38 posts tagged “beacon”
This morning was the annual running of Bailey's Doggie Dash. Andrew hasn't been running much at all this year due to a back injury so he decided to enter the costume contest. He has had this idea for a couple of years but finally got costumes this year. Andrew's race number this year was a cool one. His birthday month and year.
Since we call Haven Miss B when she's naughty (get it - Miss B Haven) the bee costume is fitting. Andrew had to be a sunflower to go along with her. They ended up placing fourth in the costume contest.
These two collies have creative costumes each year. One year they were "collie flowers" with head gear similar to Andrew's! The football player took first place and the cheerleader took second in the costume contest. A pirate was in third place even though we thought Haven should have been there if the collies were going to be first and second. Haven was doing her screaming while being *judged* so we told her she got points taken off her score for her behavior. You can see video of Haven screaming here.
Once the race started Haven settled in. But Andrew said that she was mad that they weren't running as fast as they usually do!
After the race we hung out while waiting for everyone to finish. Haven was all over getting treats and watching the people. She didn't mind all of the dogs but they weren't as interesting.
Back at home we took our yearly photo of Andrew and Haven in front of the burning bush with whatever they took home from the race that year.
After throwing a ball at the bumper it eventually came down. Now both dogs are happily sleeping - Beacon in a sunbeam and Haven on a double decker soft bed.
More photos that I took this morning can be seen in my Doggie Dash Flickr album.
This morning as I was catching up on my Google Reader stuff I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. I looked out the window and saw a herd of about eight deer. Some of them were really close. As in standing in the garden right in front of the house.
There were two young bucks in the group. We see does all of the time, usually every day. It's rare that we see a buck let alone two at the same time. One of the bucks was playing with a younger deer. Either a doe or a buck without antlers. They would play bow and then head butt each other. The buck was clearly the alpha but it didn't appear that he was trying to chase the younger deer away. The two would move along looking for things to eat in the grass and take breaks to play. This continued as they moved across the front yard.
The does in the group seemed to care more about eating than playing. Four of them were in the garden eating. They were eating weeds so I didn't chase them off.
When I went to take a picture of the does (the bucks moved along too quickly so I didn't have time to get the camera out) Beacon wondered what I was doing. Usually if the dogs see deer in the yard but they're not too close to the house of the fence in the back they don't care about them. But if they get too close their turf must be defended, mostly by Beacon. Haven's curious about the deer and I think she'd like to play with them more than chase them away.
The above photo was taken about a second before Beacon started popping up and down on his front legs barking so that the deer would see him as a "big threat". The deer did run off so Beacon did his "job". He showed them.
It's now hunting season. If we take the dogs hiking they'll wear their orange vests. During firearm time we won't take the dogs in a hunting area.
The deer in our area (as well as many others around us and the US) are plentiful. There aren't cougars around here so there aren't any natural predators for the deer. In the past couple of years the deer population seems to have grown. A couple of years ago I wasn't able to harvest anything from my vegetable garden because of the deer. Last winter one of the evergreen bushes right outside our front door was eaten by the deer. There are more of them fighting for what food there is in the area. And depending on weather conditions food can be more scarce. While we've had some dry summers and cold winters the cold times haven't been harsh enough to weed out enough sick and weak deer.
A few months ago our City Council approved hunting deer within city limits. It's only in season and only for bow and arrow hunting. And it's limited to properties of 10 acres or more. You must adhere to state laws requiring a license and includes individually the number of deer you can take in a season. I agree that there is a deer population issue. I'm not sure that allowing hunting within city limits is the answer.
There are about 10 properties where this hunting would be allowed and only three of these properties are residential. So in essence allowing hunting only changes things for three properties as it's highly unlikely that a business would allow hunting in their land with all of the liabilities. I'm not sure that the land belonging to three people (and who knows if all three would actually hunt on their land), which are all on one side of the city, will help the overall population problem.
The ordinance allowing hunting within city limits will be reviewed in three years. There hasn't been anything mentioned about how the city will determine whether or not hunting has helped. There was mention of comparing deer-car accidents within the city as well as working with the DNR to get a feel on the population but I don't think anything has been cited as real follow up goals.
I wish the city would have brought up more education in how to help control the deer population in addition to allowing hunting. People go after the bucks. They're the *prize*. But it's really the does that should be targeted so that there are fewer to reproduce. There wasn't mention of encouraging more hunting in the areas surrounding the city where hunting is allowed by anyone.
From watching the deer on a daily basis I can tell that they're not "just an animal". They play. They have personalities. I wish that there were another way to control their population without hunting. But I also know that they have become an issue.
There are white things floating down from above but it's not snow. It's cottonwood seeds. On the side of our yard we have a cottonwood tree behind out house in the woods off to the side. Every year for at least a couple of weeks the seeds float around. At times they look cool. At times they're a pain, especially when mowing.
This tall tree started dropping seeds last week. I don't think we've reached the height of all of the things floating around. There are still a lot of cotton clumps all over the tree.
I was on my belly in the grass taking photos of all the seeds in the grass. Andrew and the dogs were also outside. The dogs started playing and kept trying to use me as a home base. In order to not get jumped on or have the camera knocked out of my hand I decided to go vertical. There were a few stare downs next to me.
I'm back home now and was greeted by a happy girl. She sniffed me and Beacon up and down and looked into the garage to make sure there wasn't another dog with us. She'll get to meet Zeke next weekend when he's here with my parents.
During the rest of my time at my parents' house Zeke continued to follow Beacon around wherever he went. He continued to pee every time Beacon peed. He'll probably wonder where we are for a day or so.
Beacon was very good with Zeke. Unless Zeke stepped on him or was bouncing around in an unpredictable way Beacon didn't mind having a little dog around. At times he did seem to wonder why he was being followed all of the time but he took it in stride. He let Zeke play with his toys and even sat and watched Zeke eat before it was his turn.
This morning while we were eating breakfast Beacon decided to be like Goldilocks and try out Zeke's bed, which looks exactly like his only it's two sizes smaller. Zeke still hasn't discovered soft beds and now nice they can be. Perhaps that'll be a lesson he learns from Haven. And maybe after seeing Beacon on his bed he'll decide that he should try it out as well.
There are a few more photos of Zeke from my time with him here at the end of my Flickr set if you're interested in looking at them.
I'm back at my parents' for a short time this week. Yesterday I went to a distributor on this side of the state to pick up order and decided to bring Beacon and visit my parents. I had hoped to be able to meet a couple of high school friends for lunch today but plans fell through. So I'm hanging out with the boys while my parents are at work. I'm going to my mom's school this afternoon for a little bit though.
This photo really says it all. It's how Beacon and Zeke have been acting (well more Zeke) since we arrived late morning yesterday. Beacon has been tolerating Zeke. He's not too interested in interacting with him but he doesn't mind the little guy being around. They'll sleep a foot or two away from each other. If Zeke gets too close to Beacon (or steps on his head like he did yesterday) he'll be reminded who the big dog and boss is regardless of who lives in this house.
Zeke's like a little brother following Beacon around. He tries to get Beacon to play with him but so far has been ignored. I was throwing a toy for Beacon and Zeke would run after Beacon as he chased down the toy. Beacon didn't mind his little wing man.
Zeke follows Beacon so closely that if Beacon stops suddenly Zeke runs into a big lab butt. They've sniffed each other up. In the beginning Beacon made sure Zeke knew he was dealing with the big boss as if they're part of some secret dog mafia. Beacon hears a noise and goes to investigate. Zeke is right behind him.
I'm not sure if this is a marking thing or another following thing but whenever Beacon pees in the backyard Zeke waits and then pees on the same spot. Zeke has just started going to the bathroom more consistently in the backyard rather than having to be walking somewhere on a leash. So maybe it's good for Beacon to show him how things are done outside.
Most of the time the boys are sleeping. They're lazy dogs. This morning they did like looking out the front door to make sure that nothing was going on outside that they should be missing out on. I snapped the above photo of Zeke looking up at Beacon like he's waiting for instructions on what to do next. It reminds me of Gandalf and a Hobbit or the size difference between me and Andrew! I guess that would make me a Hobbit through deductive logic in my example.
It's funny watching the two boys together. I think that over time Beacon will be more playful with Zeke. He usually is with foster dogs we've had that he likes and he seems to like Zeke. We'll be heading home tomorrow but next weekend my parents will be bringing Zeke to our house to spend the day. I wonder what he'll think of not only one big dog but two!
Next weekend will be Haven's first time meeting Zeke, although she has smelled him on me. We'll see how well the three dogs play together and interact. I'm hoping that since Beacon has already met Zeke that he'll remember him and not think that it's a big deal to have him at our house. Then hopefully Haven will feel like she can play with Zeke right away. Usually with foster dogs she's unsure in the beginning because she sees Beacon making sure it's known that he's the boss dog so she backs off even though she's curious and would probably play if Beacon weren't around.
We'll be watching Zeke for a week and a half in July while my parents are on vacation so that should be fun. In the meantime at least two and sometimes all three dogs will be together on occasion. I need to plan a trip back to my parents with just Haven since I've only taken Beacon with me.
Monday morning Beacon and I got in the car and drove two hours to the other side of the state to visit my parents. My mom's home until the middle of March recovering from surgery. I decided to go for a visit and brought Beacon. He likes going places with me but was wondering why overnight stuff was put in the car but Haven and Andrew were left behind. And Haven was none too pleased about having to watch Beacon get into the car.
Andrew went to work and left Haven home alone in the house for part of the day. He set up the dog's eye view camera and at least half of the photos taken were of Haven looking out the bay window, probably wondering when someone would come home.
Beacon and I hung out with my parents. He got a few slices of roast beef as a snack as well as some for his dinner. He didn't seem to look for Andrew and Haven but didn't go far from me at all. Wherever I went he was there. We went out for dinner and he was happy when we came back.
Coincidentally Haven also had roast beef while Beacon and I were away. We don't give our dogs table scraps. They do get human food from time to time but never when we're eating. While we were away Andrew got a roast beef sandwich for Haven! She loves the stuff. It was only after the fact that Andrew and I discovered that both dogs had roast beef while they were apart!
Andrew also took Haven on an hour and a half hike in the woods! It wasn't until after I got back home that I found he was putting up a scavenger hunt for me! Haven also got to clean out a peanut butter jar in our absence.
Shortly after lunch Beacon and I headed home. Haven was happy to see us when we arrived. I found instructions for my scavenger hunt, which included taking the dogs so all four of us hiked around the woods for almost an hour. Tuesday night both dogs were sacked out and spent much of Wednesday being lazy.
Yesterday Beacon spent the day with me at work. He has been to the store in the past but never when it has been open for business. Mondays are typically one of the slower days of the week so I thought it would be a good day to see how he'd handle a day with me.
He spent some time wandering around the store checking things out. Periodically he'd get up and wander around. He seemed to like using his nose to bop the big bags of dog food. The one in the photo on the left us scrunched down due to the bops.
I had his harness on him so that when I took him outside he'd be less likely to pull. I don't know if it was being in a strange place or feeling a little stressed but he never pulled when we were outside!! Lots of slack on the leash and he wandered around nicely. Once he even brought out the rollio he was chewing and walked around with it.
He wasn't too thrilled with my making him sit in front of the leashes for a photo. His butt was sliding and he didn't look like he was in a photo shoot kind of mood.
Beacon's biggest *issue* was when people came into the store. I wondered how he'd react since he likes to meet people and other dogs on his own terms. He's not a fan of kids running around being unpredictable. There are some people he just doesn't like. And he shows his dislike by barking.
Whenever someone came in he did bark. He usually greeted people with a bark and a Nylabone in his mouth. But after the initial bark he stood while people pet him and was good. He just needs to work on his greeting manners. No kids came in yesterday so I don't know how he would have reacted with them. I'm sure he'd be fine if they stood still and let him sniff them. But I know if any came in and started running around the store that he wouldn't have liked that. I probably wouldn't have either, although I can't bark at them to show my dislike. Beacon definitely shows his emotions.
Overall Beacon was really good. He'd just hang out when it was the two of us. He'd watch the cats and whine from time to time because he wanted to play with them. He'd chew on a rollio when I gave him one. He napped a little but I'm sure he didn't get the sleep he usually gets at home.
I could tell by mid afternoon he was ready to go home. I put some things in the car and he tried to jump in as if he were telling me he was done "working". He pouted a bit as well. He seemed happy to get home and slept a lot the rest of the night.
I have Haven with me today. I hope to have time tomorrow to write about her day. When I was getting her ready to go this morning Beacon looked at me and wasn't eager to go into the car. Usually when we take just one dog with us somewhere the other tries to get out the door and into the car. Beacon wasn't eager at all. I don't think he was ready to go back to work with me.
I'm not sure how often I'll bring one of our dogs to work with me. I'll continue to take Beacon but I know that he'd rather go on an adventure with me hiking in the woods than spending a day at the store. I'm sure he's sleeping and enjoying being at home. He probably doesn't even mind that he's alone in the house.
Yesterday morning while Andrew was out running with Haven I took Beacon for a hike. There was a decent amount of snow on the ground. Under all of the fluffy stuff was a layer of crunchy ice. My legs definitely got a workout climbing around.
Since I haven't posted photos in a while I thought I'd take the camera with me. I wasn't planning on speed walking through the woods. I'm glad that wasn't the plan because it took long enough to get through the snow.
Beacon of course had a blast. When I first let him out of the car he took off. But after his initial burst of energy he didn't go far from me. Usually when it's just the two of us he'll run ahead but won't go out of my sight for very long. It's like he wants to protect me. Even when he's alone with me and Andrew he'll run a good distance away from us. I have a lot of photos of a blurry Beacon. He usually had a dorky, happy look on his face and he ran around.
Part of our hike took us by the tree with one of our orange bumpers in it. In the fall Andrew was hiking with both dogs and had our two bumpers, which he was throwing for the dogs to chase. One throw ended with a bumper in the tree. It's still there. Andrew has tried to throw things at it to get it down but even when he hits it it remains trapped in the air.
When Beacon wasn't running around he was stopped looking here and there. He likes to look around before taking off chasing another scent. He especially liked the patch of snow I showed him where a deer had spent the night. He dug at the snow and burried his head in a drift taking in the smells.
If I was ever taking too long looking at something to taking a picture he'd come back to me and whine a little. He would get impatient quite often and wasn't too interested in posing for a photo where he was actually looking a the camera. I only got one.
When we were walking near the river he kept looking at it like he wished it were warmer so that he could swim and fetch sticks. He didn't ever try and go out on to the ice, which is good. I purposely ended our walk near the river so that if he did get wet or I had to help him in the water we'd be ready to leave.
I have a few additional photos in a Flickr set if you're interested in seeing them here.
Beacon cleans out the peanut butter container. He's helping make it "clean" so it can be put out with the recycling. Haven got one too.
Both Beacon and Haven get impatient when it's time for breakfast or dinner. They'll sit and stare at us until we feed them. Sometimes they'll even start begging an hour before it's time to eat. Here Beacon tries to look pitiful so that we'll give him some food. It didn't work though. He'll have to wait another hour until his regularly scheduled feeding.
