A subscriber asked, "What sounds do you hear as you’re taking such inspiring and captivating photos?"

It varies. Sometimes I hear the dogs (and myself getting onto the dogs for something). 😂 Often I hear silence. Sometimes I hear birds chirping. Or wind whistling through trees or grass or across a valley. The wind has a very distinctive sound in the mountains vs at the bottom of a canyon vs sweeping across the grassy plains. Perhaps that's a project I can work on: recording the differences in the sounds of wind moving across various landscapes. Hmm. I like it. *writes idea in notebook*

I have a few favorite sounds. Coyotes howling and yipping ranks among my most favorite. Owls. Crickets. Woodpeckers.

All of that said, if you really want to know what I hear when I go out to make nature photographs, you can subscribe to my relatively new ambient nature film Youtube channel HERE. I've actually started recording the ambient sounds of the places I'm in, and I'm loving it. Below is my favorite ambient nature film to date. Along with various winter birds, you can actually hear the snow falling on my camera, my mic, and the snow-covered ground around me, which is pretty cool.

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NATURE. all things nature/outdoors.

In the first issue of TiFBiTS, I discussed several apps I use to help me get to know a new place better. One of my favorites is Seek by iNaturalist. Incidentally, it can also help me get to know an old place better. The woods where I grew up have changed a great deal since my childhood. This afternoon I used the Seek app to help me identify the trees I'm less familiar with. The more familiar trees are the Honey Locust (similar in appearance to the Mesquite trees of West Texas), the Roughleaf Dogwood, the Northern Red Oak, the White Mulberry, the Black Locust, the Eastern Redbud, the Common Hackberry, the Osage Orange, and my personal favorite: the Eastern Cottonwood. Some of the lesser-known (to me) trees I've recently discovered include the American Plum, Basswood, Shagbark Hickory, Kentucky Coffeetree, Amur Honeysuckle, and the Green Ash. There's something very personal about knowing the names of the various members of an ecosystem, especially if they're not human. If we can name them, maybe we'll begin to care more about them. And if we care more about them, maybe we'll begin to care more about the entire planet.

DOGS. all things dogs.

A subscriber asked, "How do you potty train an adult dog?"

Many people adopt adult and senior dogs, and that's such a wonderful thing! Every dog deserves a loving forever home. If you're struggling to potty train an adult dog, please know you're not alone. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. Dogs often struggle with change. Depending on the specific situation, it often takes up to six months (sometimes longer!) for a dog to become fully adjusted in a new home. My dog, Japhy, took well over six months to fully adjust, after having been adopted and returned to the shelter three times within his first six months of life. There are many variables that contribute to the length of time a dog needs to fully adjust. This can impact when/where a dog feels comfortable going potty.
2. Dogs with certain health conditions may struggle to become fully potty trained. It may be worth a visit to your veterinarian to confirm that there isn't something more going on that you can't see. UTIs, incontinence, Cushing's disease, inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes, liver or kidney problems, and dementia are just a few canine health conditions that may make your potty training efforts more challenging.
3. Some dogs are shy when it comes to pottying. They seek out the most private places to do their business, where nobody can see them. If you think you might have a shy dog, it might be worth creating a more private area of the yard for them to use. If you're restricted to on-leash potty time, try taking your dog to an area with heavy foliage or similar, where you can give them a bit of extra lead to walk behind some bushes while you're still near enough to ensure their safety.
4. Dogs with separation anxiety (or any stress/anxiety) may struggle with potty training, particularly if/when their favorite human(s) aren't home. It may be worth arranging for someone to be with your dog when you can't be. This is also helpful in maintaining a consistent schedule, which is very important in potty training.
5. In the "stress" category, if a dog was adopted from an abusive situation, they might pee out of fear. This is sometimes referred to as submissive urination. Overcoming this can be a lengthy process of providing your dog with a consistently calm and loving environment.
6. Somewhat opposite of submissive urination is the "happy pee." This is when a dog is so excited to see you, or someone else, that they accidentally pee. Dogs will often overcome this, given enough time, but until then you might consider doing greetings outside or in a specific protected area inside.
7. Generally speaking, dogs tend to be more successful when given structure. A set schedule that rarely changes day after day will ensure that your dog knows that they'll be able to potty when their human comes home, or after they eat, or first thing after they wake up in the morning, etc. Try to carve out a recurring schedule that your dog (and your family members) can learn to expect and adhere to every single day.
8. Using a crate can be extremely helpful during potty training. If your adult dog has a hard time being in a crate, you may need to do some crate training first (a topic for another newsletter issue). Most dogs will not potty in their crate, as it is where they sleep. However, if given free rein of the home, they are more likely to potty whenever and wherever they want. Crating your dog overnight and when you're working or away, and then letting them outside as soon as you're awake or return home, is a good way to prevent accidents in the house. Doing this on a very specific time schedule day after day is even more helpful, as a dog will learn this schedule quickly and know to expect potty time outside at certain recurring times of day. Eventually, they may learn to trust this schedule/process even if left uncrated.
9. Provide frequent breaks to go outside and potty. Consider taking your dog outside to potty immediately following certain events. For example: first thing in the morning, after the humans wake up = potty time outside. After being crated for any length of time = potty time outside. After meals = potty time outside. Right before bedtime = potty time outside.
10. It's best to keep your dog as calm and comfortable as possible. This means not yelling at them if they have an accident inside the house. Don't hit them or rub their nose in their poop. All of this is likely to cause a lot of extra stress, which may lead to additional problems.
11. It may help to keep your dog on lead when taking them outside to potty in the yard, at least during the training process, and bringing them back in the house as soon as they finish pottying rather than letting them play outside for awhile after pottying. By bringing them back in the house immediately after pottying, it helps to solidify the connection between pottying and outside.
12. Watch your dog's body language. If your dog is whining, pacing, and/or sniffing the ground/floor, they may need to go potty. Take them out just in case.
13. Any time your dog does go potty outside, reward them! Treat them and give them lots of love and verbal praise.
14. Choose a verbal cue that can be associated with pottying outside. "Potty" is a common one. Every time your dog potties, use the cue so that eventually they will associate the word with the action.

Overall, I think the most important thing is to provide a dependable schedule for your dog and to give them lots of praise and love.

VAN/LIFE. all things life, including van life.

I wrote an essay on the Love Dogs Adventure Blog awhile back about how I think van life is helping Japhy and Hazel. Wednesday morning, we arrived at my parents' place in northwest Missouri, where the dogs come inside the house and hang out with everyone. In the past, Hazel has always 'boofed' at my dad (and sometimes my brother as well) when he makes sudden movements, or approaches her to pet or talk to her. She has always been such a skittish little girl. So far this stay, she hasn't 'boofed' at anyone. My dad has approached and pet her, and even walked around and over her several times as she laid on the floor, and she was absolutely calm. Additionally, aside from barking at the FedEx guy when he brought their dog food to the door today, Japhy hasn't been nearly as uptight either! My parents even commented about how much calmer they think the dogs are since the last time we were here in February, just three months ago. Hopefully we'll continue to see progress.

Until next time, be kind and be well. Have a safe and meaningful Memorial Day weekend.