Glorious Sunday!

What a beautiful day it is today!  We woke up to sunshine and warm weather.  The temperature is in the mid 20s.  I have been craving for warm weather for some time now and finally got it today.  I put sunscreen on and sat on the deck for a few hours.  I have tan marks to prove it :-)  Wow!  I cannot say it enough, how great to finally get some warm weather.  The good part is, of course, that we get to spend a lot of time outdoors.  The bad part is that not a whole lot gets done inside.  Oh well, the inside stuff can wait.  It is almost the beginning of May and I feel like all I want to do is soak up the sunshine.  I have an interesting observation to share, and this is mainly for the benefit of all my friends who have dogs.   Our house is up on a hill, quite high up, and as a result, it is often very windy.  Today is no exception.  You can actually hear the wind howling through the trees.  It is a good thing for two main reasons:  1) on a hot day, you always get a breeze.  2) when black fly season starts, we should be spared for the most part, at least that is what we are told.  It makes sense, if it's too windy , the black flies will stay down below.... for now, we are being gullible and believe what we are told.  The proof in is the pudding as the saying goes, so when black fly seasons starts, I will report back.  Back to our observation:  we are now pretty sure that Cooper doesn't like the wind.  On a very windy day, like today, he doesn't enjoy being on the deck with us.  He sits by the door and wants to go in the house.  How do we deal with this?  We give him the best of both worlds, at least that is how we see it:  we keep him outside with us for a while so that he gets used to the wind, and we also let him be in the house alone while we stay outside.  We will continue conditioning him to the wind as we spend more time outside.  Having said all this, tonight we are barbecuing steaks, so wind or no wind, the Coop will out there salivating!

This past week went by very quickly.  We went to Toronto for an overnight stay and a hair cut. It was good to see our friend Linda  (and hairdresser) again.  We did a bit of shopping also.  While we were away, Cooper was at Camp Talemaker, having fun, fun, fun.  Nathan and Darlah were happy to see him, and Cooper was happy to see them.  As soon as we got to their house, the Coop knew exactly where he was and got so excited.  It is good for him to spend some good time with his Havanese buddies.  He got to spend a bit of time with the newest litter, three 7 week old puppies.  He was growling at them at first as he thinks of them as gremlins. They are so tiny next to Cooper.

This morning, we went to Muskoka Agility Dogs (MAD) to watch what they call the "Fun Match".  All the dogs that took agility last year got together today to practice what they learned in a fun way.  This is where Cooper will take his agility lessons starting this coming Wednesday.  I attach a few pictures that Russell took.  We met Dan and Lynda, the owners of MAD.  They have a great set up and we think that this will be very good for Cooper (and us).  We also met a lady who teaches obedience.  She is now running a class called "Focus" which is about strengthening the recall command.  We will be enrolling Cooper in that class which will start later in May for six weeks.

Russell and I are doing well.  I continue my music lessons.  It is getting more complicated as I move forward with my lessons but I will get there.  I practice as much as I can but not as often as I want.  Not enough time.  I continue to take fitness classes at Good Life Fitness and I enjoy them.  Russell joined a gym and will start going this week.  He was finding his "seniors fitness classes" not challenging enough.

That's about it for this week's blog.  In addition to the MAD pictures, I attach one that Russell took last night, just before sunset.  You will notice that the lakes have thawed completely.  On that note, the flood levels have gone down and things are almost back to normal in the Muskoka area.

Have a great week everyone!

A beautiful Muskoka sky reflected in the still and ice free Lake Robinson

Anne and Cooper at Muskoka Agility Dogs...awesome!

Dan the owner of MAD and his wife Lynda in the blue tee behind.

The fully fenced in agility training field....very nicely developed.

Four amigos patiently waiting for their turn on the agility course.

Mother Nature

Sometimes, Mother Nature throws a curve at people.  Of course, it is not intentional.  There are only a few things in life which are completely out of our control, one of them being the weather.  So, here we are in Huntsville, in a State of Emergency, due to flooding.  The flood warning has been going on since Friday.  The good news is that it appears that the water level has reached its peak and it is now slowly receding.  The bad news is that so many houses are affected by the flood.  Russell and I are lucky because our house sits 600 feet above Huntsville, so we are "high and dry", but not everyone is as lucky as us.  We went out for a drive yesterday afternoon to see for ourselves what was happening.  Five minutes from where we live, on Ravenscliffe Road, there is the Big East River that runs through.  Houses on both sides of the river were being flooded.  We saw an older couple trying desperately to move the water away from their house with a small tractor.  They looked so desperate.  Today, as we drove by, we could see that the water level had diminished and we could now see their house rising above the water.  No doubt there is damage but their house is, for the most part, intact.  I could go on and on but there is no need.  We always read about flooding but we had never seen it with our own eyes.  It is a terrible tragedy to witness, whether it is in Huntsville or anywhere else.  Other cities in Northern Ontario are also affected, such as Bracebridge, Gravenhurst, Baysville, and many more.

Of course, in life, you always have to try to find something that will make you smile even when something terrible is happening. Today, as we were driving around in Huntsville, on our way to the Canada Summit Centre for a walk, we drove by the parking lot where Moose Delany's restaurant is, as well as Home Hardware, and a few other stores.  The parking lot is now completely filled with water and I attach a picture that was posted by a resident of Huntsville.  What we saw, however, was a man in a kayak, having a good time in the water filled parking lot of that little mall.  Unfortunately, we did not have our camera with us so no picture but it was really funny to watch.

The Huntsville Table Soup Kitchen is now looking for donations for prepared meals during this difficult time.  Russell and I will be doing our share in helping any way we can.

Other than the torrential rain which led to the flooding on Friday, this past week was relatively quiet.  I did have an unexpected tooth ache that made me want to climb walls.  It turns out I have an abscess and I am currently on antibiotics.  I will have a root canal on May 9. Not something to look forward to but no choice in the matter.   The antibiotics are working and the pain is virtually gone.

I had a good music lesson last Thursday.  My teacher could tell that I had been practicing.  I have a lot to practice for this week's lesson.  Russell caught me by surprise when he took a picture of me playing yesterday morning.  I thought it would be fun to include that picture in my blog.  I also include a picture of Cripple Creek, which is where we bought the Keyboard and where I take my lessons.   Very colourful building.

That's about it for this week's blog.  This coming week will be busy.  Cooper will be going to Camp Talemaker while we go to Toronto for an overnight stay.  We have a few errands to run and we made the decision to return to our Toronto hairdresser for our hair cut.  This will give us a chance to return to Toronto on a more frequent basis and, of course, it gives the Coop a chance to have a little vacation at Camp Talemaker, also on a more frequent basis, which he loves :-)

I wish everyone a good week.  I especially send my thoughts and prayers to those affected by the flooding, no matter where they live.  Enjoy the "potpourri" of pictures.  The picture of Highway 11 is courtesy of Marc Clephan.  Marc is Sandy's significant other, Sandy being the owner of the doggie daycare where we take Cooper every week.  Marc is an excellent photographer and I "borrowed" this picture from him so that you could see what Highway 11 looked like yesterday.

Anne practicing and singing along...can you name that tune?

Highway 11 is not a dry way to go at this point.

Cripple Creek...run by people from another era...the colors give it away.

The parking lot outside On the Docks...used to be drive up...boat in.

Moose Delaney's.....parking lot/kayak course.

Sunday morning brunch....country style!

Unlike last Sunday, we woke up this morning to sunshine.  Finally!  This past week was dreadful in terms of weather.  Cloudy, freezing rain, high winds and ice pellets.  Like many other people, we had to endure another bout of winter. It wasn't as bad as we thought it would be but just the same.  We are sick of it and are longing for sunny and warm days.  I actually put my winter coat away early last week.   I should have known better.

Back to this morning.  Given the sunshine, I thought I would take a video of Russell feeding the deer. As you will see in the video, some are a little skittish but one of them is truly not shy.  We call him Bambi (I know, very original). Bambi had a stare down with Cooper last week.  Cooper was on the deck, the deer was down below on the septic berm but very close to the deck, and the two were staring at each other.  The deer started stomping and scratching the ground with his leg and was snorting.  Of course, Cooper who normally doesn't bark at the deer, starting barking.  Way to go Coop, this is also your territory!

This past week was uneventful.  Russell went to his fitness classes and particularly enjoyed the Thursday class as he had to "line dance".... I would have loved to be a fly on the wall to see that!  As for me, I was only able to go to one class.  That class was a bit of a challenge as I had to coordinate the foot work with the arms. Not so good.  This week, I will focus on the feet, then add on the arms when I've got the feet figured out.  I plan on doing three classes this week.

I had another music lesson on Thursday.  I am happy with my progress, especially since I had a breakthrough on Friday.  Although I have been slowly learning how to read music notes for the past few weeks,  I simply didn't "get it" until Friday. I researched different ways to learn how to read music on the Internet and came across this one website which made it seem so simple.  In addition, Russell found an online tutorial which is extremely helpful.  I think my teacher will be impressed this week.

We went for a walk this morning on our road and saw foot prints that most likely belong to a fisher.  Our neighbours did see one a few weeks ago. We always knew that there were fishers around here but seeing the footprints makes it more real.  Needless to say that we are extremely vigilant when we are outdoors with Cooper, always on the lookout for critters.  Some would say that he his a country dog and that is par for the course, but we don't quite see it that way.

That's it for this week's blog.  I hope you enjoy the video and the accompanying music.  Have a great week!

Rainy Sunday

As the saying goes, April showers bring May flowers.  We woke up to rain this morning and it looks like it will rain all day.  The only picture I have for you today is of Cooper having a nap on our bed. We found him on the bed earlier this morning between the two throw pillows so Russell took a picture. This is one of his many little quirks:  he always moves the throw pillows with his nose so that he can nest between them. The Coop doesn't like the rain much so he is having a quiet day, although we've had a couple of fun play sessions so far.  I had to laugh as when I took him out earlier, he was trying to walk on the grass that is not so mucky.  He made a point of walking on the stepping stones until he got to the grass.  He is a bit funny that way, it is as if he doesn't like to get his feet wet and dirty.

Since it is a rainy day, Russell decided to do the BoatSmart Test. It is something that he's been wanting to do for a few months now. So, he went through all seven modules and wrote the test and.....passed!  Yay, one of us now has a boating licence.  As for me, I plan on writing the test at some point but I must first focus on my music lessons.  I had another lesson last Thursday and I am progressing nicely.  I am now learning the chords, which means that I now play with my left hand, in addition to the right.  It does take some practice and coordination to be able to play with both hands and I'm not quite there yet.  I really enjoy those lessons and I practice every day.  For the most part, I am able to read music notes but it is not as easy as it seems.  It will come with time.

Russell continues with his fitness classes.  He enjoys it and it is a good way for him to get back into working out.  As for me, I joined the GoodLife gym for Women.  I guess you could say that I was inspired by Russell and I thought it would be fun for a change to do some fitness classes.   I went to my first class yesterday morning and I am feeling it today. My abs are quite sore.  I plan on doing three classes a week.  Of course, since Russell and I are into fitness classes, we thought it would be fitting to do something for Cooper also.....so we enrolled him in an Agility course which will start May 1.  We were lucky to find such a course at Muskoka Agility Dogs which is run by Dan and Lynda.  They have been doing this since 2000.  They are judges at regular trials, both at the regional and national level.  The course will be held at their property, which is 10 minutes west of Huntsville, on 65 acres of land.  They do agility fun matches, clinics and trials, from May to October.  Cooper's initial course will be for 8 weeks, every Wednesday, rain or shine.  We think this will be good for the Coop.

Not much else is happening but I will say that between our fitness classes, my music lessons and other things that we do, we are pretty busy.  Aren't all retirees?

That's about it for this week's blog.  I will now practice my music for an hour or so then we may watch a movie.  Speaking of movie, we watched "Marley and Me" last night.  It's about a golden lab who is totally incorrigible but so loved by his family.  Needless to say that this movie brought tears to our eyes.

Have a great week everyone!

The Coop in his pillow 'den/nest'.