Dusty's Bath Time

For the last few years I have become quite allergic to Dusty, so I have not been grooming him as much as I should. Lately, he has started looking not only dusty but filthy. My guilty level got to the point that I decided to not only give him a haircut but also a bath. I was a bit unsure as I have never given Dusty a bath since I got him 10 years ago. I have seen rabbits swimming on Youtube. I knew someone who let her pet rabbit swim in the bathtub. I knew some rabbits actually love water, but could that be Dusty? After all, he's over 10 years old now.

I made sure the water is warm but not too warm before putting Dusty in it. He seemed to take it quite well and didn't freak out. That was a good sign. I don't have any shampoo for rabbits, so I just washed him with warm water. I changed the water several times until it no longer turned dirty.  I clipped his nails while they were soft from soaking in the warm water. It was so much easier! I blew dried him with a hairdryer set on low.  He seemed to enjoy the whole experience!

He even washed his face while in the tub and played with the water a bit. I took a short clip of Dusty splashing water with his front feet!

Spring Break 2014

Passion fruit vines are spreading fast and so does the fennel

I have not been spending much time on the farm due to my full time + job. Most of the vegetable beds I built have been taken over by weeds. Fennel is considered a weed in my garden. It's constantly competing water and nutrients with my passion fruit and grape!  Yes, under that bushy fennel plant (see photo above), there is a Concord grape plant.  Every time I try to cut off the fennel, I accidentally cut the grape, too.  It happened again today even though I was trying to be very careful.  I ended up using a piece of tape trying to save the mostly damaged grape plant. We will see if it survives again this year.

Lots of fruit and flowers

A week ago, I noticed some partially eaten loquats on the ground. I looked up the tree, and to my surprise, it is full of baby loquats for the very first time. I don't remember exactly when this tree was planted, but it has to be at least 15 years ago. It produced very little fruits year after year, and usually the fruits would be so high up and almost impossible to reach. This time the fruits are everywhere including all the lower branches that are just within arm's reach!

Can you see all the baby loquats?

The tree is full of baby loquats for the first time

The peach tree is once again growing peaches. I spent a couple hours pulling weeds and checking out all my fruit bearing plants. The weather is starting to feel like summer.  

Baby peaches

Rediscover El Cerrito - Stockton Avenue

I spend most of my free time hanging out in Berkeley for its large selection of bakeries, coffee shops, and restaurants. A few years ago, I noticed a few shops popping up on Stockton Avenue in El Cerrito. I didn't think they would last.  I thought there simply wouldn't be enough foot traffic to support the business. A few days ago I got a coupon for a small cup of coffee at Well Grounded Tea & Coffee Bar on Stockton Avenue, one of the shops that I saw a few years ago. I normally walk Kelsey just a block short from Stockton, so I thought I'd walk over and check out the shop while getting a free small cup of coffee.

This morning I went in the small coffee shop for the first time at 8:30 a.m.  To my surprise, it was full of patrons, and there were 3 friendly staff behind the counter taking people's orders. The coffee was surprisingly good and strong.  The customers were all friendly and asked me about the very well behaved dog, Kelsey, who was tied to a tree outside of the shop.

While I enjoyed my coffee, I walked across the street to check out other shops. They are Hibiscus Boutique Spa and The Glenn Custom Framing among a few others. Outside of the framing shop, there is a little cute free library full of books.  I couldn't resist not to take The Dog Park Club by Cynthia Robinson. I read its introduction, and the story takes place in Berkeley. I can't wait to read a mystery novel that's about a dog park and takes place right in my neighborhood!

The Butchart Gardens

I took a 10-day trip to British Columbia a couple weeks ago. I booked a round trip flight to Seattle. From Seattle I took a 3-hour train to Vancouver.  After spending 4 days in Vancouver, I took Pacific Couch to reach Victoria.  While I had fun in Vancouver, I was blown away by Victoria. While touring the Parliament Buildings, another tourist highly recommended The Butchart Gardens. The older gentleman emphasized that he had seen many gardens and The Butchart Gardens was just amazing.

Sunken Garden

The following morning, I took a bus to the gardens. The admission fee is a bit pricy, and they don't offer student or senior discount. Once I entered it, I could see why. It is quite an amazing garden, which obviously takes a lot of people to care for it. I was also surprised that they allowed dogs in these meticulous manicured gardens.

On Saturday evenings during summer months, the admission fee also includes concert and fireworks. Unfortunately I was only staying for 4 days and leaving on Saturday morning. I had a nice lunch at The Blue Poppy Restaurant, but I certainly could have packed a nice picnic.

The bears

I would love to visit The Butchart Gardens again during a different season. The gardens look very differently during each season. Next time I will travel straight to Victoria from Seattle.  I still want to stop by Seattle so that I can pay a visit at Jack's Fish Spot in Pike Place Market.

What I Learned at Million Dog March

A few days ago I found out that Million Dog March was going to take place today in San Francisco at McLaren Park. I thought it would be fun to participate, so this morning I got up at 6 a.m. and arrived at the park around 8:30. It was nice to get up early and drive over to San Francisco without its usual traffic.  McLaren Park is the second largest park in San Francisco (Golden Gate Park is the largest), but many people who came for the March today had no idea this place existed including myself! 

Once the March started at 9 A.M., it took quite a while for the crowd to get moving. A few dogs got snippy with each other. Fortunately I never have to worry about Kelsey even when other dogs snap at her sometimes. She would just back off and not let anything bother her. Most of the sponsors for the event had booths setup at the parking lot. Kelsey got a red Yelp bandana that says "The Original Yelper" on it. As usual, many people commented Kelsey for carrying her own stuff.

While marching along the route, we came upon a large oak tree that has a few interesting displays on it including the one shown below. I am not sure whether it's a joke of some sort as you can clearly see the "squirrels" in the clear box are not real preserved squirrels.  The text reads "Sammy & Shirley 1926-1932 died from starvation during the great depression. Preservation performed by taxidermist July 1932". Everyone was amused by the displays on the tree.  

After the March, there was a post-march festival with the event sponsors and other vendors. There was a live band as well. Everyone was checking out everyone's dogs. A young woman was quite taken by Kelsey. She told me that Kelsey looks just like her dog who recent passed away, and she told me her dog was a Hovawart. I told her everyone thought Kelsey was a mixed breed of Rottweiler and something else. She spelled out Hovawart and told me to look it up because that's what Kelsey looks like. I was surprised as I look at pictures of Hovawart, which means "an estate guard dog" and read its characteristics. Kelsey definitely matches most of the descriptions including getting along with non-canine pets in the household. It's an ancient German breed that's rare in the States, so people usually assume it's a mixed breed. I have seen many dogs including working at UC Davis Vet Med Hospital, but I had never heard of or seen a Hovawart before.  

Hovawart or Rottweiler mix?