Toilet training

Hmmmmm I hear you say, surely you're old enough to be toilet trained? And you're right, I am!

However, this morning I woke up, bright and early, at 6am. The first thought in my head was, do I take Satchmo for his morning pee before his breakfast or after? And honestly, I couldn't sleep anymore after that thought popped into my head. At least it meant Emma didn't have to wait too long for me to milk her, so there was a positive.

I found the following information:

Toilet Training for Puppies... and Older Dogs
Toilet training for your puppy should start as soon as the puppy is home with you. You must be prepared to BE PATIENT AND OBSERVANT!

Times when Your Puppy Will Need to Relieve Itself

• When it wakes from a sleep
• When it has eaten or has had a drink
• When it is excited (when you come home)
• After strenuous exercise (or play)

Many people take their puppies out for a walk only to see the puppy disgrace themselves as soon as they get back indoors. To avoid this, walk the puppy to his toilet area. Stand still with him, allowing the puppy to lose interest in you – do not sit down as this will only encourage the pup to jump on you and forget what he is out there for.

Praise him if he performs. NEVER ever rub his nose in any mistakes! Positive reinforcement when he does the right thing in the right place is the best and quickest training method.

Outside Training
When training the puppy to go outside to relieve himself - LEAD him to where you want him to go, stay with him, praise him when he performs. Remember that a male puppy sometimes takes longer to perform than a female. However, at night, make provision for "accidents" by putting paper down if puppy does not have access to outside (via doggy door etc).

LOL.... 'a male puppy sometimes takes longer to perform than a female'. Men! Always something! Anyway, it reads like a lot of this is common sense - it's just a little different from dealing with cats who are very well behaved in the toilet department.

Young Satchmo is arriving in Hobart on Friday, at 21:10, on a flight from Melbourne.

Here are some pics from a maremma website - look at the size of the male when fully grown!!

• Maremmano Christmas pics

Woof!

Here's swinging at you

Well where to start... it's been a while since I've been writing, simply because there are so many things happening.

Judy has now been in Tasmania for about 3 weeks, and it's been really good seeing her again. I met Judy at the first place I worked when coming to Australia, so in effect she is my longest friend here - coming up for 13 years now! And we're still as youthful (or useful?) as we were then.

The first week she arrived I had 4 days off, and it was lovely. We had a few plans about what we could do, but the weather wasn't fully cooperating, so we still haven't been to Bruny Island. Still, we went to Hartz View Winery which was lovely, absolutely yummy fruit liqueurs and the lady behind the counter was very friendly and talkative. We also went to the GrandVewe cheese Factory. Factory is the operative word - it really was like a conveyer belt for the animals. Not my cup of tea at all. The tasting wasn't very good either - everybody would get about a micron of cheese, barely visible with the naked eye, and that was supposed to give you a taste of it. The owner extra pissed me off as it wasn't so much about sheep's cheese, but more an anti-cow campaign that he used to promote his stuff. What claptrap! Of course I'm very biased towards cows, but still. I went there to taste cheese, not to get a lecture on all the 'bad things' in cows milk according to Humpty Dumpty over the hill. I had an extra glass of milk when I got home, and Emma got a cuddle too.

But enough of that. I'm still keen to visit the cheesemaker on Bruny Island, not in the least as that is made with cows milk, and if they're a bit more approachable I'd have a question here or there as well.

We introduced Judy to the pleasures of fencing, and we fenced off another section of Sherwood Forest. We now only need to go down the hill, and we have another full paddock. Ian came over one afternoon and we went for a stroll. He reckons we can get about 300 bales of hay from the hill paddock, so we've decided we'll not let the girls in there until after cutting the hay. I'm pleased, because 300 bales will well see us through the winter, and it should be better quality than we got this year, which was full of blackberry prickles.

We also tried to make a Havarti cheese. I used 10 litres of milk - the biggest cheese I've made to date. I wanted to try and make it the traditional way, which means I had to wash the rind for about 4 weeks. I wasn't sure on how to store it - apparently I have to be very careful with the bacteria that you spray in a brine solution on the cheese, as it is airborne and has a tendency to affect everything else as well. So I tried to store it in a cleaned cooler box, away from my other cheeses. Alas, careful as I was, after 6 days there were some interesting colours developing (not orange - which is what I was looking for!) and after 2 weeks, I decided that bright blue, green and yellow cheese was possibly not the best thing for us to eat. It was painful to chop it up, especially as the inside started to look really nice and edible, but I thought I'd better not chance it. The chooks were most appreciative as always, and the cheese was gone in no time at all. I will have to try again!

Judy went off the second week to explore the east coast. Friday after work, PJ and I hopped in the car to meet up with her in St Helens, which is over on the north east coast. It's close to the Bay of Fires, and Wineglass Bay was on the way home for us. We drove through the Midlands to get there, and when people talk about there being a drought in Tas, well, there certainly is on the other side of Hobart. It was truly quite shocking, it looked completely different from our little green corner of paradise. It was positively apocalyptic - the paddocks were brown and dusty, the trees were dying or dead, the animals were dying, indeed it looked like the whole earth was dying and had given up. It was very sobering and sad to see. The animals that were left were just skin and bones, and I can't understand that people actually put them in a field where there is not one bit of grass to be found. Shouldn't you get to a stage where you put them out of their misery, rather then literally let them die of starvation?

We got to St Helens just as it was getting dark. Judy had made a lovely risotto, so we had some wine and dinner before falling asleep. PJ and I were in the double bed, which was so tiny that PJ's feet were sticking out at the end, and we barely fitted in it with the two of us. Still, we had a good sleep, and in the morning we went off to the Bay of Fires. This is a beautiful stretch of wilderness on the north east coast. It has stunning beaches, which we followed for a few hours before turning back. The sand is as it is in Esperance WA, it sounds like you're walking on snow. There were huge boulders with what looked like red lichen growing on it, and the sea was this stunning turquoise blue. It was blustery though, and once it looked like it was going to rain we decided to go back and spend the late afternoon with our best friend Bolli. On the way to and from the Bay of Fires we saw a rather inspirational letterbox - something to think about when we have a bit more time:

Our little motel unit also looked out over a bay, so it was really nice. We didn't have the right glasses for poor Bolli, but we reckoned that it's the content that counts, not the container. In the evening, we went to have dinner at the Paddle Wheeler restaurant, which turned out to be an old paddlesteamer. We had fishplatters and the fish was lovely and very fresh. Here are some more photos of our weekend trip.

On Sunday Judy went further up north, and we went back via Wineglass Bay. We stopped there to walk a circuit of about 4 hours. It was a nice walk - not too strenuous at all and there were some beautiful views to be seen. There were lots and lots and lots of people though, and I guess we prefer slightly quieter places when we go walking. We got home for about 6.30pm, and a good thing too as the car started playing up after we left Huonville. Everybody had survived just fine, but I was glad that Ursula had checked on the cats on Saturday as well.

Work was rather uneventful, but it was nice to receive an email on Tuesday from Marjorie and Steve about an art exhibition in the Church in Franklin - so we ended up having a little play with the three of us, very enjoyable indeed, we did some lovely swing numbers. The nicest (and scariest) thing is that we've been 'commissioned' to each write a song for a cabaret event that is happening in Franklin somewhere in the new year. Jane, who is organising it, said she loves hearing me sing in Spanish. Hmmmm... I guess there was a hint in there somewhere, so I've been toying with some tango ideas and have put some words to paper. But it's not easy and I wish I had some more time to work on the melodies in my head. And it has to be for 2 violins and 1 guitar. It's weird though - Salomon, my Spanish teacher, said to me before he died that he could see me compose a lot of music. Had he foresight? I guess it's only time that is stopping me at the moment. It's still strange that I have had such a stroke of luck with music and musicians here - although it's best not to think too much about it and just enjoy it!

Judy came back on Friday and we decided to do some serious gardening on Saturday. The last 2 rows of chestnuts in our orchard were still dormant, I think they just weren't getting enough light with some of the tall Eucalypts in the paddock, so we decided to move them to the front of the house. It was a beautiful day, we were lucky to not have rain until immediately after we had transplanted the trees. Judy cut all the grass, and I spent the day digging holes and then collecting moo poo to mix with soil. I hope the trees take - they are a beautiful tree, and it would mean that some time in the future when you go up the driveway, it will be lined with 10 chestnut trees.

Ian and Ursula came over for dinner in the evening, Ian was really on form and managed to entertain us until well past our bedtime. Poor Ursula was a bit cranky - she wants to work in her vegie patch, but hasn't had time. So our big bowl of salad mostly from the garden was rather upsetting to her, but fortunately it was nothing a glass of wine couldn't fix. Ian and PJ have a bet that we will have our first tomatoes before Christmas. This might work - provided I don't spray them with anything organic that I find on the Internet. Yesterday I think everybody was a bit seedy, so we went for a walk in Hartz Mountains. It was again a lovely day for it, not too cold and we managed to avoid the rain. We sat down by Ladies Tarn for nearly an hour, and I think we all nearly fell asleep. It was so peaceful and beautiful. On the way back we dropped by Jamahl's place, but they weren't there. By that time we could hear our bottle of Tasmanian bubbles calling out, so we went back home for a lazy late afternoon and an early night.

Now there is one thing that Judy and I don't quite see eye to eye on. I love my cats to bits. They are funny, cuddly, and absolutely my babes. Judy is not a cat person at all, and really quite rather not have anything to do with them at all. So imagine our surprise to find that my timid, shy Cannon can't help but seek her out, every time she sits down or she's around. He'll be there looking at her with Melting Moment eyes. A few times he's tried to jump on her lap. It's really quite funny to watch. Of course he isn't getting anywhere, but he's still trying. PJ is most upset, as he'd love for Cannon to be like that with him. Unfortunately Cannon doesn't want a bar of him! What a funny cat. The very funniest part is that I caught Judy tickle Cannon's belly. It was only for a split second, but such is The Power of my Cannonball Adderley!

I've saved the most exciting news for last. There will be another addition to our household! On Friday, our first puppy will arrive. He is a Maremma pup, and we shall call him Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong, Satchmo for short. We were advised to start with one first, so we get used to the breed and how they are. I was hoping for a girl first, and we're on the waiting list for a girl pup. If this eventuates, she will come in March. Obviously she will be called Ella - it's quite a musical group we have here. I've already had two sleepless nights, and have been scouring the WWW for information on raising Maremma pups. I found a newsgroup which I've joined, so I don't feel completely lost now. They look so adorable, but I know we have to handle them with a firm hand, and make sure we're the leaders of the pack. They are good with cats, but I hope my cats will be good with little Satchmo! I can't wait until Friday - hopefully he arrives after worktime, so I can come to Hobart too to pick him up. I'd like to be there, and not sit at home chewing my nails. Satch is going to be our 'pet' dog - so he has to look after us, the cats, and the chooks. Ella, when she comes, will be guarding the cattle and spend most of her time with them. It's going to be so exciting and interesting.

Anyway, here are some links in case you're bored and want to read something to pass the time until Friday:

• Feeding, catching, and butchering chickens
  Very useful information for the self sufficient small farm.
  
• America the Illiterate
  Fascinating article about the decline in literacy. Also applicable here in Oz I think. No one reads anymore. Most people are not capable of critical thought, or even reading a book.
  
• The Triumph of Ignorance
  Another one to back up the article above.
  
• The Five Stages of Collapse (Dmitry Orlov)
  Orlov talks about the five stages of collapse in more detail. A must-read.
  
• Obama: return to elite status quo
  Before we're all getting too happy about Obama... Let's have a look at what he is proclaiming to do that constitutes 'change' and who he is selecting for his cabinet.
  
• Why, for today at least, I'm celebrating Obama's victory
  I don't quite agree with transition towns, too regulated and controlled again. PJ and I are more of the Blaidd Drwg and Ronin variety. Still this was an interesting article. It's interesting how people can still try and fool themselves that maybe, perhaps maybe, things will get better. Pandora's box....
  
• What if Bush did it? A prism for the new paradigm, By Chris Floyd
  Very interesting view on Obama's policies, and how they would have been perceived if Bush had brought them forward. Outcome: Not too good!
  
• The Trail of Broken Promises
  Another must-read (scroll down until you get to the article - there's a bit of promo dribble at the top). Written by Matt Gonzalez, the vice-presidential running mate of Ralph Nader. Why didn't more people vote for him? Why are people so blinded?
  
• The psychology of denial in the age of consumerism
  Interesting view on our habits and actions.
  
• The answer to the question: "What should we do?" -- Stay at home!
  I so associate with this... although I'm obviously already always home as I'm working from home, I rarely have the time to spend on cheese, veggies, and our animals. There is always the rush to have to get back to the computer. How I hate it!!!
  
• Monon Maremma pups
  This is where our little Satchmo is coming from... 4 more days and counting!

Anyway... I'll finish with another one of Louis Armstrong's quotes - the first one was the title of this blog entry:

All music is folk music, I ain't never heard no horse sing a song.

Yours in eager anticipation,
M