Progress on the trail! My neighbor Jim who is a landscaper needed some work while his car was in the shop. He was the perfect person for this job. Except for some stumps, it is pretty much finished. A little wider at the top than I liked, but meanders through the bamboo and to the stream where he made what he called "the beach" as a place to sit and relax. I still need to remove the rest of the cinder blocks, but that was the old property line and now that we have our survey it can be removed.
The survey is not completed, they are having a hard time finding one pin down by the road, but we at least know where the line is now to let the power company come to put the underground line and clear a driveway. We did find out that it was not the typical 25 feet from the property line, but 50 feet, so the driveway is a problem and we will have to write something in the deed to make it work. We will also need to go back to the zoning office to work on this, but in the meantime, it can be used for Airbnb. I texted Jake to see where he was, we were supposed to start the work inside late October, now it will be late December. Burst my bubble.
Jim marked the way with some pink twine I gave him so we knew the way to walk. Believe it or not, you can actually get way off track in there and not come out the same way you went in.
Perfect timing to have the path done, made it easier for the surveyors to get their equipment down to the stream.
Up at the main house, the garden is still in bloom and the hydrangeas keep on going, just now in deeper tones for fall.
Sheffield Mums in bloom.
The berries that are left that the birds haven't eaten.
And guess who just returned after months of being away!!! A chilly night, so I turned on his heat lamp.
This is the extent to which I decorated for fall. Just waiting to get the Christmas decorations up!
The spooky mantel. Light from IKEA. It's actually an owl, but looks like a ghost when lit.
Welcome TIMBER to our family!! He is not any of the ones we were looking at. One night I looked at my facebook feed, which I never do because I don't like the things I see, but something made me do it, and there he was!! He is a 10 year old CHOWAMUTE (chow and malamute) weighs 65 pounds, more than my 50 pound limit, but is only 3 1/2 hours from us on the other side of North Carolina. I talked at depth with his foster, he is sweet and friendly. I hope he likes Geisha and Geisha likes him.
I went to the church this week and piled up the stuff animals for him. He LOVES to carry them in his mouth, making it much harder to bite Geisha like Kody Kakes did! LOL He is heartworm positive, has Ehrlichia and ear infections, is not neutered, all things we will work on. He gets in the house because no dog with a pink tongue is allowed!! For a 10 year old, he still has some energy. I hope he likes it here. Bob will be getting him on Saturday, and I will post an update! We're excited.
Today at Mindy's goat farm! Rainy days makes it hard to get to the back door! Evidently, goats don't like getting wet.
Goats, goats everywhere and not a drop of milk! End of the milking season. Will have to wait until spring for more milk. Good thing I'm stocked up for winter!
Sadly, Kodiak was not a good fit for Geisha. Too high energy, zoomies all the time to where he would jump and roll her and then one evening for no reason, except we think he wanted to be top dog, he bit her in the forehead, so we had to make the decision to re-home him. Bob drove back to Florida to take Kody to his next home with Jesse and Bella, also an 11 year old female chow, who he also bit, but Jesse is ex Secret Service and trained German Sheps, so Kodiak is in good hands and will be trained.
At my suggestion and since this is where I initially wanted to stay, but it was below Jax where Valerie lived, Bob got to stay and visit St. Augustine, a Colonial Spanish town, which is so beautiful. He dropped Kody off at Jesse's in Pompano Beach, stayed a few hours and then found a room for the night. Walked around and took photos the next day. We definitely will be going back to visit.
Trees covered in Spanish moss.
Flagler University. Can you imagine going to school here?!
Historic District. Bob said there were a LOT of tourists.
Part of the university.
Beautiful homes.
I cried when he left. I get attached quick. He was my Dancing Bear. He would have been a keeper if an only dog, but Geisha is our main priority. At 11 she is slow and super chill, so now the search begins to find the right fit. She really likes having a friend and misses her three other friends that we lost this summer. The house is too empty. Having gone from 7 chows to 1 in six years is a big change.
Kody is the first people friendly chow I have had. We took him to Tractor Supply on Sunday and everyone could pet him, even men. At night he would lay on the sofa, his head on my lap and fall asleep. Having a young chow again was nice, throw a ball, they bring it back, unlike the seniors who look at you like you're crazy. This guy was a husky in a chow suit, though. We never had a young chow with so much energy! Was afraid to think what might happen if he ever met up with our resident bear.
One good thing is Jesse contacts me nearly every day with videos and updates and he is only 40 minutes from Miami where Junior of the rescue is, so we will make sure Kody Kakes is okay!
Kody Zoomies!
This is Cubby. Catrina of Chow Charmer in SC and a friend pulled him from an Atlanta shelter this week. We had hopes he may be a match for Geisha, maybe the shelter got his age wrong, he was listed as two years old, but nope, he may even be one year old and may have more energy than Kodiak. He also was not neutered and harassing her senior chow girl, so we passed on Cubby and he is on his way to an adopter in CT.
Cubby Zoomies!
This is Cotton, a long haired husky in TX. A husky rescue friend Frank Gonzales who I have worked with on husky transports said he would get this 9 year old sweet boy to me, a 14 hour trip!! Bob and I have ALWAYS wanted a husky, but we know our limits and our fencing could never contain a young one. I would temp foster huskies for a rescue in FL sometimes, and I absolutely love them. They are funny and beautiful. They are talkers, which chows are not. We just don't know if we should and are thinking about it. Cotton is pretty chill with other dogs, but he's over our weight limit, but not by much, mostly fur. He is a contender!
Next contender THUNDER! Just pulled by Lisa from a NYC shelter. He's now with Karyn in NJ. He's 10 years old, under 50 pounds and seems pretty chill. Today he goes to vet to discuss neuter. Here he is yesterday getting a bath. Karyn says he's wonderful.
In this photo he reminds us of our Bamboo II.
All cleaned up and blow dried and taking a walk with Asia and doing pretty good! So who do you vote for? A long haired husky or a smooth coat chow? Kind of backwards with the fur, and we never had a smooth coat chow before, huskies usually are the smooth coats. Either one I think will fit, we just have to decide!
Try as I may to sneak out of town for a few days, a rescue got wind of my travels and asked me to take two dogs along with me down to Jacksonville. Both were not a year old and didn't make a peep for the seven hour ride.
Passing fields of cotton in bloom on the way.
The Old Schoolhouse Inn at night on my way back from dinner.
Made it in time for cocktail hour!
I sat at the bar and a group of local ladies were enjoying cocktails and were very friendly, I had someone to talk to while relaxing.
My cocktail was "The Teacher's Aide" and the bar is named the Principal's Office. This was the perfect hotel!
The hallway to my room was lined with old photos of school days past.
After my cocktail I headed out to walk the island and get some dinner. This is the old courthouse. I would have loved to see the inside and maybe even have worked there!
Another historic inn.
Lush gardens.
Sea air.
Bartram traveled. I have visited his home in PA.
Up early the following morning, made it to the beach just in time for sunrise!
A small crowd gathered, a lot of people with cameras to catch the sunrise. People were doing yoga on the beach, others already on their boards in the water.
I wish I had an extra day to sit on the beach, smell the warm salt air, feet in the sand. I need to get to the ocean every once in a while.
Arrived at Val's cute little cottage around 9 am. Had time to stop for a coffee on the way. This is her 1942 bungalow that she, too, has been renovating. Our houses are both from the same era. I have been following her renovation and she has done so much work.
She just laid these stepping stone paths herself! I have to admit I'm impressed. Perfectly laid!! I know how hard that is with the stone paths I have been working on.
This is Valerie with the biggest mask I have ever seen and we both got a laugh, but she is wearing it because it helps her allergies. I have to say, she is the ONLY person I saw in Florida wearing one!
This is my God dog Rolo.
She recently adopted Rolo from George in MS. I have gotten Val many a chow. She was adopting seniors like me, but we both needed a break from doggy hospice and losing them, we both got young ones and now are saying "What were we thinking?!!"
This is my God dog "Zuri" who came from Chap's in Atlanta recently.
This is my God dog "KoKo" who is the last of the oldies at 11, just like my Geisha.
Val rode down with me to Palm Coast to meet Brooke who brought Kodiak up from Miami. He is a sweet loving boy, just hyper as all get out! The terrible twos!!
Brooke and Kodiak, me and Val.
He was such a good boy for the long drive home. I can't wait until his beautiful coat grows in. When Junior at the rescue told me he gave him schnauzer legs and a pom face, I was like NOOOOOO!!! Chows should never be shaved, but he had no choice, his coat was a total mess.
Well, Bob has his chow. He loves men, which is unusual for chows. I came home from errands yesterday and Bob had him loose with Geisha. He has a talent for getting dogs together, whereas I'm nervous about dog fights. If we can get through the terrible twos, I think we'll make it!
