Another Strange Creature

Warning! Burlington parks are becoming infested with strange creatures! 

First it was a sea serpent, lounging around while we took our morning constitutional. Now Duncan has discovered a big blue hippo with a disturbingly large mouth:

This latest discovery came while we were exploring Sherwood Forest park. It's a big park; we've played on its soccer fields several times, but somehow we've never really gotten around to checking out the rest of it. Duncan says there are many interesting smells, so we'll have to go back and get to know it better:

It's Raining, It's Pouring!

It's very, very wet out there this morning. The forecast is for about 5 cm of rain today. Kerry would have flatly refused to go for a walk (sensible girl). Duncan saw no reason to let a bit of water stop us. So we started with a nice big bowl of oatmeal to warm us up (one of the perks of an kangaroo-&-oatmeal-only diet!):

and then plodded our way around the block. I was looking forward to a nice hot cup of coffee by the end, but at least it's a warmish rain so I didn't mind too much, although "enjoyed it" might be overstating the case.

Duncan, on the other hand, seemed happy excited invigorated possessed.  He absolutely dragged me past the last few neighbours' houses to get home - ignoring our strict "no pulling" agreement - so that he could go directly outside and run mad circles. Then as soon as he came in and got towelled off, he turned around, went back out, and ran a few more laps. Until he looked like this:

Back to School

Way back before we had Duncan - when he was just "the puppy with the blue collar" - I downloaded some checklists of things to socialize your puppy to. Now that he is getting a puppy of his own, I've dug them out again. Not surprisingly, Duncan missed out on a number of things because of his broken leg, so we decided to try some of them out - he's got to stay a step ahead of the puppy, after all! He seems to be enjoying the new challenges.

So here he is, learning about:

Wobbly surfaces: We set up a piece of plywood on some leftover bits from the deck, to make a very low teeter-totter. At first Duncan displayed excellent problem solving skills figuring out how to get treats off the teeter-totter without setting a paw on it, but within a couple of minutes he was hopping on and off it quite happily. 

Shopping carts: Dogs are not exactly welcome in supermarkets, so we've gone to Sobey's parking lot a couple of times (they're the only one with carts outside in the early morning). He doesn't especially like the noise it make when it moves, but he's quite willing to walk beside me on his leash as I push it. (Or maybe just slightly behind me, just in case it runs amok...)

And since Sobey's is so close to Kerncliff, we stopped in there for a celebratory walk after shopping cart class this morning. Absolutely gorgeous, but it's time to dig out the gloves!

Out and About

Usually, we take our morning walk around the neighbourhood, often in Nelson Park. But the beautiful fall weather recently has inspired us to go farther afield - and I even remembered my phone occasionally, to take photos!

Duncan really enjoyed Spencer Smith park. So many smells, right on the waterfront! We walked out on the pier to catch the last of the sunrise:

And there are enormous old willow trees that have apparently been peed on by many, many dogs - it took a lot of thought for Duncan to decide the best strategy for adding his personal touch!

Another morning, we went to Kerncliff park, an abandoned quarry with a network of trails that tie into the Bruce Trail. We hiked part of the yellow trail, then went back to explore the quarry, which has a boardwalk across a wetland area. Duncan found it very interesting:

... except when I asked him to pose:

Aw, Mom, do I really have to sit-stay for the camera again?

The trees were just starting to change  colour; they'll be gorgeous in another week or so:

Doesn't he look deep in thought?

And So It Begins...

Duncan finally destroyed his blue Wubba the other day. I was popping into Ren's to pick up another Kong - they were on sale - so I thought I'd get him a new Wubba  while I was there, since he really does love them.

And perhaps a couple of other small things:

In other news, we have discovered a lovely little park down on the lakeshore. I can't imagine how I haven't noticed it before, but we had a very pleasant time exploring the Burloak Waterfront Park this morning.

It has a walkway out into the lake, where you can sit and look at the birds; apparently the cliff is home to one of the largest nesting colonies of bank swallows in the area, as well as the usual ducks and geese.

It was a grey, drizzly morning; hard to tell where the lake ended and the sky began. Almost anything could be lurking on a mysterious morning like this. Even a sea serpent!

Duncan was completely unimpressed with the sea serpent, though I thought it was cute. It's part of a marvellous playground at one end of the park:

All in all, this seems like an excellent place to visit with a puppy. Sea serpents, wave noises, even goose poop - what more could she ask?

Important Announcement from Duncan

This is a picture of my sister Edie. She looks exactly like ME! Isn't she beautiful?

Now pay attention, people, because this is IMPORTANT. My sister Edie just had PUPPIES! She had 2 boy puppies and 5 girl puppies.

Now, puppies are nice, of course, but what's really important here is that I, Duncan, am their uncle.

Uncle Duncle? Unkie Dunkie? Unc Dunc? So many possibilities...

I am an UNCLE, people! That is sooo cool! Because uncles get to do stuff like THIS:

Important News

The trouble with puppies is they grow up so fast and move to their forever homes. How can an uncle keep track of them all? It's just too hard! I already have 4 brothers and 3 sisters I've never even met.

So I have decided to adopt one of the puppies, and I will teach her everything I know. She will be a mini-ME!

(Actually, I don't have quite enough money to pay for a puppy. In fact, I still owe quite a bit on my Chewed Socks and Underwear tab. So Mom and Dad can pay for the puppy, vet bills, food, treats, toys, beds, crates, leashes, collars, harnesses, licences, puppy classes, and anything else that requires actual cash. Otherwise, she's all mine!)