Unseasonal #phenology, Winter to the dogs!

Early this morning, the fullish moon cast silvery beams on the frosty grasses the dog tiptoed her way through. Not much air was stirring so the cold wasn't really uncomfortable. I was ready to stand around and enjoy a mellow feeling but the dog hurried me back into the house. She wanted her breakfast.

For most of us, boating season ended long ago. Not for the hardy soul who was canoeing on the open Sunrise River today as it flowed through Carlos Avery Wildlife Management Area North of County Road 36. Since humans are part of nature, our seasonal behavior must fit somewhere in a phenology calendar. Today's sighting of a December canoeist certainly is an indication that global warming is affecting our seasonal patterns.

We didn't take time to grab a photo because we were with the Better Half and one of our dogs who has recently shown even more aberrant behavior than usual. An obedience refresher course seemed in order. We didn't want to be late and had never been to this trainer's before. Much to our pleasant surprise, Franco was mostly on his better behavior. He showed no signs of assertiveness toward any of the other dogs or humans at the class. He pretty much did as he was told, much of the time. At question time, we were told his misbehavior is unusual, but not unheard of for dogs his size and that, as often happens with animals, computers and vehicles, much of the problem is probably attributable to operator error. If you've never been to canine obedience school, we're pleased to inform you that more of the trainer's time and energy is focused on the human animals than on the canines. Seems reasonable to me.

a young Franco contemplating his "forever" home

Photo by J. Harrington

A major observation we made this morning, since we were the one in observation, rather than operator, mode, was that the amount of similarity in dog behavior is really impressive, given the variety of breeds, sizes, etc. we watched in the training facility. Another observation, or, maybe a conclusion from our observations, is that 99.999% of all dogs are con artists. We often figured our dogs train us as much as we try to train them. It's a constant, ongoing contest that our lives would be very much more empty without.

Spending more than three hours in a barely heated barn left us thoroughly chilled but not miserably cold. We wonder if the barn would have been more heated if the weather were more seasonably cold and so the net effect is we would have been less chilled learning how to psych out our four-footed companion. Based on our accumulated experiences in barns over the years, probably not. There are probably fewer heated barns than heated garages in the North Country. We simply didn't dress for the occasion and the duration.

a worried SiSi dreaming of her next meal

Photo by J. Harrington

We're still looking around for additional December phenology details. Maybe tomorrow. Canoes in December is enough of a breakthrough for today. Some other day soon, we'll have to visit Ray Bradbury's Dogs Think That Every Day Is Christmas. It fits the season.

                     Man Dog

By Jim Harrison

I envied the dog lying in the yard

so I did it. But there was a pebble

under my flank so I got up and looked

for the pebble, brushed it away

and lay back down. My dog thus far

overlooked the pebble. I guess it's her thick

Lab fur. With my head downhill the blood gorged

me with ideas. Not good. Got up. Turned around. Now I

see hundreds of infinitesimal ants. I'm on an

ant home. I get up and move five feet.

The dog hasn't moved from her serene place.

Now I'm rather too near a thicket where

I saw a big black snake last week that might decide

to join me. I moved near the actual dog this time

but she got up and went under the porch. She doesn't like

it when I'm acting weird. I'm failing as a dog

when my own kind rejects me, but doing better

than when I envied birds, the creature the least

like us, therefore utterly enviable. To be sure

I cheeped a lot but didn't try to fly.

We humans can take off but are no good at landing.

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