Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Guten tag, Oktber!!!!

"Red and gold leaf-fire roars from Canada to Connecticut shores, harried by the snow's pale horsemen, like a horde of howling Norsemen. Sunshine stems the tide, but time is on winter's side"... the Farmer's Almanac
I love the month of October!!! I love the coolish weather, the display of leaves, and it seems like October has so many things "to do".... fairs, festivals.. and birthdays!!!! October 1st was (is) Kassy's birthday, and some how she has turned 22.. (still trying to figure out when that happened). Sadly, she and Nate have never spent her birthday together since they were "together"... the first year he was in boot camp, and since then, he has been deployed somewhere in the world!!! Even though she knew that going into "their relationship" it still puts a damper on things. But, this should be the last one that they are apart, and in the meantime, Charlie is there (as always) to assist her in blowing out the birthday candles!!!!! In just a couple of weeks, Kas and Charlie pack up and head to NC.. the mail to Nate has been closed down, which is a good sign that the "boys" are beginning to pack up and wrap up their work in Iraq!!!! Please, continue to keep Nate in your prayers (and the rest of the unit) as they head back into "real life" and make the adjustments that go with that. Also, pray for the units that are arriving to relieve Nate's unit and that their job over the next six months will go smoothly and safely.
Now, let me take a minute and show off my new sweatshirt!!! I hope you can all see it well, because it has the greatest design on it..... it shows a gal and her dog, in a cart being pulled by a horse and the sign on the cart says... "therapy in session"!!! Deb found this at the Deerfield Fair and bought it for me, because of my "rough week" with Ed being the hospital!!! Leave it to Deb, she is one of those people who can find the absolute best gifts, and gives them at the absolute best time to do so!!!! It fits perfectly and I have so enjoyed wearing it over the past few days!!! my horse friends have noticed it right away!!! and you can be sure I will be wearing it to my driving lesson on Wednesday (today).

Ed is doing well, he is working very hard at "staying honest" with all the things he needs to be doing.... he's doing a good job!!! Cole has certainly been enjoying the short one on one walks that he and Ed are doing together!!! and I feel less guilty about taking out the "crew" and leaving Cole behind!!!



Why am I "hanging" this puppy?? Well, actually its part of a "temperament test" that I did for my friend Maxine and her litter of English Cocker pups. It's a neat test, and you do it on the 70th day of a puppy's life. It's designed to show a puppy's base temperament and can be a great help in placing a puppy into the right home. We test things like a puppy's tolerance to noise, sight, pain, and willingness towards people. You might be surprised at the different reactions of puppies that have all come from the same litter!!! This particular exercise is a "trust" one... you dangle a puppy for 30 seconds, and watch to see if he remains relaxed, or if he panics, or tries to fight you. This little guy was great and just "hung out" until the test was done. All the puppies did really well, but some certainly had a little "more fire" than others!!! This world of "dog training" has so many interesting parts to it, and I just never know from one student to another what I might find!!!

So, I suspect there will be some fun blogs to report on this month... not that blogging isn't always fun!!! I so enjoy keeping this... and I do believe that the 31st will be my one year anniversary at blogging... have to check on that.....