Apple Tree Update/Olive loses a sister

 

You might remember that in April of last year I planted an apple tree near my unit. I am happy to say that not only has it been taking root and seems to be thriving, but it has already been producing apples! I did not expect to see apples this soon. Only four this year, though it shows that there is at least one other tree nearby capable of fertilizing mine.

 

Of the four apples, one was found on the ground near the tree and looking a bit inedible, so I tossed that one into the woods. Another just seemed to disappear without a trace. Perhaps a squirrel took it? Or a person? Today I picked one of the remaining two that looked ripe and had it after lunch. Delicious! It tasted as good as any Macintosh apple I have ever eaten.

 

Now, if I planted the seeds from the core and it grew into another tree, would I have another Macintosh tree? Maybe, but not necessarily. I have no way of knowing what tree fertilized mine. I could have been a crabapple tree, which can happen according to what I found on the internet. The seeds from my apple, then, would have mixed genes.

 

I did not try growing the seeds this time, but I might try that in the future.

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Olive seems to like the apple tree. She will often sit or lie near it when I take her out for play. She seems to want me to sit with her. So Andrews Sisters, I will offer my apologies:

Don’t sit under the apple tree

With any other dog but me.

With any other dog but me.

With any other dog but me-

Woof! woof! woof!

Don’t sit under the apple tree

With any other dog but me.

‘Till I come barking home!

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I am very sorry to report that Olive’s sister Leelu has crossed over the rainbow bridge. I had met her many times and visited the farm with Olive. Leelu was a fine sheep herding dog and, I understand, functioned as the pack alpha on the farm.

 

 

Good dog, Leelu.

 

She and Olive were full sisters, though from different litters. Leelu will be sorely missed.

 

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Olive herself is in good health, though clearly showing signs of age. She turned 13 years old on August 1. She doesn’t have the stamina and energy she once had; she needs to stop and rest during a walk around the circle in my complex whereas she used to be ready for a second go around as we got close to home. As such I have been taking her out my back door for a romp around the field instead of full walks much of the time. That way she can head in to the house when she feels tired. I am still taking her around the circle for early morning walks and for her last walk of the night. She is still very friendly with other dogs we meet during those walks, but not as anxious to play as she once was.

Happy Holidays 2023 from George and Olive

 

It has been a while and I have not kept up Olive’s blog over the last year. That is mostly because at age 12 now, Olive is not as active and energetic as she used to be. She has trouble getting into my car, so that I do not take her anywhere if I can help it except to the kennel for daycare and the vet. A plastic folding stair that I had hoped would make it easier for her to get into the car did not quite work out as I had hoped. It is a bit wobbly and I do not think she really trusts it. I will be going to a few pet stores to see what is available after the holidays.

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In October I traveled to England to see cousin’s daughter Lisa graduate with a PhD from Cambridge University. Olive spent that week at Candlewick kennels, where I know she was well taken care of. When I got home and picked her up from the kennel her reaction was one of “you’re here? Okay, let’s go home.” No exuberance at seeing me. It was after we got home that she stuck to me like glue and wouldn’t let me leave her even to go into the next room. It was good to be back home with my dog.

Lisa has not only graduated from Cambridge but is not engaged to an impressive young English man named Chris. I had met him both over in England on previous trips and here when he came to visit Lisa’s family. This trip I met his family and was quite favorably impressed. On a previous visit by Chris to the US he came to my house and met Olive. She seemed to like him and took to him right away. So Chris has passed the “Olive test”. Olive approves of him and so do I.

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This year Olive cooperated for her annual portrait in front of my holiday tree. She doesn’t seem puzzled by the presence of the tree, perhaps because after nearly nine years she is used to it appearing in December.

 

Okay, I posed. Are you happy now?

I had some friends over for a “supper by the tree” a week ago. Olive had a good time and enjoyed the attention she got. Among the presents I got was a border collie dish towel. Olive was given some bags of dog treats, which she will enjoy a few at a time over the next few months. She may be a bit perturbed that she doesn’t get to enjoy HER holiday presents on her schedule (all at once), but too bad. I’m the boss.

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This season our gift to all of the readers of Olive’s blog is a Christmas story involving the clay horse named Pokey, who was Gumby’s pal in those early 60s Claymation films. Everyone remembers Gumby, but this is the only film I have ever seen with Pokey and not Gumby.

Note the old dial telephone and the old TV set. There is also what seems to be a guest appearance by Davey (of Davey and Goliath, a Sunday morning semi-religious morality series that was also a Clokey production). Enjoy!

Happy holidays to everyone from George and Olive.

Olive and I observe Arbor Day

 

Some years ago, there was an ornamental tree on the south side of my townhouse that I could see out a window. That tree blew over in a storm some years back; the tree was removed and the stump dug out. A hole was left in the earth that still existed until this morning.

I thought that the area looked empty and thought that another tree should go there. As a kid we had an apple tree in our backyard, so I sentimentally would have liked to see an apple tree in that spot. After a few years of no action by the Association, I decided to take some action. I spoke with my next-door neighbors who said they would have no objection to a tree in that spot. I wrote to the property manager asking for an okay to put an apple tree there. To my surprise, I got a response back after a few days giving me an okay to plant one.

On Saturday I went to a nearby garden center. The people there were very helpful and helped me pick out a Macintosh sapling on their lot. They also gave me some helpful advice about planting it. I bought the sapling and a sack of planting soil that they recommended. Somehow, they managed to fit it into my car and I was off. By coincidence, that was the day after Arbor Day, the traditional day to plant a tree.

 

 

Home from the garden center on a rainy day

Saturday and Sunday were quite rainy, but the forecast was for dryer weather on Monday. So, Monday had to be the day. I parked the tree in the plastic pot on my back deck and removed the yarn used to temporarily tie the branches up to fit the tree into my car.

 

The rain was heavy on Sunday night, so I waited until the ground drained and dried a bit. After a breakfast of oatmeal, egg, a bagel, and a large mug of high-test coffee I was raring to go. First, I had to cut through the sod.

 

One foot deep, 28" in diameter.

As the people at the garden center recommended, I dug a hole one foot deep and 28” in diameter. I placed the tree in the hole and cut away the plastic bucket with a razor cutting tool. I mixed the sack of planting soil with an equal amount of native soil and little by little packed it around the cylinder of soil that was in the bucket, packing it with my hands as tightly as I could to avoid any air voids.

 

View from the East

View from the South

Finally, I replaced the sod as best I could.

 

Not so easy to put the sod back

Lastly, I brought Olive out to see the new addition. She did not seem to have much reaction to the tree; she was more interested in playing Frisbee.

 

"Well, at least he didn't try to plant a tree in the middle of the living room like he did last December!"

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A few bits of dog humor I collected over the past few months.

How else would humans know that it's time to exercise?

How true.

You knew he was a working dog when you married him.

More cat humor than dog humor, but I have heard that cats have secret names known only to themselves.

Starting the New Year

 

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I took Olive for her routine physical exam by the veterinarian in early January. The vet detected a heart murmur. That did not concern me too much as Smokey, the dog I had as a kid, had a murmur for years and lived to be almost seventeen. Murmurs are rated on a scale of 1-6; the vet initially gave Olive’s murmur a 2, which could require medication. To be certain and help get a more accurate evaluation, the vet did recommend a special type of scan, called an echo cardiogram, which would be three-dimensional and show more than a simple x-ray. I agreed and set an appointment for the following Monday.

As instructed, I dropped Olive off at 7:30 a.m., then headed to a nearby café for coffee and a bagel. From there I poked around a home improvement store for a while until around 10:30 when I had been told that the procedure should be finished. Back at the vet’s I used my cell phone to call and ask about Olive (this vet is still being cautious in the wake of Covid and not allowing people to accumulate in the waiting room). It turned out that Olive was just finishing up. I said I would be right in. I should have added that I was right outside the door, as the receptionist was startled when I walked in. She apparently thought it would take some ten or fifteen minutes for me to drive to the office.

In any event, the murmur turned out to be slighter than  the vet had feared, level 1. No medication was required, just “monitor the situation.” That was a relief.

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On Christmas Eve, after my Holiday entry was posted, I had family at my house for Christmas Eve dinner. My one-year-old grandniece was there and took delight in seeing Olive catch her ball. My sister, the child’s grandmother, took a short video.

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Some dog humor I have collected over the past few months.

Well, even border collies need to relax and socialize.

Okay, so she took a shortcut.

Well, I can't survive without a border collie.

Merry Christmas from Olive

 

When Olive had her surgery in October of 2021, the surgeon instructed me to keep her in a crate and see that she got plenty of bed rest. I immediately went out and bought a large wire crate, or kennel, from a pet supply shop and set it up in my living room in a spot that I knew she liked to nap in. I was apprehensive that she would not take to being confined; she surprised me by going right into the crate onto a dog bed I placed there and laying right down. I made sure to give her lots of TLC and kept her until she was well enough to roam the house.

Now, more than a year later, she still likes to nap there and occasionally will even eschew her usual bed upstairs near me to sleep downstairs in the crate. If Olive likes having the crate, as she seems to, then I do not want to take it apart and store it in my garage as I had originally planned. The drawback is that the location of the crate blocks access to my liquor cabinet and my stereo set. If I want to access either item, I must pull the crate out of the way then put it back.

The things I do for that dog. She is, however, more than worth it.

 

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At fiddle camp last summer an impressive film was shown that, I am told, was animated entirely by one artist. Call “Crack” (the sound a tree made when cut down at the beginning of the film) The story is seen from the point of view of a homemade wooden chair traversing Quebec history from the 1800s until contemporary times through many changes. Although not strictly speaking a Christmas story, it does depict some holiday celebrations including Christmas and Easter.

One feature that may need to be clarified: the seemingly non sequitur appearance of indigenous Americans at various points through the story. It was explained to the audience that in Quebecoise culture indigenous Americans signify the arrival of a child, as storks do in American culture.

 

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Despite having the dog crate in a place that is inconvenient for me (though not for Olive) I was able to get my Holiday tree up and decorated. It has never been easy to get her to pose in front of the tree, but here is what I was able to photograph.

 

Okay, George, I posed. Now can I have that treat you promised?

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Some dog humor I have collected over the past few months.

I may have been fortunate that Olive was older than 24 months when i got her.

That is something Olive would do.

Good advice to stay clear of any potential partner who doesn't like dogs.

If a border collie can't keep the sheep together, nothing can!

Happy Birthday Olive!

 

Short posting this time.

Olive was born on a wool farm in Maine on August 1, 2011. To celebrate her birthday, we went for dinner at “Lucky Lou’s” restaurant in the nearby town of Wethersfield, CT. As I mentioned in the last post, the restaurant welcomes dogs in their outdoor dining area and even has a special menu for dogs. My sister and cousin Donna joined us.

It was a hot afternoon, with temperatures in the 90s, but we found a table in the shade. We humans all had light salad-based suppers, while I ordered Olive grilled chicken with a side of carrots and celery. Olive enjoyed the chicken, but when I tried to get her to eat some of the vegetables, she actually spit out the carrot and celery. I could almost hear her thinking “the heck with this—I want some more of that delicious chicken!” She barked up a storm, which must have annoyed some of the other patrons, but was otherwise well behaved. I took her for very short walks from our table to try to get her to stop barking, to no avail.

We were also visited by a number of yellowjackets. I had to wonder if we were somewhere near a nest, though Olive didn’t seem to be bothered. Because of the heat, we decided to skip dessert and get back into our air-conditioned cars

I think that Olive did enjoy the outing, but I will not be taking her to Lucky Lou’s again at least for another year.

My cousin and sister help celebrate Olive's birthday. Olive is more interested in her chicken dinner.

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Here are a few bits of dog humor that I have collected since the last posting:

No surprise here!

That last one is definitely Olive.

Any dog person knows this.

No explanation needed.

Why, go to work with her, of course!

Getting Back to Normal

 

It has been a few months since I reported on Olive’s surgery last October.

I am happy to say that Olive is doing quite well since her surgery. There was a spot where the fur wasn’t growing back, but even that seems to have grown in. There are a few signs that Olive is starting to get older; she seems a bit more reluctant to go up and down stairs, but otherwise she is acting like she is still a puppy.

I have even started letting her play just a bit with the foam rubber Frisbee, giving her very gentle easy tosses to catch out on the grassy field behind my unit. She seems ok without the challenging tosses I used to give her before the problems began last fall. She seems more interested in the other two games she would play: the “chase me” game (which seems more like a “follow me” game as she is not going as fast as she used to) and the “ha-ha you can’t have it” game in which she will put the Frisbee down as if she wants me to toss it, then grabs it and moves off when I try to pick it up. The whole series doesn’t last as long as it once did; she is ready to go inside after just a few gentle tosses and goes in when I tell her to.

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I had lunch with a friend recently at a restaurant in the historic section of a nearby town called “Lucky Lou’s”. Yes, that sounds like the name of a cheap bar, but the place is upscale, has a very nice outdoor dining patio, and though the food is very good and the prices are reasonable it is not particularly cheap. While having lunch I noticed some people who brought their dog onto the patio with them. Then the dog ate out of a bowl the waiter brought. When I inquired, I was told that the restaurant offers a special menu for dogs!

Olive’s eleventh birthday comes on August 1. I just may take her there for a birthday dinner. She seems to like salmon and chicken; when I grill chicken, I usually put a piece aside without seasoning then cut it up so she can have some. When I grill salmon, I save the skin for her after cutting it up, checking for bones, and letting it cool.

I think I will have to draw the line at ordering a glass of chardonnay, rose, or cabernet for my dog, however.😉

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Some neighbors have recently acquired a golden retriever puppy they named “Apollo”. Olive seems to have taken a liking to Apollo, which I am pleased about. While Olive is not a quarrelsome dog by any means, she has in the past shown some annoyance with puppies. A few times I thought I saw an “oh, no, not that puppy again” look to Olive, but Olive seems to understand that I want her and Apollo to be friends. She has been polite to Apollo, for which I have been praising her.

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On a sad note, Olive’s friend Lenny, a cattle dog mix, has passed away. Olive and Lenny got along very well, so well that her people and I used to joke about them being boyfriend and girlfriend. I think Olive misses Lenny in that she still looks toward the unit Lenny lived in as we walk past. I regret that I don’t have any photos of Lenny.

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Here are a few bits of border collie humor I have collected recently:

Border collies ARE creative!

If that answer isn't a definition of heaven, I don't know what is.

I hope that this doesn't give Olive any ideas for when I take her to "Lucky Lou's".