Lela's Big Surgery

Under the umbrella of "dog ownership/guardianship," there are two things I hoped to never, ever encounter with my own pups:

1. A torn ACL (knee ligament)
2. Copraphagia (poop eating)

Lucky me, with my current pack I have Joey, who LOVES to consume his frozen turdies, and Lela... who somehow, someway, ripped her ACL and shattered the underlying cartilage this year.

I had noticed for a while that she was hitching her gait a bit, especially when we jogged. I chalked it up to arthritis; after all, my greyhounds had started going lame around 6 or 7. We started glucosamine and it got better. But then things got worse, and after I returned from Iceland we did some x-rays and a "drawer test" to find out that unfortunately it wasn't arthritis so much as a knee ligament.

Ugh.

Surgery was scheduled for mid-October. It was hard. Because Lela has a sensitive stomach and couldn't handle the NSAIDs, we used only a mild Gabapentin during her healing. It was weeks before she tried to even put a LITTLE weight on the leg. We did leash walks, daily massages, and all the prescribed exercises. My poor girl pined when Joey got longer walks and she only got a slow meander around the front yard. But... but... the long haul paid off. Lela can now get on and off furniture, do some light runs in the yard, and barely limps! We still have to hold off on rough-housing and really strenuous stuff, but the main drag is behind us.

She was --IS-- my cutie-patootie trooper. :)

-Jen

Iceland Peeps

Two of the juvenille peeps I saw in Iceland this August/September, up near Husavik and Siglufjorour. I bought a bird guide but still, am not 100% sure. Can anyone help?

Juvenile Black Guillemot?

Juvenile Brunnich's Guillemot? Or could it be a Little Auk?

UPDATE: Thanks to Bird Forum.net members who identified BOTH of these as Black Guillemots! The bottom photo a first winter juvenile, and the top an adult in winter plumage! 💓💓💓

-Jen

Iceland

This fall I took an incredible trip to Iceland with one of my BFFs, Tracy.

This was Trace's dream trip: Renting a camper van and driving the Ring Road, which encircles the country. We took two weeks and had a blast. We went in September, which was right after the heavy tourist season and just when I guess all the great birds leave the island, so that was a disappointment (for me). We did see some puffins, though! And SEALS.

Hiking the Hellnar-Arnastapi coastal trail on the Snaefellsnes Penninsula

Traditional Icelandic farm near Skogar, on the south end of the island.

Herring gulls and juvenile Black-headed gulls.

One of the many curious seals we saw on the Hvamminstrangi Penninsula!

Jokulsarlon glacier- amazing.

Grimsey Island, up on the Arctic Circle.

Trying to photograph puffins in a horrific Atlantic storm, lol...

Common Eider on the North Atlantic.

Charming back streets of Reykjavik, the capital city.

Making breakfast on a rainy morning :)

Hiking Grimsey Island in the North Atlantic.

Myvatn's moon-like geology...

Church in North Iceland...

Common Redshank searching for breakfast in West Iceland.

Glacier climbing in the south. Crampons and hiking axes... luckily we survived with no broken bones or accidentally chopped toes!

Alafoss wool & yarn factory, outside Reykjavik.

What I loved about the trip: We really got to see the whole country (well, except the Westfjords and Central Highlands areas) and experience so much. Since traveling still makes me a bit anxious, renting a camper and driving --stick!-- was a real confidence boost. It was great to spend this kind of time with one of my BFFs and see so much. Both of us agreed that the Northern areas that we explored- Grimsey Island, Hvamminstrangi Penninsula, and Trollaskagi Penninsula- were our favorites. The harbor towns, the ships, the birds, the seals....!

What I didn't like about the trip: I was stupid and under-dressed (50 degrees in Syracuse is a LOT warmer than 50 degrees in Iceland, can I just say that?!?!).  Iceland was EXPENSIVE- we averaged $17 for a gas station lunch of small drink, hot dog and fries- wow. Doing a roadtrip like this meant we just drove, and I found that I didn't really like moving so much, so fast. We never got to stop and really REALLY explore one area beyond a few hours... then, it was back on the road. And another big disappointment was not seeing more animals but I did get to see a young Guillemot, I think, and that's what I'd been pining to see the whole trip. So that was a super +! :)

Overall though, it was a great, fun experience I'll never forget!

Next year I get to pick the trip, and so we will be going to NAMIBIA, in south west Africa. This has always been my #3 country (after Poland and Panama, and I've seen both of them now) and Etosha National Park on my bucket list forever after seeing some photos of the water holes many, many years ago. Squee!

Onwards and upwards,
Jen

Camping at Lewey Lake

Beautiful Saturday afternoon at Lewey Lake.

Our first camping trip of the season was Memorial Day Weekend at Lewey Lake. I like trying new state parks and Lewey was always at the top of my list because of the photos I've seen on the internet. I mean, gorgeous. It didn't disappoint. The lake, the paddling... beautiful. Unfortunately the campground is splintered into 3 different sections divided by a major highway so that was the only real bummer. It didn't stop us from walking constantly (I LOVE walking around campgrounds, ogling over other people's trailers, campers, camp signs, dogs, chairs, meals, set-ups, you name it!) but it meant walking along the highway in the hot sun to get to the other parts of the campground. Meh.

Lela as navigator.

Oh! Right in time for the trip... my new camera arrived! That's a blog post in itself, but I ended up with a Panasonic Lumix FZ80 rather than a Nikon B## or P##. I was able to give it a good try-out and really like it (so far):

Home away from home...

One of the two loons that lived on the lake.

Beautiful Grackle on the river. Love the zoom on the FZ80!

One of the four Mink we saw hunting along the lake shore while kayaking Sunday evening. Lela almost died of excitement (as did I)!!! I saw a Mink last year near Piseco, but didn't have my camera with me. I was so stoked to get a few photos this time!

Another little guy farther south on the lake. Wish my hand was steadier but Lela was trying to jump out of the kayak so it was a one-handed-quick-snap deal. :(

Painted Trilliums all over the place.

Wild Forget-Me-Nots.

Frogs Gone Wild... Yes, I took a photo.

Late afternoon on the lake.

Hiking along inlet between Lewey Lake and Indian Lake.

Joey hoping that by staring at the food, something will levitate magically into his mouth.

 Next trip is to the Catskill Mountains in June. I don't get down there often because the Adironacks are closer, so I really can't wait! Till next time...

-Jen

The LONG Winter

I saw this Bob Ross meme posted on Facebook recently, and it made me laugh. SO TRUE, Bob. So true.

Snow on top of snow on top of snow...

This has been a LONG winter. It started early in November and wants to stick around, apparently. 

We did have a week or two of melting in early February, which turned into mud, which was an okay change of scenery...

...I mean, SOME green at least...

But then it snowed again.

And again.

 

And again.

C'mon spring, we're rooting for you!

-Jen

The Lazarus Camera

 

This summer I had a Super Klutz moment and fell out of my kayak. I was trying to paddle the boat into shore backwards, so I could get out first, then slowly pull it to the bank and swing it around for the dogs to unload after I did. Well, I misjudged the depth of the creek bed and when I stepped out, I fell backwards and under water.

This probably would have been comical if a) my dogs would have stayed put, instead of hearkening the Call of the Wild and making their escape as fast as they could, and b) my beloved Canon SX50 wasn't around my neck to take a solid dunking with me. Sigh.

I was able to catch the dogs when they stopped to sniff some bushes on shore but the camera... Nope. No saving it. It was WET through and through.

I made some half-hearted CPR attempts. Gave it some rest. Opened it up to dry the insides for a few weeks. But really,  all I could think about was what a wonderful excuse this was to buy a NEW CAMERA.

Some people have problems with gambling. Some have problems with porn. My problem? Cameras.

There's no reason for me to spend $$ on a new camera. I have 4 other good, solid, working cameras at home (and that doesn't count my phone or iPad camera). But... oh my gosh. NEW CAMERA.

This summer one of our guides in Panama had a Nikon Coolpix P900 and I've been obsessing about it since. I can't wait to save up the dough. Once get my tax refund, that little sucker is going to be mine.

As if sensing this turn of events, the Canon SX50 Lazarus'ed itself back to life for several months, struggling valiantly to work. I got some great photos and besides the lens getting foggy sometimes from inner humidity, I couldn't see a reason to ditch it. It really did resurrect itself. It was kind of a miracle. I was pondering what to do when it finally, two weeks ago, it stopped connecting with my computer and threw some error messages that were beyond gobbledygook. Then it stopped turning on.

It was gone for good this time. Finally kicked the ol' tin bucket.

It was a great camera. I've dropped it more times than I can count, fell on it, got snow on it and in it, had it trampled by dogs, left it outside a few times, dropped it some more, and it just kept on keeping on. But, as they say, all good things must come to an end sometime.

RIP, my trusty friend. RIP.

-Jen

Bomb Cyclone January

This weekend Meteorologists told us that our region (New England and the Mid-Atlantic) was hit by a "bomb cyclone," which I guess means extra cold temperatures. It did feel rather... February-ish. We had single digits for almost a week in a row, with our average daytime temperature 7.3 degrees Fahrenheit... Apparently this is the coldest start to January on record since 1904! Lucky us!

As most dog owners know... single digits make it tough on paws. Add in the copious amounts of salt sprayed on the roads and sidewalks, and walking becomes impossible. My guys are used to two walks per day, and regular hikes and jogs too so this weather has been tough for them. They've only had brief (and frigid) let-outs in the backyard. Cabin Fever is pretty high. Especially with Lela. You'd think that a young(er) Foxhound would be worse, but she has Ants in her Pants like you wouldn't believe. Poor Lela!*

Last weekend I went to see mi amiga Trace in Buffalo, and cajoled her into taking me to Hyatt's Art Supply downtown. I got a spiral-bound pad of Stonehenge paper, which is like velvet. And so this weekend, after shoveling the driveway and racing to pick up frozen doodies in the backyard before Joey could snarf them, I broke it out and worked on a Bromeliad drawing. It was the perfect tropical remedy to outside Bomb Cyclone temperatures.

Stay warm everyone!

-Jen


*Happy Update: The past couple days it was high 30's, and Lela got her walkies. She's a content girl again! :)