The Travels of the Agnew Family

We hated to do it but we decided it was the only way. First thing this morning we took Zaph to the local pet store to be fitted with a cone. Luckily cones have improved over the years and can be easily put on and taken off as Zaph would only need to wear it when we couldn't watch him.


Surprisingly, Zaph didn't fuss over the cone. He must have thought it was the worst outfit I had ever put on him. Poor guy didn't know how wide he was and kept getting stuck. We took the cone off when we took him for his walks so the other dogs wouldn't make fun of him.

We're not sure why but Zaph has been chewing his feet and ripping the hair off his back legs. We tried a few things to get Zaph to stop the new habit but none of them worked, so Ed dropped by the vet's office and picked up some cream. As soon as the cream was put on his feet, Zaph tried to lick it.


First pass to stop the "cream removal" were his boots. Zaph really didn't like this. The boots made him restless and he wouldn't stay put even to chew his chewie.

Feeling sorry for Zaph I took his boots off and put on a pair of my socks. That didn't work any better. I finally got him to lay down beside me and I brushed him till he relaxed and started to fall asleep. That stopped the licking for the evening.

It snowed enough overnight to leave a coating of snow on the ground. I left home at 8:10 to drive to Hanover for aquafit and couldn't believe my eyes when I saw a sander on the road and was even more surprised when I saw a snowplow actually trying to plow. I guess the snowfall met the "criteria" for getting the plows and sanders out. By early afternoon all the snow had melted and a street sweeper was out cleaning up the sand. Good use of tax payer money.




Someone rushed out side and began eating the snow.

Hopefully, this is the last snowfall of the season. Only one member of our family was happy about this.


Zaph was happy to sit outside being snowed on.


As soon as the snow had melted, Ed pulled out the barbecue, smoker and grillzebo. It had been a long winter and Ed was ready for spring. He was just a little premature.

Our friend Lori retired earlier this year and her husband Jack is planning on retiring next year. They would like to do more traveling when they are retired so they are thinking about buying an RV of some description. So, to start their RV education Ed and I went to the local RV show with them. Listening to their questions brought back memories of Ed and I shopping for our first RV fifteen years ago. RVs have really changed since then. We found a really nice travel trailer similar in size to our current trailer. Jack and Lori gained some knowledge about trailers and RVing but are still have lots of looking to do before they make the plunge into the RV world.


Lori made us a yummy brunch. Scallops and asparagus on mashed potatoes.


I brought a chocolate cheesecake. For some reason a cake makes everyone think of birthdays. The only birthday Lori could come up with was for a baby being born today thus the 0 on the cake.

Our ATVs needed their post "break-in" service, so Ed decided that we should take them to the shop where we purchased them. The shop is in the village of Brodhagen, about an hours drive from Walkerton. Calling Brodhagen a village is pushing it ... it's more like a cross roads with an ATV/Snowmobile/Tire store on two of the corners (same store, two buildings) and a few houses. While we were waiting for the ATVs we drove to the nearby town of Mitchell, a place we had driven through years ago but never stopped at.


As we drove into town I noticed a park on the side of the Upper Thames River. The park is on one side of the river and a walking trail is on the other side. If you ever need a break when you're driving through Mitchell it's a nice place to stop. The town also has lots of little restaurants including a Tim Hortons.

Zaph and Ed have a new morning ritual. They snuggle on the love seat, drink coffee and watch old Star Trek episodes. I think Zaph is just there for the pets.

Our grass and gardens are still a bit too wet to start doing yard work and it's too cool to open the garage to clean it so we went for a walk down by the river.




The river is high but still within it's banks. In the photo there's a spot where the river narrows, that's
where the dam is. Currently, the water is flowing over the dam giving the illusion of an infinity pool.




Still working on the snow. Zaph dug a small trench with his mouth to get at the clean snow.

.... at least Zaph's version of one.



Most of the snow is gone from the yard. Just a few piles here and there. Ed has left the one near the door undisturbed so Zaph can enjoy his "snow cones" for a while longer. Zaph will bark at the door so he can go out and eat so. He started this weird habit last winter and seems to have perfected it this year.

What strange weather this weekend. The weatherman didn't stand a chance on making an accurate prediction. The forecast showed nice weather on Saturday, horrible winter weather on Sunday and OK but iffy on Monday. The plan had been for mom and David to drive up for Easter dinner on Sunday. Saturday morning based on the forecast we scrapped the idea of Sunday dinner and Ed and I met mom and David for lunch in Elora --- the half-way point. We enjoyed a lovely meal and had a nice visit in a little restaurant over looking the river. For Walkerton Sunday wasn't nearly as bad as the forecast but Kitchener (an hour and a half south) did get some of the predicted winter weather. Monday was a beautiful spring day in Walkerton.

Our neighbour's son and grandson were up for the weekend.


Nothing puts a smile on your face like watching a 2 year old enjoy a spring day.


and then there's the 2 year old's dad. That actually gives you a chuckle.