Country Cousins Come Calling

Now that we are pretty familiar with most of the regular trails in the park, Duncan is starting to explore off the beaten path. A new favourite is the hay storage shelter, just across from the cow field. We don't stay long, because he's not allowed to pee on those interestingly-scented rolls – after all, someone's going to eat that hay! – but he likes to wander over just to see if anything has changed.

Immediately behind the pen where Duncan's Turkeys™ live, there's a short trail through the woods, the Trillium Trail. It's been closed since spring due to fallen trees, but he still checks often to see if it's open yet. 

This morning, as we peered down the still-forbidden trail, we saw a wild turkey hopping over one of the fallen trees. And when we stopped off for our daily visit with our turkey friends, we found we weren't their only visitors:

Pigs and Sheep

On this morning's jaunt to the farm, we checked off what I think are the last farm animals on the to-see list - pigs and sheep. Duncan found the pig moderately interesting (but nowhere near turkey level), while Darcy was unimpressed.

We didn't get too close to the sheep, partly because we saw a raccoon scurry past their pen as we walked down the road, and didn't want to risk meeting him unexpectedly.

Stuck in a Rut

This lane is one of Duncan and Darcy's favourite walks at the moment. It runs along the side of the cows' field, and they always enjoy spying on them. But the grass is getting pretty long, so they ended up sharing the narrow wheel track the other day - at least until Duncan hopped over to the other track and pulled ahead to his rightful position in the lead again!

Bronte Creek has just posted on Facebook that 3 sheep have arrived for the summer, so we're looking forward to checking them out this week. We've already met the baby turkeys; Duncan is still fascinated by the turkeys so we visit them often!

Oops, She Did It Again!

Darcy has trouble with screen doors...

2017

2018

Down on the Farm

 

We've been spending a lot of time lately prowling around the farm at Bronte Creek - it's a good way to have a short, shady walk on a hot day, but still packing in lots of smells. The latest arrivals are Willow the pony (by the fence) and Delilah the donkey (hiding in the shade near the gate).

Then there are the cows. Both dogs find them fascinating, and we nearly always stop and peer through the fence at them. They are seldom this close to the fence, but they seemed completely unfazed by these small creatures who stared so rudely at them. In fact, while we were watching this one, another left her patch of shade to wander over and stare back at them:

Our first stop every morning, though, is the turkey run. Duncan enjoys them so much he sometimes even insists on visiting them again at the end of our walk:

 

Gnome Road

We've seen a lot of animals during our walks at Bronte Creek - squirrels, chipmunks, cows - but lately we've been on the lookout for gnomes. Apparently, one of Duncan's preferred walking routes runs right through their natural habitat.

We've seen several of their houses:
  And even a tiny little gnome outhouse:

But we haven't actually spotted any of the gnomes yet. Except, of course, on Facebook:

Bronte Creek

We've been walking at Bronte Creek Provincial Park several times a week lately, and Duncan and Darcy love it! There is so much for them to explore - that road in the photo above loops around the whole park, has excellent Ditches with Smells, and nobody except park staff (and us) seems to use it, plus there are trails, woods, a farm (with animals!), a play area (with more animals!), and lots of big grassy open areas.

On hot days, we take their collapsible water dishes, and stop for a drink:

 

Darcy always checks to see if Duncan has left anything in his bowl that might be worth stealing:

It took Duncan a few visits to get the geography down, but now he likes to be the one who chooses our daily route. The farm is one of his favourites. The sheep haven't moved into their pens for the summer yet:

 

But the cows are already in the fields: 

 

... and of course, there is the barnyard. SO. MANY. SMELLS!

The wooded trails have lots of potential, too, but we're going to hold off on exploring them until after mosquito season.

Catching Up with Duncan & Darcy

It's been a long time since we last checked in with our Dynamic Duo. They had a quiet winter - it was so cold even Darcy liked to stay in where it was warm! But spring has finally arrived, and to celebrate, we treated ourselves to an Ontario Provincial Parks annual pass. That means we can go walking at Bronte Creek Park anytime we want!

Our first visit was this morning. We stopped for a group photo near the children's play barn, then spent almost an hour exploring the park - and didn't even make it onto the trails. There are enough trails to keep us busy exploring for a long time, and there seem to be many interesting smells everywhere, so this will be a popular place.

Darcy Wanted Out...

... and Darcy usually gets what she wants - one way or another!

Supervising the Staff

It's about time we had another Big Project around here. Two years ago, we ripped out the old deck and built an new, smaller one. And of course, three years ago we spent the whole spring and summer taking out the pool.

Those projects were pre-Darcy. Projects post-Darcy are on a whole new level of interesting!

This year's goal was small compared to the others: just levelling and re-sodding the area where the old deck was. We ripped up the old sod, and lugged in some topsoil. Then we levelled it. You may remember that Duncan advised a roller for that job:

Not Darcy. She doesn't need any tools, she just rolls it herself. Notice how she leapfrogs right over Duncan near the end? He's gotten very good at ducking:

Finally, it was all ready for its last inspection before laying the sod:

(which, apparently, smells quite interesting): 

This whole "working" thing is tough, and not at all what Miss Darcy is accustomed to. She needed a nap (right where the next roll of sod was to go): 

before she was ready to taste-test the sprinkler:

Bald is Beautiful!

I was sitting there a few days ago, peacefully reading, when a small haystack galloped through the living room waving a flag. Darcy had been helping Daddy organize the crawl space:

It's traditional, as spring approaches, for us to realize that our dogs are looking a bit shaggy in their winter coats, but this was getting ridiculous. So with less than two weeks left in winter (yay!) we dove in with combs to try to get them ready for spring haircuts. No problem with Duncan - he's shaggy, but his coat always combs out nicely. Darcy, not so much. Her coat mats if you blink at it. Apparently, we've been blinking a lot. Under all her fluff, she was so matted we couldn't comb her out without hurting her.

We had to bring out the dreaded clippers.

By the time we finished, Darcy had almost disappeared. Her hind end and legs are almost bald, and the rest of her isn't far behind. And what little hair is left is pretty lumpy and uneven (she wasn't entirely cooperative...) Who knew that our big girl, who outweighs her brother and nearly always wins their battles, was such a tiny little thing? Who knew that she had such a funny little tail under all that fluff? We felt very sad to have reduced her to this:

(Her worst angle. Head-on doesn't look too bad.)

Fortunately for us, she's very forgiving. Other than occasionally peering at what's left of her tail with a puzzled expression, she doesn't seem to mind her new look. And it won't be long until her coat grows back!

Oh yes: she may look smaller, but she can still win against Duncan:

Mountsberg

Last Thursday we decided to go to Mountsberg Conservation Area for our morning walk. (We have treated ourselves to a Halton Conservation annual pass, so expect to see lots of walks at their parks coming up.) It was a grey, damp, muddy day, but Duncan and Darcy didn't seem to mind. 

First we hiked the big loop at the bottom of the map. It's called the Wildlife Walkway - only about a mile long, but many interesting smells, and at the far end there's an enclosure for bison. We did see some bison, but they were way down at the far end of the field so D&D weren't impressed. 

After our hike in the woods, we strolled down the path to a little dock on the shore of the reservoir and explored a bit. By now, they were beginning to look a bit muddy:

Finally, on our way back to the parking lot, we found the remains of a big snow-hoop. Duncan and Darcy had a great time jumping through it - even though Darcy cheated and jumped through first to steal Duncan's cookie - and as a bonus it helped to (temporarily) clean their paws:

By then the buses were arriving, full of kids on school trips, so we hopped in the car (with the back seat carefully covered in an old blanket) and headed home.

Artistic Endeavours

So after a long, mostly puppy-related pause, I have recently started painting again. Duncan and Darcy have been very good about it, curling up under the desk for a nap or sitting quietly and staring (rather critically) at the easel while I work.

It was after I was done working yesterday that the trouble started. It seems that Darcy has discovered her artistic side. She decided to dye her hair.

Purple, she felt, would be a good choice. It would match her spiffy matched set of purple harness, collar and leash, of which she is quite proud.

I'm don't know how she reached the palette that I had so carefully moved well back from the edge of the table, but she did. She managed to reach the leftover blobs of both ultramarine blue AND anthraquinone red. The result had a certain colourful asymmetry that was quite stylish, but she got a quick trip to the bathtub anyway.

Fortunately, the inside of her mouth was still its natural colour, and I've been careful to use only nontoxic pigments with the dogs around anyway, so we didn't have to try to explain a purple dog to Megan's colleagues in the emergency clinic. Unfortunately, the bath didn't quite do the trick, so a major haircut may be in Darcy's future. Stay tuned...

Whodathunkit?

Who would have thought, back when we had to walk the dogs a block apart so Darcy wouldn't beat up Duncan all the way down the street, that this would ever happen? They now walk together very nicely – most of the time – and even check sometimes to be sure the other is close by.

And to prove it wasn't a just fluke photo of a split-second pause in hostilities, here's a video from yesterday's walk, on a new-to-us trail along the Bronte Creek ravine in north Burlington:

Well, This is Depressing...

Duncan and Darcy have had their annual tune-ups this week - physicals, vaccines, and a couple of other little tests that all turned out well. But sadly, what has long been suspected is now official:

Duncan's baby sister is bigger than he is.

He weighed in at 14.1 kg (31 lb), she was 15.2 kg (33.5 lb). No wonder she wins so many of their wrestling matches!

Merry Christmas 2016!

Duncan and Darcy wish you a slightly belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

They had a wonderful Christmas, with all their kids plus Jax home for the holiday. The tree was penned in for a few days, due to Darcy's theft of several ornaments during the Great Tree Collapse, but we were able to get rid of the x-pen by Christmas Day, and she was a model of good behaviour from then on. Well, mostly.

They got new toys, including a most excellent tuggy-rope from Grandma, and of course lots of treats:

and they spent an afternoon exploring a field at Mount Nemo, although the trails were to icy to hike on:

Jax, meanwhile, spent most of his time safely curled up in the basement away from the dogs, where he borrowed Erin's tablet and began to develop a serious TV addiction:

Happy Gotcha Week!

Exactly one year ago today, Duncan found a puppy in the backyard, and Miss Darcy joined the family.

And exactly four years ago Wednesday, Duncan himself arrived:

So I suppose it's appropriate that they are spending most of their time this week hanging around hoping to play with puppy Sophie next door. At first it was just Duncan who seemed interested in her, but Darcy has discovered that Sophie loves to run up and down the fence, so they spend a lot of time playing.:

Duncan, whose interests lie less in running and more in peering benevolently but bemusedly through the fence at this small but noisy creature, is learning to jump aside briskly or get knocked over:

Introducing Sophia

Duncan and Darcy are both fascinated by the new puppy next door. In fact, Duncan is outside right now, all alone, nose to the fence, even though Sophie went in for a nap ages ago. So you need to get to know this little girl, because I have a feeling you'll be hearing a lot about her.

So here is little Miss Sophia, hoisted over the fence for her photo op. Isn't she cute?