I Control the Weather

Yes that's right, apparently I control the weather.  After writing that Spring is Officially Here, the weather Gods promptly made an example out of me by dumping 8 inches of snow on Grand Forks over the weekend in a somewhat unusual spring snowstorm.  It also snowed lightly yesterday and is forecast for another inch or two of snow today/tonight and another chance on Friday.  It has been duly noted that I am too big for my britches. 

We went from this scene.....

...back to this all too familiar scene.  I tried to convince Shaak Ti to stand in the same spot for comparison purposes and she would have none of it. 

It's also been a quiet week here on Deaf Dogs and Benevolent Gnomes since some manner of sickness has knocked me flat on my backside.  As such I haven't posted much this last week, sorry, I'll make it up to you.  

Spring is Officially Here

We might not be out of the woods yet in terms of flooding (don't fret we're dry here and in no danger whatsoever), the river is expected to crest around 52 feet here in Grand Forks on Thursday or Friday, Spring is definitely here.

Shaak Ti does a great job modeling next to the last snow patch.  I took this photo a couple of days ago and this was the last of the snow in the yard (it's along the North side of the garage so it never gets direct sunlight).  After a few days of 50+ degrees and some rain, this patch is currently the size of a dinner plate (my dinner plate not your dinner plate, which is likely substantially smaller).  Snow be gone!!!

The tulips have also started to pop, a sure sign of Spring!!  These will probably be a foot high by the end of the week and we might have blooms very soon. 

The weather now is so fantastic it defies adjectives, warm during the day and cool at night.  The mosquitoes haven't come out to play yet so outdoor time is fun and fancy free with no bugs.  I'll get some seeds started indoors this week and they should be ready for transplant by Mid-May.  Even though we have pleasant Spring-like weather, we're nowhere near our final average frost date, and I jump the gun by planting the garden even in Mid-May. 

Flocked

Deaf Dogs and Benevolent Gnomes and it's humble creator, El Gaucho, attained worldwide recognition yesterday when it was mentioned in the Along Life's Highway - The Yard Art Game blog.

See the Flocked entry on this fantastic blog to read what all the hubbub was about.

Trouble With The Law

It seems that my nephew has already attracted some attention from state law enforcement authorities. 

It's always a shame when good kids go bad, especially at such a young age.  I'll do what I can to be a positive role model as an uncle, but it may be too late and Jacob may already have a permanent record.

Welcome To New Readers

I have a longstanding tradition of personally welcoming all new readers here at Deaf Dogs and Benevolent Gnomes.  This wasn't much of a challenge when I had four readers and they were all family and friends.  But after last months Urban Homesteading and What it Means to Me post was mentioned on a Facebook group, my readership exploded.  I went from 9 followers to 15, almost overnight.  Wowzers.

I vowed that I wouldn't let my meteoric rise in the blogosphere go to my head and endeavored to stay focused on my humble origins, and true to my original blogging promises.  As such here is a hearty Deaf Dogs and Benevolent Gnomes welcome to the following new followers:  

Stone Cottage Mama - Has some fantastic stories of urban homesteading in the Pacific Northwest.  I may never keep chickens and ducks like she does, but I do enjoy all the terrific pictures of their feathered residents and the detailed information about their care.

Nitty Gritty In The City - A fellow Midwest resident, she has a very entertaining blog and I look forward to every posting.

Liberalucy -writes a terrific politically oriented blog that I spend way to much time reading.

And to Sheryl and Brande, who near as I can tell (please correct me if I'm wrong), don't have a blog of their own but are gracious enough to visit mine.  Thanks!

Much love to my new readers and many thanks to all my readers.  You validate my time spent on here and every visit and comment is greatly appreciated.  Thanks!!!

Baby Pictures - My New Nephew

Here's another cure baby picture for you all.  My nephew Jacob. 

Look at that big ole' Buddha belly.  He's gonna be a swarthy young gentleman when he grows up.

I Won!!!

There are a ton of great blogs out there that are more popular than this one (I know I know, calm down, it's OK, this came as shocking news to you) and they often get cool books or new garden tools to try out, write a review of, or giveaway on their blog.  In the course of all the incredible blogs I visit I end up entering quite a few of these giveaways.  Well, I finally won.

Special thanks to the awesome folks at Dog Island Farm (a great name and a fantastic website so chock full of information I get lost there) for randomly selecting me as the winner.  See Winner Winner Chicken Dinner.  Thanks!!

Spring Projects on the Urban Homestead

The urban homesteading blogosphere is atwitter with everyone's plans for Spring and various upcoming projects on their dockets.  What are we going to be working on here at the Deaf Dogs and Benevolent Gnomes Homestead in the next few weeks?

1. Shoveling snow.  Yeah, this sucks.  Even though it's near 50 degrees today, we're under a Winter Storm Warning here in Eastern North Dakota for Saturday night through Monday morning.  We're supposed to get 6-9 inches of snow, but I'm really hoping that this storm will skirt us like the last one did a few weeks ago (see Major Winter Storm on the Way), or maybe just dump rain instead of snow.
2. Finish the compost bin I started in the fall.  It's a 3-bin system (like the one here) and has a ton of space for yard waste.  I quickly realized last summer that my new yard was WAY too big for one small compost bin and needed additional space to make compost.  I'll continue to use the one large plastic compost bin for kitchen waste, fruit and vegetable waste from the garden, and anything else that attracts pests since it's more secure than the open 3-bin system.  
3. Build a fence around the blueberry and strawberry patch in the backyard.  These are all within the backyard, inside the fence, and have taken a beating from the puppy tornado this winter.  Between her eating the blueberry bushes, crashing into them and breaking them, and peeing on the strawberries, I think it's for the best that this area is cordoned off from Little Miss Puppy Carnival of Destruction. It won't be a serious fence, probably just made of scrap wood or lilac shoots, it just needs to be a visual deterrent to keep her out of the area.

Flood Walls Are Up

The city crews came by Monday and erected the flood walls at the entrance to Riverside Park, just a couple of blocks from our house.  The flood wall is a pretty impressive engineering feat, especially when you consider that they put it up in one day. 

The wall is a series of metal panels that are slid in place in a large vertical groove on either side of the yellow flood wall.  The panels are supported with vertical beams then braced with diagonal arms and sandbagged along the ground to hold them in place. 

They also park a huge dump truck in front of the flood wall to prevent accidental bad drivers?  Evil-doers?  Just in case?  It's hard to tell, but since the dump truck probably isn't needed for anything else, it's probably a good place to leave it here. 

The National Weather Service issued its first Flood Warning of the year yesterday for Grand Forks and East Grand Forks.  The current river level is right at minor flood stage of 28 feet and is forecast for 29 feet plus by next Wednesday (the cataclysmic flood of 1997 was 54 feet, and the current dike system protects to like 60 feet).  With the first flood warning we officially enter flood season which should last for the next three to four weeks.  On the one hand flooding = bad, but on the other hand flooding = spring. 

TenderHeart Bear

Ready for an uncomfortable bit of knowledge about me?  I sweat a lot.  Many of my friends and family already know this.  But for whatever supernatural or otherworldly reasons that no one yet understands, I sweat in the shape of a perfect heart when I play volleyball.  Seriously.  Don't believe me? 

This was taken after our most recent volleyball game.  There's no chicanery here, no hi-jinks, no tomfoolery I assure you.  Alycia can attest to the authenticity of this photo and scores of former volleyball companions past and present (Chris, Heidi, Brenda, Dave, Angela please leave a comment) can attest to this paranormal phenomenon.

The truly strange thing is that this only happens when I play volleyball.  Basketball, running, mowing the lawn, canning applesauce in a hot kitchen, digging a hole in the garden, they all make me sweat, but never in a heart shape.  It's truly strange and awesome.

Don't be scared, you're in the presence of greatness. 

One of my former volleyball friends (and Care Bear aficionado) started calling me TenderHeart Bear which wasn't the intimidating nickname that I typically encourage others to call me, but was certainly much better than some of the other names I've been called.

TenderHeart Bear - The Most Intimidating of all Care Bears

Do you see the resemblance?  I certainly do.  And I care, lots. And you should consider yourself blessed to be affiliated with a blogger bold and innovative enough to share stories of his own sweat.

Seven Reasons Deaf Dogs Are Better Than Hearing Dogs

All dogs are awesome, even "regular" hearing dogs.  But if you've never thought about it before, here are seven ways that deaf dogs are better than their hearing counterparts.  

1) - I can sneak around on them.  Let's say it's a quiet Sunday morning and I'm lounging on the couch reading the paper.  The missus and pooches are all having a lazy Sunday nap, all is perfect. Except that EGADS!!, my coffee cup is empty.  No problem.  I can sneak to the kitchen and refill my mug with hot caffeinated liquid happiness.  I can't do this with hearing dogs, they'd wake up, see me going to the kitchen and think I'm getting some bacon, and start thumping around and wake everyone else up.

2) - Thunderstorms don't bother them.  We get a lot of thunderstorms here in North Dakota, especially in late Spring and summer, but it doesn't bother the dogs one bit.  I know a few dogs who are extremely frightened of thunderstorms and will freak out, hide under the bed, run away, or have accidents in the house.  It's not their fault, they're just terrified.  My deaf dogs?  They sleep right through the thunderstorms.  Every once in a while a big clap of thunder right on top of us will rattle the windows and they may perk their heads up and look confused, but that's the extent of their reaction.

3) - Sirens don't bother them either.  Ambulance, fire, or police sirens have never started my dogs to barking or howling, which is nice.  My old house in San Diego was in the territory where my sister was stationed as a firefighter.  She was an engineer and drove the fire truck, and when they came back from a call and her route took her by my house she would always blow the air horn (which is very, very loud) and it may have scared the crap out of me (I'm pretty sure this was her goal) more than once, but never startled or woke my deaf pups.

Trip to Bemidji, Minnesota

Last week was Alycia's spring break, but rather than head for Cancun or South Padre Island, Texas we stayed nearby.  Alycia had a bunch of work to do the whole week, so a protracted trip of vacation was out of the question.  We did though manage to get away for a nice day trip to Bemidji, Minnesota, about 100 miles east of Grand Forks.

We stopped at the local Bemidji landmark, the giant statue of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox.  Babe hadn't been fed in quite some time and Alycia was nice enough to offer him some hay.

A passerby was nice kind enough to take our picture.

Throughout Bemidji they have beaver statues that have been painted by local artists.  Alycia posed near one such beaver.

And then acted like a beaver for another photo. 

We stopped for lunch at The Wild Hare Bistro and had a delicious lunch, I had a fantastic chicken salad sandwich and Alycia some very tasty vegetarian chili.  If you're ever in Bemidji, Minnesota, I'd highly recommend this establishment for lunch.  We also made a stop at the Bemidji Woolen Mills (a 90 year old woolen goods manufacturer), where I picked up this awesome Railroad Cap and Alycia a new pair of woolen mittens.

After perusing the downtown area bit more and purchasing some local chocolates, we made our way back home.  It wasn't an intense, action packed Spring Break trip, but a very relaxing outing that we both thoroughly enjoyed. 

The approaching storm is just about here, and the most recent forecast is for 10-15 inches of wet, heavy snow.  The wind has grown boisterous and angry, the trees are quaking and the house is beginning to groan and rumble from the strong gusts.  I must go and make sure all the snow shovels are strategically placed, the dog poop is scooped, and the house and yard are ready for the latest (and hopefully last) snow event.

Major Winter Storm on the Way

It's a gray, chilly, soggy day today in North Dakota.  Last night the temperatures never got below freezing so the mush and muck in the yard didn't re-solidify overnight, meaning extra sogginess today.  There has been a decent amount of draining though and some of the muddier parts of the dog yard were beginning to dry out a tad. 

We put some mulch down on the muddier areas and there's a decent mulch path through most of the yard, but sadly the dogs don't stay on the path.  With the mulch and a bit of draining we had hopes that the worst was over and the yard was starting to turn the corner.

But just when we thought the worst may have been over, the weather report is predicting a significant winter storm for Tuesday/Wednesday.  The exact storm track and nature of the precipitation (rain or snow) is still up in the air, but early indications are mostly snow and several inches worth.  I can't count the number of times I've wiped down and de-muddified the dogs (especially puppy) over the last few days and more snow will only prolong the mud issue.  Bummer. 

Muddy Dogs

I think these pictures pretty much speak for themselves.  The backyard is a mess with melting snow and ice and mud, it's just a soggy soup everywhere.  The dogs picked today to have an epic tear around session out there.

Shaak Ti had to look away from the camera, she was so ashamed at how muddy she got.

It was harder to capture how muddy the puppy was, I had to wrangle her while shooting the pictures, otherwise she licks the camera.  This doesn't make for good pictures.

Then as I was wrestling with her to dry her off and clean her up, she rolled over and showed off her muddy, filthy tummy and undercarriage. 

My Nephew at 2 Months

My nephew at 2 months.  I kinda think he looks like a garden gnome, but it's probably just his rosy cheeks.

Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Fallout in Japan

The tragedy in Japan, a devastating earthquake and tsunami, is proving to have a catastrophic human toll.  Even in a compulsively natural disaster prepared populace like Japan, it's still reported that the number of casualties could exceed 10,000.  You can donate to the American Red Cross here.

Natural disasters like earthquakes and tsunami's are always going to occur, and as tragic as the staggering loss of life is, it pales in comparison to the potential man made disaster of nuclear fallout from self destructing power plants.  There are currently 6 nuclear reactors in Japan that are concerning to Japanese and global authorities.  Contradicting reports have stated there has been radioactive fallout, that there is impending nuclear fallout, and that everything is fine. 

As of Monday morning, it has been reported that 200,000 people have been evacuated from the areas surrounding the nuclear power plants until they can be safely brought under control.  Let's hope that any damage to the affected people is minimal and the situation does not worsen. 

Photo credit: Jared Rodriguez via Flickr

Regardless of what the truth is surrounding the amount of radioactive exposure, this should be a wake-up call for American policy makers and the general populace.  Yes, we should not be politicizing a tragedy, and no we shouldn't immediately take every nuclear power plant in the US offline.  But it is time to seriously reconsider nuclear power as an option in the future.  

Every other alternative energy source has drawbacks and an environmental impact: wind, solar, geothermal, etc all have some pros and cons.  But none of these other energy sources have the inherent potential devastating capabilities of a nuclear power plant disaster.  Even without considering the disposal of nuclear waste that occurs when the power plant is operating correctly, there is just too much risk in nuclear power.  Let's stop considering this as energy option. 

As safe as nuclear power has been advertised to be, there will always be earthquakes, tsunamis, fires, floods, and acts of terrorism that can undermine the efforts of even the best and well intentioned power plants.   Please encourage your elected representatives that you don't want to see any more nuclear power plants built in the US. 

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Fun With Racquetballs

Puppy loves to chew on her toys, and yeah that's a given for most puppies.  She loves to de-stuff, eviscerate, and then consume the soft toys, but also really enjoys the hard rubber toys that bounce.  We had given her a tennis ball to play with, but after playing with it for a bit, she just sat there with the tennis ball in her mouth and chewed and chewed and chewed on it.  My sisters large black labs often did the same thing with tennis balls and apparently have developed some long term dental problems because of their habit.

It turns out that long term chewing on tennis balls (as opposed to just having them in their mouth for fetch) can wear down the enamel on dogs teeth, so a racquetball is a better option.  Since puppy loves, loves to chew and also enjoys a bouncing bounding toy, we decided to see if she'd like a racquetball instead.  Did she ever.

We bought a tube of racquetballs (about $6 for three of them which makes them among the cheapest dog toys) and it was puppy love from there.

Animal Shot Near Hillsboro, N.D., Confirmed As Gray Wolf

This article came from the Grand Forks Herald.

It's a little spooky to think that there are wolves so close, but I really don't think they'd venture into a highly populated area like Grand Forks and make a snack out of our pooches.  Here's a map of where Hillsboro is:

Photo Credit - Hillsboro Website

Animal Shot Near Hillsboro, N.D., Confirmed As Gray Wolf

A large canine taken by a coyote hunter early in January east of Hillsboro, N.D., in Traill County has been confirmed as a gray wolf.

The hunter apparently shot the gray wolf, a protected species rarely seen in North Dakota, thinking it was a coyote.

More Snow Today, More on the Way, And The Thermodynamics of Dog Poop in Winter

Just when I thought spring might be putting on its pants and shoes and thinking about strolling over to knock on the door, Old Man Winter decided that he needed to give us a coating of light snow. We got an inch or so last night and should get another inch or two today.  It's light fluffy snow that doesn't amount to a whole lot and sure looks purty coming down.

There's a threat of more snow on Tuesday when a big storm should stay south of us (sorry Iowa, it looks like you're in for it) and the end of next week when a possible significant snowfall will come our way.  March is usually pretty stormy here in North Dakota as weather patterns and the jet stream start shifting and slightly warmer air (which holds more moisture) can bring larger storms.  I'm jumping the gun in wishing for spring already.  It'll be at least another month before everything melts, and the conversation changes to flooding issues, and at least another two months before I can get anything planted in the garden.

Yesterday before the snow arrived and obscured all the backyard treasures that the dogs left for us, Alycia (it was her turn to scoop) scooped up all prizes she could find.  We try to stay on top of outdoor poop management, and usually scoop every week, and definitely the day before a storm is due.  Our yard isn't big enough to ignore the poop and if not properly managed, when things melt in spring it turns into an ugly, sticky slurry of poop nastiness that can't be scooped away.  

Real Meatloaf and Psuedo Vegetarianism

I've sounded the rallying cry for my fake meatloaf (aka Neatloaf) recipe before, even using it for my first-ever guest posting on the From Blah to Ta-Daa blog late last year.  It's not only delicious, but freezes well for leftovers, and has become a household favorite for our vegetarian Celiac sufferer in the house (it's also one of my favorites as well). The other day though the unique opportunity arose to make actual real meatloaf, you know with meat.  I hadn't made a meatloaf in probably 8 or 10 years. Would I still remember how?

So...a bit of personal history.  Prior to my blissful cohabitation with Alycia I was what I can only describe as a psuedo-vegetarian, I ate a primarily plant based diet with occasional binges of meat, mostly when dining out.  My meat consumption was only 2-3 times a week and that was usually an In N Out Burger or the exquisite pork ribs at Phils Bar-B-Que in San Diego.

Header Number Two

I had pegged my number of "falling down on some wintry surface" incidents at one per winter season.  I fell once last winter on a slippery sidewalk.  It hurt.  A couple of weeks ago I fell again on an icy sidewalk that was covered with a dusting of snow, thus obscuring the ice underneath.  The puppy was with me on her evening walk at the time and though she wasn't really to blame, she certainly didn't help the situation.  Luckily since she was along I was able to foist blame upon her for the fall.

For some reason I thought it to be an intractable truth that I would only fall once a winter, and I'd already gotten mine out of the way.  I discovered this morning that this was not true. 

Perhaps it was because I thought I had gotten my allegedly annual winter fall over with that I acted this morning with less than an abundance of caution.  As I was taking the recycling bin (a large trash can) out of the back mudroom this morning I took a header down the back steps into Tito's priceless collection of artisan crafted yellow snow.  The cause was a complete lack of attention and due care, the price was a scraped up hand, shin and a rolled ankle (my good ankle unfortunately).  Bummer. 

The moral of the story is that you can't let your guard down around Old Man Winter, especially here in North Dakota where he looms large.  Not for one second.  Just when you think you've got him figured out, BAMMM!!!, he steps up and reminds you that he's still in charge and you should always respect his authority.

Cute Puppy Pics

More cute puppy pics for you, gentle reader.  That's what I deliver, a never ending cavalcade of deaf dog pictures...

Puppy asleep in the green ball, and she enjoys it now when we cover her up with the warming blanket.  If you look closely, you can see a bit of tongue sticking out, the sure sign of an intense nap.

Anytime we sit on the ground, puppy immediately wants to climb up and sit on your lap for some super snuggling time.  And since the puppy puts off so much body heat (and Alycia is always cold) it's match made in snuggling heaven.  Here the two girls enjoy a slice of late afternoon sunbeam together.  Puppy is teetering on the edge of sleepy-time and her eyes are barely open, and shortly after this photo was taken, puppy feel asleep in a poorly balanced ball of puppy goodness on Alycia's lap.

 Two spotted dogs worth of trouble, side by side and hatching their mischievous plans. 

Who Survived The Winter

This is my second winter here in North Dakota and my first real experience with anxiously awaiting to see which trees and shrubs survived the winter.  Last spring/summer I planted 8 bare root apple trees:

• 2 Ashmead's Kernel
• 2 Lodi Apple
• 2 Red Gravenstein
• 2 Honeycrisp

Each varietal is supposed to survive/thrive in North Dakota (Zone 3).  Some I admittedly have more confidence in, like the Honeycrisp, which was created at the nearby University of Minnesota, but the others?  I'm pretty sure they'll be OK, but really I just don't know.

We're in the Red River valley in North Dakota.  Essentially the entire state is USDA Zone 3, but along the Red River on the Eastern edge of the state is a bubble of Zone 4 which follows the Red River the entire length of North Dakota.   Theoretically I should be able to plant a Zone 4 hardy tree and have it survive.

The fruiting shrubs I planted are also supposed to able to survive Zone 3 (Red Lake Currants/Ben Sarek Black Currants as well as handful of blueberry bushes).  It'll still be another couple of months before the snow and cold abate and tree buds begin to swell with the anticipation of spring, so I need to be patient.

I did everything I could to help, mulching heavily in autumn the shrubs and staking and wrapping the apple trees to guard against the wind (a serious issue here) and munching bunnies (also a fairly serious threat in the area).  Hopefully everything comes through unscathed and we're able to see apple and berry blossoms come spring.  Fingers crossed.

My Urban Homestead and What It Means To Me

There was a big dust-up last week when some folks decided they would attempt to trademark the phrase "Urban Homestead" and "Urban Homesteading" among other things.  Though these folks (who shall remain unnamed) carry much capital on the subject of urban homesteading and sustainable living, and have been role models and a source of inspiration for many people over the last few years, the public has responded with a backlash of epic proportions against the idea.  The thought of trademarking such a classic, time honored, and public phrase such as "urban homestead" has generated a cavalcade of anger and disappointment. 

I first heard the phrase "Urban Homestead" several years ago in a Mother Earth News magazine article and added it as a byline to my blog - Deaf Dogs and Benevolent Gnomes.  What does an urban homestead mean?  Everyone has a different definition and they're all right.  Whether you live off the grid and grow 100% of your own food on 1/5 of an acre in Los Angeles or have tomatoes and herbs growing on your apartment balcony in Kansas City, you're an urban homesteader.

The call went out on the Internet to write a blog entry about what urban homesteading means to you.  I normally don't get all preachy and didactic on you, so sorry if this rankles or annoys you, but I couldn't ignore a call from the wilds of the Internets.  

Cute Puppy Pictures

I realized that it's been weeks since I've posted a sugary sweet puppy pic.  The name of the blog is "Deaf Dogs and Benevolent Gnomes" for goodness sake, and since the gnomes are still hibernating in the garage for winter, you should be getting plenty of deaf dog pictures and stories.  Well here you go!!!

Shaak Ti has a long winters nap in the cozy confines of her green slumber ball.  She needs all the rest she can get in order to try to keep up with the puppy. 

There must be seven or eight dog beds in the living room and dining room, and since there is comfy carpet everywhere, there are literally unlimited places to sleep, but for some reason puppy has to try to squeeze her way into the same bed as Shaak Ti.  As you can see, that doesn't work too well, and they wind up spilling onto the floor.

You may wonder why I always give you pictures of the puppies napping or asleep.  Well the answer to that is simple, it's the only way to get a decent photo.  When the dogs are awake and tearing around at high speeds, it makes it incredibly difficult to get a non-blurry photo.  Granted the action shots are more entertaining, but the degree of difficulty in obtaining them makes their quality unpredictable.  So even though they're not as entertaining, you're going to have to deal with sleeping puppies in high definition, instead of active puppies in blurry action shots. 

Heat Wave

It got up to 47 degrees in Grand Forks yesterday (Sunday), not quite a record, but definitely much warmer than normal.  It turned much of the snow and ice to slush on the roads and sidewalks (trudging through slush always makes me crave a cherry Icee) and generally made a mid-April mess in mid-February.  The heat wave is expected to continue through Wednesday as we're projected to continue to get high temps in the 40's until a cool down back to normal on Thursday.

In contrast, my Dad in Southern California reported that over they weekend they had 80 degree temps, not out of the ordinary for Southern California in February.  I can recall more than one February or March weeklong heat wave that caused my apples, peaches, and blueberries to bloom prematurely and lead to problems down the road.  There's no chance of getting 80 degree temps here in North Dakota, and it's nice to not to have to worry about that. 

The dogs, especially the puppy, took the warmer weather opportunity to scamper around the back yard for extended periods of time.  There's a six foot wide circle of exposed grass in the yard that's one giant mud pit now, and puppy loves this new found nirvana.  We quickly switched to Springtime dog maintenance, which entails having multiple old towels in the back mud room and jumping up every time the dogs come in through the doggy door to intercept muddy paws/legs/tummies with a wipe down.

New Reader Shout Outs - lifeshighway

This is long overdue.  My policy here is to personally welcome all new followers of the dynamic, entertaining, and verbally majestic Deaf Dogs and Benevolent Gnomes blog.  So this is the official warm welcome to lifeshighway of the Along Life's Highway - The Yard Art Game blog. 

A few months ago, out of the blue, I got a cryptic comment here on the Deaf Dogs and Benevolent Gnomes blog that said - "I came looking for gnomes, so your title is good.  I'll be back".  Once I confirmed this was an "I'll be back to visit your awesome blog" not an "Arnold Schwarzenegger-esque I'll be back" comment, all was well in the world. 

The Yard Art Game consists of a phalanx of (mostly) voluntary field reporters who bravely venture out into the world and capture photos and first hand accounts of awesome yard art.  lifeshighway then ranks and assigns points to each submission with a complicated point system that especially rewards gnomes, seahorse birdbaths, and assorted classic kitsch.  You can see the breakdown of the point system on the Along Life's Highway - The Yard Art Game blog.

Every since my first visit to the site, I was hooked and I can't get enough.  The yard art pictures are fantastic and the commentary and awards (Golden Manatee Award anyone?) are hilarious. I can't recommend highly enough this blog, you should check it out.

Board Takes No Action After Raccoon Bus Incident

I know that you've all been on pins and needles wanting to know the outcome of the weekends raccoon incident, so here's the story courtesy of the Grand Forks Herald. Even though this just occurred over the weekend, the local school Board made a decision by Tuesday.  Things work fast in North Dakota. 


Carrington wrestling coach retains position after raccoon incident

Mark Pazdernik retained his current head coaching position with the Cardinals after allowing a handful of his wrestlers to capture and transport a raccoon during a team bus trip from Carrington to Grafton on Friday. 

CARRINGTON, N.D. — No motion was made on a recommendation by the Carrington High School administration to place wrestling coach Mark Pazdernik on administrative leave through the remainder of the 2010-11 high school wrestling season during Tuesday’s open school board meeting.

As a result, Pazdernik retained his current head coaching position with the Cardinals after allowing a handful of his wrestlers to capture and transport a raccoon during a team bus trip from Carrington to Grafton on Friday.

2 Women Ejected From Runaway Dogsled Near Brainerd, Minn.

One more article from the Grand Forks Herald over the weekend.  It was a good weekend for interesting news.  The moral of the story, a dogsled excursion might not be the best choice for a 75th birthday celebration. 


2 women ejected from runaway dogsled near Brainerd, Minn.

BAXTER, Minn. — What started out as a 75th birthday celebration turned into a wild ride for two women taking a sled dog excursion on the Paul Bunyan Trail near Brainerd.

The women were aboard a sled pulled by 15 dogs when their owner stopped to adjust a harness. As she was heading back to the sled, the dogs snapped a line and took off Friday.
Passengers Dianne Lindvall and Shirley Connolly were pulled by the unmanned sled before being thrown off. Both women were injured but not seriously, and Connolly — who was celebrating her 75th birthday — was taken to a hospital.

The Brainerd Dispatch reports officers stopped the dogs by grabbing their lines and jumping on the sled. The pack was halted nearly three miles from where it took off.

Photo credit: AP Photo/Brainerd Dispatch, Steve Kohls - link here

Raccoon Encounter Ends Wrestling Tourney for N.D. Team

Here's an article from the Grand Forks Herald this morning.  I'm not making this up.  I don't think I could make this up.  Sorry it looks kind of goofy, but the links to the Grand Forks Herald require a subscription and disappear after 7 days, this way you get to read it forever.  For those of you short on time, I've highlighted the important pieces or quotations. 

You get some interesting news here in North Dakota....

Raccoon encounter ends wrestling tourney for N.D. team

A raccoon ended Carrington’s bid for a fourth consecutive championship in the North Dakota Region 2 dual high school wrestling tournament. 

Carrington earned a berth in Saturday’s region tournament final in Grafton after winning its first two duals. But when Carrington school officials discovered the school’s athletes had been exposed to a live wild raccoon over the weekend, they quickly pulled the team out of the tournament before the championship dual was held.

“We (school administrators) found out as the tournament was going on that while our students were on the way to the event, they were exposed to a raccoon,’’ Carrington school superintendent Brian Duchscherer said.

Udi's Gluten Free Bread and Muffins

Ever since Alycia learned of her Celiac disease and need to lead a righteous gluten free life, we've searched the four corners of the earth and Internet for a good gluten free bread.  That search has taken almost three years and countless experimentations with dense, grainy, chewy, terrible tasting, poor textured crappy bread.  Good gluten free bread became the white whale (which would make me Capt Ahab, who shares more personality characteristics with me than I care to admit), something to be searched for and never found. 

I heard about Udi's gluten free breads last summer from a client (who is also a Celiac in a family of Celiacs) in San Diego who claimed the bread was so good "you didn't even need to toast it".  Now I'd tried enough gluten free bread in my day to be able to sniff out some serious malarkey, so I scoffed at this, and called BS on that claim.  It didn't really matter though since Udi's wasn't carried anywhere in North Dakota, but that all changed last week when I saw it stocked at our local natural foods co-op, Amazing Grains.

Our Little Graduate

Our littlest graduate recently earned her degree from the highest canine learning institution here in Grand Forks, North Dakota - Petco.  Yes our little puppy attained the third highest degree offered by this learned and historic institution by graduating with high honors from puppy class. 

Here's a photo of graduation day.  Due to the inclement weather conditions the classes are actually held inside Petco, in the aisles.  This is the dog food aisle where we had our classes.  It's quite an odd set up, instructions are briefly interrupted by people searching for a sack of dog food, puppies are distracted by the stock boy in the aisle over, wandering puppy noses are constantly sniffing out the lamb and alpaca byproduct snacks, etc. 

We brought Shaak Ti in on the final day of class to celebrate her little sisters graduation and smell all the lovely smells in Petco.  Big sister Shaak Ti couldn't have been prouder of her little sister.  A good time was indeed had by all.

Baby Pictures - My New Nephew

As promised, pictures of my new nephew Jacob. 

And props to my Dad who upon reading my last post promptly sent me a real, full sized picture of Jacob, thus proving that he not only reads the blog, but has very strong computer skills.  I didn't ask how long the picture sending process took though, or how many people were involved in assisting. 

Uncle John

Prior to a last week, my only experience with Uncle John has been the fabulous and satisfying collections of the Uncle John's bathroom reader series.  These books come in many editions and have been given to me through the years by friends and family.  Apparently for those who know me, the assumption is that I spend a large amount of time in the bathroom.  This is actually untrue, I am quite efficient.

If you are the type of person that needs some diversionary fun and educational enlightenment whilst taking care of daily activities, I would highly recommend the Uncle John's bathroom reader series, they're full of small vignettes that leave you both enlightened and lightened.  (This is probably the first/only poop joke, poop pun, or extensive scatological reference we've had here at the normally very high brow Deaf Dogs and Benevolent Gnomes, so quit yer whinin'.)



But now the title of "Uncle John" has new and special meaning, mostly because I am officially an Uncle.  Uncle John to be specific.  My sister and her husband had their first child and I'm officially an Uncle. 

I don't have any photos of the new baby to post (Jacob Brent is his name), since all I've gotten are cell phone pictures of my new nephew.  As soon as I get some real photos, I'll be sure to post them. Unfortunately since sister and her hubby are in the crazy first weeks of dealing with the new arrival, we have to rely on my Dad to supply pictures, which is why I don't have any real pics yet.

Deaf Puppy Picture of The Week

I've been alternating between dealing with the basement finishing (much more on this in another post) and working at the computer.  Puppy has been curled up behind my chair in a "too-small-for-me-but-I-don't-care" sized dog bed.  They're all leg and awkward neck angle at this age. 

Jungle Gym For Dogs

For Christmas we decided to purchase a jungle gym for the pups to play on.  But since we frequently have weather that isn't conducive to outside playing, we chose an indoor jungle gym.

Just climb right up there.  Don't fall.

All the way up to the top of the jungle gym you go.

Shaak Ti wanted to play on the jungle gym too, so she hopped on up. 

In case you couldn't tell. the jungle gym is actually Alycia's Dad.  Whenever he sits in this particular chair the dogs (Tito excepting) feel compelled to climb on him and sit on his lap/chest/neck.  He's a pretty good sport about it. 

Morning Temps

It's -18 this morning, with a bit of a breeze from the North makes the wind chill about -35 (or so says the Grand Forks Herald website).  We're currently under a wind chill advisory from the National Weather Service and headed for a forecast high of -5.  These are the rough days, when the high temperature is still negative.  Ugh. 

We're supposed to stay cold all week with a possible break on Friday for some light snow.  It could be a good week to spend most of our time inside, today for sure.  I hope you're warm and dry wherever you are. 

The Princess Bed and the Puppy

My parents never let us have a dog when we were kids.  The excuses were pretty standard parental excuses - house cleanliness, adequate backyard space, walking and feeding responsibilities, my sister's allergies etc.  Every time we asked to get a dog, the answer was a firm and decisive "No".  End of story. 

I think it was that childhood doggy repression that has led to the overabundance of pooches that all us siblings currently have.  I have 3 (assuming I count Tito as a dog, which I usually don't), my brother has 2, and my sister has 5*.  And since my sister has begun recently downsizing to a smaller house, she's had to get rid of some of the several dozen dog beds** that she currently owns.

* sizes of her dogs - 2 XXL, 1 L, and 2 XXS.  The sizes could not be more extreme.  Two of them are black Labs that are 120 pounds and two are Chihuahuas are like 6 pounds. 

** I'm actually not embellishing on this one, she has a TON of dog beds in her house.  Their bedroom is huge and the floor is literally a sea of dog beds. 

She generously gave us a few of these extra dog beds, which was great.  You can always use a few extras and they're mother expensive to purchase.  As I've mentioned before, one of the beds was a pink and white frilly bed that said "Princess" on the side.  From the second we brought it home and set it on the floor, Tito loved it.  Loved it.  Who knew that Tito was a princess trapped in a angry ball of fur?  Well, I suspected.  As the old adage goes "give a dog a princess bed and they're a princess for a day, give Tito a princess bed and he's a princess forever".  Or something like that.  

Tito on the right loves his princess bed.  Loves it.  This of course leads to an inordinate amount of smack talk on my behalf towards him.  Since he can't hear (and likely wouldn't care anyways) it seems perfectly fine to taunt him about his preference for a pink frilly, lacy bed.  Puppy is not to be outdone in the princess category and tries to fit in the little orange princess bed* on the left.  She's a little too rough and tumble to be a delicate little flower.
* OK technically it's not a princess bed since it says "Happy Spring" on the side, but since we're in the throes of winter, it ain't no Happy Spring right now.

Not to be outdone by Tito's frequent princess Tours de Force, puppy tries to be a super double princess, by laying in both princess beds.  Sorry kiddo you're too big for those. 

You Can't Fight City Hall

Or so the old saying goes.  But right now, I don't want to fight City Hall.  In fact if I could, I'd go right now and give City Hall a big hug.

My previous experiences with City Hall and official business was in San Diego when I had various legal type items to deal with, mostly simple property issues related to the house in San Diego.  A handful of visits there always yielded the same result; waiting and waiting for some jackalope to break away from their coffee break with the five other "workers" so they could be bothered to come help me.  Said help was always slow to materialize, hampered by poor communication skills and abject indifference, and almost always resulted in my being told to go a different department where the process was repeated ad nauseum.

This process was merely annoying and time consuming until I realized that these city employees were the same jackalopes who could retire at 50 with a six figure pension and were the reason that San Diego, and cities just like throughout California, were sinking in a financial abyss.  This made me angry.  Very angry. 

So when it came about that I had to go to City Hall here in Grand Forks to get a building permit for finishing our basement and dog licenses for the pooches, I dreaded the visit.  Not only did I dread the visit, but I did what I always do with unsavory tasks, I procrastinated.  Yes, I procrastinated like a champ. Delaying, dallying, making excuses, and otherwise putting off things I don't want to do is probably one of my best characteristics (and also probably my most unmarketable job skill). Eventually I ran out of excuses to toss Alycia's way, sucked it up, and went down to City Hall. 

Since I don't know the area and things were covered in snow, it took me a few minutes to find the right building.  This made me a little frustrated and I anticipated taking out my frustration and angst (there was some of that in there too) on some hapless city employee.  Unfortunately for me and my cathartic anger urges, the process couldn't have been easier or more pleasant.  I had to go to two different departments and the total time it took was maybe 10 minutes.  Each employee was pleasant, competent, efficient, and very helpful, a super good combination. 

I literally walked out of City Hall happy and enthused, thankful for the helpful folk I encountered and determined to apologize to the Grand Forks City Hall employees who I prejudged, in the most public forum available to mankind, the Deaf Dogs and Benevolent Gnomes blog.  Sorry Grand Forks City Hall, it was wrong of me to judge ye.  Ye are quite awesome. 

Chilly Willy

The mythical cartoon penguin would probably even be chilly outside in Grand Forks, North Dakota tonight.  The vaunted local weather folks have predicted a low this evening/tomorrow morning of -26.  Sorry my Canadian friends I don't know what that translates into in terms of degrees Celsius, but it's probably like -144 Celsius.  Luckily there is no wind, which is nice because any breeze would make it feel even colder, which would be whack. 

If I can get my fingers thawed out tomorrow, I'll take the camera outside and get some artistic shots of the large icicles hanging from the Grandma-mobile.  Or Alycia and I will go to Arby's.  We'll see which one happens.

Or if you're cold enough, you could find a furry companion to snuggle up with.

Christmas Bandannas (not Christmas Bananas)

When we went up North to Cavalier for Christmas we naturally took all the puppies with us.  Who better to appreciate the splendor of a Christmas morning in the country (as well as the tasty handouts after Christmas dinner).  Puppies and people had their first Christmas surprise when Mama Bear (Alycia's Mom) announced that she had purchased handsome bandannas for all the puppies to wear on Christmas.

I laughed out loud when I heard this idea since it didn't seem feasible to me to dress up not just one dog, but all the dogs up at once, and I quickly set about mocking the idea.  I couldn't have been more wrong.  You see we never dress up our dogs (except for vital winter survival sweaters on walks) and between their lack of familiarity with dog clothing and puppy, well being a spazzy puppy, I thought the odds of those bandannas staying on any of our dogs were infinitesimal.

Uncle Mozzie and his green bandanna.  He gets dressed up pretty frequently by the Bear Family so I wasn't shocked that he didn't put up a fuss.  He also gets lured into submission with tasty treats, so I wasn't surprised that his holiday neckerchief stayed on.

Tito models his Christmas Cravat from the comfort of Leesha's lap (say that five times in a row really fast).  Tito HATES wearing anything but an angry glare, so I was shocked when he didn't scratch at it and it stayed around his neck all day.  I'm chalking this up to his being distracted by the turkey in the oven and all the delicious smells and dropped tidbits on the kitchen floor.  But still...

 

Here's Shaak Ti in her striking blue and black bandanna, very sharp indeed.  

And lastly, the puppy in her multi-colored neck ornament.  Ms. Puppy left her kerchief alone all day long, didn't try to pull it off, chew on it, or mess with it.  I was shocked, shocked. 

The dogs kept their festive neckwear on ALL DAY.  Not only did I have to have a mega mea culpa and take back all my smack talking to Mama Bear, but after dinner when everyone else was enjoying delicious apple and pumpkin pies, all I had was a large slice of room temperature humble pie.  Sigh...

One last shot of Tito and Shaak Ti, aka the Bandanna Duo. 

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year faithful blog readers!!!  May 2011 bring you much happiness, financial success (if desired), many puppy kisses (if you have dogs, if not that might be weird), tasty gluten free goods (if applicable), and all the friends and family you can shake a stick at.  Hopefully you've made all your New Years resolutions by now, one of which should be to bring new readers here to the Deaf Dogs and Benevolent Gnomes blog.  Remember any new readers that become a follower get their own personalized shout out (apologies to lifeshighway - I'm getting to yours I promise)

We had a decent snowstorm roll through last night (Blizzard Dave to be precise) and I've got to get suited up, throw on my bunny fur lined "Mad Bomber" hat and attend to some snowblowing and shoveling tasks outside.  I've much more to say about the awesome-ness of my Mad Bomber hat, but I'll have to save that for another post. 

BD (Blizzard Dave) only left 6 or 8 inches but there were some wicked winds that left bare concrete in some places and 2 foot drifts in other places.  The neighborhood is starting to buzz with activity, snowblowers and ATV's with snow plow attachments are making their rounds, and I don't want to be the last one with an uncleared driveway.

After a couple of hours of outside work time I'll settle down, watch some college football bowl games, and post all the puppy pictures from Christmas and recent fun festivities.  So stay tuned for awesome puppy pictures and whatever other awesome-radness may be up my sleeve (gluten free recipes, rants about current events, a new poll for the New Year, and maybe pictures of the elusive breast cancer crane in Grand Forks which is becoming my white whale, my golden unicorn).  That which is unattainable yet constantly pursued.