Trips to Maine, Albany, and other fun places

Olive is fully recuperated from her oral surgery last April. For a while, even after she seemed to be fully healed, rough play with a tennis ball, would result in some bleeding in her gums; fortunately, that has not happened in at least a month.

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In early May I took Olive with me to visit an elderly relative near Albany NY at a senior housing complex. Although dogs are not allowed into the clubhouse, the complex was somewhat dog friendly and even had a fenced in dog play area.

My mom’s cousin Dora was delighted with Olive, made a nice lunch, and joined Olive and myself at the dog play area. Dora lives on the third floor, so that Olive and I had to take an elevator up to visit. Olive didn’t quite know what to make of the elevator ride, but she survived.

Olive playing with  my mom's cousin Dora

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I gave some serious consideration to buying a small summer getaway condominium apartment in the town of Boothbay Harbor, Maine. Olive and I went up to look at it in late May. I was pleased that Olive had no trouble getting up the stairs to the second-floor unit. Although I loved the unit and the town of Boothbay, a lively summer town (I understand that it was the model for Cabot’s Cove, Jessica Fletcher’s home town in the popular television mystery series “Murder She Wrote”), I decided that this was not the right time to make such a purchase.

We stayed with my good friend Laurie who came with us to look over the unit. I had purchased a small dog bed to use as a travel bed and two inexpensive plastic bowls for food and water. Olive adapted to the temporary situation well, staying in the closed guest room while Laurie, a few other friends, and I attended a contradance in a nearby town. There was one mishap: when we got home from the dance I discovered a puddle of pee on the linoleum floor. Fortunately, Laurie took it in stride; I cleaned up and there were no further problems.

We were not too far from Meadowcroft Farms, where Olive was born. We went there after viewing the unit in Boothbay Harbor where Olive had a play date with her new “sister in law” Selkie. Since Olive’s mother is too old to have any more litters and her father died more than a year ago, Selkie will be the new breeding dog while Olive’s brother Gillie will be the new sire. Olive and Selkie seemed to get along well; it was a good afternoon. I regret that I did not take a video or photo of Olive and Selkie playing together.

Olive at Nanne's Farm

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Olive adores and is adored by the neighborhood toddlers here at home. One parent took this photo of Olive leaping to catch a tennis ball. The showoff!

She's Airborn!

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On June 3 Olive and I both helped staff a booth at an art show in Manchester CT. The booth served a dual purpose of selling railroad photos as part of our "Whales to Rails" project and to disseminate information about the Cetacean Society International. It seems that Olive is getting to be something of an unofficial CSI mascot. 

Olive does her part to help whales

Olive recuperates

Olive went in for her surgery today at 7:30 a.m. I got a call shortly after noon that she was awake and recuperating well. I was able to pick her up an hour early at 3:00 p.m.

She is a bit groggy, her eyes dilated, she is minus two teeth, but she is home and the surgery went well, according to the vet staff. She now has clean white teeth. Some suture of her gums was necessary, but they are the kind that will dissolve on their own so no follow up should be necessary.

Home from a day at the vet hospital

She will be on a special diet of soft canned food for a few days. I tried giving her a can which she ate about half of. I was told that she would be a bit tired but would be back to her old self tomorrow. She was anxious to go for a walk as soon as we got home, even before going into the house, and seemed pretty much her usual self during the walk around the outer perimeter of the complex. She even insisted on stopping at the back doors of her favorite neighbors, but alas they were not home.

She is resting right now, and should not require any follow up trip back to the vet. I am simply glad to have her back home.

On March 25, 2015 a 3½ year old border collie named Olive was brought to my house to be fostered “only for a month or so” until a permanent home can be found for her. Well, three years later we are inseparable. Happy anniversary Olive.

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Olive loves to herd geese into the pond at the center of my townhouse condominium complex. I often let her loose as she typically comes back to me after chasing the geese into the pond. Last Monday I saw her disappear over a ridge near the edge of the pond. I walked down to get her, and she came to me when I called her, her bottom half covered with muck. Apparently, she wallowed into the muddy part of the pond (it gets that way in the early spring). I had hoped to just be able to rinse off the mud quickly and be done with it. Guess again. After rinsing the mud off she smelled awful. I ended up giving her a full bath. I am grateful that she cooperates when it’s bath time.

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Today was the day we paid a visit to the veterinarian for Olive’s annual checkup. I am happy to report that she is generally in good health except for one thing. One of her teeth seems to have gotten infected and was a bit loose. The vet recommended extracting the tooth. We have an appointment set for next Thursday. I was told to drop her off early in the morning at 7:30 and pick her up again at 4:00 p.m. No food that morning.

There was an alternative that the vet mentioned: I could take her to a canine dentist (apparently there is such a thing) for a root canal. I decided against that option.

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I am told that dogs are considered seniors after the age of 7 years. I have a hard time thinking of that lively dog as a senior, but it seems that she is not a puppy anymore. The vet did detect some early signs of arthritis. Great, we can deal with arthritis and growing old together. I found a chart to determine a dog’s equivalent age:

I notice that this chart indicates Olive won't be senior until she turns nine.

From the chart, Olive would be the equivalent of a human at 47 when she turns seven in August. That hardly seems old to me. She won’t catch up to me until she is about 11, at which point I will be 67. That’s a bit scary.

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I will be hosting an Easter dinner for family members Sunday. My cousin Nancy will be bringing her new adopted dog Harvey along. In the past others have brought their dogs to my house and there has been little problem. Olive was mostly a gracious hostess when her brother Gilly visited, had no problem when my friends Kathryn and Mark brought their corgi Archie, and generally seems ok with other dogs visiting. I am hopeful that she will be just as well behaved around her new “cousin”.

Christmas Border Collie

As some of you know, my dad passed away on November 24, 2017, the day after Thanksgiving. It was quite a shock in that he had been in excellent health almost to the day he died. The funeral and reception were held the following Thursday, with the burial on Friday at the family plot at the Woodside cemetery in Westminster, Massachusetts. For that reason our blog is a bit late this month, and this entry will be short.

Olive seemed to know that something was amiss. She was very attentive to me and always there with border collie kisses and affection.

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New research has revealed an astounding bit of biblical history:

Border collies existed back more than two thousand years ago, and were used by shepherds in the Middle East to help with the sheep. As the gospels tell us, shepherds watching over their flocks came to the manger on that first Christmas night. Well, now we have proof that those shepherds had border collies with them and that at least one of those border collies was present at the birth of Jesus.

Well, how else were the shepherds going to manage all of those sheep?

With that bit of Christmas baloney, Olive and I wish all a happy holiday and a prosperous new year.

Injured Dog/Cambridge

While playing Frisbee with Olive less than two weeks ago on Saturday I heard her yelp, then saw that there was bleeding around her dew claw. The injury turned out to be more than something a groomer could correct by clipping her nail, so I took her to the veterinarian. Fortunately the office was still open and the vet was willing to take her on a moment’s notice. The vet sedated Olive and took care of the claw while I waited nervously in the waiting room.

After what seemed to me like a long time, though it was probably less than fifteen minutes, I was told that Olive was coming to and would be out shortly. A minute later she staggered out with a bandaged leg. I paid the charges, then led Olive out to my car. She staggered in a daze, managed to hop into the car, and promptly fell to sleep. When we got home she staggered again into the house like someone who had too much to drink. The second she hit the living room rug, she dropped to the floor and was sound asleep. An hour later she was raring to go again, and it seemed that the bandage wasn’t bothering her a bit. As per the vet’s instruction, I left the bandage on for three days. When I took it off Olive was behaving as if nothing had happened. So a happy ending there.

How humiliating!

There was a bit more to the story, however. While Olive was sedated the vet did a cursory check on her and noticed a growth in her mouth. With my consent a biopsy was taken and sent to the lab. The following Wednesday I finally got the results: the growth was benign, probably caused by a gum irritation. The vet suggested I brush her teeth regularly to remove the source of irritation. Easier said than done, I thought. As it happened, I had to leave for a five day trip to England, so I asked the people at Candlewick kennels to give her daily brushings while I was away.

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My cousin’s daughter, Lisa, attends Cambridge University in England, about a two hour drive from London. Cambridge dates back to ancient times and has a lot of history to it. Some buildings date back to the 1200s. With a population in the neighborhood of 120,000 people it’s not huge like London is; there is, however, quite a bit to see there including some first rate museums and, of course, the university itself with its historic buildings. A list of distinguished alumni reads like a who’s who of world history.

Lisa’s graduation ceremony took place in the historic 1730 senate house building, normally not open to the public. Family and friends like myself had to present tickets to get in to see the commencement. The four of us (Lisa’s parents, her aunt, and myself) were seated in a gallery above the hall where the graduates were given their diplomas.

Lisa after the ceremony with her parents.

The following day I took a walking tour of the university area, then met up with the rest of the family for a punting tour down the river. Punts are narrow flat bottom boats, similar to the gondolas of Venice though a bit more stable without gondoliers singing “Oh Solo Mio” off key. Our punter (as the boat operator was called) was knowledgeable and gave us a nice tour as we sailed up and down the Cam River. Many of the most impressive buildings are along the river.

On the punt; Lisa with her friend Chris and her dad.

One photo I wish I had taken: while walking down a busy street I spotted a border collie that looked similar to Olive. His owners and I agreed that border collies are great dogs despite being a lot of work. When I petted the dog he put his paw on my shoe as if to say he accepted me as a friend. I guess Border Collie is an international language. I’m privileged to have learned to speak it.

Bless the Dogs/A Border Collie Treasure

In late September I headed up to the Eastern States Exposition (locally called the “Big E) which is essentially a state fair for the six New England states held in Springfield, Massachusetts. Most New England states abandoned their own state fairs some time ago. Connecticut ceased having its state fairs in Danbury back in 1981. The old state fair grounds are now a large indoor shopping mall. At least they pay some homage to the old state fair with some nostalgic photos near the food court. Aside from that there are no remnants of the old fair save in the memories of old fogies like me.

Much of what is at the Big E is the same tacky tchotchke that one finds at most state or county level fairs. There is, however, an avenue of state pavilions. Each of the six states has a building made to resemble their statehouses. Inside the building are booths filled by state businesses and crafters. The craft booths are mostly a step above what one finds through most of the fair. The Vermont pavilion, for example, features maple syrup and maple candy. Of particular interest to me is a booth staffed by some relatives who own a specialty chocolate shop in the Vermont town of Bennington. I do not think I am particularly biased in saying that the chocolate they sell is out of this world. Other booths sell woodcraft, pottery, and other crafts that are a cut above.

Not far from the avenue of states is a section of historic buildings labeled “Storrowtown”. During the fair a number of craft booths are there as well, also selling upscale crafts. It was there that I spotted a porcelain sculpture of a border collie that I just had to buy.

The sculpture opens up as shown on the right into a small storage compartment. When I bought the item I discovered an additional surprise: a small pendant inside.

I have an idea where to display the main sculpture, but am unsure what to do with the pendant. Perhaps a Holiday gift to some border collie person? Hmmmmmm…….

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On October 7, in honor of Saint Francis of Assissi, the Catholic church in Glastonbury held a blessing of animals. This was the first time I know of that such a service was held. Could it be because our new pastor is a dog owner himself (with two dogs, Harry and Oliver)?  I of course had to bring Olive. I would like to say she was well behaved during the service; that would be a bit of an exaggeration. She was friendly to other dogs, but barked as the pastor was giving the blessing and seemed to want to run around and socialize with the other dogs.

I had some difficulty handling both Olive and my camera. On the left is a general shot of some of the dogs there to be blessed. On the right was the best photo I could take of Olive while being blessed. Well, this was her first visit to church. Does it make Olive a Catholic dog?

New Kitchen/Sofa Beds

It has been a while since the last entry. Not because nothing of interest happened during that time; because things were topsy-turvy with the kitchen renovations. Olive wasn’t sure what to make of the boxes of cookware and other kitchen items crowding up the living room taking up her favorite napping spots. Even her napping spot in the dining room was unavailable as the work crew took over the dining room as a staging area and storage area for building materials. She bore her burden well, doing most of her napping upstairs and joining me at a makeshift dining area on a table set up in the living room during meals. I could detect some relief when I was finally able to start moving items back into the new cabinets.

A few weeks later my friend Mark, an excellent house painter, came down from Massachusetts to finish off the job (the kitchen renovation contractor does not do painting). Olive had met Mark several times and was good as gold for him, staying out of his way while he painted. I had to comment that Olive behaved better for Mark than she usually does for me!

 

Below for comparison are photos of the kitchen before any work started, after the old kitchen was gutted, after the renovation work was done but before painting, and after the painting was done and things were finally back to normal.

 

The old kitchen

 

 

 

 

 

 

After demolition

 

 

Before painting

After painting

 

I am sure that someone will comment “but the new kitchen looks no different from the old kitchen”. True that there was little that could be done with the kitchen layout, so that mostly remains the same. The new counters are made of Corian, a hard plastic that looks just like polished stone but will absorb some shock should a glass or whatever be dropped on it. The new floor is made of nylon but resembles stone tiles. The cabinets are a lighter shade of oak, and the darker tile behind the stove and sink are new. I think I am going to like cooking with my  new gas stove, though it takes a bit of getting used to. The biggest change may be that my microwave oven (with a task light and ventilation fan) is now over the stove, which gives me more storage space in my pantry where my old microwave oven was.

Olive was a bit apprehensive of the new surfaces and appliances at first, but seems to have grown accustomed to the new look and smell. In any case, she seems to be happy to be back to normal.

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Some 25 years ago I bought a Jennifer Convertible sofa bed for guests. It was about ten years later that someone pointed out to me that a support bar poked up through the mattress right where a sleeper’s upper back was. I was flabbergasted that I hadn’t noticed that when I bought the bed, but soon discovered that virtually all sofa beds are made that way these days. My parents bought a sofa bed from Sears & Roebuck back around 1968 that fully supported a thick mattress on springs and was very comfortable. To my dismay, no one seems to make such beds anymore.

Finally I found a sofa bed at a furniture store near me that, at least, does not have a bar poking through the mattress. The mattress is a bit on the firm side, but the bed is well made and reasonably comfortable. It cost considerably more than I had expected to spend for a new sofa bed, though I was not about to buy a new one with the same problems as the old one. The new sofa bed is set to be delivered this coming week. I hope that Olive doesn't mind: she likes to sleep in front of the old sofa bed.

I emailed some of my friends who have complained about the old one, announcing that I was finally getting a new, more comfortable one. One friend emailed back

 

 

 

I responded “was the old sofa bed really that bad?” To which the same person responded