Rusty Pups at Play

 

It has been quite a year for one of these girls

Rusty Pup Brandy started the year with a torn ligament operation

Followed by allergies and scratchings and hair loss

Then Thyroid diagnosis

It is only now that she walks freely and happily.

Her fur has grown back.

She is happy again

One day about a year our friend Michael knocked on the back Door with stuffed toys 

For the Rusty Pups.

I was a bit sceptical because our previous rusties would have chewed them to bits

In seconds.

However these two gentle souls are happy just carrying their toys around

And love to be chased as I try to get the toys back.

Not wanting furry stuffies 

destroyed outside in the mud and the rain

I trained the pups to drop their toy before going through the back door.

They caught on very quickly and I was pretty impressed.

But this summer I decided they had earned the right to take furry toys outside.

Trouble is they are so well trained……I have to carry the toys outside and

they won’t bring them back through the door when it is time to come in!

 

And….when I pick up a toy to bring it inside they think it is time for a

game of grab the toy from Mom!

Brilliant training

Now how to un train!

Oh to be a spoilt pooch!

Winter’s Finally Here

 Winter arrived over the weekend

Beautiful thick sticky snow

Just in time for my birthday!

It will be quiet here because

 one Rust Pup has been hobbling for a few days.

She has torn a ligament on one of her rear legs

So today we take her to the vet

She will be operated on in the morning

Fingers crossed.

Hunkering Down for Tropical Storm Lee

Over the summer I've been creating my own cyclone in the studio.

So with the arrival of Tropical Storm Lee 

I took it as a hint to tidy up.

Of course that didn't last long.

Funny how picking up a piece of cloth

brings to a halt any clean-up.

So off I went creating very small 5" squares.

Tough going that small for me

and I have to make 9 of them.

So on Sunday at the tail end of the storm

The studio was still a mess

BUT

I have 9 pieces nearly done.

Still liable to change

of course.

Rusty Pups snuggled and snoozed to pass the storm away.

And even as the evening lights came on

They still slept.

Despite Lee making land quite close to us

and the eye of the storm even closer....

We were lucky 

No power cuts

No downed trees

Not too much flooding.

Grateful

Rusty Pups are Four Years Old Today....Already!

 

The day we brought them home they started chewing sticks

Today they prefer to chew or move much larger bits of fallen trees all over the garden!

Rusty Pup Brandy loves rolling all over her chosen stick of the day.

Strange 

Normal dogs prefer to roll in interesting dead things or animal droppings.

Not our Brandy

Rusty Pup Ginger is the explorer, our protector 

especially when I'm alone with them.

They bark at anything new like a fallen tree

or a recycling bin on the curb

or a lawn mower parked in a new spot.

But they are enthusiastic greeters of any human beings!

They would really like to be lap dogs but my old bones can't take their weight!

They have a friend called Michael who brings them toys

Needless to say....they adore him.

These are the first Rusty Pups we've adopted that are gentle with their toys

Previous Rusty Pups have eaten any toys offered them.

It is a great joy to have them in our lives

Happy Birthday girls!

A Rusty Pup Summer

 

A Rusty Pup Summer is full of play

And grassy back scratches

Then resting in the shade

And sometimes pretending you're a beaver

Then catching your breath before another game of tag erupts!

Or catching a bit of sunshine

And carrying your favourite stick back to the house.

I hope your day is full of Summer Sunshine.

Tending Winter's Garden

Summer's Dance

I thought that using brighter colours
would help me through the winter months that I find so difficult
and, boy oh boy, last summer was glorious.
I wanted to record and celebrate that too
and forget the winter winds outside.

But then I read Rainer Maria Rilke's thoughts on winter

A time to care for one's inner garden

A time to mend

A time of growth for mind and spirit. 

A time of looking deeply inwards 

Learning

Healing

Reflecting

For so many Winters

I have said I should do a winter piece.

When the word 'should' comes out of my mouth

I now recognize it's never gonna happen!

Acceptance

 

So in this deep mid-winter stitching of the joyful dance of summer's dahlias

I hope I am learning to accept winter's edge

as a quietness

a retreat into deepening knowledge.

Now that this piece is finished

it fills me with joy and rich memories.

Winter's edge was harsh this year

So much so that the Rusty Pups could sniff the upturned top

of quite a few sixty foot spruce

At the other end I found inspiration in it's, oh so shallow, root ball.

There were many days when it was best to stay inside!

Even the RP's thought so.

In May the dahlia corms will go back into the ground

In August their blooms will be dancing and bobbing in summer breezes.

Getting Back into the Rhythm of Stitch

What a glorious Summer we had here in Nova Scotia

A Summer to remember

Everything grew and grew and grew

Wild apple trees drooped under the weight of apples the size of grapefruits.

Rusty Pups discovered they were delicious!

Bright, bold Dahlias grew as big as dinner plates 

Dancing through my flowerbed

They took my breath away

And were still going strong until Jack Frost put them to rest. this week.

Wanting to remember and celebrate this Summer

For me that is through stitch.

It will be a piece of joyful memories

Giant balls of colour and stitch.....

.... will dance across my piece with companions of every size.

And of course they will come to rest on the soil

which they will enrich in preparation for next years Summer.

The cycle of life.

I am content

I am joyful

I am dancing along with the dahlias in memory of this Summer past

and settling down to new stitchings with anticipation.

It is what I do.

When the Rusty Pups come and plonk themselves in front of me as I stitch....

,,,,and even shove their noses into my cloth as I stitch....

....informing me they feel neglected

So we stop for a cuddle

Or a walk

Or a meal.

They are very patient but there comes a time when they feel the need to interject!

I hope your companions of every kind allow you the time to create today!

Summer....My Favourite Time of Year

It's been a glorious Summer

A time to dye

with Madder and Cutch and Myrobalan

A time for the garden to grow out of control

Full of abundant dye material

A time for my wild child to explore the dried out stream

But not too far my dear

There is a black bear cub and his Mom around!

We have managed to maintain our new civilized flowerbed

and the dahlias are still incredible.... 

....and so huge!

Even the Rusty Pups have enjoyed the abundance of flowers

and....

....basking in the Sun has been pure joy!

For those of you whose Summer is coming to an end

I hope it was glorious for you too.

There are some whose Summer is just beginning

and I envy you.

Summer....my favourite time of year.

Small Observations Walking With Rusty Pups

We walk before the Day Lillies awaken

We walk past tree stumps

reminding me of those years long ago

when people were talking about insects taking over the world!

Perhaps they will.

We walk past grasses arching gracefully 

from what used to be our veggie beds.

We've given up on veggies

now it is left to nature for the butterflies and bees.

And then of course

there is always the favourite huge stick of the day 

that has to accompany us around!

This hot sunshiny summer makes the stream 

a very inviting cooling spot for Rusty Pups

who often dive in and splash their way downstream

disrupting the quiet, still beauty of reflections!

To my surprise I discovered 

there are tiny rusty critters who live close to the stream!

Everything is attracted to our quieter Rusty Pup, Brandy!

Others like the horrible deerfly really bother her

But beautiful butterflies, not so much!

LET me go inside pleeeease.

Rusty Pup, Ginger, is not a fan of the heat

When we sit out on the front porch

She likes to go inside and lie under an open window.

Close enough to still feel part of the pack!

Sometimes the small observations of daily life

are the most important.