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Steve and I spent much of last week putting in our wood for winter which, of course, means Jake spent much of last week being a really big help.

I’m not sure what it is about the winter wood, but Jake really seems to be happy when he sees us filling up the shed. It might be because our lovable Cairn terrier, who based on his breed is supposed to like it cold, loves nothing better in the winter than sleeping beside the wood stove (well nothing except eating Timbits).

He lies on his side with his belly facing the stove and inches closer and closer until he’s almost lying underneath the stove. Sometimes, his body gets so hot to the touch we wonder how he can stand it, but then he gets up and goes to the kitchen or bathroom to lie on the floor to cool off. Then he’s usually back to the stove. He just loves the heat.

Anyway, Jake was pretty excited when the wood showed up last week and was even happier when he saw all the little sticks and pieces that were around. First, he and I chose a stick and threw that around the driveway. Then, while I started putting wood in the shed, he started gathering his own bits and pieces and carrying them away from the pile to a spot he chose on the lawn. It wasn’t long before he’d spread out quite a little mess, but it kept him occupied and mostly away from the woodpile so I didn’t have to worry too much about pieces of wood rolling down on him.

That, of course, was followed by his routine inspections. Jake’s a funny dog. He’s generally quite happy to be outside with us while we’re working, no matter what we’re doing. But when we finish for the day, he likes to walk around and check out what we’ve done. He looks at the gardens I’ve planted or the fence we’ve painted or the bark we’ve spread or whatever and you’d swear he’s inspecting it, possibly to make sure the work is done to his satisfaction, but more likely just to see what we’ve been up to for the day.

It’s no different with the wood. He likes to go in the shed and sniff the rows of wood and have a look around just to be certain.

The wood mess is now cleaned up (including Jake’s bits and pieces), the shed is filled and Jake has inspected our work. That means we’re ready to spend more time riding again.
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It’s no surprise to anyone who reads here regularly (or anyone who knows us for that matter) than Jake and I love ice cream. Steve likes it too, although probably not quite to my almost-an-addiction level.

So when I was checking out Vermont tourist destinations in preparation for our road trip and discovered a Ben & Jerry’s factory tour near Stowe, I was pretty sure if we ended up in the vicinity I’d be popping by to visit. I knew Jake wasn’t allowed on the tour, but what I read mentioned other areas around the grounds where he was allowed, so it seemed like a good stop for us. I read that there was an ice cream bar and that was enough for me.

Let me just say, Wow! And might I add, Wow! again. Whoever is behind this operation is a genius. Think about your vision of a factory. A place were people report to work, each to their own department to make their part of a larger product, hundreds or maybe thousands of which are made every day or every week or every year. Outside you probably picture a parking lot with a lot of cars and pavement, at least that’s how I envision it.

Now let me tell you about Ben & Jerry’s so you understand why I think someone there is a genius. This is not merely a factory — although they make a lot of ice cream there, I’m told 110 pints a minute — it’s a tourist destination. There were hundreds and hundreds of people there the day we visited, smiling happy people, most of them eating Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. I’m sure very few leave without stopping at the ice cream bar, which has about a dozen counters and a twisting waiting line that reminded me of Disney World.

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The grounds are wonderful, with lots of paths, booths to buy everything from cold drinks to t-shirts which you can tie-dye yourself, a picnic area, a children’s playground and a few Ben & Jerry’s photo-op spots. We didn’t take the tour since Jake couldn’t go along, but I did pop into the gift shop where they sell every conceivable item that you could think to put a Ben & Jerry’s logo on. And everyone was buying. I tell you, it’s marketing genius.

They’ve even created a Ben & Jerry’s “flavor graveyard” on a hill behind the factory, complete with “tombstones” to mark some of the flavours that didn’t survive. It’s an oddly tranquil place, but at the same time it’s amusing to read the rhyming epitaphs on the stones.

We probably spent two hours at the site. I bought a Ben & Jerry’s t-shirt, the three of us enjoyed dishes of ice cream (I shared mine with Jake) and it was one of the highlights of our trip, rather commercial but still a really good time. Like just about everyone else we saw, we left smiling.

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Okay, so Saturday was a crazy — but great — day.

On top of it being our bike club’s annual toy run in support of the Salvation Army’s Christmas program, it was our RoadDog’s birthday. That was a lot to pack into one day.

The craziness actually started Friday evening, when I decided to get a start on preparations for Saturday’s run. Steve and I brought the bike club’s toy run sign into the house so we could decorate it with small stuffed animals, which my aunt gathered for us. (Thank you again Carolyn, they looked great.)

What I hadn’t thought of is Jake’s fascination with stuffed toys. How I managed to overlook this detail, I have no idea, but it didn’t take me long to realize that we had a potential problem on our hands. Our RoadDog was everywhere we were, from beside the kitchen counter where Steve laid out the toys, to the base of the sign where our boy did his best to stretch high enough to get a closer look at the stuffed creatures. And my goodness, was Jake ever wound up over the whole thing. Imagine, all those stuffed toys and we wouldn’t let him have them. Well, okay, we did give him one small stuffed chicken that didn’t have beaded eyes, but that only kept him satisfied for a few minutes and then he was back to “helping” us.

Anyway, the sign got finished eventually and made it to the toy run on Saturday, along with all of us. The run was once again a great success. We raised over $700 in donations for the Salvation Army, along with bags of school supplies and dozens of toys. More than 80 bikes showed up and, as far as I could tell, a good time was had by all.

Jake certainly had fun. Lots of people wished him a happy birthday. One reader/biker even brought him a gift. As I told you Saturday, Gail, you know the way to Jake’s heart. He loves those doggie treats.

And yes, the Salvation Army was kind enough to supply cake for the riders, so Jake and I split a piece of the white cake. Yummy! And yes, Gail, I even shared the frosting.

Although we didn’t get around to putting candles in his Timbits this year, Jake did have his birthday bits, too. He had one before the run and another Saturday evening. A ride on the bike, lots of biker friends, a good cause and Timbits … what more could RoadDog want for his birthday. Well, other than another stuffed toy. I guess I’ll have to get that later today.

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This is a busy week for Jake, and for us for that matter.

We’re just back from the Wharf Rat Rally in Digby. It’s always kind of a crazy weekend filled with lots of friends, lots of people, lots of bikes and lots of fun, but throwing in a hurricane this time around certainly added a new dimension to things.

We rode to Digby on Friday, then hunkered down in our cottage for most of the day on Saturday thanks to Earl. However, by Saturday evening the crowds were a little smaller than usual and some of the vendors were putting their booths back to rights, but otherwise things were pretty much back to normal. No one really seemed to care that a hurricane had come and gone. People were ready to have a good time.

Now we’re back home and already in full swing planning for this weekend. Our bike club, the Maritime Motorcycle Touring Association, will be hosting the annual toy run this Saturday. Bikers from all over are invited to join us to help raise money, toys and school supplies for the Salvation Army. The cash and toys will support their annual Christmas program. The school supplies, obviously, are for kids who need them.

It’s a great cause. What could be better than spending a couple of hours helping kids have a good Christmas and get an education.

Anyone interested in joining our toy run (and I really hope some of you are) should meet in the parking lot across from the three churches in Mahone Bay well before 1 p.m. on Saturday. We’ll be pulling out at 1 p.m. sharp to ride through Mahone Bay, Maders Cove and Lunenburg, then on through Riverport, Dayspring and Bridgewater where we’ll end up at the Salvation Army Thrift Store. If you don’t ride, you can still help out if you want to by dropping off donations in Mahone Bay between noon and 1 p.m. or at the thrift store between 2 and 3 p.m. All the Salvation Army asks is that toys be new and unwrapped.

Jake always enjoys the toy run and I’m sure he’ll really have fun again this year. Salvation Army volunteers always have refreshments for us. Along with cold drinks, there’s usually cake and this time, since the run actually lands on our RoadDog’s birthday (yep, he’s a year older already), I think we just might have to let him have some cake.

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