weekend of the 4th - part 1

July the 4th...the real beginning of summer!!! We decided that we would "spend the weekend at camp".. now, mind you, "camp" is a whole two miles from the farm!!! Despite what one might think, it still took me "hours" to pack and go... and even after we got there, I still had to make several trips back and forth. Horses don't care if you are "on vacation", they still require your attention.






On one of my early morning jaunts to the barn, the field looked so pretty in the early morning dew... and the wild flowers are at their best right now.


Kas and Nate - along with Charlie and Banjo, came to stay at camp as well... fortunately, we did not rent the back camp.. so it was open for them to use. What a great weekend, having all the family in one place.





Abbie has a brand new "boat coat".. and the rules are, go beyond the deck and you must have your boat coat on. She was great about keeping it on, and it just makes us all feel better thinking that if she should topple into the lake, the big folks would have an extra few seconds to grab her.

The 4th itself could have been a little hotter and sunnier, but that didn't stop us from having a big cookout with everyone. Ed had grill duty....

Lots of great company and conversation.. and just a day to sit back and relax. We are a hard working group, and a day to sit is rare.....

Everyone brought something, and the "eats" were amazing.....

and plenty for all... even enough to share.....

and what's a cookout without starting the "cooker' and making s'mores......

We got the old boat into the water. It's been a number of years that she hasn't been put in. Ed gave rides to everyone that wanted one... only to discover that the engine is "k-put".... we nursed her thru the weekend, but ended up pulling her out. She's going to need some "surgery" before she can go out again... but it sure was fun having her for the weekend.





She does have one magic touch...

getting folks to fall asleep. Anytime that Ginger or Abbie had a little ride... this is what happened....

Even little Otis couldn't keep his eyes open for his ride... and then, didn't even have the energy to get out of the boat....

weekend of the fourth - part 2

The next morning the day was much warmer (of course)... the loons were up early... saying hello to everyone.














Abbie began her day with bananas, and then went to be with her Daddy.











Since it was so warm, and the lake was beautiful, i thought I would see what Ginger thought of swimming. At first she wasn't so sure, but decided that if I was going to be in the water... then she was too. I can't say she really swam, but at least she got in and paddled about.







That evening, we thought it would be fun to head to the city and see the fireworks. I love fireworks, but often avoid them because of the crowds. This year I thought it might be good for Ginger to go and we would handle the crowds together. We met up with Kelli and Rick, who brought their Mindy and Otis along as well.

For the most part, Ginger did fairly well with the fireworks. But just before the grand finale.. I did walk her back to the truck. She had done well, and I didn't want to push it too much. Otis did perfectly fine, in fact, I think he dozed thru much of them... he is such a laid back fellow....

Abbie did pretty well too... we brought some ear protection for her, which she wore part of the time... once she figured out how pretty they were, she had a grand time watching them. Nice to see that a first time experience went so well...

Happy 4th to one and all, aren't we so blessed to live in the United States of America......

back in the big citiy

In the town next to ours, the library is quite good. Not that we don't have a nice library here in town, but this one is much bigger. They have all kinds of programs, one being "baby rhyme time" that Sadie often takes Abbie to....

This past week, they had an "African drumming event", so we packed up and headed over to see what it was all about. It was GOOD!!! This lady is so talented, studying music in Europe and Africa, and she put on an amazing show.

There were a lot of children there, and she made it so much fun, that she really kept their attention. Abbie was so into it....

I fear the time with Ginger is now moving at warp speed, and I am looking for all the "experiences" we can find. So, Ginger went to the African drumming. At first she was a bit concerned about all the noise, but after just a few moments, she let out a big sigh, and spent the rest of the show like this. I don't think more than a handful of people even knew she was there.

She and Abbie have become great friends - like Chester did. Course, what better breed for kids than a golden???

(Abbie playing peek a boo with Ginger)

On June 30th... the puppy raisers made their way down to NEADS for our monthly check in. We had a full house with all four puppies. It was a beautiful summer day, and the puppies love being together.

Dave thought this would be a good day to pull the ramp out. The puppies just sat and watched it for a little bit...

And then, in a game, we piled them all on. "a gaggle of goldens!!!!"

After that, they each had a chance to hop on and take a little ride. "No one" was all that concerned .... an excellent sign for service dogs.....

Otis looks at Rick with a "what's the big deal" attitude..... I'll tell you, this is one steady little fellow, it's so much fun to watch his journey......

Then it was up to the training room, going over the basic commands, "playing" with the "equipment"... answering/asking questions.... and from what I can see, we are all on a good track....

Definitely some good service dogs in the works here....

And look at this.... Clover (Leo and Ginger's sister) joined the group today. Fun to see all the siblings together..... and if you cant' tell them apart.. from left to right.. it's Clover, Ginger and Leo....








Ah... the glass elevator.... I am still NOT a fan of this.... but, I need to keep cool for the sake of the puppies......

A much needed drink ends the day of training in the big city.... we're thinking just a couple more check ins.... and the big day will be upon us...

time is going way too fast!!!!

it's berry time.....

We have been anxiously awaiting the "arrival" of berry season!!! I finished up the last of my berries about a month ago, and they sure were tasty. It was so nice, all winter, to have berries on hand.... several times I pulled them out of the freezer for desserts or warm winter breakfast. I still have some blueberries left, though, we will certainly go and pick when they are ready... but having both on hand... a blessing.







Abbie (obviously) is much bigger this year than last. Last year, she was just crawling but it didn't take her too long to figure out "how to get those berries in her mouth". This year, she was into picking them... and we had to show her which ones to pick and remind her not to step on any of the plants. She did quite well, and really put more berries into the basket than take them out.






It was a cool and cloudy day.. it had actually been raining most of the morning, but we decided to try picking just the same. The patch was quite busy, so I suspect more folks would want to pick in the "rain" than the sun. After picking for a while, Abbie discovered that running up and down the rows was quite fun. Because it was so easy to keep an eye on her, we just let her go... which she thought was the absolute best!!!!









Course, a few berries always has to go into the mouth.... they are so good and sweet...













Almost the moment she was back in the truck... this is what we found. Busy day for such a little gal.... and wonderful "treats" heading to the freezer for the long winter days.

service dogs- diving dogs-pony ride

(don't know why the spacing is so bad with this story... just keep scrolling down to read)



Sunday found us at Cabela's for a PR event with NEADS. The usual "gang" was there, as well as many people and dogs....

Ginger and Leo are always happy to see each other and spend time together......

And "Otis, it's all about the RED cape... isn't that right Joe".....

Abbie explains all about puppy raising to Rick and Otis, afterall she is on her second puppy, and this is just Rick's first....

What brought us all together was the dock dog diving event. This new sport is becoming a big hit across the county. In fact, I saw a number of dogs there that I knew personally.... this is Hydro... he belongs to our friend Wayne (and yes Hydro also does flyball, so perhaps you have seen him before)... it would seem that Hydro is waiting patiently for his turn, but close up, he was all a quiver!!!!






The idea.... ask your dog to run and jump off the dock and see just how far he can go before he hits the water....











Any kind of dog can do it.. this beautiful white shepherd belongs to my friend Shirley. You can see that the diving pool is measured and each dog jumps earning points towards their titles. There were a lot of dogs diving that day... I keep telling Kas and Nate they should enter their Charlie dog... he loves to jump off the dock at camp....






After our day of doggies, we headed home to the farm. Abbie got some new barn boots and she couldn't wait to try them out. What simple joy... new boots and big mud puddle... reminds me that sometimes just the "simple" things can be the most fun.








It's been way too long since the big guys were harnessed... time just gets by me. So, with such a beautiful evening, we decided to hitch Tonka and give him a try. He went perfectly... now if I can only make time to do more of this.....












We thought it would be fun to let Abbie have a try on Kringle. So, we got him saddled and put Abbie on. As I pretty much figured, she thought it was great!!!!










"Mom... I don't need to hold on.... see????"













He was very sweet and good with her, and she wasn't one bit afraid... maybe we do have a future horseman!!!

Doggies, ponies and grandbaby... is there a day better than that.....








(Abbie loves "flying baby" with Papa)