Love at first sight (Pacey)

It was on June 13th in the airport in Rome that we came across a woman and her little Vizsla puppy. That moment started a romance for both Amanda and I. We had fallen in love with the Vizsla breed.

We arrived home on Friday, June 23rd. By Sunday, I had contacted every Vizsla breeder in the state and then some (25 in all).

We've been home from our 3-week European vacation for a whole 5 days and picked up Pacey last night. We got her from the [redacted], a breeder up in the [redacted] area.

A puppy surprise for Amanda (shhh!)

If we are going to get a dog, the summer of 2006 seems like the perfect time to do it. Yes, we had two cats, but knowing how much Amanda wants a dog, we are bound to add one to our family sooner or later. We both want to start a family, and it would be nice to have a dog trained before our first child comes.

And so with this in mind, I have begun looking for the ideal dog breed. I started with Golden Retrievers. Amanda grew up with Max, and we both admire the breed for its athleticism and temperament. I'm not the biggest fan of them because they are a pretty big breed, have long hair and stink when they're wet.

I want a breed that has a more commanding presence. As a runner, I wanted a breed that will go for long runs with me. The Weimaraner seems almost like the perfect breed. At 80-90 lbs full grown, they are just as large. And I have heard stories about how they can be neurotic and at times destructive.

Among the other breeds I'm considering as I plot my surprise is the Vizsla. I don't know much about them, but like their monochromatic look and athletic build. After all of the research I have done, I'm still not ready to surprise Amanda with a puppy. I really needed her input.

And so with these thoughts in mind, we're off to southern Europe for 3 weeks.

Carpenter bees

When we bought our house back in August of 2004, we had an insect inspection done. Unfortunately, the inspectors missed a fairly large infestation of carpenter bees. If you've never heard of them, you're in good company.

Visually, they look like bumble bees but are bigger and black. If you're brave, you might find yourself practicing your tennis swing on them or maybe even using a pan head shovel to swat them down. The bees aren't very fast moving -- just don't miss! ;-)

The bees tend to return to the same place each year and are really hard to get rid of. There's a good write-up on bee psychology at the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture website.

When the exterminator came to treat my infestation, they used 4 chemicals, some of which supposedly aren't available at retail outlets (i.e., only available to licensed exterminators). At the time I had the work done (in the Spring of 2006) they charged $80 and guaranteed results for this year. In other words, the following spring, they wouldn't guarantee results for any new larvae.

The products they used were:

• Wasp Freeze - quick kill of stinging wasps and hornets . . .does not leave a long term residual (is absorbed into the wood).
• Demon WP - longer residual effect than Wasp Freeze . . .3-4 months. Stops bees from smelling decay odor put off by wood and keeps them from boring new nests.
• Intruder HPX - put in cracks and crevices to allow bees to carry into nests. Best sprayed in evening . . .causes bees to go neurotic and leave "safe places", which then subjects them to other listed poisons
• Drione Dust - flea powder-like substance . . .isn't absorbed into the wood, provides quick knock-down and residual control (1 year) against bee larvae. Plug holes with 1/2" dowel or cork after treated.

If you were to treat the infestation yourself, here's what you'd be facing:

• Wasp Freeze and Drione: $44 for a 2 cans of Wasp Freeze and 1 lb. of Drione dust or $7.50 for a can of Wasp Freeze
  
• Demon WP: $19.50 for 2 to 4 gallons (sold in powder form)
  
• Intruder HPX: $13.90 for 14 oz