May 9, 2012

A Bundle of Joy and a Stork?

Two years ago, I held a beautiful bundle of joy in my arms. No, it's the not a third child whom I never speak of (the one who lives under the stairs). Two years ago today, we brought home Meeko. That's actually Emma in the photo, holding him as we drove home. It happened to be Mother's Day and that seemed like a perfectly fitting day to me.

When we brought Meeko home, he was smaller than the phone book.
Meeko was calm and cuddly for about three days, actually it may have been more like three hours, before becoming a highly energetic, rambunctious rascal. I lost some weight in the first few months he was with us and slept more soundly than I had in years. Meeko moved constantly and it almost always involved mischief, so I needed to move as fast as he did. He would nip our ankles as we walked across rooms. Soft-coated Wheaten terriers originated in Ireland where they were used primarily as farm dogs. They would tend sheep. We figured it was his sheep-herding instincts coming to the fore. We couldn't wear anything that dangled (skirts, scarves) or he would try to snatch it. He tried to snack on just about every plant in my back garden. He chewed on the edges of a couple of pieces of furniture and gnawed a hole in the middle of a wall (don't ask me how, I honestly don't know how he did it). We bought the special bitter lotion that is sold to deter dogs from chewing furniture and, wouldn't you know it, he liked the taste of it! He pulled my recipe books off the bottom shelves of the bookcase (we had to fence the bookcase off for a year). He chewed many, many sprinklers of my watering system in the back garden. I really don't have room to fully list all of his shenanigans.

Meeko thinks that the stories of all of his puppy mischief are quite funny.
With a lot of work on our part and a good deal of maturing on his, he has turned into the wonderful dog he is today. He is goofy. He is joyful. He is faithful and affectionate. And he is smart like you wouldn't believe. At the dog training courses we took, I was told to keep my words to him brief. But I can't. I talk to him in words, sentences and paragraphs and he's absorbed a good part of it. The number of words he understands is really quite remarkable. Emma has even taught him a number of commands in ASL (American Sign Language). He still has a few rough edges, but then I guess so do most of us. He has captured even the reluctant hearts in this household and a few more in our neighbourhood as well. I love him deeply.

Speaking of bundles of joy, I could have sworn I saw a stork out the front window this morning. There is a small man-made lake in the park across the street. I am used to seeing a great blue heron there, but this bird was white. Then I realized, there were two of them. I searched online and found out that they are great egrets. Just beautiful. Chloé and I both took photos.


The second one is on the other side of the grasses (a bit to the left). It almost looks like a mirror image.
I hope they visit again. (This photo is by Chloé)

17 comments:

  1. Great shots!

    We have herons over here, as well the odd egret, that like to go "fishing" in backyard fishponds. I remember coming home one day and all my beautiful gold fish I had reared from babies were down the grey heron's gullet. He just stood in the middle of my pond, hoping I'd restock it for him. Cheeky bugger.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Handsome Meeko - and the egrets are beautiful! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I "awwww"-ed outloud when I saw the first photo ! What a bundle of joy indeed !
    What a beautiful post you've written about Meeko, and so full of love & tender words. I so would love to see him in action !
    I also laughed about the "3rd child", since I joke with hubby that Gary is like our 3rd child, ahahah !
    We have a bunch of egrets by the wetlands, by the seaside. I love to spot them too.
    xoxo Big hugs to you & handsome & smart Meeko, from me & sleepy Gary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Speaking of pets, it is raining cats and dogs here right now (such a funny expression).

      Thanks for your always thoughtful words Sonia. Meeko reminded me so much of a toddler during his puppyhood. A third child in many ways. A big hug back to you and gorgeous Gary.

      Delete
  4. your dog has so much personality

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh and I forgot to say how adorable your furry baby was/is!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. After two of the regular sort, this one's a furry one for sure! :)

      Delete
  6. i grew up with dogs. i look stupid when i'm with them - i dance with them, talk to them, sing to them my songs, read to them glück; and even more stupid when one dies. i look like i'm staring at armageddon. though unlike you, i prefer the "go catch 'em and bring their heads to me" type. violence + arts and poetry; really doesn't match, but i love them.

    as of this writing, i have a puppy chewing on a marble table. if he can cut a leg short, i'll donate him to the army. if not, i'll buy bitter lotion. thanks for mentioning.

    i wont be online this sunday so let me greet you in advance a very hapy mother's day. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Meeko and I have been known to dance in the kitchen together. And I will admit singing 'You Are My Sunshine' to him. :) I grew up with dogs too. Thanks for the Mother's Day wishes.

      Delete
  7. oops. it's *happy*. typo galore.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I am always smiling when reading your blog, even if I hardly understand each word unfortunately. I didn't know Meeko was such a rascal, he seems to be an angel !
    You definitely live in a wonderful place....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He doesn't get into as much trouble anymore, but we still have to be careful not to leave important things lying around. I would love to bring him upstairs to my studio but he still enjoys eating the odd piece of paper which would not be a good thing there. :)

      Delete
  9. Lovely Meeko, don't you just need another one or two? I would love lots of dogs, I was thinking it was another addition to your family with the title :) puppy that is! The birdies are fantastic how exciting to see them! We get big grey herons flying over, they do like fishing in peoples ponds!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, I think one Meeko is enough. :) We have a heron that visits the little lake too. So majestic. We are lucky I guess that what they are eating are municipal fish and not our own!

      Delete

Thanks so much for taking the time to visit my blog and to leave me a comment. I love reading them. -- Kathleen

(Please note that comments with links to ads or commercial websites will be deleted.)

BROWSE MY BLOG BY THEME

autumn (26) backyard (19) birds (17) creativity (7) family (37) flowers (32) friends (13) garden (72) gardening (7) hope (8) leaves (17) Meeko (95) nature photography (14) original watercolor (9) painting (55) paintings (34) print (12) rain (16) soft-coated Wheaten terrier (28) spring (28) studio (13) summer (12) watercolor (102) watercolour (98) winter (19)