Dog performs heimlich maneuver
From the Baltimore Sun

"Toby, a 2-year-old golden retriever, saw his owner choking on a piece of fruit and began jumping up and down on the woman's chest. The dog's owner believes the dog was trying to perform the Heimlich maneuver and saved her life.

Debbie Parkhurst, 45, of Calvert told the Cecil Whig she was eating an apple at her home Friday when a piece lodged in her throat. She attempted to perform the Heimlich maneuver on herself but it didn't work. After she began beating on her chest, she said Toby noticed and got involved. "The next think I know, Toby's up on his hind feet and he's got his front paws on my shoulders," she recalled. "He pushed me to the ground, and once I was on my back, he began jumping up and down on my chest."

That's when the apple dislodged and Toby started licking her face to keep her from passing out, she said.

"I literally have pawprint-shaped bruises on my chest. I'm still a little hoarse, but otherwise, I'm OK," Parkhurst said.

"The doctor said I probably wouldn't be here without Toby," said Parkhurst, a jewelry artist. "I keep looking at him and saying, 'You're amazing.'"

Dogs really are mans best friend. We had a dog when we were kids who would run around our pool the whole time my sister was in it. She is disabled, both physically and mentally. As soon as she got out the dog would lay down but the second she jumped back in he was back up running. When she had a seizure while walking down the stairs he wouldn't let me or my mom near her. He showed his teeth and was very tense. I had to grab him and push him out of the way so mom could sit beside her. I can't wait till we get a dog but we will wait till our family is ready.

I took the kids for a hike yesterday. We walked down the river for about a 1/2 km. through some pretty rough terrain. The river was really high and fast so we had to be careful. Its pretty tough hiking as there is no path. They had a blast jumping over puddles and ducking, sometimes crawling under downed trees.


We took a break and took turns throwing sticks in the river to see how fast it was flowing.



We came across a tree fort that some teenagers had built. There were lots of beer and liquor bottles laying around. We couldn't find a latter so I had to help them climb up. It wasn't too high maybe 6 or 7 ft. It must have been built fairly recently because the axe marks in the trees were fresh. While lifting them down Emma ripped her jeans.

We walked as far as we could but the bush eventually became to dense. The river is in a valley so we had to climb up about 100ft through some really tricky spots to get to the road. On the way up we found an old car that must have been pushed over the edge years ago. The windows were all smashed out and the dirt had almost filled the car. There was also a tree laying over it. The kids thought that was really cool. When we reached the top of the hill we looked back down at what we had just climbed and we all felt proud.

In a field somewhere,
You planted a tree,
To signify your love,
Your love for me.
You said as it grows,
So will your love for me.

I wrote that when I was 15. Me and my friend Aaron used to write songs and play guitar. We were gonna change the world with our music. We weren't very good. To be honest we could only play a few songs. Past Tyme was going to be the name of our band. We'd sit in my basement get high and listen to Zeppelin records. We'd discuss different theory's on life. One time we decided that this life was just a dream and we should kill each other to move back to reality. Luckily another friend was there to diffuse the situation. I don't think anything would have happened but we did have our pocket knifes out. I was a different person back then, more spiritual.

The teeth of the demon, Pierced her skin
Slicing her veins, that lie within
Not knowing what happened, she changed inside
From that sweet little girl, to a ????
then sighed.

I can't remember what ???? was. We had a book of poetry that we'd write in then try to put to music. It was a fun time. Aaron and I drifted apart. He hooked up with my ex a couple of weeks after we broke up. I got pissed and that was that. 15 years later and he's the only one from high school I still think about. I used to spend a lot of time alone sitting in the forest just me and a note book. Some nights I'd slip out of the house when everyone was asleep and sit on a park bench and write shit. I even started to write a book at one time. When the kids are older and I have more time I'll get back in to writing but for now I'll stick to blogging.

Dave

From People of the Deer by Farley Mowat

"Suppose a youth, a ten-year old boy, decides he will become a great hunter overnight. He is not scolded and sent sulkily to bed for his foolish presumption, nor do his parents condescend to his childish fantasy. Instead his father gravely spends the evening preparing a miniature bow which is not a toy, but an efficient weapon on a reduced scale. The bow is made with love and then it is given to the boy and he sets out to his distant hunting ground--a ridge, perhaps a hundred yards away--with the time-honored words of luck ringing in his ears, which are the same words spoken by the People to their mightiest hunter when he sets out on a two-month trip northward for musk ox. There is no distinction, and this lack of distinction is not a pretense, it is perfectly real. The boy will be a hunter? Very well then, he shall be a hunter--not a boy with a toy bow."

I've always said that if the kids show interest in something I'll support them. When Emma told us at a young age that she wanted to be an archaeologist, we bought every book and toy we could. Now she wants to be a photographer, she got a camera for Christmas. It's hard to predict what our kids are going to be when they grow up, I hope for happiness....and a scholarship.

Kensington Market Skate Crash


From this article in the Toronto Sun

"A skateboarder who was sent flying in a collision with an oncoming car on a one-way street in Kensington Market can watch reruns of his horrific accident for the rest of his life.

Ben Davis was skateboarding south down the middle of Augusta Ave. around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday when he was hit hard by a northbound vehicle.... While in hospital, a cop added to his pain, writing him a ticket for a $50 fine"

Hahaha it looks good on the idiot riding the skateboard. The $50 ticket is like icing on the cake. I'm all for alternative transportation but roads are for motorized vehicles. Not skateboards or roller blades. I don't mind bicycles, if they follow the rules of the road but most bikers do what they want. If I pass a bike and at the next red light he sneaks past me you can be sure I'm rubbing the curb next light. Then the prick jumps the curb and uses the sidewalk.

Dave

Spring is in the air. On Friday the kids and I were outside playing in the vanishing snow when we saw 3 Canadian geese. They were the first geese of the spring. There is a mill pond a block away from our house that is full of geese all summer. They left in early January when the pond froze. We walked down to see if they landed, but we couldn't spot them. The mill pond was still pretty frozen but there were a few open spots. You wouldn't believe the noise the birds make in the spring. We can hear them in our bedroom, all night sometimes. Our room faces the east with windows on the whole east and south side. Morning's are rough enough with every sunrise turning our room pink, throw in the geese and wow its like camping.

The mill pond


The kids climbing. If you look close you can see Jacob up the hill.

Jake and I


Dave

For my birthday my mom gave me a thermometer that reads the inside and outside temps. Its -1.3 outside and 19.2 inside. I'm obsessed with the weather. It's true. I won't even try to deny it. Every morning when I crawl out of bed I check the Weather Network as well as Environment Canada's radar. Then I brush my teeth, make my tea and sit down to watch the Weather Network. I usually check the radar at least a few times during the day if I'm near the computer. I'm a landscaper so the weather does play an interlingual part of my day but it might be getting out of control. This winter was awesome for snow and all the snow we get here is lake effect. One minute it might be clear and the next, white outs. I could sit on the computer and predict when it would start and end. My wife and kid are sick of hearing about it, and I can't say that I blame them. Sometimes I'll call Chrissy and ask her to describe the radar including colours. All this talk about the weather must be exciting me, the temperature inside has risen .2 degrees.

Dave