Interesting Things!
Here’s a few interesting things, starting with beavers…

Beavers have been reintroduced to Scotland. Beavers had been extinct in Britain for about 400 years. The species was hunted to extinction there. In 2009 11 beavers were introduced to a ‘dead’ river in Scotland. And they flourished and so did the river, the plants and animals which live in and along it, and more. Yes! Beavers have been, and are, being reintroduced to other places in Britain as well, which is a good thing, I think.

Ring Cam Doggie Rescue???

A couple of days ago Lee Camp wrote an article called ‘A Super Bowl Ad Accidentally Showed The Horrific Future of America’ for his substack. I didn’t watch the Super Bowl, even though it featured the Seattle Seahawks and was close to my old home town (Los Gatos, CA), and very close to where I went to college as an undergraduate (University of Santa Clara). So, I never saw this ad. But after reading this article, I’m determined, I am NEVER going to see this ad. And I’m not getting a Ring Camera. And I’ll find my dog, if he gets lost, the old fashioned way, by going out there and searching for him and calling for him and getting neighbors to help…

One of the old fashioned ways of finding your dog – calling it, being outside with it, walking with it… So darned old fashioned! From image.freepik.com

A Couple of Memories
It's been a hard couple of weeks for me. My mother has finally stepped up to reality, such as it is, and I have become the co-guardian and co-conservator for my severely autistic sister. Last week we did a bunch of financial stuff, and I'm now my sister's trustee and in charge of the savings account (someday her inheritance) which holds the funds that we hope will pay for my sister's housing and care in the future. Tuesday we saw a counselor about finding a new home for my sister. She's lived with my parents all her life, but my Dad has died and, sadly, Mom is getting close to that too. Anyway, all of that has brought up a lot memories of sis', some of them fun and some not so fun (ever had your sister break the windshield on your first car, about two weeks after getting it, when she aggressively hit her head against it when frustrated? (there is a reason she now always sits in the back seat of whatever vehicle she is in)), and those brought up other memories.

Not my sister, but Mozzie, MY first dog - fuzzy, soft, pointy ears, curly tail, loud voice - closely related to Finnish Spitz (he's a Samoyed). Yep, my kinda dog! He was rejected by his first owners, even though they named him Mozart, because he was too loud. He was adopted by me when I was about 14 and became my beloved Mozzie.

Nothing Much:

I've not got much for this open thread, so I'm posting a pic of one of my lovely goats, Poppy, and a video about amazing things dogs do. And opening the thread! Post whatever you want, whatever is up. And have some fun thinking about goats and dogs .

Poppy, Poppy:
She's got one of her sons still with us, Harold. She is a very, very smart goat, and learned to come get some milk from me when I was feeding her best friend, Lily, whose mother couldn't feed her. Poppy got the last of the bottle and loved it. She and Harold, her son, are very close even as she approaches 7.5 years old (faint).

Poppy, giving me the look that means she's ready to be milked!

Joy and Sorrow

Joy - Meet Nikko!
It's been a busy week, full of really good stuff, and really sad stuff. Last Saturday we drove a few hours down south and picked up our new puppy. Yes, we have a new puppy, one that was born in late March. Just couldn't be without a dog! So I found a Finnish Spitz breeder that was recommended by Jaska's breeder (now retired) and got on the list for a newly born puppy. Hubby drove us home, I held the new puppy the whole way. We both, puppy and I, loved it, stopped for a couple of potty walks, took the back way home (way less traffic) and played, nuzzled, cuddled, chewed, and slept the whole way (after he quickly got over his anxiety about leaving his former pack).

His first day home. Yes, that's a sock he has!

By the time we got home, I'd decided on his name, picking the one he responded to best. He is Nikko (Nee-ko) which is the Finnish version of Nico. And yes, he's a Finnish Spitz, like Jaska was.

Sadness, Grief and Movin On

This is going to be a brief OT. Please post whatever you feel like, what you are learning and doing and everything else. I want to read it, even if I'm not much able to do more right now.

My beloved dog, Jaska, passed away a few days ago. She had reached her end after a very quick very steep decline that only took 17 days or so. It was incredibly hard to let her go, and it's, quite frankly, often awful being in the house and on the farm without her. Everything brings up an expectation of interacting with her. I know, because I've been through this before with my much loved dog Reyna - Jaska's distant auntie - that the grief and sadness will fade and lovely memories will dominate. I know that. And I know I'll be getting other puppy or maybe even two, probably sooner rather than later. Still, I want Jaska. And so I'm mostly sad and full of grief right now.

Snow, what snow? I am FLYING!!!!

Dogs: Part II - Wolves and Domestication

A little over a month ago, I posted an OT which was about dogs and some aspects of their domestication. It was called 'Dogs, Dogs, Dogs - Wow' and was Part I of this short series.

Here's Part II. This post is about that same book (Dogs, Past and Present: An Interdisciplinary Perspective). This post covers a very tiny bit of section I of the book on dog genetics and more.

The Wolf's Family Portrait by Rodney L. Honeycutt from Wikipedia