Spring is coming...

Lysichiton americanum (also goes by the name Swamp Lantern or Skunk Cabbage)

Nuka and her friend Joey

Lynn Valley - 30 ft Pool

Lynn Valley - Twin Falls

Nuka trying to get to a stick sunk to the ground

Swimming

Minnie - I took care of her for ten days while her owners were on vacation

Nuka's glass eye (People ask me if it is a glass eye)

Rapids in Lynn Valley

Minnie - showing off her character

Nuka's Story

I thought I tell you Nuka's story because it is a very big part of my life right now and cause for joy but also a lot of stress. 

We got Nuka when she was only six weeks old and she was part of a litter from a dog rescued from the Northwest Territories, Canada. Her mum herself was a half wild creature when she was caught and had her litter shortly after she arrived in Canmore, Alberta. 

Nuka is the darkest one (Picture taken by foster family)

I did have some concerns even before I adopted her, because in Germany for example by law it is not allowed to separate a pup from its mum or its siblings before the age of eight weeks. It is essential for the correct socialization of a puppy. Nuka's mother was removed from the scene and adopted out to another person when her puppies were only five weeks old. The reason for that was she was out of milk and had shown aggression against the dad of the foster family. Then, Nuka was given to me when she was six weeks old. I picked her up coming through Calgary on my way home from work and the foster family met me at the airport to had her over. Okay, I have to say it once: She was the cutest thing ever!  

Minnie and her pups, Nuka is still the black one (Picture taken by foster family)

The foster family did a great job and put a lot of effort, time, and love into the puppies. It was their first time fostering a litter and I don't think it is an easy job. 

I was worried from the very beginning. It is such a small life and it felt like a huge responsibility and I think I had what people call 'The puppy blues'. I was overwhelmed to the point where I was wondering why I even wanted to have a dog (even though I had planned for this at least 10 to 15 years). Growing up with dogs I was very confident that I would manage to train a dog without a problem. Well honestly, I had this very quiet voice in my head which said that I might run into some problems down the road but I told her to shut up and watch me 'produce' the perfect dog.     

The puppies at the foster home (Picture taken by foster family)

My first concerns were her biting. She loved to bite. It is not uncommon for puppies but I read that they learn not to bite too hard by playing with the siblings and being told by the mum. However, puppies really start to interact with each other when they are about four weeks old. This means Nuka only had one week with her mum and two weeks with her siblings. Puhhh, not good!

Nuka about seven weeks old

At the beach (downtown Vancouver)

So I was very eager to get her socialized the best I could. She loved all people and dogs we met but we had to be cautious because her vaccinations weren't complete at that point. I put her through puppy classes when she was nine and a half weeks old and she did good. At that age I felt she was so grown up compared when we first got her. We finished those classes when she was about 16 weeks old and that was also the first time she started to show that she was not all baby anymore. She growled the first time at the vet! Also, at the doggy park she was so wound up with all the dogs running around that she didn't want to give up her ball and growled at me and Matt when we took it away. Not good either! Well, since then I started to work on the that problem. Other than that her training went well and her recall was almost at 100% even with other dogs in front of us. So, I was happy with that. Over Christmas we drive down to Denver which is a two day drive each direction and she did great. Down there she lived in the same house with 'Hexe' who is about one month older than Nuka and after some time where they had to get their boundaries figured out they became good friends.

Nuka at about nine weeks

On the way to Denver, CO

Near Denver, Nuka is four months old

Nuka and Hexe

At about five and a half months Nuka's prey drive started to kick in big time and she became selectively deaf. I started to work with a 10m training leash to get her back on track. At the same time I thought about what else I could do with her and thought about dummy training. She loves to chase after things and we are working on actually bringing them to me and also drop them for me. So she is not quite there which is one of the reasons I wasn't too keen on starting the dummy training. I'd rather train that more casually. However, I felt she was demanding something else then just nice walk and retrieving sticks. She needed a job, one that challenges her. I signed us up for tracking and she really shows promise. She is still a puppy at times and does everything too fast and to hectically. The older dogs in the class work way more methodically and the trainer calls her a 'speed devil'. We will pursue this line of training to hopefully end up with a trained search and rescue dog. It always depends on the dog after all and if it is fun for her. But I think she will enjoy it big time. 

Nuka at seven months

Nuka is a challenging dog. She is possessive of some things and protects them mostly towards other dogs but at times also against people including Matt and me and I am working on it. She is very independent and without training you would have a dog which probably would be hard to live with. I had the luxury of having time to train her every day for almost half a year already and there are lots of things she is already really good at. However, to me, and that is my problem, it often feels like a complete failure when something goes wrong. So, I have to learn to focus on the things actually going well and hold my nerves together and keep on doing what I'm doing. She is what we were hoping for and more and we do love her to death...little brat!  

  

Snow at last...

We didn't really have snow this year but now it's here...Mount Seymour at it's finest!

Nuka looking for...something.

Joey - Nuka's friend

Snow  - and lots of it!

Just Wild!

Iron Workers Memorial Bridge (one of the two Bridges connecting the North Shore with Vancouver)

Pileated Woodpecker (Helmspecht) in Cates Park in the morning

Denman Island – When the World once again became conventional, that's where the Hippies moved

It feels like a time travel when you cross the waters from Buckley Bay on a 10 minute ferry ride. You pop out on the other shoreline and you're back in the late 60s or early 70s or even further back in time,  whenever Astrid Lindgren's 'Bullerbue' was set. I can't really decide which one it is.

Just a pretty sight

That's a real pretty gate...

...and a pretty fence!

A juvenile Bald Eagle

A general description of Denman Island could be that it has beautiful spots with pristine nature and endless beaches (basically all the way around this little island) which is true but that is not really what it makes it so special. I mean, we're in 'Beautiful British Columbia' like our number plates on our cars state so we got lots of pretty spots, right?! It's the slowing of time and the feeling of community that makes it special. So, if you go to the General Store and you pick what you need and proceed to the cash register you most likely will stand in line. Not because there are so many people in the store at the same time but because there might be a customer who needs help with a Windows 8 problem or a discussion about a painting someone painted with the whisker of a mouse was started. However, it doesn't really matter since you will be involved and you're not really standing in line but having a nice chat with some people you just met.

The General Store

When we arrived at our guesthouse too early to check in according to our booking information, we had planned to have a coffee and warm up in the Bistro. To our surprise, the owner offered to show us around right away and informed us of all activities going on during the weekend. Odd however, for my German soul, was the lack of rules. Being German and especially being me means to look out for rules you have to follow, because you want to make sure not to break any. Now we were told 'Ah, we don't have a lot of rules'. How refreshing and...complicated! Living in Vancouver/North Vancouver means to have heaps of rules you have to follow or if you break them, you have to calculate the risk being caught. So, I let my dog off leash even though it is not allowed and take her to the beach to play in the water and I am accompanied by a little anxiousness. That's fine, I can live with that. It's calculated rule breaking. But no rules, how can that work? To be fair, this concept works way easier with 1000 people compared to 1 million people. However, what happens is responsibilities are given back to every single person which at the same time creates freedom and a feeling of community. So, no rule following but deciding what is the right thing to do or not to do. Not everyone necessarily must come to the same decision in a similar situation, but hey that's what we have tolerance for, right?! I mean, yes, my German soul was slightly stressed out, because it needs time to adjust to use such a system to its full potential. For this short weekend trip, I subconsciously kept trying to figure out the rules potentially lurking around the corner.

The Guesthouse of  the Earth Club Factory

The Entrance

The Living Room

The View

The first evening, we were told that there was a Comedy Night at the Bistro of the Earth Club Factory, the guesthouse we stayed at. The stand up comedian was also one of the cooks/kitchen helps and he had grown up on the Island. And man, he didn't hold back at all! Even though, he probably didn't spare a single person in the room, except us two tourists, people loved him. There was great acceptance and support for his art and his passion to give this kind of performances. Real quick, I was wondering how he could insult people like that and at the same time have their support in that way. But the answer is pretty easy. He is part of this community and he identifies with it, so it is not a real insult, he just makes fun of himself. Josh, that's his name, is going to Winnipeg at the end of this month to take some classes, I think related to his comedy career. He is supposed to be there for three months and I asked him if is coming back to Denman and he just looked at me and said 'I live here'. Well, no further questions.

So, the evening went on and it was decided to do some impro theatre. I don't know, I tried it back when I was in highschool and it's not as easy as it sounds. In the first place, I was surprised that when Josh asked around who would participate some people actually raised their hands. When they started, I couldn't believe how good they were at it and more and more people joined in. They were so creative and funny I couldn't stop laughing. 

The evening came to an end and people started leaving. The lady sitting next to me had prepared a little poem for Josh's going away about his everyday life and how they would miss him (seriously, he's going away for three months). Someone else had just grabbed a guitar and started playing it. So, instead of reading the poem, the lady decided to rap it instead and again I couldn't believe it; it was so good and funny! Matt and I went upstairs to our bedroom and we were just flashed.

Student protest, because their school was closed

I think, this it the most community life I've ever seen! In a way, probably most people are looking for some kind of community and some put more effort in and others (like me) less. In projects where people tried actively to form more community I noticed that it brings problems. Often those communities are formed with people who have the same believes (and I don't necessarily mean religious believes) and at least after a while the urge arises to protect this 'good' community against all the bad things happening 'outside'. In my opinion, that's the point where it goes wrong and I don't want to be part of it anymore and usually I'm not welcome in the first place. Now, on Denman diversity is embraced and welcomed because they believe that this is what brings a community to life. I am inclined to say 'YES'! We were there for three days and I heard people tell each other how happy they are to have them in their community and how important it is for the diversity. I've never lived anywhere where people told me that! 

I don't want to glorify Denman Island because they do have their battles and it wouldn't be real life if they hadn't. Battling the school's principle because the school on the island was closed is just one of them. Alcoholism might be another one. 

BUT, it is a lovely place on Earth and we definitely be back on another short trip, a longer stay, or maybe even to woof there for a bit and help some people out.

Beach in the morning

Nuka loving the water

Beach in the morning II

Nuka likes to carry stuff around (here it's an oyster shell)

...and that's when she stole my glove, because I'd taken them off to fiddle around with the camera. 

Adult Bald Eagles

Matt and Nuka (I think this is my favorite picture!) 

Sandstone Beach (Can you spot the seal?)

Alright listen, look strait ahead that's where they will come up next...

Ah, there they are...

Sea anemones under water

Tafoni - this sandstone has been formed by the saltwater and the tides