Thursday, September 27, 2012

NEADS time!!!

"Life with Rylie" is going very well.. and it's so much fun to have a puppy in the house!!! She's growing fast and it amazes me (still) at how quickly puppies learn.. and how much time is often wasted when they are so young and can be learning...
She had her "first" vet visit this past week.. (first with me, she has seen a vet before).. and the wonderful people at Down Maine Vet Clinic have (yet again) agreed to sponsor my service dog. (Which means.. all vet care is donated)... I love these folks, not just for the care of the service dogs.. but for the care of all my pets... they are so welcoming and very clever when it comes to the care of animals!!!!!
Now, somewhere under this big (wonderful) lug of a dog is my little Rylie. Her new friend is "Monty" and he's just a little St. Bernard puppy (about 10 months old)  weighing in at about 130 lbs. He's a real sweetie pie...
Good thing when you see him next to his "daddy" and know that he's not done growing   yet!!!! The first dog that I can remember is a Saint, his name was Cesar, and there are tons of photos of me as a small child with a big Saint at my side. I loved that dog, and can remember the day we had to say goodbye to him. If it weren't for the slobber... I would have another....
Hard to believe that this was also our week to check in at NEADS.... another whole month has come (and almost) gone... Rylie got to meet up with her brother, Norton when we arrived. They were so happy to see each other again. There is one more pup related to these two being raised as a service dog.. but that one has gone into the prison program....so, we more than likely won't run into her, but it will be fun to watch these two together.
First part of the day.... the "round table"... where Dave goes over the "how has the month been". This was hard for little
Rylie to be still for so long, but she did a pretty good job of it.
And look who joined the party.... "muppet boy"... Dave is really enjoying him and he's doing good work with all the service puppies in training. So nice for me to be able to hug him once a month.......
Rylie, waiting to get the show on the road.....
EEWWWW.... who or what is this creepy guy???? Actually none other that our Dave!!! Test for the day... how do the dogs react when "something strange approaches the car".... happy to tell you, the puppies just looked at him like "really Dave...."  (whew test, passed!!!!)
Into the city we go. It was such a pretty day, that we took advantage and made some trips around the park. I think the dogs did better than I did... the park was pretty crowded. But not even that so much as the language that I heard. Ya, know, I just not used to hearing such fowl language used as everyday words... it was appalling... I didn't want my puppy hearing such words....sad to think that this is the "road our young people are on"....
Rylie looks so little in the big city.......
but, I have to say, she trucked right along and did everything that was asked of her. She also was the star of the show and drew alot of attention... which she took all in stride.
We camped out for awhile near a bus stop. Good exposure to sounds, smells and sights.... she was as "cool" as she could be ..Dave is very happy with her. My prediction is... she'll be a service dog without any trouble....
Because we spent time in the park, we missed out on the train this visit. And by the time we got to the hospital for a bite to eat and a little rest... this little girl was down for the count. One thing about puppies, they either running or sleeping......
Couple of quick trips in the elevator....














Which, for the older puppies is old hat, so Rylie thought "no big" deal... and then we were packing up and heading north. Another day, gone zooming by. There's hoping that next month's visit, we might be able to  see one of the prisons and meet some of the inmates that are in the puppy training program. For us who raise these little guys, it would be nice to see the next step that the puppies go to...but, we can't just walk into the prison, there are steps that have to be taken..so we'll wait and see if it can be worked out. And more than likely photos won't be allowed, but we'll see how it all goes.

And September comes to an end.. with the "fear" that October will zip by just as quick... we still have lots of projects to finish before the snow flies... it might be a race to the wire!!!!

Saturday, September 22, 2012

fair season, for sure...

A few years ago, Ed and I went to the Common Ground Fair. We really enjoyed ourselves and said that it would be a fair that we would like to visit often.... however, with time and commitments, we haven't been able to go back... until this year. We really even weren't sure we could go this year, but suddenly we both had the day off from work, and we have Sadie and Denise to "farm sit".. and the day opened up, and we went... kinda of last minute.
This is a very  nice fair, and very back to basics and "earthly" (for lack of a better word). There is no mid-way, no bright lights (which means it closes at dark), it's all organic, including the food and the way of life. You can't buy soda there, food is fried but in very pure oils... breads are whole grain.. and it's all delicious.
But what I really enjoyed seeing are the "modern ways" of living simply. I loved these little "houses"... you build them into the side of a hill, and they can be used for all kinds of storage, even a root cellar.
This one was a chicken coop -- though you see, the kids had more fun in it. If I had the money, my chickens would be living in style in one of these, for sure!!!!
It's all very geared to the family. As I said, no mid way of rides, but you can use a piece of cardboard and slide down the hill. They also had a whole craft area just for kids, they could do pottery, painting, spinning, cooking, gardening... just a big variety of different things....
There are gardens all around the fair, with all kinds of things in them. You can take workshops on planting and raising food all organic.
The "home" section has all sorts of demos... solar power is very popular, as is wind. They have timber frame homes, the latest in insulation and keeping your house warm... pretty much, if you wanted to build a "green" house, it's all right here.
But, you just have to know, my favorite part were the animals. And unlike the last fair we went to.. there were tons of animals here. Livestock of every kind, birds of every kind and work shops on how to have the animals help out with your lifestyle and farm.
We sat in on a talk about guinea fowl (proper name) and all the good things they can do on your farm.... and then we popped over to a clinic on harnessing a horse. (Nice little Percheron mare!!!) It was fun to listen and see how familiar all these things are to us  now.
The crafts and fiber were my next favorite. These little ornaments are gourds......
Very cute!!!!!!
I loved watching this waterer.... it would look so nice in any type of garden....
And the fiber and yarns!!!! Most hand spun, and all hand dyed. We went from tent to tent ... me trying to decide what "needed to come with me".... (Ed gave up and looked on his own, I was taking so long!!!)
Another nice team of Percheron's... (they seem to be a popular breed here)... these guys did a demo in plowing with a team.....
Back to food.... I can't remember all that we ate, but every bite was grand... my day ended with home made pumpkin spice ice cream.... the best!!!!!!!
As we were leaving, I heard a familiar sound, and caught this flock of geese heading south. Yup, a sure sign, the season is changing....










but, I finally made up my mind and came home with these "goodies", and now when the wintery winds are blowing, I'll have something to occupy my time. Fall in New England... it doesn't get any better than that.


Saturday, September 15, 2012

off to see the fair...

We opened the pasture completely up a few weeks back. Time for the "boys" to get as much grass as possible before the winter weather arrives. I love seeing them out, and it's saving big time on the hay bill. Abbie loves to see them so close to the house, and she often calls out to them.....
Honey (Denise's horse) is all settled in her new home as well. She likes hanging out with the big guys....
It is certainly fair time here in New England, and we were off to see another fair not far from home. Though, as far as "fairs" go... this one is more on the carnival side and less on the animal side. Really not my "type" of fair, but it sure was fun for Abbie.
She's into the rides, and is fearless when it comes to trying them. Because she likes to go.. I find myself trying rides that I haven't done in a long time.... 

Wasnt' too sure about the Ferris wheel.. but it does give you a good view.....












Abbie thought it was great. Now, this fair costs you a bit to get in, but all the rides are included int he price. Which worked out fine for us....









We met up with Kass and Nate... and then Katie and Craig... so Abbie had plenty of folks to do the rides with. As I said, we didn't see much in the animals... mostly did rides with Abbie



 





There were a few "not so traditional" animals as well. I admit, I felt bad for this giraffe, but he certainly was fun to see. I hope his whole life isn't from fair to fair....
And some piggies.....
and then more rides. I think our next fair visit is going to be "more traditional" (animals, quilts, canning...)
But who can resist that smile of joy.....
And of course, a wonderful memory....

model jet show....

This past weekend, we headed down to our local airport to view the model jet show. I am fascinated by the hobbies that people choose, and to say one's choice is endless is an understatement. Whether you love the world of animals, vehicles, sports or whatever, there is something out there for everyone!!!
These "little" planes and jets are quite something. And I say "little" because as you can see, there really isn't much little about them. Some are worth thousands of dollars, and I would think, you need to know what you're doing before sending one of these into the air.
Actually, my Ed has model planes, and at one time,  he flew quite a bit. It's a hobby that I know he wants to take up again, (once our lives settle down a bit). We have a great place for him to fly here around the farm... just a matter of time.
Besides the planes, there were all kinds of other activities. They had set up a whole course for racing cars. From what I understand, this was a "real" race for the car folks, and some had traveled out from as far as California for this. I had hoped to show a picture of the race, but honestly these little cars were too fast for my camera!!!!
I brought Rylie along for some "work" time... course, you can see how far we got most of the time....
Kelli and Rick went along with us, they brought Moxie. Wasn't long ago when she was the size of Rylie, and now look. She's getting very used to these outings and makes a good role model for Rylie.

 

Back to the show... there were great food vendors... tents where you could buy almost any kind of model. Places were you could try you hand at flying... and then.. an air show. Done mostly by the models, but at one point, stunts were being done by a real plane with a model copying it's moves. Really cool.....






And then in for the landing... almost hard to tell that they aren't "real". There had been plans of a fire works show at night, but sadly the weather didn't co-operate. However, because this has worked out so well.. it's going to be a national wide, yearly event. So, I have a feeling the future shows are going to be even better.. and we'll be on the watch to go again.