While Saturday and Sunday were both sunny and foggy at various times, the temperature continued to struggle to get above twelve degrees.  Mary doesn't feel like planting in this cool weather but many of the perennials in the garden are blooming, in spite of the cold.  

Japanese Barberry (Berberis thunbergii )   Tatarian honeysuckle  (Lonicera tatarica)    

   

Common Lilac (Syringa vulgaris )    Flowering Quince (Chaenomeles )

   

Our friends, Millie and Job  , were dropped off for an overnight stay and Lyla, Ollie and Ozzy arrived to spend the day. We had our beach walk around noon, on Saturday, in spite of the continued deposits of Kelp and Seaweed   on the beach. Stephanie has to keep a close eye on us to make sure we don't treat it like a big seafood buffet. 

   

    

Sunday was spent trying to keep out of Arthur's way as he was paying the price of eating too much sea weed and kelp on the beach yesterday. He woke Mary several times through the night wanting to go outside thinking he could outrun the pain in his belly. He thought that eating a lot of grass would help, but it just made things worse, as he vomited it up soon after.   He kept coming to Mary wanting her to take the belly ache away by rubbing his tummy, which didn't help so he tried vigorously pawing the dog beds, which didn't help either.

Having had this happen several times in the past, the only thing that would help him to pass the tangled mess of seaweed and kelp was a slice of bread, smeared with a thick layer of petroleum jelly, folded in half with a couple of Tylenol and consumed by the big baby. Eventually he settled down and slept through the afternoon, woke up and had a big BM and a small bit of ID food for dinner. By Monday morning Arthur was right as rain and back to his regular breakfast. 

The rest of us were more than happy to go outside and stay out of Arthur's way, saying goodbye to Millie and Job and later Thunder and Skye. We were pleased to have Sadie   join us for a few days  and she was thrilled to have Millie to play with  .  Stephanie took some time off in the afternoon and we roamed around the yards until the Mower Guy arrived to spend four hours cutting the grass.

       

       

After dinner we were able to go into one of the already-mowed yards and it was getting foggier and dark by the time the mowing was all done. 

A dozen of us jumped out of bed this morning , ready to greet Alton, the Fence Guy in our usual noisy fashion. Then Sadie, the first of the eleven day-visitors, was dropped off, we had breakfast and then the last of the day-visitors got here, between eight-thirty and nine. In that hour and a half, we have to say hello and make sure that everyone is properly introduced which makes for a very busy time.

There was one more arrival, Gracie B, who is just staying overnight and going home tomorrow. She was very happy to hear that we waited for her to get here so she could come to the beach with us this morning and, as soon as she was ready, off we went.

Some of took the time to pose for our portrait shots ...

   

... while others went wild in the sand not caring if our hair got messed up.  

   

Splashing around in the water was a good way to enjoy ourselves and practise our dog-paddle. 

    

Meanwhile, the Grimes gang, Opal, Oak and Fern   were busy checking out all of the yards and having a few wrestling matches . 

Those that opted not to take in the beach adventure this morning, like Hali and Skye ,

Arthur  and Maggie   enjoyed the peace and quiet, while the noisy ones were having their beach fun. We spent the rest of the day socializing and watching the Swallows as they swooped and chirped at us from the power lines.  

    

 

 

In addition to the regular group of Thursday visitors, Finnigan was dropped off to spend the day with us as well as little Lucy. Then there were the four overnight guests, Sam, Thunder and Skye and Rocky.  

In terms of human arrivals , there was the Fence Guy, Alton and just as an extra treat, a Technician from Bell Aliant. Three weeks ago, Mary requested that Bell replace one of the PVR boxes that had stopped working. That request resulted in  many hours of customer service calls and in the end, the arrival of the technician. 

So, bottom line, we had to be kept under strict boundary rules so that we wouldn't interfere with Alton's work or the Bell Technician's work. Not a small job by any means as we sometimes like to go rogue. So, until Stephanie could gather us together to go to the beach , we tried our best to behave and not get in anyone's way. 

   

   

    

After two hours of Bell Tech, the problem with the single malfunctioning PVR was fixed but it required that all three PVR's be upgraded to the newest box and the Modem moved out of the basement to the main floor. When Mary tried to call Stephanie over in the Cabana to let her know that both the Technician and Alton had departed, she discovered that the phone had somehow been disabled in the process. No calls coming or going. 

We didn't care if the phones were working, so Stephanie took us down to the beach to have some fun and Mary tried to get the Technician to come back and restore the phone service. We had a much better time than Mary. 

    

   

   

Our afternoon  was spent relaxing and soaking up the sunshine while Mary tried to get the technician to return and Stephanie changed the voice mail recording to direct people to call the cell phone numbers.  We sent most of the day-visitors home before having our dinner and the Bell Guy finally returned to figure out what had gone wrong with the phone. This took another hour but finally the phones were working, the Bell Guy departed again and we welcomed our buddy, Rocky, for his vacation. 

The one thing that we were spared from having to listen to today was the bombing from the naval exercise, Cutlass Fury. We could only hope that they ran out of stuff to blow up. One thing for sure, there's hardly a dull moment around here.  

The usual bunch of Doodles arrived at their expected times and when they got here they found another new member of the OODLE Club, raring to go. It was Millie  , the Tibetadoodle and everyone wanted get to know her. It was almost like she had a Doodle Dance card and they all wanted to sign up for the Doodle Disco.  

This was Beinn's   shot at getting her on  the dance floor but they kept arguing about who should lead.

Mary and Stephanie loaded Arthur and Hali into the car for their trip to Gaetz Brook where they would see Sandra, their favorite Groomer at Scruff to Fluff. Today they would get their bath and a short summer trim after which Mary would go and pick them up. 

We enjoyed a long walk with Stephanie while waiting for Willie, the senior Golden Boy, to get here and there was a lot of racing around trying to catch Millie who is very fleet of foot. We decided to head down to the beach and Mary said she would let Willie come down, under his own steam, when he arrived. Ruger   was happy to rest his head on the chair  and have a nap while we were gone. 

   

   

Willie   arrived while we were still at the beach but when Mary told him there were five enthusiastic Doodles waiting for him, he decided to forego the trip today and wait till they got back to meet them all, figuring they would be somewhat worn out. He enjoyed taking a stroll with Ozzy in the East Pasture and he was happy to see Stephanie and the rest of the gang when they returned, promising to do a beach walk tomorrow. 

Mary went to pick up Arthur and Hali and when she got back, she could hear a lot of, what sounded like thunder out over the water, to the West. It kept booming out there for quite a while but there was no lightning showing on the weather radar. That's when Stephanie caught sight of these two helicopters   flying low over our beach and Mary decided to check  some online postings and what we were hearing was the start of a naval exercise, called Cutlass Fury, a major bi-annual, multinational Canadian-led exercise often hosted in the waters off Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. According to the post, from today until June 18th, Canada and its Nato Allies would be training to track and counter submarine threats in the Atlantic as well as specialized diver and explosive ordnance disposal training within the harbour. 

Go find some ear plugs, it's going to be a noisy week.

Gin and Tonique were picked up just after breakfast at the end of their three week vacation and they weren't shy about displaying how happy they were as they wiggled in the embraces and their tails whipped back and forth at top speed. 

The usual Tuesday gang of visitors was here for the day and we enjoyed a morning of playful wrestling and rolling in the grass. 

     

   

     

Later, we got a walk down to the beach and we enjoyed the surf with our buddies. Beinn   has been showing off his swimming skills. Stephanie tried to get some photos of him in full dog paddle but that black head of his doesn't lend itself to a lot of detail. .  

  

 

Alton, was at the gate at seven o'clock sharp this morning, ready to start making more fence. It was a sunny day with the welcome promise that it would warm up later and Mary watched for Sadie Bea to arrive for the day. She was thrown off her usual calm demeanor by the noise Alton makes with his ATV, wagon and chain saw. Sadie is a critter who doesn't like having her routine upset so she almost turned tail and ran back to the car with her human but Mary coaxed her into the house and she checked out the backyard where there wasn't as much noise and no strangers. 

The remaining day-visitors got here at nine o'clock along with Ruger who will stay until Wednesday and so our day of fun and play got underway.  

    

     

After lunch, Stephanie took us  to the beach and we enjoyed a refreshing swim. Stephanie kept her eyes peeled in case any of us decided that we wanted to snack on the tasty bits of seaweed and kelp. 

    

 

Back we trudged up the hill looking forward to a cold drink of water and a soft bed to enjoy a nap. Lucy said goodbye and returned to the city with her human but she promises to be back regularly throughout the summer. 

The temperature on Saturday had a struggle to get above ten degrees and ,with the brisk winds out of the North, it was downright cold. Stephanie was taking most of the day off to attend a family gathering so, after breakfast was done, we got a Poop Patrol finished because the Mower Guy was coming to cut the grass before the rain starts tomorrow. Then we had to say goodby to Harrington and Saphira as they departed with their humans.  Stephanie didn't get any photos of us today because we didn't want to stay out in the cold so she slipped away before we knew what was up and Mary was in charge. 

When Mary's in charge, she starts hounding us for information to put in the DogBlog so we find a quiet spot and start napping while she checks out Stephanie's photos, looking for some interesting storylines.  We also have to stay inside so we don't get in the way of the Mower Guy but we do get to bark at him, if we can drum up the enthusiasm. Watching from our warm sunroom, he looks utterly miserable riding on that mower, winter jacket and boots, heavy gloves, a wool hat and ear protecters. For three hours he sits hunched over the steering wheel, scowling at the grass through watering eyes like it's his mortal enemy. 

Once everything is mowed, he packs up his equipment and moves on to his next assignment and we rush outside to inspect his work. We are in the middle of this when Desi arrives to keep an eye on us for Mary so she can keep up on the keyboard work. Bruce has also come and he's going to get some discard lumber cut up and ready for burning in the barrel.

The rest of the afternoon passes quickly and it didn't warm up at all so we enjoyed our dinner, took a walk with Desi and then we settled down for a nap in a warm bed. 

Sunday was supposed to be a rain day but all we got were a few scattered showers, more wind and continued cold temperatures. The kelp and seaweed situation on the beach is still problematic and we can't resist snacking on some of the choicest morsels, so the beach walk is ruled out for today. We take several long walks around the property and get our pictures taken, before Mary sends Stephanie home for a couple of hours.  

         

   

Rupert   gets his call from home so he starts packing his bags to be ready for a three-thirty pick-up and the sun tries to break through the fog, so we hang around outside while Mary tries to find all the right fittings for the various water hoses. That's when Stephanie arrives back to get our dinner ready and then take us for a long walk.  

Tonight, there's only six of us left and we settle down for our after-dinner nap while Mary tries to do some reading in her recliner.

BIG MISTAKE!  

She wakes up at two o'clock and she has to get us out the door in a hurry. Most of us cooperate and there are no 'accidents' to clean up which gets us a biscuit and lots of 'good dogs'. We take a very late walk in the North field and Mary is so wide awake she doesn't think she'll be able to sleep for a while. She decides to do some work, load up the dishwasher and check up on the latest Blue Jays game.  At three-forty-five, we all troop upstairs to our beds and  soon find ourselves deep in sleep once again. We manage to sleep through two alarms but Mary is ready to open the gate for Alton at seven o'clock on the dot.  

Seven o'clock on the dot and Alton's at the gate, keen to get started on his fence work. The regular Friday crowd plus Milo begin arriving and once things settle down, Lucy is presented at the gate and handed over to Mary with her bag of meals, treats and her raincoat. 

Lucy   is very happy to hear that her Dahxy cousins, Gin and Tonique    as well as Ollie and Ozzy   are here and she wants to get the story on Tuesday's Great Porcupine hunt. Ozzy and Ollie are happy to re-tell the tale, embellishing as they go along with the quill count into the hundreds. Lucy is all ears but when she sees Gin roll her eyes, she suspects that the tale is inflated. So off they go to say hello to Milo, Beinn, Sadie and the rest of the gang. 

     

     

  

 Mary was able to identify this Narcissus  , using Google, after having them in the garden for thirty-plus years. Called 'Albus Plenus Odoratus', snowy white and richly fragrant, they appeared on almost every Clusius daffodil list, beginning in 1601 to catalogs of the early 1900's. A few of these bulbs were given to Mary by a local gardener who had a patch by his house. Richly fragrant is an understatement for these flowers which have a strong, spicy aroma unlike any other flower in the garden.   

 We enjoyed the sunshine and warm temperatures while we played together and wiled away the afternoon until the big exodus to make time for dinner.  

It was another beautiful, sunny day and all the regular Thursday visitors arrived as well as Griffin and Luke  . Our neighbour, Swanson  , was dropped off for a short vacation as well, and we spent the morning playing  with one another in the fields. The North Field is now decked out in its new fence so we can enjoy returning to the familiar haunts.  

       

   

Alton has now moved his fence work to the driveway area so the front yard will be off limits for today. 

After lunch, Stephanie, gathered her courage and took us to the beach to face the piles of kelp and seaweed and to steer clear of the Porcupine territory. The water was so inviting we dove in and didn't start excavating the seaweed piles looking for tasty morsels, which will be a blessing tonight when we don't have to throw-up the slimy green stuff. Mary will surely appreciate our restraint. We also stuck close to Stephanie and there was no urge to go in search of the Porcupine  when we were having so much fun swimming, chasing and splashing one another.  

     

   

Soon it was time to return to the house, so up the long hill we trudged  , looking forward to a cool drink and a quiet nap. 

The regular Wednesday Doodles arrive along with Emo to spend the day. Charly is pleased to see his pals and Our Golden Girl, Neave, gets dropped off for a two-night stay. It's a great day, with lots of sun and plenty of blue sky and the main topic for discussion is yesterday's Porcupine attack on Ollie and Ozzy. 

Truth be told, it wasn't really an attack so much as a chance encounter and the Porcupine would have been happy to just go about his business. But those little guys fancied themselves as Big Game Hunters and not realizing their prey had way more ammunition, they soon discovered they should have been more prudent. Once we shared the details of their adventure with the new arrivals, we said goodbye to Molly who was picked up by her humans. 

       

      

This is the second time this week we were visited by a low-flying plane   and Saphira thought maybe it was her chartered flight to Sable Island, which was the first we heard about her newest vacation destination.  It seems that this pilot had other plans and the plane disappeared over the Eastern horizon. 

Here is a photo of Arthur with his best buddy, Karter  , who passed away last year.   Karter's humans paid us a visit this afternoon and brought some of Karter's favorite toys, dog beds, etc. hoping we could make good use of them. Arthur grabbed Karter's favorite   and no one else was allowed to touch it. 

The wild apple trees   are starting to bloom around the property and the singular Sour Cherry tree    is loaded with blossoms. Mary's late  sister, Cathy, planted this cherry tree twenty years ago, but the birds enjoyed the cherries so much, they always got them before they could be harvested.  It will, no doubt, be the same this year. 

Our Cairn buddy, Beinn  , arrived for his spring vacation  and it seemed strange not to have his older brother, Robbie, as well, since they were always here together, for the past five years. Robbie passed away earlier this year so Beinn is looking forward to spending some time with old friends, as well as making a few new ones. We are fully expecting him to get into some deviltry as he has lots of energy and is very curious.