Friend Betsy Maislen was spending some time at Squam Lake in New Hampshire, where she also sent me a picture of the area from the top of ”Rattlesnake Mountain.”
She said the snake was ”very curious.”
Being mostly raised in the south—which included a lot of fishing around local ponds, I would have had an instant panic attack while thinking cottonmouth moccasin or a swimming??? rattlesnake.
I’m not sure I would have slowed down to process the shape of the head, which is clearly not a viper head.
If you are more curious—as I was. Here’s more information. These snakes can get fairly long.
For now I’ve put away all the ”doggie” things in the house, including the big crate in the kitchen. I’ve taken the old chewed dog beds to the dump. And the house seems so quiet, and there are now so suddenly so many empty spaces.
I am working hard to create new daily patterns.
Well, maybe they are the same, just without ”that dog!”
I’ve blown off and swept the back deck—so it is ready to be washed down for the summer season. I just want it to get warmer before I drag out the hose and go to scrubbing. It’s 50’s and 60’s here. And rainy off and on.
I’ve weed whacked, mowed, and done a little weeding OUTSIDE—which felt good.
And somewhere in the past few days I put the Churn Dash quilt on the longarm. And that was a mistake—because the backing wasn’t square and needed trimming. So AFTER I had basted it, I realized it just wasn’t right. So I took the quilt (as yet unnamed) off the long arm and took out all the basting and started over—which included putting on a leader at the top to give me more room at the bottom. Yesterday the quilt went back on, and everything looks good. I got the edge and one pass done before I quit late yesterday.
I finally settled on a medium grey for the quilting—as it worked best with the front AND the back. You can just see a little at the top of the quilt—as all is now set up for another pass.
I have enough of a cheerful Cotton+Steel red blender that I’ll use for the binding—as the goal here is to use up this part of my stash.
Yesterday I made a run to Belfast—and on the way replenished my Dark Harbor coffee at Green Tree in Lincolnville Beach. I needed raw butter blocks from the Co-op. And I got some yarn to make a new red wool scarf to replace the one I’ve had some time—which I washed in early spring, and it felted. You just never know with wool in a washing machine… But, that scarf was way too short anyway. And it curled at the edges. Live and learn…
So I went into Heavenly Yarns and got some very pretty red wool that is a Maine product: Quince & Company, Osprey.
I’m just going to do the same pattern I did with an aqua wool scarf I made because I like it so much. It has seed stitches at the edges so it won’t curl—and is just a simple basket weave pattern.
This improv ”thing” is going to grow into something—a rug maybe. Basically it is using up fabric selvages and cotton yarn I had from other projects. I’ll go around the center with the cotton yarn—and them I’ll start back in some way with fabric selvages. It’s an experiment. It’s funky. I don’t really care… It’s just…something.
That’s my Dew Drop cold diffuser next to the yarn. It could take ”doggie” smells out of the downstairs in nothing flat.
I knitted the center, as I’ve done with selvage placemats—but had to resort to crochet when the piece got bigger. Maybe it will wind up being one block that gets sewn to others. It takes a long time to make the selvage center as it requires…selvages. And I’ve been using up stash fabrics for months now.
Speaking of the Cotton+Steel stash project, I think the big Bear Paw blocks will use up the remaining 3-inch strips that I cut. And I have enough of the ”Dotty” neutral for the sashing.
Today is very foggy and cool.
I’ll get out for a walk—maybe with my ear phones and my Audible book.
OUTSIDE is good, you know.
And then I’ll grill a steak for lunch/dinner and work on the longarm.
Here’s one of my favorite pictures of my sweet boy—who is asking me to ”go,” to play.
I had to put AC down yesterday—and I thought you’d like to know.
In a nutshell, the resident Lyme he had flared badly over the weekend, so I took him to the Camden Animal Hospital first thing Monday morning. They dehydrated him and got him on all the strong Lyme meds, but then his back legs totally went limp on Tuesday afternoon. He couldn’t walk. Or, pee without his back legs. I held him in my arms all Tuesday afternoon and all that night. He wouldn’t eat anything.
So, more x-rays yesterday morning, Wednesday, showed he had something, some injury maybe, in vertebrae on his spine that, together with his Lyme, rendered his legs useless—a possible combo of Lyme nerve damage and possible injury.
An operation in Portland may or may not have helped—meanwhile he was on the heavy-duty Lyme meds. Plus, he already had all the food issues from a reaction to his 1-year rabies booster, so that I cooked his fish and veggie food, which was the only food he could eat without allergic reactions. How would I feed him, assuming he would even eat, while he was in a hospital in Portland? How would I manage a 40-pound dog whose back legs were not working?
I just couldn’t see a clear way that could help him and that I could manage. It just felt like the kindest thing I could do for him to put him down. AC was a hard charging, high-energy dog—even if I could have worked out all the logistics and the meds worked and the operation worked, he would have hated having to be sedentary, quiet, docile for the rest of his life. That just was not, at all, who he was.
I was totally exhausted yesterday. I got a good night’s sleep last night, so feeling less tired this morning. And I am beginning to catch up with things that were on hold for the last 4 days. But I am going gently, too. Everything will wait.
I loved AC so much. He was my forever, forever dog. He brought so much life, and joy, and sweetness into my life—in countless ways. He was the smartest dog I’ve ever had. His vocabulary was huge. He had just turned 4 and up to 4 days ago, seemed healthy and happy.
Now I will take a dog break for some time and regroup. I’ve never been alone for the last 20 years as I’ve always had dog companions. So it will be good to take some time to see how it is to live without a dog when one is alone. Pros and Cons, for sure. But I want some good time to fully grieve a companion who had such a hold on my heart and my time, who brought me such life-giving gifts. AC can never be replaced. Not easily. Maybe not ever.
It all just happened so quickly…
But life is like that some times, isn’t it? Change can come in the bat of an eyelid.
There are lessons to be learned from AC’s life. I will spend some time contemplating those lessons. Some include that it is important to get outside every day, that is is important to be happy, that it is important to play often each day, that it is important to feel joy from the small moments we are given every day where joy can be present if recognized as such.
I’ll start with those.
Water, for AC, was a never ending…joy to be experienced.
On Saturday, AC doggie and I made a trip over to Barrett’s Cove to see if he could chase his ball there. The Snow Bowl field is being ”fixed” and is looking so much better—but it’s roped off until the seeded grass gets established—which will take some time as grass seed needs consistent 65 degree weather to sprout and grow.
We’ve had so much rain recently, and the lake is really high at Barrett’s Cove. Much of the grass there has huge puddles, but we did find some dry ground next to the little creek which was running really fast. Deep pools lay along its length that were way over AC’s head.
And wouldn’t you know, AC dropped his ball into the creek above the bridge, and it bounced along faster than AC could manage.
There was great carrying on to retrieve the ball as AC won’t go over his head into the creek’s pools, and I couldn’t quite reach the ball in time while I tried to negotiate the steep creek banks.
We finally got it just below the bridge when it ran up against bushes at the creek’s edge and AC could reach it while keeping his back legs firmly on ground.
Will he drop it again into creek water?
Who knows. He’s a pretty quick learner actually. He remembers his encounter with our local porcupine when he was a little over 6 months old. It was late at night, and there was no way I was going to be able to take him to the emergency vet clinic on my own as he was frantically pawing his face. I sat on the floor and pulled out the quills, one by one, which is horribly painful for a dog. And he let me. He just seemed to know. In fact, it took several days as some had broken off with his frantic pawing at them—and it took some days to find those and to ease them out.
Porcupine is currently wreaking havoc in the emerging plants in my garden. And AC saw him the other night but did not charge him. And now I go out with him on his last trip out at night—after reminding him about how BAD AND SCARY porcupine is.
Sunday was beautiful and sunny. As is this Monday morning which will start a new week.
We may yet get more snow and more cold snaps, but the great melt-out has started.
Today is sunny, and the air is clear and crisp and holds the promise of spring.
AC and I had a lovely morning trip yesterday to the Snow Bowl area. The rutted, ruined field has some stretches where he could chase his ball for a bit.
The pond is still covered in ice, but it’s no longer safe to walk over it, especially at the edges. I noted in the little nature journal I made in 2005, that the great melt-out in 2004 was April 17th. I think the pond could be clear earlier this year, but time will tell.
These ice houses have been pulled to the safety of firm land and will be hauled away for summer storage soon now.
The Snow Bowl ski area is still active for those trying to get in the last days of skiing for this winter.
AC doggie had a fine time alongside the creek that runs into the pond—smelling out traces of small animals. Or so he thinks.
He thinks there are small rodents EVERYWHERE now. Look at that very happy tail!
The little creek next to AC’s hunting endeavors is so sweet. It is gentle today, but is capable of being a rushing torrent that would sweep away a dog at times.
It’s been days since AC could chase his ball, days in which his blistered paw healed, a wound obtained by running on frozen pavement in cold temperatures as the field at the Snow Bowl is pretty much ruined for now. The ruts are deep and hard to negotiate when frozen or hidden under the snow.
So yesterday, I took AC to Barrett’s Cove to chase his ball in the parking lot—AND so I could spend some time outside in what was a warmer, sunny, beautiful day. We are all starting to smell spring in the air now. But spring does not bound in here in Maine; it crawls in, inch by inch.
AC was delirious with joy.
And you can see there is enough snow cover on the parking lot where AC would not be running on the pavement. Here’s a little video I took. Note that AC ”leads” the chuck-it throw. He almost took a walkabout into the deep snow on the grass—carrying his ball. If he dropped it over there, I’d have a hard time getting to it though the banked snow and then I’d have to negotiate the steep slope.
Today is very wet, but the air feels balmy. So far, I have hunkered down inside to do household tasks and to sew. AC is tolerating inactivity, though he asks to out for a run around the property off and on. The deer are very present today, and AC is sure it is his job to run them off.
The deer… They have broken into the protective burlap over a big rhododendron on the woods side of the house and eaten it back to some bare stems. They have been increasingly a problem in the past few years. I’m not sure why that is.
The roasted chicken is carrying me through today’s meals. Tomorrow I’ll plan on cooking something else that has carrying power.
Friend Gina Caceci from Falls Church, Virginia, where I used to live, sent me a newspaper clipping yesterday (from WAPO) about a rare HUGE sea eagle from Asia appearing on the New England coast. The Steller’s Sea Eagle is now off the coast of Maine in the Boothbay area, having first been sighted further south.
This eagle’s natural habitat is northeastern Asia, which includes Russia and Japan. It is named for German naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller. There are only a few thousand of these birds in the world now.
If you google, you can get a lot of stories and pictures, but I found these two: one with a video and one with lots of pictures that people here have taken. This bird is drawing big crowds as even non-birders are trying to see it. The bird does seem to be moving gradually north.
This bird is HUGE: the wing span is nearly 8 feet. It dwarfs our local Bald Eagles as it is twice as heavy. No one yet knows the sex. It has an ample food supply off the New England coast (fish and DUCKS), and the climate is quite similar to its native habitat. No one knows why it has ventured so far from its home grounds, but naturalists say birds going on ”bird walkabouts” is not unusual. Some even return to places they have found year after year.
Today dawned sunny—the storm is gone. It’s 10 degrees. The snow is light and fluffy, so fairly easy to shovel. But there is a lot of it—at least 18 inches up here on the hill, but the drifts are deeper of course. And light snow sticks to one’s boots and gloves.
I waded out twice yesterday, snow shovel in hand, to clear the generator, but never lost power. Out by the garage, the drifts were deep enough that I need the shovel for balance.
The storm was meant to be worse in the night, with high winds, but by the time I did the last generator check before bed, local radar showed that the worst had passed us by here on the coast. The darker snow bands were to our west.
AC refused to go out for a long time yesterday until I put on a coat, boots, etc., and went with him. He didn’t like the high wind. Or peeing in deep snow.
Now, on this sunny, bright morning, I’m enjoying a cup of coffee and waiting for the plow/shovel guys to come. I need to get the kitchen door open—it got snow stuck around it when I was out there shoveling—there is a kind of wind tunnel that comes off the roof just over that door that dumps snow onto the deck—just outside the door. I was able to bully that door closed enough to lock it last night (which makes the seals better), but it needs to be cleaned off this morning so it will properly close.
There is something about a big snow storm that makes me feel so alive—especially when I go out into it for a bit.
Three days: two days of temps in the single digits and today we have temps going to the 40s and…rain and high wind.
Oh my…
I’ve never yet had a problem with pipes freezing, but with the wind chill factor in play, I did run a thin stream of water in a downstairs bathroom faucet.
My Camden friend sent me this photo of a Titmouse hunkered down in the bitter cold of Saturday and Sunday.
My bird feeder is full and two suet feeders are hung. The turkeys tried to inhabit the warmer slope behind the house yesterday, but AC would not allow them to stay.
I’ve happily hunkered down—though AC and I made a quick trip to the grocery store yesterday mostly just to get out. Organic blueberries and raspberries came home with us, along with some fresh lettuce and AAA batteries.
I’ve finished quilting (on the domestic machine) ”My `Sunny’” and have bound it and am now hand-sewing the binding at night. I love having this Janome set up with a walking foot already attached—and I can store this whole arrangement neatly on the back wall when I’m done. I can watch tv or listen to whatever book I have on Audible from this place. The red quilt keeps AC off my new hassock and, as a bonus, part of the couch.
”Whirlygigs” came off the longarm yesterday afternoon, and I’ll install binding on it today. The pantograph is ”Bayside,” which Wendy’s Quilting blog used recently, and I think it gave this quilt wonderful texture. Wendy is an awesome longarm quilter, and she lives in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
I finished and attached the 5th block of 6 to the 4th row of the EPP project from hell. So, progress there as well. And I spent some time gluing the last of the rectangles that form the rings. One more block and two more rows. I think I’ll NOT attach this row to the others, but will attach the last two rows, then attach them to the mother ship.
It was 18 degrees outside my kitchen windows this morning. AC didn’t stay out long for his morning excursion at all.
And to think we were complaining that it was in the 40s and raining only last Tuesday.
My Camden friend sent me this picture of a hawk in Tuesday’s rain—she said he was ”patiently waiting” for a meal to arrive. Isn’t s/he beautiful. And s/he blends so well with the winter woods.
I finished ”Calm” last night and took pictures this morning. This quilt has provided many, many fun hours of planning and quilting. I’ll mail it on Monday—and now it’s in the wash—remember the chipmunk-in-the-house episode…
The new printer came and had a software problem that rendered it inoperable. Strange. It will go back Monday and another one sent in its place. I hope it works. The printer comes with great reviews.
Happy Holidays Everyone!
May your homes be warm and filled with light and laughter and joy.
And I wish you all the very best Happy New Year 2022 as we travel around the sun together once more.
Louisa Enright's Blog 