Jennifer Zalewski Studio

Well after my last un-photo’ed, un-fettered blog post, I thought I’d post something a bit more fun…a Doggy Update!  Lela has settled in great. I mean–it’s like she’s been here all her life. She’s awesome. Have we had some struggles? Well a few bumps but nothing really serious. She’s agile as a monkey and has no problems jumping up on the counters & tables, laying in the sink, and generally treating the furniture like its her own personal jungle gym. Usually I don’t catch her–just see the telltale signs afterward when I get home from work (strangely she never touches the food on the counter? But everything is knocked over. Pawprints. That sort of thing).

She’s getting better about eating. Still finicky but canned food helps.

I put her on DVP Natural Balance Allergy formula to help with the constant itching/scratching/licking. It’s helped a LOT. But not totally. So … is she allergic to something not in the food? Is it just residual OCD?

She has no focus whatsoever. Distracted by ANY little thing. It’s not a big deal. We’re starting a “puppy kindergarten” class for adult dogs next week.   I’m worried at how Jack will feel being left behind–I know he’s going to feel bad and pitch a hissy– which I hate. Sigh.

Miss Lela and Jack continue to get along well and build their relationship. There have been two times, both in play, when things got a bit “out of control” and transformed from “Happy Happy Joy Joy GatorMouth!” to “Oh-my-God-I’m-going-to-rip-your-f*cking-face-off-you-little-bitch!” I was there both times, and both involved Jack attempting to end the playtime –with Lela not getting the hint at ALL– Jack getting angry and going off on her. When this usually happens, Lela backs up and skulks off, but for some reason these two times she took offense and decided to fight back.I broke it up easily, no harm no foul no blood.

Again, there’s usually a few ‘scuffles’ when a new dog comes in so I was kind of expecting something. I’ll not be surprised if more comes down the road as she settles in further.

A very, very strange (and funny) quirk: When I throw a toy for Lela, she runs at it full-speed and throws herself at it. I mean literally- throws herself ass over kettle. It’s already hit the ground so it’s not like she’s trying to catch it? I don’t know why she does this? It CAN’T feel good, lol. So odd.

We’ve been dogsitting this week! This is Pre, a 7 y.o. greyhound who has an amazing smile! He’s been such a good boy. Jack ignores him like the plague 90% of the time, but he and Lela enjoy following each other around the yard squirrel hunting (or whatever dogs do in the bushes…).

Jack hasn’t wanted to “hunt” with them, and hangs out with me in the shade. He is very curious watching them though. Is he being lazy? Is it his leg hurting?

He’s on bedrest for 6 weeks because of his limping.

Ha. How the heck do you keep a young dog ‘down’?? A few times he’s really gotten excited and exerted himself, much to my utter dismay. In general he’s following “doctor’s orders” though.

It has been fun having Pre but we did have a few surprises. On our evening walks, a lot of people have been coming out to say hi (or waving from their porches/apartment balconies)– “Oh I’m so glad to see your Brown Dog has gained weight and is looking SO much better!” “Young Lady, your tan dog is finally looking healthy again! I’m glad to see he’s doing well!”  Yeah, they think Pre is Clifford.  It happens EVERY walk. It’s awkward but I’ve gotten used to it. “Oh Clifford passed away, I’m babysitting this one…” Then THEY stammer something awkward, and I try to laugh or make a joke to make them feel better, and we go on our way, everyone looking/feeling sheepish…A W K W A R D.

Unfortunately yesterday (98 degrees) and today (101 degrees) it has been way too hot for walks. I’ve been keeping the dogs occupied with air conditioning, lamb femurs (Tractor Supply, $1.99 each!) and frozen cups of yogurt.

How do people who live down south and out west cope with these temperatures all summer? We’re only on Day 2 of the Heat Wave and already stir crazy…

After consulting with 3 vets and 2 orthopedic specialists– none of which can agree on what’s going on, or even what part of Jack’s body is sore and causing the limping– we’ve decided to try very-limited-activity and twice-weekly shots of Adequean. It- (the Adequan)- is super expensive but I have high hopes for it. To save some money/time, the vet’s  office, which charges a $15 tech fee for giving the shot, was going to give us a personal training session re: Giving Injections In the Privacy of Your Own Home. I’m super queasy and needle-phobic but everyone has said that giving shots is a piece of cake.  You just lift up the skin in a tent shape and poke, right? I can do that. AND I’m all about facing fears these days, so I agreed to learn how to do the injections myself. I set up a private session with me, Jack, and a tech at the clinic. Easy Squeezy, right?

Nope.

Needless to say…it…  um… didn’t go very well. Not only was my queasy-ness confirmed but my jabbing techniques are also not apparently that fabulous either? Jack ended up screaming bloody murder, cowering against the tech, screaming and screaming, shaking… I ended up on my knees sobbing hysterically and yelling, “I’m fainting! I’m fainting!”… the on-call vet and another tech had to rush in and help us….

It was not the best Saturday Morning of my life.

On Tuesday Jack went in for his second shot and the (same) Vet Tech was like, “Miss Zalewski do you want to try the injections ag-?”  and before she could finish, I was like, “NO! I mean no. Here’s his leash, have fun.”

Jack did absolutely fine. Got the shot in the rear this time, no screaming at all. As a Reward, he got a hot dog.

And I got a Xanax.

I’ve been neglecting my art lately. I guess it’s a natural ebb and flow, but I’m ready to get back in the saddle- even though it’s like 120 degrees out here. / And backswamp humid. Yuck-o.

I’ve wanted to work on a piece dealing with our loud feathered friends that roost in the back yard–European Starlings. They’re raucous, screechy birds that start up about 6AM every morning and continue carrying on all day until we’re ready to pull our hair out, lol. On the Annoyance Scale, they rank second only to Harold*, a crow that constantly (and I mean constantly…) “craws” at the top of his voice. For hours. Usually starting at the buttcrack of dawn on Saturday. Ugh. I love birds but Harold and the Starlings are a trying lot.

Sometimes I wonder if my dogs understand what the birds are saying to each other when they start up with that screeching and cawing. Is that how it works? Is animal language universal? Or are bird calls just background noise, gibberish, like it is to me? There are times I catch Jack and Lela peering at the trees like they’re listening in on a good piece of gossip, lol- and makes me feel, as a human being, very dim-witted. Like I just don’t seem to catch the joke. Kind of a world I’m not a part of. As I sat sketching Jack for this piece, out under the shade of the pine trees, I’d watch him alternate between napping (of course) and scanning the friendly skies.

Maybe he was looking for squirrels. Well of COURSE he looks for squirrels (and cats…) but I think he was listening in, too? Starling chatter. Neighborhood trash talk. Those birds never know when to keep things under wraps.

This will be a linocut with stencil, using some techniques I learned at my recent workshop in Massachusetts. Rummaging through my stack of blocks, I found an unused piece of battleship glued to MDF, and began sketching right away which felt great. Usually I draw on vellum first, but to lessen steps in the process I drew right on the block this time. More immediate, more rewarding. Patience- not my strong suit lol.

In order to minimize failure rates (which, sadly, are high around here… lol) I decided to do a very quick color sketch too. I usually don’t. I’m glad I did though, because I worked out a lot of mistakes that way. I’m worried about Jack’s brindling… it’s going to be a bear!! Lord have mercy!

Parked in the shade with my drawing, Jack and Lela munched on chews to whittle the time away. Yum yum yum.

A last note on Starlings and woodcuts… check out the website, blog and starling art of Jenny Pope.  I learned Reduction printmaking from her at the Ink Shop Printmaking Center in Ithaca several years ago. Her work is amazing!!

Jen

*Our loud crow ‘Harold’ is named after a neighbor of mine, growing up. He used to scream at his poor disabled wife constantly. I mean, he’d keep us kids up at nights, it was so bad. In the summers we’d have our windows open and just have to listen to it all the freaking time.  After he died a few years ago, I learned he was a child molester. C-r-e-e-p-y.  Double y-i-k-e-s. I like Harold the Crow better.

After a winter learning “down” and “wait”, Jack’s first ‘real’ ride* in Lil’ Red, our Old Towne Discovery Canoe, happened on Monday!

I had the day off and we tooled down to Morgan Hill State Forest and Labrador Unique Area, both in Fabius/Apulia, for a hike and paddle.  It was a pretty warm day and we got a late start, so we tried to stick in the shade. Most of the hike was along the North Country Trail, with a few side-trips down old dirt roads. Beautiful hike (buggy though- those black/horse flies are out full force!).

After this 3 miler, we cruised over to Labrador Unique Area to do their 1-mile boardwalk trail. From the signs, Labrador is considered a “Unique Area” because much of the plant life is characteristic of high-altitude bogs, like in the Adirondack Mountains. It’s just gorgeous out there!

We saw a Waxwing (think it was a Cedar, not Bohemian, but could be wrong)!!! I was soooo excited. I haven’t seen a waxing since high school, when I was wilderness camping with my Dad and malamute, Nelson, in the forests around Thendara. They kind of resemble female cardinals, but more golden. Very pretty.

After this, Jack and I proceeded over to the Labrador Pond boat dock to unload the canoe into the pond. I’ve finally come up with a technique to load/unload the canoe without looking like an idiot/dropping it/scraping the car/rolling it over onto my shoulders and going down like a rock. I’m proud to say, I was able to get it off the car easily EVEN with 2 people watching me! It’s the little things, lol….

We did hit one snafu after I stuffed Jack into his dashing new life-vest and boarded him into the boat. He refused… REFUSED… to lay down. I realized the vest was very large and bulky, but…well. Well. Apparently the bulkiness was cramping his style. To be honest, I wouldn’t want to lay down in that huge marshmellow jacket either, especially when it was 85 degrees. What to do? I got out the Beggin’ Strips and did a bit more enticing, but Jack still refused to obey my “Down” commands. I asked. I pleaded. I demanded. *Sigh*.  In the end, I removed the vest and tossed it aside. Jack considered the Beggin Strip a bit longer, until I took out another and waved them around.  That wasn’t enough, so I pulled out another. THREE Beggin Strips. Once he felt I produced enough strips, he decided Yes, Okay, I guess I’ll lay down now. Awesome. Chomp, chomp, chomp.

Dog training at its finest, folks.LOL.

We tried to stay along the shoreline since Jack was unvested, but that wouldn’t have been much safer  than deep, since I put my paddle in at one point and it sank about 2 feet into the muddy bottom. Quicksand-ish? Yuck. If we went over I’d never get footing to get out. There wasn’t much shade on the lake either so we baked a bit. I scooped water onto us to keep us cool, which was refreshing. It was absolutely beautiful. Jack seemed mostly content to lay on his flowered mat, but a few times tried to restlessly get up (to which I yelled, “OMG! No! No! Down! Stay! Jesus Christ! DOWN! STAY! You’re going to drown us!! DOWN! STAY!!! SON OF A BITCH DOWN, DOWN!!!!” lol). We were out for about 30-40 minutes. Little fish jumped out around us. The lily pads floated like green, rubbery pancakes. It was beautiful, and I was so proud of Jackie Boy.

Since Jack doesn’t want to wear his immensely puffy and uncomfortable life-vest, I either have to a) train him to Suck-It-Up/Life-Isn’t-Fair and deal with it, or b) only paddle in really shallow waters when I’m with him, so if we go over he won’t drown.  I mean really, why is he being such a douchebag about wearing this thing?  $40 down the drain. Jeepers Creepers.

I guess I will buy more Beggin Strips and practice “downs” in the Life Jacket for the next few weeks.  Stay tuned for the next exciting installment, lol…

Jen

* Jack’s REAL first ride in Lil’ Red was last year, the day after I purchased it. We wobbly went out about 20 feet into the bottomless Seneca River and Jack proceeded to stand up and totter around, almost spilling us, until I was so nervous we had to paddle hastily back. Not a very auspicious start. Hoping for better luck this summer lol!

…or, something like that.

Jack and I just got back from an awesome trip to Massachusetts. One of my best friends (sadly, now living in Florida, *humpf*) made a trip up to Boston this past weekend, as her husb was attending a conference and she was tagging along, and of course being so close Jack and I had to drive out and visit her. Okay, maybe “close” isn’t exactly the right word for a 6 hour drive- or 7 -8, when you count in all the potty breaks–but suffice to say. Yeah. We threw all the camping stuff in the Scion, Rain-x’ed up the windshield- and were on our way!

I’d only been to Massachusetts once before, as a kid (except for a dog haul a few years ago, but that was just jumping over the border). I think I was maybe in fourth grade when I went on a trip to Salem with my cousin Melanie and her family. I remember crossing over the border of New York, and expecting the landscape to look TOTALLY different. We were going into another state, you know! I guess I thought the trees would be different, the grass and plants would be totally different… it wasn’t lol. Ah, being young and clueless…

Well.

We didn’t rush to Beantown right away, this past weekend. And I *did* plan ahead.  Zea Mays Printmaking Studio -which was located “kind of” on our way- had an awesome 2-day workshop on “Masks, Stencils, and other Creative Inking Techniques for Reductive Linoleum Printing.” Susan Jaworski-Stranc was the instructor.  I’ve been mulling over the idea of using stencils in my linocuts (because I suck at reduction) and Liz, who runs Zea Mays, was wonderful in letting me take only part of the class (Saturday) AND having Jack in the studio for the day.  Seemed like something I HAD to do! And I’m so glad I did.

It was a FANTASTIC workshop! And Zea Mays is really an awesome facility. I would definitely take a class there again! Jack behaved wonderfully. He did take awhile to settle and got a bit whiny around 2 o’clock, but for the most part just hung out and folks were very nice to complement him on his laid-back behavior.

After Zea Mays (and a brief walk though town, including photo op with Sojourner Truth), we began the haul to Wompatuck State Park, south of Boston, where we were camping.  It was POURING rain almost the whole drive, and I was nervous that we were going to have to sleep in the car (I refuse to set up a tent in the rain. Refuse) but thankfully the skies briefly closed up and we were able to get checked-in and set up just before dark… and the rain began again… lol.

We seemingly booked the smallest campsite at Wompatuck… possibly in the whole state of Massachusetts. I could barely wedge the tent in between the car and the fire pit.  And the whole site was surrounded by poison ivy, so you couldn’t even “spread out”. If the rain had let up at all during our trip (which really, it didn’t) I would have been afraid to start a fire because the tent had to be set up sooo close to it. I think, because it was so wet, the slugs went haywire and every morning, my tent would be crawling with them. And we leaked. The air mattress leaked, the tent leaked. Everything was flat, damp, and cold. I swear, I am NEVER buying Coleman camping products again!!!! Actually, I may never camp again lol.

Seriously though, I tried not to let the rain (or poison ivy, or slugs, or condition of our tent…) put a “damper” (har har) on things.  We did spend some time inside reading or napping during the hardest rain, but when it was misting we definitely went out. Wompatuck seemed to have a gazillion miles of trails, and Jack and I REALLY enjoyed exploring. It took me awhile to get used to navigating, though. I’m not sure if it’s just this way at Wompatuck, or all of Massachusetts state parks? But the trails AREN’T marked with trail markers. Intersections are marked with numbers, and you have to find the corresponding markers on your trail map to figure out where you are, and go from there. Kind of bizarre.

Our trip into Boston was really fun. Dogs are allowed on the subway during “off-hours”, so we drove to the Braintree station, near Wompatuck, and rode in Sunday afternoon. It was Jack’s first time on the subway and he did pretty well. The “rocking” of the train was a bit shocking for him, and he REALLY wanted to get up on the seats (I wouldn’t let him) but he took it all in stride.

Just have to say, as someone who lived in NYC for a few years and still visits regularly… OMG the Boston subway trains go so. freaking. slow. At least the two we were on? In the Big Apple, the subway trains FLY. They jerk. They scream around corners and seem barely controllable. On our two Boston subway trips, the trains drove slowly, gently eased into the stations and kept the herky-jerky to a minimum. That was nice because Jack was on board but I found myself getting a bit impatient. You remember the Seinfeld episode where Elaine is on the stalled train, and just squishing her face together trying to will it forward? That was me. Sitting on the Boston train gritting my teeth thinking GO! GO! GO!

So Jack conquered the subway. What else did Jack do? He rode an escalator (hopped on it like he owned it!), an elevator, and did one of those big glass revolving doors. He wasn’t phased by anything. I was so proud of him!

Of course, traveling with a dog means there’s stuff you just can’t do. That kind of puts the kabash on a lot of activities, but we had a great time anyway. One of the things we did was hike the “Emerald Ring” of parks through the city. We started at Boston Common, went up along the Commonwealth Avenue Mall, and down Fenway Park. It only drizzled a little bit, and was an amazing walk.

We also hiked the “Freedom Trail” –or part of it–which is a walking tour of historical Boston. This is Paul Revere’s house:

Pardon the blurry picture, but this moment was too good not to talk about. Much has been said in The Dog World regarding the intelligence –or lack thereof–of the Sighthound breeds. I don’t think Greyhounds, or Saluki, or the much maligned Afghan are ‘stupid’ dogs at all, despite some studies that came out a decade or so ago ranking breed intelligence. *I* certainly have never ‘owned’ a ‘stupid’ Greyhound. Lucy, for instance, was very cunning and used her agility training to get into trouble around the house. Clifford and Jack? Okay, they are SMART dogs but they are males, and male greyhounds can be… um… clueless. Smart, but maybe a bit too… happy-go-lucky?… for their own good.

Jack is a very smart dog. That didn’t stop him from seeing this donkey statue, touching noses with it (like it was a big dog), wagging his tail, and then sniffing the donkey’s butt. He also went up to a statue of 3 women on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall, wagging and pinning his ears back, thinking the statues were real people and hoping for a scratch. Nice try, Jack, they’re bronze. ROFLMA!!!!

The next day, we took a trip down to the south end of the state to do some gardening at the Burial Site of my friends’ extended family. We cleaned up some weeds, planted hostas. The sun actually made a brief appearance! Along the way, we drove by the old Raynam-Taunton Greyhound Park, which is now closed to live racing (Massachusetts banned greyhound racing a few years ago). But Clifford spent a few months at Raynham Taunton back in ’00 or ’01, shortly before retiring. At least I think he did… now I’m wondering if I’m mixing it up with Wonderland?? Anyway, I got teary eyed driving by, thinking of Cliffie’s Glory Days.

Trace and I stopped in Taunton to get Chinese take-out and while waiting for our food… something very interesting happened. I was PUBLICLY HECKLED. Yes, that’s right. I got heckled. Now I’ve had strangers come up to me and challenge my environmentally-liberal bumper stickers, but this was a first. Get this. So we’re at this tiny plaza at an intersection in Taunton, waiting for our Chinese food to be cooked up. A pizza delivery “boy”, in his late 30′s I’d say, is making his way up the sidewalk to go into one of the plaza stores. All of a sudden he starts pointing at me and Trace, yelling, “YANKEES SUCK! GO HOME YANKEES! YANKEES, GO HOME! YANKEES SUCK! YANKEES SUCK!”

Now… okay. I’m confused, I admit it. Trace and I are both like, WTF? Is he talking to us?? Why yes, yes he is! The pizza boy continues yelling at us, pointing and skipping around, chanting “GO HOME, YANKEES! YANKEES SUCK!” At this point, it’s dawning on me that because he sees my New York State license plate, he must assume I’m a Yankees fan–?? So I tell him, “No no, I hate the Yankees! I hate ALL sports! I’m NOT a Yankees fan.”

But he keeps heckling us!

Trace ditches me to run across the street to CVS. I’m left with The Heckler, who by now is skipping over to the traffic light at the intersection, trying to get all the drivers there riled up. He’s going car to car, pointing at me and yelling. I see people rolling down their windows and looking at me. I wonder if I’m about to get beat up? The light turns green, and the cars drive off. The Heckler keeps skipping around, laughing, pointing, and heckling. By now I’ve gotten Jack out of the car (hoping it will scare the guy off, but it doesn’t) and we start walking down the sidewalk. Heckler follows us about 20 feet back, taunting. He’s obviously having the time of his life, but I’m still struggling between “Man, this is really amusing!” and, ” I’m two strokes away from opening my mouth and letting every obscenity fly before going over there and breaking this dude’s pizza box over his mother f*cking head“.

Eventually The Heckler, still yelling “Yankees suck! Yankees go home!”, dances across the street and on his way, disappearing into the neighborhood.

Wow.

(I learned yesterday that the “Yankees suck, Yankees go home” is a chant that Red Sox fans sing at baseball games? Honest to God, I don’t understand sports fans. It’s all ridiculous. A bunch of grown men being paid exorbitant paychecks to throw a stupid ball around. Give me a break).

Anyway.

I think the most exciting trip was to Fall River for a tour of Lizzie Borden’s house. If you like unsolved mysteries (check), are into the Paranormal (check), or have a morbid side (arg, I hate to admit this but…check!) then you will LOVE this place. Our tour guide was great and gave us multiple insights into the Borden family, historical Fall River in the late 1800′s, and the vicious killings of Mr. and Mrs. Borden. It was a really fascinating tour and I bought a book about Lizzie’s Trial at the gift shop–I’m eager to read more about this.

Our ride home was uneventful, except that I ran out of cash, and found my ATM card wasn’t working. This led to a panicky “OMG how am I going to pay the Thruway tolls?!?!” anxiety-ridden half-hour, but it all worked out. As an aside, I got a “Book on Tape” for the drive which was excellent:

One of my side-fascinations is  high-altitude mountain climbing, and this book was riveting. K2 is the second highest mountain in the world, and is a much more difficult climb than Everest. The book details everything about K2, from its “discovery” to first climbs, to most recent climbs- including detailed accounts of recent disasters. I think I read somewhere that 1 of every 3 people who climb K2 dies?? Or something like that? Anyway, highly recommend this book. Might be better reading in “book” format than on CD,  because it’s soooo detailed.

We finally pulled into the driveway about 9 pm. Sadly (dum dum dum…), we ended up turning around and heading off to the Emergency Vet almost immediately when Jack scared up a black cat that was sashaying through the backyard. Sigh. The cat bolted, but Jack was too quick and got it by the neck. He thrashed it around a bit, but lost interest when it stopped struggling. It was HORRIFIC to watch. Although Jack’s, uh, “technique” definitely improved hunting this cat–compared to the last one, sigh– the cat didn’t die and was on the ground drooling and attempting to drag itself away, but could only twitch her paws. Poor thing!!!! I had to bring her to the ER to be euthanized- she was gashed along the shoulder, and her back was severed. It broke my heart that this young feral cat probably had no one to ever love her, in her poor short life, and then died so violently. Jack, of course, was incredibly proud of himself. He hunts squirrels all the time but NEVER gets them… it seems he only succeeds against cats (which makes me wonder on the intelligence of cats vs. squirrels…) but I can’t be mad at him, he was only doing what his instincts told him. Why do they keep coming over the fence????

Well the biggest Kicker of the night, Cliff had been to this ER vet before, so when the cat was euthanized they put “Clifford-Euthanize” on the receipt. WTF? Why in the world would you do that? I was already all sniffly about the cat, and that just made me lose it.

Got back from the vet at 11. Crawled meekly to bed and passed out. So ends another exciting vacation in the annals of Jen and Jackhammer….aaaaahhhhhhh…

I hope everyone had a nice (long) Memorial Day Weekend? It was incredibly, INCREDIBLY hot here, with really high humidity. A few thunderstorms peppered the weekend, but nothing too huge.

I only got through half of the things on my “to-do” list, but so it goes. \

Just some hiking pics. I reconnected with Wendy (she runs the group I adopted Jackie through) and we went on a nice long hike through Great Bear Recreation Area, just north of the city.  Wen has a greyhound and two Frenchies (all rescues) which was fun. A “roll-icking good time” was had by all, ha ha.

Another Day, we ventured south to Ithaca to buy our park pass for the summer and hike at Buttermilk Falls State Park. I’d never been there before, hmm, probably won’t again. No dogs were allowed anywhere near the falls observation area, which kind of stunk.

This was as close as we could get. Yay.

After studying the trail map, my goal was to hike with Jack along the Rim Trail, which would bring us eventually to Treman Lake (maybe a 2 mile hike?). I had a fanny pack–wait, it isn’t ’88 anymore, now they are called ‘lumbar packs’ lol– with water, Jack’s bowl, trail map, and some snacks. I was uber-prepared. We took off up the Rim trail. Up, up, up. Up, up. up. Eventually down, down, down. Hmmm. We wandered around for close to 45 minutes, sweating like pigs in the heat and humidity. I studied my map like crazy. Couldn’t find the trailhead to Treman Lake, wth?  Where was it? Well finally we broke out of the trees, to what I THOUGHT was the trailhead for Treman Lake, way up in the upper park.  I was super excited (and relieved). Then I saw my car. And then I realized that instead of hiking up Rim trail to Treman, I had hiked a small service road around the parking lot and was back where I started.

Fail.

I packed Jack in the car and debated driving home (hanging head in shame) but decided to drive up to Treman instead. I didn’t get lost this time, LOL. We parked at the trailhead and had a nice hike along the lake. I was surprised how low it was, considering the rain we’ve gotten this season. Weird.

Handsome dude, right??  It was too hot to canoe this weekend (comfortably, at least) but hopefully we’ll dip back into the 60′s and 70′s again, so Jack can try out his new life-vest! We’ve been practicing ” down” and “stay” all winter, so hopefully he will be a Canoe Dog Champion.

(Just in case, I DID buy waterproof containers for my camera, cell phone and keys, LOL…)

Clifford

“Halftime Kid” (My Rooster x Fla Halftym Diana)

June 2, 1998- April 15, 2011

“You think dogs will not be in heaven? I tell you, they will be there long before any of us.” ~Robert Louis Stevenson

I think I mentioned a few posts ago… the depo-medrol shots Mr. Clifford has been getting in his spinal cord area (for the Lumbosacral Stenosis) are no longer working. Sigh. Our next step has been consulting with a local pain management center and looking into cold laser therapy, perhaps acupuncture, and physical therapy.

Our first appointment didn’t go well. Poor Cliff was out of sorts that afternoon and was very upset to be at the doctor’s office. I was surprised, because our therapy room was so ‘homey’ and comfortable- yellow walls, curtains on the window, a table-top zen water fountain, plants, and soft rubber floor with a special quilt just for him. It didn’t smell antiseptic-y or medicine-y like most vet and surgical hospitals. Still, Cliff was very agitated and he ended up having an almost-panic attack? Wouldn’t lay down, paced, panted hard, shook, pooped on the floor twice, and his temps began skyrocketting so we had to cut the visit short.  Our therapist was WONDERFUL though, and did her best to comfort Cliff. We did get a quick Laser Ssession- very interesting and non-invasive- it looks almost like a TV channel changer, that is moved over the affected area of the back and emits some sort of laser lights that stimulate blood flow and the body’s natural pain management (unlike the steroids, which he was getting before).   It’s relatively painless, too.  As soon as that was done, we left the office to cool Cliff off and get fresh air, since he was pretty upset.  Our PT sat with us in the back of the car, making sure Cliff was okay- she was so nice!- and suggested that if he continues to be upset, we might run a power-cord from the office to the outside, and do the lasering in the car. We’d have to see how he progressed.

Our second session of Laser Therapy last week was a bit better. To be sure, I bought a bottled mother-dog pheromone that is supposed to help calm the nerves of anxious pups (this I sprayed in the car before our drive), as well as a bottle of Rescue Remedy- Cliff got a few drops on a treat before we left.  I don’t think either helped very much though (maybe I need to give him some vodka next time, LOL!!). Cliff still was nervous, but because we talked less and got right down to the laser therapy, he was in/out of the office much quicker and didn’t have time to panic, I don’t think? He definitely was anxious, but it didn’t escalate.

It occurred to me this past weekend that since November, the only time Cliff has really been in the car is to go to the vet’s office- or the orthopedic specialist’s- or the physical therapist’s- lol.  He’s always been a bit anxious riding and now that he can’t control his bowels  (i.e., when he gets nervous/excited he poops without realizing it), needs a ramp, won’t lay down and get comfortable, etc- I just avoid riding him around as much as possible. But I feel bad all his recent trips have been to be poked and prodded, so on Saturday we drove to a beautiful city park on the West Side for a little hike.  It was a special walk, just me and him, with even Jack staying home (much to Jack’s disgust, I might add!!).  It was a beautiful spring day and we had a great walk! Afterward we drove to McDonalds and Cliff got a McDouble burger for lunch, which he really liked.

Keeping Cliff nimble and pain-free is a bit more effort now than it was with just the depo shots! He has prescriptions for Gabapetin and Amantedine (sp), and I learned how to do special lymph-stimulating massages (which need to be done 3 times a day). He also has some back-leg exercises (“loading” and “unloading”) which need to be done twice a day, and another exercise involving neck-stretches and small reaches which I try to do twice a day. I have to keep a journal of any skin spasms or irregularities I detect, and diet. It’s almost a full time job!

So far, so good.  Cliff’s next appointment is Monday and I hope to remember my camera to get a picture of the lasering. It’s really neat! I’m also going to try a few new tricks… bring some McDonalds burgers and a peanut butter-stuffed-bone for Cliff’s session… hopefully these will distract him a bit, and help make the atmosphere more exciting (in a fun way!) for him!

Jen

… and I’m not 100% in love with it. Maybe not even 50% in love with it.

I accomplished what I wanted to, in one respect… making a woodcut a BIT more painterly, without those “coloring book” lines around everything. It’s slightly- slightly- looser than I usually work. And I finished a reduction, which I haven’t been able to accomplish in almost a year, LOL.

We had our first critique evening at my Printmaking class, and the only feedback I got was that they liked the interesting shape that Lucy formed (positive vs negative space); that maybe I shouldn’t have done a border to “box” the shape in- a bit distracting-; and the professor thought my chop (signature stamp, in the lower left) was a ball, LOL.

Class has been… interesting. I enjoy the “being around other artists” atmosphere but I find that I really, really hate working away from my home studio. The class studio is AMAZING… I mean, to die for. Like 4 different presses, all the ink you could want. A silkscreen studio, papermaking studio, letterpress studio all adjoining a huge relief studio. Several Sinks, etching and solarplate rooms, a professional electric chisel sharpener the size of my microwave. But my boys aren’t there. I spend class obsessing over them, wondering what they are doing at home, if they are sleeping or crying or if Cliff has fallen and can’t get up. They are used to me going to work every day- that’s routine, and if there’s one thing about Greyhounds, they are creatures of routine. But going out at night once a week, after work, without them?? That’s strange and confusing, and it makes me feel bad when they look at me with their big, brown Bambi eyes as I try to slip out the door. You can’t sneak past them. They know.

And working at class is odd, too. There’s weirdo music playing on the stereo (not the 70′s and 80′s music “old people” like me listen to, ha), PEOPLE walking around, chatting- and I usually sit next to the same 2 gals each class, and they even talk to me while I’m working. People. Talking to me. Boring Ol’ Me. Nice, but so different than home where I ensconce myself in my hermittude,  blithely talking to my dogs, myself, the wall, LOL. It’s weird working in an environment where there isn’t any dog hair floating around to get in my ink. Where there isn’t the smell of chickeny greyhound farts permeating the air. Where I can’t sit at my drafting table and listen to the boys pace around, cast crushed looks at me and quietly cryyyy because Oh My God, We Need To Go For a Walk Right, Right, Right Now  Or Else The World Will Inevitably Come to An End!!!

Class goes from 6-10pm once a week (Lord have mercy, I’m too old to stay up that late anymore!!) but I usually sneak out by 8:30, so I can rush home, jump in my PJ’s, snuggle in bed with the boys and watch GHOST HUNTERS on the SyFy network.  The Prof doesn’t seem to mind- as long as we get our work done, he doesn’t care if it’s during class time or not. Thankfully. My best work time seems to be 6-8 pm. At home. With my wonderful, amazing and inspiring muses… Cliffie and Jack.

I feel my focus changing a bit. When I started class, I was gung-ho to work on Reduction Woodcuts, maybe even try some White-Line/Provincetown woodcuts. But I feel myself being drawn back in the Monotype direction. We’ll see how it goes. I have so many ideas but the woodcut process takes so long. Monotypes are more spontaneous, fun- different. They might be my golden ticket to creative liberation. They just might be.

Jen

It’s late Sunday afternoon. The dogs have been walked, Jack and I did a 4-mile run at the Parkway, visited friend B. and saw her new foster grey.  Cliff’s chicken dinner is baking in the oven. After a Saturday fete with the stomach bug (ugh)… Sunday has shaped up quite nicely.

It was really dreary and gray today, but boy oh boy… 38 degrees! A heat wave. I shoveled the slush out of the driveway in a long-sleeve T-shirt. And … I saw a mosquito!!!!! A mosquito!!!!!! Yes, the Long Winter may be on its last leg.

I’m finishing up my Lucy woodcut… pics to come. Working on a new block. And in the middle of an “linoleum etching” experiment… hmmm. I happened to see a very short 2 pages about it in my “Printmaking Bible” and-well-I’m giving it a go.

Jack is quite happy with himself. Yesterday morning, my stomach all a-churning from the Bug… I let the dogs out in the backyard for the morning Potty. A squirrel was out in the snowdrifts, but I didn’t think much of it… they always get away.

Not this one.

Jack mauled it pretty badly. I could barely tear my eyes away, it happened so fast. The squirrel was on the snow-shoveled path. Jack blasted towards it. Cliff happily gimped after him, oblivious to what was going on. The squirrel saw the dogs, hesitated, then took a desperate flying leap into the deep snow. Jack launched into him like a torpedo, snatching him by the back (tail?) and somersaulting him back onto the path. Jack snarling and flipping him around. Squirrel squealing, twisting, trying to get away. Cliff standing next to the fight, seemingly not noticing what was going on right in front of his eyes. In fact, at one point Jack threw the squirrel down and it tried to drag itself between Cliff’s legs, and he didn’t notice (Cliff, WTH? Is it dementia? How could he not realize what was going on?).

And then, like that… Jack was done. He had his kicks and giggles, and the fun is over. Time to pee. He trots off along the path, making his way back to the back fence. Cliff happily follows. The squirrel lays in the snow, flopping around and squeaking pitifully.

I watch it drag itself a few inches, then stop. A few inches, then stop.

Jack comes back, happily bounding up the path. The squirrel frantically pulls itself to the base of a tree, stretches itself up and tries to claw up. It can’t. Jack snuffles him, bored, comes back to the deck and asks to come in.

He has a nip on his nose. It won’t stop bleeding. Ugh.

I watch the squirrel for a bit, flopping now and then, trying to reach up the tree. My mind writhes around all the options. Do I let it suffer and die? Do I kill it? HOW do I kill it? Do I bring Jack back out there and try to sic’ him back on it, to take it out of its misery? Would Cliff help??

I get my shovel, the metal one. Go to the squirrel. Cliff hangs out with me, but doesn’t notice it at all. It lays up against the tree, it’s tail torn off, two legs look dislocated. It’s jaw is all bloody and red. The poor thing makes a mewly-noise and scratches at the bark, trying to climb to safety.

I pick it up on the shovel, lay it on the hard iced path, and put it out of its misery.

I spend the rest of the day in bed, throwing up.

Not a great day for a vegetarian animal-rights advocate, that’s for sure. But I can’t be mad at Jack- he’s a dog. He was doing what dogs do.

This isn’t the worst Squirrel story. Back in- oh, it must have been 2003- before I bought my first house. I had Lucy and newly-adopted Cliff, and was bringing them around the block back in my old ‘hood, on their morning walkie. We were bundled up, slogging down the sidewalk, when we came upon a dead squirrel on the greenway (that strip of land between the sidewalk and road). It looked newly-dead and wet, like a cat had gotten it overnight. We had lots of outdoor cats in the neighborhood so I wasn’t surprised. Lucy was VERY interested so I let her sniff it. Well all of a sudden, the dead squirrel pulled a Lazarus and jumped up alive again, totally freaked that this long black nose was in its face. I still have that picture of Lucy glued in my head… that WTF! look of shock and pure delight. Before anyone knew what was happening, Lucy had grabbed Lazarus by the nape of the neck and was flipping him up in the air, somersaulting him like a beach ball. I think she caught him and flipped him up again before I yelled and dragged them back. So the squirrel landed with a thud on the sidewalk, freaked out, and sprinted into the street–right in front of a pickup truck. His head went under the tire and flattened on the pavement but the body kept trying to run. Those poor legs just ran in place for a few seconds, next to the flat head, until the brain sparks ended and it just crumpled.

All three of us kind of stood there, in total shock. It was just … so… WTF. I mean… dude. Dude.

There are other squirrel stories, but I’m starting to feel queasy recalling them so maybe another time.

Or maybe not, lol.

So I chucked my Birch plywood and started the  Untitled Lucy woodcut (still waiting for that brilliant title to hit me) all over again on MDF. I was a bit nervous about it, because my last few attempts on MDF really blowed (blew??)…my chisels would skitter across the surface uncontrollably, leave fuzzy cuts, etc. I found that working with U-gouges on the MDF –instead of my V’s, which I usually use- really helped. I also held the chisel at a steeper angle than I would working on linoleum, which totally controlled the skittering. I’ve had a few mistakes, but nothing too bad. Knock on wood.

Here’s the first reduction… a light green:

This will be the background. Next step was light gray:

Yeah, that’s my cheapo-baren and wooden spoon laying out there. I have a TINY edition of 6 (so far, I’m sure I’ll make some boo-boos and end up with 3 or 4) and I’ve been butting heads with both of my presses lately. A huge WTF. And as much as I drool over the huge Takach Press at the University Studio (where I’m taking my class)… it’s just easier to work from home. With the Blue and Red Bombers misbehaving, I’ve had limited resources. Oh well… the baren and spoon are fine. Builds arm muscles, right?

Next came a light pink for the collar and inside of the ears. I didn’t want to do another reduction for this, so I carved some ear and collar stamps on PZ Cut Vinyl from Stampeaz and “stamped” the pink on that way…

And that’s where we stand so far. I’m starting to chomp my nails over this next reduction… a middle gray tone…then a dark green border… gulp. After that black, and I’m done! It’s a bit nerve-wracking to get this far.

In other news, we’ve had a few (rare) sunny days around the studio…

Sun! I know!!! We don’t get much of that in Central New York, especially in the wintertime.

Cliff enjoys the sun! He’s been doing reasonably well. He had a 6-month Wellness visit last week at his “primary care” vet, which included a gargantuanly-expensive geriatric blood panel. Good news is that his liver and kidneys look great! The bad news is that his thyroid really dropped. He doesn’t show any signs of thyroid disease though (being chunky, losing fur, etc) so we’re not going to treat with Soloxine at this point.

His weight dropped 4 lbs, which is concerning. He’s been getting 4 full meals a day, all home-cooked, and I was sure he would have gained a bit!! But he hasn’t. More peanut butter sandwiches and ice cream for you, Cliff!

Jack and I have been doing some skijoring and snowshoeing together, but the pics from our expeditions are no great shakes, so I won’t post and bore you, lol. He and Cliff been having a great time scavenging for chicken and pork bones along the fence behind our house. It’s driving. me. insane. There’s a huge (and well-maintained) apartment complex behind our house, but critters have been raiding the complex trash dumpster–which sits against my back fence– pulling bones and trash out, and dragging them over into the yard.  It’s so frustrating. I went over and talked to Management about it, but nothings been done. I coated the top of my fence with axle grease, thinking it might stop the Squirrel Feeding Frenzy and Food Transportation to Casa Zalewski, but it hasn’t. I can always put up a snow fence or something so my dogs can’t get back there, but I’m thinking to try one of those electronic pest repellents. I wonder if they work as good as they sound??

Anyway….  enough time on the blog, I suppose. Back to wood carving…Happy Saturday, everyone!

Jen