Barking at Horses

Each morning, Shadow and I go for a 30 minute walk along the backwoods road in our neighborhood. There are a number of dogs along our route that are sometimes in their yards and sometime not. One day I was talking with a guy while Shadow and his dogs were getting to know each other. Their dog conversation turned to snarls and Shadow and the black dog were in a dogfight. They didn't seem to be hurting each other and the other guy and I knew enough to keep our hands away from the snarling and snapping teeth.

I was able to pull Shadow out of it by his leash while the other dog finally quit. Later that morning I noticed Shadow limping. His left front paw was tender and he didn't want to put it on the ground. I looked and it seemed a little swollen. He decided to sit the game out and went to his crate. The poor guy spent the next few days just laying down unless it was mealtime or "outside" time.

A few days later he recovered and we went back to walking together. I began to carry a six foot walking stick with me to keep other critters at bay.

Yesterday. along our normal walk we came upon a small pasture with two horses. Shadow has met horses, ponies and even a miniature horse before, but something set him off. The horse wasn't affected by the barking and sniffed the little gray dog at his hooves. Shadow settled down and another horse wandered over to see what the fuss was. He "met" Shadow but returned to grazing right away.

We returned to our walk and were home in fifteen minutes. I was glad Shadow was well enough to walk with me agsin

FISH FOR DINNER?

The dog has been VERY attentive during the fish feedings. This morning he walked into the water and began pursuing the Koi. These fish are big; between 17 and 26 inches long. This afternoon Shadow was in the water up to his chest and he lunged at a big orange Koi. The fish was much faster and I'm glad. They have been living and growing in the neglected pond for over two years. The property was foreclosed on and was empty until Kathy, Joe and I bought in at the beginning of August.

Now the house is habitable and the grounds are slowly being cleaned up.
We got a riding mower with a small yard trailer and it has been a great help. The dog gets all excited when the tractor is fired up, he knows we're going to the south forty to do something fun.

I was worried about birds of prey trying to take the fish. My fears are probably misplaced. The fish have been living in the pond without my help for years. But I heard that birds don't like gators so I got a few to help guard the pond.

Shadow and the Koi

We have gotten into the habit of beginning the day by feeding the Koi fish in the pond. Shadow is fascinated with the silent ghosts in the water. He stares intently as each fish slides up to the pellets and takes in a mouthful. As the fish turns away he splashes the water and several times Shadow has gotten a spray of water. He may be interested in the food I feed the Koi. The are tiny pellets that have a strong smell. A few times, I've seen him snatch up a few and crunch on them.

We Have a Fountain in the Pond.

As I was playing with Shadow in the front yard this morning, a small red car pulled into our circular driveway. Two guys got out and said that a neighbor had told them that I needed help with the fountain. They told me that they were the workers who installed the fountain and waterfall ten years earlier. There was a piece of luck. As we chatted, they told me details of the system that only someone familiar with it would know.

What sold me on having them take a look was that they got along very well with Shadow out front. They recognized him for the excellent dog that he is. So we went down the slope to the pond, waterfall, gazebo and fountain.

I told them that today's priority was to get the fountain working. Martinez said that we'll prime and test the waterfall first because most likely it would still function. We began by hauling a few buckets of pond water to the pump and poured it down the intake pipe. We had the pump shut off at this point.

Next, we opened the proper valves to allow water to flow through the maze of plumbing to reach the falls. I turned on the pump and right away water poured from a pipe attached underneath the small bridge. The water overflowed the first "catch" pond and then filled the second one. It finally flowed into the pond. After running water into the pond, the Koi fish came over to breathe aerated water. I believe we have 5 orange and 1 white fish. We are applying for a permit to introduce grass carp to eat the vegetation.

The guys made a list of pipe and parts we needed to repair the fountain and off to Lowes we went. We got everything on the list and while they were putting the pipes to the fountain, I was up in the garage drilling different hole patterns into the "screw off" nozzels. I couldn't wait to see the different sprays.

It was a pretty sight to see the water, but the first nozzle didn't give me the pattern I wanted. They rowed back out to the fountain head and tried my second choice. They said they could see me grinning like a loon while they were at the middle of the pond so they knew I was happy with the result.

My initial plan is to run the fountain (and / or) the waterfall daily for four hours until the water begins to clear. This pond is spring fed and will be crystal clear in the near future. The aeration and the grass carp will help a lot, I'm told.

I'll post again with progress reports. Shadow won't be going in the pond until the water is clear and safe.

August 2011- WE MOVED!

Shadow and I relocated to DeLand, Florida. We found a 3500 square foot home on two levels that we will share with Brother Joe and Sister Kathy. Kathy and I went to closing on August 5th and by the 7th we were moving in. The dog has more space and his own fenced in yard.

We have a large pond with a waterfall. The dog will not be going in the water until it is clean. At the moment it is green. I met a guy who used to live here and he said the pond was crystal clear for years. Once I get the fountain and waterfall flowing, the water should regain its former beauty.

Kathy and Joe are coming in for short visit next week but don't plan to move in for a month or two. It will be great once we are all settled in

EASTER 2011

I'm going to suggest that perhaps my master has too much time on his hands this Easter Sunday. Sticking rabbit ears on my head serves little purpose and is mildly annoying. And I had to pose twice cause the first camera he used isn't too steady and I came out blurry.

By the way, speaking of rabbits, our little property has a rabbit hanging around. When He put me out on the line this morning I could see the little bunny causualy hopping into the woods next door. I followed his scent as far as my run line would let me, but the rabbit has more free rein than I do. I did notice a white tail, though.

SEBASTIAN ROAD TRIP

SHADOW and I took a trip in the van over to the East coast of Florida. This was a trip with a mission. We wanted to see how the skydiving was at Skydive Sebastian. The scenery from 5000' was spectacular. i could see the inlet, the inter coastal waterway and the Atlantic Ocean. What a view. We also looked at houses in both Vero Beach and Sebastian with an eye towards perhaps moving there when our tenure here in spring Hill ends.

We stayed 3 nights at the Sandrift motel and had an efficiency room. I was able to fix breakfast and dinner easily. There was only one king size bed and Shadow made himslf at home next to me. I had put a furniture pad on the floor and he curled up there, but when I woke up in the middle of the night, Shadow had found his way next to me. He spent the next two nights on the bed.
I jumped on two days at the DZ making a total of only 3 jumps. The other day we spent with Vance, the realtor, looking at potential houses. I saw three that I would consider if we moved there that were within the money available.

On the way home this morning, about an hour out of Vero Beach, heading west on route 60, a huge bird flew into the van's windshield with a loud thump. Shadow and I looked at one another, but the van kept rolling. I hit that creature traveling about 60 miles per hour and I think it was killed outright. I need to get the windshield replaced soon. Half an hour after the bird strike, we entered a thunderstorm that lasted for the next 2 hours. It was quite a morning. We arrived back home in a slight drizzle without further incident. it felt good to turn into our driveway. Shadow seemed to be happy to be back home.

I Think We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat

Every time I take Shadow for a boat ride, especially when another passenger comes along, the little 12 foot jon boat fills up quickly and it seems crowded. Even when its just Shadow and I, it seems cluttered. So I decided to get a slightly larger boat. I sold the 12 footer and bought a 14 foot one. It looks like it might work out. I got a slightly larger outboard motor as well, I moved up to a 7.5 horsepower from a 5. We should scoot right along. I had to modify the new boat. Now we have a hatch up at the bow to put the anchor, chain and lines out of the way. I was keeping them in a big plastic bucket and it added to the clutter.
Shadow kept watch as I worked on the boat and then the trailer. He was very attentive and seemed to know some sort of excursion is in the works. Winter is behind us and the weather here in central Florida is getting comfortable and the waterways beckon. I'd like to get on the water more this year. I'm sure that Shadow figures every time we go to the river, it counts as a bath.

The "PACK" is HERE

I picked up my brother Joe on Sunday and Shadow was somewhat familiar with him. Joe is a cat person and probably had residual cat smells on him. Plus Joe is a smoker and Shadow isn't up to speed on that human habit. Today I drove through a torrential rain storm to get Sally and Kathy, my sisters at the Tampa Airport. Shadow stayed home to guard the fort while i was away.

Sally has a Chocolate Lab, Ruby, at home and that smell interested my dog.
The gang is all gathering to hold a celebration of life for our recently departed Mom.

I took Shadow over to the UU Retreat in the Pines in the woods near Brooksville, today and after we finished the video projector test, I let Shadow loose to run on the grounds. It is far enough off the highway so I felt he could get some running in. He had a ball. No leash or constraint was on him and he ran here and there at will. I love to see my dog run free. About the only time he is completely unfettered is at the beach or the dog park. Today was a treat for him. When it was time to leave, I called him over and he ran at full tilt and submitted to a leash for the walk back to the car. I was glad I didn't have to chase him, he is fleet of foot.