Sunday, April 24, 2022

Beagle Number Four: Bernie

One big event that occurred during my blogging lapse was the addition of Bernie to our family. 

March 2016

Our Bonnie (Beagle Number Three) died in early January, 2016. Almost immediately, Jim started browsing Petfinder, in search of a new companion. He found Bernie, being held at the Eaton County Humane Society. He'd been picked up as a stray, and was estimated to be about four years old. Frankly, I didn't think the picture was very impressive, but Jim persuaded me that we should take a look. We drove there on the Martin Luther King holiday, January 18, 2016. 

Bernie still needed to be neutered, so we couldn't adopt him yet. We took him home, though, as a "foster," with the agreement to bring him back for neutering on the 26th. We then formally adopted him on the 28th, and brought him home for good. For us, though, January 18th is his "gotcha" day.

Because of Bonnie's penchant for digging under the fence, we decided to reinforce the fence before allowing Bernie out back unsupervised. This meant a lot of standing out there with him on a leash, sometimes in snow, sometimes under an umbrella (it was several months before we got the fence sorted). As it turns out, Bernie seems to have no wanderlust at all; he has only wandered off once, and this was when he followed his nose out an open gate.

They say it takes three weeks for a rescue dog to start settling into his new home. This was certainly the case with Bernie! There were days when I wondered, "What have we done?!?" He wanted lots of attention, he beagled my knitting projects, and he barked— a lot! Happily, he did indeed start to settle down after several weeks. 

As soon as possible, we enrolled Bernie in one of Gail's classes at Briar Wood Dog Training. He got along fine with the other dogs. He was smaller than most of them, and announced his arrival each week with riotous howling. It took a while before I could get him to sit, but Gail assured me I wasn't going to break him if I forced his little rump down. When the class ended, he had indeed graduated, and was given the "most improved" award.

We stuck with the classes for a while, attending an intermediate class, and then a hobby class. The socialization was good for him, and he turned out to be a smart little guy (in spite of being a typically stubborn hound). When he finally learned "by heel" and "bang," we felt like he'd arrived! 

We've had Bernie six years now. He's a happy ten-year-old, and very much part of our family. Here are some things we've come to learn about our boy.

  1. He has some anxiety. He doesn't like his crate, but he'll go to it on command, and if we're gone, he's happier there. He knows when we're getting ready to leave, and tries to "hide" in the couch. If I go outside to work in the yard, he isn't interested in joining me, but prefers to simply stand by the door, howling.
  2. He happily eats his dog food, but not until he's sure there's nothing better available. He eats a little after our walk, and leaves the rest until the evening. After he's finished begging (unsuccessfully) for our dinner, he tackles his own food in earnest.
  3. He gets along well with other dogs. We've had dogs stay with us, and while Bernie doesn't play with them, or become best buddies, he is happy to let them share his couch.
  4. Bernie's absolute favorite thing is going for a walk. He lives for his walks, and enjoys a good sniffari - there are so many good smells! He will pause in the park so little kids can pet him (although this is more successful at the end of a walk, when he has satisfied his urge to smell the world). He does like to bark at other dogs, but most people simply laugh and say, "he's a beagle!"
  5. Speaking of which - Bernie is unusually small for a beagle, so we sent a test to Wisdom Panel to check his DNA. We learned that he is 100% beagle. According to the DNA analysis, seven of his great grandparents were field beagles (which I take to mean "hunting"), and one was a show beagle (which I take to mean "not hunting"). I've heard that beagles sometimes end up lost while out hunting; perhaps that was the case with Bernie.
  6. Perhaps because of that hunting gene, he isn't bothered in the least by thunderstorms or by fireworks. This definitely makes our life easier!
  7. If you leave a glass of water on the floor by your feet, Bernie will help himself to it. I sometimes have a jar of M&Ms on the floor, and Bernie has never been interested in them, until one evening, just last week. I looked down to discover him standing there with his nose in the jar, having a good old time!
  8. Bernie likes to play with his treats, throwing them in the air and pouncing on them. Occasionally we hear a desperate howl, calling us to rescue his treat from under some piece of furniture.
  9. As far as we know, he's never met a cat in person. But when he sees one from his perch on the couch, he explodes. There's a grey and white cat who regularly walks past our house (or even in our yard), and Bernie goes ballistic. One time there were baby skunks in the front yard; I thought they were adorable, and Bernie thought they were a danger to life as we know it. Happily, he only observed them through the window. (At this point, I made sure to pick up materials for a de-skunking bath, just in case.)
Here are a few photos from the six years Bernie's been with us. Frankly, it was hard picking just a few; he's a very photogenic boy!

At the shelter in 2016 - a nervous pup

Proof he graduated from his
obedience class

July 2016, Robin & Bernie

October 2016, Bernie and Tonks

Thanksgiving 2016, Jim and Bernie

December 2016, Christmas Party with
Bernie's Briar Wood buddies

"If I can't see you, then you can't see me."

January 2018, watching the world from
his perch on the couch

September 2018, with his tall friend Tundra

November 2018, enjoying the snow

November 2019, looking good in
the fall foliage

April 2021, Bernie's friend Violetta

April 2022

In case you consider a rescue dog!

Friday, April 22, 2022

Haiku Challenge, Part Two

More of the April Haiku. I had planned to post this on the 20th (its being a round number), but life happens... Anyway, here are my latest and greatest (and not-so-greatest).

April 12 - an accomplishment
This haiku describes a bit of music for trumpet. The music is the prelude to Domenico Zipoli's Suite in F Major. I first heard this in the early 1980s, on an LP I bought through a record-of-the-month club. The version I have now is on a CD, "Concertos pour trompette," and is played by Maurice André. 

That trumpeter’s song - the notes climb high, higher, while my heart holds its breath.

Here's a recording of that Prelude - enjoy! 


April 13 - when you feel most alive

Simple food, cooked for friends and family. We eat and enjoy together.

April 14 - grief

I long to chat with Mom again, share that funny story, fix the past.

April 15 - a place you feel safe @HumanHaiku shared this one. It's one of my favorites, too.

This home is kindness and love, trust and acceptance. Here, come as you are.

April 16 - something you love about yourself 

I’ve learned the folly of impatience. Wait and watch are better signposts.

April 17 - an emotion you've felt today Easter Sunday

His disciples shared Sorrow, Amazement, and Joy. Today, we sing Hope.

April 18 - what's happening in the world Woke up to a news report of multiple shootings over the weekend

More shootings today. Ten people, nine, ten more— But guns will protect us.

April 19 - what inspires you @HumanHaiku shared this one, too.

Some ideas don’t come til you begin, til you just put pen to paper.

April 20 - fear

Meeting the stranger, you’re cautious — but be assured: Love can displace fear.

April 21 - where you want to escape to

In the woods, safe from weather, a quiet spot to read, paths to wander

April 22 - an influential person in your life I remember doing math homework with my dad. He kept observing that I needed to write my numbers more neatly, or I'd add the wrong columns and get invalid results. I recently was tutoring a student in math, and found myself encouraging him to write his numbers more neatly...

He put worms on hooks, wanted tidy math papers, loved with kind patience.

Eight more days...! 

Bernie reminds you that it's
National Beagle Day



Monday, April 11, 2022

Haiku Challenge

I am fond of haiku as a poetic form. The Encyclopedia Britannica describes haiku as the "art of expressing much and suggesting more in the fewest possible words" [fn1]. The ability to convey an idea or image in three brief lines, following a (fairly) strict format, seems magical. For instance, here is a haiku by Matsuo Bashō, who wrote in the 1600s:

On a withered branch
A crow has alighted;
Nightfall in autumn.

I've occasionally tried my hand at creating haiku, but have never shared my poems (and I'm not sure I could find them now - probably they're stuck on a hard drive somewhere). I follow @HumanHaiku on Instagram, and for the month of April (National Poetry Month), they've created daily haiku prompts. I've committed to follow those prompts, and write a haiku each day.

So far, it's been an interesting process. I'm very happy with some of my haiku, and less than thrilled with others. I've never been good at anything that requires introspection, so that's been a real challenge. But, challenges notwithstanding, here are the haiku I've written so far.

April 1 - who you are as a human now Ugh. This is my least favorite of my haiku, but they do get better.

Family and friends, yarn and books, writing, walks with my thoughts and the dog.

April 2 - your childhood When I was twelve, my family was investigating a new church. On a Sunday in August, my mother and I attended our first service at this church. The chapel was simple - no stained glass windows here. In fact, with no air conditioning, the windows were probably open to the sounds of traffic outside. @HumanHaiku shared this one.

A new church, with Mom. Summer light thru windows. Hymns, prayers, welcome. We’re home.

April 3 - your teenage years I wasn't brave enough to actually address my teens! Instead, I wrote about my perspective as an adult, looking back.

Laughing in the food aisle, as songs my teen self lived by play overhead.

April 4 - becoming an adult

I’ve finally learned what should be said, and what ought to be left unsaid.

April 5 - your family Mom was a skilled pianist, but felt that we kids should learn piano from someone else. So she taught other kids, after school, so that we four could take our lessons (piano and other instruments - trumpet, flute, clarinet, violin) elsewhere.

Mom taught piano, then turned around and paid for our music lessons.

April 6 - change

Leaf-crunch yields to snow; snow muds into daffodils. We trust the seasons.

April 7 - your community I was pretty happy with this one.

We break bread, share joy, bear each other’s grief, and so build community.

April 8 - your favorite nature spot

The beagle and I, surrounded by trees, pause for the spring peepers’ song

April 9 - failure Mary Oliver's poem, "The Summer Day," includes the lines "Tell me, what is it you plan to do / with your one wild and precious life?" [fn2] My haiku is a bit of a nod to her language there. I sometimes look at my friends - here a CFO, there a published scholar, this one a mother who started a new career when the little ones grew up - and wonder what they think of my small and quiet accomplishments. Perhaps they shake their heads, but I am content. Among the haiku I've written so far, this is one of my favorites. @HumanHaiku shared this one.

If I am content with my small and quiet life, who’s to say that’s wrong?

April 10 - something you’re learning As I was preparing to retire from my programming job, I imagined myself tidying our home, organizing this room, deep cleaning another. Hah! Why did I think I was suddenly going to morph into this new person?

Before, I couldn’t find time for chores. Now I’ve learned to simply ignore them.

April 11 - something you know to be true

Winter has beauty, but when the cold outlasts the snow, Spring will return.

Tomorrow's prompt is "an accomplishment." Yikes.

fn1: See https://www.britannica.com/art/haiku

fn2: See https://www.loc.gov/programs/poetry-and-literature/poet-laureate/poet-laureate-projects/poetry-180/all-poems/item/poetry-180-133/the-summer-day/