Emily decided to join us on our camping holiday. We drove back into Calgary (1.5 hours) on Wednesday to pick her up and have supper at my brother – Gordon & Dyanne – along with Jessica, Misty and our great-niece Alexsis, Emily, Rhett & Leah. Dyanne prepared a gourmet meal – we’ve come to expect nothing less! (And Dyanne’s desserts are out-of-this-world delicious!) At this meal we talked about big dogs. We talked about Newfoundlanders and Irish Wolf Hounds. I couldn’t really remember what an Irish Wolf Hound looked like … and for your benefit I’ve included this photo I retrieved from the Internet.
On Thursday morning, I’m sitting looking out at the mountains and the lake … having a peaceful breakfast. Imagine my surprise when I see this dog loping along the stoney beach between me and the lake (remember I’m 6-8 feet above the beach). There had been lots of dogs being walked on this beach on the previous days … and every so often a very obedient dog would be allowed off leash. I was watching this dog … who was wearing a very large collar … go loping by. I said to myself, “I think that must be an Irish Wolf Hound.”
Then someone down the way yelled, “Bear!”
Doug jumps up and starts to get excited. “We’ve got food on the table!!!” My mind is still translating, “So…that big collar is a radio collar!” Isn’t it amazing that there’s a bear this close.
Now the photo you see we did take … but this is of a mature bear that we saw along the highway. The grizzly that was near our site was an ‘adolescent’ grizzly and much smaller (but not a cub.)
Emily slept through all the excitement.
Let’s see, we have been campng almost every year in “bear country” for the last 18 years and you mistake a bear for a dog? While Irish wolfhounds are large (up to 200 lbs) it’s a bit of a stretch to confuse the two – I’m just glad it was moving too fast for you to try and to call it over (maybe by offering it some food!) and thinking you were doing a good deed by slowing down some dog running away from its owner.
GREAT response, Doug! By the way, how is “poor Doug” doing now that Kristin is around all the time??
FANTASTIC and BEAUTIFUL PHOTOS Kristin!
Thanks for sharing!!
Kristin: Perhaps it is time to get your eyes tested. Maybe you need glasses for better vision, or carry a laptop computer when you go camping to compare the “wild life” you see, to whatever looks comparable on your computer!! After all, you don’t want to loose Doug because of an error in recognition of what you are looking at.
I had my eyes tested recently and I have had no changes. I have rather unique eyes (which is only to be expected with me) … I use one eye to see distances and one eye to see close up…and they work independently of the other. My optometrist said as he flipped around the dials on the eye machine “You are now going to see double.” I said, “I’m not seeing double.” He said, “Ohhh, of course not! You automatically turned your one eye off!”
Letterman was a repeat last night and it was “Stupid Human Tricks” and there was an Irish Wolfhound on the show. I said “Look, Look! Doug … It’s a bear!”
And one more point …. John – When Doug was reading aloud your comment to me last night, Doug read…”After all, you don’t want to loose poor Doug ….” Then Doug said, “John didn’t really say “poor” Doug but I’m sure he meant to.”
“Poor Kristin”
Yup… poor Kristin all right! Silly girl left Ontario … where she it made!!! And there were no bears or Irish wolf hounds here either.
Hey John …. it’s a wonder Kristin on first glance didn’t mistake an Amish buggy for an UFO or something. Guess she turned one eye off and figured it out all on her own!
I’ve been aware of my “eye” (of course, not “I”) uniqueness for some years. I’m glad I didn’t provide you with that information while I lived down East – the SPSJ broadcast might have had more amunition!
Kristin: I did not say “poor Doug.” But perhaps I should have. But then again, I believe I have ALWAYS stood up for you, Right??
YES! And I believe I’ve always said you are my favourite …
Now, what is Mary going to say??
Oh, so John is your favourite, eh?
What about Jen, and me, and Gerald, and …
How much did he pay you to say that about him??
Poor Doug!
Yeah, Kristin… A few weeks ago you said that I was your favourite!
Now, don’t any of you get your knickers in a knot. What is, is. No need to quarrel over my position of being number 1 favourite. After all it took 5 interns to finally reach the number one spot.
You folks are the delight of my life! … especially John…..who has now named himself my “number 1 favourite”….he couldn’t quite be satified with being my favourite.
Mary – my ability to extend favouritism is bountiful … it includes you too …
Jennifer – you really are my favourite but I had to write all the above comments to keep everybody else happy … they probably won’t read my comments anyway….so our secret is safe.
Doesn’t say much for the FIFTH intern, does it??! Does this mean the rest were smarter?!?! Go keep John as your favourite …. Jen and I will simply sit in the corner and pout … So much for sharing any wine with you, either! Ha!
Now what am I supposed to do??? Do I pout with my mom or be a favourite of Kristin’s???
What a pickle jar you have put yourself, dearest Kristin! Notice no one is commenting (except me, and apparently I am NOT your favourite!) about the beautiful photos you have posted, about your lovely flowerbed/yard pictures, or the new bird feeders — poor Doug!! — or about what a roll you are FINALLY posting stuff …. nope, all we Ontarians want to know is …. why is JOHN-boy your favourite??!?!?!?!!?!?
Mary – Of course you ARE my favourite but I like to spread my “Kristin-lovin” around. I officially state … for the record … “poor Mary” – as for your daughter … I don’t think she’ll need to pout with you now that I’m sure I’m “officially” back in your good books (plus I know she wants to continue raiding your pantry and I don’t want her to risk fresh veggie retribution!)
As for John – how soon you do forget Mary! – it’s John & Liz who adopted my beloved PJ. How can he not be my favourite. Plus, John held me as I cried before my farewell service … because it was tough to say good-bye.
It is so good to be humble. How can I not be that way when I am ONE of Kristin’s favourites. So Mary and Jen, I will consider you to be One of Kristin’s favourites once in a while.
By the way Kristin, PJ is really becoming to feel at home here. She has times when she does not want to be held, but there are other times when she can’t get enough attention. I still can’t believe how I got to be a lover of kittens!!
It’s hard to believe that three months have passed! PJ was that way with me too! Cats! Everything has to be on their terms!!!