Notes from Maine - 2023/01/08
Finn (dog, English Mastiff) passed his latest checkup. He had knee surgery at the beginning of November. For the last two months he has been relatively quiet—no running around and no flights of stairs. The shaved leg is still obvious. If you’re wondering how long it takes to grow out leg hair, it’s more than two months. Albert (dog, German Shepherd) just turned two, and remains full of energy. With occasional suspicion, he works through he training routine we’ve developed. He knows, sit, down, rollover, stay, bark, and leap at your face. That last one was supposed to be shake—not the kind where a dog will scrape your leg, looking to “shake hands,” but the kind where he shakes vigorously to shed water. Long ago, I had a dog who knew how to shake off water on command. It’s a useful trick. With Duke, I would wait for him to come out of the water and then ask him to stop while he was still some distance away. Then I could ask him to shake where he wouldn’t get me wet. Duke got an extra big “Good Boy!” if he shook water onto my grandmother.
She would say, “Oh, good night!”
I taught Duke to “shake” by waggling my hand and blowing lightly in his ear. When I do that to Albert, he leaps at my face. He’s pretty sure that he’s doing it right and always seems confused when I don’t congratulate him on the effort.
Albert knows how to swim and he loves to chase things, so I think he will have fun at the camp this summer, splashing around in the lake. It’s different now though. When Duke used to swim, we would walk back up to my grandparents’ house and he would sit in the dooryard until he dried off. At the camp, I’m not sure I would trust Albert not to wander off. He hasn’t spent that much time there. I’m not sure he understands the boundaries.
I have big plans for this summer. If I can get the culvert fixed, then I can finally get serious about putting a pasture out back. This summer, the pasture was picked clean of grass by the end of June. I’ll need more grazing space for Maybelle and Earl. Also, the fence is on its last legs. Maybe I can get another year out of it. Who knows if I’ll get anything done. I seem to be stuck in a planning loop lately. There are always “higher priority” issues to address. Dedicating time to long-term projects makes me feel like I’m neglecting the stuff right in front of my face.
So, in a few more weeks Finn can start on small flights of stairs. We’re supposed to build up his strength before we try to tackle the stairs up to the bedroom where I used to live. If I were motivated, I would be renovating that room right now to prepare it for my return. Instead, I’ve moved a better mattress into Dad’s room (where I’ve been staying). I’ve only been upstairs a handful of times since October. I’ll probably have to build my strength back up too.
New floors and new paint would be nice up there. The carpet is from the 80s, I believe. That’s so gross. So many things to do. I’ll just have to break it up into manageable chunks. Getting the furniture out of there is a manageable chunk. I can start that—maybe not today, but I can start that.
