Posts from the ‘Front Porch Musings’ category

A Calm day

Friday afternoon Beardog Consulting shut down early and all members boarded Wild Thing for an excursion to Kila, MT. Kila is about 15 miles west of Kalispell in a beautiful small valley – still part of the larger Flathead Valley – and home to Smith Lake. We received permission to park for the few hours needed in a field bordering the school parking lot. Wild Thing was shaded, on level ground and had wonderful views.

There is a continuation of the “Rails to Trails” walk way in Kila. “Rails to Trails” is a National conservancy that uses old railroad beds for the creation of walk/bike trails. The spot we walk in Somers is also part of “Rails to Trails”. Additionally, here in Kila, the trail bordered a public waterfowl hunting area. Visibility was great and no hunters so we were able to walk a bit of that as well.

Our primary destination, though, was Calm Veterinary Clinic to see Dr. Barbara Calm…one of those interesting things where a name befits the occupation. Dr. Calm is not only a DVM practicing normal veterinary procedures but she also does herbal and nutrional treatments as well as acupuncture and chiropractic. We went to see her to get her ideas on additional options for Karl.

The clinic is tucked up against a hill and overlooks the valley. We ended our walk in the front yard and it was so “calm” that Karl wanted to lounge in the shade – but I convinced him to go in and at least say hello :)!

We were established in Dr. Calm’s office for this consult… Windows all around let the afternoon light in – and they opened so we had fresh air as well. A beautiful foam dog bed went unused except by me…imagine that…

Karl was treated like royalty and we came away with good information. We returned to Wild Thing to check on Bob, have a snack and for me to check email…Beardog Consulting never really shuts down… Another walk and then we were on our way back home – a Calm day in a beautiful spot!

Starry, starry night

Last night.

Outside.

Waxing crescent moon through the trees

Karl near.

Pine and woodsmoke.

Bob on the front porch.

Gratitude for another good day with my good dog, another day with the big cat Bob, a good work day – a day “the Lord hath made” – and Karl, Bob and I enjoyed.

And a starry, starry night.**

**That is the constellation Casseopeia in the photo…the somewhat lopsided and sideways “W”…just “northwest” of center

Morning by moon shadow

This past week has been a reprise of summer with warm days and cool nights. The nights have been clear – our last walk of the evening taken under the canopy of more stars than you can imagine if you’ve never spent a night away from city lights. The waning moon’s rise is late in the night (or early in the morning??) leaving it high in the sky when we venture out in the dark of a Fall morning.

Balmy temperatures and moon shadows…

…have taken me outside to sit and listen and prepare for the day.

The blue light special is Karl :)! He is in his usual spot which gives him a view and a listen over the game trail below.

Bob is usually out with us as well – there is a small critter hidey-hole under the house near where I sit, but this morning he opted for an inside seat.

All this week, though, by the waning moon and with temperatures that felt like summer, we have enjoyed morning by moonshadow.

Vote for Karl!

Orvis the dog book – Orvis’ catalog for all things canine and the supplier of “Karl’s” new dog bed, has a Cover Dog contest every year.

Just this very moment, sneaking in under the wire (9/30 is the last day to enter), I entered Karl’s photo – a favorite of mine, taken on 2/26/2009.

The voting does not affect who wins the photo contest – it is a means to raise money and awareness for canine cancer.

Karl says please consider a donation for canine cancer – here or at your local veterinarian – the medication and treatment for canine and/or feline cancers is prohibitively expensive for many.

Orvis Photo Contest . Search by Dog’s Name, enter “Karl”.

***EDIT 9/30 1:10 P.M. U.S. Mountain Daylight time…
In case you don’t read comments:

Karl’s Mama says she will match donations 1 for 1…for every vote (1 vote = $1/$5 min) – as of 8:00 p.m. U.S. Mountain Daylight time – the family Summers will match dollar for U.S.Dollar….Hoo Rah – we need to beat Canine Cancers and soon!!!

Srsly – look at the Orvis video of 2010 Cover dogs. If those eyes do not speak to your soul… I don’t mean that all of those dogs have cancer because they don’t. I mean that there is something special about loved dogs and the way dogs love. Cancer is a horrible thing, no matter who it attacks. And we give it such power – it is past time to take that power away.

The Stories

This photo, taken this evening (9/27) at 7:00 p.m. tells several stories…

It was warm enough for shorts – 71F at 7:00 p.m., 25 minutes from sunset. Fall light, summer temps.

The motorhome is parked. We are not in it and are not travelling.

Karl and Bob are happy and relaxed. All is well in our world :)!

Karl is doing well. We made a second try to use the medication that is preferred, but things started downhill again – I recognized the signs and stopped. We are on the medication that he tolerates well, that keeps him comfortable and allows him to do all that he loves to do. AND, I am supplementing that with some homeopathic nutritional things that work with the medication. And most important – everyone’s prayers and support – Thank you all!

I didn’t take the trip I planned as the timing was difficult – not just for how Karl was feeling at the time, but work and $$…my Blue Cross will not cover Karl’s medication or vet bills…can you believe it??? :)! But, the good news is that it has been so beautiful here and we are all comfortable and enjoying a gorgeous Autumn.

Dear friends, blog readers, veteran visitors to the front porch, Sandy and Jerry, from North Carolina, are, as I write, in MY time zone. They travel as I do – not much in the way of planning -so depending on how they proceed, Karl, Bob and I will wait here or meet them somewhere in the motorhome. And if we wait here, then, I still hope to get out and about – even if very close to home – for a bit of an rv adventure.

That’s it – from the photo….the stories.

More mountains, more Karl, more Bob: Sunday morning

The forecast for the forseeable future is clear, sunny (low 70F) days and clear, cool (low 40F) nights. As the sun hits my corner of the world from a more southern angle, the light and the clear air make for crayola-like color.

Golden grass of fall…the sun shining on the curl of Karl’s tail…see the arrow to the right (dbl-click to see any of the photos full screen size). He is investigating something in the grass. Probably something I don’t want to know about.

A more dignified pose…

Bob came out to meet us on our return.

This is as dignified as Bob gets.

Greetings exchanged.

And we all make it home.