Father's Day Eve Golf

The girls took dad out for a round of golf on Saturday, the day before Father's Day. Lindsey, Caitlin and Sean had fun fine tuning their golf swings while Mia and Maya were able to check out all the smells. Not many geese around at this time of year so they didn't have the pleasure of chasing them back to the ponds. Dad meantime had some quality time with his girls.

Mia & Maya celebrate their 6th birthday

We had a great celebratory dinner for the doggies' 6th birthday on Friday June 19th. To make it a special day for them they both had a nice bath after their working day at the resort.

Maya went first. She doesn't like getting picked up to get into the tub but once she is in there she is pretty relaxed.

While I was rinsing her off Mia came in to check out how things were going and Maya reached over the edge of the tub to rub noses with Mia. Mia seemed concerned about Maya's plight but before too long Maya was outside shaking off and Mia was in the tub!

Mia was a trooper and before too long I had her wrapped in a towel and ready to hit the deck for a whole lot of shaking.

Both girls look beautiful after their soaping and soaking. They were both smiling ear to ear and dashing around so everyone could see how pretty they were.

The party people had a great BBQ and the girls enjoyed a little chicken and salmon skin treats along with their regular meal. And with such clean coats they had a lovely night pats, belly rubs and ear scratching from everyone. Pretty much doggie heaven.

After a lovely night the tired but happy dogs hit the sack. They actually put themselves to bed long before all their older people siblings finally went to bed.

M&M - Spring around the resort

We have had a busy spring around the resort. Cathie has been painting decks and I seem to be continually mowing lawns.

The dogs are a big help protecting the chickens from the racoons and eagles. They hang around the chicken coop a lot during the day chasing crows away from chicken grub and making their presense felt for the predators.

Our bird houses are now hosting some parents caring for their eggs. We are hoping to see some of the new feathered bug eaters in the near future. And of course the equestrian centre next door has frisky baby horses running around so the dogs have something to bark at.

One of our hens has 5 babies that she is nurturing. Mia and Maya are very curious to get a sniff but mom is not letting them anywhere near them.

I think once the babies are out and about they will be happy to have M&M's protection services.

M&M going hiking up Mt Erskine

Caitlin and Sean took Maya and Mia hiking recently. Mt Erskine on Salt Spring is a lovely climb with some outstanding viewpoints at the top. A local woodworker has created some small 'fairy' doors which he has placed around the roots of some of the larger trees along the trail. It is great for everyone to discover them while they are hiking for the viewpoint. Maya and Mia pose in front of one of the doors and along the trail.

At the summit there are some great views but another feature is the natural dog water dish. A regular local hiker has created a doggie 'water dish' in the rock in memory of his dog. So this hike is very popular with dog lovers.

Caitlin and Sean pose with the hounds at the summit looking out over the ocean and Vancouver Island to the south and west.






This scenic is looking west with Vancouver Island to the left and Salt Spring and Thetis to the right.


Both dogs loved the climb and were very busy checking out all the nooks and crannies along the trail and in the forest. The summit slurp was also a treat.

M&M go shopping

We have had a busy week with our annual visit from a field school of the University of British Columbia department of Earth and Ocean Sciences (geology). They keep us pretty busy while they are here but it is a great time of year to have them visit as we have the space available.

Maya and Mia were in heaven as they had a large number of willing students ready to rub bellies, scratch ears and feed them all sorts of things they shouldn't be eating!

The students and profs all departed today so I finally have time to do an update of the blog.

Living in a rural community like Salt Spring Island has some nice advantages. One of them is that doggies are welcome in many places and often treated with milk bones and ear scratches. Today for example I had to visit the local gas station and while my truck was guzzling more high priced gas the gas jockey was chatting with the dogs.

The milk bone treats were very well received. Mia ate hers and Maya 'buried' hers under her car mat. As Mia was eyeing the hiding place Maya decided she better eat it now or it would probably disappear.

As we continued our errands for the morning we headed to our local laundry shop where we get our bedding sheets and towels for the resort. As usual the hounds were the centre of attention as I loaded in the linens. No treats this time but a chance to snif around the shop and get many more pats from the shop owner.

A little later in the day we took a load of recycling into the shop for the deposit refunds. The lady who manages the shop has a little dog as well so our girls had a good times doing the introductory sniffing dance. I had $12 of empty beer bottles all out of one cottage of geologists. I can only hope that the group in the cottage was able to pass the course. I noticed them in there one evening watching the hockey game (Canucks and Blackhawks) and writing up their report from their 'mapping' effort and sipping on suds. Ah, the student life.

After we emptied the truck of all our recylcing we headed for the hardware store as I had to look at some paint options to paint a bench for a dining nook in one of our cottages. The hardware store is Maya's favourite store and she has quickly introduced Mia to all the features of the 3 floors. Maya often dashes for the customer service counter first hoping to score a treat from whoever is working behind the counter. They scored a great biscuit and accolades for sitting and being very patient while the biscuit bag was found.

As I headed for the paint department the hounds dashed downstairs where the pet department is located. I had to hustle after them to find their snouts in the treat bin which is strategically placed at nose level for dogs. They were very good and came when I sternly told them to 'follow me'.

Of course the paint department was not very interesting and they quickly disappeared and I eventually found them at one of the cashiers getting petted and fed yet another treat.

Once I got what I needed we headed back to the truck and off to do some more work around the resort. When we arrived back at the resort I think the dogs were smiling when they jumped out of the truck.

Maya and Mia send Caitlin birthday wishes

April 25th is Caitlin's 21st birthday. Maya and Mia had a busy morning of walking and sniffing. I took their 'birthday for Caitlin' portrait by the sign with blossoms and the lake in the distance. As they have had a very busy week with long, hot walks and quite a few vigourous runs chasing bunnies or geese we decided they needed to get cleaned up to celebrate Caitlin's birthday.

Maya went first and had a great bath. She doesn't like getting her face wet but she is pretty good with the rest of it. She seems to like the warm water and lots of scrubbing that I do to get into all of her coat with the shampoo and then of course the full rinse. By the time she is finished I am quite damp as well and it takes all of Maya's concentration not to shake until I have her out on the deck.

Mia went next. She is an old pro at this and was very easy to bathe. Her coat isn't as long and thick as Maya's so she seems to get rinsed more quickly. Before you knew it I had two smiling dogs running around and shaking on the deck.

The evening sun was nice and warm and the girls were able to dry off quite quickly. They are pretty funny though as they run around showing everyone how pretty they are.

Happy birthday Caitlin - hope you like the pics of your four legged sisters.

M&M get the news

Dogs are quite amazing with their senses. Their sense of taste is well developed to the point that we are able to train them due to their love of tasty treats. Similarly they hear things that we can't. But as I walk M&M around our roads and trails and golf course I am always amazed by how enthusiastically they sniff at everything.

Frequently when one of them sniff's something interesting out the other is in there in a flash smelling the discovery. Cathie often likes to point out to me that dogs love to go for walks and sniff at things as it is like reading or watching the news for us. As they smell things they are absorbing a whole variety of stories.

So I will often find M&M 'reading' the same story or sometimes one is reading over the shoulder of the other. Of course there are stories on the ground but some stories are in the air. And it is always fun to point out a story to the other.

I can only guess what they learn on the daily strolls

around the island but I have also noticed they are news makers as well. Some other lucky hound will come along and sniff out the story Mia is leaving behind.