Winter Brings Pine Grosbeaks

 There have been a few female Pine Grosbeaks for a week, but today the beautiful red male ones arrived.  Always so pretty against the white snow.

 Female on the left, and male on the right; under a sunflower seed feeder.

The chickadees or bluejays knock out some seed on the ground and I have areas I distribute the seed also.  The evening and pine grosbeaks are mainly ground feeders.  They didn't stay long, but I'm sure will be back!

We Have Snow!

Although it's 'pretty' I certainly wish we didn't have it beginning to come all at once!  I do NOT want to lose all our walking trails like we did last winter.

This is Kira in the above picture.

 Taken in the front field looking east to the vacant property next door with the ancient barn in the background.  Calling for 'some' snow every day this week!

 Kira again.  All the dogs just love the snow; I don't think we've ever had a dog that did not.  They often barge out, dive in and roll.

 Coming back from the field and walking up the driveway.  I'd be happy if we had only this much most of the winter.  We are drifted in quite often and don't even want to think about that yet!

Tank, Trust and Blast running along a path nearing the end of a walk.  As I said, they just love the snow.  It's around -8 degrees Celsius today, but had some sun and little wind, so was quite comfortable on our walks.

Blasts' Track Nov. 20th

 I didn't get the start on veg. for this track, it was short and off we went on gravel.  Above, Blast just took his first turn.

 We had a good stretch on the gravel surface, along with a small area of asphalt.  This was his first track since getting his UTDX and TCh title, almost 4 wks. ago.  So now we can do more or less what we want, not really training tracks.

 I do like to 'play around' with tracks, this one was aged only an hour, there had been a lady and dog playing in this area when I first drove up.  I put in short legs and various scent distractions, and just see what he does.

 Another nice turn, just before the drainage rocks after passing a pile of deer poop...he took no notice.

 Just came off the grass onto a driveway with the turn in the centre.  I left a piece of food about 4' past the corner on this turn which he is just going to.

 Another right turn coming up ahead and we will go under a covered, but open area.

 Dead on this corner, conditions were very favorable, damp and not aged long, and no doubt enthused after not tracking for a while.

 This is a skating rink - on the right - in winter and it has been totally "roofed over".  It is an interesting place for scent in here, depending on conditions, it can move all over, or be held down.  Next turn is down past this spot, outside the structure, but before the building.

 He actually spent some time here circling and checking every direction before making the turn.  There were three choices, all different veg. and non. veg.

 Reaching the end, down a little hill, he's headed to his reward.  I have to admit, I had no articles!!!  I forgot I had cleaned all my tracking gear out of my van, can't believe that.  So all I had were the gloves I wear and wasn't going to part with, and two cans of sardines...so that was his only article, at the end.

Before I reached him, he had ripped off the plastic covering on the can, tried licking it, but couldn't open the can, luckily.  I got it and he was quite delighted to have his sardines!
This was just a fun track, I've missed going out and with weather still holding off winter, just had to do it today.  What's too bad, is I also did a track with Tank in another location, and he did very well, but I forgot the camera when I put him on it.  Same thing, no articles, just sardines at the end.  His was 2 hr. old and hard surface was paved parking lot.  I think both were happy to have the sardines, and certainly didn't care about missing other articles!!!  Was so nice to get them both out again.  Would be lovely if winter held off, but sounds like snow next week...

The Crew out on Walks

Kira owns the new hard as a rock black ball!

Tank, Trust and Kira taking a momentary 'rest'.  Trust does her best to keep Kira in line, while Kira just ignores all the body language and signals and just wiggles everyone around her 'finger'.

Blast takes full possession of the orange ball, and no-one is going to get it from him. 

Kiras' Belated Birthday Photos

Nothing better than racing after balls any day at all, full speed, all out.  One bounce (as above) and she's got it!

Just landing, with blue ball in mouth, Kira was two years old - so hard to believe - on Nov. 4th.

And, of course, the birthday hat shot.  This was a quick celebration, just Kira and I with a marrow bone and candles instead of our 'normal' carrot muffins.  Kira was not overly thrilled to be wearing her birthday hat, and after several tries at a good photo, this was my last attempt, eyes closed would have to suffice!!!!

Blasts' UTDX &TCh - 3 more pics.

We are heading out onto the paved driveway alongside the park area in this picture having completed about 2/3 of the track.  There are three turns coming up in the parking lot, one article, and then the final leg to the glove at the end.

I think my tracklayer, Pamela Burns, was as happy as I was when we reached the glove!

A bit of play with Blast, while I try to "protect" the glove so it isn't shredded!  His aim is to rip the glove apart after he reaches it.  This glove is a KEEPER!  He's a happy boy, I just love him to bits.
Thank you Susan Skolnick for taking these pictures of us on the track on Sunday!!!

Tracking Champion Blast - new title - Oct.21/12

I am so very proud of Blast.  Yesterday, October 21st, he earned his UTDX (Urban Tracking Dog Excellent) title at Cross Crountry Tracking Clubs' Urban Test in Whitby/Oshawa.  Judge Marie Babin is presenting us with his rosette in the above picture.
Blast earned his TD in fall of 2010, in Sudbury, judge Sharon Smith.  This year, in April, he earned his UTD in Whitby, judge Jack Wilhelm; his TDX in Sept. at Powassan, judge Laura Mackay; and the UTDX yesterday.  Earning all four levels  of CKC tracking titles now makes Blast a Champion Tracking Dog.  He is just three years of age.  What a great dog he is.
TCh Carmspack Blast was bred by Carmen Duggan, (Carmspack), Whitby...just as TCh Carmspack Trust RN CD was.  Determined, willing working dogs. Thank you to Carmen for these two special dogs, and going back to my wonderful Spook, as well, who was from Kilo.  Spook had her TDX, which was before urban tracking came into play.  However, Spook did, what we would now consider, urban tracks in a couple of demonstrations many years ago.  They were in very well aged, high traffic areas, and I remember wondering how in the heck she was able to do this, and so well, back then.
Yesterday, Blast began our track on newly mowed grass, with very windy conditions from our right, and the line was winging out to the left in a convex curve.  Blast had a good start, but with the wind, was going slightly out to left and back onto the track as he worked along it.  The first leg was the longest leg, and made a left turn after brushing through some trees.  Shortly after, he found his first article (cloth).  We had another right turn coming up, then a left, and this area had some little rolling hilly areas with a mucky ditch running through.  He had to work very hard in this area.  I found out later, there had been about 50 Canada Geese down in there when the track was laid.  Surprisingly, I didn't notice the 'poop', I was concentrating on his body.
The wind swirled around in this area, but I was surprised he was having as much difficulty in there as he seemed to be.  He worked very hard and eventually got back to the track, down another hill and across a paved driveway opening into a parking lot.  I remember feeling a little relieved at this point.  Blast is normally excellent on hard surface.  So we had the strong wind at our backs now, and were working down alongside a building to our left.  He "looked" up a couple of times to the right, but didn't make any real attempt to turn.  I remember seeing a Timmies' cup, upright, out in the parking lot, wondering how come it wasn't blowing off, and thought perhaps this had caught his attention.  But...he was moving ahead.  Then he began to turn and circle back towards that area.  He passed the cup, and then I thought (maybe) I saw what he was headed to....a wood article on the centre of crisscrossing yellow parking lines.  Could it be?  It was!  Such a good boy.  However, this meant we had gone past it, off the actual track with the wind, with him coming "back" to it.  I was a bit confounded at that point.  (Blast has always been terrific at 'finding' items that have been lost for ages or buried under snow in winter.)  I believe his earlier "looking up" that way indicated he picked up on 'something' but had continued to carry on.  So, he then had to work the direction from there again, went ahead a little, climbing a knoll which overlooked a busy road.  On the other side of the road was the gallery!  These people staring over at us required being barked at!!!  Gave me more heart failure at this point, as I verbally encouraged he get back to the job at hand.  With the occasional backward glance at this group, he continued on the grass section, right of the actual track, through a bushy spot at the corner, a turn, and headed back to the track on the pavement.  At this point, he returned to his normal Blast hard surface work, and took off down the final leg to his last article, a leather glove.  I knew when he hit that leg again on the pavement, he had it nailed.  Apparently, I was running behind him, although I don't remember...What a thrill.  He did it!  I have to say, he put a good scare in me, he worked so hard and usually is very quick on his training tracks.  I knew he was getting concerned a couple of times out there, but he never gave up.  When he reached his glove, he was determined to rip it apart (he does this when it's a glove) so I had to rescue it quickly, he had only taken a small piece off it, as it was our 'keepsake'.
Thank you to our judge, Marie Babin, our tracklayer, Pamela Burns, and everyone at the club and other spectators cheering us on.  It was really great to see old friends and meet new ones yesterday.  Our track had seven legs, six turns, and three of those corners were on the hard surface!
Getting up at 2:45 a.m. and the 4 hr. drive each way was worth it!  Tascha who is our biggest supporter and supplier of all the bad food we eat on these trips was much appreciated by Blast as well as me.