Going to the Dogs

I met Romeo, a beautiful little Papillon, at the Stormont Dundas & Glengarry Dog Show last Saturday. Romeo and his family were visiting from Philadelphia. Romeo had won his class on Friday, and was representing his breed in the Best-of-Toy-Group.

Romeo did an excellent job, but there was some tough competition. Some of the other breeds represented in the class included Chihuahuas, Italian Greyhounds, Pekinese, Pomeranians, Toy Poodles, and Yorkshire Terriers. The eventual winner of the class was a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, with a Maltese taking second spot.

It was a cool, blustery day, with little squalls of rain. Some of the small dogs were clearly feeling chilly. This little Chinese Crested was dressed for the weather.

There were a number of rings with classes ongoing, all operating at the same time. Because of the rainy weather, some of the dogs and their handlers were taking shelter under one of the open tents while they awaited their class. Here are Afghan hounds, keeping dry.

The Bloodhounds didn’t seem to be bothered by the damp weather.

The Best-of-Sporting-Group class was large. It included a number of different spaniels, including Cockers, English Springer, and Field spaniels; setters, including Irish, English, and Gordon setters; retrievers including Labrador, Golden and Flat-coated, and various other group members such as Weimaraners and Vizslas.

I was surprised at how sturdy the Labrador was. I’m used to thinking of the Grandog, Raven, as a Lab cross, but she is much lighter in build.

One breed that was new to me was the Sussex Spaniel. A ten-year-old Sussex Spaniel, nicknamed Stump, was the surprise winner of the Best-in-Show award at the 2009 Westminster Kennel Club Show in 2009. The Sussex at Saturday’s show seemed very laid-back and good-natured, and planted a kiss on the judge’s chin when he leaned over for a closer look.

The eventual winner of the class was the Irish Setter. It was unfortunate that the weather wasn’t better, as the venue, a park near the St. Lawrence, was a beautiful spot and would have been lovely on a sunny day. However, it was fun to see such a variety of dogs.

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Busy Bush

At the corner of the house, there is a large hydrangea bush. Over the past few weeks, it has been putting on a magnificent display, with huge cones of flowers billowing over it. The flowers are much appreciated by a host of pollinators. The large, showy clusters of flowers mean that insects visiting the bush aren’t always conspicuous as they move from bloom to bloom. Rather, as you walk past the apparently-empty bush, you become aware of the hum of many insects at work. When you stop to look, it is clear that the bush is host to a small army of workers. Here are a few of the visitors.

The most conspicuous visitors are butterflies. Pictured above is a Viceroy butterfly (Limenitis archippus), while below is a rather battered-looking Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma).

A few flies were among the visitors. The individual below may be a Greenbottle (Lucilia sp.).

The striped bottom shown here seems to be that of a Bald-faced Hornet (Dolichovespula maculata).

This yellow-striped bottom is probably that of an Eastern Yellowjacket (Vespula maculifrons).

I was happy to see quite a number of Honey Bees (Apis mellifera).

This fuzzy bee, probably a Common Eastern Bumble Bee (Bombus impatiens) rounds out my roster of visitors. Undoubtedly, many others are also enjoying this bountiful hydrangea.

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