Cannabis Update, and a Tribute to Dora

I planned to tell my dad right before I went to work. It was a solid move- break the news and bail with Dora.  I had cornered him early one morning as he was making breakfast and said something like, “Listen, I know you don’t agree with it, but I got a dog.  All my sisters have one, we’ve got plenty of space here, and I’ll be home all next year.  I need a dog to keep me company!”.  Man, if looks could kill.  I will never, ever, forget the change in my dad’s face as my reasoning unfolded.  Needless to say, he was NOT happy about the dog.  Words were exchanged and it ended up with Steve providing me with the silent treatment for probably 3 weeks. I don’t blame the guy- it was a selfish and immature move on my part.  We didn’t know it at the time, but it worked out beautifully as my dad and Dora developed a wonderful relationship.  My first few years teaching, my dad was unemployed; while I worked, he would watch after Dora. He has always been an animal lover and despite the circumstances, would never discriminate against Dora!  Even though she would tear up the house, dig holes in the yard, and steal food from everybody, he showed her the same love like he would with any dog.

The years cruised by and Dora became a permanent fixture in my life.  Although she would get in daily trouble, you couldn’t help but to love the dog. And what was I going to do, send her back?  Hell no.  After three owners, Dora aka Kim, finally had a permanent home.  Eventually, we left the comfort of the basement, and I found my own pad in Plainfield, IL.  Another perfect spot- 2 level condo with a big fenced yard, and only 5 minutes from my work; I could go home on lunch and check in on the mess Dora had created!  After just a year in that pad, it was time for me to make a bigger move.  I had secured a teaching job in California, a place I always dreamed of living.  In late July 2014, Dora, Kelly Flack (now Kelly Kee!), and I packed up my ’98 civic and hit the road for the Golden State.  You can imagine that ride- pretty tight quarters in that car and poor Dora was confined to a small seat in the back.  Throughout the drive, my personal items would topple onto her, she’d wriggle out from the backseat and climb onto the lap of the passenger!  We were forced to pull over multiple times on that trip to rearrange the items in the vehicle to provide more room for Dora.

After a few days on the road, we were California dreamin’.  My sister helped me find a pad- we scoured San Diego County. On the ride out west, I literally had no idea where I would be living.  I had a job secured, but no living quarters.  We searched everywhere from Pacific Beach, to La Jolla, to Oceanside.  My ultimate goal was to be as close to the ocean as possible, and eventually, we found the perfect spot.  A little one bedroom setup just blocks from the ocean.  Soon, the “Log Cabin” became our new home.  It was tight for Dora- no yard at all, but she loved when I would get home from teaching.  I’d lace up the rollerblades and we would cruise up and down the ocean.  She even got the chance to chase after street cats and beach squirrels, keeping her hunting instincts intact!

We spent two years in the Log Cabin and then moved into a beautiful condo with one of my best friends- Z.  Z is from Chicago, a true city slicker born and raised.  He also had a dog named Jaxson.  Dora had never met Jax, so the day before (literally 12 hours before moving in), we introduced them at a park.  They gave each other a sniff and then went about their own business, almost as if they knew they didn’t have a choice but to live together.  We all settled into our new pad, dubbed, “The Castle”.  It was fantastic- Dora had a new friend and Z was great in taking care of her while I was at work.  The Castle was a gem and I was posted up in the master bedroom with a quality upper deck/patio.  Eventually, Spring Break had rolled around.  I had plans to visit Yosemite National Park with a girl I was seeing at the time.  It was April 1st- April Fools Day of course, when Dora decided to engage in her most epic act of her life (and probably mine as a dog owner).

Z’s brother was in town visiting, and we were all sitting in the main level eating burritos (Z, Kevin- our “couch guy”, Sachi, and myself).  Jax was hanging with us, meanwhile, Dora was in my room- I didn’t want to be on Dora patrol and have to fend her off from our burritos.  Sometimes I would keep my patio door open because Dora would love to lay out there and sunbathe.  As we’re eating, Jax made a whimpering sound and Z immediately told him to shush.  Just seconds later, we heard Dora let out a horrid howl; she was crying and making noises that I had never heard from her before.  I immediately thought that she had twisted an ankle or blown out a knee, until Kevin proclaims, “She jumped!”.  All of us went toppling down the stairs, busted open the front door to find Dora laying on her side in the mulch.  She was wiggling, twisting, turning, and crying.  It was evident she was going in and out of shock.  We rushed to her aide, none of us knowing what to do.  Dora had just jumped from my balcony, dropping approximately 25-30 feet.  I was certain she had done serious damage- broken bones, internal bleeding, all of it.  We tried to keep Dora calm as she resisted, attempting to get up.  Z ran and grabbed a tarp, we scooped her up in the tarp and drove her immediately to the vet (Sachi called them on the way to give a heads up).  The vet was waiting for us and took Dora in.  Naturally, I was a wreck.  I was certain Dora was going to die and I was appalled at the idea of having to call my family and explain to them how she passed away.

Back in March, Dora had a seizure while I was gaming.  It was the first time she has ever had a seizure.  I immediately brought her to the vet who explained that sometimes dogs can develop a seizure disorder, at any age, and they aren’t exactly sure why.  A few weeks later, she had her second, so we put her on medication.  Dora was doing OK on the meds, although it was evident that the side effects were heavy.  On May 8th, Dora had another seizure.  I brought her to the vet for bloodwork.  The vet began to think it was something more than a seizure disorder, possibly a brain tumor.  While she was at the vet that day, she had a 2nd seizure.  The plan was to wait for bloodwork and to ensure she was on the right dosage of medication.  

 

I drove back to the vet to pick her up, and just hours later, Dora had her third seizure of the day.  I called the vet and they got me some meds to spray in her nose in case she had another.  Later that evening, her 4th seizure hit, and the meds did nothing.  She seized for over 3 minutes as I helplessly watched my best friend struggle.  It was evident that something was very wrong, so I brought her back to the vet where she had her fifth seizure of the day.  At this point, she had lost her vision and some gross motor function.  Her bloodwork checked out, which led the vet to believe she had developed a brain tumor.  It was around midnight.  The vet explained that options were limited- we could try new meds and see how she responds; the vet hinted at the worst scenario- putting her down.  As I sat in the living pondering what to do, I recognized how selfish it would be of me to try and keep Dora around.  She was already fading, she lost her vision and her hind legs barely worked.  I called the vet and told her that I’d come in to say my final goodbyes.

I am so thankful for my two current roomies and ride or dies- Z and Hasban.  They drove me to the vet and also wanted to see Dora one last time.  Prior to driving to the vet, we went through the McDonalds drive-thru.  McDonalds was getting ready to shut it down but hooked us up with some food.  I had to bring Dora a McDouble (just like Fergs!) for her last meal, knowing she’d relish in the moment of eating a juicy burger.  The car was silent as we drove to the vet.  I sat in the backseat, fighting back tears and reminiscing the precious memories with Dora.  I had always believed Dora would out-live me, it was hard because everything kinda came to a screeching halt.  We were sitting at a red light, waiting to turn into the vet’s when this song started playing.  I couldn’t help but to smile- how fitting for that song to be playing on the radio as we prepared to say goodbye?  I like to believe that it was a sign from The Universe suggesting that everything is going to be OK, and that Dora was going off to the next realm to meet up with all our other dogs (Fergs, Mara, Pudgy, Boone, and Sophie).  A good friend told me that the greatest gift I gave Dora was not letting her suffer in the end, and I do take comfort from those words.  She didn’t deserve to suffer, nobody does.  Dora had three owners prior to having her “forever home”, and I will always cherish our memories…  I hope you enjoy the attached photos of Dora and some of her adventures. Even if she was wild and kooky, she had always shown love and loyalty to us.  Dora never judged and loved me unconditionally, like no human ever could.  It was a privilege to have her in my life.  Love ya Dora!  Always.

Cannabis Update

It has been a while since the Cannabis update, as I’ve been grieving Dora and trying to compose my thoughts.  The exciting news is, the plants were harvested on May 20th!  It was quite the process-  I cut the plants at the base of the stalk and decided to do a “wet trim”.  This is when you trim/manicure the plants right after harvesting.  Some people like to dry them first, and trim after (dry trim). There are pros and cons to both wet and dry trimming.  Due to the high moisture environment we live in, I decided to do the wet trim as getting rid of the leaves helps reduce the moisture in the plant, thus drying faster.

After trimming the plants, I hung them upside down in my smaller grow tent.  When drying, it’s essential to have the plants in a cool, dark place with minimal exposure to light.  They dried for two days, I then cut the branches into smaller 6-12 inch segments.  The plants continued drying on a hanging rack.  After 10 more days of drying, I was then able to remove and manicure them into small nugs.  Now, the nugs are in the “curing” phase-  stored in glass jars and placed in my closet.  2-3 times per day, I open the jars for several minutes to allow the nugs to “breath” and get fresh air to circulate.  After a week of this, I will then only open the jars once per day (anywhere from 2-6 weeks).  Growers have different philosophies concerning this phase; some smoke the buds right after drying, although it’s recommended to cure for at least two weeks (some people do this for up to 6 months!).  This phase allows the terpenes (smell) to mature, and also continues removing any moisture or chlorophyll.  Ultimately though, during this time, I like to think of the nugs like a fine wine, getting better with age!

My plan is to smoke the nugs for the first time on June 20th.  This will have given them 4 weeks of drying and curing.  The 20th is also the official Summer Solstice, I like to think the planetary alignment will bring good juju, resulting in a premiere high.  We will weigh all the harvest once curing is complete; although we estimate both plants combined for a little over an ounce of nuggets.  I was certainly hoping for a bigger yield, yet I am proud of the outcome as this was my first attempt at growing cannabis.  I also learned a tremendous amount concerning the process and am certain we will have bigger yields for the next batch of plants.  Finally, I am devising a plan to get nugs for y’all to sample, I will keep you posted as this unfolds.

 

In the meantime, we now have 8 other plants in the works!  We have two more Blue Northern Lights, and a new strand called Cherry Berry OG by Ethos.  These have started off beautifully!  You can see from the photos that the Cherry Berry is still in the seedling stage, yet they are growing rapidly!   Not only that, but we just received ten more seeds, an indica strain named Banana Hammock.  We are hoping the current plants will be done in September, in which we will then plant the Banana Hammock.

Well, that’s all I got for now.  I hope you enjoyed the latest update, and I’m looking forward to sharing more in a few weeks.  Stay safe out there friends!  Love you all.