winter projects..

I have to say this has been the oddest of winters... really, we haven't had winter much at all. And even though there doesn't seem to be alot going on, the days are zipping by and it's end the of another week. I have to confess, we haven't done anything with the sleighs, which is disappointing. Since we haven't had the snow, they have just sat.






But Ed has been working on making the shafts, so in the case we get one more snow, there would be the possibility of hitching a horse and at least giving them a try.











The shafts will be painted a nice black and have brass trimming, they're going to be quite pretty when they are done and "fit' the style of the sleigh very well. And not that I really care to have any more snow, but just one little storm might be nice.









So, while Ed works on the sleigh shafts, here's my "get done before the end of the month" project. The window grids. These are the divided lights that go in all the upstair windows. After painting so many for the downstairs, I just couldn't bear to do any more, and I tucked all these away for another day.




Well, this month is "the day" and I am determined to get them all painted and in place. They look so nice in the windows, and really completes the look. We also got some window shades and Ed has installed them. It's not like we need them for privacy (there's no one around us), but it won't be long before that ol' sun will be coming up around 5:30 am, and it would be nice to keep some of the light out on the rare mornings that we can sleep in. So, making progress here and there.








I've also been letting the guinea hens out on these warm winter days. They love being loose and already are pecking about the yard, looking for various "goodies". I fear we are in for a big tick season, since we haven't had any "cold" here, and I will be just as happy to let these birds get to work.





I will admit, they can be a bit obnoxious, (yes, Ed and Rick - I said that). But the are great little watch dogs, and we really don't have a big tick issues here on the farm... due to them. So, it's worth putting up with them...




Other than that, there's isn't too much exciting to write about... pretty quiet here on the farm.

bye bye little piggie...

It is with a sad note that we said goodbye to our little "mama" guinea pig today. I went down this morning and found her in the cage.... "gone". I had been keeping an eye on her, she was loosing weight and drinking a lot of water, so who knows what was wrong. As near as we can figure she would have been five years old... she had her three babies four years ago (we still have two of her daughters)... and I think she had those babies when she was too young. Either way, she had a good life with us, we loved her and she was always well cared for, so... for a piggie ... what more could you want.

bye bye little piggie... you've joined our other little piggies now...

quiet winter days..

So, where are the blogs? What's been happening around the farm? Well, dear reader, nothing that special.. thus not much to write about. It's not that I haven't been busy - because I have, there's always something "to do" but just not anything that I would consider blog worthy. The boarding kennel has been quite busy, we have guest doggies in and out of here all the time, the dog classes are all going well... horses fine, dogs fine.... the chickens are laying again and we're finding 2-5 eggs every day.....same ol same ol....

Norton did pay a visit to my good friend Karen for his first grooming (with us). I could groom him myself, I do five cockers every month. But my grooming table isn't big enough for Norton to stand on and it's just easier to ship him down to Karen.

I also figure that when he is matched, more than likely he would be sent "out" somewhere, so it's just as well that he has the experience of a busy shop. Karen reported that he was very good at being groomed (and she got him done so quickly)

and by the looks of it, Norton liked her quite well. If I had the "extra" money, I would like to ship the cockers out each month and save me the trouble, but that isn't likely going to happen.

So, the winter just rolls along, it's still mild and just not that much going on.....

six more weeks???

Happy Groundhog Day.... and all official word is that he saw his shadow and we have six more weeks of winter....


really????





I have to say, this has been one the "easiest" winters I can remember in a long time. We have had some snow, but honestly we had more snow at Halloween and Thanksgiving than we have had all winter. NOT that I'm complaining mine you.... the mild days have kept the wood pile in good shape, and even the horses aren't chowing down as much hay....


so, if this is "winter" this year.... we can muddle threw another six weeks...










However, the biggest pain has been ice!!!! If we get rain, with the ground being so cold, it freezes when it hits. We have had to call in a sand truck to do the driveway, because it was more of a skating pond that a drive... and the trees are showing signs of damage....

















but, if I brave out, there are certainly some neat photo opts....
























six more weeks.......























that's really only one session of dog classes




Happy February!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

fun things to do...

For a Birthday present to Ed, Kas and Nate thought it might be fun to take in a hockey game. We have a team here that is connected with a pro team, so the level of playing is quite high. To be honest, I don't know much about hockey, when I was growing up it was a "boy's game" and I only remember that when ever we wanted to skate on the local pond, we "hated" it when the boys showed up to play hockey.











But, I am always up for an adventure and so I thought, "lets' give this a try". Well, all I can say is, I am now a fan of hockey and I have some "studying" to do, because I want to know about this game. What I liked so much about it is, is the action... I have to admit that I find football and baseball sometimes hard to watch, because it seems kind of slow at times.... but that doesn't seem to be the case with hockey.










The other part that was great fun, was we happened to be sitting in front of some die hard fans.... it was almost as much fun watching and listening to them as the game itself. I was also very pleased that the tickets weren't too high, and there were lots of families there enjoying the game too. Overall, it was a very fun and exciting night...












Sunday morning, Norton had his first visit to church. Everyone was quite surprised when he walked threw the door... I had told them that we more than likely wouldn't be getting another puppy for a while.....

















and the fact that he isn't a golden!!!! but everyone loves him and they are always so supportive of this "service dog thing that we do"....

He is a bigger dog than Ginger, but really buddy... you're going to have to learn how to curl up and get under the pew better!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello........ Norton!!!!

Well.. here he is... my "newest project"... service puppy in training ... Norton!!!! When we were at NEADS, Dave asked if I might be interested in working with a young Labradoodle. I had met him last month when his raiser, Lorna, joined our group. She was (has) done such a great job with him, but he is "a lot" of dog.. and she was saying that she was hoping to have a break. She is usually a short time raiser, so having him for so long was a bit more than she had planned.

I took him over for the session, and as you can see, he is so agreeable about everything. He came right along with me on the train and other than looking to see where Lorna was once in awhile, he worked beautifully for me. He does has a ton of energy, but it's all fun energy and I am looking forward to challenging him with work....

"poor" Lorna, she wasn't expecting that Norton would be heading out so soon... but as she said, (and we all agree) it's all about raising strong, confident puppies so they can go on and do the work that they are meant to do.....

When we arrived home, Norton came in, gave the house a once over and said "OK.. what's next"... he's pretty wonderful. Ed said it's going to take him a little time to think of "this bundle of curls" as a service dog.... but doodles can be great dogs, and their coats are suppose to be easier for anyone who might have allergies to typical dog hair...

Here we go again.... Hello....Norton!!!!

happy Birthday, Dave..

If you have read the blog from Sunday... you know that we (the Maine puppy raisers) had a "birthday party for Dave"... that Dave wasn't invited to. Actually, what it was all about was, we wanted to get Dave a few lobsters as a birthday gift, but not getting to NEADS for our check in until late in the week, meant the lobsters would have be cooked and then kept. Keeping lobster meat isn't a good idea (unless you freeze it) and we wanted to have it as fresh as we could. So... the lobster bake on Sunday, picking our some lobsters for Dave, and (sadly) freezing the meat until today, when we could bring it to him. So, we arrived at NEADS, and you just know that we had to dress for the occasion. The gals from New York were there as well (hi Lee!!!) and they brought a cake....










And what Dave thought would be just a plain old "training check in day" turned out to be quite the party. We totally surprised him, which was our goal.....


















Here's the cake that Lee brought......























Now, we didn't want Dave to miss his party from Sunday, so we took lots of pictures and put them in a small album so he could see what his party was like. I don't think he knows quite what to do with this group of ours!!!!! We're always surprising him.....
















Nice new coffee cup... a trainer always needs coffee on hand.....
























Kelli took the day off from work, and Ed joined us as well.....Sadly, Bernice, Linda and Randi couldn't make this trip with us.....
















And because of "turn in" Maine is down to just two puppies - Otis and Stoney. Stoney had to see the vet for his "operation"... so brother Edgar joined the group today... they don't seem as excited about the birthday party as the humans do....

















Now, I don't want you to think that we played all day.... we went over to the big hospital and to the train station... (that's me.. but that's also another story).....

















And this is Vicki... she is with a nice lady who is puppy raising in Mass (but I forgot her name)... anywho, Vicki and her raiser will probably be joining us in the months ahead....















At the train station today, we "caught" a train just coming in... the really cool part was it was on a slight lay over and the conductor told us we could bring the puppies on board. That was a good training session, because the train continued to "run" while we walked up and down the isles, sat in the seats, etc.... Dave was pleased to have such a good experience.




The only other "better" thing, which I wished I had gotten a picture of... was us heading for home. Because there were "only" five of us going down this month, we all figured we could squeeze into one car. The trip down was actually a lot of fun.... it's nice to talk and laugh together... and the three dogs - Otis, Stoney and Edgar - all rode in the back. Coming home however, our dog count went from three to four!!! (next blog).... and we had 100 lbs of dog food to bring back... and it was snowing..... quite the trip to say the least, and probably looked like the circus coming to town. But, such a fun, fun day.... and Dave said it really made his birthday....

This is Lorna... and Norton...

it's also my next blog!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

lobsta, football or birthday????

Well.... there was so much going on today, it was hard to even come up with a "title" for this blog.. so, I guess I might as well include everything. This coming Thursday is our monthly check in with Dave - and even though Kathleen, Bernice and I don't have puppies, we'll still go down.. not just because we always have a good time, but also.... it's Dave's birthday that day.






When we heard that last month, we all decided that we wanted to do something fun on his birthday. Now, we know that Dave loves lobster and never really has the chance to get it. So, Rick said he could get some lobsters for Dave from a fishing friend, and then I said, well, if we were getting lobsters for Dave, we should get some for all of us. So, today, the Maine puppy chapter got together for a lobster bake (in the middle of winter).





Rick arrived threw the door... more than ready to begin the party... or feast, which ever you want to call it.......











I guess their Mom's never told them NOT to play with their food!~!!!!!












Abbie still isn't quite so sure that these "things" are really meant to be eaten. But at least this time, she didn't run away in fear!!!!!









Now, it was also an important game for all the football fans. The Patriots are playing for the chance to head to the Super Bowl. I'm not a football fan - but several of the puppy raisers are, so, we had the game on, and our lobster bake/birthday party sort of became a Pre Super Bowl party as well... but, call it what you will.. it was still a fun get together....









"Hey Dave, THIS will be part of your birthday present come Thursday --- and you don't even know".....










The cooking crew had to bundle up well... I do have to say, I think lobster bakes are easier in the summer time....












but, Ed was happy to man the grill ( we had steak and chicken too - because some of "us" aren't lobster eaters!!! ) Can't imagine that......











Rick manned the lobsters......














Not so sure what was "that funny", but this is a great picture of my Ed and Kathleen.......












Oh boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! let's get eating.......











Rick and Bernice are still trying to tell Abbie that "yes, you really can eat them!!!"













Funny how quiet it become when the food is ready......












and the football fans didn't stray too far from the TV......










So.. our lobster bake, football, birthday party was great fun, and very filling.... it was a good way to begin another winter week.


And Thursday, we bring some lobster meat to Dave, and have a training/birthday check-in at NEADS.


(oh ya... the Partriots did win and they're heading to the Super Bowl... another party????)