Ruby and her new pal Bunny (in the box)
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Why can’t we be friends?
Dining on the Patio
Who Knew?
…or: how to seed a pomegranate
As it happens I had to seed a pomegranate the other day, as Tuffy P wanted to add some of the seeds to some baba ganoush. I didn’t know this trick, but I do now and I know you want to know it to because pomegranates are super-tasty once you have the seeds extracted. I really enjoy the videos on the Food Wishes YouTube channel and I’ve made a number of the dishes Chef John has demonstrated there.
A pup’s life
Ruby at the water dishes
I had Ruby to see Dr. Wong today over at Long Branch Animal Clinic. The excellent vets there look after the health needs of our whole menagerie. Ruby got a shot (and scored some tasty wet food as a distraction), and her general health was checked out. Everything looks good. She’s a healthy girl. I can tell you she has quite a healthy appetite too. She will from from her current 29.4 pounds (at 11 weeks) to over a hundred pounds in her first year. Our vet has recommended a large breed puppy food for now
Ruby knows nothing about anything, except that she has scored a home and some humans who care about her. We’re starting to work on teaching her that the washroom facilities for dogs are outside. It’s going to take a while.
We’re trying to give George plenty of attention. He’s been the start of the show lately, but obviously puppies are scene stealers. The good thing about having the puppy together with George is that she is following his lead – and on leash walks is literally following his footsteps. Hopefully he will help show her what being a good dog around this joint is all about.
Plans for this evening…
- Snow-walk with the dogs
- Fire up the woodstove
- Enjoy some seriously good scotch (thanks Les) and try not to whine more than necessary about the man-cold that walloped me full force
- Nap as required.
First Adventures
We hadn’t exactly planned to get a pup yesterday, but we had planned having friends over for dinner. It was quite an afternoon and evening, dealing with a new pup, making dinner and entertaining. At some point yesterday I realized I had a full blown cold, and by the end of the evening I was pretty much exhausted.
Ruby was unimpressed with the idea of going into her crate last night, and once she was in there and we went off to bed, she showed us all the different whines, grunts, barks and howls in her young repertoire. George, who is not allowed upstairs where there bedrooms are, came up anyway to tell us there was something very wrong. I sent him back downstairs and after 20 minutes or so, Ruby quieted down and everybody was able to sleep.
I awoke at 3:00 AM from a deep sleep, thinking it was morning. I heard some whimpering downstairs so I put on some clothes and took the little one – and George – outside for a pee. After that I hung out with them for 20 minutes, put the pup back in her crate and went back to bed. This time Ruby was quiet, and it was close to 7 this morning before we awoke.
Ruby’s first leash walk
Ruby had her first ever leash walk this morning. George and Tuffy P took the lead with Ruby and I behind. Ruby seemed happy to follow George, but of course she didn’t understand the leash at all. We walked all the way to the bridge by the yacht club and back. Out by the filtration plant though, Ruby declared she was tired and had enough of this walking business.
No more of this walking nonsense
We gave her a little rest and a wee dog cookie, and re-energized, she followed Georgie home. She can’t handle stairs yet, but fortunately we have a ramp up to the back deck which we had built for Memphis when she had her knee surgery, and Ruby can bomb up and down the ramp no problem.
Introducing Ruby
We were going to wait a while before adding another dog to our family….and we weren’t thinking of a pup….but then along came Ruby. She’s an 11 week old Landseer. How could we say no?
Early next week, we’ll take her to our vet for her first check-up there. She’s had initial shots but will need a booster.
We have some house-training to do, and hopefully (like with our other newfs), that won’t be a big deal. At this point, George is pretending Ruby doesn’t exist. Hopefully they will make friends quickly.
Banjo Practice – Big John McNeil
I’ve seen various spellings for Big John’s name, but it’s all the same tune. This tune has been in the repertoire of a lot of a lot of Canadian fiddlers, and has been recorded by the likes of Graham Townsend and the fantastic Calvin Vollrath, who sometimes plays it with the St. Anne’s Reel. Banjo freaks will also want to check out Walt Koken’s great version of the tune on his most excellent Banjonique recording. Some people suggest Big John McNeil is a Canadian tune – although I’ve been told in no uncertain terms it actually came over from Scotland.
Here’s me, giving it a go in the key of A on my Dogwood banjo.
Le Soleil est Levé
Here’s a taste of Cedric Watson on button accordion….
Stamp out ads on transit art
CBC reported this morning that the Toronto Transit Commission has been putting ads up on top of an abstract mural called Sliding Pi, by artist Arlene Stamp. Spokesperson Brad Ross confirmed they’ve been doing it for years, and the artist apparently doesn’t have much of a problem with the ad on her mural. It only made the news because a commuter complained.
The TTC has plenty of space for ads. They commissioned the mural and now they should respect it and not deface it with advertising. If they want to use the space for ads, they need to remove the mural first. It doesn’t matter how little regard they might have for the work they commissioned. The art should be respected.
CBC quoted Ross: “There are certain pieces of art that we couldn’t or wouldn’t cover but there are others that are more conducive to allowing for it temporarily.” I would like to know their criteria because this practice unacceptable. Why do they think it’s reasonable to cover some art with ads but not other art? That’s absurd.
Here’s an alternate suggestion: sell ad space on sandwich signs to be worn by TTC CEO Andy Byford and spokesperson Brad Ross wherever they go.
This reminds of of the time I played in a Go tournament many years ago. The tournament was organized in rounds and after each round, the results were posted along with the new pairings. The organizer of the event posted the results by pinning them to a huge painting hanging on the wall by Montreal artist Guido Molinari. He didn’t realize the striped canvases were art. I said, excuse me but do you realize you’ve posted the results on a valuable painting by one of the best known artists in the country? He looked at me like I just flew in from another galaxy, looked at the painting, looked at me again, then silently took the pins out of the painting.
27th Street 