Ebon, Ebon, Ebon

So, I haven't really felt like I've had anything interesting to say lately. I drafted a few posts, but they were dry and I hated them, so thus the lack of...anything. I also got angry with my camera because it's making it more difficult for me to upload pictures. That didn't help.

Anyway, I'm going to get back into the swing of things. Here's some recent stuff with Ebon. Forgive me if the images are slow to load. My old uploading method automatically compressed the images down nice and small, but now I would have to compress them manually. So, these are not compressed at all. Hopefully I can work out an easier way of doing this.

Ebom at the fountain in the big park downtown. The last time we were here, the fountain was decorated for Christmas

Ebon enjoying the water

Here, you can see where the spout is

And now for the coolest water fountain I've ever seen. It has three levels: one for adults, one for children, and one that's the perfect height for dogs! It's the only one like this in the park, with all of the others being the standard one- or two-level types. Even though there is only one, I'm glad they have it. The city's pretty dog friendly, and little touches like this make lives much easier for dog owners.

I do wonder, though, if this is kind of a leftover from when the park was even friendlier for dog owners. It used to allow provisional off-leash time, but there's now an ordinance that all dogs must be on lead at all times. I might have to take Ebon's long-line with me one of these days and make use of the huge green space at this park, while still obeying the laws.

After the park, we stopped at a nearby natural food market that's the sole supplier of certain products. Ebon got to drink out of my squeeze bottle while taking a little rest in the shade.

That's it for our park day, but I do still have a few things to share:

I'm skirting the leash laws at the condo by using Ebon's long-line to play fetch. It was actually made for me by my dad out of old clothesline and a couple of strong clasps. It serves its purpose. I wish it was longer, though, and didn't tangle as easily.

I also taught Ebon how to open and close his kennel door a while ago. He learned it super quickly, and now absolutely loves to tug on the toy I tied to the door. Earlier today, I asked him to go and open the door. He then, without any prompting, went inside and closed the door behind him. Then, when I tried to open the door, he kept closing it again.

I love this dog.

Crazy Trip

I actually got back last night, but was really tired. In the end, I wasn't actually able to attend the funeral. Thanks to the hurricane, there was flooding that cut off the bridge to the chapel. The ground was also completely saturated, so we didn't even know when it would be possible to bury the poor man. Plus, there was a dam in the area that had suffered considerable damage and was at risk of breaking and causing serious flash floods. It was just a complete mess, but I was glad I was there, since we knew my grandparents were safe.

I took pictures, of course. Here's some of the damage we saw:

The sense of scale is skewed. These trees are huge, around one hundred feet high and were completely uprooted. The power line the one fell on feeds most of the town. Luckily, we were on a separate grid and, except for a few flickers, had power through the whole storm.

This pond is usually about a third the size seen her. This is the property of the man whose funeral we were there to attend. There's a dam somewhere under the water, but it didn't do much good. A field to the left of this dirt road was completely flooded.

The boys right by the flooding. Ebon wanted to wade in the water, so I had to leash him so he wouldn't be an idiot and get himself hurt.

A casualty of the pond overflow, close to where Ebon is in the first picture

A five foot wide chunk washed out of another dirt road

Minor damage. These little leafy twigs were everywhere.

A mailbox nailed by a falling limb

The worst we saw at my grandparent's house: a minor roof leak.

Some delicate creatures survived the storm unscathed

 And here's some of the other pictures I took. Click for larger views.

An American white ibis shortly before we left	King Ebon during a food stop	A convoy of cherry pickers we were following most of the trip in
Sunset through some outer bands of Isaac	The boys after a walk in the rain from Isaac's outer bands	Siggy's spots really show through his coat when wet
Ebon's paw prints in the mud after Isaac	Ebon loved our romp around the property	We didn't get a lot of thunder, but when we did, this happened: a very stressed Siggy

On the way home we were treated to a double rainbow over Florida. Beautiful sight

Storms

We had a tornado warning today and for the first time since I've moved to the condo the tornado sirens went off, as well as other alerts saying "take cover now." So, the significant other and I piled into my closet with Ebon, Siggy, and the two cats. Nothing hit us, but I couldn't help but be amused by what it was like to have all of us in such a small space. The last time I got a "take cover now" alert it was me, Ebon, and my mom's two cats in a bathroom. A bathroom larger than the closet at that, and I was dealing with the semi-feral Ginny not wanting anything at all to do with Ebon. Ah, thunderstorms.

Everyone all huddled together in the closet. Of course, Ebon's just a massive shadow

Siggy and Ebon

Tired puppies during a water break

I did take the dogs out for a nice long walk today. I'm getting used to walking two dogs at the same time, but it's still difficult. This is mainly thanks to Ebon being so busy on the lead. Siggy, thanks to his history, has a really good heal and so is a breeze to walk, unless he spooks and then you're stuck waiting for him to get over it (really the only thing to do; coaxing does nothing). Ebon is, well, it's best to describe him as almost like he has ADD. He likes to sniff everything and alternate what side he walks on. He's the sort of dog who just wants to do things. If I could train him to carry a toy and not drop it every five seconds he'd probably be the happiest dog in the world. Toys are like his whole life. If I'm just walking him his business isn't a problem. I have rules about how much he can do, things like I don't want to have to stop walking. So, if the leash pulls taught while he's sniffing and I'm walking I'll give a gentle tug to get him to keep up. I don't like him crossing in front of me because he can trip me up, so he'll often cross behind me. I also don't want him pulling. These are easy things and, hey, if he wants to be a bit busy it just burns off more of his energy. The problem is, as I've discovered, these behaviors can tangle up the leashes when I'm walking two dogs. I never realized how often I tend to switch hands while walking Ebon before now. It's a bit problematic, but I'm working on it. We had fun anyway.

Silly boys. Shows a bit more of their typical behavior. Ebon: super happy and hyper. Siggy: mellow as all get out.

Also, if you're curious, here's what Siggy's foot with the amputated toe looks like from below. He has a wear spot on his center pad because of a combination of the missing toe and the stiffness he has in his other leg. Apparently, it's common for that leg to become arthritic because of the way the tracks are set up. The only turn in one direction, after all. Overall, the lack of toe doesn't hamper him very much. He can still run really well, and has chased after Ebon on more than on occasion, outpacing him like it was nothing.

We stopped by one of the pet stores after the walk and I was amused when a cashier asked their ages and was really surprised Ebon was the elder of the pair. I suppose it's mainly because of the vast difference in energy level.

Too Hot

Ebon during a water break

I took Ebon back to the state park today, taking my mother and significant other with me. I was hoping to go when it was fairly cool, but as it turned out we ended up at the park during the hottest part of the day. The high today was 89, but with 56% humidity and a UV index of 10 the heat index got up to 94. We took plenty of water, but the day had to be cut short with an expected five to eight mile walk shortened to just three. Why? Poor Ebon couldn't take it.

After he stopped

It's been cool lately and he hasn't carried a weighted pack in at least a month. I thought he would be fine carrying the eight or so pounds he had (~10% of his body weight) as long as we drank plenty of water. However, he didn't seem to want to drink much water when we stopped. So, we kept on. After we had gone about two miles, he did a little hitch in his step, then stopped and flopped down in the middle of a shaded part of the trail, panting heavily. I stripped his pack off and offered him more water. I would have taken off his collar too if it weren't for the park leash rules. We stayed there for some time while he drank and I splashed water on him to try and cool him down. It wouldn't have been so bad if we were at home, but we were in the middle of a forest. He spent a good twenty minutes alternating between laying down and drinking. By that time, he was acting more perky so we began taking the short way back, us carrying his pack. I took a little diversion along the way to let him splash in the shallows of the river that runs parallel to parts of the trail. On the way back, he even did his happy little prance-wag at the sight of a pair of Jack Russells what were coming down the trail.

Ebon now, contently sleeping with cats

At the car I put him in some shade and offered him more water. I also took an icepack (my mom happened to bring a cooler) and alternated applying it to under his front legs and under his ears, where he felt the warmest. When he was panting more gently, we hopped in the car to leave, AC on full. It wasn't until we were back at the condo and he had time to lay on a nice, cool floor that he finally stopped panting. He's been normal even since.

I've learned a valuable lesson about this. Usually, Ebon's up for just about anything, but there are a number of things that were likely contributes to his overheating. First, since he's black his coat absorbs heat like crazy. I know this and normally he's able to regulate his temperature just fine, but it was hot and the UV index probably made him heat up faster than normal. Second, the weight of the pack and it's addition of a layer of padding over his fur probably made things worse thanks to his exertions and the insulating and restrictive nature of the harness. It also didn't help that he wasn't wanting to drink the water I offered him. Next time, he won't be carrying weight if the index is over 90. We also won't we going such a long distance during the hottest part of the day.

I feel like an idiot for pushing to the point he got to today. My mother actually thought he might have been having a seizure when he hitched before he flopped, but it was clear that wasn't what was going on. For now, he hasn't had a seizure since October.

Downtown and New Toys

Ebon in a square, watching a man make palmetto roses. Many people make them and sell them to tourists

We went downtown today. It's been quite some times since I took Ebon down there, so after some discussion my mother, my significant other, Ebon, and myself all hopped into a car and headed down. I live in a far quieter part of the city, so it's always an interesting experience. We spent hours there, walking around and eating dinner at our favorite downtown pizza place and ice cream at our favorite downtown ice cream place, which I've mentioned before. I feel really rather awkward trying to take pictures of the dog while surrounded by people, so I only snagged the one above while we were sitting in a square, enjoying some fresh squeezed lemonade and waiting for a table so that we could eat dinner.

Today was mostly an experiment in patience with Ebon. He was really good, but didn't want to settle down while we ate. He mostly wanted to sit or stand and either watch the passing people or stare at the people who were eating. Even worse was the fact that he wanted to chase ever sparrow he saw. There were a lot of them. I took the chance to try and keep him in a comfortable down, giving him lots of encouragement and cookies for doing so. He's learning. The pizza place is wonderfully dog friendly, bringing Ebon a big bucket of ice water to enjoy. He also got a lot of attention from other people, including at least one woman who took his picture. I'm wondering if she was a tourist.

Bad picture, happy dog

We ducked into just about every dog-friendly place we saw while down there. I keep forgetting how many stores allow dogs inside and how many keep bowls full of water outside for thirsty pups. We even stopped by the place where I bought Ebon's pack. After some looking through their wonderful supply of outdoor things, I went to where they keep their dog products. I spotted a Ruffwear Gourdo. I couldn't help myself. Next time I have a chance to have him off leash I'll be trying it out for real.

Evening Romp

Ebon on the stage

In a down-stay on the soccer field

Ebon, my significant other, and I went out today for a nice walk and a little romp through the woods. I keep forgetting how many little hidden areas there are in the woods on campus, which led to us stumbling across a little stage that sits half-hidden by trees beside one of the sets of dormitories. I don't know why they decided to build a stage there. It's one of three outdoor stage-like areas that are on this campus.

The bugs were out in force and though I remembered my bug spray this time, I still ended up getting a few bites. Those darn mosquitoes just love me too much. It was a beautiful day, though. Only a bit warm and really not humid. It's usually extremely humid around here and after a week of frequent rains it seems that things have dried up for the time being. Ebon enjoyed himself. He's doing great right now, for those of you who are curious.

On a man-made sand mound that's in the woods

I'm a little disappointed that none of the pictures really came out very well today. Oh, well.

Male sago (Cycas revoluta) cone

We did come across a rather impressive sago palm near another of the dorm complexes. A reproductive male sage is not a common sight around here. It seems that most of the sagos you will see near where I live are either immature or female, and female sago cones are far less conspicuous. Males, on the other hand, can produce multiple large cones beginning at the age of about fifteen years. Cycad species are notoriously slow-maturing plants and the need for a long time before reproduction is common. The sago we saw only had one cone, but it was nearly two feet long! These cones will release a sweetish smell when mature, but I couldn't smell anything so I don't think it's fully matured yet. And yes, I am crazy enough to sniff a sago palm in public.

Car Back? Adventure Time!

I haven't mentioned, but my car's been having some issues for a while now. I even took it in and the service center thought they had fixed the problem, but hadn't and when I informed them they had no idea what the problem could be. This culminated in me taking the car in last Thursday so that the mechanics could try one last time to figure out what in the world was wrong. I got the car back today, completely better and driving like brand new. So, I took Ebon out to campus to celebrate. We had a nice, hour-long walk, circling around to a number of parts of campus Ebon had not yet been to, including several of the gardens. So, on to the ridiculous amount of photographs.

Ebon outside one of the buildings, watching the people

A roly-poly I found in the International Garden

Juniperus formosana in the Conifer Garden

Can't read plaque, but another species in the Conifer Garden

Marsilea macropoda in one of the gardens

Ebon on a bench in the Primitive Garden

Lepisorus bicolor in the Fern Garden

Same as above. Can you find the sori in the larger version?

Selaginella unicinata in the Fern Garden (not a fern, but related)

Ephedra tweediana in the Primitive Garden

Tired Ebon outside of the Science building

After dropping off the bags, we went to have a peek at the pond. It's come to life! The frogs were peeping furiously and the brush is no longer brown. Ebon seemed like he wanted to go for a swim, but I didn't bring a ball. Or a towel.

Sunset over campus. The experimental banana orchard is in front.

It was fun. Hopefully I'll get a chance to go to somewhere different soon.