Water at Last!

Let me tell you, it's true what they say about not missing something until you don't have it. Do you know how many gallons of water it takes to flush a toilet. And how often you have to do that every day? The dogs use a lot of water... especially as hot as it's been... and of course, it isn't raining much this week so I've had to water the tomatoes. Thank goodness I don't cook or even drink much water. But Walmarts revenues will be up this quarter and it will be because of the clear stuff in plastic jugs! It was sure nice to see the plumber's van pull into my driveway this morning. I was ready for him by 6:30 and getting nervous at 8 o'clock when he hadn't shown up yet. Yeah!

Pups eating mostly kibble
And Cotton isn't particularly pleased about it. She rushes back inside after she's been out in the yard a short time and wants in the pen right away. Of course, they all swarm her, but then a minute or so later, they're back to doing whatever they were when she interrupted. She goes and sits in the corner and I swear she pouts! She's still cleaning up after them, which is a big help for me. (I know, yuck. Lot's of nature is yuck!)

As of this minute, two boys are unspoken for BUT I had a ton of email and many phone calls over the weekend, so that probably won't last long.

Once everyone is promised, I'm going to help my friend with her puppies. We haven't figured out if I'm going to use HER email address and just answer inquiries from there, or if we'll change her website and ads to MY address or exactly how we're going to work it. The last time I did this, I think we used my address, but the memory, etc. Her pups just turned 4 weeks, so it will be another 2 weeks before they come to me. They're all blond too... well, several of them are reddish (like Wheaten pups at this age) but will lighten up. Will have to keep the litters separate unless I find it's easy to tell them apart (probably by size.) Oh boy! MORE puppies!

I Feel Guilty

I've got nothing new to report. I feel bad because I know a lot of people are tuning in here every day for updates on the pups. BUT they're just babies and not doing much of anything. They ARE all on their feet... sort of. They stand rather spraddle legged, bellies close to the ground. Until they try to move and then the bellies are back ON the ground. But they're getting the idea. Cotton is still taking complete care of them by herself. Her poor nipples are so red! Sometimes it seems to me that she's not spending enough time nursing them, but they're not yelling which they'd do if they were hungry. And if she's been napping outside the nest and goes back in, only the crew that hasn't eaten for a while wake up. The ones that nursed just before she left keep on sleeping. I do expect these guys will be in her food as soon as they discover the bowl... which should be in less than a week.

Belmont is tomorrow
It may not be a Triple Crown year, but I'm looking forward to the race. I'd love to see Mine That Bird make another of his now patented (!) take-no-prisoners run from the back of the herd to cross under the wire first. It is just amazing the way he just sweeps passed everyone. I'll bet the people who gelded him are kicking themselves now! For second place, I'd like to see Mr Cool Stuff... just because he is soooo different. And for third, why not Bird's brother Summer Bird? He didn't do so well in the Derby, but maybe the longer distance will suit him better. One thing that bothers me is the "tradition" of people not running their colts in the first 2 races and then entering them in the Belmont as spoilers. Some how it just doesn't seem fair.

Not Yet

A quickie for everyone who is waiting for Cotton... no pups yet. I stayed up all night... well, I was up and down all night (actually, that's pretty normal at my age, so no big deal....) Every time she moved, she rustled the newspaper in the puppy pen so I'd come to full alert waiting for a squeak or two. Every time that didn't happen, I took myself off to the bathroom... no sense wasting the non-sleeping minutes... and then back to bed. Will keep you posted!