Learning to trust...

I decided it's time to start giving Boris a chance to earn my trust. So I have started leaving the house and NOT locking him in the crate. I am still taking some defensive measures:
1) shutting door to office
2) blocking off the den with a gate
3) using a shock collar with a sensor on the persian rug (ubder the pool table)
4) removing temptations, like shoes and things.

So, he has the kitchen, breakfast room, and long main hallway. Plus, he has the open doggie door which offers access to the deck and side yard.

What a life for a dog!

So far, so good. I have done it 3 times (for no more than 4 hours) and the house appears to be undisturbed!

My rotting chimney

Some of the bricks in the chimney are breaking up.
In an effort to prevent further deterioriation, I sprayed the chimney with a masonry sealant -basically just liquid silicone. Lets hope that works.

LawnFill

For spring this year, I decided to fill in the low spots in the front lawn, for several reasons:
1) it was looking generally uneven
2) the roots of the bid sweetgum tree were protruding above the crass level
3) the right side does not drain well

What I thought would be a little filling of the lawn turned out to be a colossal effort!



I even added some sod along the right side to make up for grass that was not growing well .


I did some math after the fact...
In 12 trips to Lowes, I transported 117 bags of "topsoil".
This roughly equates to 2 cubic yards for dirt and cost me approx $230.

I had called a company about dumping a truckload and the quote was $300 for about 3 cubic yards - a load that would more than fill the back of a pickup truck. But no telling on the quality of the dirt. I think thats more fill dirt as opposed to topsoil.

Whoooo Dat?

Its a screech owl... hanging around my front door.

Bully Sticks (aka pizzle)

This is Boris' favorite treat - a bully stick, aka pizzle, aka bulls penis.

He goes crazy when he see this.

They stink worse than any other food product; however, they are digestible unlike the rawhide chew products.
http://http//www.bullysticks4dogs.com/bully_sticks_made.htm

YUM YUM YUM ____________Don't even think about it!

Boris at 8 Months

Boris is 8 months of age today.
Still very much the puppy, he has been a really good puppy ever since I have gotten him. So far...
- no indoor accidents for over 2 months (except for one in the climbing gym)
- only one small chewing incident since I have gotten him (one time on a small corner molding)
- no barking or yapping issues
- very well behaved, except for the standard puppy exuberance
- travels well in the car
- behaves well off leash - responds to verbal commands (most of the time)
- loves to go running (does well off leash)
- plays well with other dogs, although some owners turned off by his aussie nipping
- loves going out into the woods and trails
- has a great "off" switch - will mellow down quickly when I need him to

LawnFill

My first major undertaking for the spring - adding some volume to the front lawn!
Several major roots of the sweet gum tree are protruding above the grass level, so I decided to add some topsoil to level out the playing field.

My brown front yard....

Boris Celebrates St Patty's

Boris got into the spirit by wearing green!

Truth be told... he was actually running around the backyard/creek area while I was mowing the winter rye grass. This is the result!

With spring comes work (lots of it)

Started on the springtime work around the house. This weekend was focusing on the front yard, primarily the gardens.

The old shrubbery (Indian Hawthorn) was looking pretty bleak, so I decided to replace it. That plant does better in full sunlight, but these beds only get partial sunlight. I found a different shrub (Cleyera) that does not require full sunlight, so I am hoping that will work out better.

The process took MUCH longer than expected. For the left side, it took 4 hours to replace plant 3 shrubs. I pulled out 5 old shrubs, then spent almost 2 hours digging out root from the Yaupon, which had pretty much taken over the entire flower bed.

Before:

After:

Shoulder checkup - 3.5 months

Visited my ortho today for a 3+ month checkup. It was more of a discussion than a checkup.
After reviewing the report from the physical therapist, we talked about how things were going and what I could and could not do. I still have trouble sleeping at night due to pain that flares up in the middle of the night.

He said that I appeared to by at about 85% mobility and that within another 6 weeks I should be able to resume most of my normal activities. He also warned that the healing process is taking a little bit longer due to the "microfractures" that he put into the humerus, in the hopes that it will regenerate cartilage. That is most likely what is causing most of my pain at this point.

He warned that i was not quite ready to be climbing yet, at which point I told him that I had already started "easy" climbing. I defined "easy" as climbs where I could use my legs significantly and where I would always travel straight up (not reaching out to the sides. He was OK with that, since the reaching up and out to the side was where I could do damage.

Spring is Here!

Just the other day, it was cold and rainy.

Suddenly, the sun is out and everything is quickly turning green!

Close encounter of the feline kind!

Boris' first cat encounter!

Longer and harder climbing!

Went climbing at Stoneworks today - my second time climbing since before the surgery.
Still staying with the easier climbs, but these are much longer than at exposure - 100 ft versus 30 ft. Climbed on route at a grade of 5.9 and definitely felt the weakness in my shoulder.

Need to stick with the easier climbs for the next several weeks.

But feels good!

Started mountain biking again!

Nothing all that radical, but it felt great to be riding off-road again!

Getting there.... slowly!

Climbing dog!

Shoulder post-op - 3 month checkpoint

Its been 3 months since my shoulder surgery and the recovery process continues... ever so slowly.

I went to the physical therapist today. After a brief exam, he said that it was looking good and that I appeared to be "ahead of schedule". That was encouraging.

From my perspective, things are moving at a snails pace. But, I must admit, it seems to get better (in baby steps) every day.

Patience is a virtue!

High Maintenance Puppy

What a little shit!
He has gotten picky about what he eats.
Especially after a visit to friend's homes when he gets to sample other cuisines!
Usually after those visits, he will turn up his nose to the food I give him, which is "supposedly" high-quality, organic, and has no cheap fillers.

So... I have started "seasoning" his food to make it more appealing. Just about anythign I add has worked: white rice, a dollop of peanut butter mixed in, leftover garlic-butter sauce from shrimp scampi, and even just a sprinkling of grated parmesan cheese.

A dog never had it so good.

Back on the rocks again (so to speak)

This afternoon, I started rock climbing again (indoors only). Its been 3 months since the surgery and aproaching 4 months since I have last climbed.
I met up with my friend Rebecca and another friend of hers at Exposure gym. This gym is close to home and has short walls with some easy routes.
I only climbed the easy routes, rated 5.6 and 5.7, but it was tough to NOT try a 5.8 just to prove that I could do it. I only did about 6 routes, after which I could definitely feel that my shoulder muscles were tired.
But, all in all, I did well. I climbed and without injury! yay!