Junior

 Just found this small series of photos of our beloved Junior the Shih-Poo which is a mixed breed of Shih Tzu and Toy Poodle dog . We had Junior for almost fourteen years, 2004 being the year he became a member of our family. He was a very loving dog and very smart too. He kept a watch over us and often slept over my head and in the morning if I slept in he would check to make sure I was still breathing. A funny dog he was at times and was a good soccer player. When Junior and Buddy escaped our backyard Junior would quickly return to let us know Buddy had ran off much further than he ever would. Junior was Kristina's dog. She found him on the Internet and we travelled almost two hours to get him. He was the runt of the litter and the smartest dog we ever met. 

Addition to the Family

 Here are John and Jaxon taking a walk to the store. It was so sweet watching them walk away hand in hand. Jaxon was so proud to wear his hat and rainboots and go for a walk with daddy. Below Buddy looks on like maybe he wanted to go too while Sabrina minds her own business looking the other way. She is quite a little lady just doing things and keeping to herself. At bottom is a newcomer to the family. It's Krissy's dog Brooklyn, a little Husky she brought into her home as a companion to her Australian Shepherd River. Brooklyn was a little shy at first but she quickly warmed up to her new family.

Garden Helpers

 Many flowers have started to bloom and the grass has really become green. I love green, it heals the soul. During the winter months we are on a kind of a shut down and when spring comes when nature awakens and so do we. So we got outside to clean the garden. I had some helpers and they did a great job filling bags with old leaves and weeds. I also bought some very pretty rhododendron to plant but they look so delicate, not sure if they will survive later on over the winter. 

 

Spring and Trees

 At this time it got warm enough to go outside in short sleeves and explore out new surroundings. We love the large property and tall trees all around. Some trees are filled with blooms like the one below that stands in the middle of the backyard. I also brought out a book to read and just sit down and enjoy spring on this new land of ours. 

Comfy Chair

 Maya took a picture in front of the beautiful Gothic home down the street called Todd's Mansion. It is a huge old house with apartments. The architecture is incredible and love the dark colors on it too. Below are a couple more pics of Buddy after his haircut and Sabrina in her comfy chair. It's perfect for her as if it was made just for her. The kitty at bottom is another kitty that comes to chill on our porch. I can't imagine our porch is the quietest of places but the kitties seem to like the ambiance here. They don't look like stray cats, they're look good and well fed. 

A bit of History

 This is an old book I found with some information and maps of New Brunswick and some areas like our hometown. I love old maps and reading about history and how small towns began and how people lived and so on. This is a small booklet published in 1936. It's an educational pamphlet and talks about among other things, the village of St. Stephen and the St. Croix River.

More Support

According to the building inspector we had to put another support beam for the above deck to make sure it is secure and not just sitting on top of the roof of the room below. So we'd arranged for the beam to be put in. As well we will build a deck in this spot at some later point. There is only a brick there now for the step down and it's too low so a deck would fill in this spot nicely. 

Cleaning UP

 In the spring of 2019 we had a lot of clean up to do in the backyard. There were a few locations where cut trees and bushes were kept and have grown to quite a pile so we got someone with a bulldozer to come and pull some of these piles off the grass. We did this twice until it was all hauled away. Now the backyard looks bigger than ever and gives lots of room for the boys to run around without tripping over piles of rubble.