2 More Visitors

I was feeding Cooper dinner. He kept wandering to the back door, staring at the shed. I looked out, but did not see anything.

A little while later I looked out and saw the fox and 3 kits ! I am wondering just how large the den under our shed is. I know the woodchuck had dug a tunnel under there. It must be fairly large to fit a family of 4.

Were all 3 kits together the other day? Perhaps 2 were hiding under the shed and I did not see them.

500 Pounds

Jeff wanted to have a solid piece of bluestone at the entrance to the front door. Our landscaper, Harry, called the Pennsylvania quarry to check if they had such  a large piece. The quarry said that they could cut a piece of stone to match the required dimensions. It would weigh about 500 pounds.

When I heard that a crane would be needed to lift the stone, I checked that Young's had insurance. In my mind, I pictured this stone crashing thru the front door. Luckily, the stone was delivered and installed with no problems.

Surprise Visitors

I was in the kitchen getting ready to feed the dogs. Coop ran to the glass door and began to bark. I thought a deer was walking across the yard, but Coop did not stop barking. I looked out and saw the fox and a kit standing next to the shed.

The fox was grooming the kit. The kit was about the size of a large cat and incredibly cute. After a few minutes the fox ran off. The kit hid under the shed.

The fox returned a short while later. The kit immediately came out to greet the fox. They wandered off together.

I hope I get to see these two beautiful animals again. I could not get a photo of the kit, but the fox is at the right edge of the shed in this photo.

Memory Lane II

Jake will always be my pure of heart dog. The white spot on his chest reflected the sweetness in his soul.

Stamp Out Hunger

Three cheers for the USPS and the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive!

A postcard in the mail on Friday, reminded me to leave groceries by the mailbox on Saturday.  I went to the grocery store early on Saturday morning. When I got home, Jeff commented that I was gone longer than usual. I replied," I needed to do some extra shopping. In the back of the car, there is a big box that is too heavy for me to carry. Can you put it by the mailbox?"

Last year 77 million pounds of food was collected nationwide. I read a statistic that 1 in 8 Americans rely on food assistance and 55 million Americans struggle with hunger. This is both sad and shocking. I cannot image so many hungry people in our prosperous country.

No Good Pictures

The other day Jeff said, "We have no good dog pictures". This is not due to a lack of trying.

I wanted to take a picture of Cooper and Otis sitting under a tree. It sounds simple enough. I grabbed the camera as we headed out for our morning walk.

I got both dogs to sit and stepped back to take a photo. A bird flew out of the tree and Cooper leaped up .

I got the dogs to sit a second time and a squirrel ran out of the woods. Chaos ensued.

When the geese flew overhead, honking on the way to our neighbor's pond, the dog's focus shifted skyward.

Out of the 10 photos I took, only one has both dogs facing in the same direction.  Thank goodness for digital cameras. I would spend  a fortune on film.

Pathway

The lower landing and pathway are now complete.

A light will be installed on top of the stone column.

Dear 16 year old me...

Memory Lane

Whenever I see a picture of our Sheltie, Brandy, I think what a gorgeous dog!

Bluestone

The lower bluestone landing is almost completed and the upper stair treads are in place. The landing is not big enough for a cafe table, but there is a sense of openness/space that our old stoop lacked.

We tried out the sitting wall and decided it was pretty neat.

Sunshine

We had beautiful weather this weekend, sunny but not too hot. Cooper and Otis spent hours on the deck.

Even after spending all morning outside, Cooper did not want to come back in.   I thought the hard deck would bother Coop's hips, but he did not seem to mind.

Getting Closer

If the weather is nice next week, the walkway should finally be completed.

The 3 sets of stairs have been constructed and the bluestone treads are sitting in the driveway. Some grading needs to be done and then the bluestone  pathway will be installed.

Our latest project has attracted some neighborhood interest. Not that this is surprising - between the chiseling and cutting of the stone with a saw, there is quite a racket coming from our home.

Happy Mother's Day !

Cooper and Otis send  kisses to their Maine Moms; Linda P, Linda F, and Bobbi !

We send good wishes to all the Moms who are reading this blog.

Missing Peonies

I love peonies. Last year I was lucky enough to get some of these plants to bloom and enjoyed having the flowers brighten the house.

Unfortunately, most of the peonies were in the path of our new walkway and were destroyed. I will miss having these beautiful flowers in our home this spring. I have never seen cut peonies sold at a store.

One of our neighbors has gorgeous peonies. I am sure every morning when we walk by, I will be wishing I had my scissors with me.

Up Close

When we were interviewing landscape companies, we were warned that our walkway would contain A LOT of stone. We were told that it might take a while to get used to the new look and that we should live with the walkway for several months before landscaping.

I think that the stone wall is beautiful. Up close,  I can see the intricate details. I am still amazed how the mason made all the pieces fit together.  We may eventually add some slight landscaping, but I do not want to hide this creation.

Movin' On Up

Congratulations to Jeff on moving up to a Class B ranking in the NSCA (National Sporting Clays Association).

Stairs

The first set of stairs have been installed in our new walkway. If you look closely at the top step you will see the light is embedded in the stone.

The Belgian block is now in place. The Belgian block is to protect the stone, in case someone gets too close to the edge of the driveway.

And this is what the complete project looks like.  The vertical stone work is complete, so it should not take long to install the blue stone pathway.

Coyotes

There was an article in our local paper that said a coyote has been spotted snarling at a medium sized dog. I know that coyotes often attack small dogs and cats, but thought they would stay away from  from larger animals. The article advised that if you see a coyote to keep your dog calm.

I could not help but laugh at that comment. We often see coyotes on our walks and Cooper and Otis bark long and loud. If a squirrel running by drives them into a frenzy, you can imagine the response a coyote evokes.

I have never been threatened by a coyote. Perhaps a single coyote is hesitant to approach two dogs. Tiny Coop might look like a tasty snack, but Oti's large frame and 80 lbs of muscle may make the coyote think twice.

Bad Dreams

Cooper was stretched out on the bed sleeping. Otis was sleeping on the bedroom floor. Cooper began to cry, sharp painful yelps.  These were not whimpers of excitement that Coop sometimes makes when dreaming.

Otis heard the noise, sprang up and raced over to the bed. Otis then gave Coop a nudge with his nose and the crying stopped. Otis waited a few seconds to make  sure Coop was ok and then laid back down to sleep.

Coop may be the Alpha, but Otis is very protective of his smaller brother.

Slowly

The walkway will NOT be completed next week. The rain storms are keeping work to a minimum and the stairs have not been started. The first walkway light is installed and the pile of sand is much smaller. We are slowly creeping towards completion.

I wanted the lower landing to have a sitting wall. This means that the inside wall must be smooth (even). For this to work, the stone cutting and fitting must be precise. It takes hours for a few stones to be installed. I think that the stone work is beautiful.