Category Archives: All About Max

Bear Creek Walk

Flowers in Bear CreekMax and I took a walk through Bear Creek today and it was really gorgeous. It’s so warm here, very unseasonable. It was so warm I had to take off my jacket and walked around in short sleeves.

SniffingThere are so many of these flowers blooming, but I’m not sure what they are. They are on a stem that looks sort of like a peony, but the flowers sort of look like balloon flowers. No idea what they might be, but they are blooming all over Bear Creek. Max was always stopping to smell them; not sure why that was, although he does like to smell flowers, these ones really seemed to attract him.

DucksWe went down by the salmon stream and it was covered in ducks. Max kept trying to get them, but they would quack at him and move off a little. He finally charged them, and they took off in a loud cacophony of honking and quacking! There was a young mother with a couple kids on a bridge, and the ducks came flying over them, and the kids just loved it! It was pretty funny stuff…

Max in Green Timbers

Max in the parkPam has been off the last few days so we’ve been able to go for some nice walks. The weather is so incredible, it’s hard to believe how sunny and warm it is.  Today we went up to Green Timbers park, a large urban forest in the north section of Surrey. It’s a lovely park, with a small lake and lots of walking trails.

Max We trundled about for forty-five minutes. We saw lots of ducks on the lake, which excited Max no end! We chatted with a couple fisherman, but they were having no luck. I’ve been here before and seen people hauling fish out, so it is good for fishing some days.

Max is doing well these days, and he really likes all the walks we’ve been taking lately. The pictures of Max were taken today. He is heading through a big tree that has fallen over, and the stump has left a sort of door through the wood! Thought it was cute.

First blooms

White crocusThe WINTER Olympics are set to kick off on Friday, so it’s nice see the crocuses finally starting to bloom in the garden!

Yep, it’s tough I know, especially knowing that Washington, DC and other points east are covered – deeply! – in snow. So while you’re out shoveling snow, at least you can come and look at the crocuses blooming here in Surrey!

First crocus 2010It’s odd though, usually the yellow crocuses bloom first, but we don’t have any yellow ones up yet. We’ve got about 30 or so purple ones, and just a couple of white ones.

Not sure what happened to the yellow ones, but hopefully they’ll be popping open shortly. The grape hyacinths are pushing open too, with small little buds ready to pop open in to their full purple glory in the next couple of days.

Maybe the yellow ones are waiting until Canada wins their first gold in the Olympics!

Peacocks in the city

PeacockThere was an article in one of our local papers this morning about peacocks, and how they are disturbing a neighbourhood. Some of the locals complained about their noise, and their habit of going to the bathroom on the sidewalk, driveways, and roofs of their homes.

Male PeacockI was totally fascinated. Particularly because the neighbourhood is within walking distance of our house! That’s right! Peacocks wandering around Surrey! I found it very hard to believe, but the paper pointed out that a peacock is basically a pheasant, and there was no reason they couldn’t survive in the wild here in the Lower Mainland.

PeacocksWell, Pam and I just had to go check it out! And holy cow! As we wandered around, there they were, sunning themselves in the front yard of a house. But there are a LOT of these birds! And Male Peacockthey are BIG. Some up to thirty pounds!

The article said there were fifteen, although they said that some people had reported that there might be as many as thirty. Well, I can confirm there are OVER thirty. I counted 28, in two yards, and another five perched on a fence.Showing off

On the fenceIt was really remarkable. They had very little fear of me, allowing me to get within a couple feet of them, before merely moving off at a very slow rate.

Very very cool. Truly a remarkable thing…. it will definitely be part of my strolls in the future! We had Max with us, but we kept him back, because he really wanted to go after them! He loves to chase birds!

The North Shore

War memorialPam and I were over on the North Shore today. She had some things to do, so Max and I decided we’d walk around and check out the old haunts. When we first moved to Vancouver 25 years ago, we lived for a number of years on the North Shore. We walked along the tracks by the Lonsdale Quay. There are a number of small statues with park benches beside them, set in tranquil, garden areas.

North Shore parkWe piled in the car and drove by the old apartment we used to live in, and it is a real dump now. The building is run-down, in need of a paint job in the worst way. Lots of pieces of the stucco have fallen off, and it’s overgrown with moss. Kind of sad really…

We moved north, up the mountain to wander around Victoria Park on Keith Road. They have a nice War Memorial, in a well manicured park. Lots of other dogs were out, and Max had a nice time playing with a few little guys.

Max and bearWe walked further north and saw this statue of a Grizzly Bear by Ken Clarke. Max was feeling protective I guess, because he simply would not let this bear alone! He charged around him, barking and acting very silly! People walking on the street stopped to watch him go nuts! haha Hope you enjoy the movie!

Happy New Year!

Happy New YearI can’t believe it’s New Year’s Eve already! The week since Christmas has flown by, so much to do!

2009 was a difficult year for a lot of people, and I hope you all managed to avoid any major negative upheavals.

Max, New Year's Eve, 2009Max has had his health issues this year, but he has managed to recover most of his mobility. The defect is most noticeable on the lino floor in the kitchen, where he can’t make his left front leg brace him, and the paw slips forward. But, as our dog sitter said, he’s a very lovable guy. He is very affectionate and he has a very playful manner. We’re glad to have him around, that’s for sure!

Pam and I have big plans for New Year’s – most involve staying awake til midnight… We both came through the year with our health intact, and we’re grateful for that.

Have a Safe and Fun Time tonight! May all of 2010 be a joy for everyone in your family. And we all wish for peace so our soldiers can come home.

Rambling…

Neely jersey Pam and I went to the Canucks game against the Detroit Red Wings last night. I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for the Wings – an Original Six team, with lots of heart and character. Their jerseys are classic, simple and meaningful. Something the Canuck jerseys have NEVER been, despite dozens of re-designs.

Anyway – we had seats in the absolute LAST row of the house. We were three rows ABOVE the nosebleed seats! haha Still, it was fun to be at the game, even though the Canucks never showed up. My buddy Mike and I have complained about the lack of team toughness for years. And this team is once again a bunch of weak sisters. To be run out of the building by a team like Detroit is really disappointing.

The hardest working guyAlex Burrows is so lame this year. And Kesler looks lost. It’s time the coach realized that those two guys need each other to play well. Neither Burrows nor Kesler threw a check, which is something we have come to expect from them. But No Longer…  Thomas Holmstrom stands in front of the net, directly in front of Luongo and is unmolested. In the Detroit end, not a soul could even find the front of the net, let alone stand in front of either goalie the Wings used.

I’ve put a picture up of the hardest working guy on the ice last night… (The Zamboni driver, in case you missed my reference…)

Just a note about the vandalism of our Halloween display – the single grave marker that was removed from our yard has come back. In four pieces! I found it at the front of the property – I guess someone drove by and threw it back on the yard.

I appreciate you returning it, scumbag. I’ve smoothed over the ragged edges, re-touched the paint, and it is again featured on the yard. I’ve been working quite a bit on the display and it’s really getting cool.

Kinda morbid eh?I’ve been searching the net for funny grave sayings, and I’ve used the always familiar “I told you I was sick” already. But the one that caught my eye was “Bill Blake – Hanged my mistake” which I changed to “Billy Blake – Aged 5 – Hanged by Mistake!” haha

Funny story – one of my neighbours across the street, saw me out taking a picture last week, way before I had even put half our stuff out. He says to me, “wow, buddy, you must be finished now eh? That’s a lot of stuff you have there.” I said to him, “You new to the neighbourhood?” haha He gave me a funny look and walked into his house. Wait til he sees the smoke machine, the skeletons, the music, the karaoke machine, the strobes…

And when I start putting out the Christmas stuff… man – he’s in for a shock!

Max Update – He’s doing great. His left front paw is slightly weak, but he’s figured out how to do most everything without it working perfectly. He’s in better spirits lately, and much more playful.

We’ve been going on walks, instead of running for now. He wants to run, but the doctor advised against it, since the steroids can cause some swelling.