Doodle Day arrives and brings the four regular, day-visiting Doods, Charly  ,

Maddy and Rolo  and

Snickers  . Rejoining the club after her summer hiatus, is

Bailey  ,  Ollie  , who has been here a couple of weeks, makes six and Hali   tops up the Doodle count to seven. 

The Labs   think that's more than enough Doodles, any day of the week. Stephanie thought we should give the beach another go, so off we went to have dip and enjoy some good times. 

       

   

    

 

The two Goldens, Hazel and Blanche showed off their water skills and stopped to watch these two, Greater Yellow Legs, hunt for a snack in the quiet part of the pond. 

     

After we returned to the house, we enjoyed a cold drink and quiet nap at the cabana while Stephanie got some great photos of the  critters who don't go to the beach but love to sunbathe or just stretch out on the grass.  

     

We went to the beach, at just the right time today, to watch this juvenile Northern Harrier, previously called a Marsh Hawk, hunt for his lunch. None of us could remember ever seeing one of them before and it was an impressive display as it swooped low over the water and marsh looking for prey.   

   

It's Tuesday so it's Golden Day and the four regular, day-visiting Goldens were here and they were pleased to meet Hazel, who is staying until Friday. 

    

They also wanted to get to know Echo, the Black Lab, but she could outrun all of them. Eventually she stopped to chat with a couple of them under the watchful eye of Ollie. 

   

Today, Stephanie took a scouting party to the beach to check out the seaweed situation and they didn't stay long, as the kelp and rockweed were still piled up on the shore and there was some sampling. 

     

  

Our return from the beach was uneventful but we did admire the Hydrangea   that is in full bloom.   The Witherod (Wild Raisin)  bushes are producing lots of berries and the birds are feasting on them in preparation for their trip down south.  We enjoyed some time  playing before it was time for the day visitors to go home . 

     

Heat Pump Update - Day 18 : Nothing new to report - it is still in pieces on the table and no one has come to put it back together. This is how Mary is feeling.

 

 

 

 

 

Monday started to clear in the morning and it was much cooler than it has been for the last couple of months . After breakfast, Georgee's human arrived to pick her up and she was pleased to see him and thrilled to be going home.  Mary had to take Arthur and Hali to see their favorite groomer, Sandra, at Scruff to Fluff and they will both get a bath and trim, as well as nail clips and ear cleanings.

The rest of us hung out with Stephanie and took some long walks until it was time to meet a new gal, Echo   , who travelled all the way from Rhode Island, to stay with us and have a vacation. After Echo got acquainted with everyone, she was thrilled to play chase with her new friends and learn the ropes from them. 

    

All of the new friends had their own way of playing and they put on quite a show for Echo as they walked about the various yards while Stephanie kept a close eye on things. 

   

     

Now, here's Ruby and she showed us the wide range of emotion that she could manifest when she needed to make a point about her special stick.

On the left below, is how most of us picture mild-mannered Ruby but, give her a favorite stick, on the right below, and all bets are off.    

   

Then it was time for Saphira   to go home with her human and Mary left to pick up Arthur   and Hali  , who arrived home looking very trim and smelling great.  

We continued to enjoy the better weather and then two more Black Lab friends, Max   and Jesse  , were dropped off for their annual vacation. Echo was thrilled to meet these two handsome boys and before long everyone was getting along just fine and it was time for the day-visitors to head home. That, of course, was followed by every Lab's favorite activity - eating, and they showed us why, as they scarfed down their food without even chewing it. 

Overnight on Thursday, a storm moved into the region and the forecast was for a lot of rain and high winds that would be with us, until at least Sunday. The forecast was correct in that it started to rain on Friday morning and the wind was blowing hard out of the South-East. It's now Sunday evening and we only have 36 days to finish building the ark.

There were a few breaks in the rain and we were hustled outside to take some walks but we weren't happy about it. Out of the eleven regular, Friday day-visitors, six cancelled due to the weather but the intrepid Grimes Gang arrived, along with Ollie and Ozzy.  Sunny, Louie and Ruger got picked up at designated times during the day and those of us who were left, got the pick of the best napping spots.

Here some photos that Stephanie got throughout the day. 

   

   

    

Some of the strongest gusts of wind did a job on one of the Poplar trees on the south side of the house and Mary discovered it lying on the ground in the late afternoon. It was the new growth from another big Poplar that blew down a few years ago, during one of the hurricanes. 

    

Here's a good idea, take your pick of a comfy dog bed and have a nap. 

    

How's this for a Lab Test ?

If you mix a Licorice flavored one with a Vanilla flavored one, do you get a Chocolate flavored one? 

Saturday and Sunday brought more rain and a shift in the wind direction out of the North with gusts up to sixty km/h and two-hundred mm of rain in some places. Plenty of roads washing out in Cape Breton and three counties declaring states of emergency.  We didn't get hit as hard as some areas but it's still raining tonight.

There will be a few more photos added to this report on Monday.

Just in case anyone is wondering about the heat pump , it's now day sixteen and the heat pump hasn't been put back together and there are no answers from anyone, about what could be wrong or when it will get fixed. 

Saturday and the rain continues but there are some breaks so we can get outside to play. 

     

    

Sunday, still raining but not quite as intense as it has been but the North wind is still wicked. Hazel  , the Golden Retreiver, arrived to spend a week with us. Bailey   was happy to show her the ropes  and introduce her  to the others.

   

   

Lots of new guests arriving and day-visitors as well. Gary, the Handyman, drops by to do some garden work, some fixes     and some salvage work.

There's lots of fun and frolic to photograph as one of the pint-size crowd, Lucy  ,  poses for some photos giving the camera the old side-eye. 

         

   

The Hydrangeas are in full and glorious bloom as well as the beautifully painted, Nasturtiums, and those colourful Sunflowers.

      

The latter is what prompted Pepper   to try her hand at painting and she got her inspiration from a guy, by the name of Van Gogh  , who painted some sunflowers back in the late 1880's after cutting off a piece of his ear and giving it to his girlfriend.  When Pepper heard that his sunflower paintings were worth millions, that really piqued her interest so, she thought she might try art forgery as a hobby. 

Here she is posing in front of Mary's sunflowers   with her very-own framed, oil painting, called Sunflowers, which is so life-like, it defies explanation. The funny thing was she bandaged the wrong ear and we don't know how she managed to get that hat, but the big question is, will she pursue this hobby or find something else to do with her time.

Meanwhile, the less-excentric critters were off to the beach and having loads of fun. 

   

   

All in all it was a great day and we made the most of it so, when dinner time rolled around, we ate all our food, took a last walk with Stephanie and then settled down to have a good nap. 

 

 

Hi, Hali   here,  back in charge of the DogBlog as I try to keep the reporting current and relevant. I don't think all these youngsters realize that I'm a senior contributor and I expect them to give me their full cooperation, even if I can't remember their names. 

It was a very busy morning, starting early with Blanche   before breakfast. Blanche is still new so I'm going to cut her some slack as she is still learning the ropes. After breakfast, eleven critters arrived until Saphira   was dropped off at ten o'clock. She and I are both thirteen years old and, like me, she doesn't have a lot of patience with some of the youngsters so it's a good thing she's hard of hearing. I don't bother telling her their names because she just forgets as soon as I tell her.  I get busy with the introductions and some of them won't stop long enough to listen, so I had to give them a couple of sharp barks and made sure that everyone was getting along. 

It's Doodle Day today and eight members of our Doodle Club are here, which includes me the smallest, oldest, noisiest and bossiest Doodle ,

Louie   , Georgee   . then if you add in the handsome

Ollie who just got here along with the four regular Thursday Doodles , Charly  ,

Maddy   and Rolo and Snickers   ... this was something to bark about.

Doodles Rule!  

The two Labs, Tess and Tillie, seem a little miffed that they are being bossed around, by a pint-sized Doodle, but I soon let them know that they better tow the line and keep their noses clean.  Sunny, the Spaniel, is another early arrival  and she ignored me when I tried to get her to come out and introduce herself. Sometimes she makes really gets on my last nerve but it's too nice a day to let her get under my skin.  Emo, the Bernation, also joined the party and I never have to worry about her being cooperative, she's a great gal. 

        

Bailey  , the Havanese,  is staying for a couple of weeks and she is a law unto herself. I've given up trying to make her conform and follow the rules. She just turns her bum to me and trots off to do her own thing. I'm sure I heard her call me 'an old nag' when she thought I was out of earshot. She stays on the good side of Mary and Stephanie by putting on her 'sweet Havanese' act when they're around but I figure she'll slip-up and find herself in trouble one of these days.

At noon, our final overnight guests, Gin  and Tonique  , were dropped off, complete with their bags of French Bakery Croissants, knowing that this treat  will curry favour with Mary and Stephanie.

They are Mini Dachshund and the first thing they do when they land is find out if there are any dogs they haven't met before. Today, their attention focused on Blanche when she came in the house to meet them, and they jumped at the chance to chase her outside, howling like a couple of banshees, till they could grab a few hairs from her tail.  They claim that this is for their hobby of DNA testing. Once they have their hair sample, they go about their business and everything returns to normal, although Blanche gives them a wide berth.  Their cousins, Ollie and Ozzie  , are always happy to see them and they enjoy a good game of chase. 

Once everyone is here, the best part of the day is on the minds of those that are allowed to go to the beach. Personally, I get to decide whether I will go and sometimes I don't go because Mary always gives me a piece of Beef Jerky when I stay home and I eat it without being hassled. It is my favorite treat.   

Here are some beach photos to round out the day's report. 

    

   

It was a sunny, warm and breezy day without the high humidity and everyone enjoyed it. We welcomed Hall-E    for a short stay and she was pleased to see a lot of her old friends, as well as a few new ones. The highlight of the day was a beach trip and we raced down the hill at top speed to see who could claim the first ducking. 

The winner was Hall-E and a Hall-E impersonator popped up little farther out on the water, watching the action .  

     

                                                                                                                                            Did you say something about a seal? 

The rest of us piled into the surf and didn't even notice that seal watching our antics. The water was refreshing and Stephanie kept us on the move so we wouldn't get any ideas about snacking on the seaweed.  

   

    

After we returned to the house, we took a break to get a cold drink and find a comfy napping spot while Stephanie edited her photos. 

Ther was more time to play in the afternoon while we waited for the humans  that belong to our day visitors to arrive and take them home for dinner. 

       

It was later, maybe around seven o'clock , that Mary opened the door to the back veranda and we dashed outside. The first surprise was this spectacular display   in the eastern sky over the water.  Then we saw the wet deck and realized that there must have been rainshower and that we hadn't noticed. Mary went to get her camera so she could get a photo of the rainbow but it was already beginning to fade by the time she snapped this shot. Stephanie saw the display from her house and she got this image  .

When we saw it, of course, the first thing that came to mind was the tale about the Rainbow Bridge where dogs go after they have passed on, to wait for their humans to come and join them. Some may think it's kind of hokey but we think it's a lovely thought. 

We've included the text here in case you haven't had an opportunity to read it in it's fullness. 

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together... Author unknown...

Monday rolled around  and we said goodbye to our dedicated DogBlog editor, Otis  , who was reunited with his favorite human. They were both wildly excited to see one another and we're left wondering who is going to keep the DogBlog up to date. There were no volunteers among those left behind, except Bailey, and that's not going to work, based on her penchant for pulp fiction. We'll have to have a meeting to discuss this and, in the meantime, Hali  , will come out of retirement and help out. Just as we were getting the introductions finished, it was time for Willie to depart, happy to see his human and looking forward to a rest.   

We played outside most of the morning and, for some of us, it was a chance to get to know Blanche a little better. She is a real player, that Blanche, but hard to photograph since she doesn't stop moving for more than half a second, so we mostly just watched her zoom by. 

      

Later on, Stephanie told us that we were going to the beach and Blanche would be coming with us today. We all howled with excitement and Blanche couldn't figure out what was happening but she followed along, just as we hoped. It wasn't too long before she was playing in the water and racing on the shore just like all her friends. 

     

    

 

I'm sure you can tell that it was a grand day on the beach with Blanche.

Piper and Tilley happily departed for home after we got back to the house and we found a comfy spot to nap while we waited for the remaining day-visitors to be picked up. Dinner was a quiet affair with only eight of us to feed and soon we were all sound asleep while Mary was getting the schedule for August wrapped up and trying to clear out the inbox.

Hi it's me Otis   on Sunday afternoon, the 30th and I'll be heading home with my human tomorrow so thought I better check up on the DogBlog assignments I delegated earlier in the week. 

Wednesday, August 26th,  

I designated Georgee to do the DogBlog for the day and guess what - she told me?  She says, that when she arrived, she  was so popular and everyone wanted to hang with her, particularly all the other Doodles and she didn't want them to think she was ignoring them and she forgot to tell me that she just couldn't disappoint all her admirers and besides, she was so tired after playing all day and going to the beach with them, that the DogBlog completely slipped her mind.  

So, I guess, August 26th was all about her and nothing else, of any consequence, happened.  God spare me from Doodle Divas.  

     

Thursday, August 27th

On Thursday, I had picked Finnigan   for the DogBlog assignment and he seemed proud to be granted such a big responsibility. So, I just checked in with him to see what he had been able to get done and found another blank page. He said that he tried to keep track of everything that was going on but it was tough because he wanted to play with his friends. He did recall that he was at the beach in the morning and Hali   was with him but after that it was a blur.  So much splashing and running and barking, he thinks he got hit in the head and suffered from temporary amnesia. Sounds like a cop-out to me. 

     .

Fortunately, Stephanie had taken lots of pictures  so I will arrange to get these into the Thursday page  and give you some idea of just what the rest of the critters did with their time. 

   

   

   

Friday, August 28th 

I had high hopes for the Friday DogBlog because Bailey   , the talkative Havanese Terrier, came to me as soon as she was dropped off and begged me to assign her the job of reporting on the day's activities.  I was impressed with her energy and enthusiasm and I figured there was a better chance she would get the task done, if given a free rein. I must have been suffering from some kind of delusional episode. 

Based on what she came up with,  I realized that she just wanted to embarrass her fellow guests by exaggerating certain incidents and stretching the truth. She might have had some plans to work for a tabloid or scandal sheet. Just reading some of her material made me blush. 

She wrote that she saw Pepper   steal Lulu's ball   when she wasn't looking and hide it,   forcing Lulu to search every inch of the property and question all of the other guests.  Just look at the little brat, laying in the grass, acting like she had nothing to do  with the drama.

Bailey also told Georgee    that she didn't have to worry about any of her many admirers asking for her autograph, she would make sure they paid up front. When Bailey's office in the mudroom was searched, she had a stash of dried liver treats and she never intended to share them with Georgee.  

 When the time came to go down to the beach, Bailey pretended that she was going with the pack but she doubled back and returned to the house.  Arthur was just leaving the house when she told him that Mylea   had a crush on him and waiting for him at the bottom of the hill. 

Need I say more. The little brat kept this up for the day and it was all her vivid imagination at play and resulted in a complete work of fiction. I wouldn't let her publish the report and I've added below some photos that gives a more reality-based story of Friday's activities. Bailey       marched off in a huff and told me what I could do with my boring DogBlog for Friday. 

   

Saturday, August 29th and Sunday, August 30th 

I didn't make any more attempts to delegate the DogBlog report for this weekend. You know what they say, 'If want something done right, do it yourself.' 

It turned out to be a lovely day, lots of breeze and sun and the temperature wasn't quite as high as it had been for the past month. We had a surprise visitor arrive, by the name of Buddy  .

It wasn't a surprise for Mary and Stephanie since they had made the arrangements with Buddy's humans. As we came to find out, Buddy inherited the family, previously owned by our old friend, Bobby  , who passed away a while back. Bobby was a nice boy who fit in really well so we all figured that Buddy had some big paws to fill. 

As it turned out, he was just as friendly and smart as Bobby and he's going to come back in September and sleep over for a night, just to see if he'll be content to stay here. Buddy and his humans soon departed and we took some time to find a shady spot and watch the world go by.  

We were keeping a eye on the increase in traffic down on the road and the cars lining up to find a parking spot. It was the once-a-year Open House at Hope for Wildlife and the crowds were bigger than ever, so we figured that it would be deemed a big success if the bumper to bumper parking on the road was any indication. By four o'clock all those cars and people had disappeared and things got back to normal  and we had dinner. 

Sunday was another day made to be enjoyed by dogs everywhere. 

    

 

We did have Louie, our Doodle guy, arrive in the morning for a six day vacation and he chased the water coming out of the hose with utter abandon. Both Loki and Nelson were picked up by their humans and both had ecstatic reunions before driving off, toward their homes.  

On a troubling note, the malfunctioning Heat Pump in the cabana is still out of commission and there has been no word from the experts about what will have to be done. Mary and Stephanie hope that this will be resolved soon and not cost a lot since the warranty only covers the parts  and not the labour.  

And on a sad note,  I   will be leaving tomorrow morning to return to my home after my long stay and I will miss all my friends in Seaforth. I will continue to follow their day-to-day adventures and hope that I might have inspired some of them to take up the mantle, accepting the role of leadership, duty and responsibility that I held.  

Monday 

Blanche played non-stop with any of her new friends that showed the least bit of interest and the rest of us enjoyed our walks. Stephanie kept checking in with the weather office to see if their forecast of thunder showers was going to happen. In the end we played it safe and didn't venture down the hill after we heard thunder out over the water. The humidex for most of the day was in the mid-30's. 

   

    

When one of the Heat Pumps in the cabana started to leak, it had to be turned off while we waited to see what was going to happen. This unit was installed fourteen months ago. After the technician visited on Sunday and declared that the heat pump had a refrigerant leak, Mary became concerned about what would be involved in bringing this heat pump back into service. There was some reassurance that there was a ten-year warranty on the machine but no estimate about how long it would take to get the required replacement parts.  

Monday came and went without any answers from the heat Pump experts and the combined heat and humidity outside is making the south end of the Cabana uncomfortable. Fortunately, the heat pump on the north end of the cabana is still working so we are spending most of our time in there. 

Tuesday 

Hi, it's me Otis  , back from my brief sabbatical and, ready to report. It was the usual day-visiting bunch that began arriving after we finished our breakfast and Stephanie was already planning our day of fun and frolic. Since the forecast was for temperatures in the high twenties and the humidex expected to be around thirty-three, it was decided that we should get down to the beach this morning and make the most of the it. 

Here we are enjoying the cool ocean waters before both Remi and Tilley get picked up and return home. 

But first, here is the Blackberry Report   showing the fruit ready for the picking and the bank of fog hanging over Seaforth beach.  

. 

And here we are enjoying the beach amenities and watching Arthur    keep the flocks of birds on the move and then engaging Lulu's help    because the birds fly off and then quickly return, to land on another sand bar. Arthur hasn't figured out yet, that the birds welcome his foolish antics in the shallow pond water as he stirs up the small critters that they hunt, making it a lot less work for them to get a decent meal.  

Lyla   came with us today so she could prove to her human that she is getting lots of exercise and Rusty   kept an eye on his little brother Marty   , making sure he didn't eat any of that sea weed.  

Gemma   tells the world just how good she feels after her swim and Lyra   raced along the water's edge while Loki     took a more sedate walk across the hot sand. 

Here are some group shots as we splashed one another and enjoyed the cool, salt water on our paws.  

     

   

All to soon, it was time to return to the cool cabana for some water and a nap while Remi had a boisterous reunion with his human. Today was house cleaning day, so Mary and Arthur sat on the shady veranda and Mary tried to stay awake because she had an appointment at the local Dental Clinic to get her teeth cleaned, at two o'clock. Sure enough, she awoke, with a start and it was now one-fifty, so she called the clinic and told them that she was on her way and would be five minutes late. Their response was 'no problem' and told her to come now. 

To put the next part of the story in context, we should mention that Mary had been a patient of this clinic for over forty years and had always been on-time and paid her bill without delay. She had gone to the clinic last Thursday, to get her teeth cleaned, only to be informed that the hygienist was on vacation. Her appointment, they said, had been cancelled eight months earlier. Mary couldn't recall being told of the cancellation, but figured she must have had a lapse in memory, so she returned home with furry teeth and an appointment to come back today. 

When she got to the dental clinic today, she was told that she couldn't get her teeth cleaned in the appointment time remaining, so she would have to make another appointment and the first one available wouldn't be till January, 2027, fifteen months after her original appointment of October 2025, which the Clinic had cancelled and re-scheduled to August 20th.  Mary offered to forego the x-rays and examination, today, and just have the cleaning, but she was told that this was not an option. Why they didn't tell her this when she called and save her the needless trip, was thoughtless. Needless to say, Mary will now be looking for an alternate dental care provider.   

So, you are probably wondering what all this heat pump and teeth-cleaning business has to do with the important DogBlog stuff about us. I just thought it was important to remind everyone that it's not all fun and games as Mary and Stephanie navigate our day-to-day activities and late schedule changes, and try their best to remain flexible while making sure that other stuff gets attended to in a timely way. The waste of gas and time to go for two appointments in a week, and be turned away, was particularly galling. It speaks to the emphasis being placed on the convenient operation of the business and the lack of flexibility available to loyal clients, particularly a senior who moves a little slower these days.

Oops, I may have gone too far with the crack about seniors, so don't be surprised if this epistle gets cut.