A Resolution to Admire

Every New Year's seems to bring the same self-serving resolutions.  We've all heard them: diet, exercise, lose weight, eat healthier, drink less alcohol, cut carbs, cut sugar, cut negativity.  By the second week of January those resolutions are barely holding on, or have completely gone the way of the Dodo.

Mark and Michelle Goodman, she is holding the bag.

I would only bet on one person to make her resolution stick until next year. Michelle Goodman vowed to "pick up a bag of trash each day" this year.  Everyday. Or, in case she has a productive day of five or six bags, she can "bank" those days for later.  The ultimate result is 365 bags of free-floating trash will be removed from natural areas and along roadsides.  Her good deeds are most likely to occur in Texas where she lives, but she will also continue to ply her resolution on vacations and travel near and far.

Michelle (Shelly) picking up trash along the dunes at Mustang Island, Texas.

Shelly is bound to make this resolution last.  Picking up trash is already a way of life for her.  She makes every place she goes better for her visit.  We know she will stick to this resolution, as a more determined person has never lived. She already diets, exercises and eats right.  She is a paramount of positivity. Shelly already has all those other things going for her.

I'd like to say it is in her gene pool. Her grand-father, John, is the great grand-daddy of litter pick-up and good deeds in his neighborhood, too. These folks are the personification of their tidy German genes.

Michelle and Mark relaxing in nature.  It's easy when there is no trash to be seen.

The New Year has begun.  Now I resist making resolutions I can't keep, as I have a lifetime of January failures. But good deeds don't need a schedule, every day can be a new beginning.  So let's all try to follow Shelly's example and make our world a better place, bag by bag.  It can be a grocery sack or a kitchen garbage bag.  If your feeling particularly spry, get out the giant Hefty!

Weedpicker's goal for 2016 includes gathering more bags of byway trash.  Just don't be surprised if some of those trash bags have invasive plants stuck into them, too.

PS.  May I tell you just how proud I am of my kid?

The Story of a Wee Beastie

Once a long time ago, there was a wee beastie who had a very unhappy childhood and found himself locked up in a dog pound.  Fortunately for him, our family decided he would be a welcomed addition to our clan.

Argus circa 2002

The little fellow had some serious issues, but lots of love brought him around. He got over his shyness and flourished in his new found home.                              

J.J., Argus, and Shelly

He had a couple of co-conspirators who tried to undo all the good manners and training I worked to instill in him. Their favorite game was "London Bridge," or an adaptation of that children's game.  He would get in between them, until they put the squeeze on him. He loved every minute of it.

Holding the great beast at bay.

 Here's your blogger, a few years back.  Argus and I were very active in the local dog education scene. We were teaching the weekly dog obedience classes at the local Humane Society Shelter. He was so charismatic the clients loved him.  He could do all the lessons "off-leash" and had total control in a class full of wild dogs and puppies. I was often told that he "should be on television!"

Bird watching with the first grandchild, Maia.

 Argus had a way of empowering children, especially ones who were afraid of dogs.  Once they learned he would do whatever they commanded (sit, stay, come) they did not feel afraid, because they were in control.  He was also a huge hit at the local kid's program at church and visited the rest homes.  This guy was a well-loved working dog.

 He loved to visit his "kids" when they were attending Ohio University.  Here he is helping J.J. on an aquatic assessment project at the lake at Stroud's Run.  He was trying to tell them,"The fish are over here!"

Argus, the butterfly hound.

Argus was a big help at home, too.  He was a regular butterfly-hound and he often walked the transect at home stirring up the local lepidoptera.  When people asked what breed he was, we were always ready to tell them he was a BOUFU (Big ol' ugly friendly unknown.)

Yes, he was a ham bone!

Sure, he was on the Christmas cards, had run of the house and yard, and was a fabulous watch dog.  He was adored by man and beast alike and he had no enemies, other than some ding-dangy ground moles who didn’t deserve to live anyway. They hated his guts and feared him as a vicious predator. He didn't cotton any mice in the house or deer in the yard, either. That type of attitude suited me just fine.

Kozak was Argus'  understudy.

 He helped me train other dogs.  In fact, my only regret about this magnificent beast was the fact that we didn't train an understudy to take over his job here at home.

Whenever we would work with a dog, such as this gorgeous 75 lb. German Shepard pup, Argus was able to teach them what I expected, in half the time.  He did the work, I just had to hold tight to the leash on the understudy.

So here's to my wonderful friend, a working dog and beloved family pet.  He served his master well and was loved by all.  It wasn't too hard to let him go, cause I loved him that much.  We all knew a dog's life is short, but this fellow had twelve wonderful years of productive work,  and a family who loved him.  We are proud to say, it just couldn't get any better for a dog.  We kept up our end of the deal.

Thanks for bearing with me. I don't usually write about personal things and am not really looking for sympathy. I simply had a few words that I needed to get of my chest. Sometimes, writing can be therapeutic, but it is not quite as good... as the love of a dog.