The Sideways Tree, Revisited

What is left of the sideways tree

Whenever we have a dry day, I try to go down to the sideways tree to help it sneak back into the woods.  This is my progress so far.  At the point you can see here, the trunk split into four branches that grew basically vertically.  I got all of them cut off and moved near the trunk in the wooded area.

I have also been digging up branches that have been buried under very tall grass. In this picture the grass has fallen over, but it is mature enough to have gone to seed.  What amazes me is that the grass I cut in December is already turning green and growing.

This is what the tree looked like in late Summer before I started helping it.

Tree growing although it has been knocked over. I really enjoy bringing order from chaos, but no good deed goes unpunished.  Our dead tree friend is covered with fungi which cause me to have an allergy attack every time I work around them.

Orange fungus on tree trunk

These orange fellows bring some color to the day, but I am hesitant to handle them.

White fungus on tree trunk.

These white “clam shells” are everywhere, so it is hard to avoid brushing against them.

Blue green fungus

The color is a little off on this picture, but this fungus has a blue-green cast.

Hand used to determind scale of tree trunk

This can give you an idea of the diameter of the trunk of the tree.  Its not huge, but it is surprisingly heavy.

 

Deer butt running away

As I was taking pictures, three deer crashed the party.  You can see one of them as she runs away.

Toby likes to come with me when I work down here.  He digs holes or eats dirt and grass.  It is little puppy heaven.

  Bored terrier lies next to his tennis ball.

Aw, can’t we go to the tree today?

If Toby is upset about no longer being able to pee on the top of the tree, he hasn’t said anything.  Perhaps I should check my slippers before putting them on just to be on the safe side….

And So It Begins

For the final act of 2018, Toby managed to get into the bathroom and grab not just the end of the toilet paper but the whole roll.  “Gnaw, gnaw, gnaw” went the Toby.

And how did 2019 begin?  With Toby throwing up in his bed at 4:00 a.m. “Yark, yark, yark,” went the Toby.  But, dog puke is auspicious, isn’t it?

And so begins our new year….

Spitting Cottonballs

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Bitey Dog and Toby in POOPITER

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Casino Conundrum

Poker chips

Is it really a conundrum?  Nah, but the alliteration sounds good.

A few weeks ago, planners in a nearby town started considering allowing a casino to be built in their failing mall.  The hope was that it would help to revive the mall and the town with new jobs and new revenue.

Editorial columns in the local paper have been filled with letters reminding city leaders that casinos do not generate wealth, only redistribute it….and this area doesn’t have a lot to start with.  To add another wrinkle to the plans, this past week one of the three remaining anchor stores in the mall announced that they are closing their doors.  Yikes.

I know that this is part of economic cycles and that the nature of retail will change from generation to generation.  That doesn’t stop me from panicking about not being able to find goods when I need them.  I counted on Sears for sturdy cookware and outdoor lawn and gardening tools.  The only B & M store left in this area is Walmart.  Unless you are looking for stretchy tween leggings or oversized stuffed animal heads, you are going to be out of luck.

Two Cairn terriers sitting in the grass.

The boys are encouraging me to go to the Sears closing sale to stock up on whatever we might need to last us until B&M stores come back into fashion.  Since that might never happen, we might need to buy a lot of stuff!

Shiny Happy Puppies Wearing Bands

Shiny reflective gear on walker and pups.

Whee!  The boys and I got lucky.  Our Christmas presents arrived early!  They received reflective leashes and collars, and I got a reflective harness to go with my bands and my flashlight.

I hadn’t realized how much we would enjoy night walking, but it is wonderful!  I love the peacefulness and the quiet.  People in the area go all out for the holidays and decorate with tons of lights and lawn ornaments.  You really get to appreciate them as you stroll by in the dark.

It is great no longer being restricted to daylight hours to get our exercise.  If I had known how much fun we’d have, I would have asked Santa for reflectors much sooner!

 

 

The Sharing Dish

As I emptied the contents of the crock pot into a container today, Geordie kept hitting my leg to remind me that he would like a taste.  Toby, on the other hand, was off in an other room playing with his toys.  (He doesn’t take food work as seriously as his brother.)

Thinking that Geordie would enjoy a private little treat, I quietly placed some food in his dish.  Normally he would run over and scarf it down.  Instead, he sat beside his dish looking up at me.   He looked toward the food, then toward Toby’s dish, than back at me.  Oh my gosh, he wouldn’t eat until I had given Toby some too!  We called Toby over, and he enjoyed some home-cooking shoulder to shoulder with his big brother.

When Toby first arrived, Geordie couldn’t stand to be in the same room as him.  Now he won’t eat goodies without sharing.  It’s so sweet it makes my eyes all leaky!

Cairn terrier puppy hold his food bowl.

Really?  I can have some too?

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The Sideways Tree

Tree growing although it has been knocked over.

It’s hard to judge from the photo just how big this gentle giant is.  He is huge!

If you could peek through the trees a few feet, you would be able to watch the Keystone Pipeline being put in.  Workers pushed over the trees in this wooded area  to make a place for the pipes.  Part of me would like to blame the workers for knocking over healthy wood, but these trees were nearly all past their prime and should have been thinned  long ago.  Over the years when the pups and I have walked by, I was struck by how many trees were still upright simply because they had died leaning against a fellow tree.

One day during a bad storm, this giant of a tree was knocked over.  Even though he was down, he continued growing and put out a full display of leaves that first year.  By the second year, his spirit flagged.  As you can see in the photo, his leaves were thin, and he looked tired.

At the end of the Summer, he finally gave up and died.  He had had enough.  What is sad to me is that he has had to lie there for all of those years while the township mowed around him.  Again, my photography isn’t good, but there is an island of unreasonably tall grass as large as the outline of the tree.

Toby and I walked past the tree last week.  I brushed against a branch, and it was so brittle it easily snapped off.  Inspired, I broke off more and more.  On several more days (sans Toby) I went back to the park and broke off all the branches that would snap.  I even dug through the snow to reach the ones buried under the 30″ tall grass.

This is fun for me.  I like the work, and I like making that public area look better.  I am planning to sneak back with a saw and keep hacking the tree into pieces that I can drag into the woods.  I am wondering how long I can do this before someone decides to yell at me.  You know, because after nearly 3 years of ignoring the problem, the township is suddenly going to develop an interest in it.

I hope that the parts of the tree I have returned to the woods will decompose and become fertile ground for new life.   Season by season we can watch that stand return to its former glory.

Terrier pups waits next to his tennis ball.

I can’t believe you are getting rid of my chance to pee on the top of a giant tree!

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Bitey Dog and Toby in POOPITER

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The Closet (The Coat)

I had though that the season change was off to an auspicious start when I was able to repair a purse for under $0.50.  Surely this was a sign of good things to come!  Not.

A quick perusal of other Winter gear showed a coat with definite cold spots.  OK, it is at least 12 or 13 years old.  Surely I could at least think about possibly finding a new one?  Maybe one with a hood?

Thinking is about as far as you can go these days about new things.  With all of the talk I hear about the flourishing economy and American-made pride, I thought I would be overwhelmed with great choices.  Choices yes, but certainly not great ones.

Anyone who lives up north knows the value of a warm coat.  Sadly now I do too.  It is approximately a mortgage payment.  I had always been lucky enough to find something at an outlet store, but there don’t seem to be any around here anymore.

A check online showed that not only are coats super expensive, but for some reason every manufacturer has decided that current coats must a) be very form-fitting and b) have a zippered turtleneck.  Models demonstrate the coats’ attributes while wearing stilettos and nothing else.  Really?  Are we supposed to be wearing our down coats over cocktail dresses?  What happened to dressing in layers?  How are you supposed to fit a wool sweater under one of those?  I find this level of stupidity very frustrating.

And then there’s zippered turtlenecks.  That is all you can find.  I loathe zippered turtlenecks.  They catch on your hair.  They catch on your earrings.  They constantly poke you in the face.  Seriously?  No one could think to buck the trend and place a zipper to the collar bone then a snap-closed insulated collar?  Even if I could afford a coat I would either have to hate it as-is or commit surgery and void its warranty.

So, my unfortunate puppies are closet orphans for another week as I try to once again fix what I have.  Toby enjoys going through my fabric bin with me and pulling out different insulators trying to find something to help.  If I can’t find anything, maybe I’ll just stuff him in there.  After all, my boys are always bragging about how warm their fur is.

Cairn terrier pup standing in snow.

My fur is warm.  N’yah, n’yah, n’yah!

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  Bitey Dog and Toby in POOPITER

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What I Did Today (No Good Deed)

I voted

Like millions of Americans, I went to the polls and voted.  At the sign in table was a pile of little “I Voted” stickers.  I asked if I could have one, then happily brought it home after my task was complete….happily until I watched the news, that is.  On the plus side, voter turn out is higher for a midterm election than possibly any year before.  On the minus side, the news had to do a story about municipalities refusing to offer stickers because of the tremendous cost to the budget.

Thanks for sucking the fun out of my sticker.

(In case you were wondering, Bitey and Toby did go along with me to the polls.  They weren’t the only dogs to show up either.  Did they vote Repawblican or Dogmacrat?  They didn’t tell.  Dogs are good at keeping their secrets.)

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If you would like to read more about Bitey and Toby’s adventures, pick up a copy of Poopiter!

Bitey Dog and Toby in POOPITER

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Shadow Games

When I started Bitey Dog, it was really just a way for me to capture special memories of my boy.  This post is one of those.

Carn terrier puppy hiding under a chair.

I played just like when I was a puppy!

Geordie has always loved chasing flashlight beams.  He will run himself to the point of exhaustion barking at full volume while chasing the light all over the house.  In bad weather, it was a nice cheating way to exercise my boy.

For some reason, Toby does not see the light as something to be chased…but Geordie is.  Toby knows that if Geordie goes on a run-and-bark tare, he will be yelled at.  Toby can’t stand raised voices or angry family, so he does his best to keep Geordie in check.  As Geordie sprints by, Toby will reach over and chomp him on the butt.

When Toby’s tennis ball rolled under the furniture and I needed the flashlight to find it, Geordie insisted on a game.  In spite of being sick, I had him running, barking and jumping all over the place just like when he was a puppy.  Toby got in just as much exercise chasing Geordie and trying to bite him.

It was just a little game, but it was so nice to see that  my Geordie still has the energy to run and play.  It helps me to remember that he will always be that crazy ball of fluff both in this world and the next.

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Bitey Dog and Toby in POOPITER

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Not Cool, Mom!

Sketch of Cairn terrier dog.

Seriously, you chose this picture?!?

When Geordie saw the picture of Toby I posted on the blog, he insisted that I put a picture of him up next.  For some reason he is unhappy about this one.

This is a draft of one of the pictures in his (and Toby’s.  Don’t tell him Toby is in the book too) next book.  Although I have been working on it for a year, it feels like I am never going to get done.

This book is filled with so many memories for me.  It has also been a great opportunity for me to learn more about working with digital media.  At the rate I am going, though, I will die of oldness long before I ever get done.

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To read some of Bitey and Toby’s already finished adventures, pick up a copy of Poopiter.

Bitey Dog and Toby in POOPITER

Poopiter is available at Amazon.  It would make a great Christmas gift for the dog lover in your life!