely disappeared).  She was unconvinced and went so close to their house before she found... some other animal's poo.  And yes, sorry to say, she ate it!  Yuck!  At this point, she was willing to be persuaded to take Mommy back to the sidewalk.  She was pretty tuckered out by the conflict, and the rest of the walk was calm.  Sigh.

I survived Thursday.  A breakfast with the financial group.  Followed by my semi-annual dental cleaning.  Ember, thank goodness, was having her usual time with her puppy friends in day care.  I renewed my library book that I haven't been getting to and am about halfway through.  And I took a wee nap!  What got missed?  I did not vacuum and dust.  The x-pen remained cluttered with toys.

Ember came home wet from being out playing in the water in day care's "back yard".  I'm going to have to consider getting the pool out for her at home over the weekend, too, because it's July and the weather is doing what it does this time of year.

Friday morning walk

We got out about 7:30 a.m. as all the commuters are leaving for work.  I was very proud of Ember as we crossed the street in front of oncoming vehicles, not once, but three times, and walked all business straight across, without dawdling in the street.  I was proud of her showing off her pretty, polite sit while waiting for traffic to resolve itself, for people to walk by, or for other dogs and their walkers to decide on their own paths.  She was such a good walker for such a long while.

Then she found something intriguing.  A dead snake on the grass right near the quiet residential street.  Not a big one, but one certainly ripe for rolling in.  She could not resist and rolled to her heart's content to hide her scent from any potential prey.  When she was ready, she led Mom back to the sidewalk, confident and happy.

Oh, well.  It's in the dog prey instinct.  Hard to fight that when the "back brain" takes over.  We walked on, again being the well-behaved girl I know and love.  Until about a block from home when she encountered this:

Can you see it?  Center of the frame, small and pink.  It's a tiny naked baby squirrel that has fallen from its nest.  

What did my young adult female lab do with a baby of another species?  Again, instinct kicks in... she licks it to keep it warm.  She tries to stay right with it.

I'm concerned.  I should not touch the little thing (it's still moving) to avoid having its mother reject it.  I managed to distract Ember into a game of "search for the treat" which I tossed ahead of us on the sidewalk, and we made it safely home.  I'll probably never know what happened to that baby squirrel, but at least my dog did not kill or eat the poor little thing.

Life goes on at the slow heat-driven summer pace.  Life is good.  Keep Sparking!

Line up the July anniversaries in a row

Tuesday the 7th was the 30th anniversary of my mother's passing.  

Wednesday the 8th, the 29th anniversary of a niece's birth.  A year and a day later than Mom's passing.  

Mom used to intone what was probably "urban legend" before that name was invented that a year and a day was how long they left a body in a mausoleum spot in New Orleans before it was considered OK to reuse the slot.  This may just be a twisted childhood ghost of a memory, but it stuck in my brain.  I have a few of those kinds of cobwebs rattling around.

Thursday the 9th, the anniversary of another niece's birth, the first time I became an aunt.  Nowadays I follow that niece's kids on Facebook. 

Friday the 10th, I have surpassed my mother's lifespan by 7 years.  

Monday the 13th will be 7 years since Kevin (MOBYCARP)'s passing.  I still miss him every day.

Life, memory, and dates are an interesting saga.  And cryptic recitations of this sort are what happens when your brain is one of those fixated on numbers! 🤣

Subject change time!

This little critter is an orb weaver spider.  On my deck's drink rail, posing for a photo after I had rudely walked through her web, destroying it.  I am dubbing her "Charlotte" although I have no clue if spiders have sexes and if they do how one can distinguish, but let's honor the children's literature for a bit.

I took this photo on Monday morning.

By Tuesday morning, she was hard at work weaving yet another work of art.  This time she chose the other side of the deck, not the one where I would walk through the web on my way to the backyard.  One day she had it low enough that EMBER walked through it!

Mid-week

Another seasonal day on Wednesday!  Ember and I got out early.  There is this one yard, at the far end of that walk route, that tempts her every time.  The woman who lives there and is sometimes outside when we walk by is very afraid of dogs, but she grows such tempting plants in that yard!

Ember dragged me up to the retaining wall (the lady was not out).  I pleaded with Ember that this is "not our yard", but it took some time to convince her to take me back to the sidewalk.  Yes, a treat tossed to "search" in the grass closer to the sidewalk was involved.

On Thursday morning, completed the "in touch with siblings over the summer" sequence by having coffee with Alicia.  Lots of information dumps beyond blogs, catching up on one another's extended families, as far as we know (we're not an "up in your face" kind of family, so often it's a "no news is good news" kind of assumption).

On Thursday afternoon, Ember was wet coming home from daycare, and we ended the day on the couch with her head on my lap.  Nothing as peaceful as having an animal that trusts you!  You can feel your heart rate and blood pressure settle.

Friday - another week in the books

Large and in charge, we have The Prisoner, still doing OK, even though thinner and feeling a little bonier to his hu-mom.

Ember checks in with the senior pet.  I think these photos are from Thursday morning.  Overnight Wednesday to Thursday one of the deck chairs got picked up by the wind and knocked over into the sliding door.  Ember was a champ, given that her crate is within six feet of that door.  She was fine when I went down in the morning to start our day.  She sniffed I swear every board on that deck to ensure herself that all was well.

Friday morning dawned overcast and humid.  Ember cut our morning walk short, for some reason.  We filled Dexter's gas tank ($21 for six gallons).  Came home with the London Fog and doggy bone, and our weekend has begun.

Life is good.  Keep on Sparking!

Independence Day and Mother Nature

 

Happy 4th of July

It may be Independence Day here, but it's July 4th all over!  I can wish the whole world a happy 4th of July!

Ember and I went walking early on the 3rd, and the neighborhood fireworks fanatics were already starting up.  She did not seem to be bothered by them, most of them were "in the distance".  The booms and pops continued throughout the day.  A few of them were loud enough or close enough to merit a head whip, but the recovery time was short.  My scared puppy has become a confident adult.

We had a big storm blow through Friday evening the 3rd.  This was when the big community fireworks display was scheduled, with the "Uncle Sam Jam" festivities located in our minor league baseball venue.  They ended up cancelling it because of the lightning danger, but intended to go ahead and set off the fireworks at 10 p.m.  I'm assuming they did, as I heard big booms and woke briefly between ten and midnight, but I had already gone to bed, since it was pouring rain and rumbling thunder at 8 p.m. when I would normally be taking Ember outside for "last call."  

In any case, I woke to the rain on the roof and found a wet deck with a kitty sitting on the rail.  He had done a vanish on me, outside, while the booms were going off early in the evening.  I was glad to have the kitty ready to come inside as it was time for his every couple of months flea and tick medication.  

The forecast did not predict rain until noon, but it was actively raining in the 7 a.m. hour, so we went to the coffee drive-thru, instead of on a walk.

It finally quit dripping about 11 a.m., and Ember and I set out to review the neighborhood.  There were pops and bangs going off, but they did not seem to bother her much.  We got home around noon and had a quiet afternoon.  I left her outside the crate while I went upstairs to take a shower, and she handled it well.  When I came downstairs all freshened up, she was laying on the cool tile at the foot of the stairs.

I put the fruit for the party together, and after Ember's supper at 4 p.m., I headed over to "the kids".  The birdie that I wrote about before, that had gone to the vet last week, unfortunately passed away on Thursday.  Blessedly, in his final hour, he was being held by my daughter in law.  This sweet bird (Scout, named after the character in To Kill a Mockingbird) had been in her care for 21 years, half her lifetime!  FGC was quite heart-broken and the whole family had to adjust to this loss.

They decided they to have a funeral pyre for the little guy.  In a cardboard box on which we all wrote messages and prayers and wishes, his body was burnt in the chiminea.  We all shared memories.  FGC couldn't watch it all and went to help set up fireworks watching chairs on the front side of the house.  

His ashes will be spread on the garden, but a small amount added to the bird cremains urn the family has collected over the years.  

The party moved to the front of the house, where a few daylight fireworks were set off before the grill was fired up.  The fruit I brought, burgers, hot dogs, chips and buns comprised the holiday meal.  Dessert came in the form of cake pops, baked by DIL's mom.  She is such a great baker, desserts being her specialty.  These were moist and flavorful.  Banana flavored as requested by FGC, and vanilla for those who were not banana flavor fans.

Then it was back to the fireworks.  Carl, their dog, was on his calming meds.  The remaining cockatiel, Kiwi, was not only grieving the loss of his roommate, but also bothered by the booms and pops and smoky air.  DIL took him to his room and covered his cage to help him calm down.  

There were smoke ones.  Seemed like some inventive marketer rebranded a gender reveal firework pack for July 4th.  In the two pack, one was pink, the other blue.

The Millenium Falcon put in an appearance, shooting sparks.

Then dissolving into sparking pops!

About the time several "screech owl" style fireworks went off; I decided I'd best get home to Ember.

It wasn't yet full dark when I navigated through the five parties on the streets that intersect where my house sits.  Ember was quite happy to be let out of her crate, but not happy with what was going on outside.

Ember decided she would remain "on alert". She did not want to return to the crate for the night, so we just chilled on the couch, watching out the window.  

Ember stood guard while I went upstairs and got ready for bedtime.  About 10 p.m. I gave up and sacked out on the couch while she stayed on alert.

She woke me with a cold nose on the back of my knee about midnight.  The bangs and pops were dying down, and she was ready to take a crate entry bribe.  

Sunday, July 5th

I awoke feeling every day of my over seventy years.  Fed the cat, greeting Ember, and took her out in the backyard.  Doesn't seem like any of the debris from the night's activities made their way into my yard.  Ember took care of business, and a little while (and a mug of coffee) later we went out on leash to survey the neighborhood.

What a difference two years makes in the lifetime of a puppy!  I well remember the first time I took her for a walk after a fireworks night, when she was about 5 months old.  She wanted to eat everything (or at least mouth it, discover it).  This year?  Most of the time, a quick sniff meant "move on".  Toward the end of the walk, where the debris field hadn't been stacked up yet, she was more curious.  We made it through our rounds and through the coffee drive-thru for our mommy-and-me day ritual.

In short, Life is Good.  Spark on!

Into July!

 Saturday, June 27, 2026

It's a week 'til The Fourth of July, which down here in the USA means there are crazies willing to set off fireworks.  I've been hearing them for three or four nights already, even though they are not legal in town except on the 3rd and 4th.  This is a problem for some folks with pets.  My grand-dog Carl gets calming meds.  Ember has yet to have a prolonged issue with them, but I did notice last year that if we were walking along and one went off within 50 feet or so of us, she would startle.  Fortunately, she recovers well, especially if I'm on the other end of the leash.

Saturday was the last day of "seasonal" temperatures, with a high of 81℉.  I was surprised to find the new deck wet when I got up.  It was the 60's in the morning.  I delayed taking Ember for a walk, and she went down for a nap a little after 8.  Yay!  In time for me to make it to Tai Chi in the Park class.  My friend Kim came as well.

After I came home, I made my own breakfast, and then Ember and I went out for our "pack migration" (as one YouTuber calls your daily walk with the dogs).  Seems kind of silly to call us a pack when we are only two!  It wasn't yet hot, but it was humid.  I pretty much let her nose and eyes guide our path.  By now, at two and a half, she has developed pretty solid habits to stay on the other side of the street when other dogs are walking.  I feel so lucky that even if other dogs strain and bark, she stays quiet.  Alert, but quiet.

This morning, as we were walking by a house with a couple of U-Hauls in front of it, a little Boston Terrier was off leash and decided she needed to come out to greet.  Ember was a bit startled, but both dogs gave a play bow, and I think they probably would have played nicely, were it not for one being on leash and the other off.  Ember was still tied to me.  

As the other dog's owner hollered at his dog to get back, Ember got scared, but she did not pull me off my feet.  It was a little exciting for a while, but the gent spoke gently to Ember, and apologized to me for his dog, but "no harm no foul" all animals and humans stayed safe.  Ember was a little more nervous for the next couple of blocks and looked to me for reassurance, and we proceeded to home.

Ember napped well after her walk, and that gave me a chance to shower and nap myself.  Ahhh!

Sunday, June 28th

The coolest hour of the morning, 6 to 7 a.m.  There was a nice breeze on the deck.  Ember and I lounged out there until 7, then did our usual poo patrol.  I took advantage of the early morning for a quick grocery stop, windows down, before going through the coffee drive-thru for my London fog and Ember's Milkbone.

She was napping in her crate by 8 a.m., leaving me with the puzzle of whether it will be "less hot" enough for a walk when she gets up.  Also hanging on to the anticipation of truly hot weather in the afternoon.  We may drop back to a plan B to keep the pup cool.

I have introduced a silk cooling mat, but it has tags on it that are just a HUGE temptation to chew on.  I will lay it down, do a little "go to mat" training, then take it away when she starts chewing.  Eventually she'll get the message.  Sunday morning, she looked longingly at the shelf I had placed it on and gave a little whine.  I misinterpreted it as a request for brushing, so brushed her.  But then I realized what she was really asking for.  We did a short training session with the mat, then put it up again.

It got hot in a hurry, topping out about 96℉.  Ember was awake at game time, so I didn't go to FGC's baseball game.  Instead Ember and I went for a DQ baby cone to split.

Monday June 29th

We went for our walk at 6:30 a.m.  It was already 78℉!  We have two more over 90 highs before it drops back to the 80's.  We took it easy.  Ember showed little interest in playing outside.  Very short trips out for "the necessary".

Tuesday, June 30th

Month's end.  Ember was dropped at day care and I chatted with the groom room about her irritation under her front legs, so an allergy bath became part of her spa day.  It's funny this time of year, as the hair on her underside seems to thin out more than on her back and sides, and she looks positively bald in spots.

Dog laundry day, vacuum out the x-pen day, and since it was a hot day, "take it easy" again.

Happy Canada Day!  Wednesday July 1st

We're still in the middle of the hot weather, welcoming in a new month.  I remembered my rabbits and also that our neighbors to the North celebrate their nation's birthday today.

Ember and I got out at 7:20 a.m. and it was warm and humid.  Not as hot as it gets in the afternoon, of course, which is why we walk in the early hours.

We were not alone.  We saw Ember's friends and their humans out making the rounds as well.  At one point a lady was coming out to work on her decorative plantings and we paused to chat.  Ember seems very cool when we do this.  She went into her pretty polite sit, and she laid down, tail awhirl, wanting to greet.  The neighbor stayed back a ways as I warned her of the pup's tendency to want to jump up.  But Ember stayed contained.  I worried she was going to eat the pompoms off the gal's slippers, so I kept a short leash going.

After she went down for her puppy crate nap (rituals are wonderful), I texted my older sister who has our youngest sister staying with for a couple of days. I headed over to have a sister gabfest.

Now we are all three up to date on each other's medical history (welcome to old-er age, folks).  Gee, those ladies look like they just might be related!

Yes, those of you who notice there's a sister missing?  She was at work.  

Life continues to be good.  Spark on!