About Mr. Danforth:

Home

Clementine

Clementine is the newest member of our family.  She is a Pembroke Welsh Corgi like Wilbur was - except she looks quite different.  Wilbur was a Tri-Color male and Clementine is what they call a Red - but I think she looks like a loaf of bread.  Both of Clemy's ears are up where as Wilbur had his left ear never quite make it all the way up.  But perhaps one of the biggest differences (besides that Clementine is female - I've never had a female dog before in my life and Clementine is my 5th dog) is she has a... TAIL!!!  The breed standard for Pembroke Welsh Corgis is to have the tail docked shortly after birth (along with the removal of the dewclaws).  However, more and more people are choosing not to have that done.  Our breeder (https://riverwindkennel.weebly.com/) has some with tails and some without.  I have to admit that it's strange to see a corgi with a tail but it's sure fun to see hers wagging!  Clementine as a completely different personality than Wilbur - so far she's a very chill dog - not much seems to excite her.

Clementine was born March 25, 2022 and we got her on August 3.  So she's quite a bit older than when we first got Wilbur.  Below are some pictures of her.  I will post more when I can.

This is the first day that Clementine came home with us - she was born in Ashland, Wisconsin.

First week at our house in the living room. 

Clementine is quite fond of sleeping on our near my shoes.

The biggest difference between Clementine and Wilbur is most definitely her tail!  Her tail was not docked shortly after she was born like Wilbur's was.  I still think that is why he never liked anybody touching his butt!

 

 

Wilbur

Wilbur was our sweet Pembroke Welsh Corgi.  We got him in 2007 when he was just 9 weeks old.  He was supposed to have both ears sticking up, but his left ear folded over.  He captured our hearts for ever and is irreplaceable.  Clementine has big shoes to fill, but she's doing a great job so far!  The pictures below are of our Wilbur.  He crossed the Rainbow Bridge on April 26, 2022 - he was 15 years old.  We miss him terribly but we know he's in a better place.

This picture is from the first week Wilbur came to live with us.  He sure was a cute puppy.

This is from Christmas 2009 - Wilbur likes hanging out by the Christmas Tree.

Wilbur's favorite store is Tucker's Doggie Delights.  We get all of his food, treats and toys there.  Wilbur is awful jealous of Tucker - who greets everyone with a howl and a kiss.

Wilbur got his picture taken with Santa again a few years ago at Tucker's.  He was sort of afraid of the big guy but at least he took a picture.

This is what Wilbur looks like when he's getting toweled off after getting wet outside.  He doesn't like it very much.  I think this could be his Halloween costume when he trick-or-treats as a vampire.

This picture and the one to the left were taken on the beach in Michigan in the summer of 2012.  Wilbur loves the beach!!!  He loves to have me throw a stick or a Frisbee along the shore while he chases it down and brings it back.  He also loves to dig in the sand and get really dirty!

This is a picture of Wilbur with my wife Susan.  He's the perfect teaching partner for remote learning!

Other Interests:

Guitar

A few years ago I took a Bluegrass Flatpicking class at Down Home Guitars in Frankfort, IL.  I have been playing guitar since 1985 when I bought a Gibson S-1 from a friend of a friend.  He showed me three chords (G, C & D) and I've been playing by ear ever since.  The class was taught by Eric Lambert and he's really good.  These were the first real lessons I've had and as a result I've been playing more than ever.

Below are pics of the 7 guitars I own.  Too bad I'm still not all that good but I'm still working on it.  Click on any to get a bigger picture.

The first is my first guitar - the Gibson S-1.  Number 2 is the Fender Stratocaster I upon which I love to play the blues.  The third guitar is a really cheap Korean acoustic I bought over 20 years ago because I wanted to have an acoustic guitar.  The fourth is my Ovation acoustic/electric.  I've played this more the past 15 years than any other.  The fifth is my pride and joy - I bought it in November 2009.  It is a Martin DM.  OMG what a sound - I play it religiously every day.  It's the only guitar I've ever owned that actually makes me sound better than I am!  The next guitar I bought from a friend in the Spring of 2012 - it's a 12-string Ibanez.  It's hard to play but it has a very unique and different sound from any other guitar I own.  The last guitar is my Mini Martin LX1E (Ed Sheeran +).  I bought it to take on fishing trips and to bring to school every now & again.

 

Hockey

Ok - so you probably know that I'm a big hockey fan.  I've loved the game since I was little and Bobby Hull wore #9 for the Blackhawks.  Sadly, he left town when I was six but I still followed the game.  My favorite teams are (duh) the Blackhawks and the Boston Bruins.  It was very hard for me during the 2013 Stanley Cup Final but I still rooted for my Blackhawks.

In early 2013 I decided I wanted to play ice hockey again.  I joined an adult instructional league at Canlan Ice Sports in Romeoville called the AIHL.  It was difficult, but I felt that I've gotten much better than when I started.  In April 2013 I joined a D level (lowest) league in the ASHL (Adult Safe Hockey League) for the Spring/Summer.  This was the first time I played organized hockey for many years and this is clearly the best run league in which I've ever participated. 

I play defense - a position that I never really played until I started in 2013 pretty much because no one else wanted to play defense.  My stats are pretty horrible - but I'm more of a defensive defenseman.  If you're really interested, click on this link to see my statistics.  As you can see, I've played on 5 teams in this league (the Fighting Geese became the Blue Ribbons). 

In the Spring/Summer session of 2014 I joined the Ice Zombies of the Co-ed division.  We had a good team but we also came up short in the championship game.  In less than a year I was 0-3 in title games but that all changed in the Spring/Summer of 2015.  This time the Ice Zombies dominated the division and we won the Canlan Cup.

In 2015, I started a brand new team in the D2 division (now D3 because, well, we're not that good) - called The Bugeyed Weasels.  We've had a tough go of it the first season but we have fun and are getting better all the time.  The team is made up of some skilled veterans and quite a few rookies.  Two of those rookies are former Sahs SHL floor hockey players - Michael Lazarczyk and Derek Jedrol.  You can look up their stats on the SHL Hall of Fame page: http://www.danforthnews.com/halloffame.htm.  We might not be the best on the ice, but we have the best logo and jerseys in our league.  Click on the following thumbnails: 1) Original Logo, 2) Secondary Logo (on home white jersey), 3) Green original jersey (based on 1991 Minnesota North Stars), 4) White home jersey (based on 1977 New England Whalers).

  

Last year I played on a 50+ team at Rocket Ice in Bolingbrook called the Rusty Blades.  We were quite good and I expected a championship until Covid ended our season.

If you want to look up any of my teams and old statistics, clicking on the ASHL logo below.  The Blue Ribbons (who folded in 2018) were in D1 and the Bugeyed Weasels are in D3. 

Hockey Jerseys:

I own a jersey of every NHL team and a few of the teams that are no longer around.  (Yes, I actually own a Detroit Red Wings jersey but I can't bring myself to wear it).  This is an obsession that is pretty weird but there are stranger things to do with your time and money so I figure I'm ok.  Below are pictures of my closets with my jerseys - arranged alphabetically into Eastern & Western conferences.  (Ok - so that's weird, I admit it!)

 

Fishing

I have been fishing since I was 4-years-old.  I've been going to Northern Wisconsin since then and I love fishing up there.  At the end of 2019 I purchased a small fishing cabin in Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin.  This summer (2020), despite the weirdness all around us, I've been able to relax and spend some time there with friends.  We've even had some success.  I hope to spend even more time there next summer (2021) if the Zombie Apocalypse doesn't doom us all. The last picture is my buddy's son with his monster 3 pound Smallmouth Bass!

 

 

 

Etc. - other things I like to do: