Friday, September 30, 2011

"THE" fence!!!!!!


Much excitement and anticipation around the farm these days... Cam and Tazzy watch from the window... they can't wait!!!













Hunter takes stock of the situation from the front door, watching all the activities.....














Ginger, checking out the progress .....












So, whats' all the fuss........... the fence is going in!!!! I feel like I have waited forever for this fence, it has been the main topic of my conversation for the past week (sorry friends).. but it's going to make "life with dogs" so much simpler...I am too excited.


True, we have many acres here on the farm, which often makes people ask, "why do you need to fence in an area?" Well, lots of reasons, one being the local wildlife. We have had our run ins with porcupines, skunks, fisher cats and the like, and loose doggies and those sorts of things don't go too well together. And secondly, my guest doggies... our little boarding kennel is turning out to be fairly popular, and I have to have a spot that is secure and fun for our "guests".


The last gate, I could hardly wait to open the door and let the doggies out!!!!













And once they were out, they hardly knew where to start...........














racing, running, enjoying the beautiful fall weather...














and all safely home with no worries for me....


















Life is good!!!!!!!!!!!!










Thursday, September 22, 2011

the latest check-in


And here we are again... our check in at NEADS. I know, I'm always saying "didn't I just blog about this??" and here is another story. There is a chance that this will be our last official check in with Leo and Ginger.. Dave is in the process of working out where they will go next and the date. But either way, we won't have too many more city check in's with them :(








The main focus this trip was the train station. It turned out to be a great place to work, as it had so much to offer. Slippery floors, stairs that were "open", elevators... noise, people, the list went on and on. By now, the puppies are pretty well seasoned, and it seemed no matter what popped up around us, no one was bothered in the least. This is a good group we have going, and I expect that we'll have many success stories from them all.



As we were working along the platform, a train pulled in. People hurried to get off the train, rushing past us, pulling luggage and other things. The puppies seems sort of sad that no one really took the time to notice them. Dave saw that the train had a little lay over, so he asked if we might have the time to walk on and off the train a few times with the dogs. No troubles there. Actually I had the trouble, as there was a bit of a space between the train and the platform that you had to step over. (I was the only one that seem to see it)... but, once I managed to conquer that, it was fine --- Ginger didn't see what the fuss was about.




We waited until the train pulled away and then packed up... went back to NEADS for some supplies and a last minute chat with Dave, and it was homeward bound. Another fun day in the city (yes I said fun).. think I'm getting used to it...







Tuesday, September 20, 2011

outings and Edgar


The "trouble" with "fall" is that there are just too many great things to do. With apple season and the leaves changing, there are all kinds of festivals and fairs, and events... so, sadly, you have to pick and choose what you can attend.


But, before we get into all of that, I would like you to say hello to Edgar. This is another NEADS puppy that has come to the farm for a short time. He is Otis's brother, so if he looks kind of familiar - that is why. Edgar needed a little break from training, and Dave asked if he might come with us and have that time... so here he is....



Now, back to "events"... there was an awesome model plane show at the local airport. Actually, it was a model jet show, and let me tell you, some of those plane were impressive!!! And these aren't just little model planes, people actually had special trailers just to haul their planes in.








As you know, not only are these outings great fun, but the perfect opportunities for service puppies. We brought Ginger along, and met up with Kelli and Rick who had Otis. I can't believe these two little puppies are getting so big, so quick... won't be long before Ginger will begin her countdown days before turn in.









I should say that Abbie was with us as well. She loves to be on the go and thought the planes were pretty cool. She is also, btw, a great puppy trainer herself.....










Kelli wanted to do a little work with the stroller, so she asked Abbie if she and Otis would like to go for a little walk... both were happy to oblige.











The planes were pretty noisy I must admit, and the day was warm. Ginger decided hanging out under the stroller worked well for her.

















And here's one of the jets...........






























A couple days later, we were invited to a volunteer luncheon, sort of an awards banquet for this group of ladies who do volunteer work. Kathleen was asked to be the speaker and talk about the service dogs and puppy raising, so she asked Rick and I to join her and show off our dogs.









Leo waited quietly while Kathleen spoke















and afterwards, the ladies had questions and enjoyed petting the dogs. Otis seems to have the "this is old hat" look about him.












Edgar on the other hand had a complete "I'm bored" and Ginger, well she took full advantage and got a snooze in.











The next Saturday, it was off again. Ed and Rick had gone a charity motorcycle ride, so when I got out of work, I met up with Kelli and service puppies (and Abbie ) in tow, we went to see the bikes and met up with the guys.











Sadly, by the time we got there, many of the bikes had headed for home. But there were still plenty to see. It was a beautiful day and Ed said the ride was fun and took them all over the country side.












Abbie enjoyed an ice cream and was certain to get as much off her fingers as possible....













before sharing the last little bit with Ginger. Already the beautiful fall days are flying by way too fast.... does life ever slow down???






























Friday, September 16, 2011

fall has found us



Pretty much as I had figured, once we were we back home, it was back to "crazy" life again. But, that's OK, because I love our farm, and all that goes with it. The weather was much cooler than it had been in the south, and I was anxious to get the fall decorations out and begin to think about "cool weather" things.








The flowers in the garden are so pretty, might as well enjoy them before the colder weather and frost arrives....













The wild turkey are back with their chicks and roaming all over. They are good bug eaters too, so I am happy to see them. They didn't have as many chicks this year as last (or they didn't survive) but it's a good brood.











Back to crock pot suppers..............













And the apples are ready.... so it's time for pies....
























Hello fall, my favorite time of the year!!!!!!!!!!







Sunday, September 11, 2011

September 11th (9/11)




there isn't any need to say anymore.

Thursday, September 08, 2011

NASCAR



On Thursday we were in Charlotte NC to visit the NASCAR Hall of Fame. This wasn't a planned visit, Glenn had told us that when we were in Pigeon Forge, we were only about three hours away. Ed has always wanted to see this, and being that close, it would have been a shame not to go. I am not really a NASCAR fan, but anyone who knows my Ed... knows he is. This is a beautiful place, and what is nice, is that you don't have to be a true fan to enjoy it, I had a very nice time as well.




I sort of knew this, but didn't... in a way NASCAR began with moonshine... when the men developed cars that could out run the law. And from there began to compete with one another. The sport has come a long way from moonshine days, but that's quite a history.









It's a big sport, and it draws thousands of people to race tracks each weekend. It employees thousands of people as well. NASCAR has very strict rules that they keep to.. everything from safety issues to the conduct of the drivers and their crews.















What I enjoyed were many of the "hands on" displays. And the building and lay out of it, was "comfortable"... a lot of history and modern day were nicely combined.













This is how steep some of the turns are at the race tracks.... it doesn't look like that on TV
















And many "memories" of the drivers and the contributions to the sport... Dale Earnhardt.. for those of you who might not know.
































We watched this on TV, it was fun to see it in "real" life.































These cars were simulators, were you could get in them and race against other folks. Ed loved this (did it three times) I didn't try it, because on the practice simulator this was already harder than it looked.










I have to say, Ed did quite well, and won two of the races he drove in .






















His "winner's circle" photo :)












We spent the whole day there, and it went by quickly. Ed was so excited to just know that he had the chance to see it.
















But in just a few weeks, he will be "there" for real, when NASCAR returns to our area... and he goes to work in the wreckers. Pretty nice that a die hard fan (ED) has been able to turn it into a part time job......







after that, we decided it was time to head for home. A day or two earlier than we thought, but, we have seen all the things we had hoped, and I am missing home.....time to get back.