Monday, October 30, 2006

Bare branches blowing in the wind


...and I can see across the lake for another 6 months. Above is the view not from my desk, which sits in front of a bay window overlooking the lake. It's not much of a lake - a pond, really, only 16 acres, but at least there are only a few of us who live here year round. The rest are summer only residents who are only noisy around the fourth of July. I am amazed at how lucky I am - and how much I don't feel as lucky as I should. I always wished for a quiet life in the woods when I was growing up in two big cities - now that I have it, I long for the city sometimes... Grass/greener thing, probably.



The other creatures in my life who are lucky are my two dogs, who have access to the warm, dry basement and a huge, fenced in dog yard. Dog people always say when you buy a house, you think of the dogs first - it is true in my case!




Above and to the left are are my two "boys," Baci and Dulse, Newfoundland littermates. Baci is at the top, but don't let the guilty look fool you. He once took an entire wheel of Brie out of a friend's bag - and we didn't even know it until we saw him trotting across the room with a baguette in his mouth. He has a silly stripe of white up his snout, a bright white chest, and two white "pajama feet" covering his back paws. His tail is all black, except for the end, which looks like he dipped it in a bucket of paint. Baci is an opportunist, but he gets away with it because he brings laughter into the house.

Left is his totally serious brother, Dulse, taking a well-deserved snooze. I rescued Dulse from certain euthanasia because the breeder didn't think he would live many years without major hip surgery. He is 9 years old now, has not had any surgery. He is proof positive that a hip dysplasia diagnosis at 4 months of age does not have to be a death sentence. He is able to run around the yard, go for long walks, and dominate his littermate Baci. Dulse never gets in trouble, but if Baci is yelled at, he is the one who runs off looking over his shoulder in shame. Dulse is a special dog. And I have to admit that I do have a special life in these very special woods.....

Today, I feel very lucky.

Sunday, October 29, 2006

Sailor's delight

The other night I was driving home from a late day at work and saw a gorgeous red sunset:

It was a glaring reminder that after today I will be going home in the dark until about March. The good thing about driving at night is that you can see the deer's eyes shining in your headlights before you slam onto the the brakes. The bad news is the way the flakes come down in a snowstorm can hypnotize you..... NOT looking forward to 5 months of white-knuckled driving....

The other day going to work as I saw the sun come up, I noticed that the forests of the northwoods, in the distance, don't look that different than far-away mountains.

Oh, and that night, as I was coming home, I saw Mr Porcupine hadn't made it across the road and it really made me sad...

Today the boys and I had another walk down the road, and I saw this gorgeous almost-winter scene.

It won't be long until we're slip-sliding away down this road....

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Everybody's livin' for the city...

Not me this weekend, though. This is the time when I really appreciate the quiet where you can hear the rush through the dry leaves and the calls of the birds that haven't migrated, the pioneers like chickadees and nuthatches, that will be our wild backtyard friend.This is when it gets a little less beautiful up here, but much more peaceful. I am able to see more than a sparkle of Crescent Lake through the deciduous trees at the end of my lawn, I am able to shop in town without it taking an hour to buy a can of tuna, and I am able to take my Newfs for walks down my skeleton-tree in front of lush pines road without fear that an Illinois teenager will come barreling around a curve. I have a perfect (so-far) system. We used to sell this item called "Hands-Free Leash" which is a big adjustable elastic band that goes around your waist and attached to the front is a stainless steel loop, which attaches to a bungee with a clip on the end of it. I made it for my two by further attaching a coupler to it so I had both of them pulling me along.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

All the leaves are brown... and the wildlife too....

Fall brings happiness and sorrow to we year-round northwoodsers. More wildlife is on the move, so we get to see species we don't see all the time, for instance I saw a wolf cross the road last week and last night, during a horrible late fall/early winter sleet storm I saw a porcupine creeping across the highway. It was going really slowly, like it was saying "Shit! I should have brought an umbrella - I didn't expect this! This traffic can kiss my spiny ass if thinks I am going to move any faster!" Several people swerved out of its way and I saw in the rearview mirror that it made it. I guess attitude is everything, even in the wild kingdom.

Initially I thought that it might be hurt, so I felt bad, but then I googled the speed of porcupines and they apparently do move really slowly. I guess they don't have to run very fast from predators. Witness the result of a collegue's dog having a run-in with a porc (she was on her way to the ER when this photo was taken and recovered really nicely.)

I just looked it up: a baby porcupine is actually called a "porcupette". Oh how I love language.

Monday, October 16, 2006

The fog comes in on little cat feet...

...and as I glance left on the little road I take to my home, I see a hint of a gray haunch with a bob tail disappearing into the darkening woods. It's fall, nearly winter up here in the woods, and the smell is almost as refreshing as it is in the spring, but the astringent pine scent is softer somehow, and more pleasant than I remember it a year ago.


The dogs are excited about the new smells - everyone is happier except my colleagues who know that this is the start of the busy season that won't let up until March.

I haven't written in nearly 3 months. A lot has happened. A lot hasn't happened. I quit the Wildlife Rehab Center and feel bad about it. Mark and Sharon are okay with it though.

Baci had a bad neck problem that gave me a scare.

I wrote two press releases for St Matthais that made it in the Lakeland Times and upped the attendence of the events I wrote about quite a bit.

I'll sign off now - gotta get used to writing in here again.