service puppy nite

Another service puppy training night... here's a great photo of the puppy chapter folks... because is was such a pretty night, and the training room we use was "under construction" our friend Jeanne, offered her out door fenced area to work in. It was great.









Arika joined us, I loved to watch this "team" work and it's always a reminder to me of "where" our dogs are headed. These two have really bonded and I think sometimes they read each other's minds....

Course, you know that Camille must come and supervise the whole event.

I had a couple of "theme's" for this month. Because Jeanne has some agility equipment, we were able to play with that. This builds trust on the part of the puppies, and it's so fun to watch them conquer each thing. We have been using the tunnel for sometime and now the puppies just run thru it for fun....

Another theme was "surfaces", I brought all sorts of silly things for the puppies to play with. A couple of table laying on the ground, and then later we covered them with plastic. Some baby gates and an ex-pen, that we laid down and had them walk across...

But, the main challenge came from Dave. Teach the dogs to lay in a laundry basket. Talk about a challenge, you really have to show them how to "curl" up in a tight ball for this one. Which of course, is great because who knows when they might need to fit under a small table, under the seat on a bus... or any other tight place. Course, Arika made this look easy....






Ok, so Ginger and I had been practicing, we couldn't go to puppy night and offer this challenge without having done it ourselves!!!!

Leo tried next, he's a big dog (bigger than Ginger).. so he wasn't so sure he could fit. But, he gave it a good attempt with a sit....

Otis snuggled right in...

it was "getting him out" that proved to be more challenging!!!!!

and then of course, a photo opt of the whole group that came. People are getting really excited about our little service group, it's growing...

and you just know we had to take advantage of that wonderful big, fenced yard..

and let the puppies go for a good ol fashion romp. Who says service dogs don't know how to party!!!!

small country fair

Sunday afternoon, we packed up and headed to the first of the local fairs. The season is just beginning and around here, there are many wonderful, small country fairs to attend. I like the smaller ones, because they often have the "charm" of old fashion fairs... horse shows, lots of animals, handcrafts and the like. This particular fair was really small... smaller that even I expected, but it was fun, and great place to take Abbie.





The animals were all groomed to their finest, and lots of babies, because many of them have just been born over the past month or so.











We watched a "steer" class. Nice to see how well these animals work and I, for one, can appreciate the time, effort and training that goes into working with large animals. They had many good look "yoke of oxen", but this pair, I thought, was really good looking.








This is Zeus... a celebrity of sorts. He's a Belgian, but weighs in at 2100 lbs. and is 21 hands.... one big boy for sure. They say he eats a bale of hay a day and 50 lbs of grain a day... he sure was impressive, but I'm glad I don't have that feed bill. Abbie thought he was neat, but being around horses all the time, she wasn't as impressed as some of the other kids.

She did, however, fall in love with this sheep. He/She was particularly friendly and wanted all the attention it could get. Abbie didn't want to leave and several times kept saying... "go see baa"....

Course, you can't attend a fair without taking at least one ride. They actually didn't have that many to choose from, but the carousel worked fine for Abbie...

I hate to think that the fairs are sort of a sign of fall.. I'm far from giving up the summer... but, time is one thing I can't control...

Summer in the street

Remember our friends, Marj and Joe, who came to visit the farm a few weeks back... well, Joe (among other things) is a drummer in a small local band. We told them, that we would like to come and hear him play sometime... so Marj called us to tell us where Joe would be. This event was (is) called Summer in the Street and is hosted in a small city not too far away. Basically, they shut down one part of the main road in town, and celebrate the arts. Marj told us that it would be a great place to come and see the show and the bring the service puppies along. Which we did.


We met up with Kelli, Rick and Otis... and Mary, Scott and Louie and "worked" the puppies around the crowd and the noise. Except for the fact that we had a little glitch getting into a restaurant (they were NOT "excited" about hosting three service dogs.. and we had to do a bit of educating on the rules of service dogs), it was a wonderful summer night. Joe's band was outstanding (we even picked up his CD) and I was so glad to have the opportunity to go.





The streets were crowded and the puppies got all kinds of attention. This is a friend of Mary and Scott's.. and he is waiting for a service dog. So, he was very happy to talk with Ginger and Otis. Ginger thought he was pretty neat too and had to just get one little kiss in.









The "north church"... just thought it was so pretty with the sun setting on the steeple.













Ginger giving me the "I'm bored, can we do something more" look. She likes to be out and about, and having to sit (while we had an ice coffee) is her least favorite to do.








We stayed the better part of the evening, and by the time we headed back to the parking garage, she was ready to head for home.


But, it was one of those "perfect summer nights".. good friends, fun things to do, beautiful weather, and summer treats.... enjoy it while it's here.

baby buca-bucas....

I can't wait for our friend Rick to read this blog... because he is going to be so EXCITED when he hears about this.... in fact, he will probably be as excited as Ed was (is).....

This afternoon we went over the grain store to get various barn supplies. They always have chicks----- and off and on, I have looked in to see if they have any guineas or silkies. I know it will probably just leave to heartache (until we figure out "what" gets our birds).. but I do love having them around.

At first, I didn't see any keets...but Sadie looked closer and said "Mom, there are keets"... I asked the owner if any of the keets were available (because sometimes they're sold ahead) and he said "sure". Well, the smile that was on Ed's face when he heard that we could have guinea hens again... was huge!!! He has really missed having them around the farm.. he loves the way the call to each other, and warn you when people come up to the barn or on the farm....

"Let's get them, hun... in fact, lets buy all that he has!! I love guinea hens.... and you know, even Rick has commented that the barn is just too quiet without them around..." so.. we bought them.. all nine... plus two more barred rock (laying) hens. Ed couldn't wait to get them home... he was so happy to have them.

We set them up in their own little cage in Turkey Manor. That way we felt the two big guineas will have a chance to get to know them. Eventually, we will introduce them and have a flock again. Can you imagine when all 11 are together.....

Abbie was fascinated by them... "my baby buca-bucas" she calls them.. and then she'll tell you that they go "peep-peep"....

She wanted to kiss them all goodnight... but she knew they couldn't come out of their cage...

so, the farm will be back to normal one day soon... guinea hens to guard the barn, eat the horrid tics and entertain us with their sweet little sounds... Ed can't wait, and I bet Rick cant wait to come and see them!!!!!







*** just for the record, as the author of this story, I might have taken some poetic liberty----with the idea that everyone just loves guinea hens!!!! and if you believe every word (other than the fact that we really did get 11 new birds).. I have a wonderful piece of ocean front property for sale in Arizona****

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......