12 Year Shadowfax-Aversary

Last week was our 12 year anniversary with Shadowfax. We had to go way back through the blog archives to find our original announcement post from 2010 when we told the world "It's a Girl!"

These are the first few pictures we got of her when she was being fostered and the first pictures we posted of her here at the world famous Deaf Dogs and Benevolent Gnomes.

It's hard to believe that we've had this silly beast in our lives for 12 years. She has slowed down a bit from her initial levels of puppy craziness, but we still have bouts of racing around and needing to roughhouse. 

Follow us on Instagram

Link to Our Online Store

Shadowfax Chewing on a Tasty Bone

We've gotten some comments that all of the recently posted pictures of Shadowfax are of her napping or sleeping, or even snoozing. She does do stuff, but it's sometimes hard to capture her in all her majesty. Chasing after a squirrel in the backyard is tough to catch on camera.

When we had Shaak Ti we didn't give both of the dogs bones to chew on. The dogs would get weird and start resource guarding and being prickly towards each other, so we decided that we just wouldn't give them bones. Now that Shadowfax is an only dog we can give her things to chew on - bones, bully sticks, and other tasty items.

Chewing is a good low key way for her to release some energy, when she's too tired to play but not tired enough to nap. Chewing or licking is also a good soothing mechanism and keeps her relaxed. 

Follow us on Instagram

Link to Our Online Store

Shadowfax Hunkering Down

Cold weather is upon us here in Boise, Idaho. Cold rain and snow overnight led to a lovely day of gentle snow flurries throughout the afternoon.

Shadowfax is prepared though. She's got her comfy bed and fluffy blankie from Chewy. 

Follow us on Instagram

Link to Our Online Store

A Trip to the Oregon Coast

We spent a few days last week at the Oregon coast, our new favorite place. John had to work most of the time, but sitting at a computer with the ocean in the background isn't the worst office environment.

The weather was gorgeous, sunny and warm most days with some tastes of fog and ocean breezes.

Shadowfax accompanied us and enjoyed early morning walks on the beach. Because she's reactive to other dogs, we had to walk early in the morning. But that's OK. There was a full moon and the we had the silvery, shimmering moonlit beach to ourselves at 5:00 am.

Alycia's friends came to visit too and spent the day hanging out with us. They doted on Shadowfax and gave her love the whole time. 

Between the walks on the beach and all the extra attention, Shadowfax was exhausted by the time we got back home and had to sack out in her comfy dog bed.

Follow us on Instagram

Link to Our Online Store

 

Shadowfax Making Faces

Shadowfax never fails to impress us with her majesty. Majestic, noble, the adjectives could go on forever. Or we could just let a picture do all the talking for us. 

She's a majestic beast all right. Other dogs might like a fancy orthopedic dog bed, but Shadowfax? She's happy with a stuff sack filled with old t-shirts and washable duvet cover for a bed. Head squished against a nightstand, teeth showing, that's our delicate lady. 

Follow us on Instagram

Link to Our Online Store

Family Visit Aftermath

We had some family in town for the long weekend. My sister and her 3 kiddos, all boys under 12 years old. Even though they have dogs of their own, Shadowfax was a great attraction for them. We supervised carefully and explained what it meant that she was deaf. The boys were great with her and she enjoyed loving on them.

Shadowfax had kisses, hugs, fetch, tug-of-war, and more pets than she knew what to do with. Our house wasn't equipped for them to stay with us but they did visit for a few hours each day and Shadowfax had far more activity than she is accustomed to. Now that they've left, Shadowfax is exhausted, just completely done. I think it will be a quiet week around here as she spends a lot of time in bed napping. 

Follow us on Instagram

Link to Our Online Store

National Dog Day

Did you know that today is National Dog Day? I consulted with Shadowfax about the holiday and she mentioned that she had marked the occasion on her calendar.

She also had a series of naps on her calendar. We had a discussion about time management and not double booking things. Actually I just mentioned it to her as she snored away on her fluffy pillow. 

Follow us on Instagram

Link to Our Online Store

A Trip to Graeagle, California

We recently took a trip to Northern California and stayed at a The Gray Eagle Lodge for a few days. Shadowfax accompanied us and had a great time strolling around, sniffing, and lounging in the sunshine. The weather was lovely; warm and sunny with blue skies and no wildfire smoke. To top off the great weather we only counted 2 mosquitos and John only managed to get one mosquito bite.

The cabin we stayed in was a lovely little spot along a babbling creek. The picture above is our morning stroll just as the sun was coming up over the ridge.

We took a few short day trips to the town of Graeagle (yes that spelling is correct). There was a lovely park in the middle of town and Shadowfax enjoyed lounging in the shady grass. 

There was also the scenic and (according to Shadowfax) lovely smelling Gold Lake, a huge state park that only had a few visitors. This was a vacation that we had planned for some time, and it gave us a much needed chance to get out of town and immerse ourselves in some nature. 

Follow us on Instagram

Link to Our Online Store

Saying Goodbye to Shaak Ti

Shaak Ti left us a few weeks ago. She was 16 years old and had been a part of our lives for 15 years. So much a part of our lives that the gaping hole her passing has left behind is impossible to escape. She's no longer watching us upside down from her dog bed or underfoot, demanding pets. No longer greeting us with enthusiastic "woo woo woos" when we come home. It's been a hard couple of weeks and life without her is too quiet.

She brought us 15 years of joy, love, and silly Shaak Ti antics. And though we might be incredibly sad now we won't let our sadness overshadow all the years of magic she brought. We will always have dogs here at the house and we will always love those dogs with all our hearts. But Shaak Ti was so, so special and she will be missed as fiercely and unconditionally as she loved us. 

There is so much more to say, so many happy memories, but this is all we can muster right now. Hug your pups, tell them you love them. Even if you are lucky enough to get 15 years with them, they still leave too soon. 

Shaak Ti Has Left Us

We had to say goodbye to Shaak Ti the other day. It was a heart wrenching process. Her little body simply couldn't take it anymore and she was telling us it was time. She left this world in her favorite bed, covered with her favorite blanket, laying her head on my leg and surround by the two people she loved so fiercely. 

Shadowfax is trying to fill the void, but it's such a monumental task. She is going to need to get acclimated to getting all of our attention.

We'll post a more comprehensive ode to Shaak Ti, this magical little beast who was so much a part of our lives. Right now everything is still too painful, and we are processing our grief.

Cedar Waxwings

We have had some interesting bird sightings around the homestead this Spring. There had been some cedar waxwings over the past weeks around the neighborhood. We'd watched them picking berries off various shrubs and trees on our afternoon dog walks.

Over the course of a few hours one morning though we got to see them up-close in large numbers. Cedar waxwings are a very striking bird with a dark eye mask and bright yellow tail feather tips.

They weren't interested in the thistle seed or black oil sunflower seeds at the feeders. There were only interested in the bird bath -  drinking, splashing, and making a ruckus. 

For a few hours in the morning they rushed in, drank and splashed, and flew away. Only to return minutes later. It was quite a show and we refilled the bird bath several times. 

Follow us on Instagram

Link to Our Online Store

 

Shadowfax and Shaak Ti Send Greetings

 No posts since Christmas? Yoinks! Things have gotten away from us a bit. 

Hopefully some cute pictures of the dynamic duo will be the balm that soothes the ache of us briefly ghosting you. 

We're sorry. 

 We'll try to do better. 

Spring is here and things are warming up. We'll transition from snuggling in front of the fireplace to basking in the sunshine. 

Follow us on Instagram

Link to Our Online Store

 

Happy Christmas to All

 Happy and/or Merry Christmas to all.

We will try to resume regular postings as soon as we sleep off the eggnog and Christmas cookies. 

Follow us on Instagram

Link to Our Online Store

Shaak Ti Gets Comfortable

Shaak Ti. This silly bundle of dog has been part of our lives for so long we sometimes take her antics for granted. 

Laying in the grass on a sunny day is totally expected, normal for a dog.  

Getting in a neck stretch to make sure all those neck nooks get nice and sunny, still within the realm of normal. 

Laying in the gravel path though, well that's normal for Shaak Ti. She regularly gets covered in all manner of fluff and relish. She's not lacking for other comfortable places to lay down, there are half a dozen dog beds of all shapes and sizes throughout the back yard, she just prefers the gravel path. 

Follow us on Instagram

Link to Our Online Store

Spring Garden Pictures

It's been a typical Spring here at the homestead, jam packed with activity. So many seedlings to plant and the seeming never ending garden fun. 

The path past the greenhouse is maturing perfectly and the hanging baskets have just started to produce their first blooms. And of course there's at least one photo with Shadowfax's outdoor lounging bed.

The lupine have begun lupinating.

The first of the clematis have started clematisizing.

We'll try to post more, we promise. There will be many more flowers and garden things to post and we'll do our best to not let garden tasks or work get in the way. 

Follow us on Instagram

Link to Our Online Store

Shaak Ti Does Hot Yoga

This is Shaak Ti performing the difficult "Warming My Junk By the Fire" yoga pose. This is an advanced pose, not for beginners.  

Shadowfax looks on in admiration from her dog bed.

Follow us on Instagram

Link to Our Online Store

We're Still Here

We're just hiding from you. We're lounging on the back porch in the last warm Fall sunbeams, soaking up the good weather before winter arrives.

Don't fret, we're not hiding. It's just been the typical cornucopia of excuses in why we haven't posted in months. You would think that with staying at home we would have more time, but it seems like we've been busier than ever.

And it hasn't helped one bit that John got an actual job. As in a real job, where he has to go into an office every day and work. It's been...an adjustment. That's an understatement. It's like saying 2020 has been difficult. An understatement. 

So we'll do what we always do, give you a cute deaf dog picture and promise to post more frequently. I think you all know what to do with that promise.

Stay safe and stay healthy. This too shall pass. Pet your dogs and hug the people in your quarantine circle. We'll get through this together.

Follow us on Instagram

Link to Our Online Store

Mid Summer Sun Naps

When the heat of Summer hits you, sometimes it's best to not resist the powerful sunbeam.

We nap hard here at the homestead. On our elevated beds in the sun.

Some locations for napping are better than others. I personally wouldn't sleep right next to the downspout but we've learned over the years not to questions Shaak Ti.

Follow us on Instagram

Link to Our Online Store

Expanded Pool Hours at the Homestead

We had a very warm day on Saturday. On very warm days the backyard pool at the homestead is usually open and ready for business.

The lawn needed moving though and we had to empty and close the pool for a few minutes. Shadowfax was outraged. Her solution was 1) get in empty pool 2) lay down in empty pool 3) look as sad as possible.

Management fielded her complaints and opened the pool as fast as humanly possible. 

Follow us on Instagram

Link to Our Online Store

 

Sharing the Dog Bed

Shaak Ti and Shadowfax generally prefer to have their own space while napping. But every once in a while they tolerate some sharing.

On the back patio the other morning, sharing a dog bed seemed to be acceptable.

It was pretty warm out though. The mid-morning sun was already strong and the pups made a hasty retreat inside where it was cooler. 

Follow us on Instagram

Link to Our Online Store

 

Storm Carnage and Clematis Blooms

We had a big storm roll through on Thursday afternoon. The wind howled and the rain lashed down for a few hours. There were numerous lightening strikes, a few transformers were hit, and there were reports of minor damage throughout town.

We lost a limb from the Norway spruce tree in the backyard. It got hung up on the fence and one of the new clematis trellis.

It was a good sized limb and took a little while to chop up and wrangle into our compost bin. We were lucky to just have a branch come down. A few houses away a tree came down and crushed the cab of a parked truck. Nobody was injured, but it was a decent mess to clean up.

While we were out taking pictures of the storm carnage we snapped a picture of the lovely clematis blooms. This is Clematis "Killian Donohue" that we planted about two weeks ago. It seems very happy in its new spot.

Follow us on Instagram

Link to Our Online Store

 

Shaak Ti the Plant Lover

Alycia was strolling outside the other day and looking at the plants and asked me "Why are these 2 plants struggling?" That's pretty simple, because Shaak Ti uses them for a pillow. Here she's using the patented "one plant for my head and one plant for my rump" technique. It's very advanced.

Sorry for my shadow in the picture, but it was the only way that I could get the shot without waking up Shaak Ti. She usually hops up when a shadow passes by. 

Shaak Ti, she's always had a special connection to plants. We've posted before about Shaak Ti and her plant friend. She's always had a unique relationship with both indoor and outdoor plants. 

Follow us on Instagram

Link to Our Online Store

 

Sacked Out Dogs

We're nearing the end of fireplace season here at the homestead. Overnight temperatures are forecast to stay above 40 degrees starting this weekend. Not to worry though, the end of fireplace season coincides with the start of outdoor sunbeam season.

Shadowfax is enjoying one of the last fireplace warming sessions of the year, sprawled on her dog bed complex. She does well with the transition to outdoor sunbeam season.

Shaak Ti had a pretty big day, thus the little bit of tongue sticking out. Her two normal walks plus a bonus walk with Alycia, along with her standard schedule of squirrel barking. Luckily for Shaak Ti the squirrel barking is still in person and not with Zoom. She'd be pretty bummed about that. 

Follow us on Instagram

Link to Our Online Store

 

The View Inside the Greenhouse

Here's what it looks like inside our greenhouse right now. It is chock full of all manner of plants in various stages of growth.

We're in the process of hardening off the first set of plants. Hardening off consists of bringing the plants outside and exposing them to increasing duration and intensity of sunlight and natural conditions over the course of a week or so.

It's a necessary step to ensure that these little plants don't get transplants shock or stressed in their new digs outside. It involves a whole lot of hauling pots/buckets/flats of seedlings outside in the morning and then back inside in the evening, but it's worth it. 

Follow us on Instagram

Link to Our Online Store

Some More Spring Blooms

Yesterday we posted some pretty flower pictures that were taken last week. Spring blooming bulbs aren't known for their longevity but here is what they look like now. The daffodils have lasted longer than expected and the tulips are just unfolding.

The yellow daffodils, yellow/white daffodils, and red tulips look great together. We're definitely going to plant more bulbs this fall and expand this area for next year. 

Follow us on Instagram

Link to Our Online Store

 

More Spring Blooms (from last week)

We've been so caught up in garden working that we've fallen behind on blog posts. No surprise there! These are some bulbs that were blooming last week.

These are yellow daffodils that we planted in the front yard. Their bright yellow blooms never fail to cheer me up.

We planted some smaller bulbs in the backyard along the greenhouse. The greenhouse are is looking great with a few early Spring blooms.

These are dwarf purple irises. The Shaak Ti photo bomb is just an added bonus.

Follow us on Instagram

Link to Our Online Store

 

Earthquake in Boise, Idaho

We had just wrapped up dinner here at the homestead yesterday evening when there was a substantial earthquake. Seriously, here in Boise, Idaho. It took me a few seconds to place into context what was happening, it just seemed so out of place. "We're not in California, but gosh this sure feels like an earthquake" (internal monologue has been made PG rated).

Interestingly enough we had watched a local PBS program a few days before about geology in Idaho (there's some pretty interesting stuff here) and they mentioned the last big earthquake in 1983.

There's a great comprehensive write up at the USGS here, you should check it out.

Earthquakes do happen here, but they are rare. From the USGS:

Historic seismicity in the immediate vicinity of the March 31 earthquake is sparse; no earthquakes of M5+ have occurred within 50 km of this event over the past 50 years, and the most notable historic seismicity in the region occurred about 100 km to the east on the Lost River fault zone.

Nothing was damaged here at the homestead and everyone is OK. Neighbors are a tad freaked out but they are all OK as well. Yesterday was indeed an interesting day. 

Follow us on Instagram

Link to Our Online Store

Exercising at Home During a Quarantine

Routines all across the country and the world have been changed as of late. Our local YMCA has closed indefinitely but has offered online classes for folks to exercise at home. While John has gotten his exercise through a number of outside projects at the homestead, Alycia has tried to participate in online yoga classes.

Alycia commented that this was a reminder of why she doesn't do yoga at home. Apparently it's difficult to get a relaxing stretch when you have doggy toes and a tail in your face.

And yes Alycia's shirt says "No Goats No Glory". Good luck finding a cooler goat related yoga shirt than that.

Follow us on Instagram

Link to Our Online Store

 

Greenhouse Seedlings Progressing

We're in the midst of strange times, bewildering and anxiety producing. In these unusual days we are glad that we still have the simple pleasures of preparing plants for Spring planting, nurturing little plants through their first few weeks, looking forward to sunnier days ahead.

This is the scene from the greenhouse a few days ago. Many seedlings have germinated and are getting established.

They're in their tender stage now. Keeping a safe temperature and proper watering is critical and we water a few times a day, mist frequently, and monitor vigilantly. It's good to have something to take our mind off all the events transpiring outside the greenhouse.

We hope you are all well, your family and friends safe and comfortable. And even though it may only be a few moments of distraction, we'll try to keep posting regularly.

Follow us on Instagram

Link to Our Online Store

 

Spring Blooms - Crocus

It seems early, but our first blooms are popping up. It's great to see this splash of vibrant color after a long gray winter.

This Fall we planted some bulbs in a few spots around the front yard and are already being rewarded with colorful blooms. Yellow and purple crocus, the first daffodils aren't far behind.

There are a few spots throughout the neighborhood where daffodils are already popping up. Our dog walks through the neighborhood are colorful in Spring as we look at all the blooms. 

Follow us on Instagram

Link to Our Online Store