Doing The Hour

We did the Earth Hour last night. At 7:55, I started shutting down, and dutifully notified everyone that it was the official 5 Minute Warning, then I flipped the switch. There was no power to be had.

I must say, it was very enjoyable. Candles were lit, adding a nice ambiance, although that part was a little lost on Larry, but whever. I enjoyed it. I think Steph enjoyed it too. We had a wonderful meal and dessert, and enjoyed each other's company for 1-1/2 hours! It was nice to have some family time and some good conversation. We also noticed a number of houses lit by the glow of candles, or were dark, so they were presumably participating.

And apparently, Canada proved itself to be the world leader in the Earth Hour... and on a hockey night too (it probably helped that the Leafs sucked so bad!) You can read more here.

Why bother? Here are my reasons:

Make our opinions known - speak out. If we speak out by participating in this small gesture, the more the politicians might notice, and actually do something. The decision makers will know how many of us care, by knowing how many of us registered to participate. These numbers are backed up by the drop in hydro usage. It is a statement of "show me the money", and we did. So now we can say, we are ready to do something, what are you going to do about it.

I believe that we have become energy addicts. We drive everywhere, flip on lights, turn on TVs and computers without thinking, and then just walk away. There is no such thing as darkness anymore. Everything glows. Even our power bars glow, and this just eats away at our precious resources. So we can start breaking these habits, and that starts at home. Who knows where it can go from there.

This video explains why I think we need to do something... to make that statement. It explains why I think we need to make a difference in our world. Consider making the Earth Hour part of the everyday changes of your own lives.

Contributed by Jamie Naessens

Dogs in the 'Hood

The Dog Walkers are finally out. Another Sure Sign of Spring. Larry goes out every morning, early. Apparently that's not a favourite walking time for Dog Walkers in the winter. But he informed me today that they're back, and out and about. A good and sure sign of Spring.

Even through the winter, though, there are dogs on the inside wanting out. Dogs in the neighbourhood:

• Ellie and Storm - Storm is the older quiet Lady of the 'Hood. Sometimes though, a little crabby attitude seems necessary. Her newest family member, Ellie, is a very young, adventurous, but very sweet doberman. I think Storm demands that Ellie is just so.
• Ivan and Igor - Ivan and Igor are always yelled at by their owner, in a heavy Russian accent, "IVAN... IGOR..." (I must say, not the first names that come to mind for Miniature Schnauzers). They always ignore him... as if to say, "Yes, those are our names... whatever". But Keeta would like to show them "what for" with much bravado
• Jack and Jerk - First off, Jerk isn't Jerk's real name, but it sounds so good. Her name is actually Jinx, and is the willing companion to Jack. Jack is a little terrier with a nasty disposition. We met Jack first when he attacked one of our previous guide dogs, Dylan, who had to go work for someone else because of the attack. Keeta feels that she had to defend Dylan, and has forever since, REALLY hates Jack.
• Albert - Albert's owner walks through the green space behind our house every Sunday morning. We hear, "Albert ... Albert ... Albert". Apparently either Albert is deaf, or at least conveniently deaf. Keeta gives Albert a piece of her mind every time he goes by.
• Car Starter Dog - His bark sounds just like a car starter gone bad. Keeta doesn't really have much of an opinion about Car Starter Dog. We just think his bark is too funny.
• Yard Dog - She's the big Rotty who is always in the backyard, I think really wants to play, but can't get out, and has a big scary bark. Keeta doesn't concern herself much with Yard Dog. Yard Dog is just always been there.
• Window Dog - Actually, Window Dog has now moved away, but we loved Window Dog. She was always inside, and lived a couple of houses away from Yard Dog. Yard Dog would alert her that a "Dog Is Coming", and she would wait for us, and then run from one window to the next, and back again, thumping against the wall and glass, just trying to ... well... I don't know what, but she was very excited.

And today there was Fella. Larry and Keeta met up with Fella, a new dog to the neighbourhood roster of dogs. This is the story as described by Larry:

One who made me laugh is a little guy named Fella. Like Penny, Fella likes to bark bark bark at the top of his little lungs whenever he sees another dog. What really made me laugh though is Fella's mummy, a lady who sounded as though she left her younger years behind sometime back. With every bark, Fella's mummy responded by speaking his name with ever-increasing alarm.

So we heard: Fella, Fella. Fella? Fella! FELLA! With every utterance of his name sound, Fella barked louder and with more enthusiasm as though to say, "I know what you want and I'm barking just as loud loud loud as I can!"

By the way, Keeta ignored him as not worthy of even a second glance.

And now you know the Dogs in the 'Hood. I expect we'll have more Dogs in the 'Hood stories as the Spring and Summer comes upon us.

Contributed by Jamie Naessens

Another Sure Sign of Spring

Today I am going to share a dog story with you. It also contains some very good advice.

In my post of a couple of days ago, I shared the Sure Signs of Spring that I've noticed. And today, I noticed another Sure Sign of Spring, which is the de-stink-tive aroma of skunk in the air.

As preface to this story, all I can say is, thank goodness Keeta has only downed dead squirrel (to my horror and disgust, by the way). Anyway, I'm happy to report that she has never tried dead skunk, and I hope to keep it that way.

NT sent this article to me today, and I knew that this would be the perfect place to share it. It appeared recently in the Manitoulin Recorder, a small community paper from the Manitoulin Island. I don't know who wrote it, but perhaps if NT still has the article, he could share, or maybe the author chose to be Anonymous*.

Not to change the subject completely, but has anyone ever experienced the joy one gets when their dog eats a dead skunk?

We recently found out just what a truly remarkable event this can be in one's life. We can only assume that the poor dog didn't realize she was eating not only a skunk carcass, but also the intact musk gland.

In the interest of clarity, it should be pointed out that dogs are apparently incapable of digesting musk glands. These noxious nodes seem to make their way through a dog's digestive system until they reach a point where they can begin to function as nature intended.

Unfortunately nature never intended for this function to occur in an enclosed bedroom... repeatedly... all night. If only there was some way we could have captured the essence of the sweet nocturnal emissions that we were treated to, then people could understand the suffering that was ours for a night.

Quick word of advice, never ever let your dogs dine on skunk, or if they do, make sure they sleep in the kids' room for the night.

*I can only imagine that after a night of basking in the musky scent of skunk, the author of that article would certainly be well known around town, and have many offers of tomato juice... and not for the purpose of drinking!

Contributed by Jamie Naessens

Clearing It Up For The Kids Sake

I have learned to tolerate spinach. My mother spent much of my youth thinking of different ways to cook it, after all, it was good for us kids. But as far as I was concerned, it was a dark green lump of mushy stuff, often sitting there on my plate, looking rather lonely. Later, I learned that it didn't have to be cooked, and could be respectable in a spinach salad.

But there apparently is more to the story, that moms need to know.

Everyone knows that spinach is loaded in iron and makes you stronger - Just look what it has done for Popeye's career. Well, Popeye was wrong. So were all of those parents that stuffed it down their kids' throats.

In reality, spinach has no more iron in it than any other vegetable. Even peas have three times more iron than spinach does.

This spinach misconception dates back to the 1950's when a food analyst made an error while calculating the iron in spinach. His decimal place was off by one place, suggesting that spinach had ten times as much iron content than it really did.

So Popeye, you were wrong. Kids, listen up... tell your moms that spinach is definitely overrated, and smoking isn't good for you either.

Contributed by Jamie Naessens