Woody, the final foster

Woody went to a new home a couple weeks ago, officially as a foster but everyone wanted to, and intended to make it permanent. Today they did so. Having Woody, a pain-in-the-ass German Shepherd Dog as my final foster seems very fitting. It was by adopting a shepherd from Virginia German Shepherd Rescue that we first got involved with that group and we've fostered more shepherds over the years than any other single breed. He epitomized what is both wonderful and problematic about the breed. They are steadfastly loyal but also driven in ways that can make co-existence with humans difficult, to say the least.

I thought Woody had it made with these folks because they are experienced fosters themselves and have a lot of experience with the breed. They saw what I saw, which was a young shepherd in need of bonding and in need of direction. He has that now, and he received his first Bark Box today. I think Woody would have been a memorable dog when if he wasn't my final foster. He was here a long time, we failed him twice with placements, but made up for it the third time around. 

I'm always seeing people giving their dogs treats, toys, and pupcups, and I'm ashamed to say that I never do that with mine. I do try to give Bailey what she wants and needs most, which is time with me. And we do some fun things together, although lately they mostly involve yard work.

Bailey waiting for me outside the bathroom door.

Today I went through a box of stuff from my childhood, including my Boy Scout days.

I had many bandanas, but only saved this one for Bailey. 

I don't actually remember this one but its colors suit her well 

and the fleur-de-lis is appropriate for this soon to be French dog. 

Fun and games on the 4th

A while back I saw that Ken Burns was going to be the speaker at the annual naturalization ceremony at Monticello. We've never been and this being our last easy opportunity, I took it as a sign that we should go so I immediately hopped online and got tickets. It did not disappoint. 

For those who don't know, each year Monticello holds an event where immigrants who have passed through the naturalization process are sworn in as U.S. citizens. This year there were 78 who chose to take the oath at this ceremony at Monticello. Ken Burns was the speaker and he was very good, but the man who stole the show was actually the first who spoke, a U.S. District Court judge who read the preamble to the Declaration of Independence. His impassioned reading of Jefferson's words was a tough act to follow with many lines eliciting applause and cheers from the audience, followed by a standing ovation. They were revolutionary words and they struck a chord with this crowd, who obviously were viewing Trump as the modern counterpart to King George. Although he only read the preamble, the Declaration of Independence goes on to list the colonists' grievances against the king, many of which do indeed seem very similar to current events:

• He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, ...
• He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, ...
• He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance (Musk/DOGE)
• For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world (tariffs)
• For imposing Taxes on us without our consent (tariffs)
• For depriving us in many of cases, of the benefits of trial by jury (extra-judicial deportations)
• For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences (deportations)
• He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.  (ICE)

It remains to be seen whether this country will ever again have a full, fair, and free election in which the electorate can correct the mistakes of the last one. The GOP cult is hellbent on holding onto power by any means necessary. They made that abundantly clear by the events of January 6th as well as every ass-kissing action and vote they have taken Trump took office.

Later in the evening, Bailey and I resumed our demolition work. When the driver delivered our 18 yard dumpster, he asked if I had enough stuff to fill it. I responded "I hope not." Now I'm afraid that I will have too much and may need a second. 

Demolition dogs

As an only dog Bailey is becoming more bonded to me than ever. I'm now her only friend and playmate in addition to being her person. The stupid heat and humidity has had us mostly confined to the house for the past couple of weeks, but yesterday we spent more time outside, which she really enjoys.

I'm working on getting the yard cleaned up and a lot of old stuff hauled away. We had a dumpster delivered here yesterday that I'm working on filling up. The 15+ year old wooden walkway between the  house and dog yard is gone. It was great in its day but even pressure treated wood doesn't last forever in this godforsaken climate. The dog washing platform is gone. The summer kitchen build is going away today. Pretty much everything I've built outside over the past 25 years is going away to give the prospective new owners a clean slate. 

Bailey is happy to hang with me and she's smart enough to usually find a comfortable spot in the shade to watch me work. I'm smart enough to be doing as much of the work as possible in the shade as well. 

Bailey doing her "up" on the dog wash stand before it went away.

We are to the point that much that remains will be going into the dumpster.

The old wooden walkway is now a dirt path with stepping stones.

I planted grass seed last night.

Five Saturdays and counting

More garden stuff sold, about the last of it I think; another big trip to the dump; more stuff listed and sold on Marketplace and eBay; and a trip to town to pick up our vaccination records from Kroger. Bailey came along for the trip to town and we also picked up Chinese takeout and ate it at Decipher with a couple of beers. There were a LOT of dogs in there today. She handled herself well, paid attention to me, and let a couple of nice people approach her with treats that I provided. After a few pieces of chicken jerky she would let them pet her and even offered a few kisses. Good girl. 

She rides beautifully in the car even without a crate.

There's a tree in front of our house with a hole in it, just about at face height. There's a metal rod sticking out of the hole that I had used for a hanging basket. This morning just as I was walking past, I saw this snake crawling out of the hole in the tree on that metal rod. He stopped and I stopped and we looked at each other for a bit. I took a couple of pictures and then he started to back up. Apparently that's his home and I'm not going to disturb it.

Remembering Candace

It was time to let Candace go. She's been having increasing difficulty getting around and even getting up the two steps to get into the house. Although she could still get around pretty well outdoors, inside she would fall and be unable to get her legs under her to get up. She was a tough old girl with amazing survival skills, but it was time. Clay went with me for the trip to the vet this afternoon and I was grateful for that. 

Candace wasn't the most personable dog we've ever had. She was very independent, cat-like in a way. She got along with all the other dogs, even those that didn't generally get along with other dogs. Everyone was ok with Candace, she did her own thing and everyone left her to it. She wasn't one to come up to you for petting or attention, but she did like to be in on whatever was going on. She liked to go outdoors and liked to explore the pasture. She would follow me and the other dogs out there and then do her own thing, but sometimes she would follow me around. She had a very stiff-legged gait, due to an old injury apparently, but she still managed to run when she wanted to. 

She wasn't a smiley, animated dog, so she was difficult to read, but I hope we gave her some good times in her final years.