the latest...

Work on the barn is getting down to the details... most of the "big stuff" is done.... and good thing, because the time is drawing nigh....

First stall in is very close to complete

Outside doors are made and getting "hung"....

"told you" that Sammy was a big cat... but we found out that "holding" isn't his style!!!!

sunset on the lake

something new

Kas put me onto this website, where you can take your pictures and play around with them. They have all sorts of "things" you can do. I didn't do "much" to this photo, I am sort of a "sissy" when it comes to "new computer stuff"... but, I did a little playing around with it. Course the big trouble is... it's too easy to "play around with the computer" and suddenly you wonder why your muscles ache , your butt hurts and the clock is striking the time that you have lost!!!! (and you have added yet another screen name and password to remember) Anywho, I gave it a shot and maybe when I don't have "anything better" that I SHOULD be doing... it will be a fun thing to play with.....

York Days 2008

Sadly I did not get any pictures taken, but it's kind of hard to "MC" and take photos... so you will have have to trust me that the dog obedience demo my club did tonite was awesome!!! We had about 30 dogs there for the demo, and I would estimate that a crowd of around 400 came to watch. We started out with the "parade of dogs" where we line up large to small and show the crowd what heeling is all about, and what the stay commands are all about.

After that, the agility group set up their equipment and made some fun runs. I had picked out a couple of songs to accompany their routines... "wipe out" was one, and just as my friend Barbara began her dog with that song playing... her dog decided that she would just run her own course. The crowd went wild with laughter... course Barb was a little embarrassed that her dog didn't do her usual good work, but sometimes, the crowd would rather see the "mistakes"....

We then showed some obedience things, like recalls, retrieving and jump work... then we did "dog tricks" and ended the evening with the flyball team running their races. We even picked kids from the crowd to race against the dogs....actually this year, some of the kids won!!!

So, another demo behind me, every year I say it will be the last, but seems every year, I say yes when they call..... about next year... well, we'll see.......

barn Kitty (ies)

this morning, found me at our local animal shelter.. I was there to get my "new kitty". Now, when it came to the planning of the new barn, one "thing" that was always "on my list " was a couple of barn cats. Every barn that I have boarded in has had a barn cat or two, and with them... no mice!!! so I knew that I wanted to have a kitty in our new barn. The "trouble" is... barn cats are hard to find around here. Our shelters have done a very good job at promoting their spay/neuter programs, and you just don't see many "free kitten" signs around like you used to. When it comes to adopting a cat, they are rather particular about cats being pets and living in the house, verses living "outside". But once in awhile, a "case" comes up and the shelter is happy to work out "whatever is best for the cat".

A few weeks ago, I met with a new client and her two dogs. As I entered her home, I was greeted by the most wonderful little group of kitties. They were about four weeks old, and just as charming as they could be. When I commented on them, she asked "do you want one"... and I said no, that I had two kitties, but one day, I would like to find a kitty that could live in my barn. Well..... it so happened, that the Mom of these kittens was (is) a feral cat, and my client was their foster Mom... ,once the babies were weaned, they would go to the shelter for adoption and Mom... well, her future was uncertain, as she was not only "wild", but very shy. I told my client I would be happy to offer her a home in the new barn and she said she would look into it and see what the shelter would do.

I was thrilled to learn that the shelter would let me take the Mom kitty , they knew the situation she would be living in and thought it would be in her best interest to come and live in the barn. I named her Annabelle, and I could adopt her as soon as her kittens were on their own, and she was spayed and ready to go.

And so this morning, I met up with Sharon (foster mom) and the staff from the shelter to get Annabelle and go over her adoption and settling her into the barn. Katie was the shelter work who handled the paperwork (yes Cindy... this is "your" Katie!!!!) As we were talking about Annabelle, Katie said.... "you wouldn't be interested in another barn cat?" and I said I might, and wanted to know what the story was on this one....

Basically, his story is... he's a very big boy who plays rough and is not happy when kept inside. He's sweet enough, but when he gets bored, he causes trouble. A few folks have tried him as a pet, but he had been returned to the shelter because he turned out to be "more cat" than they wanted. I guess the staff was at a bit of a loss as to what to do for him... and his options were getting smaller.

I was up for giving him a "go"... but I was a little worried that he might be "too much" for Annabelle...Katie talked it over with some of the other staff, and Sharon felt that Annabelle could probably hold her own... soooooo....

home I came with two!!!! The big guy we are calling "Sam". I got them to the barn and settled them into the tack room. I have been advised to keep them in for a while, to help them get settled and know where the "chow" will be. Sam popped right out of his crate, but Annabelle wouldn't budge (maybe she will later tonite when it quiets down). Sam went over to Annabelle's crate and stuck his big head inside, but didn't seem all that interested in her, and as we left them tonite, both were in their own crates. I hope they will be happy with us... they certainly will get lots of excellent care and love, plus all the freedom they both crave. I hope they will stay with us, but with Annabelle, especially, that will be her decision to make... Sam I think, will stick around, he is more of a people cat.

The barn's first residence!!! things are on a roll....

OH.. the phone is working again in York... a tech finally showed up at 6:00pm on Thursday evening... I was nice to him, but told him I was extremely unhappy with the company's service. Because of that he "replaced my phone box for free" (big deal!!!).. but at least we are back in the "real world" again.

a fun night

I read this morning that Randy Pausch lost his battle with cancer. He was the professor at a college and when he found out he had cancer and would have to give up teaching, he wrote the "Last Lecture". It became a big hit, and was even turned into a book, and basically what it was about is having a positive attitude and being very grateful. I was touched by his lecture and have it on my "list of things to do"... to get a copy of his book. I feel that being grateful and having a positive attitude are two things that are hugely important in life, and with all the "crap" (please excuse the word, but it describes it well) that is printed, or told, or sold in life..... things like happiness and gratefulness, seemed to get pushed to the back of the line. I intend on keeping them at the front of the line.

Aren't these "black eyed Susans" amazing. They are just growing wild all over the farm, I couldn't get them to grow like this if I had planned it, but here they are ..... there is so much beauty in the world, we just need to see it!!!!

So, tonite was a special evening. We got together with two of our camp neighbors, the Stansfields and the Scalices.... sadly the Stansfields head for home tomorrow... they had a poor week as far as the weather was concerned, but they assured me that they enjoyed their time at the camp and the family being together. Just so we could spend a little extra time with them, I said "let's have dinner all together" and we did. I was happy to see our other neighbors had arrived a little early than usual and said, "come on over, we're having a cookout."

The Stansfields have been on the lake for generations. I never knew the "grandparents".. but I did know Roger and Audrey.(the parents) Roger passed four years ago, and now their sons, Hal and Sam and their families come to the lake at least one week a summer (or try to anyways). I have gotten to know Hal and his family quite well, and I enjoy their company. This year when they came out, Audrey felt up to the trip and came with them... it was certainly wonderful to see her again. But it is also sad to see her and not Roger... he was a neat man.

It gave Audrey and Hal to catch up with Ralph and his family. Ralph's sons are still little, but Hal's daughter Gwen was wonderful at entertaining them while the adults visited. It was fun to see old friends catch up with each other, and keep the "new generations" of the lake in touch.

And it feels a little odd to me that "we" are now the generation on the lake, as many of the "parents' have passed on.We were once the kids, but now our children are the kids..... When did I become the adult ????

stuck and steaming!!!!

Last Friday afternoon, we got a horrible thunderstorm up in Acton and naturally, it also thundered it's way thru York. It was pretty scary and I almost joined Camille under the table. But it passed and life went on.

Saturday, I got a call from a friend, telling me that she had tried to call the house and got a busy signal, and then when she tried later.. got a recording that the phone had been disconnected. I called home and got the same thing..... so, I asked Sadie to drop in and see if the cats had knocked the phone off the hook... no, everything was in place. Since there wasn't anything I could do until we got back to York, I just enjoyed the time at camp and waited until we returned.

Sure enough, on Monday... the phone was not working... we have the "all in package" and the TV and computer were OK, but no phone... I called the cable company. They told me that there was a problem (oh goody) and that they would be as soon as they could.. but with the storms, they were way behind in their service calls. Well, such is life, they can't control the weather, and we do have cell phones, so, all I could do was wait. Tuesday.. no tech... OK, they must be really busy.... Wednesday... no tech... (deep breath)... and call again... Yes, they know I don't have a phone, they have me on the list, they can't say when the tech will come... AND I just need to be at home and wait until they show up!!! by the end of the day, I am a bit annoyed.... I have things to do, and sitting around the house isn't on that list.... I called... "sorry they didn't make it out today... but probably by tomorrow".....

I call again today... I am not so nice now... (not mean, but just not as "sweet")... I tell them they MUST come today.. I am VERY unhappy, we have been without phone service since Saturday and this is IT.... waiting around all day means.. no walk with dogs and no RIDING LESSON!!!! this is beginning to interfere with my life. Now, I know it isn't a "life or death" situation, but the squeaky wheel gets the grease... and so I am squeaking!!!! On top of that, I am going to demand a break on my bill.....

boy, I'm getting tough in my old age~~~~~~

thundering Sunday

Today was a thundering sort of day at the lake, and for the first time in a long while, we did not have any "company"... I always like to have company at camp... it's just more fun to have people around. We did have some friends over yesterday, Peg and Chuck were able to come and spend the afternoon with us. It was great, we haven't had a good visit with them in a long while, and being "old time farmers" we were anxious for them to see the barn and get their opinion of it. They liked it very much.

Since we didn't have any plans for the afternoon, and the weather was on again, off again, we decided to go down to the barn and get some painting done. The ceiling in the barn is quite high, it turned out that way, because we wanted the transom lights over the big barn doors. Because we have all this upper space, we thought it would be nice to paint it white, that way it will not only protect the wood, but should reflect the lights in the barn..... it was another tricky job, but we took our time and got it done....this is just the first coat, and much to our delight, it really lightens the place. so, it was a good idea, "we thinks"....

Now, while we were working, our "neighbor to be" dog came to visit. She is a lovely German Shepherd dog, and though I don't know much about her, I do know her name is Jasmine ... as I have heard her owner holler it on more than one occasion. I haven't met this neighbor yet,(she is fairly new to the neighborhood, too) but I already have a bit of an opinion.... because even "living in the country" letting a dog just roam the neighborhood isn't a good idea. Jasmine seems very sweet, but I don't know what she will think when the horses arrive, and though my horses are good with dogs, I am certain they won't appreciate being chased.. neither will I... course, I don't know that she would chase them, but she is a herding dog after all. Moxie wasn't exactly neighborly when she showed up today... this barn is very quickly becoming Moxie's turf, and even though she is dog friendly, she wasn't too happy with this visitor.

For the longest time, Mox just stood quietly and watched... she gave her evil eye, and Jasmine was quite respectful. However, at one point Jasmine got just a little too close, and the chase was on. Mox was pretty proud of herself, having chased this big dog off.... and claiming her farm back for herself...I was happy to see this, a few months ago, Moxie wouldn't have had the energy or "care" to do things like this, the care she is getting with the holistic vet is certainly paying off.

This evening we went to see some "old friends" who own the camp just down the road... the Stansfields are here from Ohio for a week's stay. It was nice to catch up on the news and all the goings ons of the families.... a thunderstorm sent us home a little early, but it was a nice visit. I was able to get some meds into Camille to help her thru the storms, and they worked very well..... again a suggestion from our holistic vet!!!! I am so happy we have found something that works for her.

So, the lightening brightens the sky, the thunder echoes across the lake, the loons are singing a great song... and one old cocker feels very good and another is very calm.... life is good.....

"the" playhouse

Last night, we were invited to the playhouse to see the play "The Producers"... our friends who invited us, are on the board of directors, and it was premier night.. where the actors get to do a run thru before opening for the public. Neither Ed nor I had any idea of what the play was about, but when we told Kas and Nate.. they knew all about it, and said we would love it.... They were right!!!!

It had two things "going for it" to start with.. one, it was a musical (which are always my favorites) and two, it was a Mel Brook's writing, (which Ed likes), so we knew we "couldn't go wrong"... aside from the fact that we were also "guests"!!!! The play was wonderful... very funny.. and the whole evening was grand!!!!

This is a wonderful old playhouse, it is only open during the summer, and when the kids lived home, we always went to at least one play a summer, and made it a family outing. We have seen some wonderful plays there.... "Beauty and the Beast"... "Grease"... "Cinderella"..."A Funny thing happened on the way to the Formun".... the list goes on and on...so this old place holds some very happy memories for all of us.

The plays are always professional.. with live music, great costumes and often some very famous people from the acting world!!!! We have never been disappointed with any of them....

Another "jewel" in my life..................

the night of the lobster......

Lobsters have a strong smell of "fish" when being cooked, so we have found doing this outside works pretty well..... this is our gas cooker!!!

Ed gets them out of the cooler and heads them to the pot!!!













Nate and Kas offer a helping hand... (I was taking pictures for the blog!!!)

"sorry, boys".... here you go!!!!

All cooked up and ready for a fine meal!!!! They were "some good" I can tell you for sure!!!!

and tonite's menu is......

LOBSTER!!!! (and if you are from New England, the correct way of saying that is...."lobsta")...

Since Kas and Nate are here for "vacation" we only felt it appropriate to have a good old fashion New England lobster feed.....

So, we called our good friend and lobsterman, Gardner, and asked him to save some for us when he went out this morning...

He was "back in" around 2:30 with the mornings catch and pulled out some "beauties" for tonite's dinner.... you can't get much "fresher" than that...

This is the one time that it is "proper to play with your food".....

there will be more pics a little later on... and for my "mid-west" readers... if you ever get to visit New England, especially Maine... THIS is what it's all about!!!!

all dressed up......

and some place to go..... The "real" reason that Kas and Nate are home this week, is because their dear friend, Mary, is being married this evening. All these "kids" attended Portsmouth Christian Academy for school.. which at the time, was a small school, so it was easy to become very close friends. But even more so, they have remained close friends in the years since they graduated, and thus Kas and Nate wanting to be at the wedding...

Now, Nate wanted to wear his "dress blues" for this special occasion.. but "because he looks so good" they did ask Mary if she would mind if he wore them... she said no problem, in fact, her Dad is a military man, and he was wearing his dress uniform as well. So there will be some "handsome" men at this wedding..... course, we couldn't let the opportunity of a photo shoot get by us... so we took several good pics of them here at the lake!!!!! Nate has put in a lot of long hard hours to be able to wear this uniform, I hope he is as proud of his accomplishments as we are!!!!!

Before the "kids" got dressed up, we ran down to show them the barn. The last time they saw it, was back in March... when the came home and surprised Ed in the hospital... we still had snow then. Dear Ken was there, getting some painting done as the forecast for Monday is rain... and he wanted to get a jump on it. I couldn't help but get this shot..... look at these three... just standing there watching Ken paint.... you'd think they would have picked up some brushes and helped out!!! (and in case you are confused... this is the back side of the barn... the front is all done!!!!)

Charlie had to "help out" in his own way... he thought he could clean up the saw dust with his ears!!!! Good thing he's a swimming dog, because one jump in the lake got all the fuzzies out of his ears!!!!

So, Dave and Deb have headed home to take care of hungry animals.... Kas and Nate are headed off to the wedding... and Ed is sound asleep in his favorite camp chair...

I am blogging...........................

busy week

It's hard to believe that the weekend is here again (and half way over to boot)... I hardly ever know "where the time goes", but with Kas and Nate home for a visit this week, it has gone faster than usual. We also had a couple of "extras" in the house, as I was watching a couple of Labradoodle puppies that belong to a client of mine.

They had never seen a cat before, so the moment that they arrived, Dancer was a main source of entertainment for them. I don't know how I "lucked" out with her, she is the greatest little cat and from day one, has never let dogs bother her. When we have guest dogs in the house, she introduces herself right from the get go.... and more than not, once the dogs have had a chance to check her out, they don't even think of it again. This is a great experience for dogs that haven't been around cats.... dog training, that I don't have to "do"!!!!

They were "great guests" to boot, such nice puppies and it gave me a chance to get some one on one training in with them...... I am thinking that I will do more "in house" training when we get settled in Acton.... a number of my clients love it when they can board/train all in one... the house right now is a little small to provide that kind of service, but the new house will be better planned out for just this sort of thing!!!!

And speaking of which.... look "who" arrived at the farm this week.... the well driller!!!!! So, we are currently "in search of water".... (actually it's going well ... no pun intended) and by Monday, this will be done.

Living "off a well" is going to be a new experience for me. We have a well at camp, but that's a weekend thing (for the moment)... up until now, I have always had town water!!! Course this is the expensive part, getting the well dug... but once it's in.. there won't be any more "quarterly water bills" to worry about (or sewer bills either for that matter), so that's going to be kind of nice.

This is an impressive machine to watch.. but it's loud!! so you don't' want to stand around (too close) for long. There's a whole science to well drilling... it's quite interesting to say the least. And this well is going to have to meet the needs of both the house and the barn, so Ed and the well man have a "gallons per minute" thing all worked out....glad they know what they're doing, because I don't have a clue.... but to quote a line from one of my favorite movies (Baby Boom).... " I just want to turn the faucet and have water... I don't need to know where it's coming from"!!!!!

something new to read

I really don't have much to chat about in this blog, but just so "my loyal readers" don't sign on another day and find the same ol' thing.... maybe I can come up with something interesting to talk about....

Progress on the barn is rolling right along.... when I look at this "old" picture and compare it to last week's picture.. it reminds me just how far "we" have come on it. Pretty much we are in the detail stages, which is great fun for me, because it's something that I can really be a part of. The tack room walls are all done, the outside (alleyway) walls of the stalls are done.... pretty much the last of the big stuff is making the doors for the outside of the stalls, getting the stall fronts up, and finishing up the back of the barn. Then we need to move to the out outside... ie: fencing and getting the field ready for "visitors"... or rather "residents"......

Kassy and Nate are home for 10 days.... they are mainly here to attend a wedding of a dear friend, but are certainly enjoying the activities of the families. They have been doing all the "tourist" things, which is pretty fun... because as a rule, when you live in a tourist area, you tend to avoid those types of things.... not enjoy them. And of course the next time they head to Maine... it will be for good... and Ed and I will find ourselves "homeless"..... since they are moving into this house and we will be moving north. It's exciting and scary all rolled into one.

I have a confession that I just have to make, and my "horse" friends will know just what I am talking about.... I got "into big trouble" today with my farrier..... he came to trim Silver and Mocha's feet (Tonka is at Laura's)... well, when I pulled Miss Mocha out of her stall.... he was NOT too happy with me.... seems that Mocha is WAY overweight.. and boy, did I get a "talking to" on that!!!! Course, being a mini, it is super important that we carefully watch her weight.... these little ones can founder pretty easy.... and I certainly don't want to deal with anything like that!!!! So, Miss Mocha is on a very strict diet.. and "everyone" at the barn has strict instructions as to "how it's going to be" from now on....... since my farrier comes back in a mere 7 weeks, we have our work cut out for us!!!! "poor little girl".... but I would rather have a "grumpy" horse than a lame one!!!! we'll keep you posted on her progress........

a world gone backwards...

It only appears that we allow our dogs to hang out on the furniture and ask the children to go into crates.....

Or use barn stalls as small cages......

But the sunset on the farm was certainly something that you didn't want to miss

now this is the way......

My little niece, Naomi and my sister Rachel have come to spend the night with us at camp. It is SO nice to have the activity of a little one around, and she has me laughing at all her antics!!!


She "discovered" the dog crate tonite after dinner, Tatter (Sadie's little dog) seems more than happy to usher Naomi into the crate... you can almost hear her saying "kennel up, Naomi..... better you than me!!!"







Tatter looks pretty pleased with "her training success"... and is probably thinking... now this is the way it should be.....instead of dogs being "away" from children.. let's put the children "away" from dogs!!!!






Course one big difference... children can let themselves OUT of crates... puppy dogs can't

guess Moxie wanted to see if she had the same training skills that Tatter did.... she seemed pretty pleased that she could "kennel the child" as well.....

when Father calls.....

A few weeks ago, we were able to get our first few loads of hay in. Everyone was happy, because for the first time in a number of years, hay season "seemed on schedule, maybe even a little early"... THEN... the "weather pattern" hit.... bright sunny morning, humid mid-days, and thunderstorms (BIG thunderstorms... wind/hail/driving rain, etc.) And it seemed that the weather men would say, this pattern should break within the next few days... only to decide later, that it wasn't going to break. NOT good for the hay man!!!

Now "our" hayman is fondly known as "Father", and he has been haying for years and years!!!! Ed first met him thru connections with the fire department, and we have watched him hay this field for many summers. When we knew that we were going to be living in Acton and would be needing hay, Father was the first one we called. He said he sold it out of the field, and if we wanted some, we just needed to "be there" when he said....

So, we go about our business, but always keeping in the back of our minds that "Father" could be calling us any day or time, saying that he was able to get some hay down, and we need to come and get it!!!!!

Yesterday, Father called.... sadly, I had to go to "work" and couldn't help out, but ever faithful Ken was there, and Ed was also able to grab brother Bill.... they brought in another 120 bales. Then this afternoon, Father was able to get another section down and baled, so I postponed my dog student and ran up to help bring in this batch. One more to go and we will have next winter's hay all tucked safely in the barn.

I feel so fortunate, because even as Father has been baling and Ed and Ken loading, people have been stopping by the field to see if they can buy some hay. We pretty much bought the "first field"... so Father just politely tells them.. "sorry, it's spoken for". Now, more than likely there will be a second cutting (which is usually better quality), but I am pretty happy with this hay and just feel happy that I know I have it, and don't have to "worry"..... and just before we went to get hay... look how far Ed and Ken got on the barn today.... it's no wonder that my dear hubby falls into bed at night and sleeps until the dawn!!!!


Moxie, by the way, is absolutely loving this life of "being a farm dog".... good thing she didn't know about this life style during her show days... she might have decided showing was a waste of time, when you could be doing things like this..... She sat and watched us bring hay into the loft, jumped in the gator when I parked it inside tonite, and generally loves checking out the farm and all it's goings on.......

pros and cons of an "empty nest"

Our youngest daughter recently moved out on her own... she stops in to visit, peek in the frig and do her laundry... but.. that's about the extent of it... and today, it got me thinking....

"Pros of the empty nest"....

the house is so quiet

when you "pick it up"... it stays "clean"

the grocery bill is less

things don't get "moved" around

you're not on anyone's schedule.. but your own

your kids come to visit... then leave to go "home"

"Cons of the empty nest"...

the house is so quiet

when you "pick it up"... it stays "clean"

the grocery bill is less

things don't get "moved" around

you're not on anyone's schedule... but your own

your kids come to visit.. then leave to go "home"......

I think you get the "idea".....

it's "just" a barn (?) ,,,,

My hubby and Ken have this comment that got "lost"...

"it's just a barn" would often be said when making decisions or finishing out a project. But somewhere along the line, "just a barn" went way out the window... and to be honest, this doesn't surprise me one little bit... because I have stated early.. there is nothing "just" when it comes to my hubby.

Ed likes quality and doesn't believe that you invest any of your time to do anything "half well"... it's all or nothing!!!

So, the big debate about what sort of siding would be used on the outside. Under the shed roof where the horses will be (and the tractor, etc will be on the other side) I was happy enough to leave the "t-111" and just stain it to protect the wood. But on the "face" sides, I thought that shingles would be nice. I guess I like the look because my Grandfather's old barn had shingles and they weathered into a silver gray... I don't remember him ever having much maintenance with them. So, I opted for shingles.

Now, I knew that shingles would be "labor intensive" but I was willing to stain them ahead of time and have them ready when the men-folk wanted them to go up. Ed wasn't so sure about this... and he and Ken went to the "store" and came home with a sample of "vinyl shakes"... of which I wasn't so sure. (mainly because I had a particular color in mind and wasn't so certain they could find it.) Well after some considerations about pricing, maintenance, labor, etc. etc. we went with the vinyl. It arrived yesterday, and nothing doing... I just had to have them put a few courses so I could see what I am "going to have to live with " :-D...... Needless to say, I am thrilled with the "look"... and (yes, sweetheart) Ed was right... once they are up, that will be "it"... we won't have to deal with these babies again.......

wished they would "hurry up" and get it finished........