Dell on Camp via Digital Camera

The digital camera makes taking and sharing camp and nature pictures a cinch.

I took this photograph in late afternoon light and am able to share it with friends within minutes of my return to camp by simply connecting a cord from the camera to my computer. That's it: no CD to load, the computer recognizes what I'm up to and asks me which viewing application I want to use and voila! up come my photographs to copy, crop, adjust, save, delete or retain, just as I please.

Are you able to feel the warmth of the 78 degree afternoon? upon this lovely white birch? can you hear the sound of the birds calling among the treetops, the soft slap of waves lapping the water's edge under the fallen maple? the duck startled into flight rising over the sun-drenched water, the rustle of the leaves overhead?

I still think in fahrenheit although it has been over thirty years since Canada went metric: that's a warm 26 Celsius today in northern Ontario, with thundershowers expected tomorrow. While forest fire risk is currently rated low to moderate, the dry spell that has lowered area water levels is cause for real vigilance concerning fire: man-made fire for cooking and heat or nature's fire: lightening strikes.

Speaking of fires, this maple that fell after one of this spring's heavy wind storms is slated to become part of my wood pile. Some downed trees become homes and nests for wildlife, including raccoons and wood ducks. I noticed the brown-eyed susans are on the verge of blooming. They're one of my grand-daughter's favourite flowers; I'm hoping to take a frame-worthy photograph. With my digital camera, I always know if I have the shot I want.

For those of us who remember the Brownie camera, I recommend Digital Photography For Seniors For Dummies (2009, paperback).

Dell on Seniors & Dogs: Naming the Puppy

My dogs are still hurting: my feet, that is. My UK second cousin would say, "My dogs are barking!"

Having those dogs on my mind, naturally got me thinking about the many great dogs I've known. Seniors often decide to give up keeping a dog once they stop driving. Who is going to want hair all over their car when you have to take the dog somewhere? What if you have to be hospitalized? What if you die? Who will take over the pet's care? My thought on that subject is this: if you cannot manage to keep a pet, make sure you have at least one you are seriously attached to among your friends or family. There is nothing like a dog to make a human a better person.

My grand-daughter, Shelley, is my wheels these days and her dog is as welcome as she is, here at camp. When Shelley first showed up with her dog it was just six weeks old, solid black with a tiny white star on the chest. He was the product of a pure lab bitch caught, as my mother would have said,  before her spaying date with the vet. This inexperienced lab bitch had nine pups, its owner told Shelley the day after they were born.

"Is there a runt?" Shelley had asked.

Shelley is so much like my sister Elaine: she's got this soft spot for the underdog. No matter what's up for grabs, whatever is left, after everyone's had their pick...why, that will be the very thing Shelley will pick right off the git go. And, yes, there was a runt: being hand fed by the owner's daughter. The lab bitch had plenty enough teats and milk. The problem was the stronger pups wouldn't let this one at mother's milk.

Now, I'll take a step back here and explain something about Shelley's childhood and dogs. Her mother [gone...meaning dead...nine years ago] kept dogs: just a few mind you, Samoyeds. The thing is, the part of Shelley's mother that was broken [check out my post - Dell on Family] played out with Shelley's mother putting all her focus into those dogs, instead of young Shelley. Amazingly, my grand-daughter recognized her mother's relationship with animals was not normal.

My grand-daughter grew up around the wilderness. Shelley had no problem watching me butcher a moose or clean a partridge. Pets were different: they depended on you to survive and dogs lived to please their owner. Shelley's mother's relationship with her Samoyeds was different. Nonetheless, Shelley has a healthy relationship with animals. From observing her mother's approach to training, punishment, Shelley knew she didn't want to train the pup she planned to adopt, using her mother's methods.

Even before she got her own pup, Shelley was so excited the time Oprah had Tamar Geller on her show. Shelley went out and bought the book The Loving Dog, and then the DVD, too.

Shelley was keen to show me the pup after she picked it up. She still hadn't decided on a name for it, but she knew the criteria: something gender neutral, one syllable, strong [to make up for size, I guess].

I think it would have been about eight weeks old, a good deal smaller than a normal lab pup, when Shelley came by my town place one day to show him off. She asked if I wanted to join her doing some animal therapy up at the seniors' home. Doc Simpson had given the pup a clean bill of health and the required vaccinations, so we were good to go.

There were oohs and aahs from the residents when we set the pup amongst the walkers and wheelchairs. It's little red collar and tags jingled as it went from person to person, getting acquainted.

One very elderly gentleman, heartier than the majority there, declared, "That is one fine looking dorg you've got there." and proceeded to remark, it's a tad on the puny side, and then talked about the dorgs he'd known, gave advice on raising dorgs, asked if she had a name for this here dorg of yours, while Shelley grinned from ear to ear, smothering her laughter, lest he think she was laughing at his speech. Nothing was said until we got back to her truck and had the pup secured in the travel carrier; then we peered inside at the pup and together chorused: "Good Dorg!"

Tamar Geller's training relies on love to motivate your dog. If there's anyone who should know how to get that right, it'll be my grand-daughter, Shelley.

I'm off for a bite to eat and then a nap. I think yesterday's run to the clinic in the rain is still taking it's toll.

Dell on Seniors' Cottages or Camps

Canadian seniors face special difficulties having a camp or cottage. Technology has zoomed ahead with ways of Living off the Grid: that offer labour saving power; improvements in communication to remote areas, along with the advent of the All Terrain Vehicle, have all contributed to many more years living close to nature. That's no excuse for not planning today for the future of the family camp or cottage.

When my oldest brother Bill got cancer, the family had plenty of time to address the issue of what to do once Bill was gone: they decided to continue going to the cottage as long as they were physically able to do so. Unfortunately, the cottage was on leased land: what they failed to do was make sure his wife's name was on the lease while he was alive. Bill's widow faced an increase of five times the former lease rate when she received her renewal notice. She was considered a new lease.

The best way, to my way of thinking, to ensure a positive outcome is to do some homework: ask friends what experiences they have had or know about, check the internet. Once you start investigating matters regarding the camp, you may want to get the most current financial advise regarding estate law. I recommend you read You Can't Take it With You: Common-Sense Estate Planning for Canadians. Once you have narrowed down what you want to do, book in with a lawyer. It's always a deal to do several things at once. Have you updated your will? powers of attorney? for financial as well as medical authority? Maybe you want to start a charitable endowment on your death: now would be the time to combine as many of these legal matters as possible.

The way I figure it, the government pisses away enough of my tax dollars, I don't want to give them one more cent than I have to by law. If I don't take charge and administer my affairs the government will charge my estate after I'm dead to do it themselves. Over my dead body!

When it comes to making decisions about the family camp by the lake, there are basic areas that need reviewing: accessibility, maintenance, family dynamics and financial matters. The family with a history of heart problems should seriously consider selling the camp with access that consists of two flights of stairs over a rock cliff face. The couple with thirteen children may want to register the place as a "corporate" entity so the camp stays in the family regardless of divorce or other changes in relationships, shares requiring either "cash shares" or "work value shares" to be corporate members. Families with children living across the country may have to ask the children outright what they would like to see happen to a place they may have strong or unspoken feelings about. Don't draw the conclusion that because you love the camp, built with your own two hands, your children or grandchildren feel an equal affection for the place. Similarly, don't count on the continued assistance of friends or family because economic, health or any number of problems could suddenly require a laying out of cash to cover labour previously donated.

I think chatting with George this morning got this post percolating in my brain. Hope it brewed up all right. I'm off to my own camp now. I'll get back to you in a bit.