Pups on Parade - the Sequim Dog Show

 

Judging 'Best of Breed' for Cirneco Dell'Etna

I am totally not ready for a dog just yet. My back yard isn't fenced, and I'm not sure I'm up for dog walking just now. Even if I were ready to find my next doggie, my favorite breed - Afghan Hound - was not one of the many breeds represented at the Hurricane Ridge Kennel Club dog show. So I contented myself with staring longingly at happy pups and pondering which ones I'd take as a pet if push came to shove (Border Terrier puppies), and which one's I'd be more inclined to send to live in a farm 'up state' (any of the 'bully' breeds). 

Cirneco Dell'Etna

Shortly after arriving at the show, I spotted a couple of ladies standing by some sighthounds. I asked them if I was looking at Pharaoh Hounds. I was told, I was looking at Cirneco Dell'Etnas - a breed totally new to me. The Dell'Etna's resembled slightly smaller Pharoah Hounds.  Later in the day a bit of research revealed they are Sicilian sight hounds (my favorite dog type) and they are sparse as hen's teeth in the U.S.A. Cool seeing a dog breed that is totally new to me.

I spotted another strange dog and asked the owner if the dog was a Spinone, and was tickled that I was correct in my ID. The dog was a beautiful cream color and sooo very sweet, a joy to fuss over.

"Italian Spinone', a dog breed, not a type of soft serve ice cream

I had my eyes open specifically for any sight hound breeds. What I love about them is they are rather cat-like, as opposed to being all slavishly up in your business 24/7 as are other breeds such as Labradors. Ugh! I've had a Whippet and an Afghan and they were totally wonderful. 

What else was at the show? You just name it!

Mastiff 

Saint Bernard - WAY the hell larger than I remember...

The opposite of gigantic - the Japanese Chin

Cute Basenji - an African hunting hound (A sight hound!)

Flat-Coated Retriever (I first learned of their existence in Scotland)

Clumber Spaniel - the only spaniel breed that traditionally hunts in packs

A Droop of Bassets

Official judging of 'short & squat' category,
Cardigan Corgis (the Corgi breed with a tail)

Both of these beauties were in the Junior Showmanship category (Golden Retriever)

German Wire-haired Pointer

Cane Corso Pup

This little cutie to the left is a Cane Corso puppy. I was surprised how cute the pup was, and sad that in America its still OK to chop off puppy tails and slice up puppy ears. I'm happy that at least in the UK, dogs are not sliced & diced so over there, for example, you can see Rottweilers and Boxers with tails and Great Danes & Doberman Pinchers with full, floppy ears. I will get off of my soap box now. 

There were a zillion other breeds on hand for me to gawk at: Borzoi, Standard Poodles, Britany Spaniels,  Border Terriers (Puppies, soooo cute!), Mini Pins, and such. Viewing all these dogs has put me on a firm path to getting my backyard fenced so I can have a dog of my own to parade around. Afghan Pup, I'm coming to get 'cha! 

Happy Birthday Judy

 

A long time ago I promised my friend  Judy that I would make her some gluten-free Indian fry bread, because it was a treat she very much enjoys. I put it off for quite a while, but as her birthday was this month, I decided it was about time I honor my promise. 

So today Judy and Diane drove to Flown Piggies Farm for a little birthday lunch. Judy looked colorful in her flower laurels and she wore a sash that blinked on and off, announcing she is THE birthday girl. Darn right she is! I know the wee girl she used to be, long ago in Bavaria, would certainly love her future prospects. 

Her daughter Diane provided the birthday gal's pink Champagne Cake which was a heavenly delicacy enjoyed by all (and I forgot to bring out the ice cream, darn it!).

Hockey Pucks, pre-air frying

The week leading up to Judy's birthday celebration,   plenty of friends on hand to test out different gluten-free fry bread recipes.  The first batch was a fail - the fry bread batter was air-fried in my oven and... um... although my dear friends assured me the fry bread was tasty, they kindly omitted the fry bread texture wise were reminiscent of hockey pucks. 

The first batch being a failure, I channeled my inner Indigenous Auntie, settling on a recipe that seemed a little closer to my fry bread goal. The winning recipe was indeed, gluten-free, and it used both yeast and baking powder, and better yet, going full Navajo, this time the bread was deep fried. 

Ready to flip...

Flipped over, golden brown

A little history here: my introduction to Fry Bread was when I was a docent at the California State Indian Museum. The main food for the day was Fry Bread and I had a ball dishing up Indian Tacos for honored elders on their special day.
Fry bread is to Indigenous Peoples in the USA, as is soul food to African Americans, which is to say, making the best of something that was never really an honor in the first place. By that I mean, taking crap food you were given (in the case of fry bread, Indigenous people trapped on reservations were given salt, flour & oil, none of which was recognizable to them as food from their normal diet> They'd been promised meat, but didn't get any. They made the best of it and soon enough, Fry Bread - the only thing you can really make with what they were given - became a tradition. 

Behold, the Fry Bread Taco, piled high with ground
beef, black beans, lettuces, tomatoes, sour cream & more. 

Judy and Diane had tried their first Fry Bread at a Washington state Pow Wow and the fry bread tacos did indeed wow them. It was my pleasure today to serve up hot, fluffy-ish fry breads. Happy Birthday and many more to Judy, who is certainly an honored elder from another land.  

[Post Script: here is a link to a fateful 'Honored Elders Day' at the State Museum celebration back in the day. When the elders pouted a bit because some people decided Fry Bread Tacos weren't good for elders. HA! Fry bread, every once in a bit, does not kill anyone, and it does hit THE spot.  Fry Bread or not Fry Bread... that is the Question]

Grand Opening & Grand Tour at the Pet Hospital

Preparing to cut the red ribbon

I was fortunate enough to be invited to the grand opening red ribbon cutting of a state of the art Veterinarian hospital. My invite was through a friend of mine, Diane. She was in charge of getting the new clinic up and running. The 'old' Poulsbo clinic was around 1200 sq ft, and the new clinic is around 5K sq ft (if memory serves me correctly). It must have been fun (and apparently UBER stressful) plotting every square foot of the new facility, from what pee-proof flooring, to overhead light fixtures. Now after months and months of planning, the new digs were up & ready to run. After the ribbon cutting, Diane treated friends Sue & Nick, Barbara and myself to a personal tour of this state of the art pet hospital. 

The spacious Receptionist area

Exam Room where even the table drawers were special ordered
(having no slits where dirt can accumulate & clean-up is a snap)

Where the 'real work' happens!

I thought this was nifty - a very comfy tiny bedroom at the clinic, where resident and/or visiting veterinarians can  catch some shut eye after long shifts at this 24/7 hospital. 

Memorable Mugs in the Staff lunch room

Truly a work of art  - a Cat Scan for Cats... and dogs... and ferrets...

Tee Hee...

Unique to this hospital is a totally separate room where the ailing kitties are kept. That keeps them from having to be kennel neighbors with barking dogs which stresses the heck out of cats.

Separate kitty quarters for the hospital was the idea of Diane, and she is understandably proud. To the right is a cute little salute to Diane, that is sort of hidden, on the outside of the cat ward. Someday it will truly be the Diane Memorial Feline Ward. Here's hoping that particular honor is decades away.

Teeny IV & IV regulator on a kennel

I thought the most innovative thing at the hospital were the high-up monitors that held info on furry patients at each step of the way. Even I could see them and know what pup was getting what med, and when, and where the critter was in each stage of its hospital visit. I haven't seen that level of care at human hospitals. Catch up human hospitals, catch up!

[UPDATE: So late one Saturday night I woke at 1:30 AM to a phone call from my neighbor Barbara. Next thing I knew, I was dressed and driving her and her black kitty Bug the hour and a half drive to Poulsbo for an emergency pet clinic visit. Bug had woken Barb up with 'an awful noise!' and she was terrified Bug was dying and would be dead before we got to the clinic. Uh... thanks heavens, that would be a 'nope'. Bug had possibly inhaled something that got his lungs stressed out, so with prescribed antibiotics, a series of x-rays and several hundreds of dollars later, I was dropping sleepy Bug n' even sleepier Barb, back home around 5AM. Whew! What a night. Who knew we'd be back at the hospital so soon after its grand opening. With a little luck, it'll be the last visit... at least for a while.]

Hula on the Mainland

Daughter does traditional Hula while her mother sings and keeps time on the ipu

Sometimes I feel my fitness trainer is actually my event planner. She's told me when exciting things are afoot, such as when Dandelion Botanical Company opened up about a mile from my house. I am totally enraptured with that store and I get all my medicinal herbs - uh... and some crystals -  at that wonderous shop. Back on topic, recently Karina let me know there was to be a Hula presentation in the field behind the Sequim library. OMG I was so excited! She told me about the hula because I have been attempting to learn a 'simple' non-traditional hula. Most of what I learned so far is there is no such thing as a simple hula. That's for me at least, as I can't coordinate my arm and feet movements to save my life. I used to do so easily but someone seems to have cut the connection between my feet, arms and brain. Go figure. 

The lady who lead the event was brilliant and taught the gathering a ton of information, much of which was new to me. I'm not going to try to relate any of it, but will instead include this video of the lady singing beautifully as she plays the ipu as her pretty daughter danced a traditional hula. Enchanting chanting all! 

My favorite part of the demonstrations? When all those who wished for a little Hula lesson to come up front! All the little girls in the audience raced up onto the stage, and the far more timid adults, which included me of course, stayed down in front of the stage. I was surprised there was only a handful of adults - all women - who wanted to dance. I kicked off my shoes so I could feel my toes in the grass and enjoyed my 2nd ever Hula lesson - and so close to home! As usual, as I fought to hold back tears of joy as I followed along the arm movements and steps we were shown. We all managed a complete dance and I was clumsy on certain moves, but not half bad on others - you know - not ready for a prime time Luau, but my heart was in it. Can't wait for my 3rd Hula lesson - hopefully back on the islands again. 

UPDATE: Karina, my exercise trainer discovered the following photo the audience participation dance session and I'm right chuffed to have it. Thanks Karina!

"Get that arm up Miller!"   In my defense, that's my 'bad' arm! : )

Butterflies, Buddies and Bears, Oh %&#@!

Mount Baker, here today, gone tomorrow

view from living room downstairs 

Had a fun week my friends Robbie & Rhonda, who are in the NW this month, up from California. While they were here they participated in lots of hiking and sight seeing. The Olympic gods were with them as Mount Baker which can't be seen much of the time, was shiny and bright in the Northwestern Sky. It can even be spied from my house... downstairs, blocked a bit by a Corkscrew Oak and a powerpole... but present nevertheless. 

On their last day I drove them to many of my favorite spots to see Bald Eagles. On Holland Road we ran into a swarm of bees . None of us had ever seen a swarm outside of Ticktock. 

When we'd had our fill of the bees, we stopped at one of Sequim's 'Pick Your Own Berries and Lavender' Farms. Loads of Raspberries were picked, and wolfed down later in the day.

Robbie volunteered pick us some raspberries

Of course it is cruel to take someone to a lavender farm and not try out some lavender ice cream so that was next on the agenda. We got the Whitbey Island Ice Cream bars at a 2nd lavender farm, down the road from my house. 

Robbie tryed to convince the hen that ice cream was no good for her

Another day we drove up to Hurricane Ridge at the top of Olympic National Park. While while my

Comma Butterfly

friends hiked the high country, I roamed around closer to the Visitor Center. Spotted a nice 'new to me' butterfly and some Avalanche Lilies.

Avalanche Lilies

Then on our way down from Hurricane Ridge, barely a mile from the top, we spotted a Black Bear. You KNOW that made my month. This is the 3rd spotting of a Black Bear I've seen in the area so I'm thinking the bear population must be kind of HUMONGOUS.

Always a joy to see one of the park Black Bears

The bear had Cocker Spaniel eyes... so soulful,
as well as a mouthful of tasty grass

One of the days I drove them around to my favorite haunts, with the goal of showing them a baldie or three. We caught one in flight over the Holstein dairy farm. I took them around back of the Olympic Game Farm where after Bald Eagle chicks have fledged (left home, i.e., nest) can be seen sitting on fence posts, sometimes a half dozen at a time. But that day, no baldies at all. As a last resort I drove them to Marine Drive, about a mile from my house. Stopping at the roadside, I pointed to an empty branch up high in a coniferous tree that overhung a cliff. 

"Well, you guys are having crap luck today. Sometimes there are as many as a pair of eagles sitting on that horizontal branch..."

On cue, up from the cliffs below winged a massive Bald Eagle juvenile, obediently landing on the branch I'd indicated. 

"Ooops! Take that back, you two are having FANTASTIC luck today!"

Training that baby baldy really paid off big time.

Robbie & Rhonda ended up spending an extra day with me because they awaited a package at the post office. That made me sooo happy, because I so enjoyed having their company for the week. But finally the time came for them to leave. Robbie was to meet up with her hubby Bill up in Vancouver and Rhonda went to visit friends, in the Seattle area? Well somewhere up here. Fun and helpful house guests whom I hope return next summer. I might have a few more critters trained to show up on cue by then, you never know.