emyday

Samhain 2008 - ADF Style with a Native Twist

2008-12-11T19:03:45Z

For the first time ever, Lance attended a ritual ... not only one, but TWO! He came with me to the Simucor rit. He also worked through the rit that I had set up for home. It was supposed to be solitary and was set up as such.

He wasn't impressed with the Simucor rit, but said he enjoyed the one I put together (in ADF style). I copied and pasted mostly, but I had to add the hanging of the flags for the Medicine Wheel from our wedding too. And I removed some parts too.

He was right - the Simucor rit wasn't very good (they brought in B. Walsh), and I also enjoyed the Solitary one we completed together.

Samhain – 2008

Declaration of Intent

The days grow shorter still, and night comes fast upon us now. In this time of darkness we are here to welcome in the last harvest, to enjoy the final fruits of our labor before the coming harshness of Winter. In elder days the Folk knew that spirits were about this night, and they made offerings that the sprites might be gentle. They knew that on this night the Dead are with us and must be given their due, lest they reward our arrogance with mischief of their own. So on this night let us remember our Ancestors and all our Honored Dead, let us celebrate with the Nature Spirits around us, and let us honor the Shining Ones, so we may enjoy the Kindreds’ blessings through the darkness of Winter.

Honoring the Earth Mother

Honor the Earth Mother:

Earth Mother, our lives are nursed from your bounty.

You are the food that nourishes us, the wealth that enriches us, even the very ground we walk on.

O Great Mother, all joy and prosperity comes from you, and it is you who sustains us.

Earth Mother, we honor you now to thank you for the bounty you bestow upon us.

Outdwellers Appeasement

Outside of the ritual space, give salt to the Outdwellers, saying:

You who come from the outer dark,

You who stood against the gods and man,

You who are cold of heart and cruel of mind,

Take this and trouble not our work.

Creating Sacred Space

Here I declare sacred center, where all times and places meet. Let it be as the world tree, the central axis of the world, so that all spirits and beings of good will may be welcome here to share in this rite!
Visualize the roots of the tree growing deep into the earth, and the branches reaching up to the heavens.

Place the water in the Well, saying:
Sacred well, whose waters flow and swirl beneath us. May your depths connect our spirits to the great underground sea and the ageless powers below.
Visualize the bottom of the well connecting to an ocean in the depths of the earth.

Place some incense in the Fire, saying:
Sacred fire, carry all offerings to the gods and the beloved dead. May you warm all my spirit and my life.
Visualize the smoke and flame connecting to shadowy, stylized places where graceful and dimly seen beings receive the smoke as if it were solid.

Invocation of Mannanan:
Mannanan mac Lir, Grey Walker, Keeper of the Gates. You guided the Ancestors to the Isle of Avalon. Open now the way and convey my welcome to all those I would welcome at this hearth, that we may share in this celebration together.
Visualize doorways being opened above the Tree, the Well and the Fire

Honoring and Inviting the Three Kindreds

Ancestors

Hear us, Old Ones, our ancestors and kin,

You whose blood flows in our veins.

From you we spring and with you we will grow in health.

Ancestors, remember us as we remember you.

Make an offering of bread to the ancestors and says: Ancestors, accept our offering!

From far beyond this mortal plane, mothers and fathers of old

We pray that you return again, mothers and fathers of old

To share with us the mysteries and secrets long untold

Of the ancient ways we seek to reclaim, mothers and fathers of old

Nature Spirits

Hear us, Spirits of the Land,

You of stone and stream, of beast and herb and tree.

From you we learn to live in harmony with our world, and ourselves.

Nature spirits, aid us as we aid you.

Make an offering of bird seed to nature spirits and say: Nature spirits, accept our offering!

Fur and feather and scale and skin,

Different without but the same within.

Many of body but one of soul,

Through all creatures are the gods made whole.

Gods

Hear us, Shining Ones of eld, you who uphold the worlds.

You who guide us and protect us, O patrons and matrons,

In you we grow in wisdom, strength, and purity.

Honor us as we honor you.

Make an offering of oil to the gods and say: Shining Ones, accept our offering!

Bardic Inspiration

Invoke Brighid, goddess of bards, healers, and smiths:

Bright Brighid, Daughter of the Daghdha, Flame of Inspiration,

Maker of metal, Maker of good health, Maker of song,

With you as our mother we need fear no sickness,

With you as our mother we need fear no dull swords,

With you as our mother we need fear no empty words.

Our tribe is triple-blessed, O shining light of the hearth,

and we your children ask you to alight in our hearts,

Alight in our heads, and alight in our voices,

That we may give praise to the gods with good skill.

Make an offering of oil in the Fire to Brighid and say: Brighid, accept our offering.

Ritual Purpose, and Honoring the Spirits of the Occasion

In this time, when the Otherworld is near and the ways between are freely traveled, we honor those who have come before, the Dead and the Powers who guide them, and we ask for their guidance and blessing in return. As the tree grows tall and strong from the foundation of the great Earth, so too do we grow wise by listening to the words of the Ancestors. All we are arises from all they have been. On this night of Samhain, let us hear the whispers of the Wise, let us walk the Old Ways well, and let the Spirits ward us tonight and through the rest of Winter.

Hanging the Flags

First, honour the ground by giving prayer and a give-away of sage, cornmeal, tobacco, sweet grass. Do this by pinching and breaking off the sage and sweet grass, taking a pinch of tobacco and cornmeal, and holding it up towards the sky, honoring the Great Spirit for allowing you to do this ceremony.

Then hold the herbs down towards the earth, to honour Mother Earth that she is there for you to have the ceremony upon.

We built this Medicine Wheel with the help of our friends and family to use in the handfasting ritual that binds us together. We asked each of the Medicines and the Great Spirit to be present for our handfasting and we thank you for attending – Miigwech.

These four colours represent many things. It is a circle which represents our lives, who we were and how we will grow together; a symbol of our love and devotion to each other.

They also represent the four directions, four seasons, and four elements of the Medicine Wheel. They show us the four aspects of our nature … physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.

We wish to hang these flags in this grove to represent our Medicine Wheel. Our flags will become part of us, just as we are already a part of them.

Honour the four directions by holding the herbs out to the spirit in the East and thanking the spirit for coming.

Honour the South, the emotions, for being there and letting you feel.

Hold the herbs towards the West and honour the West for allowing you to have the body to do this ceremony with.

Hold them to the North and honour the North for giving you the mind for doing this ceremony.

Honoring the Ancestors

On the feast of Samhain the veils between the worlds are thin. We call to our Beloved Dead, the blessed Ancestors, to join our feast and receive due offering.

Come to the Gates, honored ones; hear our call, we your children who remember. We offer you our worship, our reverence and our love.

You who fill the empty womb, you who cause the seed to spring, you who fill the breast with milk, receive now these offerings, made in your honor:

Apples, the Fruit of Life and Death.

Pork, the flesh of the Sacred Sow.

Hazel nuts, concentrated meat of wisdom.

We offer these...

(apple offering made)

To the ancient heroes of the World; those men and women who did the bidding of the Gods for the good of the folk.

(pork offering made)

To the honored Dead of the passed year; those women and men of my folk who inspired and guided the whole world.

(hazel nuts offering made)

To our own Beloved Dead, Grandmothers-and-Fathers, family and friends who have gone ahead, we honor you and grieve for you.

To all of you we give these fruits and meats that you may feast in joy in the Land of the Dead.

Ancestors, accept our offering!

Shining Ones, Noble Ones, and Mighty Ones, we have given you praise and honor! We pray to you as we offer up these sacrifices. Accept them, open our hearts, and give to us of your blessings.

Closings

Thanking the deity of the occasion:
Brighid have we welcomed this day. May she go from here refreshed and made more joyous, as her blessing has renewed and uplifted us!

Thanking the kindreds:

We have called upon the Kindreds and they have answered us! With joy in our hearts let us carry the magic from our sacred grove into our lives and work.

Thanking the Outsiders:
Outsiders, you whose ways are not ours, I thank you for your forbearance. Without you there would be no change, yet in this moment, your absence was as welcome as once your presence was needed!

Thanking the Earth Mother:
Earth mother, we do not leave you, nor do you go from here, but as this rite comes to a close, once again we thank you for giving firm foundation to this hearth, for providing sustenance and life, that your children can give you love and honor.

Closing the portals:
Here have we met, gods and spirits, and ancestors. But now the sacred well becomes once again a simple bowl of water, the ancient bonfire once again a candle, and this tree may no longer touch the very arch of the heavens nor its roots be those which hold the worlds in their embrace.

Ending statement:
By Land, Sea and Sky, By Fire, Well and Tree
We end this rite.
We go forth with blessing, to bless the world in turn.
Miigwech, Thank you.

Each time we offer to the powers they become stronger and more aware of our needs and worship. So as we prepare to depart let us give thanks to those who have aided us.

Another Dream

2008-12-11T18:50:33Z

Had this dream last week and it has shaken me a LOT.

I am in a room. There is someone with me, but I'm not sure who. Whoever it is, it is a familiar presence. The room is a light colour - yellow maybe, or cream. In the room, near the ceiling is a simple wooden shelf. It is the same colour as the room and I wouldn't have known it for a shelf if it weren't for the small shadow cast underneath it and the bird sitting on it. I think the bird is a highly important part of the dream (the day right after I dreamt it, one of the schools was teaching students about owls ... it rocked me so hard it felt as though I had been hit). I believe it to be male. At first I couldn't identify him as anything other than an Owl. He was brown mottled, had tufts of feathers on his head and was very large. (I have since done some research about owls to try to identify him and I now believe him to be a Great Horned Owl.) He looked at me - as though right through me. Then he spread his wings. I don't know if he was flying to me or at me, but it was in the direction of my face/head/shoulders.

That's it. Thing is that it is one of those dreams that leaves you with super duper feelings that you can't shake. The ones you shouldn't ignore. It's very similar to the feelings I had when I experienced a vision during meditation. (Was doing a guided meditation and right after one specific part of the meditation when your mind is falling into a well, my mind didn't come back out till much later).

Anyway, like I said - all I could do is look up the Owl and try to guess. I'm not very good with dream interpretations. The only other thing I could think of was that it may have something to do with my search for my Patron Gods/Goddesses or Animal Totem. I haven't been working on this since May or June though, so although that thought crossed my mind I don't think that's it. Any ideas?

Blogging

2008-10-10T16:10:11Z

I have started a new blog! Check it out. It's called DogsDeserveFreedom
This way I can keep my LJ clean of training rants :)

emyday @ 2008-10-10T11:06:00

2008-10-10T15:10:28Z

Ok, so I completed this little 'survey' on troy1of2 's LJ page and the last thing is that I need to post this so he can answer it. So, here it is! Everyone else is quite welcome to answer too!!

If you're on my friends list, I want to know 36 things about you. I don't care if we never talk, or if we already know everything about each other. Short and sweet is fine... you're on my list, so I want to know you better!

Comment here and repost a blank one on your own journal.

01) Are you currently in a serious relationship?
02) What was your dream growing up?
03) What talent do you wish you had?
04) If I bought you a drink what would it be?
05) Favorite vegetable?
06) What was the last book you read?
07) What zodiac sign are you?
08) Any Tattoos and/or Piercings? Explain where.
09) Worst Habit?
10) If you saw me walking down the street would you offer me a ride?
11) What is your favorite sport?
12) Do you have a Pessimistic or Optimistic attitude?
13) What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me?
14) Worst thing to ever happen to you?
15) Tell me one weird fact about you.
16) Do you have any pets?
17) What if I showed up at your house unexpectedly?
18) What was your first impression of me?
19) Do you think clowns are cute or scary?
20) If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be?
21) Would you be my crime partner or my conscience?
22) What color eyes do you have?
23) Ever been arrested?
24) Bottle or can soda?
25) If you won $10,000 today, what would you do with it?
27) What's your favorite place to hang out at?
28) Do you believe in ghosts?
29) Favorite thing to do in your spare time?
30) Do you swear a lot?
31) Biggest pet peeve?
32) In one word, how would you describe yourself?
33) Do you believe/appreciate romance?
34) Favourite and least favourite food?
35) Do you believe in God?
36) Will you repost this so I can fill it out and do the same for you?

To Animal Lovers Out There

2008-10-10T14:38:03Z

For all you animal lovers out there this entry is for you. As our beloved pets get older, we are faced with many difficult choices. They are a part of the family. Very often, our pets become closer to us than our own human relatives. They know you, understand you, and communicate with you in such a way that your humans could never do.

Many people in my family say often that they wish we were legally allowed to euthanize humans when they get to a certain point - perhaps they have Alzeimers and have forgotten even the simplest thing such as how to eat; perhaps they have cancer (or some other form of terminal disease) and are living every day with pain. In each case, we often say to ourselves that we are kinder to animals than humans because we euthanize animals when they are in too much pain or discomfort to go on.

And yet, that being said ... many people just can't let go. It is because of this bond that we have with our animals that makes it so hard to let them go when it is time. Whether you are a horse lover or not, you should read this blog entry. This is the way we should arrange to have any beloved animal in our lives go. It is unfortunate that we can't allow our humans to go this way too.

Zeus Training Week 1

2008-10-03T20:26:28Z

Well, after thinking about how I'd like to present Zeus's training, I have decided to use weekly updates rather than daily. If I do daily, there will be an update about him every second day and this IS supposed to be my ADF journal after all!

Just realized that I haven't posted this week's lesson with Sam yet! Oops. Well this week all we did was Heel and Sit back and forth in the trailer with a Dog present. The dog is a Catahoula Leopard Dog (Zeke) that Sam is working with. He had the dog Sit and Down at the other end of the trailer while I fought with Zeus for nearly 30 minutes. Then, when Zeus had calmed down enough to do a bit of work, we did Heel and Sit from end to end of the trailer on opposite sides.

Once that was finished, we worked each of the dogs with the Bike. Zeus LOVED the bike ... yuck - that means that I have to pull out my old bike. Did you know, Sam asked me when the last time I got on a bike was? This is because my riding ability is particularly CRA PPY and I have trouble just going straight without falling. But ... because Zeus had a crazy amount of fun running along beside the bike, I guess I'll have to pull out my old bike and see about fixing it up. I haven't ridden it in over 13 years ... Yikes!! Guess that's my job for tomorrow, eh?

Ok, so this week I have brought Zeus in to town twice. Today and Tuesday. Yesterday Lance took him in for a day with him, so that caused all sorts of troubles! He was jumping and not heeling nor sitting at all. It's good though, for him to go with another handler with a different style because this shows him that he can be goofy with someone else, but I still expect a certain level of obedience to take him out.

He is doing well. He had one issue this afternoon where he barked at a person walking by (and a guy on a motorized wheelchair; and a squirrel!), but it turned out ok because I was able to pull him out of his obsession barking by using my voice and turning him once (no, not a million times!). He is really doing quite well. He didn't lunge at either the squirrel or the motorized wheelchair man, though he did at the young man that walked by us.

Pretty good progress for one week. It will take a while before those behaviours disappear completely, but the fact that I can pull him out of a behaviour is really great!

I am also particularly pleased with his Heel and Sit ability. I know it is all due to the hours I put into him over the summer, but it really helps to have that basic skill set down pat. When he doesn't know what to do, he sometimes will simply Heel and Sit because he thinks that is what is expected. Also he has started to Heel and Sit beside me when off leash inside the house, which is particularly nice.

Our goal - to drop 3 lbs. Sam says he will be easier to train and control if we drop a little weight. Zeus is due anyway - he's starting to feel pudgy.

Though it has been 3 days and my arms are KILLING me still from Tuesday at Sam's! I hope they feel better by tomorrow because I'd really like to work a bit with my weights before Tuesday's Training Session.

Book quote

2008-10-03T19:35:48Z

Ok, so this is a book quote thingie I borrowed from athenamsb

* Grab the nearest book.

* Open the book to page 56.

* Find the fifth sentence.

* Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions if you want to.

* Don't dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST.

Ok ... so mine is ... Lavinia by Ursula Le Guin

And the 5th sentence on page 56 is ... "She killed herself."

Zeus Training - Sam for Analysis and One Work Day

2008-09-30T20:13:29Z

So I took Zeus in last Tuesday to see Sam and see what Sam thinks. He showed well and displayed all the different aspects of him. Sam has decided that he is not agressive (I did know this already, but it's nice to hear from a pro), but that his reactivity has to do with environment change and not the stimuli. Yes, the different stimuli produce different behaviours, but it is not the stimuli that causes the problem - it is the lack of comfort in the environment.

We worked a bit in the trailer, then went to town, then back to the trailer.

Sam said the best thing right now to do is two things:

1) Long line work - find me for food. Right back to the basics.
2) Visits to different places. The visits should consist of the following: drive somewhere, get out of car/truck, stand with Zeus for 5 minutes until Zeus is calm enough to sit, get back in car/truck and take to another location. Then take home.

Well, I won't have time to do this after work, but I think this will go well if I bring him to work with me and he spends the day going from location to location with me. Of course, this would be only on cool days, but it should go well I think!

So I did this last Thursday. Things went really well. By the end of the day he wasn't getting panty when we stopped, though he still became agitated and excited. We went 4 places; ALC, Angus Morrison, Pine River, New Lowell. He did very well.

Personal Growth and Odd Things

2008-09-22T14:05:24Z

Ok, so I was replying to an entry about my Dream blog and realized that I really should put an entry about the things that I was writing. I have been having some odd things happen to me in the last 6 weeks. It has only been happening in that time.

Keep in mind that 6 weeks ago I gained another year and turned 25. In my opinion, that's a pretty significant number. I was also wed that week, another significant change in life.

So, since that time, here's what's been happening.

Of course, I had the dream that I talked about earlier - check above link. That is still shaking me. It feels like it was just last night that I dreamt it.

I have been researching my heritage. That means that I have been learning about the Celts. I have also been researching the Finns because I have much family from many generations there. Finding info about the Finns is not so easy - for some odd reason ADF doesn't seem to encompass it. (Unless it is bound under a name that I am not familiar with)

I have been seeking my patrons, however have picked up one along the way. I had been spending some time learning about Brigit because my local group had a few rites in the last year with her as the Patron of the ritual. I found her quite interesting and I asked that she help me through my wedding.

I also spent a lot of time researching the Morrigan. This was started because of a discussion that occurred on the Dedicants list. I have learned a lot about her/them and feel pulled somewhat in that direction.

Ok, so here's some things that have been happening.

Almost every morning I am woken up by crows calling outside my bedroom window. To me this is odd because there have never been crows at my house before. I have looked for them because I have always been drawn to them, ravens and other members of the corvid family. I used to see them often when I stayed in town on the days that I worked the 11pm-7am shift. I used to see them along the entire walk from work to the place where I was staying. They would line the road ways. I thought they were the most beautiful beings.

About two weeks ago, I found a dead turkey-vulture. Now, these we do have a LOT of. They are everywhere here in Ontario and I always see them flying over the fields around my house. There was even one that nested on the ledge outside my window when I worked in Mississauga! I worked on the 8th floor and it was very close to Pearson Airport (the planes would shake the building). So, although I see them everywhere, I have NEVER seen a dead one. I went and inspected it to see if it was dead or simply injured - it was very dead, but had not started smelling yet because it was "fresh". I told him I was sad that he had died and asked him if it would be ok if I took a few flight feathers - and I did. I then got home and made an offering (didn't have anything with me) to the spirit of the bird, asked its forgiveness for taking some feathers and thanked him for sharing that bit of himself with me.

I have been getting these odd feelings like things are going to happen before they do. I don't know how to explain it. I mentioned (in the entry about my dream) the rolling dice of the board game that Lance and I played where I didn't miss a tile I aimed for. This wouldn't seem odd except that Lance seemed to miss each and every one. In the entire game, he might have gotten 4.

For the first time ever, I hit an animal while driving. Actually it was a bird - a golden finch. Not only that, but there were TWO and it was ON my 25th birthday! What sort of a coincidence is that?! I have been driving since I was 17 (yes, I waited a year) and have never hit anything, but on that day, I hit not one, but TWO birds ... and to make matters worse?! Both of them were gold finches and both of them were on different roads.

I have been training dogs for the local humane society lately and have found that there is a certain amount of mental discipline that is required of this. I have actually spent time learning new ways to meditate because I have to keep an even keel with these ticking time-bomb dogs (at the beginning). I can now actually settle my mind pretty quickly - which is awful nice in a lot of places! I mention this only to comment on the personal growth I have done this summer.

Anyway, I guess that's about all I can think of right now. Guess it is time to get back to work, eh?!

A Dream ...

2008-09-18T15:43:21Z

I had a dream last night. It was filled with a feeling of vast importance. Even now I feel like it is the most important thing and that I must grab ahold of the dream and keep it close. It was very long too - which is odd for me because usually my dreams are quite short. It is important. I don't know how to explain other than that, but it is so much, that I want to just keep writing it over and over. Scream it out to the world - IT WAS IMPORTANT! I must REMEMBER.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

I was in a school, but not a normal school - a school for the 'gifted'. I desparately wanted to go home and had tried to escape a few times. The Teacher and 'Dean' of the school did something to me to prevent me from going home - She said for my own good. I didn't know what that was until much later - somehow I forgot what She did to me. I didn't understand.

I wanted to go home.

At one point, the classes began filling up with all the students who wanted to learn and were having so much difficulties. I was having difficulties too - with things that I knew I could do, but something prevented me from doing those things.

I went to the Teacher who at this point was quite ominous for me, who created frustration inside me. I told Her that if She would give me back what She had taken from me, then I promised not to try to run away again.

She gave that which She took back.

Suddenly, I remembered everything - my previous attempt at escaping (which involved me blowing up a few doors and furniture), where I came from ... what home was. Home was the most beautiful place where I was happy. Never angry and never frustrated. Filled with love and happiness. Meadows; flowers; beauty; nature; divinity.

Someone took me from that. Stolen. I don't know who. It wasn't Her. It makes me angry.

I remember looking at Her with new eyes - now that I had what I had lost. What had been taken.Seeing what others couldn't.

She wasn't trying to hurt me, I could see that even through my own anger and pain. She was trying to help me - even if She didn't realize what She had done to me and how much She had taken from me. All She saw was that She had removed my abilities and She didn't understand that it was those abilities that were as much a part of me as my soul.

She thought She was helping. She found me, took me in and tried to make my pain go away. By doing so, She hurt me even more.

She was beautiful. Tall. Dark hair ... maybe red? Long hair. Wore robes. It is hard to remember her face exactly other than that it was filled with an infinate sadness and love.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Anyway, that is my dream. I don't know how ... It is REAL. I feel it. I don't know what to do about it now though.

I have always joked with Lance (my husband) ... whenever he asks how I know things or how come I do things in preparation for something that is going to happen even though it hasn't happened yet ... I always tell him that it's because I'm psychic.

I've always joked about it - I don't know why - since I met him. Lately, as I do more and more self-awareness things, learn more about where I come from, and do things that I feel should be "me" ... I just feel more and more as though ... maybe I am? There is something there (in me) that I'm missing.

Lance and I were playing a board game this weekend where you have to roll the dice and land on specific tiles to get the 'prize'. He asked how come I land on every single tile that I aim for ... meanwhile he only hits one in five. I said I don't know ... maybe I'm psychic. Then it was like a brick wall -- it just hit me. Maybe it's true? How would I know?

Could this have something to do with my patron and my on-going search for one(s)?

Pagans in the News

2008-09-17T15:44:38Z

Pagans in the News; c/o ADF Slavic list

Slavic idol worshipers reject modern life A group of Russians have set up a village where they live on their home-grown food and practice pre-Christian Slavic traditions. Their lifestyle is just a short train ride away from Moscow.
http://www.russiatoday.com/features/news/24609/

Buster adopted - that was fast!

2008-09-17T15:42:45Z

Well, so much for working with Buster. He has been adopted. Go figure, eh? He's been sitting in the pound since March and listed for adoption each week, so the week I decide to start working him, he gets adopted!

Congratulations Buster! I hope you succeed in your new home.

Canada's Legal System sucks.

2008-09-11T16:31:59Z

The following article from an Albertan paper disgusts me and I need to vent about it. I mean, they microwaved a cat for goodness sake!!

http://www.camrosecanadian.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1193824&

What is it that bothers me the most??!! The sentence that the kids got. They should totally go to jail. They are getting probation, a minimal community service hours (because they work and go to school!) and a fine of ... here it comes folks ... $250 smackers!

*HEAD-DESK HEAD-DESK HEAD-DESK*

Our legal system here in Canada is a joke. My thoughts are not good right now ... they are malicious and mean ... something along the lines of putting those kids in the microwave to see how long they scream. Just like they did for that cat.

Buster Evaluation

2008-09-10T20:11:59Z

Time to start with rescue dog number two! Buster is next. He has been in the pound since March and no one wants to adopt him. Probably because he seems to be so lacking in obedience. He is a pretty goofy guy too.

Well, we went to go see Buster yesterday. It went well. He jumped on both Wendy and me. We went to the pound and picked him up to take him to Sam's.

Sam and I both walked him around. Tried the box step with him to see if he would back up. He seems overall to be a pretty good dog. Could be good in a children's home. Time will tell on that one. After working with him, I have realized that although he is lacking in obedience, he will learn FAST.

After a two hour trial, we have determined the following:

- he has been hit (likely repeatedly) from the right side - probably by a man as he does not react as strongly when I do a fast hand motion in comparison to when Sam did it. (he flinched so much that his whole "upper" body moved away from the hand). lesser reaction on the left - likely was a right handed person.
- he is confident
- he is stable
- he is good with strangers and other dogs. (no agression with either)
- he knows sit

He will be different to train than Jessie. He is more confident and more likely to ignore me if I don't keep him interested. He seems to lose interest in what we are doing after a few minutes. With Jessie I had to be gentle, but with him I will have to be much more firm and loud.

I told Lance that I don't "do it" for Buster, but I will try. I think Lance would because he is naturally louder and firmer than I, but he doesn't want to alter the training methods that he uses. He thinks that Sam would not agree with his methods because a lot of Lance's training is done during play.

Pagans in the News

2008-09-08T16:12:33Z

Pagans in the News ... I often wonder what is going on, but don't see much. Thought I'd start a bit about it:

Greek Acropolis plan draws religious backlash

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/09/01/greece.protest/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

Jessie - Saying Goodbye

2008-09-08T14:36:03Z

Well, this will be my last entry about Jessie. She will be going to her new home on Monday Sept 15. For me, I am so pleased to see her go. I have already lined up the next dog to work with ... I will be bringing him to Sam's to stay at his kennel tomorrow. I will start a new memory block for him and his training when we begin.

Jessie had her home visit yesterday. She did great. I had her get in and out of her new crate, she ate lots of cookies from Chuck (her new dad) and Joan (her new mom). They have a big house. Everything went well. She explored the three main rooms (which are all connected) and her room (where the crate is). Everything went great until Chuck got up from sitting stretched out on the floor. Then she growled a little. This actually wasn't a bad thing because I was able to show them what I mean when talking about her little blackout issues.

The visit ended up being about 2 hours. 1.5 hours for inside and then a 40 minute walk outside with all 3 of us. It went well I think. She was not frightened of them at all ... perhaps a little wary at times, but otherwise, was almost like a normal dog (well, a normal wary dog, of course!).

So, thus ends my time with Jessie. I really hope this home works out and she doesn't come back! The first 3 weeks will be the determining factor. I am crossing my fingers for her. I will meet Joan and Chuck for the last time on Monday at the local athletic field where they will take her home from.

Pagan Lit Book Club

2008-09-04T18:27:09Z

Phew! I didn't know that simply getting people to post in a forum would be so difficult!! Haha. Anyway, I'm working like crazy to get the Pagan Lit Book Club forums going again ... Cleaned it up a bit ... Started a new book ... Emailed some of the members ... We'll see ... We'll see.

Adoption ... Sick ...

2008-09-04T13:45:27Z

Well, I went to the walkin clinic yesterday and the doc there said that he thinks I have strep throat. Blech. I can't swallow much. It takes me at least an hour to eat a real meal. I feel like junk. And that's not even the worst part! I can't take time off work right now because it is the first week of school!! We aren't allowed to take time off in certain months (June, July, late August, September, October). All I want to do is sleep all day. Honestly it feels more like I have mono (had mono 2 years ago) than strep. I went to bed on Sunday at 10 pm, got up to eat at 8am Monday, then slept until 3pm ... totally feels like mono. But what did the doc do?! He wouldn't even do a throat swab! How dumb is that?? No blood work, just here's some antibiotics and if you don't feel better after 10 days come back. Grrr ....

On the bright side, I have some GREAT news. Jessie has been adopted!!! Yay! She is going to live with an older couple, husband is retired, wife still working. They are going to finish the training that I've already started with her. I am so happy for her. She loves them, and considering how she feels about people, this is GREAT! She is doing quite well with people and strangers now, though she still doesn't have much trust for them. It will take time and stability in her new home. The new owners have come and walked her 4 times now in the following locations:

My house
Sam's training place
Alliston Soccer field (GA Wright Athletic Field)
Sam's again and then in town with Sam and I

Now all we need is a home visit to get her used to their place and its smells and we're good to go. The new owners will be going away for a few days next week, so she will stay with us until she leaves after that

Finally starting to get things together ... Step 1 - Runes

2008-09-02T19:02:39Z

Well, after a long struggle for the last few weeks of simply trying to keep my head above water, things are finally beginning to settle down. On the 16th of August, I got married. Yep - that's right ... a wedding ... yikes! Man o man, I never realized how much WORK that was!

So, I've been trying to stay on top of things with the wedding, trying to find the perfect adoptive family for my foster dog (who I found and is going to live with them on the 14th of Sept! yay) and organizing events for the local Humane Society here. Whew! I'm ready for a holiday.

To top it all off, today is the first day of school. I am the computer technician for 11 schools ... they all need help NOW! Anyway, here I am, sitting at the 4th school of my day and watching little blue bars crossing the screens ... contemplating life. No, not really. It would be nice, but I'm not calm enough to be doing that.

I'm actually starting to read my newest book from the ADF reading list - Taking Up the Runes by Diana Paxson. To say the least, I am excited and totally intrigued by this book. Here, I thought it would be somewhat boring and difficult to get through and in the first 30 pages I have been proven wrong!! It is a GREAT book and has inspired me to work through the questions and whatnot to learn the runes well.

The first thing it has set me up trying to do? Make each rune as I learn them (one at a time, of course!). I am going to go for a nice long walk to the pond in the next few days and see if I can't find some wood I can cross-cut to make my own runes. I have an old wood burning set that I used to make things with, but haven't had the inclination to use lateley ... I suppose it is time to take it out of the box and dust it off!!

I am so excited ... I can't wait! Too bad I have dog training tonight or I would go out and find some wood to use then!!

Jessie Day 56 - 63 (days 43 - 50) ... waiting for adoption

2008-08-07T14:52:06Z

This week at Sam's he sat with Lynn and they prepped me for the adoption inverview process. They did a great job - I couldn't have done it without them.

This week is also the Spay surgery. I have warned the technician at the clinic and asked them to contact me if there are any issues.

I have planned to have one family come a visit with us on Sunday for a meet and greet. Husband, Wife and Daughter (10 yr). Should be good. We'll find out if Jessie is ok with kids I guess. I told the mother that I didn't know how she was with kids because I had never tested her with them. She said she was willing to give it a try. I don't think there will be an issue, but we'll see. Maybe what I'll do is take her to the park on Saturday and have her Heel Sit with kids running around and playing.

I also want to put together the video Saturday.

I have only had one phone call so far. I am going to edit the ad a bit to include that she is Obedience Trained. That should be helpful. I am also putting together a poster ad to put up in the clinic at Molson Park Pet Hospital. I'm hoping that I get someone from there interested.

As far as training goes - we have simply been working on things we know. Crate training is a fair amount of our night. There is always a 10 - 20 minute time that she is able to play off leash (well, with the lounge line on!) with my big dogs. We work on Heel Sit Down Stay. We also go to town every couple of days (like every 3-4 days) to work on the in town stuff.

I will work today on putting together a plan for the video.

Jessie Day 49 - 56 (days 36 - 43 at farm) ... adoption listing submitted to paper

2008-08-01T16:53:09Z

Here is this week's training journal excerpt:

Confrontational Canine Presence; I have begun teaching her how to play with my own dogs. She has had interaction before, but I’ve never allowed them to actually play. She is learning fast! It is such a pleasure to train her because she learns everything so quickly.

Confrontational People Presence (Handler Transference); Lance and Henry both have taken her for walks. She does great with them.

Confrontational People and Dog Presence (Personal Space); Sam and I worked a bit on personal space this week. Jessie doesn’t like dogs in her personal space (we'll have to work on this) she is getting much better with people in there though. To do this, he goes and stands right behind her with his toes almost touching. With the dogs, we didn’t really set it up. When the dog gets close behind her when she is in a Down, she gets concerned and gets up; when in a Sit, she is more comfortable. Sam says this is a “Comfort” level thing and she will probably be able to deal better with this with the new owners.

Bicycle Riding; Yikes! It has been many years since I have gotten on a bike. I am not very good (as is displayed by the wobbling of the bike while I am trying desperately not to fall down!), but Jessie doesn’t care. She is learning how to Heel with a Bike. Again, she caught on quickly – faster than I did when re-learning how to ride!

Frogs and Bugs; A note about frogs, bugs, etc … She loves to chase them! We will walk in the field and disturb all manners of things – including Leopard Frogs and Winged, Flying Grasshoppers. She loves to leap at them to try to catch them. I always tell her to Leave IT because I don’t want her to pull or break her Heel (which she would do if she runs to get it).

Jessie Day 43 - 49 (day 30 - 36)

2008-07-29T18:59:06Z

Well, we have finally listed Jessie in the adoption listing! YAY! ... and at the same time ... YIKES!!!

She has been doing great. She can now do the following:

- Sit
- Heel
- Stay
- Down
- Come
- Obedience in grass/gravel
- Obedience in town on pavement/grass/gravel
- Greet a stranger and allow said stranger to touch her (goes much better if stranger has cookie!)
- Go for walk with a stranger and Heel / Sit properly
- Obedience while dogs are around, on or off leash and touching or not.
- Obedience while off leash (somewhat ... only Sit / Heel / Come)
- I can touch her whole body and look into her ears without problem
- She can get into and out of the Pickup Truck and the Durango well - I'll work this week on vans and car (if I can find one!)
- Crate Training is a go - she will put up a fuss for 15 minutes, then settle down for a nice Down for as long as the session is - so far she can do at least an hour without any issues

Isn't that wonderful?! I am so pleased. I don't know how long it will take her to be adopted, so we're starting to list her now. I have booked her Spay surgery for August 7, 2008.

So guess what? That means that Sam was right - 5 weeks is all it takes to retrain a dog to the point of adoptable. This one had no baggage to get rid of though, so that helped. It probably would've taken longer if she had some.

Now all I need is to make our video of her. Lance and I are going to get to work on that this week sometime when I can steal him away.

I am exhausted ... I spend more time training Jessie than I do with my own dogs!!

Busy ... Wedding ... High Day - Lughnasadh

2008-07-10T15:48:57Z

Lughnasadh is coming up quick! I am going to do a rite much in the same way as last year, but I am going to offer the stalks of the wheat (which I cut from the field behind our house) to the Kindred. What I did last year was keep the seeds from the stalks from the rite and then plant them the following spring. I will have to spend some time and figure out what else I will do for the rite ... hmm ...

With so many things to do for the wedding (Aug 16), it is getting increasingly difficult to find time to meditate or even calm down and sit. The jack and jill is next weekend, so we are working like crazy to get ready for that!

My world is in a whirl. That which keeps me grounded is my altar. I spend some time at night with it and it instills a feeling of calm. Without it, I would have already broken down. I have been trying to include Brigit in my devotionals and always have an offering ready for her. Although I don't usually pay homage to Bridit, I thought it fitting that I spend some time with her because of her ties with brides and weddings.

Jessie Day 28 (day 15 at farm)

2008-07-10T12:36:15Z

Sunday

This day we went to Town. I took Jessie to Everett. We did the main street there. We walked, circled, paused to Sit, Heel, and went around objects. We circled some telephone poles.

She spooked at a black tube that was across the sidewalk (I think it was some exhaust hose) so we went over and over that until she was fine with it.

We went and sat on the steps at the four corners. We watched a lady with her two intact male sharpei's go by. Jessie did pretty well - she watched and learned.

We found some scaffolding so I had her go in, over, under and around it. She did well.

Jessie Day 24, 25, 26, 27 (days 11, 12, 13, 14 at farm)

2008-07-10T12:32:05Z

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday

Didn't get much accomplished on these days other than the outdoor kennel work.

Wed was her rest day.

Thurs I was exhausted from work and dress fitting etc and couldn't bring myself to work with her. I was WAY too cranky to try and train.

Fri we went and bought wedding rings

Sat we worked our butts off around the farm to get everything done! I did some stranger work with her on Sat and she was also introduced to the deck and people plus dog sitting on it.