Where the Red Fern Grows

In Alberta ferns are hard to grow since it's dry there and ferns need a lot of humidity and moisture. Here, they are all over the place and they get big. How big? Well, the top of Raimi's head is about 36 inches so ... 3 feet? This is his extra hot, extra slobbery face since the day I took this it was about 24 degrees at 7am and the humidity was so high you could practically swim through the air. I guess ferns like this sort of heat but it makes Boys very drooley.

It makes Leeloos kind of silly. How does Leeloo cool off when she's on a walk and needs to lower her body temperature? Well, she doesn't get all slobbery and gross, she throws herself into some nice cool ferns and has a great lovely wiggle. The ferns came off a little worse for wear but as long as Leeloo was satisfied all is right with the world.

Two for the Road

How would you feel if someone forgot your birthday? Pparticularly your mom? Well, it happened to Leeloo. Poor sad Leeloo spent Saturday celebrating her 2nd birthday with a hurricane and I totally forgot it was the 4th of September. Ah well, better late than never!

So, happy belated birthday to Leeloo who is more beautiful than I could have hoped. She spent this morning galloping around a wooded area for a bit of a change from our normal haunt.  There are lots of young saplings for them to race around and they had a marvelous time ambushing each other.

Then she remembered that she is two now and silly flights of fancy should be a thing of the past. A drink in a shallow pond is more lady-like ... if you're a dog.

It's strange to think of her now being 2 years old, I can't believe she has already been part of my life for so long, it seems like just yesterday she was stealing bones from The Boy ... wait, that was yesterday. Doesn't she look fabulous? She has grown into her legs a bit and has filled out a lot even since she finished her Championship in May; her toes finally point forward instead of east and west and that fabulous depth and fill in her chest, so promising at 8 weeks, has dropped into the lovely front assembly she always had. She is a smooth, clean, and incredibly athletic dog and I feel privileged to call her my own darling Bubbalicious.  

Next stop is health testing and after that perhaps she will produce some puppies with her handsome boyfriend Raimi. For now though it's just fun to race through the trees together, bask in the sun and enjoy the good life of being two years old in Nova Scotia.

Christine

We made it through the storm with little damage done and everyone a-okay. Apparently it was a category 1 hurricane that came through and although I could tell it was a little worse than last year's 'hurricane' it was not a lot worse. Today is a bit windy, and thankfully the +30 temperatures we've had for the last week seem to be a thing of the past. Can't tell you how happy that makes me.

On to other, more interesting news. As you may know, reading this blog, I live alone with no one to open jars for me or do any heavy lifting. When it comes to those things I just do it myself or ... do it myself.  I've encountered several situations which likely would have been easier and faster for a man to do, but I have done them my own way and while it may not be pretty and may not be perfect dammit, I can say I did them and be proud.

So today the truck had a little bit of a think about starting and then wouldn't stay running - it would just cough to a stall when I took my foot off the gas. This is a new problem since I haven't had a lick of trouble with the truck in over two years of owning it(except the passenger side sway bar but that was wear and tear more than anything). I'd already loaded up the dogs so out they had to come, confused of course. I thought I'd flooded it, which I don't think it actually possible with a fuel injected engine but either way I let it sit and think for a half hour and then tried again. No dice.

The dogs, by this time, were a bit put out because they thought they were going for a walk. I promised them that if I couldn't get the truck going I'd walk them to the park on lead. They returned to slumber mode while I set to work on figuring out what was wrong with my truck. The first thing you do, when you're me, is Google "ford explorer won't start". Sound silly? Well, the 258,000 hits tell me I'm not the only one who needs a little guidance. So I read up a bit and discover that a common problem is that the IAC valve in the engine gets dirty and needs to be cleaned. According to all the engine gurus this is 'easy' and there is no reason you can't do it yourself.

So, where, Tamzin asks herself exactly *is* the IAC valve? One then Google Images "ford explorer IAC valve location". There were lots and lots of photos showing me what it looked like when it was in someone's hand but almost no photos of its actual location within the engine. I have discovered through experience that a part on/in an engine does not necessarily look like the same part when it has been extricated from said engine. Also, lots of time the part you are looking at in a photo is shiny and new, not covered in 10 years of road gunk.

So, after much hunting and vague reference to the air intake I think to myself "I wonder if it's under the cover of the air intake". So, with absolutely nothing else to go on I remove the air intake cover and there she be: the magical IAC valve. Not one single source mentioned removing this large piece of plastic - I guess mechanics talking to mechanics automatically assume you know to remove the cover, women who have only ever filled their washer fluid do not. So, part thus exposed I set to work removing it, a surprisingly easy task in the end. I cleaned it out with WD-40 (for better or for worse), set it to dry, went in, had a shower, and then returned to putting everything back together. It all went shockingly smoothly and I had my doubts this was going to fix the problem.

I got into the truck, sent a prayer up to the truck engine doGs and turned the ignition. Immediately the truck roared to life and stayed there. Phew. I gave it a few minutes to think about stalling again but I have been running errands all day, including taking the dogs for their much delayed walk, and so far it seems the problem has been resolved. So now I know that 1) there is an IAC valve 2) it gets dirty 3) it needs to be cleaned and 4) you can do it yourself (even if you're a girl). 

It's pretty obvious that I do not have the option of defaulting to a man for the 'masculine' things in life - some things I do have to wait for my Dad to help me with but 95% of the man jobs in my house are done by me.  As I say, sometimes the process might be a little awkward but usually the end result is worth the effort. The internet can be a dangerous thing but today I am indebted to internet strangers who will never know that their photos, words and advice helped get a redhead back on the road.  It may have taken me a little longer to figure out but I did it and in all honesty I am not ashamed to admit was damned proud of myself.

Storm Cell

Right now we are preparing for a tropical storm which used to be Hurricane Earl. High winds, lots of rain and an indoor day. The storm was supposed to hit this morning at about 3am but I woke at 7 to a relatively still, humid, sticky day. Since the storm is on its way I decided to walk the dogs so that they at least have a chance to get out a bit before we batten down the hatches. The past few days the storm has pushed ahead of it the kind of air that meets your face as you open a steam oven. Now that the threat is upon us I welcome the wind and breeze to blow the heat out of the house and life into the atmosphere.

Our walk today was the kind of walk that just sucks the energy right out of your very cells. The air is heavy as though laden with expectation and breathing it in and out feels like actual effort. The dogs explored a bit and then succumbed to walking placidly beside me panting out their steamy breath and dragging their feet along the dusty trail. As the walk progressed the air transformed from being as still as the dead to a kind of Frankenstein revival, twitching and lumbering into life.

We are a bare half hour from returning from the walk and the wind has begun its gusts and the rain has spotted my windows with a few drops of promise. I have taken down the patio set, tied the 11 foot sunflowers to the fence and once the wind picks up enough to blow the hot air out of the house I'll close the windows and settle in for a day of movies and possibly some housework. Raimi is fast asleep on the livingroom floor directly in front of the oscillating fan while Leeloo and Esme will trade dog bones for an hour or two. The storm will come and go and we will tidy up when it leaves, as long as the dogs, cats and I come through the other side unscathed, the rest is all just stuff.

Dawn Patrol

I love silhouette photos. I'm not sure why, perhaps it's because they represent what balance in the universe means to me. A silhouette reminds me that in order to have dark there must be light and for something to shine there must be shadow.

Often the most difficult aspect of photographing against the sun is maintaining detail in the subject, if that is the intent. I love the highlight in The Boy's eye, it makes him seem bright and curious - a state of being uncommon for him.

A black dog against a sun ... that is a true challenge to light! Fortunately she had her tongue out otherwise this would just be a blob of fuzzy black in the middle of the photo. Can you tell this dog is 100 different kinds of naughty?

Leeloo pauses to listen for squirrels. This photo actually speaks to me of movement rather than stillness, perhaps it's because this is her 'spring into action' pose just a moment before dashing into the bushes to teach a squirrel a lesson.

The Boy at dawn. The sun touches his back, grass tickles his belly, the ground rises up to meet his every step and the wind brings him scents of a day just begun ...

Thank Your Lucky Stars

It feels like a day of Ridiculous Leeloo. She was so happy to go for a walk until she realized it was already 24 degrees at 7am. We haven't been for a walk in several days because she was in heat and then we were away and then I was sick - all things conspired to prevent heading into the woods for our usual morning constitutional. She did have a bit of a run or two but they only lasted for a few minutes before the heat caught up to her. This was her first zoom ... she was demonstrating what it means to be FREE!

After that little exhibition she realized she had a Dark Passenger and spent a moment looking to see who or what it was. Can you spot it? I'm not sure how she knew it was there but she was determined that his ride was over.

Then she got a little nose honk just for fun. Beep, beep.

Next stop: Weird Leeloo Expressions. I call this the Worry Eye.

"HEY! Thank you for the walk Mommy!" Leeloo is well known for her walk appreciation moments. She likes to trot next to me with a big grin on her face, or in this case, mow me down when I'm trying to take a photo. You can see Esme bringing up the rear - she is now a regular expert at navigating Ridgeback legs. You're always welcome Leeloo ... and you too Esme.

Crimson Tide

The tides is going out. Leeloo is done with her heat which means Raimi can be near his girl again. However just because Leeloo and I know this, it doesn't necessarily translate to The Boy realizing that the show is over. Leeloo has had to demonstrate the 'bitch' side of her personality to get it through his thick skull that his advances are unwelcome. She would roar at him and look at me waiting for the reprimand for her nasty behaviour and I just tell her "You go girl, he's not going to get it unless you are clear and direct."

Raimi, for all I love about him, is just like any other boy governed by his hormones. When Leeloo told him enough is enough he just got more excited. I had to intervene a few times to tell him to piss off and leave her be, that only worked for a short while and then he was at the poking and licking again. Then we were back to Leeloo telling him off with the gnashing of teeth and snarls. Thankfully this stage only lasted a short while and the house has once again settled into relative peace. This weekend, once I am sure she is well clear of the hormone shedding, I'll give them both a bath and bid adieu to the house of hormones until at least late winter, then, as long as all health testing comes clear, Raimi's dearest wish will come true. My house will be like Disneyland for him ... a scary scary thought.