Rescued dogs are worth it

Do you know how many organizations there are in the Ottawa and eastern Ontario region that rescue and find homes for abandoned, unwanted and homeless dogs?  Twenty-eight.  And each facility lists a sizeable number of dogs, making hundreds of potential best-friends waiting and hoping for a family and a permanent home.

This includes not only city-run facilities like shelters but also independently run rescues, both breed-specific and not.

Many of the dogs who wind up in non-profit, volunteer-run rescues are from far away and have been pulled from shelters where they were days or hours away from being euthanized.  Many of these dogs were picked up as strays and many of them were surrendered by owners who could no longer care for them.  They come in all shapes and sizes, all ages, all temperaments and all stages of obedience.  But they all share one thing:  through no fault of their own, they were born into this world and then they were discarded.

It shocks me how many discarded dogs are looking for homes.  And yet, when looking for a new canine member of the family, so many people still look in the classifieds, online or on bulletin boards to find that ‘perfect’ puppy.   They go to advertised breeders and have in mind a specific type of dog or a specific “look”.  They often don’t research the breed they’re about to share the next ten to fifteen years of their lives with.  They don’t meet the dog’s parents, they don’t sign a contract that promises they will return the dog to the breeder should they not be able to keep it.  They don’t imagine this puppy will end up being riddled with health issues because it was created as a “designer” dog.  They don’t consider whether or not this breeder is reputable, that is, how the breeding parents are vetted (health, temperament, genetic predispositions, etc.), how often the dogs are bred, their reasons for breeding and last, but not least, what kinds of conditions the dogs are living in.

Not all breeders are bad and not all rescues are good.  But all dogs deserve to be given a chance after they’ve been cast aside.

If you’re thinking of adding a dog to your family, please visit the website for Canada’s Guide to Dogs here.  There is a comprehensive list of organizations where rescued dogs may be adopted (the adoption fee takes into consideration the cost of running the rescue), reputable breeders, as well as breed information that will help you decide which kind of dog is for you.

“I was discarded.”

 

When is a pen not simply a pen?

Does the marketing machine ever get you down?  As a reformed retailer, I can tell you it’s all in the packaging *and* marketing.

Well, this is my gift to you.  Read it by clicking here.

But first remember, don’t be drinking anything while reading.

 

Memories of walks past

The stranglehold of winter appears to be loosening.

Pretty soon it will be a memory.

Can sunshine and warm breezes be far away?

I normally walk this trail on the bluff overlooking the river only in the winter months.  Not because it might be more picturesque during these quiet, snow-blanketed months but because of this:

These leafless stalks bearing dried creamy white berries are poison ivy.  The bane of my existence.  Thickets of it line either side of this path and taunt me as I walk through, as I hold my hands in my pockets and stand straight as a soldier as I trek by.

My skin’s reaction to this kind of plant (and all its dastardly relatives) is so acute that even a couple of weeks ago I suffered a flare-up from the latent oils, either still on my hand or a glove, or — who knows what?

I have walked this path for almost twenty years now.

It is now crowded by a new housing development, but the path still skirts the water and descends down to a small sandy beach where Skye can swim and where my first dog, Riley, would wade.

I would pass this giant white pine.

This ancient tree is shrinking from age and it’s limbs that have been weakened by the weight of successive winter snows.

The thick branch that reaches out to the right was once where a racoon lay.  My morning walk took me underneath this tree, as usual, but on this day I looked up.  A motionless racoon lay sleeping, straddling this wooden arm.  It was unaware of us as we walked below.

We returned in the afternoon to see him again.  It wasn’t until then that I realized he was not sleeping.

It was a safe place to die.  His body remained there throughout the early days of autumn, and as the winds chilled, bits of fur wafted down onto the ground below.  Safe from predators and hungry opportunists.

Every day I looked up.

I measured the seasons by how he began to disappear until one day in the spring, all traces of him were gone.

Except in my memory.

 

A Cultivated Garden: summer dreaming in Vancouver

I don’t normally like to do this but I felt as though I needed to breathe again.

That is, show you pictures of ‘God’s country’, aka Vancouver while we are having the winter that won’t quit.

This is my friend Laurel’s home garden in the city.  She studied horticulture with me at Algonquin College what seems like a lifetime ago and is now gardening and designing beautiful garden spaces for lucky homeowners on the west coast.

Oh British Columbia.  The home of millions of varieties of Japanese maple; all of them hardy!

You can always spot a plant-person’s garden.  Look for the subtle leaf associations — how the purple veining on the gorgeous coral bells cultivar mimic the lacy leaves of the filagreed Japanese maple.

The broad puckered hosta leaves being tickled by a hemlock, and the bonus of blooms on a grassy Siberian iris.

The edging rocks and fine gravel path provides not only a relaxing visual foil for the leafy perennials but its texture and colour mimics the silvery pattern on the Japanese painted fern.

Now she told me what this tumbling blue perennial is but I can’t remember; Laurel?  No doubt it is not hardy for us in Ottawa though.  A Veronica, Phlox or even Nepeta would all be a good substitute.  Or if you’re in a shady garden, try Lobelia – but only if it is shielded from the heat of the afternoon sun!

And don’t forget the value of grasses, especially Hakonechloa (Japanese forest grass) for its movement and texture.

If you’re lucky enough to live in Vancouver and need help with your garden, give Laurel a call.  She’ll transform your garden into paradise :c)

Find her at:  www.acultivatedgarden.com

All the photos above were provided courtesy of Laurel Polkosnik.  Thanks Laurel!

 

Who dumped the sugar?

There has been copious amounts of snow lately.

So much that I had to shake my Amur maple to get up our front path.  Because if I hadn’t, this kind of thing would surely happen.

The snow is wet and heavy due to the near zero temperatures.  It is sticking to everything.

And it isn’t stopping for a while yet.  The skies remain grey for miles and miles.

It is slow slogging where foot paths have yet to compress the new snow.

But it is so beautiful I have to keep stopping and taking it all in…

The evergreens are shrouded and weighted down.  Why do I think of this image?

 

By the end of our walk, my jacket is open and my mitts are off.  It looks like winter but it feels like spring.

 

Winter in black & white

There is such stillness in the woods at this time of year.

Although the stream still flows, the edges are crystallized in ice.

And there is always evidence of creatures just having come and gone…

The depression in the snow around this tree trunk reminds us that there is energy in the form of heat emanating from its seemingly life-less form.

Is there anything more solitary than this abandoned chair?

I feel like this contorted weeping mulberry; huddled and twisted in the cold.  I’m ready for spring, thank you.

 

Gardener’s SOS: green therapy

With no evidence at all of anything green outside, I was fondly remembering our trip to Longwood Gardens last summer and the lush tropical displays in their giant greenhouses.

It was particularly these fern plantings that made me fall in love with those plants again and think about ways of showcasing them both in the garden and in the home.

But of course growing ferns in the house during the winter time is a bit of a challenge since our indoor air tends to be so dry.  Placing the pots on pebble trays filled with water so that their bases are raised on the stones and the water around them provides constant humidity is one answer.

Or perhaps incorporating a humidifier around your ferns.  Whatever you do, don’t place them in direct sunlight near a heat source.  This will be too dry and hot for them and you’ll see a lot of browning foliage and crispy bits that will end up littering your floors.

Although this planting is tempting, forget about growing grass inside your house lol!  Unless you don’t mind it being a temporary situation, and you choose to grow cat grass, you’ll need LOTS of light and ventilation.   This is a lovely display that combines citrus plants in a row with identical glazed pots.   They look to be a good age and are probably pruned lovingly on a regular basis to keep their canopies in bounds.

Back in the fern house with ample humidity and filtered light was this beautifully constructed yet ancient display growing pitcher plants (known by the genus Sarracenia).

They are so incredibly beautiful with their elegantly flared cups and red veining.

And then these monster plants with their dangling pitchers; a different genus that makes its home on tree branches in the air rather than on the ground (Nepenthes).

Philodendron, Dieffenbachia, Aglaonema and others all share space along this walkway, showcasing their spotted, chartreuse and purple foliage.

Maranta, Calathea and Spanish moss share space in this sumptuous planting.

Take a deep breath, and smell the plants growing.  Spring will come again.