Lost and Found

High on a Hill Was a Lonely Goatherd

Halfway across Iowa, on our way home from the Minneapolis Kennel Club Show, we stopped to see some puppets. Not just any puppets. The puppets from the Sound of Music. You know, "High on a Hill Was a Lonely Goatherd. Lay ee odl lay ee odl lay hee hoo." Those puppets! I just love that lonely goatherd. And I love the Sound of Music. Especially the part when Maria is dancing with the Von Trapp children on the patio at the big party and the Captain cuts in and dances with her. It is so lovely. But I love that lonely goatherd the best.

But what, you may be wondering, has any of this to do with our trip across Iowa. Well, you see, that lonely goatherd nows calls the MacNider Art Museum in Mason City, Iowa home. Dad knows how much I love those goats so we just had to stop. Bill Baird, the American puppet master who created these puppets. was from Mason City. The MacNider collection of Baird puppets is the largest holding of the late puppeteer's work to be found anywhere. I can't tell you how disappointed I was when we found the museum closed.

But, on our way out of town, we discovered another hidden gem in Mason City, The Music Man Square. You see, Meredith Willson, the man who created The Music Man and The Unsinkable Molly Brown and a bunch of other now classic entertainments, was also from this small town. In his honor the town recreated the town square of River City, the town in The Music Man which is based entirely on Mason City. Well you won't believe it, but when we entered the square, confetti and streamers fell from the sky. Seventy-six trombones led a big parade while a chorus sang "We Got Trouble Right Here in River City." Debbie Reynolds did a sexy soft-shoe while Shirley Jones jumped out of a flaming cake. You see, we were the 500,000th visitors to Music Man Square which opened in 2002. We were a bit scared, but intrigued by the spectacle. Then the mayor of Mason City came over to us and placed the key to the city around my neck on a beautiful gold chain. Debbie Reynolds danced over sideways, looked right at Rufus and me and exclaimed, " I just have to have me one of them!" Dad searched around for one of his business cards, but as usual he couldn't locate one.

Above: The Incomparable Ms. Sharon Olson

Well, I don't want to disappoint you, we weren't really the 500,000th visitor. We were told we were two weeks too late for that. But we did visit the square and were lucky enough to meet Ms. Sharon Olson and a bunch of other VERY FRIENDLY folks in River City. Now, Sharon Olson is an elegant dame and she knows more about Meredith Willson than just about anybody. She gives tours of Meredith Willson's Mason City home which sits next to The Music Man Square. At the end of our visit, Sharon walked with us to our car to say goodbye. Right before we left, she held Rufus' little face and sang, in the most beautiful voice, " We got trouble right here in River City." That begins with 'D" and it ends in "G." And there's an 'O' in the middle.

Zsa Zsa, Magda, and Eva

Above: Rufus, Deep Acres Fields of Gold

So let me just say it and get it out of the way. I am very proud of my pup Rufus who took Best of Winners (a MAJOR!) and Reserve Winners over the weekend at the Minneapolis Kennel Club show. Rufus traveled from Iowa City and I joined him. I love a ROAD TRIP!! I couldn't believe it, but there was snow on the ground when we arrived in Minnesota. And, if that wasn't bad enough, they were making more snow on a small hill outside of town. And it was COLD. But the truth is I love the snow and the cold. It really puts me in overdrive.

Well, my dad really loved this show because it was held at a horse racetrack. What that means is he could drink beer and play black jack while waiting for the dog stuff to be over and done with. Dad very quickly doubled his money at the black jack table and then, just as quickly, lost it all. There was also off-track betting and grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato and pickle.

Above: Zsa Zsa, Magda, and Eva

The highlight for me was meeting Noodles, a two-year-old Puli originally from Denver who now lives with the lovely Diane Fields in Wisconsin. Diane told us that she had wanted a Puli since she was 10 years old and she finally got one thirty years later. Noodles is dreamy and I admit I have a bit of a crush. They say that Pulik (yes, that's the plural form of Puli), from Hungary originally, and Tibetan Terriers are related.

Do you think there's a market for Hungarian Terriers. I'm trying to convince my dad. By the way, I just love Zsa Zsa Gabor. Is she the one that was on Green Acres? I love that Arnold Ziffel too. I'd love to roll around in hot oil with him. No...I think that was Eva. I like Eva best. Poor Zsa Zsa. I think she's the slap happy one. She's married to some quack count from who knows where. He's the one who claimed Anna Nicole Smith's child was his. Right? I also heard that he called 911 in Beverly Hills claiming to have been attacked by some women that stole his car and left him by the side of the road completely naked. Or something like that. Turns out he made the whole thing up. Poor Zsa Zsa. She also lost quite a chunk of change in the Bernie Madoff ripoff. They have recouped some of the money by selling the hubby's title to rich people who want titles. If Noodles and I had pups I would name the girls Eva, Magda (that's another Gabor sister who married one of Zsa Zsa's husbands after she was done with him) and, if there is a feisty one, Zsa Zsa.

Above: White Boys

I also met Chunky Monkey, a Bijon Frise, and all his white friends.

White boys are so lovely

Beautiful as girls

I love to run my fingers

And toes through all their curls

White boys give me goose bumps

White boys give me chills

When they touch my shoulder

That's the touch that kills

All in all it was a very good weekend.

Above: Zsa Zsa

The Rainbow Bridge

Above: Chelsea, as a young girl, with Christine visiting the battlefields she so loved

I have heard many people refer to the Rainbow Bridge. I never really knew what they were talking about. But it sounded like a very nice place to go. My new friend, Christine Barnes Boran, explained just what she meant when she confided that her beloved Tibetan Terrier, Chelsea, went to the Rainbow Bridge in 2003. That's when I found out that the Rainbow Bridge is where some people think TTs go when they are ready to leave this place we call earth.

Not only was she beautiful, Chelsea was a certified therapy dog. She paid many visits to the late Supreme Court justice Harry Blackmun who I understand is quite famous for his Roe v. Wade decision. Among many other things, Chelsea loved dirty laundry and float boat rides.

Christine was kind enough to share her reflections on Chelsea's last walk to her favorite haunts, the Manassas and Bull Run Civil War battlefields near her home in Virginia. Chelsea often visited the battlefields when she was younger and healthier and loved these walks so much.

Of course, it was an agonizing decision for Christine:

"She lived a long and healthy and productive life until that summer, when I could tell she soon would give me the look that said she had had enough. I didn't wait too long or let her go for long. I would have to say goodbye to her while she still had a little quality of life. I'm attaching a beautiful poem which Michael and I read to her under that arbor in the gardens before we took the car ride to the vet that day to send her to the Bridge. We read it to her together. It's beautiful. Get that hanky out, though....it's very touching. It gave us peace holding her under that arbor and reading it before we took that dreaded car ride to our vet. After the vet handed her so sweetly wrapped in the pink floral bedsheet, Michael drove home through horse country with me in the back seat holding my Chelsea, now gone, in my lap."

Cut the leash that holds me here,

Dear friend, and let me run,

Once more a strong and steady dog,

My pain and struggle done.

And don't despair my passing,

For I won't be far away,

Forever here, within your heart,

And memory I'll stay.

I'll be there watching over you,

Your ever faithful friend,

And in your memories I'll run,

...a young dog once again.

Now, I don't like to think about death. Heck, I don't even really know what it is. But if it's someplace I have to go without my dad and my pups and my kibble, I don't really want to go. Even if it is does have a very pleasant name. Christine's reflections made me think about just how precious the time we do have together is. My dad got real quiet after I shared Christine's write-up of Chelsea's last day with him. I knew he was sad so I came and sat next to him on the floor. He picked me up and held me for a very long time.

Above: Chelsea on her last visit to the Stonewall Jackson Memorial

Chelsea Q-T-Pi of Camelot CGC TDI

April 27, 1989 - September 5, 2003

In Memory of my "Chelsea-Burger" and the "Q-Tip"

Written at 9:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 5.

Chelsea passed to the Rainbow Bridge about 5:30 p.m.

I very sadly and with tears in my eyes report to you the loss of my sweet Chelsea this evening. She spent the whole day with me in quality time, including a trip back to her favorite haunt of all time....to the famous Stone Bridge at Bull Run and on the National Battlefields to take one smaller slow hike over to see Stonewall Jackson on his horse and the Henry Hill House. When she was on the battlefields again, I could see how happy she was. She sniffed around the cannons and had lots of treats today, including steak off the grill, yogurt, and other cookies. She became tired easily though, and I carried her most of the way. She died very peacefully and sweetly in my arms. She will be buried on our property at a lovely animal burial ground amongst wildflowers and ferns.The sun was shining today, and it was cool and fresh outside. When she passed, we were near a beautiful farm by a pretty fence...a rooster crowed a few seconds after she started her journey. She was wrapped in a beautiful pink-flowered bed sheet by the vet and handed back to me. At 12 Noon, we laid her in her final resting spot. As we read more poems including the Rainbow Bridge poem, a ray of sunlight glowed on her wrapped little body. After her resting spot was covered, we popped a bottle of Champaign in celebration of her. The cork remained there for many months after that.

Forever Chelsea

Her favorite place in the last year has been on a blue wingback colonial-style chair on a homemade quilt made just for her in her favorite room. She loved to sit and look out at the pretty gardens below. She gave me the opportunity today to assist her checking out of the "Earth Hotel" where she enjoyed many amenities. She allowed me the honor to accompany her to the front desk, drop off her key, and escort her through the lobby before she made her trip to The Rainbow Bridge today. She did so with sweetness and dignity. She has brought many wonderful friends into our lives....beautiful and very caring fellow TTs and their people. She was a certified therapy dog with Therapy Dogs International and attained her AKC Canine Good Citizen title. I still miss her so very much.

The Tibetan Prayer Flags I owned are with her now. I held onto them all day today while we were together. There have been many tears and I ache at her being gone, but I rejoice having had known such a lovely TT who has brought so much joy to my life and to others.

Christine Barnes Boran

The Duchess and Countess of Lyndale

Above: The Duchess Oversees Her Territories

You remember my friends Ella and Maisie from the Isle of Skye. Well it turns out that Ella in a duchess and Maisie is a countess and they live on a FABULOUS estate, Lyndale, on the Isle of Skye. And you may remember that I wrote about the Isle of Skye way back when. That was when I first met Ella's mom Linda Ridsdill Smith. Back when Maisie was just a twinkle in her mother's eye. Maybe even before Maisie was a twinkle. We go way back!! We're tight.

Not to repeat myself, but Skye is an island off the coast of Scotland. According to Skye's official website, it "is the world's favourite island, recently voted 4th best island in the world by National Geographic magazine."

Above: The Countess Surveys Her Property

If you ask me, Lyndale is the number one reason to visit the Isle of Skye. And, don't get me wrong, there are lots of good reasons to visit. Now, since you are probably packing your bags already, easy back cowboys. Your first move should be to visit Lyndale's website: www.lyndale.net Here you will come to learn Lyndale is an idyllic holiday retreat, set in its own private estate and surrounded by spectacular scenery.

Hidden down a wooded bluebell lined drive, the estate centres around a 300-year-old tacksman’s house which, along with its old laundry, stables and grade-B listed (say what?) 'ink-pot' style gate lodge, have been renovated with tremendous flair and enthusiasm by owners Marcus and Linda. And that is an understatement. I am, literally, shaking with excitement. And my tail? My tail is out of control. Because, you know, not only is Lyndale more SWANK than any Four Seasons or Peninsula Hotel ever, but Lyndale is also the home of the duchess and countess and their fabulous chamber maid, Linda, and boot black, Marcus. And the setting!!! The grounds. Oh, the grounds! It's a place where Tibetan Terriers can, and do, run free.

As I very recently told my dear friend Andrea, the only dilemma is where to stay. Should one stay in the Main House, the Stables, the Laundry, or the Gate Lodge. Fellow TT owner Andrea has been and stayed in the Gate Lodge. "It is absolutely lovely. It is GORGEOUS - thoroughly recommend a visit, it's soooooo relaxing an idyllic setting," Andrea understated. Everything is perfect and, yet, understated. No detail is ignored. Even the umbrella's are AMAZING. I am lusting for one.

Ella, there must be a dashing duke you can introduce me to. Or Maisie, a suitable count? Until then, I would be very content to spend my days (and nights) with you at lovely Lyndale.

"Sure The Kids Are Cute, But Have You Seen Our Dog?" or "Is That a Dog on Your Purse or Are You Just Happy to See Me?"

I want to introduce you to my new friend Sharyn, She carries a small clutch made by FeeFiFoto that features a picture of her dog, a Tibetan Terrier named Violet, on each side. Now, Sharyn says her kids are cute too, but she hesitates to put their photos on a purse. "Not only for security reasons," explains Sharyn "but also for reasons of practicality. First, the kids will change: teeth are lost and replaced, hair is shorter or longer, fashions evolve. Not that I carry the same handbag year after year, but if I put the kids' picture on a purse it'll obsolesce as soon as I drive it out of the parking lot."

It's astonishing how much attention this puppy purse generates. "When Violet's with me, people look at the purse and then at the dog and then back to the purse and their faces light up. And somehow, no matter how cute your kids are, photos of them never seem to have the same effect. Even if the dog's not with me people still comment on the bag, and charming them is a slam dunk when I say that's not just any dog on my purse -- it's my dog."

When it comes to Violet, Sharyn is very clear. "We love her deliriously and think she is just about the most delightful dog we've ever met, and the cleverest (she learned how to turn on our sprinklers when she wanted a drink)."

Autumn Leaves Fall and Get Caught In My Hair

The fall can be hazardous for a hairy dog like me. There are just so many damn leaves. And most of them get stuck in my long coat. And, yeah, you're right most of them are pretty easy for my dad to get out. But I do end up dragging a few in the house each time I go out . The bain of my (and, I believe, my dad's) existence is the taxodium. Taxodium distichum, commonly known as Bald Cypress or Swamp Cyprus, is a species of conifer native to the United States. The leaves are borne on deciduous branchlets that are spirally arranged on the stem but twisted at the base to lie in two horizontal ranks. Which, let me translate, means they are much like barbed wire. Unlike most other species in the family, the Bald Cypress is deciduous, losing its leaves in the fall, hence the name 'bald'. So right about now it seems they are all over every sidewalk in this damn town. Which means every time we go out they get completely entwined in our coats. And are a royal pain to get out.

My dad is a landscape architect so he is prone to curbside criticism of, say, people's choices of shrubs or the placement of pagodas or what not. I think... no... I know I have heard him curse urban planners who select taxodiums to line sidewalks and other places where people with Tibetan Terriers are sure to pass. Could they not know the deleterious effects of these messy conifers?

And just what are these urban planners thinking when they plant female ginkgo trees along urban pathways. Yes, there are female and there are male ginkgos. The female ginkgo produces berries, quite large berries, that drop on the sidewalks where we tread. These berries are some of the nastiest things you are ever going to come across this side of a rain forest. They have a putrid smell, not at all unlike vomit, that gets stuck in our paws and on dad's shoes. Dad is not at all amused. But I recently read this odor threatens the future of the world's oldest tree species in American cities.

As The Ohio State University Department of Horticulture and Crop Science succinctly says in regard to Ginkgo's liabilities, "Female trees have copious fruits that are quite messy upon abscising into pedestrian areas, and are very malodorous." I read somewhere that when they start to fall in November, the fruit is imbued with butyric acid, a chemical found in rancid butter.

So, every fall, the tree's berries tumble onto streets, sidewalks, and yards and result in an extremely noxious smell. The stench is often likened to vomit, dog feces, or body odor, but each person has his or her own way of experiencing and describing the olfactory affront of Ginkgo fruit.

In the winter of 2008, Washington D.C. was plagued with a particularly terrible "Stink Berry" season. The annual complaints by residents and pedestrians caused the capital to experiment with injecting more than 1,000 Ginkgo trees with a chemical that would keep them from producing fruit. For some reason, the plan backfired and the trees instead produced more fruit than usual that year.

The Huffington Post reported in 2009 that some cities like Bloomington, Lexington, and Iowa City have even banned female Ginkgo trees due to the smelly fruits. Other cities like Santa Monica and Boston are merely switching the fruit-bearing females for male Ginkgo. There does not appear to be a ban in our town.

If, like me. you don't live in a city with a Ginkgo tree policy, my best advice is to try and not walk in areas that contain many Ginkgo trees in the fall season, when the fruit is at its most rank on the sidewalk. If offending trees are near your residence, it is prudent to gather the fruit as soon as it falls and dispose of it before countless feet stomp it into the pavement, which can lead to months long funk in the neighborhood. Technically, the fruit is edible, but turning these stinky berries into pies is not advisable.