wildbillsdreamscape

Shakey on shore

background left is the boathouse and the new green Tremclad paint job, part of the maintenance projects around the old homestead this year – you can see how much lower the water level is these days….last high water was in the mid 1980s.

contentment

Originally uploaded by canuckshutterer (W.J. Gibson)

spent some time playing frisbee with him yesterday down on the shore, still his favourite toy

Shakey on the deck

Originally uploaded by canuckshutterer (W.J. Gibson)

this afternoon we sat out on the deck, I had a book and a radio, he had a bunch of toys and his fleece bed….

pup on snow

Originally uploaded by canuckshutterer.

Lost her suddenly a year ago on March 2nd from a tumour on her spleen which grew and haemmoraghed suddenly and she died within forty minutes. She likely was gone as I drove to the vets, her head cradled in my sister’s lap in the back seat of the car. She was nine years and three months old. She was my first dog. Never had a dog as a kid. She was special, sweeter than sugar. Loved people. Big but gentle. I have lots of photos of her. Lots of funny, small memories of her.

Here she is in her first year in Toronto at Wanless Park.

I was driving up the hill section of Hugel Avenue in Midland, Ontario today and when I got on the top flat section on my way to the smallish mall to return some movie DVDs I noticed a woman walking along the sidewalk. I could see her and in her hand a leash that seemed to be connected to a dog. However, the snow bank was high enough to conceal the canine. In fact, short of a great dane or shetland pony, I would still have to take it on faith that I was not seeing a recreation of the dog walking episode from Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

I like fog, don’t get enough of it hereabouts. Yesterday and today and I understand from the weather folk, two more days then

the thermometer going to drop big time.

We have had an odd November this year, snow (6 inches that stuck) in the first week, then cool, then warm and sunny for about three days, now rain and fog. I have positioned the snow shovels on the deck, the ice chipper on the deck. One last thing — I need to get my snow tires (on 4 rims) swapped for my nice weather tires (on rims) before the avalanche.

Yesterday in the evening the dog growled at the small snowman that the neighbours put out. They haven’t lit him up yet. But Shakey growled anyway. Reminded me of the growl and bark routine his late sister, Diamond, used to come up with when she would face those Halloween leaf garbage bags with the Jack ‘o Lantern faces. She did not like those at all. Hardly ever heard her bark. When she did let it out, it reminded me that she was 105 lbs of big golden dog-wolf, not to be messed with lightly. Miss her. Lost her in March. Shakey turns 8 in December, I think a hamburger cake is in order.

my dog coming in from a dawn swim in Georgian Bay

Originally uploaded by canuckshutterer.

The beginning of the wind found the surface of the bay
touched it, touched my face. At the end of the day
sharing the shore with two crows and an old hound mix.

I knew that dog, white and tan, a grinning dog.
All spring and into summer, she walked down the road
carrying her growing litter of pups.

She’d stop under our steps in the shaded, cool sand
roll and snort and kick, take an hour’s sleep
and then turn down the road and walk her way back to the village.

The crows’ feathers shone like oil, like ink.
They hopped a bit then flew to the roof
to study the local opportunities.

- William J. Gibson – copyright 2006

old pals

Originally uploaded by canuckshutterer.

the late, great Diamond dog swimming in Georgian Bay

Originally uploaded by canuckshutterer.

miss her a lot….even more now that we lost her old pal the cat, Sundance, two days ago.