Winter sculptures

Amusing as the cats are lately...

with Fable into nonstop trouble from the moment she wakes up until the moment she collapses from exhaustion...

The sunshine gave dogs and I a welcome excuse to take a walk and leave Fable and Kai to sort thru their differences.

Freshly fallen snow marked only by crisscrossing deer tracks which melted through to the ground underneath.

And wildly ecstatic pibbles dashing through the snow...

What's a pibble, mom? A pibble is a cuddly pitbull silly girl.

I used my ultraviolet filter today to look for sunlight wherever it landed.

It captures the true vibrant colors where the light hits.

We stalked a woodpecker for awhile but no clear shots presented themselves, so I was contented to shoot the familiar which to me always has a new face.

I am never much concerned with redundancy, it always seems you can can the one better shot if you keep at it.

Nature's moments are fleeting enough not to stop and worry about it much.

Domino is infinitely patient with Charm jumping on his head.

I keep thinking when we round this or that corner we will be out of the wind and then realize there is no wind and it is just plain cold.

Then I decide to wander in pursuit of snow sculptures, for this time of year one never knows when they will be the last of the season.

The tiny funguses on the trees have blankets of snow.

The sun painted blue stripes across the snow on the lake.

More and more vines are appearing out of the snow. They seem to know that the days are getting longer and are impatient to be on their merry way into spring.

Snow sculptures abound in every nook and cranny.

I wonder what long-winded description my art professors in college might have come up with to describe these forms?

Something profound and thought-provoking no doubt.

I won't be so poetic, they remind me of snow slugs out grazing on a sunny day.

Here's a little clip of my monkeys in the snow...just blurs through the trees and blurs going by...LOL! And that's just the way Charm always sounds, she's a big complainer and always wants to be first. That's the border collie in her!!!

This week's news wrap up

It's been a newsworthy week or so for pit bulls. I wanted to write a blog about a totally different subject...but there are things that just seem to stand out that need mentioning.

There were a few good stories. Hektor, former Vick dog passed his therapy dog test to become the second Vick dog to achieve that goal. Roo sent out a message on his Wallace the Pit Bull Group:

"Hey everyone! Just sending out a quick last minute message to let people in the Twin Cities area know that we'll be at the Twin Cities Pet Expo again this year performing with the MN Disc Dog Club throughout the weekend. www.twincitiespetexpo.com

Hector will also be there and you can have some nice professional pictures taken with them after the show to raise money for the club and A Rotta Love Rottweiler/Pit Bull Rescue if you'd like. Hope to see some of you there.

Regards,
Roo"

That was good news after Bonita's death during surgery to try to fix all the damage done to her teeth at Bad Newz Kennels. As most of you know, Bonita, a former Vick dog, had her teeth pulled and filed down and no matter how hard Best Friend's tried they couldn't get her health back up to par.

Then there's the news that the 49rs or the Vikings might be considering adding Vick to their rosters. I cannot imagine how Roo feels about that, as he lives in Minnesota. All the time and energy he has put into Hektor, only to be looking at the prospect of Vick appearing on his local sports news, Kind of like putting a pedophile in charge of UN Children's issues...just an insult to everyone who has worked so hard to house, rehab, and rehome Vick's four-legged victims.

Insult is added to injury as we mourn the unjust deaths of 147 pit bulls in North Carolina, doomed by a badly written law which states that any dog raised or kept for fighting is deemed dangerous...even if it is a newborn puppy born after the dogs were seized. All are aghast that even though rescue was available for each and everyone...the law prevailed in black and white with no shades of grey and it was a battle lost before it began. I myself have shed a few tears over the callousness of authorities on that one. I can't call it a euthanization...it was a slaughter. What world do we live in that we can support laws for slaughter?

There are heroes in the news this week as well. Mann, the pit bull who saved his family from armed burglars and took a bullet in the leg, resulting in the loss of his leg. At nine months old he had more honor than someone like Vick could ever have.

Not to forget the other banned breeds; a rookie drug-sniffing dog working for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency found 477 pounds of marijuana on his very first tour of duty. The two year old german shepherd is described as precocious. I like "precocious". It beats "vicious" any day.

On another note, the Humane Society of the United States reports that only 14% of people acquire their pet through a shelter while 38% purchase from a breeder and the remainder acquire pets from a friend, relative or taking in as a stray. There are 10,000 people born every day in the US, there are 70,000 puppies and kittens born....Just a reminder Spay Day USA is Tuesday, February 24. Spay or neuter, please.

As I am wrapping up the news for the week and reviewing all the threads I follow, I also want to urge more people to volunteer for transports. It is so sad to see a transport fail due to one unfilled leg. I know these are tough times and a tank of gas has become a precious commodity, but there is nothing more rewarding than looking in your rear view mirror and seeing a death row dog grinning over a new chance...Once you do it you will find that it is a rare privilege and can touch your heart like nothing else. To volunteer, go to yahoo groups and search animal transports. You will get an application and once approved will receive notices on transports, east coast volunteers are sorely needed.

Remember, always report any suspected animal cruelty. You are their voice.

Ever occur to you why some of us can be this much concerned with animals suffering? Because government is not. Why not? Animals don't vote. ~Paul Harvey

We do ramble on...

I am wearing my decorator hat today. After a morning meeting at an antique store to scope out an art deco bar for the boss, I was off to a meeting with the masonry guy this afternoon and of course it was a good excuse to get out with the dogs after all that designing and what not. So after, the dogs and I took a tour of the work in progress in the boss's new house, and happy with the details...we set off on a walk.

A winter storm is approaching and it was a good excuse to enjoy the weather while we could.

The forest colors have definitely worked their way into the decorating project. What started out as a quick walk turned into one of those rambling walks that the dogs and I are so fond of.

With lots of ambushes and playing and happy faces.

The melting snow has revealed all the pinecones and in the midst of the winter's monotony they were as welcome as the mushrooms in fall.

The squirrels have missed few along the way.

So accompanied by the cries of the crows overhead, I meandered more than I had set out to.

I think in my old age some day I will sit and look at my forest pictures and remember every sensation: Every smell, every sight, every sound, every feeling.

And even those who spend their lives in great excitement will not have more smiles than I do.

Somewhere there are dogs sniffing fire hydrants, but my dogs are sniffing stumps in the snow! If they could reflect on such things, I wonder which they would prefer?

I don't suppose Domino thinks about it much these days. I think he is a Wisconsinite through and through.

The funny thing is Charm was actually originally picked up as a stray not far from this spot and circumstances and fate have delivered her right back. Some things just turn out the way they should.

So we do ramble on, even in thought.

The evergreen vines have melted through the snow covering. I wonder at what heat they generate to accomplish such a thing?

The stems of the larger vines crumbling and twisting like splintered tree trunks.

The overcast sky sheds pale light on everything as though light itself had become blurred.

And scenery becomes framed in the stark shapes of winter.

The dogs are boundless and blurs of color, exploring every side trail like kids yelling "look at me!" Sometimes I wonder if each day is like a totally new day and each trail a totally new trail. Does it always seem new to them?

The leaves float on ice and water alike.

We decide to climb since the trail is mostly clear and safe enough if you watch out for ice and mud. The dogs make the climb a dozen times before I reach the top.

Up above the wind slices through us like a knife. But the views are so pretty we linger for awhile.

This tree only produced this one acorn last spring and here it still is after the long cold winter.

The view from the top is stark and dark and still. The quiet is absolute.

I think I could stand this view for a few lifetimes.

All the way back the dogs played and ran and did their best to make the most of their unexpected outing. Charm was in rare form ambushing Domino from the side of the trail.

So confident were the dogs that they were ultra good the entire walk, that they waited for treats on our trek back. And again at home. I can always tell when they have a good day by the noisy dreams they have when they get home, dreaming of some great adventure in the woods no doubt. I suppose all of us have a bit more "wild" in us than some.
“A prayer for the wild at heart, kept in cages.” _Tennessee Williams

I shall never forget, I shall never forget...

It's a mantra I wake up to each day along with the morning coffee and standing out in the cold waiting for the dogs to come back in..."I shall never forget". It's remembered in the faces that haunt me from the computer screen every day. It's remembered every time I hesitate a moment in reposting an urgent cry for help. It's remembered when I am in my car listening to the sad refrains of Maria Daines' "I don't want to fight no more". And it's remembered every time I hug my dogs and look into their solemn brown eyes.

I suppose there are people who wonder why I would have opted to advocate for pitbulls in the sea of animal rights issues out there. Or what insane thoughts must have been going through my head the day I veered right instead of going straight ahead and ended up at the shelter, adopting a pitbull mix. All I can say is there is something that tugs at my heartstrings when a creature which has suffered so much at the hands of man is so vilified and misunderstood and become one of the true underdogs of the dog world. Pitbulls need heroes and I chose to be one.

It's been a little over a year and a half since I made that decision to take a detour and now I share my life with two pitbulls, both of whom had rocky starts in life. Unwanted, left to fend for themselves, with few prospects for a happy ending, these two have taught me a lot about what pitbulls are and are not. In the process they have changed who I am as a person and taught me things about myself I never would have thought of, little less learned.

Charm was one thing, a mix who was still growing out of the puppy stages and infinitely energetic. I think the true beginnings of understanding arrived with Domino, who tops the charts in size and strength. I remember our first days together, he would jump up on the couch and sit up and stare into my eyes, which was very unnerving.

I would think, what is he thinking? Can I trust him? Did I take on too much? It seems funny looking back now as I struggled to maintain that calm interior exactly how deep my own misunderstanding ran. Domino still jumps up on the couch and fixes me with his unnerving stare and it generally means are we going for a walk anytime soon, is it time to eat yet? I totally underestimated the deep and complex intelligence of pitbulls, something which I have no problem with today.

I have learned to read the many expressions of Domino, the difference between a wagging tail and a WAGGING tail. The way he draws up his jowls when he is thinking about something. And I have learned that in every moment of every day, he is the most trustworthy, gentle, loving soul there is. Everytime I see him with kitten, Fable, latched onto his nose and pulling on his lips, it makes me smile and I no longer keep an eye out for any roughness on his part. All in all, I don't think in my long life with dogs I have ever had such complete and total faith in a dog.

A lot of people say I lucked out with my two. I may be lucky, but it wasn't luck. I think that is why it tugs at my heartstrings so much to see pitbulls dying in shelters without being given a chance or banned because of what they are. I know in my own heart that if I had opted to give any of those pitbulls a chance I would have been as deeply rewarded. And rewarded I have been.

I don't think there could have been a more effective way for me to discover that part of myself that is a lot kinder, a lot more joyful and a lot more gentle. Pitbulls do that to you if you give them a chance. When you share your life with a creature who embodies those qualities, it is hard not to be forever changed. There's a saying "I want to be the person my dog thinks I am". I think it had to have been written with pitbulls in mind.

So whether we're tearing up the agility course:

Or working hard at obedience school:

Or helping raise money for a local shelter:

Or just hanging out at home:

I repeat to myself "I shall never forget". I shall never forget that there are cowards who put dogs out to fight. I shall never forget there are people who would torture these dogs for fun. I shall never forget there are people who would rescue them from fighting and then kill them because they are too vicious. I shall never forget that we created these precious beings and then betrayed them so cruelly. I shall never forget to tell people that all they need is a chance, one chance, to prove that there is no forgiveness quite like a pitbull's.

Thanks to Sherry Kidwell for a wonderful video. Give pitbulls a chance.