And another windy cold day…
Whew. Have finished feeding and watering our doggy guests and still will take several for walks. Also have to clean the kennels of course.
It is SO cold with the wind; Gary says it is only about -5 degrees C., but I think the wind chill factor must make it about -20 ! I had to come in to warm up.
We again have such a NICE NICE assortment of boarders, though when we have difficult ones, I probably WON’T proclaim it in my web log. I think for now we should be called “Yellow Dog Acres”, because there are so many golden-coated dogs here at this time!
We have “Collen” who is in fact, reddish brown, “Nikki”, a Golden Retriever, “Max”, a yellow labrador, “Sheba”, a strawberry blond Shiba Inu, and “Missy” another yellow lab. As well, we have THREE Jack Russell terriers (Bernie, Emily, and Buddy), an 18 year old Dachshund “Cuddles”, a pretty grey cat “Misty”, and a budgie bird “Toohey” (named after the Australian beer.
The Jack Russell terriers, despite the breed’s reputation for being mischievous and hyper, are ABSOLUTELY delightful, except that they would like to eat the budgie. Therefore, “Toohey” bird is boarding in our bathroom, where he is chortling away happily. “Misty” is safe in a large cat kennel in my heated grooming shop, quite separate from the indoor dog pens there.
These days there is not much more going on than caring for the animal guests. Tomorrow another Golden Retriever and a Great Pyrenees puppy arrive. On Tuesday there is a new customer bringing her border collie cross, and I am going to be on my way to Calgary!
I’m feeling quite freaked about going to Calgary for even two or three days, leaving Gary with the whole business to run, even though he is absolutely, 100% able to run it as well as I. He used to work with sled dog kennels which had 60 to 80 dogs full time!
It’s not a “frivolous” trip; I want to support Myrtle at the time of her abdominal surgery. My eldest daughter Shelly lives in Calgary and is providing a great deal of help and comfort all of the time, so in essence, I’m lending a little support for the support.
*SIGH* I wish the weather would cooperate so that today I could tidy the yard more. At this time of year, things look kind of messy, and items like flower tubs just look like so much plastic trash all over the place. Because of the autumn I had, with Dad falling ill and dying (with all the trips to Calgary), I didn’t do even as much clean-up as I usually do.
Essentially, I leave vegetation as it is over the winter, as branches catch snow for insulation for my beloved perennials, and seed pods provide food for birdies. I like to call it “winter interest” in the garden. However, when spring comes, all the dead material needs to be removed because it is unsightly as the new growth comes out.
I’ll be back here at some point with pictures of our boarders, or just post them in our pet gallery on the web site, or BOTH.
Keep warm, stay well. Back later.
