Ann’s Weblog

This afternoon I made jams: Saskatoonberry, Blueberry, Apricot, and Mango. I lost track of how much jam I sold this weekend, as I went to both the McBride and Dunster Farmer’s Markets, and sold some to the Beanery (coffee shop) also, at least 5 dozen. Also for the Markets, I’ve made packages of “mixed” vegetables as they become ready: cauliflower, broccoli, onions, kohlrabi, carrots and peas, and people seem to appreciate those.

Gary’s garlic has been selling well also: about 200 heads so far. Just today he harvested the last of the hard-neck garlic. People have been putting in “orders” of all sizes, up to 20 pounds, because they know it keeps very well. Some heads of that garlic won first prize in our Town Fair this weekend.

Gary asked me a couple of weeks ago if I was going to have enough jars for the season, for jams and jellies. I chirped, “Oh, sure…” and now… I am completely out of my “signature” jars, a 9 oz hexagon from a wholesaler. I hate to pay the freight on another bunch of jars, but don’t know when I’d get to Calgary or Edmonton to get more. I can use standard Bernardin mason jars, but they are more difficult to label, and are not the shape that people look for when returning to buy more jam. Because the Beanery 2 Bistro is another outlet, I can now make and sell jam throughout the winters as well.

The four-legged population at the Pet Hostel is back down to a dull roar… just Duke and Duchess, Smudge, Tika and Scruffy. The Tika who is staying with us this weekend is a different one than the Tika who has boarded often; this Tika is an elderly labrador cross who is a real sweetheart. Today Casey, Teddy, Missy, Sam, Toohey and Remus went home, and a little chihuahua was brought just for toenail clipping. This is Chiquita (’Kita), that canine friend, during a stay at the Pet Hostel:

I went to a yard/moving sale today and scored some more vases (I like to give a bouquet without wanting the vase back), some DVDs, and miscellaneous good junk. I need to have another yard sale of my own to share MY stuff.

We went out last night to a nearby Bed & Breakfast, which was hosting a music session featuring some friends who sing, and play guitars and fiddles. I think I was overtired as I found it difficult to sit still and the vocals seemed too loud; I appreciate others’ talent, but I had to get up and walk around the farm as I listened.

At the Market in McBride this Friday, I was delighted when a couple stopped at my table and ask if I was Ann who has the Pet Hostel. Although they were strangers to me, they reported that they have been reading my blog for months! Goes to remind me that I never know who reads this weblog; I know from a couple of mistakes I’ve made that I need to be very careful what I write here (or alternatively, not give a rip…). Anyway… a SPECIAL hello to new residents of the Robson Valley!

Must go, am nodding off in front of the computer. Love you guys for reading my blog. HUGS ~ Ann

I don’t know why I’m glad that it’s Sunday, as it’s rarely actually a day of rest for me. I awoke at 6 a.m. as it was just starting to rain, and thought, ” Oh, okay, if it’s going to rain, there are things I have to do.”

Soon I was getting dogs indoors that would have been fine had it not rained (and who seem unwilling to use the shelter provided!), therefore I was glad that it hadn’t started to rain at 4 a.m.. I have kennels in our house and kennels in my grooming shop, and all of the outdoor runs have shelter, so everyone is A-OK.

Boarding this weekend are Bonnie and Goldie (again, not “still” from 3 weeks ago when I last blogged), and Shelby, Ranger and Annie, Lily, Duke and Duchess (again, not still), Pritchard, Buddy, Shea and Gizmo, Smudge, Muskwa and Tika. Those are just the dogs, in addition to dear McKenna, who belongs to my eldest daughter, and our own Lady and Buddy. Boarding birds are Toohey the budgie, and a cockatiel whose name I forget (who wouldn’t come even if I called), and we have a cat guest, Sam.

Bonnie and Goldie have been here many times. Goldie has a traumatic experience in her background, and is not as composed as most dogs. A few years ago, she was found tied to an old car in the “bush” in a remote area, where it was a miracle that she was found. A friend of a friend happened to find the big beautiful yellow dog, and gave her to her “forever” owner, who since, of course, has treated her like gold. Bonnie is her sidekick, and equally dear to us.

I confess that the above pictures are “on file” photographs, as must be evident by the autumn leaves and the SNOW! Left to right are Pritchard, with Molson, then Ranger and Annie.

I’ll run and get fresh batteries for the camera and see if any of yesterday’s shots turned out. I was unsure whether the camera was actually working…

Okay, I’m back, having ascertained that the camera actually WAS working yesterday afternoon:

Below is dear old Copper, who is a Belgian Shepherd of the Tervuran variety. His owners adopted him from a breeding kennel when he was young, and he has enjoyed a life of luxury and kindness ever since. He is patient with other dogs, cats, and particularly the little grandchildren in his family.

Every day, as I walk around the yard, there are new flowers in bloom. Some are lilies that I forget the names of, and occasionally, I’ll have forgotten that I planted them!

Pictured above, beside the lilies I can’t name, are Filipendula rubra (Meadow Rue or Meadow Sweet, can’t remember the common name), and Yellow Monkshood.

I have to run away again… doing “chores” at Jennifer’s farm this week. Will be back today, hopefully with new pictures.
~ Love, Ann

I was going to say that I was doing well to “post” in my blog two days in a row, and then realized that I haven’t been here since Monday.

Above are photos of our little orchard, with apples, plums, cherries, saskatoons, blueberries and more, and the rest of our garden, which particularly includes “Gary’s garlic” in the northeast corner there. Everything is slow and late except for the garlic, due to our weather this spring and early summer. These pictures were taken a few weeks ago… the garden looks “lusher” now, even though it is still not what we expect in mid-July.

I wish that I had taken a picture of Maverick, a large Golden Retriever who boarded here for a few days. He had been scheduled for grooming Wednesday, but due to a family emergency, arrived here last Saturday night. I could choose my long hours to groom Maverick up until this morning, and I was grateful for the extra time. Mav’s owner was quite anxious about how her dog would look after the spa treatment, as I had (in my own diplomatic way) threatened to shave him completely if unable to remove the matts by other means.

At 6 a.m., my friend picked up Maverick and was absolutely delighted that I’d been able to save her dog’s coat. I had scissored and shaved what I couldn’t comb or brush, but had worked hard to be artistic. I do my most earnest effort with every pet who comes here, and a Golden Retriever who came for grooming on Tuesday did have to be shaved short all over. I’m grateful if people trust me to do my best, and accept the situation if I have to shear an animal short: they can look at it as a “clean sweep” and a chance to start over. It’s very easy to keep a dog combed after one of THOSE treatments.

This week I groomed THREE Golden Retrievers. Taffy, who came on Monday afternoon, is a regular customer for grooming, day care and boarding:

This is a picture of Taffy which was already on file, but she hasn’t changed.

It has been raining almost nonstop for about a week. Gary has some hay reserved at a neighbouring farm, for our horses, and it is out in the field in this weather. The moisture might benefit the garden somewhat, but since we had a long, cool, wet spring, the vegetables and flowers need some HEAT. We had about 5 days of hot weather in total this season, and most folks complained about the humidity and heat, but we NEED some more of it!

I’ll share some more of the pictures which I discovered on the camera:

These would be considered very “ordinary” daylilies, but as the first few roots came from my Dad’s garden, I call them “Dad’s Daylilies” and they are precious to me. I wish that I had discussed lots of things with Dad more than I did. Gardening is one of the topics he could have taught me about, but he was gentle and quiet and didn’t push his ideas on anyone. By the time gardening was a great priority with me, Dad’s mind was … somewhere far away.

Okay… I have to run away again. People are bringing dogs, and one new customer gets the “prize” for shortest notice (phoning at 7:30 am and bringing dog for daycare and grooming “if possible”, at 7:45). I have grooming scheduled… a couple of small dogs and some of the boarders. Tomorrow is Market day again and I hope I can get ready ahead of time.

Thanks for visiting! Love, Ann

I guess if you’re reading this, you haven’t decided to quit checking my blog. Thanks to anyone who visits (with one exception).

Have been busy, of course, but I have two “dream jobs” in the two businesses. Have sometimes been pushed and stressed because there is SO much to do at this time of year.

It’s difficult to make a blog entry when I haven’t posted in quite a while. The days and weeks melt away so fast, and sometimes I don’t remember if I had breakfast let alone which pets I groomed (regardless of how I enjoyed them) or what trees I sold, even “yesterday”.

I’ll load a few pictures from the camera… I have not taken many pictures lately.

Below is a “late” snowfall, which in our area, is not such a freak event. It happened early in May, and people walked through snow to look at trees, shrubs and perennials for the season opening of Blackwood Gardens. Even this week, there has been new snow on the mountains above us and a chill in the air, especially evening, night and early morning. We have had few perfectly lovely days without rain, hail or strong winds, but who knows what the summer will bring… we could well be complaining about the heat.

I had an extremely busy weekend for the May long weekend… our Victory Day. There were 24 dogs boarding here at one point, but everything was pleasant and under control, and the canine (and feline) guests seemed content. I managed to snap a picture of a couple of them, Clover and Teddy. These were not the only two quiet dogs who were staying in the house, but that’s all the time I took for pictures.

We are taking care of my oldest daughter’s dog for part of the summer. It represents an extra bit of freedom for McKenna, and also some respite for Sh., who has been busy with university, work and other commitments.

I just got a phonecall from a friend in our town… a little dog has been found, and several people have tried to decide where he belongs. I told them to bring him here, and perhaps I can figure out which “Shih Tzu x Poodle” he is; I imagine he ran away from home during last night’s thunderstorm. Even if don’t know the dog, surely the rightful owner will check here (and our Town Office is aware, also) .

Gary has been busy also… so many horses to trim and shoe at this time of year. He has even been out to our friends’ farm in Alberta, where Gary took care of a number of Clydesdales. One sunny afternoon, our friend Rob volunteered to help put together a pipe and canvas shelter that Gary had picked up in his travels:

This shelter is very nice to have… it’s a “garage” for the riding mower and a few other items. I guess I’ll have to take a picture of the actual structure for a future post (it’s just an inexpensive thing from Canadian Tire, but a nice addition to the place!).

Blackwood Gardens has been moderately busy despite the unpredictable weather. I am nearly sold out of mature shade trees, and have only one apple tree left from the dozens I purchased. Folks seem to be finding satisfactory choices in perennials as well, and this year I purchased a few annuals from a friend to offer here. If a person is going to be in a “retail” business, these are nice products to offer. The whole scene fits so well with the Pet Hostel… all my work is at home and it’s enough.

One of my antagonists in “Chat” says that I shouldn’t expect other chatters to believe that I have these businesses, because nobody would bring their pets to “Bumf*ck Egypt”. I’ve had the Pet Hostel for 24 years and enough people DO bring their pets here… the business has paid for itself and more, year in and year out, except for awhile while I was getting back on my feet after personal strife. No, it has not made me wealthy, but why would anyone in Chat care if I’m working hard, or semi-retired?

Anyway… the little lost dog has arrived and I’m afraid I don’t recognize him. At the same time, I believe when the mystery is solved, I will know that I SHOULD have known who this one belongs to. It’s a small town and I’m sure I’ll find out by the end of the day; in the meantime, he is safe, warm and fed.

I had a little challenge last week… the infamous Mickey. Everyone who knows Mickey’s family says that the dog is vicious, and in the past when I’ve groomed him, he tried hard to bite me. I have so far managed to out-maneuver him. This year I had a new soft muzzle in his size. I picked up Mickey at his home and let his owner place him in the cab of my truck with the leash still attached. When I got home, I just led the dog to my grooming shop, lifted him to my table while the dog gave me the “Make my day” look, and slipped the muzzle on. Now, I wouldn’t say the the dog felt defeated or oppressed, but he seemed to resign himself to the grooming procedure without much fuss. I know that the muzzle probably prevented one bite, and we got the job done.

Because the man of Mickey’s family is in hospital, I asked the nurses if I could bring one very clean little dog to see him. The nurse remarked that she was amazed I could handle such a ferocious dog, but to come along. I took Mickey to see my friend, along with a bouquet of lilacs, and both dog and owner enjoyed a visit. After that I took Mickey home, led him to his own back yard… and as soon as I reached to take the leash off, the dog came AFTER ME with teeth bared and unbelievable temper! I guess at that point he was protecting his territory and family again, so I just left the leash on and told him to keep it for now.
This is Mickey avoiding eye contact with me and with the camera…

This is Pickles, and she has been here a few times, and fits in just like one of our own:

The dogs that I will groom today have arrived, and after lunch I have a matted cat to shave.

Take care, one and all. Thanks for visiting this blog. ~ Ann

This is Willow, the little Shih Tzu who was groomed today. She was good as gold, as always! Willow’s owners have just adopted a Chihuahua X Terrier and showed the new puppy to me. I should have grabbed the camera!

Today is so busy at the Pet Hostel that I’d better finish my tea and get right back to tending our guests. This is MY WEBSITE for anyone who is interested.

~ Ann

Pictured above are Cinder (and Cinder YAWNING!), Rosie, Sarah cat, Maverick and Sophie. As usual, to see or print out a bigger photo, just click on the thumbnail image. This is only part of the lovely lot we have at the Pet Hostel, so I’ll try to get more portraits done later.

Cinder is a diminuitive pup, a four month old pomeranian. She is dainty and quiet in the house, and outside she plays hard and is afraid of nothing! She was constantly inviting our dog, Lady, to play, and trying to beat Lady to a ball that I threw. Cindy was yawning in the second picture, not making a ferocious face.

Pictured next is Rosie, who has taken a little time to warm up to us. We don’t force ourselves on such a “reserved” guest, but take care of her needs, walk her on the leash, and talk to her reassuringly. A most unusual thing happens with Rosie’s eyes; when she is first here for a visit (she has become a regular), her eyes look completely black, as if only pupil is showing. As she relaxes, her brown eyes sparkle again and look less haunting… she appears quite composed in this photo and happily jumped up on the dog house to be brushed and petted (and photographed). She eats well while she’s with us, and seems less furtive each visit.

The pretty panda-colured cat is “Sarah”. She’s sweet and affectionate, and content when in her cat kennel. Sarah looks quite regal in this shot, don’t you think?

Maverick is a gorgeous Golden Retriever who is well-behaved and dignified, but with a great sense of fun as well. He was frolicking about until I told him “Down”, for the picture-taking, and it tugged at my heart to see him look so worried!

And you might remember “Sophie”, who has been a regular guest and favourite. Sophie was born here, a daughter to my American Eskimo female, fathered by a handsome border collie from a nearby farm. She is gentle and quiet, and always welcome to “board” in our house, as you see her here.

My perennial roots & some plants arrived this week, and I’ve opened boxes and watered some of the pots; they are all in my grooming shop as the temperatures still are well below freezing at night. I got a phonecall from the nursery stock wholesaler: evidently I had forgotten to fax my order in November! Therefore, I will not get all of what I wanted and needed for trees and shrubs, but I’ll send that along right away. It’s all starting to prey on my mind again… after a winter of lovely hibernation, I’m going “from 0 to 60″ suddenly, not only in terms of hours of work, but charges (working capital) on my credit cards. I have to decide where all the plants and nursery stock should GO, in order to make a “wannabe garden centre” really pay. I know one thing for certain: I couldn’t have done, and WASN’T doing, most of this alone.

I must run along to get some “real” work done, as opposed to the very fun stuff of writing to you nice folks. Gary and I started trying to straighten out the greenhouse yesterday; it was “useable” at the onset, and as we worked on it, the wind came up (and the temperature plummetted while the snow started again)… the structure ended up a pile of twisted pipes and torn covering AGAIN. If only I could find a grant or other funds to build a large, PROPER greenhouse.

Take care, everyone. I so appreciate you checking in. Love, Ann

P.S. The lion’s name is “Dioko”.

You’ve met Zoe, the teeny Yorkshire Terrier, and Mindy, this dear little poodle, before. It was my privilege to groom these delightful dogs today. After they went home, I had one dog come by just for toenail clipping… she is a rottweiller cross. “Poppy” has a severely split toenail which has caused her some pain: I cut it as short as I dared and used Vet Bond to attempt to glue the halves of the nail together so that it isn’t as uncomfortable as it grows out.

This was the raisin bread that I baked on Sunday night. I didn’t feel like driving into town to buy bread; there isn’t much left of THIS now.

It snowed this morning again! Seems like we’ve had snow every other day for a week. Yesterday was absolutely gorgeous, sunny and warm, but I was in a bit of a funk. I’m sure I will get my motivation back when Spring is really here.

Rambo went home. He’s a happy little guy while he’s here, but he’s overjoyed when his humans return! That’s about the only change among the Pet Hostel guests, but this weekend is the start of Spring break, so we’ll have a full house again.

Made hubby a banana creme pie (again!) to go with a “planned-over” meal tonight. That was pot roast from yesterday, with rice and broccoli with cheese sauce.

Gary’s going skiing tomorrow in Jasper; he has managed to ski almost every week since the start of the season, and I’m completely supportive, of course. I don’t go because I don’t downhill ski; am content to hold the fort here.

Love you all for reading my blog. HUGS ~ Ann

 

Pictured are Chico (affectionately nicknamed “Doodles”), and Maggie, both of whom are freshly groomed.

Chico was really just here for “daycare” and toenail clipping, but because Gary and I are close friends with her owners, I decided to give her the full meal deal (no extra charge!). She didn’t seem too stressed or upset, but as I took the photo, she seemed suspicious that she was going to get MORE beauty treatment.

Maggie has been a regular guest for both spa treatment and boarding. She is a pleasant little dog, happy and confident, but when the camera comes out, Maggie can put on the most dejected look! She has been the only Pet Hostel guest in recent years who leaps into the bathtub upon a simple request from me. Maggie and her owners are leaving our community, and I’m very sad about that.

I haven’t accomplished very much else today! I created something like Pad Thai Noodles for lunch and have Indian Butter Chicken (again!) in the crockpot, which we’ll have for dinner with basmati rice and naan (a bread). That link is for a sample recipe for Indian Butter Chicken; I find it simpler to buy the spice paste or powder for it, and follow the directions on the package! Here is MY Cooking Links page, on my site, for your entertainment.

Again today I didn’t get out the sewing maching to create something for a certain loved one. Now I am going to MISS her birthday and am chastising myself. I just feel so uninspired to sew, and wonder when the desire will come back.

In the mail today came two movies from our DVD rental club: ‘In the Heat of the Night’, and “The Defiant Ones’. The first one I saw decades ago, and the second I’ve never heard of. Both are Sidney Poitier movies. As our TV reception has failed this afternoon, I’m glad we have received new movies!

It’s time to go mix up the naan, and look after the boarders who stay mostly outdoors.

Thanks for stopping by! ~Ann

I took a picture of the chickens that were roasting in the oven at 5 o’clock, and they didn’t look as wonderful as they turned out to be! So, I’m posting this picture from our niece’s collection of pictures that she took when she visited this summer. This view is facing EAST (in a south-east kind of way…) from half-way up a mountain near us. Our acreage is near one of the Fraser’s bends on the right side of the picture. A photo taken from up here makes the great river and wide valley seem small! More photos of the valley are at this web page on my site.

I’ve had just a fine couple of days. Today I met friends for our “usual” Sunday breakfast, and Gary wasn’t able to attend because he was farm-sitting elsewhere and then had horses to trim. We had a good time, but one of my friends rarely gets a word in edgewise because the rest of us talk a lot. Sorry, M. dear.

On Saturday, I got a phone call from a dog owner who was somewhat distressed. She had been given a pregnant little dog just a month ago; the vet told her not to have the dog groomed until after “Mischa” had given birth. The litter of 5 wee pups was born one week ago (mother dog is Shih Tzu, and the owner reports that the sire might be… Rottweiller!). The new mother dog was matted and filthy, so I agreed to take her right away. When she was clipped and bathed, we had a dog who was the picture of health and happy as can be! I did the grooming as quickly as I could, though Mischa didn’t seem stressed from the separation from the puppies, and I was told that the litter slept the whole time. All’s well there, now. I didn’t get a picture of Mischa, though I hope she’ll be a regular customer now. (Will those puppies be ShihTzweiller, or RottTzu…)

Because I had a dog to groom yesterday, I managed to stay away from a big garage sale! I was curious, true, but there is nothing that I need at this time; I was afraid that I’d come home with a pile of stuff just while I’m trying to “downsize” here. Maybe I have an iota of self-control, because I could have got there, had I tried.

Since the 28 pound cat, I haven’t had any work that wasn’t quite routine, but it’s all good anyway. My perennials didn’t arrive this week, but I’ll phone to confirm soon so I’ll know where I’m at. I need the inspiration to clean out the greenhouse in preparation! It didn’t help (the inspiration level) that it snowed here on Friday, again.

These are some of the daffodils, peeking out of the snow. We have hundreds still buried under snow, and look forward to the cheery displays in the next few weeks!

I had the most wonderful phone call late this afternoon. “Dee” now from Oakville, has been my friend since we were four years old in Calgary! We don’t call, write, or email very often, but when we do, we connect so well. The call made my day.. my week! We resolve to correspond more. Dee and I mostly talked of recent times, but she is also a beloved connection to happy childhood days when my mother was alive.

It’s funny… off and on today I have tried to chat with folks online in Yahoo Garden Chat, and Yahoo Messenger hasn’t been allowing it. There have been other ways to visit with the same people, but those “chat mechanisms” have not been working well EITHER! I’ve suffered some pangs of withdrawal. I spent some time (freed up because of not chatting) sealing the grout on the new kitchen floor, and it looks nice, if I do say so myself.

I’m doing some work on the other computer, our favourite, our treasured iMac, so I must get back to that. It is good to talk to you, loyal readers (visitors to this blog reached a new HIGH last week). Thank you.

~ Ann

This is the 28 pound cat I groomed today. He has the distinction of being the largest domestic cat that I’ve ever seen, and in 23 years of pet grooming, I’ve never handled one even CLOSE to Tommy’s size. His owner had warned me that he was badly matted and dirty, but “Hey, that’s what I DO here!”. It took about 3 hours to clip his coat short and shampoo him; he suffered this indignity by “going ballistic” a few times, and growled loudly throughout the spa treatment . Since he is essentially not a MEAN cat, he didn’t hurt me, and even though it is easy to chafe or nick a cat’s thin skin, I did not cause HIM any harm either. As you can see, he has an opinion about how satisfactory was the experience!

The two little dogs that I groomed this afternoon have been my customers all their lives. Cloe, on the left, is a young Shih Tzu, and Magic is on the right, and he’s an elderly terripoo. Neither dog is any trouble to groom or to board. They are waiting for a ride home (they LOVE to go in the truck), and before I delivered them, I combed out their mustaches, ears, and tails.

Has been a nice day in the neighbourhood… and here at home, too. I’m very tired, but we’ve had our dinner of chicken breast strips and oven-baked french fries and I’m “done” for the day.

While I was looking at statistics for this web log, I followed a link (that someone had come FROM when they visited it), and discovered that someone had put an excerpt from MY blog into hers! She entitled it “A Groomer’s Life”. While it is an honour to be quoted, I wrote to the other blogger and said that giving credit to other’s words is nicer. When I looked down the page, I saw that I was “quoted” again without credit.

Then I found a little blog entry, unrelated to MY web log, referring to “kennel ladies over fifty”. It was good for a laugh; the blogger thought that “being a bit odd” was in the job description for kennel ladies over 50! I’m that AGE, but am I “odd”?

Well AM I ? *Sigh*, if the shoe fits, wear it, eh?

Take care everyone! XXX OOO ~Ann