May 4, 2008:

Here we are in sunny Alberta , enjoying one of the nicest days we have had so far. There wasn’t even much wind. We drove up to Olds for a brunch smorg this morning, then tooled around Olds and Didsbury looking for garage sales. We didn’t find any, which didn’t dismay Blaine and me.

To celebrate the nice day, I had a long nap and played stupid games on the computer. I like to stay active.

The farmer across the road to the east has been seeding, then harrowing and packing, his field. Luckily, the wind has been such that none of the dust blew our way. Maybe it wasn’t luck – maybe he chose these days to do the work because the wind was right.

Tuesday was too nice a day to stay inside, so we drove around, looking for a place to stable our motor home. We found one, too, right beside Highway #5 at the McKercher Street overpass. We’ll be able to see our buggy every time we drive past, which is often, but we plan to be in it most of the time this summer. It will be cheaper to store it there for the winter than to drive it out to Grimson’s and back.

On our way home, we stopped at Wilson ’s Greenhouse to check out the spring color. There wasn’t a great deal, though it’s too early for bedding plants – in a couple of weeks there should be lots. Mothers’ Day seems to be when the greenhouses really get into the swing of the season, and it’s all over by early June.

Kathryn has a new correspondent in the Greenwater-Porcupine Plain area in the person of Charlotte Thody. Charlotte is married to Cory Thody, the newest conservation officer, and they live right at the Park. Doreen and I are wondering if we should change the title of this Report to The Greenwater Transplants, or something such. What do you think?

We drove to Sandy’s and Blaine’s place near Carstairs on Thursday. When we got there, we were loudly greeted by ten or a dozen little dogs, all trying vainly to get over the fence. We chatted with them until they lost interest, then went inside and were greeted by four more – two adults and two little ankle-biters. I had to discard my sandals and wear shoes in the house. I hope they get over that before they get a terminal kick to the head. They liked Doreen, though, and soon had her sitting on the floor, playing with them.

Little MoJo, a Yorkie/Havanese cross, is the herd sire among the non-purebreds. Once the pups are born he hasn’t got the slightest interest in them, in fact avoids them completely. However, the ankle-biters’ mother, Tripod (or Sweetie as she is supposed to be called – she has only three legs) was retired as soon as the pups were weaned, and she was given to a good home. As soon as she left, MoJo took over the care of the little guys, playing with them constantly and, occasionally, disciplining them. What a change!

Sandy was talking about her puppies and the homes they go to. She is quite impressed with the thought that goes into buying a pup, what accessories they have to have and what their responsibilities are. A lot of buyers are working couples, and there is a great deal of discussion on how to arrange their working hours and lunch hours so as to be able to look after the pup properly. Sometimes a woman will arrange a few days “pup-ternity” leave when they first take the pup home. Quite an investment, but then, these little guys soon become part of the family. Very gratifying to Sandy and Blaine, knowing their pups are going to homes where people care about them.