Mango caught napping
July 21st, 2008 by ktula
Mango taking one of his several naps during the day.
Mango napping in the backyard.
Mango napping in the messenger-style sling bag.
Archive for the 'Photos' Category
It took him more than two days…
July 21st, 2008 by ktula
… but Mango finally pooped! It took what seemed like forever for Mango to finally pee while on leash. At exactly 1805, after peeing in my already trampled garlic chives, Mango went to his usual peeing spot and unloaded.
Yesterday, i voiced my concern to the trainer Diane as nothing was coming out of the tail end of Mango. She returned my call this morning and told me that it may take a few more days for him to get used to his environment. At the breeder’s place, Mango had tons of space to roam around. I have a very tiny yard so it may take longer for Mango to digest his food.
I took today off from work because i worked about two weekends ago for a scheduled downtime event. I spent most of the day trying to get Mango used to the leash in the backyard without much success. For some reason, he just does not like being put on leash in the backyard. He has no problem when i took him for a small walk in the parking lot. I spent most of the day trying to train Mango to sit. Out of about sixty tries, using bits and pieces of chicken jerky as treat, Mango only managed to sit down twice when i tried it without offering him any treat.
This afternoon, i took Mango for a walk to the nearby Petco to get him a dog tag. Mango did really well while on leash until we arrived at the spot directly across from the Velvet Foam. He refused to move forward so i dropped him in the dog carrier bag that Smelly bought yesterday from Railey’s leash & treat in Fremont. On our way back, i let Mango out of the bag and put him back on leash. We were able to walk back without Mango pulling and tugging at the leash.
When we got home, after Mango drank some water, i took him to the backyard on leash. But again, he was pulling and tugging at the leash, screaming and whining like a pig being slaughtered. I took him back inside since it was dinner time for him, i fed him the usual. He ate about half of his dinner and after a sip of water, i decided to take him outside again. This time round, Mango did not throw up as much resistance as before. He led me to the patch of garlic chives and peed there. I managed to repeat “go pee” several times. I thought he was done after that. He tried to dive into the corner behind the pot of different types of mint but i held on to the leash. He made two failed attempts before heading over to the usual peeing spot.
It was then i heard what sounded like a wet fart. And there it was, two of the happiest turd that i have ever seen came crawling out of his butt!
Today’s success stories:
- Mango pooed for the first time since i picked him up on Saturday morning.
- Mango signaled to us that he wanted to pee and when we took him to the backyard, he peed immediately. Twice.
- I was able to take him for a relatively longer walk on leash without him giving me too much trouble.
- Mango finally conquered his fear of the area past the living room. I fed him dinner in the kitchen and i didn’t even have to carry him there. I think the two walks we did today helped.
- Mango did not finish his dinner the first time time but after pooping, he went back for seconds.
- He showed no fear and played with his new tunnel toy that we bought from Ikea.
Mango emerged from one end of the tunnel toy.
Mango with his new tunnel toy from Ikea.
Mango resting after playing with his new tunnel toy.
Things to work on:
- To make Mango sit on command.
- To get him used to being crated for about two hours each time.
With Mango’s first success in pooping, there will also be another first for me. Now i have to go clean up what he left behind, picking up poo for the first time in my life.
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Mango’s first day and night home
July 20th, 2008 by ktula
Yesterday was a big day. It was the day that i had been waiting for a very long time. Yesterday was the day when Smelly and i picked up our Shiba Inu puppy Mango from our breeder Leslie Engen.
We arrived slightly before 1000 at Leslie’s beautiful home, earlier than usual because we had a noon appointment with a well-known dog trainer Diane Rich. On arrival, we were greeted by Leslie’s Japanese Akita Kai and her Leonberger Hef.
Kai - the Akita from Japan.
The Leoberger and the Akita.
We played with Mango and her two other remaining litter mate.
Mango and i in the fenced playpen.
After signing the contract and listening to some advices given by Leslie, she gave us some toys and some treats for Mango, including a stuffed toy with KD’s (Mango’s mom) scent.
Mango, as expected, threw up in his crate while on our way back home in his first journey in a car. The first thing we did on arrival at home with Diane, was to take Mango to the backyard. After some hesitation, Mango peed near edge of the paved rock and Rosemary bushes. He then found a hiding spot behind the stone Lion statue.
Mango found a shady spot under the patio umbrella.
Mango spent most of the late afternoon napping.
Mango taking a nap.
Mango resting under the late afternoon sun next to Smelly.
Mango resting under the late afternoon sun next to Smelly.
Mango resting on his paws.
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Busy Saturday
July 14th, 2008 by ktula
It was a pretty busy Saturday for me. After picking up a DHL package from the West Seattle Post Office - yes, a DHL package delivered by the USPS - i went crabbing at Shilshore Bay Marina with a bunch of Smelly’s co-workers. I knew that it was possible to catch Red Rock crabs off docks/piers but i never thought it was possible to trap Dungeness crabs from the same areas until this morning.
This is the first time that i have gone crabbing. The concept of shrimping and crabbing is very similar when using pots. The idea is to attract crabs with some bait into a trap that they cannot get out of. Crabbing offers some additional advantages over shrimping. The most important one for me is i do not need a boat. Because it is possible to harvest crab off a dock or pier, less bulky trap like the ring net can be employed. On Saturday, we had two crab pots and a ring net.
Preparing the bait cage for the crab pot with some razor clams. (Picture courtesy of Smelly)
We filled the bait cages with some leftover cans of salmon-flavored cat food from my shrimping trip last year. We also tried using the leftover razor clams as well. Both types of baits worked quite well but i think a solid bait like the razor clam is probably better because it does not disintegrate into little pieces from being thrown around numerous times.
Tossing the ring net. (Picture courtesy of Smelly)
With crab pots, once they are dropped in the water, they can probably remain there for a very long time since any crab that get into the pot will not be able to get out. With the ring net, it has to be checked every 15 - 20 minutes. Our first keeper was a male Red Rock crab caught using the ring net.
Holding down the big Red Rock crab. (Picture courtesy of Smelly)
Ian showing us how to identify the sex of the Red Rock crab. (Picture courtesy of Smelly)
Ian - the crab meister - in action. (Picture courtesy of Smelly).
Ian hauled up two Red Rock crabs. (Picture courtesy of Smelly)
We caught several other Red Rock crabs but they were legally too small to keep. Washington state law requires a minimum size of 5″ for Red Rock crabs (male or female). For Dungeness crabs, they must be at least 6.25″ wide and only male crabs can be kept. The male crab can be identified by the narrower abdomen at its underside.
Mike measuring the size of the catch with a crab ruler. (Picture courtesy of Smelly).
Crab to me: You want a piece of me?
Smelly and i had to leave earlier because we had an appointment with Leslie Engen of San Jo Shibas. This was to be our final visit for our Shiba puppy prior to picking him up the following weekend. Yes, the puppy has been selected out of the four. More on that in another post.
After dealing with the blood vessel-bursting traffic from the East side back to Seattle, due mainly to the shutdown of SR520, Smelly and i walked about two blocks for the annual West Seattle street fair to have some food. The food selections appeared to be lesser than the previous year. I had a pork bratwurst from Ziegler’s Bratwurst.
Janet standing in front of Ziegler’s Bratwurst at the annual West Seattle street fair.
Munching down a pork bratwurst with Sauerkraut and onions. (Picture courtesy of Smelly)
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Mantis nymphs
July 6th, 2008 by ktula
About two months ago, i bought a mantis egg case from the Home Depot on 1st Ave. There really isn’t any need for a biological pest control in my backyard since the few plants that attracted tons of aphids last year were no longer there. Last year, the three pepper plants in the backyard were infested with aphids so i introduced two batches of lady bugs to eliminate the aphids problem. The only reason for getting the mantis case is to satisfy my curiosity.
The instructions on packaging material mentions that the eggs hatch in about 10 days after the temperate reaches at least 70 degrees. This had been a relatively cooler spring and summer so daytime high did not hit the 70s until a week or two ago. After inspecting the egg case at least once a week for the past month, i gave up the idea that i would see mantises in my backyard.
Yesterday afternoon, i was inspecting the recently planted Irish Moss and to my surprise, i found several mantis nymphs!
Tiny mantis nymph on my thumb.
A mantis nymph hidden in Irish Moss.
I am a little concerned that i may not have any food in my backyard for the mantises. I may have to introduce some pest just to feed my mantises!
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Hot day in June
June 29th, 2008 by ktula
The temperature displayed in my car after being baked in the late afternoon sun for about an hour.
Yesterday’s high of 92 degrees fell a little short of the record of 93 degrees set in 1987. But it was hot enough for both Smelly and i as we rode on the Cedar River Trail.
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Second day of jury duty
June 26th, 2008 by ktula
I was at the Seattle Municipal Court again for the second straight day, performing my jury duty. During the morning, three groups of juror who were selected the day before were called up. I, along with the remaining jurors, waited at the jury assembly room. I brought my work notebook and did some work. When i got bored, i decided to start reading the book - Michael Pollan’s “In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto” - i brought along with me but i fell asleep soon after. Around noon, an announcement was made to the effect that my service was no longer needed since cases that were scheduled for the rest of the week were settled.
Before i left the Seattle Municipal Court, i decided to take some pictures of the 12th-floor rooftop garden.
Seattle Municipal Court rooftop garden.
I do not see a single weed in the garden. May be it is difficult for weed to land on a garden twelve floors up.
Then i looked across the street at the rooftop garden on top of the City Hall.
Unhealthy-looking rooftop garden on top of Seattle’s City Hall.
It does not appear that the City Hall rooftop garden is well-maintained at all. Considering the amount of rain that we had been getting prior to this week, i was expecting the garden to look greener than what it was.
The new Seattle City Hall.
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First day of jury duty
June 24th, 2008 by ktula
I received a summon for jury duty about a month ago. According to the summon, i “have been randomly selected to serve as a trial juror in the Municipal Court of Seattle.” I had to get up way earlier than my usual time in order to arrive at the Municipal Court before 0830. The daily compensation for each day of service is $10. That’s barely enough for lunch. When i signed in on arrival, i decided to donate the $10 to Childcare Services of Seattle.
Seattle Municipal Court.
After watching an 18-minute video on a juror’s duty, one of the two ladies explained that the length of the Jury Service is Tuesday through Thursday. What ??!!! I initially thought it was a one-day deal. RTFM, it was printed in bold on the summon, right under the huge title “INSTRUCTIONS - READ CAREFULLY.
Basically, i am in a pool of about 30 jurors. Each time, they will randomly call a group of about 10 jurors. The bailiff will lead this group of jurors to the judge. The judge will tell them about the case and introduce the jurors to the lawyers and others who are involved in it. After taking an oath to answer all questions truthfully, the judge and the lawyers will question the panel to find out if the jurors have any knowledge of the case and things that may make it hard for the jurors to be impartial.
No one was called up before lunch so everyone was let out at around 1130 for a two-hour lunch. Since i had so much time, i decided to walk over to Salumi, a restaurant owned by Armandino Batali, father of celeb chef Mario Batali.
Long line of lunch crowd waiting outside Salumi.
There was a long line waiting outside Salumi, about 30-people deep. I must have waited in line for at least 45 minutes before i was able to make my order. I ordered the special of the day, Marco Polo, an East meet West sandwich with a prosciutto-wrapped chicken marinated in Wasabi sauce, loaded with Wasabi dressing and hot peppers. It was a huge and delicious sandwich.
I spent the whole afternoon in the jury assembly room, waiting to be called up. Four groups of jurors were called up and i was not among them. I fell asleep several times during the afternoon. By 1530, they let everyone who was not called go home.
Two more days of this to go.