At a seminar today

Guess who I'm spending the day with today. :-)

Learning from Old Dogs

There's some truth in the expression You can't teach an old dog new tricks. The lesser known rest of that is that Old dogs will teach you what they know.

As M&M have settled into their new life with me, I've noticed a few things:

• They know how to behave in a house. No puddles to clean up!
• They are used to being petted and loved.
  
• They don't beg for food, in fact, even if I drop something on the floor, they leave it alone.
• They are very comfortable with being outside. They are happy to plop down in the grass & hang out. I suspect that they were outside during nice weather. Perhaps they had an invisible fence?
  
• They are both leash-trained. No tugging, and they walk along side or slightly behind.
• They don't enter a doorway ahead of me. They wait and then follow. I never knew about this rule until my brother told me that dogs are supposed to enter after humans. Then I saw it on the Dog Whisperer.
• They know not to chew on anything.
• They don't root thru the trash.
• They will, however, drink from the toilet. Eeewww!!!

In addition, they've learned a coupla things from me. I give their vitamins/meds in a glob of cream cheese. I always say, "Oh, boyeeee...." before I give it to them. Now when I say that, they start to drool. Hahaha I also massage them in the evening when I watch TV. Now when I go to the living room and turn the TV on, they go and plop in their beds.

It's interesting to see what patterns of behaviour they have, and what new ones they can adopt. Even if they're old dogs. :-)

YUMmy Pumkins

'tis the season for one of my favourite foods! While I have written about pumpkins before, I've found some new resources and I've tried a couple new things with them, so it warrants a new post.

Pumpkins are so versatile, and I never get tired of them. Which is a good thing because they're kind of BIG, so there's a lot of pumpkin to eat. Last week I was steaming a huge pot of it on the stove, while baking a tray, as well as roasting it with other veggies. They are so nutritious and versatile. (Click here for a ton of recipes). My favourite is pumpkin soup; I puree it and add curry, sea salt & coconut butter (it's what I eat as butter instead of dairy butter). Recently, I added a tin of coconut milk--WOW! Very tasty with a rich, creamy texture. The other new thing I did was add it to my morning smoothie: frozen bananas, pumpkin, hemp seed protein powder, cinammon. AWESOME. And now I'm off to have a pumpkin omelette. Kidding. ;-)

What do YOU get offended by?

Scientists have discovered that bees drink human tears. No kidding. Here's the whole article. I find this fascinating for several reasons. The first being, how did these sciencey-types come up with this idea? They're having a convo after a hard day at the lab, perhaps with beer in hand. "Hey, have you ever wondered if bees drink tears?"

Why yes, Bob. I have. Let's get some crying people together . . . .

So just the idea of it, is pretty funny. But, in addition to reading about the study, is the comments that people have left. They range from v. funny:

You can tell that I'm sad because of the bees in my eyes.

"imbibed tears for 0.5-2.5 min, often singly but occasionally in congregations of 5-7 specimens per eye."

WHO LETS THIS HAPPEN?

to random:

It annoys me that people still used "man" to refer to humans, both women and men.

And then! It becomes a feminist argument about language instead of beer-drinking, I mean, tear-drinking bees. Really; read the comments. And I get it, I really do. We're ignoring an entire gender; my gender specifically. But it's an article about bees. Drinking tears.

Some people are waiting to be offended. You know what's funny? It's easy for me to recognize when other people take things so literally and seriously that they don't have a sense of humour about something. It's funny when it's other people who get their panties in a twist. Until . . .

Someone disses chiropractors. Grrrrr! That's when John will kindly point out that I have a burr in my saddle.

Or a bee in my bonnet. But I'm not sticking around to let it drink my tears. ;-)

P.S. For those of you who will point out the preposition lollygagging at the end of my post title--you know who you are. I am well aware of the rule and remember it everytime I break it. With glee. It's my version of sticking it to the Grammar MAN.

Perspective

This is shot from across my road. From this point on the bridge, it takes 45 minutes to drive to my house. We call the mini-peninsula jutting out, "Overall Beach."

Here it is from the other side of the river at a different angle:

Would you know they were the same place just by the photos? Prolly not.

Here's another view. You can see my driveway up the hill:

Would you know it's the same road?

Things look much clearer from a different perspective. Pulling back to a wider angle helps you to see the road you're heading down. Conversely, walking the road, gives a concrete experience of it. It's all perpective.

Leaf Lesson

Do you think the falling leaf thinks, I wish I were green again and back on the tree? Do you think the tree laments Things would be so much better if only I had all my leaves again? We can learn a lot from trees.

When the wind blows, trees bend. If they're not flexible enough, they break. What's your breaking point? Does it take a big storm, or a slight breeze?

To everything a season. It starts getting cold & trees pull their sap into their roots. Time to sleep. Time to rest. Do you take time to rest or do you drink caffeine to keep pushing yourself?

Trees accept the season they're in.

Trees provide a haven for other creatures. Shade for cows, nuts for the squirrels, and air for us humans. Trees contribute to their environment. Are you a haven for anyone or thing in your life? Do you have a nest that people come to seek comfort?

Trees send their roots down and out as far and wide as they are tall. How about you? How deep do you go? How grounded are you?

Older trees provide shade and protection for the younger saplings. They don't complain about the good old days. How do you interact with the younger generations?

Trees get along with all sorts of other species of plants & animals. Even things like poison ivy have a place in a tree's world. How many different things & people do you allow into your world? Do they have to have the same beliefs, opinions, religion?

Trees let life live through them. They don't deny themselves the light or the nourishment from water and soil. From their roots to the tips of their leaves, every part of them is vibrant with the energy of life.

Trees grow where they're planted. They send their roots down, and their shoots up. They'll grow through a concrete wall. Tony Robbins used to say:

Strong trees do not grow with ease.
The stronger the wind, the stronger the tree.

Of course, we were just talking about trees.

Day of Rest

View from the labyrinth.

Isn't this a spectacular shot of my front yard? I think October has to be one of my favourite months! I love the light in this photo. BEAUTIFUL. Yesterday was gorgeous--even got some laundry out on the line. Today is a soggy day: rain rain rain. Perfect for indoor activities of tea and books!