Explain to me again...

...why I spend money on dog toys?



I can't even start to tell you how much fun it is to rake the lawn with a dog who:

1. Thinks leaves are the best toy EVER
2. Thinks toys need their space, and should not ever be collected into one discreet area.

Fun times!

This is why

Even though I work in Niagara Falls, I live in Fort Erie. People are always asking me why, since the current 20 minute commute will become much longer once winter hits - and there will most likely be some days when I won't make it into work at all due to road closures.

There are, of course, many reasons I chose to buy a house where I did (the main one being I did not want to live in the Falls - it's changed too much since I last lived there, almost 20 years ago). But here is the main reason I bought the house I did - all of these were taken on one of our daily walks, only minutes away from home.

There is nowhere in the Falls that I could let Kip off-leash*, for almost the entire walk, and in an area that gives him so much fun.


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* yes, it is against city by-laws to both have a dog off-leash and on the beach. It's October - there is no one else on the beach, and very few other people even walking in the area. I pay attention, and call Kip to me if there is someone else walking, and I always have his leash (and his tags - note he's not wearing a collar) with me. If I ever get caught, so be it :)

Lazy Sunday

I like to take Kip to areas that will challenge him in terms of training. So today, taking advantage of the nice fall Sunday, we went to Niagara-on-the-Lake.


We saw historic buildings.


We met some horses, and sat pretty even though they smelled really really really good.


We thought about going here for afternoon tea.


But they said "NO dogs!!". We didn't want to go there anyway.


We pondered the wisdom of a tourist area planting poisonous plants.

We thought about going to the theater, but instead...


... we just sat on their bench.


We window-shopped for artwork.


And then we came home, made soup and went to sleep. Well, one of us made soup, and one went to sleep. Guess which one??

Location, location, location

So, why did I buy a house like this? That needs everything inside replaced? Other than the price, the style of the house and it's large yard, it was location, location, location. It is literally seconds from Lake Erie. And the lake shore area here is all parks, walkways, and trails. A great area to go for a walk; an even better area to take your dog for a walk. Here are some pictures taken this fall; I'll try to get more this winter. And don't tell anyone I said this, but I can let Kip off-leash when no one else is around - it's fun for him, and good training for his recall! We have even done an entire, door-to-door, 30 minute walk off-leash. We did encounter other people, but he heeled quite nicely past them. He's a GOOD dog!