..yesterday 22nd of Oct.,was the first real encounter that Nantuc had with a young male wolf ,since she was a baby..it was rather unexpected that I first met the owner of this young white timber wolf who's name is 'Kaos'. I was getting gas at my local station when I heard Nantuc whimpering, something I haven't heard in a while, so I looked at her only to see her straining her neck to see what was in the truck on the other side of the pump I was using. So I looked as well...holy! That was the word that came out of my mouth..there was a young male timber wolf peering out of window in the truck opposite the pump. He was bloody beautiful, white with a little darker yellow eyes than Nantuc's. I turned to the owner and asked only one question...is he 'cut'..the answer came back ..NO, not at all..this was the news I was waiting to hear...fantastic! I then introduced myself and my little white lady to the owner, who was just as excited as I was, because he want to stud off his male because the young wolf was 95% high content..father was a pure blood white timber wolf..his mother..was 75% Arctic Wolf/25% husky. Now things were looking up much better than I was hoping for , but the next statement from the owner sent me over the moon...was I willing to breed Nantuc with his male ..Koas....I jumped at that as fast as I could..so we made arrangements to meet on a sat. that was convenient for both of us.
That day came yesterday..and when he brought out Koas out of his truck..boy he was large for being only 10 months old now. His coat had changed from being pure white to a very light rust colour on his sides, black streaks down from his back of the neck to midway to his tail. And he was now getting a mask, with a white patch in the center of his forehead..typical Kananaskis timber wolf. Yet he remain as beautiful as I first saw him..and yes he grew taller as well. While this was going on, I could hear Nantuc once again, so I went in and brought her out to meet this boy. Remember..this is Not neutral ground but Nantuc's domain, which was a good idea because she could have reacted in a violent manner towards this male..quite common when the female is an Alpha. However what took place in the next 30 seconds between them was what I was hoping for...she let him nudge her on the side of the face, then he gave he a quick 'lick'..it was a kiss which prompted her to kiss back. It appeared right then that she accepted him, whew...thank you very much!
We had decided over the phone that day to take them to a neutral area that was close to me, so they can settle in with each other. And so they did..him trying to dominate her, and of course that wasn't happening to soon..it took a fair bit of time for the boy to realize that Nantuc was an alpha, and he had to respect that, if he wanted her to remain none violent. He learned very quick for she started to kiss him more but the critical time hadn't arrived as of yet. They continued to snap at each other, jumping at each other all in play when Nantuc decided to sit down in an upright position...this was her invitation for him to come close..which he did instantly and began to lick her genitals. The union was now accepted by her..this was the fist time she allowed a male whether it was canine or canis to come close to her in this fashion..now I personally felt relaxed, for I was witness when my Nikita had that happen by the first wolf I introduced to her back on the island and all hell broke loose. Well we started taking pictures of the two of them , which I'll pop in a few shortly, and after a time we both decided to bring them back to my place and arrange for another visit in 2 weeks..with in two months from now Nantuc should be in full heat and if what I had seen , this will be male that will give her, her first pack of pups..which should be 5-7 the first time.
Here are a few pics of Kaos and Nantuc...
Has it been that long..June the 13th., was the last entry and now it is Sept.24th.,...Time..the controller of of humanity has done it again.the summer has pasted and fall begins to creep it's way into position for the dreaded winter to come..and yet my thoughts of the coming spring has me in a lull..a suspended state of mind, only Time can and hopefully will cure.
..Nantuc has made her way into a lovely young lady, yet still has the playfulness of a puppy, always looking, always popping her nose into things she shouldn't, but heck that's the learning of a puppy now isn't it..She is now 18 months and come December 12th., she will be 2 years old and that's when a surge of growth will set in..she has grown taller now and stands with head held high, ears pointing to the sky, oh yes she now looks like the matured wolf she will become..what an amazing look she has..
..during this summer past Nantuc has been developing her natural traits..being an Alpha Female, not only to her surroundings but to all dogs that comes into her assigned territory..she sprays her scent over all who dares to come in that certain zone of hers, and if, on occasions, when a dog that she disproves of, her hair on her lower back neck, shoulders long her back till it comes to her rump stands up making her look almost twice as large as she is..what an awesome sight, yet a bit on the scary side even for me. And then there was the time when we went visiting a close friend who's neighbour had a great Dane pup, about the same age as Nantuc..but definitely way taller, and heavier than her..but knew each other when both were smaller..play time came to both of them and all was going well until the Dane decided to put her arm over Nantuc's back, for Danes have a habit of playing with their paws like Boxers do. Anyway as the scene progressed, Nantuc was getting upset with this action and for the first time she lifted up her lips, bared her snow white teeth and gave a low throaty growl..which should have stopped the Dane..but nope..the Dane again came with her arms flailing, but this time Nantuc struck a blow on the Dane's cheek..still the Dane came forth but this time my young pup or who I thought was a pup grabbed the Dane by the throat pulling it down , straddled it and once again gave this deep menacing low throaty growl..BUT..this time the Dane didn't come up but laid there in a very submissive manner. Well it looks like my puppy has become the Alpha Female she was born to be..she didn't hurt the dog but showed it that she was the Alpha and had enough.
..during this summer she honed her stalking/killing instincts, by getting 11 Richardson ground squirrels, of which 5 she let go and 6 became fly tying skins, which were sent abroad to my oversea friends. How proud she became each morning we went out on the hunt and she came back with her prize..
..gophers were not only the victims, for the common field mouse became a target as well, and pigeons...got a few pics of that , however, going to refrain myself from putting them up considering feathers are all over the living room floor. That's right in my place..that pigeon flew through my kitchen screen door, and wound up as a snack for Nantuc..
Well folks, I'll try not to be so slack in here as time goes by..so until then.................ciao for now..
It has been a long time that I sat in front of the computer to write in my blog, guess it has been do to lack of interest, or the many things that have been going on with Nantuc and myself. She has been growing not only in body but in her acceptance of humans. It has been just great to see how my patience in getting her to leave her wariness behind and go up to women and especially children. In her way of approach, you can see how much confidence she has gained, for she realizes that they are like her in a way...'a child'..without the fear that adults have and show when they hear she is Wolf.
..Now let's see if I can put down Nantuc's daily routine starting from the time it is for her to get out of my bed!
..Like all young wolves they sleep close to their siblings or in her case to me for security and comfort. She sleeps on top of my bed, at the bottom part closes to my legs, which gives her access to easily get off the bed without waking me up. She curls up there for about 5 minutes, then gets up to change her position, and settles next to my head where she likes to share my pillow, yet when I do wake up, her position had changed once again.
..I like to take her out before the world of human traffic begins , giving both her and I a piece of time without the hustle and noise that follows from everyday life. This is when it can be called our time for strengthening up our bondage between us..
..Time to get now Nantuc for your companion has had his 2 cups of coffee and ready to face whatever is there for the day..but wait..you are still laying on the bed. Half in a daze, stretched out like the princess you have become. As I said , this is our time for bonding, and so she just lays there while I rub her legs, body, neck, head, clean her eyes from the night's sleep, and basically massage her while she just yawns away in a lazily princess's fashion, if there was one...
..this is now where she displays her trust and affection to me, for it is the time that she licks my face, something that my Nikita never did, or the other four male wolves either. Personally, I think she loves the taste of the coffee, for most of the time there is coffee on my mustache, which she licks clean..lol.
..time now has her looking for any one of her play toys to toss around in the living room till I get myself ready to venture out on her first walk through out the neighborhood. She is very patient with me , sitting by the back door while I get myself ready, then it is off to smell the morning dew! There are tons of black/gray squirrels , magpies, robins,sparrows and the odd rabbit that greets her every morning, but for the most part , it is the daily walk that will encourage her to eat, once we get back home.
..Nantuc has an enormous appetite, starting with a pan full of chicken livers and hearts, [which she eats the hearts like candy, one after another], this she will have after our 30-60 minute walk first thing in the morning. And after she has her breakie, it is off to the bedroom once again to sleep and grow not only in height but now in weight..for the average weight of a female wolf will be between 55-60 lbs out in the wild for most part of their lives..
..Now Nantuc weighs a bit more around 65 lbs, but she is NOT fully matured as of yet..being only 17 months as of yesterday. She still has lots to grow before she reaches 4 years old, which is when she will be fully matured. Around 5 or so she will eat again but this time a half of a fresh raw chicken, then a walk, then time to sleep again..
..and so night has come and once again walking is in order, time has passed now from 10 o'clock to 11 o'clock and out pops one of her friends...a 2 year old unfixed 'dog'! They have been friends ever since she came to me, and have played together ever since. My neighbor takes his two out and only one does Nantuc plays with..the older dog is 17 now and it is like she knows that he doesn't play and is in his last days of life. It is strange to see but she goes up to the old dog and gives him a lick as to acknowledge out of respect for him..
..after a time playing it is time once again to Eat...then off to bed for the night...
..This was just a taste as her day goes for it does change daily but it summarizes to what I wrote, as a routine but as it is up to her, there can and have been more long walks and trips to the rivers for fishing and swimming..as the summer gets on...
..what a surprise it was to find out one of my m8s from England is a 'pro tier'..Bob Holland..aka..Sunray, he enclosed in his package 5 very beautiful and different style of 'hoppers', that is for here in Canada. He calls them the 'High Heeled Hoppers'..however,he also sent a write up about them. And so I present my friend to you..
..sorry but had to make the pic in it's original size, otherwise you wouldn't be able to read the patterns.
..superb video, guess it could be everyone's dream...
..Gbigtrout, emailed me with a pic of his latest, said i'll be getting it in a few weeks, and so I worked on his fly...another for the Fly Pattern section........
..forgot about these chaps, do to a busy family month, birthdays [mine included], distant visits, and just plan old busy!
..anyways down to business...two packages arrived.. one from Glasgow, Scotland, a new tier to my list, please meet ' Shanksi ' a semi pro which you find ties some interesting patterns.
..And once again a wee treat all the way up North West in UK..from ' TK ', in Wales, some dazzling flies showed up between a package of ' picric French Partridge feathers ', that was surprise to say the least.
..some of his flies will be entered into the Fly Pattern section once he contacts me with names and of course the 'material list' in the order of tie but for now , please be my guest...
Let me introduce you to ' TK ' from South Wales, up in his area, ppl from all around the UK come to fish the 'seatrout', not the ones we here in NA are used to, especially on the west coast, for they are 'brown trout', spawning in freshwater, growing out in the ocean.
..so go and have a peek at his flies in the 'Fly Pattern' section.
..there was a knock at my door this morning, and the post lady handed me a package! Hmm, wasn't expecting a small package from anyone, or so I thought..
..it was from Tunbridge Wells , England , sent by..
" Sunray" a new tier that I was waiting for..the package contain 3 each of two flies he created with Nantuc's fur.
..go have a look in the Fly Pattern section...
Top of the 'Mornin to you' came a message from southern Ireland..CO. Cork..was calling, it was Seanie asking me to check my mail box, for a wee package as he put it..and so while opening it up , two beautifully tied 'deer hair' pike flies fell out. I've put them in the Fly Pattern section for your enjoyment...have a look see under his name.
Hoppers..
.yep this little beast has me captivated, used them with super success..and so I decided to put up a few videos on how to tie them up, from to simplest to the sublime..
..go check out my "Video"section...
Well it is time to bring in the New Year with two new flies from British Columbia, from Vancouver Island.
..these two flies were made by the "Professori" of BC...please look in the "Fly Pattern" section.
