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Step 1: Sprout Step 2: Bathe in light Step 3: Be obnoxious @ Cité de / City of Clarence-Rockland

Isaac likes to keep my spot warm. Hashtag Wholesome Hashtag Pupper Hashtag ILoveThisGuy Hashtag IAmGoodAtInstagraming Hashtag LoveWins Hashtag MixedBreedRescue Hashtag Bed Hashtag Lamp Hashtag Comforter Hashtag AmazonEcho Hashtag Closet Hashtag BackScratcher Hashtag TissueBox Hashtag MartingaleCollar Hashtag IsThisHowYouGetNoticedAndGrowAFanbase Hashtag JustDoingThisNonsenseToMakeYouSmile Hashtag YoureWelcome

Self-care Sunday seemed like the perfect time to suspend my hammock in the backyard. Success! I did have to braid some 550 cord to extend the reach of the straps (my trees are thick and far apart) but that's alright. The test run is going well; the strong, chilly breeze is pleasant and offsets the strong sun bearing down on the canvas. I'd lay in here a bit longer if I didn't have other tasks to complete this afternoon. Shucks!... Oh, and I'm kinda regretting getting a double hammock because of all this extra fabric on both sides but I hope it will at least prove to be comfortable with two occupants. As things stand, I can position myself in a way to leave a crack for fresh air while blocking the sun from striking my face so I guess this is alright... More testing required.

I checked for sprouts when I got up this morning and found nothing poking out of the soil here... And yet, here are two tiny lil' sprouts! Exciting! Also, if anyone is concerned, I am aware that tomatoes are part of the nightshade family and, as such, are hazardous to dogs if eaten. I will be relocating the tomato seedlings outside my dogs' once they become big enough to be a concern and my garden will be fenced this year to keep my dogs safe. And to protect the plants from Chloé because she tends to tear plants to pieces and/or dig them out.

These are some of the things that are bringing me joy and satisfaction these days. I share! I found pepper seeds (from store-bought bell peppers) germinating in one of my compost bins and decided to put them in a pot to see what would happen. Life happened! As for the planter, that's "pet grass" I decided to grow indoor in the hopes that it'll satisfy Isaac's need to graze because I find it a bit annoying when he insists on interrupting our walks to eat roadside grass. If our... backyard grass isn't good enough for his refined palate, I thought perhaps this would be. Time will tell. Also, I built a proper wooden platform for the planters sitting by my other reading room window but those haven't sprouted yet (minus adorable snow pea seedlings!) so no pics for now... But it's quite promising! The growth medium I'm using is a mix of potting soil and homemade compost; I'll share the nature and means of production of the latter in a future post as I think it will be pretty interesting to some. And gross to others. But it's not gross, I promise.

Today I post potent compost to grow plenty of plants to transplant with the purpose of producing produce and a place for my pups to pee. Just kidding about that last part; I intend to fence-in the garden to keep urine and digging at bay.

Life in the country comes with some challenges but also a lot of cool moments. In this case, I had just spent a few minutes in the backyard petting Chloé and as we were about to step back into the house, a lone howl broke the silence. Soon after, other members of the pack joined in and we were treated to this strange (to me) mix of cries and yelps and whatnot. Now Chloé won't come in, her focus is toward her wild cousins in the woods. I'll allow it.

Isaac's reaction to animal sounds on TV is really cute but I wish he could better understand as I know he desperately wants to interact with all these creatures. In this case, it was a scene from "Parks and Recreation" set in an improvised outdoor animal shelter with lots of dogs and other creatures.

I just received my latest order from the CCFR and I couldn't be happier with my stuff, especially the limited-edition $20 "thin blue line" patch for which "100% of the price (not just the profit) will be donated to the One by One movement. They are a crime reduction not-for-profit operating out of Toronto, Ontario." (As per the CCFR store page) It's nice knowing that law-abiding, licensed firearms owners are trying to help address some of the causes of crimes and violence while we're constantly on the receiving end of vile accusations from anti-gun organisations and an ill-conceived OIC from the current Liberal government which does nothing to address actual issues.

With all the snow we'ce gotten recently, I've learned to appreciate my snowshoes so much more... And my pups like them too because my snowshoes are perfect for making them trails through the deep snow! @ Cité de / City of Clarence-Rockland

My sweet dogs practicing "leave it" then enjoying homemade sweet potato treats! Dogs are a goodness. @ Cité de / City of Clarence-Rockland

"You say goodbye, I say [see picture]." A thing I did with my snowshoes while my dogs were busy digging in the snow, having a grand ol' time! I find such things amusing.

After spending about six and a half hours yesterday, almost all of it snowblowing and shoveling my property (including the roof of my house), I promised myself that today would be restful. And it was, upon waking up this morning and looking at the landscape the massive snow dump had given us (pics 3 & 4)... ...but then I remembered that I had never actually used my snowshoes in deep snow so after breakfast, I slipped them on and off we went, me Isaac, and Chloé, for an advent...ure in the woods! I don't have any pics of said adventure because I was trying to take in the sights and sounds... and keep up with Isaac (high prey drive, loves wild rodents) but damn was it beautiful and peaceful in there... Minus the whole me chasing Isaac part. And now my dogs are playing in the backyard (first two pics). Oh! And it was cute having Isaac actually follow me, for once, because he found it so much easier to walk in my snowshoe tracks than making his way through the deep snow of the field. @ Cité de / City of Clarence-Rockland