P365 - Day 305 - the best dog in the world (01/11/2011)

Before Sleepydog, there was The Best Dog In The World.

Slabs and I got TBDITW when we were living in Canberra. We both agreed that we wanted a male, and Slabs was very keen on getting a blue heeler, so when we saw an ad in the paper for blue heeler cross pups for $50 we decided to go and have a look.

What appears to have happened in the creation of these adorable little pups is that the ridgeback breeder's Mummy Ridgeback had an unwelcome visit from a local blue heeler x mongrel.

When he heard that some of the pups had got their mum’s ridge, Slabs decided that he wanted one of the ridged pups. There were only two boys with the ridge; one was running round madly in the hot sun, and the other one was tucked up well out of the heat under the guy’s trailer. Obviously he was the smarter one.

He was very cute, and we fell in love with him on the spot and took him home.

We never knew when his birthday was – all we knew was it was in early November, so we decided that we’d celebrate his birthday on Melbourne Cup day every year. 

Today The Best Dog In The World would have been 13.

Unfortunately he didn’t make it to his teens. He was only seven when he was diagnosed with lymphoma, a few months into my pregnancy.

We tried chemotherapy with him and he was okay for a little while, but ultimately we knew that his quality of life just wasn’t there and it wasn’t fair to put him through this for the very brief periods that he was OK. So we made the heartbreaking decision, just two weeks after Juniordwarf’s arrival into our lives, to say goodbye to him.

I don’t want to dwell on that, because it was an incredibly difficult time for us. I want to remember the good times we had with him, because they are precious memories that I will never forget.

Like the way he triumphed at dog training school on the day of the graduation test, after being almost impossible to train for the whole course – he came third, which surprised everyone there, most of all me. 

Our holiday to country Victoria where he came with us in the car because he was part of the family. The way he and Sleepydog used to wrestle, fight and chase each other round the yard. Just like human siblings!

The day a huge kangaroo came into our yard that set the duck off, but TBDITW only bothered to go and check out what was happening when I got up to find out what all the noise was about. The night he came home from the vet after his ‘operation’ and we felt so bad about what we’d done to him we slept on the floor in the lounge room with him. The way he’d got so used to travelling in the car that he hated going on the back of the ute when we got it.

So many fantastic memories of such a wonderful dog.

P365 - Day 281 - two metre tall (8/10/2011)

This weekend is the official opening of Two Metre Tall’s Farm Bar season. 

Yay!

Scenic!

To celebrate, the Farm Bar is open all weekend.

Yay!

Juniordwarf learns self-photography

Lil Sis kindly agreed to drive us, so we all squeezed into her car for the trip. We met up with some friends and had a great afternoon drinking the different ales and ciders. 

Designer of the 'Norfick' shirt, Samedog.

Two Metre Tall has been very busy over the ‘off season’ and there is now an undercover BBQ area for people to cook their ‘beer fed beef’ steaks and sausages that come straight from the farm.

We called the BBQ area the ‘Man Cave’ because, well, there were a lot of men there bonding over the wood fire and discussing tongs. I don’t know, it must be a man thing.

Men doing secret men's business in the Man Cave

Juniordwarf found himself a new friend in Molly the dog, who seemed quite happy for him to chase her around the place (he took this photo).

Molly the dog

It was a beautiful day, perfect for getting some Vitamin D in this part of the world where apparently Vitamin D deficiency is a big issue. Then in true Tassie style, we were treated to a glorious rain storm, which meant we could all cram into the shed and continue our sampling of the ale-y goodness. (Some of us might have drank a few more than others . . . )

Mr Tall, Lil Sis, Juniordwarf, Me & Slabs

Ashley working the bar

Ale-y goodness

Discovery of the day was the ‘new and improved’ Huon Dark Ale, which now has 25 per cent apple juice (from Huon Valley apples), and is a really delicious drink. We also tried the new wild yeast ale, which is a variation on the Forester ale – my favourite. I’ve forgotten what it’s called, but my name for it was ‘Salty Forester’. And Slabs’ new favourite is the Derwent Ale, which now uses spelt instead of wheat.

I love Two Metre Tall’s philosophy of using ingredients that they grow themselves, or source directly from local growers. Having direct links to your food by growing it yourself or, if you can’t do that, then at least knowing where it has come from and what’s in it, is an appealing concept, although for me right now, it’s not something I can do as much as I’d like to right now.

It’s something I’m becoming quite passionate about! But I digress . . .

As you know, kids love rain, and today was no exception. We’d been warned that the ground might be a bit soggy, so we made sure Juniordwarf was kitted out in his gumboots. This proved to be a really good idea, and allowed him to participate in ‘puddling’. His attempt to keep his pants dry was very amusing, but rather futile in the end.

Puddling

Somehow I let him talk me into going for a walk up the hill, which was a Mighty Big Adventure. If I hadn’t turned him back, he might still be walking!

It was a fun afternoon and I’m looking forward to the next time. Thanks Ashley and Jane for a great day out.

P365 - Day 260 - sight-seeing and partying (17/09/2011)

We went shopping this morning, then did a bit of sight-seeing. Or rather, we went to Parliament House. 

Juniordwarf loved the water feature at the front of Parliament House, and insisted on dipping his feet in.

After that, we drove up Mount Ainslie to show Juniordwarf Canberra from above.

In the afternoon we went to Aunty Purple Bee and Uncle Tee’s house for their birthday party and to toast them as they head off overseas to get married. 

Juniordwarf was especially excited because he was going to be allowed to sleep at Aunty Purple Bee’s house instead of coming back to the motel with us.

He's getting a lot more confident dealing with Aunty Purple Bee's dog.

Lil Sis and Mr Tall dropped in during the night too. They’re en route to Tasmania.

P365 - Day 257 - travel-log Day 4 (14/09/2011)

Today was the last day of our road trip, from Tumut to Canberra.

Goodbye Grandma & Grandad

We did the obligatory stop at the Dog on the Tuckerbox (where Juniordwarf, upon learning that we didn’t know the Dog’s name, decided that its name was Charlotte). We’d stopped there the first time we took Juniordwarf to the mainland for a holiday, when he was seven months old, and he’d seen the pictures of us with the Dog, so he was very keen to go back there this time.

The Dog needs a good wash!

Following that, it was a long drive on the Hume Highway, via a last minute fuel stop at Yass. 

We stopped in at Shaw Vineyard at Murrumbateman, which was in a lovely location and had some very nice wines. We had to buy some of course.

Then a quick stop at Hall for lunch, then full steam ahead to Canberra (or more exactly, Queanbeyan) and our motel, before heading over to Juniordwarf’s aunt’s place to meet up with Slabs’ family.

Juniordwarf had a brilliant time playing with his aunt’s dog, who is just the right size for him to run around with, without being knocked over.

Tomorrow it's his birthday, and he's very excited!

P365 - Day 200 - ham?

Juniordwarf and I took Sleepydog for a walk today. It's a habit I'm trying to get us into now he's bigger and I feel more confident he's not going to take off somewhere.

Juniordwarf usually holds my hand on our walk and he narrates where we're going somewhat in the manner of a NavMan. Actually he has the whole route planned in his head before we set out, which he describes to me in great detail:

'We're going to go right into Blah Street, and then right into ABC Road. Right into Lorem Ipsum Street. Left into Tuesday Street. Right into Labradoodle Road . . .' and so on, until we arrive back at our house. (He also does this whenever we go anywhere in the car. It's become something of an obsession.)

Every so often when we're walking, he lets go of my hand and goes to have a look at Sleepydog or to pat her.

Today, when we were almost home, he was looking at the dog, and he said 'Sleepydog's tongue looks like ham!'

He's come out with some funny statements, but this has to be one of the best ones yet.

I took this photo using Hipstamatic. I'm not really fond of it, for two reasons. One, because it's the best of a series of hideous photos of the dog - she isn't good at sitting still and posing, and two, because I don't really like the way the colour turned out (I had to boost the saturation quite a lot because it had a rather bleached effect) - one of the downsides of having to pick your effects before you take the photo. But I will continue with learning more about this app - it's early days yet, and I can't expect every photo to turn out beautifully.

P365 - Day 172 walkies

Juniordwarf came with me again today on Sleepydog’s walk.

After Sunday’s walk I said to him that when he was (a lot!) bigger he’d be able to walk the dog by himself.

I said there would come a day when he didn’t want me any more, and he said ‘I’ll always want you’.

When I was putting Juniordwarf to bed I told Slabs what he'd said, and I told Juniordwarf that when he was bigger he wouldn’t want me around. Juniordwarf replied, ‘I’ll want you every day, when I’m little and big’.

How sweet is that? It brought tears to my eyes.

P365 - Day 132 bandaids

Ever since Juniordwarf began to get fixated on particular things, we've wondered (in jest, of course) if this is an indication of his future career path.

At a very young age he was obsessed with toilets, and everywhere we went he would find the toilet and spend an excessive amount of time looking at it. So we thought maybe he'd be a plumber (which his teacher suggests is still an option, given the number of times during the day she has to remind him to hitch is pants up).

He’s also been very much into hairstyles, leading us to believe that a career as a hairdresser might also be on the cards.

Just recently, things took a different turn. A few days ago, he told me Teddy’s knee was sore and he needed to put a bandaid on it, so I let him have one or two from the cupboard to apply to Teddy’s injuries. I told he we could buy him his own packet of bandaids so if Teddy hurt himself, Juniordwarf would be able to fix him up.

Today I finally remembered to do that. Then we had to take Sleepydog to the vet for her weekly follow-up visit after her surgery. She had her stitches removed today, and Juniordwarf helped the vet count them as she took them out (there were eight, if you wanted to know).

When we got home, Juniordwarf told me that Teddy had hurt himself and he needed a bandaid, so he took his packet and proceeded to stick a bandaid on Teddy.

When I say ‘a bandaid’, I actually mean ‘a packet of bandaids’.

Yes, he used the entire packet of 50 bandaids.

He told me he was Teddy’s vet. Then he tossed Teddy on the couch and said Teddy needed to get some rest. 

So while the care and attention might have been there during the medical procedure, the after-sales service leaves a little to be desired.

P365 - Day 117 empty house

Last time I took Sleepydog to the vet for her checkup, I mentioned that she'd been hobbling a bit for a day or two and then she'd be fine. It never seemed serious, wasn't causing her any discomfort and only ever lasted a couple of days, so I didn't think it needed immediate attention.

It didn't. The vet said it was most likely that her cruciate ligament was tearing a bit, starting to heal and then tearing a bit more. He said Sleepydog would be fine, until the day it tore completely, which was inevitable once the damage had started.

So it was just a waiting game.

It finally happened over the weekend. Yesterday Sleepydog could no longer walk on her injured leg and was hopping round on three legs. It was quite a distressing sight.

Slabs took her to the vet yesterday afternoon and she went in for surgery this morning. We'll pick her up tomorrow, but tonight it's weird having no dog at home.

P365 Day 3 - Paws at Puddleduck (3/1/2011)

Premble: This is a previously unpublished post from Day 3. I was waiting for the recipient of the book to receive it, because of the very very slim chance that she might stumble upon the project and find out about it before the surprise. Now it's all done, I can post in safety.

When my lil sis saw my Wine Dogs book with Bazil (the wine dog from Puddleduck vineyard) Brown’s signature, she thought it would be a great idea to get her sister-in-law's book signed as well.

But she didn’t want her sis-in-law to know about it, so bro-in-law (henceforth known as Mr Tall) undertook a covert mission to obtain the book from her house. Due to some transport (or relative) mix up, he didn’t make it back home in time for the book to be sent back with Mum, who was visiting at the time, so Lil Sis had to send it later.

So now we have the book, we went to Puddleduck today to get the books signed - oh and to taste some wines, did I forget to mention that - and had arranged to meet some friends. 

Bazil is getting on a bit now. He’s 15 years old, and not moving very well.  But he's still up for a book signing. He signed the book, after a little encouragement and some doggie treats, and I filmed the whole thing. 

The idea was to make a video of it for sis-in-law to go with the signed book (and I may have gone a bit overboard with it in the end; it’s now a four-minute feature titled Paws at Puddleduck to the soundtrack of Tommy Emmanuel’s Jacaranda, including the signing, both wine dogs, the puppies and, of course, the ducks. But no wine - something's missing there, I fear.)

Polly, the younger dog, who features with Bazil in Wine Dogs 2, had puppies a few weeks ago and they’re growing up and almost ready to go to their new homes. So that was another reason for us to go there as soon as possible, so we could see the pups before they go. They’re so cute, and juniordwarf and the other kids visiting there just loved them.

And we had a lovely time tasting some very fine Puddleduck wines.

Postscript: I was very sad to learn that Millie, who was the only one of Polly's pups to stay at Puddleduck, passed away today. My thoughts are with Jackie and Darren, their family and Polly.

P365 - Day 74 brushing the dog

While I was brushing Sleepydog this morning, Juniordwarf said he wanted to help.

So he did.

I was thinking today how nice it is that he can, and does, help with some tasks around the house (brushing the dog being an exception).

He's been helping with the washing for a long time now. He puts the clothes in the machine, puts the powder in and presses the start button once I've programmed the machine. Then at the end of the cycle he gets all the clothes out and puts them in the basket.

He used to carry the recycling crate back into the yard after it had been emptied. As of last week, he takes the wheelie bin as well. 

As you saw yesterday, he's started to help out in the kitchen. In fact, whenever I go to cook something, he gets his stepladder out to 'help'. He likes to stir things and tip things in. He also likes to eat the work in progress (what kid doesn't?).

He feeds Sleepydog, and she's even starting to listen to him when he tells her to sit, and then when it's OK to eat. 

And he loves to vacuum. Mainly over and over on the same spot, but still he's getting the hang of it.

The only thing I wish he'd do is to keep his stuff packed away, or at least off the floor where we walk. 

I know people with older kids are going to tell me to enjoy the helpful phase because it won't last forever. That's fine - I'm just hoping his helpful skills will develop a bit more before they start to decline. 

P365 - Day 65 Plenty

Today we completed our tour of wineries we hadn't been to by visiting Kinvarra Estate Wines just outside the small town of Plenty, in the Derwent Valley.

The homestead was built in 1827.

The vineyard has a great view up the Valley. Someone forgot their polarising filter. Again. The middle of the day is not a good time to be taking photos, as will become more apparent later on.

And what would a cellar door be without a wine dog? Meet Bundy.

The Sunday Tasmanian guide (which I quoted yesterday) says:

Sue and David Bevan’s 10ha vineyard with a new cellar door and some simply wonderful old reislings this weekend, wines that show the variety in all its mature, honeyed glory plus a cracker of a mature pinot noir at prices which make it well worth the travel.

Wines: ’00, ’01, ’04 rieslings ($26. $26, $22), ’10 Kate Hill Riesling (trophy and gold $30), ’04 Late Harvest Riesling ($22), ’03 Brut (28) and ’01 Pinot Noir ($24)  

As I said yesterday, I'm not a wine expert. But I was quite amazed by the different rieslings. The 2001 was, as the review says, like honey. It's something I've never tasted in a wine before, and it wasn't at all unpleasant. The Late Harvest Riesling was also a pleasant surprise. I'm not a sweet wine lover, and I tend to run in the opposite direction whenever I see the words 'late harvest' on a label, as these tend to have high levels of residual sugar. But this one had only 10 grams, and it was very dry, for a sweet wine. I would definitely have it again.

I'm also not a Pinot drinker, but this one was nothing like any Pinot I'd had before, and both Slabs and I agreed it was pretty good.

And a big shout out to Slow Food Hobart, whose bus tour of the Derwent Valley Wineries arrived just as we were leaving. It sounds like they had a great day, and they ended up at Two Metre Tall for lunch.

We went to the Salmon Ponds, which is one of Juniordwarf's favourite spots to visit.

After lunch, which included a glass of one of a wine I bought yesterday (so how could I say no - I had to make sure I didn't regret buying it!!), Sauvignon Blanc from Laurel Bank (check out that wine glass!), we went and fed the fish.

There are six ponds with fish including rainbow trout (the most entertaining to feed), brown trout, brook trout, albino trout and salmon. I can't remember the sixth one, sorry! And what you do is buy a container full of fish pellets and throw them into the ponds for the fish to eat. Juniordwarf loves it, now that he's finally got the hang of throwing a few pellets at a time into the pond, rather than dumping them on the bank.

Very large rainbow trout

Albino trout

After you've looked at the fish, there are a couple of other things you can do.

We went for a walk along the 'River Walk' along side the Plenty River. It is a beautiful spot and apparently sometimes you can see platypus in there. I don't think we ever have. Sometimes you can spot fish in there too.

Along the River Walk there is an old fishing shack, called 'The Sanctuary'. According to the sign nearby, it was built in 1947 by Mr William Burrows, Commissioner of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Commission (as it used to be known). The hut is built from packing crates used to bring car chassis over from the mainland. Inside is a display of what the hut might have looked like when it was in use.

Somehow, I think the Cascade stubby is a little incongruous. Juniordwarf is quite fascinated by the hut's outside toilet.

As well as the River Walk, there is the Museum of Trout Fishing, which is an old cottage (built for the first superintendent of the Salmon Ponds in 1865) containing rooms full of fishing memorabilia, including old rods and reels, big fish like this one:

and other stuff, including rooms set up like they might have been in the 19th century. One of the interesting things in there is one of the original packing boxes used to carry salmon eggs from England to Tasmania in 1864.

A small history lesson on the carriage of trout and salmon eggs to Tasmania from England. This information is copied from the signs posted around the hatchery at the Salmon Ponds, and I find it quite fascinating.

The first time they tried to do it, in 1852, they kept the eggs in a tub on a bed of gravel and added fresh water daily. Warm weather and a delayed departure meant that the eggs hatched only a month into the journey and all the fish died.

In 1860 they tried again, this time using ice to cool the water and delay the eggs from hatching. They also rigged up a suspension device for the trough to counter the ship's movement. Unfortunately the ice supply ran out after 59 days, and again, the eggs all died.

There was another unsuccessful attempt in 1862, but they had also packed a box of eggs in moss in the ice trough, and these survived longer than the others. 

In 1864, based on the results of the 1862 attempt and some further experiments, trout and salmon eggs were packed in 'small perforated boxes between layers of moss, charcol and crushed ice and placed in the ship's ice house', which remained closed for the whole journey. Many of them survived the journey to Melbourne. Some were left in Victoria, but most were taken to Tasmania and transported to the Salmon Ponds via Hobart.

91 days after leaving London, the first eggs were put into the water, and on 4 May 1864 the very first trout to swim in the Southern Hemisphere hatched. The first salmon hatched the next day.

So there you have it. It took 12 years to work out how to transport fish eggs from England to Australia.

And there ends the lecture for the day. See you tomorrow.