The Rain is Here to Stay

It has been nearly a week and we have had rain every day, lots of rain... sometimes a Pacific NW misty type, but more often torrential downpours. And so far, I'm surviving quite well without the sun. It's amazing! Gray and ugly as it has been it is such a relief from the hot hot hot temperatures that I don't care! Our temps are going back into the 90s over the weekend and into next week (and probably higher after that) but we are supposed to continue with the rain for another 5-6 days.

Puppies leaving
Two are going home on Wednesday and two more over the weekend. So I have appointments every day next week.

Something that seems to be unclear... these pups are NOT housebroken and I am NOT trying  to housebreak them. First off, there are NINE of them. And second, just like with babies, each one reaches the physical and mental maturity level required for house training at a different time. When out of their pen, MOST of the pups will go back to it and potty on the newspapers. Those are the ones who are going to pick up the go-outside-to-do-my-business concept right away. The others will not be far behind.

Another thing... the pups are not going outside. First off, there are NINE of them and I am too old to be chasing nine puppies around the year when I want them back inside. And second, it's been too hot and now it's too wet. You'll see soon enough how much work goes into keeping ONE pup clean and dry. They like it outside,even on the deck, so they'll take to it quickly.

And one more thing... they are NOT lead trained. First off, ... you already know the song and dance.

Esther
has discovered ME! I've always been there but she accepted me as part of the environment. She  understood  from early on that her mom and other dogs were different beings than she, but I was just there.
The other day she began making eye contact with me... a HUGE step for any puppy... but particularly difficult for my pups because I am 6 feet tall. Yesterday, she started communicating with me. Today I wish she would stop! When I left her in the pen with The Nine this afternoon so I could go take my now routine nap, Esther was not happy. She whined and yodelled for an hour. Peri didn't help... she whined and whimpered back at her from the other end of the house (as usual.) Esther is such a normal puppy and is so well tolerated by her cousins, I may start calling then The Ten!

I'm Back!

Took my time this morning, made sure all the pups and dogs were in a good place and I had a big glass of cold water handy then called the first number on my list of possible isps. Hit the jackpot right away. The girl spoke English as a first language and it took only about 20 minutes to get signed up and set up. I still have to download their webpage accelerator although I'm not sure how much it will help. If I don't like it, I can go back to their regular dial up and save $4 a month. So far so good.

Thunderstorm
Had a couple big ones come through here during the night and early morning hours. Emy's pups have not heard thunder since they have gotten out of the baby stage... and they were not sure what to make of it. The pups had been playing out on the deck, where it was cooler than the house, as the wind picked up and thunder started rumbling. I made them come in before the rain started, but closed just the storm door so they could still watch outside. Some of them decided it was a good time to come in the room with me, while others stood up with paws on the windows and watched stuff blow around and lightning flash. When it got really loud and room shaking, several of them were frightened but one... brown/tan male... didn't even wake up. The interesting thing was the pups who were bothered by the noise all looked up at me and made eye contact. None of them ran TO me for protection or tried to hide. After the first storm passed, they all crashed in front of the fans. When the second storm came through, about an hour and a half later, they were pretty cool with it. It wasn't as intense, which may hae had something to do with that. I put them to bed and went into the bedroom to watch tv with that gang... it was about midnight... and didn't hear anything from the pups when the other storms came through. The first one was the worse... especially when the power went out toward the end of my whodunit and I started cursing up a storm of my own! But the power came back on within 5 minutes and PBS repeats their Masterpiece Mystery in the early morning hours, so I got to tune back in and see who dun it. (Which I had already figured out anyway.)

Friday, Saturday and Sunday we matched one all time record and then broke it the next two days. This morning has been gorgeous! The rain really cleared the air and brought the temperature down so the house was cool and stayed that way for hours. Today's high is supposed to be 95-97 with high humidity, which is more than 10 degrees above normal for us but practically a spring break from the weekend. The rest of the week is supposed to be more humidity and 92-99. I'm ready for winter... I'm still waiting for LAST winter!

Since you're tired of weather reports
let's talk about horses. I'll Have Another has been sold to a stud farm in Japan. He'll be junior stud to Roses in May who lives at the same farm and by all reports is very well cared for and appreciated. Since he's not going to be running any more, it is a good spot for a nice colt.

It's Over

Tuesday, the temperature didn't get up to 80 until late afternoon and humidity was around 22. It was glorious, especially after a week plus of mid 90s with high humidity. Last night, we were one degree shy of setting a new record low for June. Today, the humidity came back and temps got up to the high 80s, but still livable. Tomorrow begins at least a week of high 90s and maybe a couple hundreds. Thank goodness my weatherfolks only do predictions for the next 7 days! We're expecting to break some all time records. Yipee.

I'm into America's Got Talent. Love it! And this week has been a good one for AGT, especially considering the lack of any decent programming this summer. So, in preparation for tonight's 2 hour broadcast, I let the pups out around 8:15, hoping they'd play hard and be tiring out by the time the show started at 9. I brought Esther in to play with us. SHE finally collapsed in a heap at my feet just before 11. I picked her up so she wouldn't get run over every couple minutes and she's been sawing logs on the cushion of my chair ever since. The rest of the gang started giving up the ghost  maybe 15-20 minutes later and now (11:45) all 9 are sound... and I do mean SOUND... asleep. Zonked! They have never played that long or that hard before. Guess they heard the weather report and were taking advantage of their last chance to romp. And Esther... I can't believe how that little baby kept up with them and gave them such a good run for the money! Her mom's been yelling at me, off and on, all evening. She is still nursing around the clock since E's really not interested in eating that dry ol' kibble. I was hoping keeping her away from her mom for several hours would make her hungry enough to eat out of the other pups' bowl. She didn't. And now she's too tired to eat!

Obviously, with the weather what it's supposed to be, the Nine won't be outside and I won't be getting any pictures, even candid shots. But if the ac works reasonably well I'll [i]try [/i] to get some photos in the chair. They really haven't changed noticeably since last week's pictures. This is a slow time for that. Their next big change will be after y'all have them.

Oops! Someone's awake. Guess I'd better get clean newspaper down and round everyone up for the night.

Hot, Humid, Dry

NOT a good combination! Tomorrow, so they say, will be in the low 80s and then Wednesday, right back up to the mid 90s. ONE day is not enough for me! Or for the dogs. They are getting up earlier and earlier in the morning so they can spend some time outdoors and they are staying up later at night for the same reason. The problem is they bark. There are rabbits and deer and other wildlife who are also taking advantage of the cooler temperatures at those times and, according to the dogs, that's not allowed on their watch. The intruders are not stupid... they've rightly reasoned that if the fences keep them OUT, they will keep the dogs IN, so they don't even look up. I hate summer!

Not a good babysitter
The award for "This was not MY idea and I'm not going to do it" goes to Cream & Gold Dog, the first male designated as Esther's babysitter. C & G wasn't mean about it; he just refused to play with that puppy or have anything to do with her while the two were together. After several minutes of trying to entice him into some kind of play, Esther went to the water bowl and splashed around on her own. She REALLY is into the water bowl and LOVES it when I fill it up. Let me tell you, when she's all grown up, you do not want to be on the shallow end of the pool with her... she smacks that water like a champ!

Quiet Sunday

Hot! But not as bad as the last couple days. We were in low 80s today, humidity down, so it was comfortable. But I slept in anyway. My sleep cycle is really screwed up right now... nothing unusual for me since I'm a night person to start with. I've been up later and later... or earlier and earlier, depending on your outlook... every night. And for some reason, the dogs are letting me get away with it! Maybe because they are enjoying the cool night and morning air too.

Take Charge Indy
As I thought, he had a problem although his people didn't think so for a while after the race. I would have thought, especially considering Calvin Borel saying he didn't know what had stopped him... he thought the horse had bled which they checked out... that they would have give some thought to other causes. He was already cooled down and being taken to the barn when they noticed he was favoring a front leg. They said he was not limping when he came off the track and was being cooled. Duh! As soon as the adrenaline wore off, he felt the pain. He chipped an ankle bone and is scheduled for surgery. Won't be racing for a number of months.
There is a wonderful photo of Calvin meeting Rachel Alexandra and her foal a day or so before the Derby. She has her head buried in his arms and he looks like he is crying. I tried to copy it but no luck.

Union Rags may not be going to Baltimore for the Preakness. His trainer, the terrific Michael Matz, is unhappy with the last two races he's run and isn't sure if it is the horse or his rider who is considered to be first class.

On the other hand, I'll Have Another will be there tomorrow so he has the next 2 weeks to acclimate and make the track his own.

Yep, this blog has gone from dogs to horses! But it only lasts until mid-June when the Belmont is run!

Weather, Etc

Too many record breaking days, temperature-wise, already this "Spring." We've been in the 80s since late last week. Last night, at 11 something, it was still 62 degrees. I moved up here to get away from heat but it has found me again. I have fans going in every room already... having a houseful of dogs is great in the winter. Their body temperature, especially when they are awake and active, helps keep heating costs down! But in air conditioning weather, it's a drawback. Luckily for me, most of my dogs are getting into middle age (and a few, OLD age) so their activity level is down.

In fact, for three days a tree trimming/brush removing company has been working on my "road," and the dogs are either so hot (or so old!) they stopped barking after the first day! Now here's the thing about that... the work being done, not the barking NOT being done... I live on a private road. That means the county doesn't maintain it. Period. There aren't even road signs or address markers. And since the road itself is a weird mixture of dirt, clay, gravel, some brick, a little black top here and there, it is a mess. Ruts are usually at least a foot deep... twice that after a good downpour. Every once in a while, my neighbor at the top of the hill will put his old tractor to work dragging the entire road. And this degree of maintenance is fine with all of us. We do not want the county in here. However, none of us knows who is paying the tree people for the extensive work they've done. The guys doing the work said they didn't know who hired them; they just go where the dispatcher sends them. I think the electric company hired them to make sure trees were not endangering the power lines. But that doesn't explain the clearing of brush back 10 feet from the roadway. It actually looks rather strange and not at all attractive. BUT it will grow back!

Which brings me to fleas. I've already had to treat the dogs with Advantage! I am NOT looking forward to when it "gets hot" this year.

Triple Crown Season
It's that time of year again! The 3 year olds are getting ready for the "world series" of racing. I've started my annual search for the ONE that I think might be able to finish in the front of the pack three times in a row in May and June. I've been on a few thoroughbred sites... blogs and forums... and gotten some back stories. One of the horses mentioned in several places is Union Rags. And what initially drew me to him is his connection to Barbaro... his trainer is Michael Matz who was Barbaro's trainer. (Even though it was 6 years ago, that whole thing still brings tears to my eyes.) So I looked up Rags' pedigree and all I can say is WOW! It includes such spectacular horses as Secretariat, Swaps, Seattle Slew, Native Dancer, Tim Tam, Bold Ruler... the who's who of thoroughbred stallions! I have yet to see a photo of Union Rags, but I like his background. Except it HAS occurred to me that what made all those horses great varies enormously and all those genes COULD be at odds with each other. Still, I think this is the one I'm going withfor the time being. And now I've found out he is considered one of, if not THE, leading contender this year. Which sort of reduces MY excitement about him. The Derby is 6 weeks away and there is a lot of racing during that time. We'll see how it goes.

Not Much

First, Peri IS in season, right on schedule. Such a good girl. I'll be breeding her with Sparky in a week to 10 days. These pups will be about a week younger than Emy and Boon's.

A friend sent me this:
Dogs Welcome

A man wrote a letter to a small hotel in a
midwest town he planned to visit on his
vacation. He wrote: I would very much like
to bring my dog with me. He is well-groomed
and very well behaved. Would you be willing
to permit me to keep him in my room with
me at night?"

An immediate reply came from the hotel
owner, who wrote: SIR: "I've been operating
this hotel for many years. In all that time, I've
never had a dog steal towels, bedclothes,
silverware or pictures off the walls. I've never
had to evict a dog in the middle of the night
for being drunk and disorderly. And I've never
had a dog run out on a hotel bill. Yes, indeed,
your dog is welcome at my hotel. And, if your
dog will vouch for you, you're welcome to stay
here, too."

Weather back to normal
Well, normal for THIS Winter! In the 60s, sun shinning, yard drying out... but still wet enough for muddy paws. LOTS of muddy paws! More rain scheduled for tomorrow night. Last year I put gravel around the perimeter of the yard, a 5 foot wide path all around. And it was quite enough to cut drastically down on how often I had to mop floors. This year, even if the entire yard was gravel, the floors would still be a mess most of the time!

Everything OK Here

The worse thing I had to deal with during the last 5 hours (6 PM to 11 PM) was the local weather guys prempting prime time tv. NBC and CBS (local) broadcast weather maps and updates CONTINUOUSLY... except for regularly scheduled commercials.
Which means I missed Grimm. A poster on the Brokeback forum told me the story line was about some... creatures... eating babies. And apparently, they were NOT airline passengers. I'll have to wait for a repeat to see it. Here's the deal: I didn't even have RAIN. Or wind. In fact, everything was calm. Until I let the first group of dogs out at 11. At 11:05 the rains came! A very heavy downpour which seems to be easing up 50 minutes later. Anyway, that's my gripe for March 2nd. I hope all of you faired as well.

Here We Go Again!

Rain. More rain. HEAVY rain. It's getting pretty tiresome. I would say boring, but the wild stuff we had Wednesday night was kinda interesting. And a rematch is scheduled for tonight. However, it started around noon today with the weather service issuing tornado warnings and watches in my "local viewing area," which is quite large and includes counties in Kentucky, Virginia and North Carolina... none probably mumore than an hour's drive. And because of the hills around me, storms have a way of bouncing all over the place. My son lives 3-4 miles from me and has completely different weather than I do 99% of the time. Schools have closed early. I'm staying away from local tv to avoid weather reporting interruptions, scrolls and news flashes. Nothing I can do about it anyway. And I'm certainly not going to head for cover and leave the dogs to fend for themselves, so I might as well be surprised!

Peri's haircut
What a difference in the way she looks... and I don't mean that in a good way! I always have the dogs clipped all the way down... I leave long hair on their ears and the tip half of their tails. The rest is done in a burr, including faces. It usually takes at least a month for them to stop looking skinned. When they brought me Peri yesterday, she looked so much like her big sister, Emy, does when first clipped, I was glad Em was "groomed" 6 weeks ago! I would still be able to tell them apart, standing side by side both newly clipped, because Peri is about half Emy's size but they are like clones. This was Peri's first ever trip for clipping and she's still not happy about it. Boon is there today. Picture(s) coming once the yard dries out a bit.

Post removed
A couple days ago I posted some photos of pups from 2009. Something strange started happening... first, after a day or so, part of the post just disappeared. Then, when I tried to edit, a different section vanished. So I deleted the whole thing and will attempt a reposting once I download the photos again from my email.

Website updates
If you haven't been on the website recently, I just added a Diamond/Boon rematch I'm planning for when she comes back in season in about 4-5 months. And Penny is going to breed Maggie and Cisco again, not this heat but the next, toward the end of the summer/beginning of fall. We're going to do it the same way as last year... pups will be with her until weaned and then come to me. We both got a lot out of the last litter since the timing played to our individual strong suits.

Thought this was funny...
But people always say I have a strange sense of humor!

Not Much Going On

Manhattan's pride and joy... Montana! Playing at the dog park with her best friend, Katrina, a 'Doodle pup the same age and size. It's hard to tell where one lets off and the other begins!


Dewey (brown/white dog) in his new home with his new kids.
At Dewey's vet appointment, giardia showed up and he's been put on medication for it. No one else has let me know of any problems, but if there have been some, please email or call me. I know MY vet doesn't think breeders need to be advised of normal, run of the mill puppy issues(and she is definitely in the minority) but, personally, I like to be made aware of them just in case I've overlooked something.

No rain
The last two days have been sort of rain free... dark and gloomy with just a little rain in the mornings. Today, the sun is out, just in time to keep me from going nuts. Don't know how I lived in the Pacific NW for 15 years! But our warm temperatures are supposed to disappear starting tonight and lasting for several days into next week. It's WINTER, for pete's sake, and our weather people feel it is necessary to warn us temperatures are going to drop down to freezing! The fleas and ticks are NOT going to be happy.

The Case of

the missing microchip...
one of the pups has misplaced his microchip! I've scanned all over his body and it is nowhere. This is no big deal as I'll just give him another one, but it is perplexing. Where did the thing go? And how did it go there? It's been several weeks since the pups were microchipped. MOST likely, it wasn't under the skin where I was supposed to have placed it... maybe it was stuck in his coat and has just been brushed off during play. BUT chips are about the size of a grain of rice. I should have been able to see it in his hair. Guess it's time to look into those bifocal thingies!

These pups are REALLY having a growth spurt. To me, they look like they've increased about 50% in size in the last week! I'm going to weigh a couple this afternoon to see if that is true. Based on how much food they are now consuming, I'm going to be really surprised if they haven't gained a lot.

But, if you remember, I posted a while back that the adults haven't been eating a lot in preparation for winter. THAT has changed! Guess they knew when they were going to need extra body fat for warmth, which is later in the season. The last couple weeks, they've almost doubled the amount they eating. Guess the weather is about to get really cold, and soon. By the way, the wooly worm's prediction was totally off for the first week, partially right for the second and third (still no snow.) So, I think the dogs have been a little more right about the weather this year SO FAR.

BRRRRRR!

Tucker wishes everyone a happy new year...
or he would if he had ANY clue what it meant!

Back to BRRRR!
It is finally winter. Our high yesterday was 34 and that was shortly after midnight. We had snow "showers" off and on all day. The dogs LOVED it! Last night's low was 14. But at 1 PM it's already warmed up to... 23! Even the puppies are sleeping in a clump on top of their blanket. Usually, they sprawl all over the pen and the blanket is more often used for tug-of-war than a cushion. I'm glad I didn't get everyone clipped short last month, although the ones who are clipped seem to be just fine. Toward the end of the week, the daytime temperature is supposed to get back up to the low 50s. We'll see about that!

Picks
Things are going smoothly... waiting for the last family to choose. Several other people are interested in seeing who's "left" so they can decide between one of the Maggie/Cisco pups or getting on the reservation list for Di/Boon (which is not open yet.)

Chomper update
The news is not good. Chomper is the dog lost in PA since Thanksgiving. His family hired a pet detective from Hephzibah GA (where I lived for 10+ years.) The man spent two days in the area right after Christmas with his dogs who are trained to find any indication of a dog hiding in barns, sheds, outdoors, etc (even if they are dead.) There was NO sign of Chomper even though over the last month he had been seen a number of times in the same area. The guy spent a lot of time visiting businesses and homes in the area making sure everyone knew what Chomper looks like and that he is not a throw away. The detective's conclusion is someone has him and isn't willing to give him up. Chomper's "mom" said she got a really strange phone all from a local man which she reported to the local shelters "just in case." As with me, she says it's the not knowing that is the hardest to take.

Cold Enough for You?

I took this picture outside my front door. Gorgeous, eh? It's a wonder no power or phone lines went down! Luckily, the temperature has climbed above freezing. Now everything is soggy! Hope to get off the hill tomorrow or at least by Saturday. Not that I need anything, I'm just going stir crazy!

More puppies check in
Murphy and Zoe Teague are ready for Christmas. Both are Emy kids, different dads.

Look, mom, it's raining outside! Tucker and Seamus Perry, a Cotton son and an Emy son.

Hot Hot Hot

This IS still April, right? So why is it so hot? Like mid 80s. Our normal high this time of year is high 60s... a warm day is 72-73. Obviously, I'm not a fan of summer or heat. I moved to this area to get away from all that. This is the 3rd year in a row that summer has started months earlier than usual... which would maybe influence my "what global warming" argument EXCEPT each of the last 3 winters has gotten colder and more snowy/sleety as well. My REAL problem with hot weather is the dogs... they want to go out EARLY in the morning, sleep all day and then go back out after dark. Which would be fine, except they want to romp and play... and make noise (LOUD noise)... at those times. Before the guy who owns all the land around me started selling bits and pieces of it, that was fine. But now there are neighbors within barking distance... and they probably moved out here to the middle of nowhere for the peace and quiet. And it's a long time until the cooler weather moves back in.

More Photos

In Maryland, these young ladies are ready for bed. Luna is from Emy and Shadow and weighs in around 20 pounds.


And in New Orleans, the beautiful Di/Brogue daughter, Maggie, is staying small (maybe 20 pounds) and keeping her red sabling.

A Few Things

Several of you have emailed questions about the shipping process. There is an article on the website about shipping which covers just about everything I could think of when I was writing it. Please read it and then ask any questions that aren't answered there... you won't be the only one who wants to know!

Weather
I'm snowed/frozen in until mid week... Wednesday or Thursday... which is fine, sort of. I do wish the weather had been more co-operative the last few weeks. The pups would REALLY love being able to go outside and tear around. BUT here's hoping all the bad stuff for the month will happen in the next 5-6 days so everything will be okay for all the running around to vet and groomer and delivery of pups. If any of you have an in with the weatherman, PLEASE! put in a good word for us.

Ice, Sheet, Freezing Rain

A friend sent me this photo to suggest a possible solution if any more of my trees come down. First off, MY trees are nowhere near that size and second, I'm not worried about them falling on the road, just on the house!

The ice started as predicted, early last night, BUT even though our temperature was hovering around 27, we only got a light coating. When I let the dogs out at midnight (yeah, don't want to hear about it!) the stuff coming down was icy snow. This morning, it was sort of raining and by the time I finally drug myself out of bed, the temp was up to 32... for the first time in a LONG time... and it was REAL rain. Of course, the dogs ran outside and got soaked before they came in even though they were only out there a few minutes. Nothing like cold and wet coats against bare legs! Hours later, we're still at 32... PREDICTED high for today is 42. Right! Still have both power and phone, knock on wood, while all around me the ice was worse and lines are down.

Emy and Sparky's Remy

Several people are trying to figure out what kind of coats the individual pups will have and they're basing their mental arguments on what seems most logical. However, Remy (and most of the pups from that litter) have totally different coats than the pups from Em and Sparky's first litter (of which my curly Cotton is an example.)

Boon
I know. You're all waiting for pictures of the new stud "dog." And as soon as I get over my new camera phobia... caused by trying to get decent pix of 22 individual pups... I'll post some!

He's fitting in nicely although he is about 3 weeks older than OUR pups and, therefore, a little too big to play with them (if he were a little older, he'd behave better with them) and is being spoiled rotten by my adults (who really should put him in his place a little more firmly.) So far, so good. And I'm going to try getting a shot of him with one of the "reds" to show how similar they are in coloration to purebred Wheatens.

I Give Up

I'm not a big believer in Global Warming, at least not in the sense that it means we've killed the world. (I believe it is part of the normal cycle on this planet and may or may not mean there are going to be significant changes over the next million or so years.) However, if it will help Al Gore, or whomever is in charge of temperatures in my neck of the woods, I will concede that the weather is hotter than ever before. Or, as my local forecasters keep saying, "since we started keeping track." "We," in this case, means some sort of official weather tracking entity. We have had 55 days of 90 or above since June 1st... not counting today or the rest of this week which is supposed to be at least that... and the previous record was 47 in one summer. The temp has been so much higher than normal this year, the OFFICIAL average temp has gone up by over one degree! DO you know what it takes to do that? Well, I do as I've lived through it. It was bad enough when our normal was supposed to be in the 80s. Now the norm is supposed to be in the 70s. I say ENOUGH ALREADY!

Of This and That

First, what is on everyone's mind: the girls... pregnant or not?
Can't tell yet.
They've been VERY lazy (but that could be the weather) and there have been a couple examples of testiness (but that could be the weather.)

Second, the waiting list: I'm kind of amazed at the response. Don't know whether that's a good thing or not. Guess I'll see how it shakes out in the next couple weeks.

Third, weights: Tucker (in IL) is right at 18 pounds. The range in that litter is incredible. And confounds my record keeping/size predicting capabilities.

First Trip Outdoors Postponed

Because we finally got some rain, the pups didn't get to make their inaugural excursion to the great outdoors yesterday on their 6 weeks birthday. And today is more of the same while the next 3-4 days are supposed to be in the 90s. Looks like they'll be closer to 7 weeks... or more... before they get to feel the breeze in their faces!

No Pups Available
I have decided to take Spider off the market for right now because of her very small size compared to the rest of the litter. I always tend to err on the side of caution although, in all probability, there is absolutely nothing wrong with her... and thevet has already seen her... but often the little tiny ones have a hear or liver problem that doesn't show up until they're older and much more active. I'd just rather not promise her to anyone and then have something show up... better safe than sorry!

Atten: Folks with Earliest Picks
One way or another, I'll get some more pictures this weekend. Picks MUST be made by the time the litter is 8 weeks old. A number of families with later picks already know which puppies THEY'd prefer and the suspense is killing them! The first pick, the black and tan male, Brother, is moving to PA to live with his older half-sister, but no one else has definitely been claimed. Personality-wise, everyone is pretty much the same. Not one bully or recluse in the litter... which is par for the course.

Another Dood Checks In


Skip in Atlanta sent me birthday pictures of 6 years old Cooper, enjoying himself at the lake. Happy birthday, big boy!

Fine, We're All Fine

We have no flooding or other rain issues where I am. In fact, my "road" has dried out so much today, my neighbor up the hill has already graded it to smooth out the ruts. The nice thing about living toward the bottom of the hill is I don't have much of a way to go to reach the county road, so even when my road is really bad, I can just take my time and not do any damage to my car. And the other nice thing is, the guy above me who takes care of the road... on his own, I might add... has to go right passed my house when he's grading!

The Pups
are doing well. They're really growing and all of them have some solid weight to them when I pick them up (unlike kittens who always feel like air!) The smallest, RIGHT NOW, is the black boy (who is actually black and tan) and the largest are the dark blond boy and the wheaten red guy. The rest are all clumped in the middle. BUT there is really just a little difference in their individual weights.

The largest of the 3 girls is an explorer. Twice yesterday she moved far enough away from the pack to get lost. It is hot and the pups are sleeping sprawled out (Emy is sleeping outside the nest whenever feeding and cleaning chores allow.) Dora the explorer crawls away, finds a cool spot and takes a nap. But when she wakes up... where's MOM!?

I'm going to take a couple new photos... by gender... in the next day or two and will post right away.

One female is still available and the boys, of course.

Derby Day
I was not particularly pleased with network coverage of the Derby... maybe they just didin't have that many interesting stories to tell this year, but I thought it was a little heavy on cooking, mint julips, fashion and hats. (Note: fashion and hats were two different subjects.) Then we got to the actual race... it was nice Todd Pletcher finally got a win. And it was nice it was Super Saver, one of the ones I liked. Yeah, okay, so I picked 5 and he was the only one in the money. Actually, he was the only one in the top NINE. The filly, Devil May Care, was 10th and my others were back... way back!

Personally I'm REALLY tired of the excuse Looking at Lucky's camp has every time he doesn't win... he had a bad trip. Well he's had a few of those recently. That was the excuse for him in the Derby. However, it turns out the horse that finished second, Icebox, had an even worse trip and he still made up the distance. In fact, if this had been the Belmont (which is longer than the Derby,) Icebox might have caught Super Saver... and Lucky would still have been running behind them.

You don't hear me... or her people... making excuses for Rachel Alexandra who is 2 for 2 this year. She's just getting outrun, even if it is by a nose. Maybe her time has come and gone or maybe she's matured/changed physically over the last few months and hasn't gotten it under control as yet. She's still my girl!

Monday

So we made it through the weekend. Power and phone stayed on although the phone lines seemed to be taking a break from time to time. Got lots and lots of "fresh powder" and the dogs absolutely love it. Today, I found both Brogue and Shadow asleep in the sun IN the snow. It was easy for me to spot Shadow, but Brogue blended in. The younger dogs, especially the bigger ones, have spent most of their outside time running and jumping. The smaller ones tend to do their business and then come back to the door. The pups, of course, have not been out in it... someone else can take them out on an individual basis and towel dry them when they come back in! We're expecting MORE tonight and tomorrow and again on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I hope I'm able to get off the property by Wednesday. So far, even though about 3/4 of it is gone off the car, the driveway still looks very deep.

Another one accounted for

This is Otis who is now living if Florida and, obviously, totally entranced by his new ball. I love this picture (AND the others Louie and Julie sent.) But this one is special because it shows such intensity. It looks like Otis is practicing some type of telekinesis! "Come to the Dark Side...."

Last pup spoken for... sort of
#7 is moving to North Carolina as soon as weather permits, hopefully this week, but maybe not.
And #6 is going to Colorado, probably the following weekend.
Which leaves #3. I'm hoping to hear from his almost family ASAP so he can join them or another family pretty soon.
These kids are growing fast... you would not believe! Their colors are changing rapidly as well, especially #3. It is time to get them completely off the puppy food to slow some of the growth down or they're all going to be 40 pounders!