A while ago

This is one of the grape growers out back pruning his vines as he did most winters for many years. He burned the cuttings in that steel drum contraption. Nobody that I know of burns cuttings any more. The growers line them up between the vine rows and mulch them. Much more ecologically friendly. We used to stop and chat with B. while out on our daily walk. The border collie is our Callie (who died in 2017) and the bigger dog is Max, who spent many a happy day romping around among the vines while her (I think Max was a "she") master worked. I took the photo on or around Thanksgiving 2011 out near the piney woods. Max is long departed and the grower has since retired.

Max and Callie got along very well. The piney woods are just outside the photo to the right. That's their shadow on the ground.

Ken's heading out this morning to gather provisions for our Thanksgiving 2025 lunch. Tasha and I will guard the house. 

Callie à la plage

It's nice to see Callie as a pup. She's just over a year old in these photos. She died young at ten years and we miss her. She was a touch neurotic and hated riding in the car. Still, she was a lovable dog.

Callie the red border collie at the beach in Oléron, May 2008.

We enjoyed a sunny Sunday yesterday, but it stayed cold all day. We made crêpes for lunch as is the tradition in France for la chandeleur. They were the buckwheat variety stuffed with ham, cheese, and mushrooms. They were tasty and quite filling. I took photos, but I haven't looked at them yet.

Enough walking the dog

Just one more shot of our friend Cheryl walking Callie at Chassiron. Such a good friend to take the leash like that. This was the first time that Callie met Cheryl and they got along very well. Callie was just over a year old when we took this trip to Oléron. I won't tell you how old Cheryl was.

Cheryl and Callie at Chassiron, Ile d'Oléron, May 2008.

As predicted, the wind howled through the night again. The house creaked as if it were haunted and rain poured down most of the night. I was up and down a lot, unable to find a comfortable spot in bed. Rain squalls continue. It won't be a fun walk for dogs this day.

Still walking the dog

We saw our friend Cheryl walking Callie while we were up in the lighthouse. Here's another shot. Thank goodness for zoom lenses!

Cheryl and Callie waling around the Chassiron light. Ile d'Oléron, May 2008.

The wind howled over the last two days. It's calmed down for now. But we're expecting more wind over night tonight. The storm is also supposed to bring in much warmer temperatures.

Walking the dog

While Ken and I climbed the lighthouse stairs and enjoyed the views from above, our friend Cheryl took Callie (our dog at the time) for a walk down below, We saw her a few times from above and snapped photos.

Callie and Cheryl taking a break. Chassiron, Ile d'Oléron, May 2008.

The weather is expected to be a little stormy into the afternoon and evening. It's not as cold out there as it has been, but there is a blistery wind.

Tasha Tuesday

I've done this before, but now I've updated it with Tasha's photo. These are the four dogs that I've had in my life. So far. First there was Lassie. She was a purebred rough collie, the biggest of the four. My dad brought her home when she was just weaned, and this photo was taken not long after that. It was the mid '60s. It's one of the few photos I have of her. Lassie was our family dog until 1977.

Left to right: Lassie, Collette, Callie, and Tasha. Female sheepdogs, all.

The second dog was Collette. Ken and I adopted her in 1992 when we lived in the Silicon Valley city of Sunnyvale. Collette was a mixed breed, but obviously had a lot of Shetland Sheepdog in her. In 1995, the three of us moved back to San Francisco and then to France in 2003. She was with us for fourteen years. We think of her often and miss having her around.

The third dog was Callie, as many of you know, a purebred border collie born in 2007 here in France. She was the second largest dog of the four. Unfortunately, she left us this past summer at just ten years old. We miss her a great deal.

And now, of course, there's Tasha (full name: Natasha of the Wolves of Isengard). She's a Shetland Sheepdog, purebred. She was born earlier this year and is now over nine months old. Tasha is the smallest of the four dogs. We're looking forward to growing old with her.

Tooth fairy

I have saved our dogs' baby teeth over the years. I don't know why, but I did. First there was Collette in 1992. I only have one of her teeth. Then, Callie in 2007. I seem to have a whole bunch of hers. Now there's Tasha in 2017. Four teeth so far, and counting. And each dog's teeth fell out in the month of July. There's a pattern there.

The top tooth is Collette's. The rest are labelled appropriately. I keep them in ziploc bags. The labels are from the years noted.

There is no reason to have these. But I can't help myself. When I find a tooth on the floor, or in my hand while playing, I think "oh, how cute," and save the tooth. They don't take up much room, so I don't really consider myself a hoarder. But then again, I saved a few bits of cotton from a field we drove by in Virginia or North Carolina back in the mid 1980s. I had never seen cotton growing on a plant, so I had to have some. I still have it. Wanna see?

Looking back

I spent time on Monday and Tuesday looking back at all my blog posts about Callie over the past ten years. The blog is a great repository for memories. Some of the posts had me smiling, others brought on a few tears. But it's all good.

Callie waits for me to catch up on what would turn out to be our last walk together Friday morning.

I want to thank everyone who's commented or sent messages about Callie. Your thoughts, words, and memories are comforting.

For anyone who is interested, all posts about Callie can be accessed by clicking on the label "CALLIE" at the bottom of this entry, or in the categories section of the sidebar.

Callie (2007 - 2017)

She was just ten years old. But we had a good ten years. Somehow she "broke" her back, slipping a disk that essentially severed the spinal cord. She had no feeling in, nor use of,  her hind legs, no control of her bladder or sphincter. She couldn't even wag her tail. The vet told us it was too late, that she had degenerated too quickly. Surgery was not an option. So we did the only humane thing. It was terribly difficult, but it was the right thing to do. We both said goodbye, and then she went to sleep.

Callie on her tenth birthday, last February.

We miss her. Our lives were so intertwined for the past ten years. We spent most of our time together, so very little time apart, and she was with us, or one of us, almost all her life. She was a good dog.

Now, life must go on. We have a little puppy to care for. This is the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. We have happy memories and they will get us through.

Not out of the woods yet

If you read Ken's blog, you know that Callie suffered some kind of injury on Saturday that left her hind legs paralyzed. We took her to an emergency veterinarian that evening. The vet didn't think it was a stroke (which was our first thought) but maybe something spinal, so he loaded her up on cortisone and gave us many pills for her. We've had her lying downstairs since then and carry her outside to do her business, using a bath towel as a sling. Ken has slept downstairs with her while I stay upstairs with Tasha.

Callie heading into her favorite woods on Friday morning.

Callie is alert, hungry and thirsty, and seems reasonably comfortable. She just can't stand up. We will call her regular vet this morning for an appointment. If it is a disk problem, there may be a surgical solution. We just don't know yet. It's been a difficult thirty-six hours for us, emotionally. The new puppy has been very good; she seems to know there's something going on.

We don't know, of course, what caused this. While lying awake last night, it occurred to me that Callie has been running around a lot with Tasha, making fast, tight turns as sheepdogs do. She may be too old for that kind of rough play and something slipped. It didn't happen suddenly; there was no yelp or anything. Callie just came into the downstairs entry and sat down normally, but then couldn't get up again at walk time.

So now it's just the wait for another vet visit. We're hopeful he will be able to see us this morning (UPDATE: we have an appointment at 11h45). Ken and I certainly appreciate all of your comments, suggestions, and well-wishes, even if we can't respond to them all.

Tasha Tuesday

Can you feel the love? Tasha likes to jump into Callie's face when she's not nipping at Callie's heels. I think that the little dog is trying to herd the big dog around. They're both sheepdogs, so that wouldn't be unusual. Most of the time Callie just stands there, putting up with it. Other times, when there's food or a toy involved, Callie will growl or bark sharply at Tasha to exert her authority.

It was either this shot or a photo of Tasha peeing. It's not easy to get her to sit still at six in the morning.

Tasha is certainly growing. She's up and down the big staircase all the time now showing none of the apprehension she had just a few days ago. The narrow wooden stair into the loft is an "up only" stair for now. She's also lasting longer through the night before needing to go out. But the progress is gradual. A couple of nights ago we were outside at three a.m., but this morning it was closer to five. The other news is that we started taking her out for short walks with Callie in the afternoons (Callie still gets her long solo walk each morning). Tasha is very excited to go out of the yard but she is very well behaved and sticks close to us. The afternoon walk is good exercise for her and helps to wear her out before bed time.

Periodic puppy pics

With all the activity surrounding the new puppy, Callie still gets her two walks every day. Tasha is still too little for these walks, so that gives each of us some time alone with Callie. I think she enjoys it. Here she is rounding the corner of one of the vineyard parcels.

Callie in the vineyard.

A little farther along is the spot where she likes to cut through the woods. Right now the entrance to that little path is getting clogged with fast-growing thorny brambles, but we stomp them down or cut them back every now and then to keep the path open.

Tool time

As planned, I went to the hardware store early on Friday morning to find something for hanging tools in the garden shed. I found a product that looked promising and took two of them. I decided to put one on each end of the shed where the roof is highest. That means that one hanger is just inside the door and the other faces it on the opposite wall.

Callie and Tasha supervised my work in the garden shed.

Installing the hangers meant drilling holes in the masonry walls of the shed. That requires electricity, and the shed is about as far away from the house as you can get on our lot. Back when I was doing my own hedge-trimming, I got two very long spooled extension cords that I could connect together to power the electric trimmer. They came in handy for powering the drill in the shed.

One of the tool hangers installed and loaded up with rakes and things.

The first hanger went up pretty easily. I had a minor problem with the second one: the drill moved a little and one of the three holes was not exactly where it should have been. But it was only off by a little and I got it to work without having to drill another hole.

This is the hanger just inside the shed door. More rakes and things.

The only other "problem" is that there aren't enough hangers for all the things I want to hang. So I decided that the tools with closed handles can hang on nails on the back wall of the shed. There are some existing nails, but I think I'll add a few more so that everything can hang.

Spades and forks hanging on nails along the shed's back wall.

Everything is still not back inside the shed, but I'm getting there. And I have to make a trip to the dump soon to get rid of the junk and the chemicals. The dump has a special collecting point for hazardous materials like old paint, used motor oil, and other things that need special treatment.

Tasha Tuesday

Once again, with Callie. Today is a big day. Tasha goes to her new vet for the first time for a check-up and a booster vaccination. It's also her three-month birthday, and the four-week anniversary of her arrival at our house. Only four weeks? Seems like more...

Callie and Tasha take a break from running around in the sun. Taken on Saturday.

We can really see her growing now. Her nose is longer and so are her legs. She's getting the lay of the land and she and Callie are playing together more. Tasha runs circles around the older dog, literally. And Callie is getting more comfortable having the little one around. Tasha is learning the rhythms of her new life chez nous. She even wants to go out for walks with Callie, but it's still a little too soon for that. I'm trying to get her to accept a harness, but she's not quite comfortable with it yet. It'll happen before too long.

And, on the house-training front, we are doing very well. Tasha's new thing is to wake me up at 4:30 in the morning by putting her paws up on the side of the bed and licking my hands. I get up, we go out, she does her thing, then it's back to bed. It's better than having to clean up a mess in the morning.

Tasha Tuesday

With Callie. I think I'll try to post one photo of Tasha each week for a while and see how that goes. When Callie was a pup, I did "Puppy Pic of the Week." That evolved into "Periodic Puppy Pics," the fact that they weren't particularly periodic notwithstanding.

Nous sommes deux sœurs jumelles, nées sous le signe des gémeaux. Not!

Both dogs were outside just before I cut the grass on Friday afternoon. I wanted them to sit together, but they would not have it. Until after I put the camera away, of course.

Callie time

Callie still gets her two walks a day, alone with one of us. Tasha is too small to do the kind of walks we do with Callie, at least for now. And that's a good thing, at least for now. The daily walks are important and are a part of Callie's routine that she doesn't have to share with the new puppy. At least for now.

A morning walk under threatening skies. Callie (on the left) waits for me to take the picture.

We had rain off and on for most of the day on Wednesday. We were lucky on our walk to be in a lull. I usually don't take the camera out if it's going to rain, but I needed some new photos!

Whole lotta grindin' going on

Now that the vine pruning is mostly done, the growers are out grinding the cut canes into mulch. You can see the canes lined up in every other row, ready for grinding. And we can hear the grinder out there. It's not really all that loud, and it doesn't bother anybody. You just know it's there.

Here's Callie munching on some grass. I don't have a photo of the grinding.

Our boiler got a clean bill of health on Friday. It should; it's not even two years old yet. And it's still under the manufacturer's guarantee until October. We have a service contract with the company that installed it for regular maintenance and emergency service. They're pretty good -- we had the same service contract for the old boiler. Once a year, the technician cleans the innards, makes sure the parts are working properly, and does the kind of technical maintenance that I can't, so it's a good investment.

Periodic puppy pics

Today is Callie's tenth birthday! It's hard to believe that she's ten years old already. That's seventy in dog years. Time flies. Here she is sitting for her portrait with one of her favorite things: a rawhide chew. She would prefer to take this outside and roll on it in the grass, but it's chilly and wet out there. So the living room carpet will have to do.

Somebody needs to get brushed. I'll be taking her to the groomer's in March for her springtime shampoo, brush, and trim.

I picked up some "special" dog food for her lunch today. It's veal pâté. Not the people kind, but the kind made for dogs. It will make a nice supplement to her daily kibble. And there's enough to last a few days.

The rawhide chews help to keep Callie's teeth clean.

I keep telling her she's a ten-year-old dog. She cocks her head when I say it. "What's he yammering on about now," I see her thinking. It's not food and it's not a walk. Oh bother.

Sunny Saturday

Saturday was just brilliant. It didn't get as warm as the middle of last week, but the sun was out all day and, while the ground is still a little wet in places, I noticed a lot less mud on Callie's paws after our walks. She loves the nice weather and sits in the sun where and when she can. I left the door open part of the day so she could go in and out, roll in the grass, and enjoy being outside. And she did.

A difficult photo to get right because of the contrast between sun and shade.

There's Callie heading out to a shady spot after sitting in the sun for a while.

The view is from the guest bedroom looking west out over the vineyards. I took it to more or less document the work I did around the real fake well. I pulled out the jerusalem artichokes that I had planted there a few years ago. I think they're too tall for the space and I want to get back to planting smaller flowers in that bed. It'll probably be annuals like marigolds or something similar this year. The tall sunflower-like jerusalem artichokes grow from rhizomes and they spread like crazy. It's impossible to get them all out, so many will re-sprout soon. If I can't pull those out easily, I'll use a product to kill them. Bad, I know, but it's the only way I know to do it quickly.

Follow the leader

This is one of Callie's favorite paths through the woods. It's more or less a shortcut to the artsy organized neighbor's property and his collection of discarded construction materials. The path probably started out as a deer path, but with Callie, Ken, and me walking through regularly over the years, it's become more regular, a little wider, and well worn.

Callie leads the way through the woods.

We're having freezing temperatures again in the mornings. The night sky is clear (with the full moon blazing) and the mornings are frosty. But that's supposed to end by Sunday afternoon. The weather people are predicting spring-like temperatures for next week. I'll take it.