Just a Leaf

It is just a leaf. A Plains Cottonwood leaf to be more precise. But that morning it was much more. That morning I was sitting in the backyard with my dying dog. The cancer had finally closed it's fist around her body and was squeezing hard. We knew out time together was reaching the terminus of the arc projected that April day we were joined together 12 1/2 years ago in central Alberta.  

I was spending a few last precious moments with her that morning reminiscing over the overlap of our lives and what she meant to me and my family. She joined us when our family was composed of me, Laura, Kiela our golden retriever, and Luna the border collie. Benton joined us less than a year later and Crean a few years after that. She was the youngster causing problems with the old dogs and eating baby socks. Then she was our only dog. My boys have always had her as a companion and that was about to change. 

As I stroked her back I noticed a cottonwood leaf next to her. It had also reached the terminus of its life and fallen from our backyard tree. That connection in death - my dog and this leaf -  struck me and I placed it on her side. The fallen leaf triggered autumn memories of days hunting sharptails in the Eastern Montana wooded draws and sage-grouse in the barely green washes of the dry sagebrush flats (where she always amazed me by finding water to immerse herself in no matter how dry it was - she was a water dog). Then the bitterly cold morning when she retrieved three Canada Geese from a slushy Missouri River and then stood in the river, decked in jeweled ice waiting for more. 

Then it dawned on me that I was looking at a golden heart with a black hole in it and the leaf became even more. It was me and my family. We have lots of family memories that include that dog. Her little walkabouts in Fort Peck that left us scrambling to find her only to have her stroll home when she had had enough (or announce her presence in the back of the pickup where I had forgotten her when we got home) to a week on a Minnesota lake where she spent 90% of her time either leisurely paddling around the cove or flying off the dock to retrieve something the kids had thrown for her.  She had integrated herself into our hearts from the first five hours of crying during our initial ride home to her last hours crawling into the backyard pool for one last dip (she was a water dog). She is gone now. There is a hole in our lives somewhat filled by the spunky pup Sage, but she is gone.

I got up and the leaf slipped off her back and into the grass. 

Addie our Flatcoat

This weekend we got out and about a bit. My pup is now getting pretty stiff after a good day of walking. I can't believe she will be 11 in a couple  of months.

Flatcoated Retriever - Addie

Odds and Ends

I have been lacking coherent thoughts with anything unrelated to work (some would argue that my thoughts at work are no longer coherent either) so here are a few odds and ends I have been meaning to post about for a while.

The first item is a chance to help out with a small scale conservation effort directed at an endangered grassland bird. Earlier this year Charlie at 10,000 Birds was birding in Kenya and happened to get some good photos of the Endangered and range-restricted Sharpe's Longclaw (a bird that looks remarkably like our familiar Western Meadowlark). He posted his photos to 10,000 Birds and added that if anyone would like to use the photos for conservation of this species, he would be willing to provide them. One thing let to another and Charlie and 10,000 Birds is now trying to raise a small amount of money for conservation work on this species. Below is what Charlie as to say about the project he worked up or you can read more about it here. Please consider donating to this project (I did). I believe it is one of those instances where a little bit of money can go a long way and thanks to Charlie for recognizing the need and organizing this effort.

Sharpe’s Longclaw (Macronyx sharpeii) is an Endangered and highly range-restricted East African endemic species in the Motacillidae (pipits and wagtails) family. As with so many grassland endemics, this attractive bird is threatened by habitat destruction and is in serious trouble. To promote awareness of the plight of the species, and to help raise funds for research and conservation, the popular blog 10000 Birds has set up a project called the “Small African Fellowship for Conservation”. 10,000 Birds aims to raise US2000 (or more!) by a simple - and secure - online fund-raiser system called Chip In. ALL the money raised will go directly towards a one-year fellowship for field surveys and public awareness campaigns on Kenya’s Kinangop Plateau (one of only three sites with viable populations of Sharpe’s Longclaw) conducted by an inspirational local birder called Dominic Kamau Kimani. The entire project and the distribution of funds to Dominic is being coordinated by the National Museums of Kenya.

This really is a worthwhile (and achievable) project to help save a rapidly disappearing species. Chip in, or read more about the project and Dominic at http://10000birds.com/sharpes-longclaw-10000-birds-and-the-small-african-fellowship-for-conservation.htm"

Photo of a Sharpe's Longclaw courtesy of Charlie at 10,000 Birds.

The next item is a chance for you to provide a voice in how one of the largest National Wildlife Refuges in the lower 48 states will be managed. The Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge is currently working on producing it's latest management plan, called a Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP). They are currently soliciting comments on their range of management alternatives and I encourage you to check out information on this plan here. The latest publication on the planning efforts can be found here (PDF, 2.66 mb). The cover has a great photo of a beautiful lady and her young son with a pair of rather large binoculars glued to his eyes and there are a few more photos of a group of birders in the document that may look familiar to some of you. One thing I have learned since working on federal planning and review efforts is the power of good comments so please take time to review the documents and consider sending the refuge your comments on their plan.



Next is a link that I was given by a friend of a friend after a few email exchanges and the revelation that I have a Flatcoated Retriever (Addie is still here and her usual Flatcoat self. I haven't posted about her in a long time but maybe now that bird season is here...) Anyway, the link is for a Flatcoat breeder not that far away from me with similar interests in dogs and birds. I need to get in touch with Andy and Liz but if you would like to see some photos of their gorgeous working Flatcoats check out their website here.

Addie earlier this spring.

And last, but certainly not least, is a photo from the first day of school for my getting taller-by-the-minute oldest son Benton. Plus a photo of Benton and Crean from earlier in the summer just for fun.

Instead of blogging...

I just realized my blog posting has been quite slow lately. The following photos tell, in part, why.

Dog question

For Peck, MT - I have a question concerning my Flatcoated Retriever. She has this annoying and potentially fatal habit of eating socks (and an even more annoying but less lethal habit of barfing them back up in the living room). Any thoughts on how to cure her of this? We have been working hard at limiting her access to socks but in our house with 2 young boys, the socks seem to wind up all over the place. She seems to particularly like the boys sock but it may be just a matter of size. Thanks.

This is the sock-eater. Pretty darn good dog otherwise.

Flying Flatcoat and other tidbits

On Saturday I took Addie, our Flatcoated Retriever, to the river for a little dummy training. I love watching this dog go into the water.

This morning we surveyed 4 leks before the snow started to fly. All had increases in the number of displaying males from the last couple of years. This is one of the last best places for Greater Sage-grouse in the world and we are busy doing lek surveys for much of April.

For those of you who happened to watch 60 Minutes on Sunday night and caught the segment on the affects of global warming in Antarctica, you saw one of my favorite places in Antarctica. I worked for one field season at the location where Wayne and Sue Trivelpiece were interviewed and Wayne was my graduate advisor. It was really nice to see images of my "home" for a few wonderful months one year. Despite being back to Antarctica a number of times since working at Copacabana on King George Island, I haven't had the pleasure of going back. I would really like to visit again one of these days just to see how things have changed. If you missed the show you can visit the website here