dogs, birds, holidays

Well, Henry is the best dog on the planet, the holidays are fast approaching, and here I am, minding not the dog, nor am I tending to the gift-wrapping, instead, I am consumed by a bird feeder. (Yes, there's a pun in there, not a very clever one because honestly, I am not feeling very clever this morning.)

I wont bore you with the bothersome details that lead me finally to disassemble the birdfeeder, pack it up, and take it Kohl's -- the only place from where I could send it back to Amazon without a printer. Needless to say all this took time.

Ironically, when I got back home, I noticed three birds, Finches all, sitting on my balcony railing and table, wondering what happened to the birdfeeder. 

 

Worry not, little birds. Another one is coming soon. A cheaper one that perhaps wont pose the same challenges the other one did. In the meantime, let me contribute to the incredible mess on my balcony and scatter some seeds for you on the table there. I want you to think of it as a happy place for birds! 

 

My dog presents no such feeding problems. Indeed, he is a model pup this morning. Up at 6:30. It is ridiculously cold outside! Rain yesterday, 6F (-15C) today. Of course there will be ice. With a fierce wind added to the mix. On goes his warmest (I think) sweater. A real pain to take on and off for a dog with very long limbs, but worth it (I think). 

Once again, he is not in a hurry to extend the walk today. 

 

 

 

Still, I give him an A- for his behavior: he caught himself and did not woof at the children getting on the 7 a.m. school bus. And he did not woof at the person in the lobby who was fixing himself a cup of coffee. (The Edge has a coffee and tea station for those who do not care about the quality of the caffeinated beverage, nor the fake milk product as long as it gives a pazow hit to get you moving in the morning.) Why only A- ? Well, I went to my storage closet outside the apartment where I kept the box for the bird feeder and Henry ran to the door and jumped up on it after me. That's a real no-no. He could easily scratch the door and leave me with a $$ bill for repairs.)

By breakfast time, all is calm. 

And afterwards, Henry and I play.

And snuggle.

 

I take him to doggie daycare, pick up a few items at the grocery store and go to Kohls to do my return.

I'm not sure what the relationship is between Amazon and Kohls, but they do have a designated Amazon returns station and I was lucky enough to have zero waiting time. But to get to it, you have to make your way to a rather remote corner of the store, passing very many aisles of merchandise. It's been a while since I've been in the clothes sections of a big box store. To say that I don't miss it is the understatement of the year. It's true that after a couple of years of online food purchasing, I've gone back to in-person grocery store visits. The grocery store is closer to my new home and in any case, I do like to check expiration dates and the quality of produce. Clothes? Give me online shopping any time. 

What's missing from this day so far? Holiday prep. And this is getting serious, as doggie day care will be mostly closed next week and I just dont see myself hitting the big packages with Henry underfoot. Ah well. No need to stress about it. Instead, let me start in on a new 500 piece puzzle. It's all about dogs!

 

And then it's time to pick up the kids. Last day of school! PJ day for Sparrow! Holiday garb for Snowdrop! Hot chocolate and movies instead of work! All good stuff. And yet, they appear just a little fragile. 

 

 

 

Nothing that a couple of weeks of later wakeups wont cure. And of course, by the time we settle in at the Edge, they relax, unwind, exhale.

We dont pick up Henry together because they have something to attend to back home. Tonight then, it's just Henry and me, settling in for cozy time by the tree.

with so much love... 

wet

It's a light rain in the early morning. Foggy, wet. The snow is melting. Icy patches remain and Henry is hell bent on licking each one. Yes, he does have water, no it's not thirst, it's... well, it's Henry. 

Yesterday was such a full day for him -- daycare romp with Goose, followed by the training session. Our walk this morning is brief.

And afterwards, he ate, then went straight back to his bed while I lingered over a very light breakfast.

I hardly had time for pup hugs.

Henry had to go back to daycare by 8:30. Not that he minded. Still, it was an early drop off. (I drove slowly, because my pup managed to chew threw his seat belt. We're waiting for the new, indestructible one to arrive.) 

Why the light breakfast and the early Henry drop off? Well, I have a meeting of our Breakfast Club. I dont think we actually call it a Breakfast Club, but what else would you name an event that happens periodically, with the same people, over breakfast?

This time, I'm hosting. I have to say, I had the perfect dish for it! My daughter's croissant pudding! All I needed was time to make it. No such luck. My two friends had to settle for quiches from La Baguette.

It's always so lovely to get together in these informal ways with people you know well. Give me a small group of intimate friends or family over a large gathering any time.

And guess who else visited me today? The Finches are back!  (Sounds like a pair of awful neighbors, no? Well, these birds are actually cute as pie!)

The rain comes down hard now. We expect it all to freeze over by tomorrow and then melt again next week. That is a true December for you! Dare I say that I miss the bitter cold? If it comes with snow then yes, I do miss it.

 

I pick up Sparrow, then Snowdrop. We are on our last days together before Christmas and since I am the world's greatest pushover, I let them zip ahead with their advent calendars. Go ahead, open them all! Except for December 19th! Dont open that because I know I have you here then!

The beauty of these winter scene calendars is that both kids, but especially Sparrow, love to play with them once they are set up. And their play is very much a reflection of their individual styles: Snowdrop will give identities to the figures, Sparrow will plunge into activities that they engage in. 

Holiday magic, all of it.

We pick up Henry and Goose. The two dogs are all over Sparrow in the back seat and he loves it! Snowdrop nuzzles their snouts, the dogs are happy as anything to be heading home.

Home: there is a holiday party at the Edge tonight, but Henry has been such a barker at strangers lately that I dare not take him down to it. However, I decide he can stand ten minutes without me. I leave him for that long -- it will have been his longest solitary time in the apartment since his first week here. 

My pooch was fine in that time, but I know he really is not trustworthy. If  he got spooked, he could damage furniture, plants, any number of things. And he still will not go near the crate. Nonetheless, it's progress. He knows that I come back. And that's a good thing.

 

 

with so much love... 

 

learning curve

It's always like that, right? The startup costs are huge, the learning curve is long. Eventually you get up to speed with it and it becomes smooth sailing. With bumps, but with time -- fewer bumps, calmer seas. Until the next new app/device/pet/sport whatever comes along and you're back there grinding your teeth and pulling your hair out.

Setting up my smart bird feeder was a challenge. I couldn't sync the device to the app and to my WiFi. Not my fault. Something to do with my WiFi company apparently. That's as educated as I am on the subject. But I did fix it, despite the fact that my feeder appears to be a product of Slovenia and trying to reach a person to help you fix problems is basically not possible. You spin from one set of FAQs to the next and hope that eventually you'll find something that fits your needs. Or, you go to the CHAT box and you initiate a nonsensical conversation with some bot called CHIRP, who will not understand your problem.

You can become frustrated, or you can remind yourself that eventually it will all sort itself out. After all, people in Slovenia are technologically very clever, and the device likely works well if you know what you're doing which I clearly do not.

The good news is that I have set up the camera successfully and this morning (drum roll!) two birds came to my birdhouse! I clicked and snapped ten photos. The birds were beautiful, the sky was blue, everything was grand, except... where are the photos now? I cannot tell you. Where is the information I'm supposed to get on these birds? I do not know. A banner appeared momentarily telling me that House Finches came by to visit, but this is all I know.

I'm not surprised that birds flew over to explore. The day is sunny and just above freezing. No sweater weather for Henry! 

I turned my pooch away from his usual morning path and took him to a big field, not so much to romp, but to enjoy a trudge across a field of undisturbed snow. I'd forgotten how much my pup loves to dig in these fields, pushing away snow in search of... I dont know what. Dead rabbits? Buried treasure? 

Well, if it makes him happy...

Breakfast, where Henry wants so much for me to increase his food intake. 

 

 

It's tempting. My pup is obviously still growing. Here, take a look at how tall he is when he jumps up with bouts of affection for me:

Am I a little worried about his size and strength? Not at all! Maybe I love tall guys? My father was pretty short. Should we run this through a psychoanalytic chatbot? Nah... I just love my Henry and he happens to be very tall -- all part and parcel of his wonderfulness.

He is at daycare, I go over to the farmette. The day is warm enough for the chickens to emerge from the barn. And for Pancake to stare at me coming up the driveway.

Ed had gone skiing yesterday and was feeling like perhaps two days in a row was a bit much, but I pointed out that the warming trend has begun. We may not get another opportunity anytime soon.

And then I come home and yes, I should wrap, but instead, I spend the time trying to understand my smart -- clearly smarter than me -- birdfeeder. It is not until many hours later that I finally locate my first photo of my first finchy visitors.

 

 

Once I am done troubleshooting this troublesome device, it is time to pick up Snowdrop.

(We read, then she reads and I fix the Christmas tree. A string of lights stopped working. Up goes a new one.)

 

 

I have to take her back to school in the evening because it appears that there is a school orchestra concert tonight. I'm not going. Ive got Henry on my hands, and, too, there's her level of interest in playing (it's pretty low -- she never practices). Her mom and brother will be there. Me, I pick up my boy. It's a fast turnaround for us too: he has his last dog training session right after supper. The Beginners one. Next year he moves on to the Intermediate level!

(a graduation diploma!)

 

He has learned a lot, true enough, though the greatest benefit for me, his trainer, is watching how the instructor approaches the whole saga of dog training. With treats of course, but also with an understanding of the dog's temperament. Not all dogs will lie down for you in their first year of training. Especially big dogns like my guy. Henry will sit at a bat of an eye, but he rarely goes down to the floor unless he wants to nap. 

(Today's lesson? Leave It and Wait. He already does a Hang Back in the elevator, which is pretty much the same as Wait, but the Leave it is an interesting challenge! But Henry is smart: when he wants to learn, he learns.)

 

And speaking of napping, might we go to bed earlier tonight? No? Well, let's try!

with so much love... 

 

seriously, let's get to it!

Sometime around midnight, Henry came to my side and found my hand to nudge. I thought maybe he wanted to go outside, but while I waited, nuzzling him lightly, he wagged his long tail, turned around, and went back to his bed. My sweet pooch just wanted to make sure I was still there.

We were up at 6:30 -- a respectable hour, one that he and I are used to. 

(Sunrise today is at 7:23; the winter sky so often displays splendid colors just before...)

 

 

It is still a cold morning, so on goes the sweater. 

 

(waiting for the elevator) 

I had to smile. These doggies sweaters, while not expensive, have multiplied far in excess of his needs. This is what happens when you buy the wrong size again and again, then rush to replace it quickly because of that Arctic blast. In the end, the coldest temps were when he was at doggie camp and though I packed his sweater, they told me he played outside without it and did not rush to go for a walk with any of the people there. Yes, there will be cold mornings in January, February, March, and he will wear those wraps for sure, but I can see that a good half of them I can donate to the shelter.

As I walked him along his favorite once grassy spaces (now covered with snow), I thought again about the dogs in downtown Chicago. It was depressing to watch their walks along busy streets with no grassy areas at all to sniff or use for a doggie's outdoor needs. I suppose a small pooch would be okay. The family I lived with in New York when I was nannying their child had a Yorkie. A yappie dog that was so small, I was always afraid I'd step on him and break his spine. The butler/chauffeur would take the pooch out to the curb a couple of times a day and that seemed to be okay for this dog that did not appear to crave the great outdoors. On weekends we'd go to their place in Connecticut, with lots of space for a dog to enjoy, but the Yorkie stayed inside. He seemed baffled by nature. But why would anyone keep a large dog in the commercial heart of the city, especially in a place without a park nearby? What luxury to have so many places to walk a dog here, even in the rather commercial neighborhood where I live.

Breakfast. My pooch is hungry! Even after I feed him and sit down to my own breakfast, he comes over and waits. Or, is it that he just wants one more rub, a few more sweet words?

Okay, Henry. I'm just as happy to be with you again.

Much as Henry loves being home again, he also loves his routine of going to doggie daycare. Perhaps he missed Goose? And his other pals there? By the time we drive up, Henry is whining to go inside!

And now I have before me a day where I really have to get moving on Christmas preparations. Light grocery shopping followed by wrapping. Well, that was the plan. I take out my birdhouse (I kept it inside while I was away) and I hang it, waiting once again for birds to show up.

It's a windy day and the feeder is swinging as if pumped by a child's knees.  That can't be good. I should anchor it to the pole. As I go about changing things around outside, I shake my head at the time I have spent on the birding project. Though I will have taken precautions to keep the birds healthy and safe, it is still the case that bird feeders are a as much if not more for the humans who put them out as they are for the birds. Yes, some birds will benefit from a supplemental clean food source, so long as you dont have cats around, but the greater benefit is there for the people who want to in this way connect with nature. I realize that. Birdsong, bird movement -- I want to hear it, see it in the same way that I want to see and smell flowers blooming outside, or feel the strength and beauty of trees in the forest. And there's nothing wrong with being selfish in this way, so long as you are vigilant and do no harm. So far, with no birds yet on my balcony, I can relax my vigilance!

(the tissue paper stars? I made them at my Chicago daughter's house -- she taught me how to fold them)

And then finally, I start in on Christmas wrapping.

 

Late in the day, I pick up Snowdrop at school. 

 

 

 

I was to transport her to her next activity, but she asks if she could opt out for tonight and just come over to the Edge instead.

So did you notice? Over the weekend, she took the brave step of going pixie. Her choice. A scary one, but she took the plunge. Finally, the struggles of keeping a dense head of hair in order is behind her. We're thrilled. No more chasing her with a hairbrush!

And yes, it was pajama day in school. Spirit week calls for pajamas on Tuesday.

We pick up both Henry and Goose. Henry is hyped with having his best bud in the backseat with him. Perhaps that's why, back at the Edge, he comes into the lobby barking away. Woof! -- at people he knows, woof! -- at strangers. Tail wagging, pulling toward home. 

Henry, we've got work to do!

with so much love... 

from one place to the next

There's a lot of chaos and frenzy when you get ready to travel to a place that requires careful preparation. Did I remember the gifts for Primrose? My bag of just-in-case meds? Did I pack the right clothes? Get a thermos of warm tea ready for the drive? Is the car washed? Filled with gas? Are Henry's essentials all there? 

It is always a relief when you arrive, on time, and you know you haven't forgotten anything. You shift your attention to the events that really make all this worthwhile. Small things: a book read with a grandchild, a recipe discussed with your daughter, tree decorations admired, snatches of conversation, with all of them, but, too, a good listen to their own exchanges, with their friend, with each other. And big things: the Nutcracker, the birthday, meals together. I had recently said to Ed that this is what makes life worth living: those feelings of love that rush forward when you are with the people who are your everything. He still made the case for finding pleasure in solitude, but even though I, too, love solitary moments, and indeed need a good dose of them each and every day, the thing that keeps my wheels turning is lodged there in the in the lives of those whom I deeply love.

But then comes the departure. The sadness of leaving. Of heading away from my daughter's home. Sigh...

 

I wake up again on the late side. The Arctic blast will be receding today, but it's still darn cold outside. Many many degrees below freezing. 

 

Not that you can tell looking out at the blocks of tall towers, with people living one on top of the other. Wouldn't it be interesting to write a book of stories about the inhabitants of one such buildings? Do their worlds overlap? Or is it all a hodgepodge of disconnected universes? Bound in space, but not otherwise?

 

I wont see any of the young family today. They're off at work, in school, the usual Monday doings. I have one item on my list for today -- walk over to Eataly for a breakfast and a quick peak at the foods there.

I love this food emporium! Italy has the biggest number of these stores. Eataly headquarters are in the Piedmont (the northwestern corner of the country) and there are 14 stores in the bigger Italian cities. (The rest of the world has about 25 of them, spread over the continents; of those, 12 are in the US, mostly on the coasts and then this one in Chicago). Walking through the food aisles is a total pleasure, but I have a specific goal today: to pick out a panettone for the holidays. In years past, I'd ordered one online and indeed, you could argue that the very best one is actually made in Texas, but at a whopping price that I will not pay, so here I am looking at the authentic ones from Italy.

Oh, this one looks good! And on sale! The one to the right, with the Amarena Fabri cherries.

I put it in the basket. As I stroll, I notice that it was just one of many panettone displays.

The store is loaded with them, from every corner of Italy! Should I reconsider? Maybe the ones with pears and dark chocolate? Or orange peel from Sicily?

I stay with the cherries.

 

Now for a brisk walk back to the hotel...

 

 

 

I pass a long snaking line. 

 

 

It's so cold! What could they be waiting for? In postwar Poland, we always investigated long lines. What if there are lemons? Or better yet, toilet paper? So I ask these people -- what are you waiting to buy? 

You wouldn't believe the answer: a cup of coffee from the Ralph Lauren store. I can't help bugging them again. Just coffee? What so special about it? I mean, the paper cups are pretty, but really? Coffee? Why? (Notably, there are Starbucks all over the place. No lines.) The young women I badger think about this for a while. Because it's from Ralph Lauren... 

Did I miss the moment when it became super cool to drink coffee from a Ralph Lauren store? 

 

And then I drive back to Madison. Well, I Uber over to retrieve my car, and then I drive back. If it were warmer, I'd take the L train, but I'm still coughing away and the idea of a longer walk isn't doing it for me today.

I'm to pick up Henry at 4 and I've come to town a bit earlier. Perfect opportunity to stop over at the farmhouse and have something warming to drink.

(Maybe Ed's solitude isn't entirely solitary... Pancake now comes inside the farmhouse. So there are three cats that hang out here, and three that hang out in the sheep shed.)

 

 

 

I am of course anxious about Henry. Did he survive camp??

My sweet boy! To say that he is happy to see me is your understatement of the century. Henry is overjoyed. I let him jump all over me. Good thing I did not jump all over him.

Henry got a report card and I was eager to read their assessment of my pooch. 

There were no surprises. They saw him as a sweet, happy, well trained dog (!), a little shy, but with a tender temperament -- a dog who loved cuddles and of course, despite the weather -- loved his time outside. 

Now, you could say that this is a camp in the business of having you, the owner beam with pride, happy to do a repeat visit ASAP, because they love your dog so much.  Yet I think they checked all the right boxes for Henry Bean. Notably absent was a check in the "very talkative" box, giving him a "mellow" instead. Henry is mellow! And sweet! If a little shy.

Unfortunately, we cant go straight home -- he has a vet visit for a booster shot of something or other, plus a flu shot add-on, as the kennel requires it starting next year. I notice that there are benefits reaped from his camp adventure: he is more confident. The clinic? No problem! No hesitation. We walk right in. I want to weigh him. To get him on the scale? Not an issue! My pup is growing up! (Also getting bigger: he has gone from 51 pounds at the time of adoption two months ago, to 56 pounds today.)

Once all that is out of the way, we head straight for the Edge.

Home, for my happy Henry Bean. Never more than a foot away from my side all evening.

with so much love...