Cracus Revisits His Rescuer

I came across Animal Refugee Shelter website on November 1, 2014, when I was looking for a dog to adopt around my area. I had already stopped by Berkeley Animal Services and didn't find a dog that was a good fit. I found a very cute and playful large labradoodle, who I adored, but I knew that I wasn't going to have enough time to devote to another large dog.

I found a few possible dogs on Animal Refugee Shelter and The Milo Foundation websites. I stopped by Animal Refugee Shelter first, and there I found Cracus. It's been almost a year since I adopted Cracus. I found out that his shelter was having a community BBQ today and wanted to bring Cracus for a quick visit.

Cracus appeared to be a little nervous when we got there. Perhaps it was from all the dogs' barking. Cracus barked a lot when I saw him behind bars on November 1st, 2014. He was happy to see Blythe, who runs the shelter. He put his head on her lap. I wish I had taken a few pictures.

I recently had a conversation with a woman in her 20's. She bought a male Akita/husky from a breeder a few years ago and has not get the dog neutered. She told me that she isn't able to board her dog at any dog boarding facility because he's not fixed. I asked her whether she's planning on breeding her dog. She said no. I asked why not get the dog fixed? She said that is cruel, and she will not abuse her dog. That was an interesting point of view because I feel it's a much bigger abuse when unwanted pets are euthanized. I asked her what if he gets out and get a female dog pregnant? She said he is not going to get out. She also insists her dog is very gentle and has no aggression. I couldn't say anything else to make her see that getting our pets fixed is the responsible thing to do.

Just look at all these dogs waiting for homes.

Even More Passion Fruit!

Another year has gone by and now the entire arbor is almost covered by passion fruit vines. Some of them have extended to the top. This was what I had hoped for. Even though I have moved to a smaller location, the original Sand Village Farm is now occupied by my parents, so I still get to go pick all the passion fruit I can ever eat. I thought of propagating some to my little backyard, but there is no reason to grow the same fruit. My kiwi vines will need a few more years to reach maturity to produce fruit.

In the meantime, I am thinking of growing a couple dwarf fruit trees. Perhaps a mullberry tree and some gooseberries. I will be working on my little backyard garden in the upcoming months.

The wrinkled ones are the sweetest!

Dog Key for Dog House

The new house key

It has been almost a year since we moved to our new house. A couple days ago I stopped by The Home Depot to make a copy of a key for work. While I was waiting, I saw all the custom keys they have for sale. One particular key got my attention - the dog with a bone key. I got it for my house key. It is the only appropriate key since there are more dogs living in this house than human. 

Cracus and Kelsey at Pt. Isabel

My dog sitting business through Rover.com is doing quite well. There are more demands than I can take on. Today I have the most number of dogs on one day - 5 including my own 2 dogs.  Two of them will be picked up this evening.

I have several repeat customers now and many requests for day care, which unfortunately, I am not yet able to provide with my day job.

Cracus and Charlie napping after their Pt. Isabel outing

On weekends, I love sitting in my little backyard with my morning coffee watching the dogs play. They can run through the dog run on the side of the house, jump through the dog door in the garage, then run through the house and come out from the backdoor into the yard again and repeat. It's fun watching them run in a pack and loop around the house.

I have learned how to feed 4 dogs at the same time without them fighting each other. I have also walked 4 dogs at the same time although it wasn't as graceful as it should. It's all been a very fun and interesting experience.

Charlie demonstrates puppy yoga while Cracus and Buddy observe

Te Anau, New Zealand

It's very cold in the early morning

I have originally intended to spend a couple nights near Milford Sound; however, the accommodations for Milford Sound are rather limited. After doing further research around Fiordland, I decided to visit Te Anau and take a cruise through Doubtful Sound instead. There are many choices for accommodation in Te Anau. I was able to get a single room at YHA Te Anau for a very good price. While I could share a room with others to save even more money, my dormitory days were long ago. I much prefer to get my own room unless I am only transiting.   

Te Anau is very small. There is one street called "Town Center," and that IS the town center. Many stores and restaurants are closed for winter. There are 2 major grocery stores, Four Square and Fresh Choice, Both stores are just a few blocks away from YHA. It was nice to be able to prepare my meals in the spacious YHA kitchen and save money for bigger cities that I will be visiting.

I booked an 8-hour Wilderness Cruise with Real Journeys. It involved getting on a bus, getting on a small ferry, getting on a bigger bus, and then getting on a bigger cruise. On the way back, we got back on the bus again. It was a long journey, so people started to connect with each other to exchange travel stories. The views were incredible, and it was a plus to have good companies.

  

The weather was nice once we sailed out in the open. We were told that it had been 30 days since the sun was out and the sky was blue. We all felt really lucky! We departed for the cruise at 8:45 a.m. By the time we return back to Te Anau, it was about 6 pm and completely dark. I went sleep early.

Arriving Middle Earth Again

aerial view of Queenstown

After more than 20 hours of traveling - from BART to SFO to Auckland and finally Queenstown, I have finally begun my second journey to Middle Earth on July 4th, 2015. I have not stopped thinking about coming back here ever since my last visit in July 2014. I wanted to visit more of The Lord of the Rings locations and just to see more of this beautiful green country. It was however difficult for me to leave Kelsey and Cracus for more than two week especially since this would be the first time I am away from Cracus since he was adopted on November 1st, 2014.

Lake Wakatipu

I stayed at YHA Queenstown Lakefront for my first stop. My home for the first two nights faces beautiful Lake Wakatipu. It involves a 10-minute walk into town, but it's a good way to start the day. This is where people come to ski, snowboard, and do bungy jump. I don't do any of those. I am here to see the beautiful scenery and to unwind from the hectic life of an elementary school administrator. The air is cold there, but I rarely feel cold when I am traveling. I am on foot for most of my journey, and it keeps my blood pumping.

Lake Wakatipu

There are many shops in the small area of Queenstown city center. As soon as I got off the bus, the display in the store window caught my attention.  It's a set of The Hobbit rings and necklaces. This is definitely Middle Earth. Tomorrow I will join a Safari of the Rings tour.