threw a shoe........ :(

 THIS is not a good sign... a shoe, that is NOT on a horse... oh o .... I noticed on Wedsnesday that Mr. Duke was stepping just a little differently, and upon close inspection, he was missing one of his shoes. No farrier likes to hear that his shoes have come off, but ya know... it happens. The good thing is, we found it laying out in the pasture, which means Ben can pop it back on for us and we don't have to buy a new shoe.

What I can't figure out is how he tweaked it so badly, this thing is bent!!! Duke's hoof is fine, so the shoe didn't rip any hoof off... but Ben is certainly going to have to put this one in the fire and get it back into shape!!!! 

We put a call in for Ben and he was able to come out the next day. Abbie was so happy to be able to watch Duke "get his shoes on".... (and she wanted to be sure he got them on the right feet... just like she does!!!)

Ben had us back in business in no time, and even did a double check on all the other shoes. He's not sure how Duke "did it" either, but guesses he might have just caught it on the edge of a rock... which could be, because we do have some rocks out in the pasture. Either way... all is well....

Ah.. my guinea birds!!! Funny how much I love these creatures.. I never get to pet them or pick them up, but I just love having them around. These are the only three we have left from last year... but as you know we bought a bunch of new keets....

And since they have out grown our small inside "pen".. it was time to move them outside. So, Ed and I set up a new area for them. I can't tell you how many times we have moved these dog kennel panels to make up all kinds of pens for different animals. Ed thought we might need to put a top on it, but since they are 6 feet tall, and these little guys are just beginning to try their wings, I thought we could wait....

Well, I was wrong. Later that evening, Iheard the big birds having a fit, so we go down to the barn, and sure enough... all the little birds have flown the coop. Since it was dark and we had no idea where to look, we decided to see what happened in the morning. The next day, seven of the twelve returned... and then our neighbor found one bird in his garage, so we brought him back home. To date we still have just the eight..what has happened to the other four, goodness knows. But these guys are staying fairly close to home and roost on top of the pen at night, so I have given up and decided to let them do what they wish. The big guineas haven't bothered them, and maybe one day here they will become one flock. Guineas can be hard to keep, but since they have done so well in the "bug department".. I plan on keeping them around for a while.

the city --- again!!!

Bogey and Moxie seem to be excited... yup, it's another NEADS check in day, and we're heading down to the big city. I've only had Bogey just a couple of weeks, but we have been having a good time together and I was anxious to see "how he looked" under Dave's guidance.

I don't  know if I will ever quite "get used" to the city... especially on hot summer days... but, it is kind of fun to head down there once a month. Guess you can say 'nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there".

Think Moxie agrees, seems like she is saying to Rick "do we really have to be here???"

 We weren't the only "working dogs" out and about... caught a glimpse of this nice working team on the streets......

 This month we had our "question and answer" time in a park. It was nice in the shade and taking in the sights as we chatted.... lots of pigeons, some skate boarders.. baby carriages, people of all kinds... and so on.. just the things we look for while doing our city work.

Puppies on the street... (l to r) Monty, Jackie (in the back ground) Moxie and Mr. Bogey right up front.

 Dave running us threw the lessons and ever watchful over the puppies progress.

 After our street work, we took a lunch break at the hospital. The puppies were more than happy to chill out on the cool tile floors. We work a lot on "chillin' " especially with the younger dogs.

Then, it was onto the elevators. Bogey actually enjoyed this... he watched out the side and seemed so curious as to how it went up and down again. He wasn't one bit afraid of the heights!!!

I..... on the other hand... still am not that crazy about the height... I just do the glass elevators because of the puppies....

Then we went over to the train station.... Dave wanted to work with Bodey a bit, so that gave me sometime to shoot pictures... 

 It's hard to think of all the things we do with the puppies... stairs are one. For us, running up and down them is "nothing", but we have to remember that we aren't training these puppies for "us". So, one exercise that we do at the station, is take one step (literally) at a time. This teaches the puppies to go slow and steady, and to stop and wait if needed. On top of that, the train stairs are stone, so it's a slippery feeling to the puppies.

 We got to board the train as usual. Looks like Mr. Bogey boy needs work on "under".. he wasn't too excited about squeezing under the train seats.....

Moxie did pretty well.. though she kept giving her Daddy the "can we be done now" eyes.

Tired puppies. You can always know when the day has come to it's end. These little guys put alot into a busy city day, and they are more than happy to crash when its' done. And so, to another successful day, and another month gone as marked by our check in day. Summer is here, and sadly already zipping by...

Birthday party...

 Last Saturday, my niece celebrated her sixth birthday. First off, I have to wonder-- when did she become "6"!!! and then I have to say, she is a "dog person" just like her Auntie.. which makes me as pleased as can be!! Being the dog person that she is, her birthday theme was "dogs"... and it began with this pawprint cakes (which was made by Kassy!!!)

And then cupcakes, with "dog cookies" in them (cookies for kids that is).  Abbie was so excited to be going to her cousins birthday party...

 Camille was also invitied, as was Bogey and Moxie (Kelli and Rick's puppy)

 So, it was a combination of kids and K9's and cake... what could make a "better" afternoon than that.

 There were all the "usual" party games (dog themed).. Abbie wasn't so sure about this pinata thing.. she really isn't into "hitting" things (especially something that looked like a cute little dalmation!!!)

 But once it broke open and all the kids were getting candy.. she thought differently!!!

 There was also a "surprise visitor" that came. A "big dalmation"... the older kids thought "she" was kind of cool... but Abbie-- not so sure. I had to agree, "she" certainly was a strange sort of creature....

However, Naomi, Bogey and Moxie didn't mind "her" at all......

We sang the "happy birthday" song... and cut into that great cake...

Opened a few gifts... but really what Naomi wanted.. was to have everyone bring dog food and other donations that she and her Mom will be bringing up to the animals shelter. She spent quite a bit of time with Bogey (maybe we have a future puppy raiser!!!) He certainly enjoyed the attention.

And by the end of the day... most of the children and certainly the adults and puppies....



looked like this....



Happy Birthday Na!!!!

hay.... it/'s that time of year...

 Must be the middle of June.. because the sounds of tractors and hay elevators seem to be everywhere. Truck are hooking up to wagons...

 And great loads of hay are heading into the barns... yup, it's that time of year... it's hay season. We had a very wet spring, rain seemed to come every few days, so the farmers were playing a "cat and mouse" game with knocking down the fields. Father waited a bit longer than some others, and I think his patience paid off...

 We are in a nice stretch of weather --- very summer like -- and perfect for making hay. We pulled our elevator down and had the loft all cleaned out and ready for next winter's supply.

Our hay comes in  in batches... the first load was Monday, a perfect day... a little overcast, cool.. nice breeze. But today's load... ugghhh... HOT... temps in the 90's, humid.. not the day that you really want to be in the middle of a field picking up bales. But, it comes with the terrority, and goes along with .. make hay while the sunshines...

We certainly aren';t the only ones bring' in the hay. Barns all over town are open and hay elevators are doing their jobs...

 Every job needs a supervisor. Abbie was quite interested watching the bales come up into the loft. She kept telling me.."good job baby... that looks nice".....

Satisfied that the job was done well...

Course, there's no better way to end a day of hot hard work... then a treat of ice cream!!! Summer, it's officially here.....

Bogey settles in....

One of my first adventures with any of our service puppies, is a trip down to the barn. In keeping these dogs well rounded, socialzing them in all sorts of situations is important, and I feel that the "big animals" are always a great help. We started with the chickens.. Bogey thought they were fine, but really was more interested in any of the grain that had been spilled over the past few days.

Next, we moved onto the bunny. Actually she is "new" here on the farm too... Sadie heard that she needed a home, and guess where she ended up. It's nice to see "someone" living in the hutch again, but sadly (at least to me) she isn't very nice. Twice she has come after me, so, I don't spend that much time with her. Bogey however, didn't have any troubles with her!!!

 Then it was onto the horses. The "little" ones seems to facinate our new house guest. He just sat and watched them for the longest time. They were far too busy eating to bother to come over and say hello.....

 But, after a bit, Silver did make his way over. At first Bogey wasn't so sure... he kept looking at me for some guidance, and I just told him everything was fine.

 But then, something really caught his eye... "this" he wasn't so sure of....

And as Tonka got closer and closer, Bogey began to have second thoughts about horses... he came right over and sat right beside me. I didn't say anything, until he began barking at Tonka.. and then I simply told him to "hush".....

 I walked over to Tonka and tried to get Bogey to come along. At first, he would have nothing to do with that... Tonk.. being the silly that he is, tried to grab Bogey's leash from me... poor Bogey, I could almost hear him saying.. "no.. don't let him have that!!!"

 but, with a little time, some quiet praise, and just keep myself with a very calm presence.. Bogey finally decided to say hello. All our horses are very used to dogs, and they are very gentle with them.... so, they are great to work with....

Then Tonka got bored with this whole "lesson" and went to work on the grass. Bogey seemed to be asking.."what are you eating"

Course  I have to admit... looking at horse from this angle.. they can seem rather big. so, Bogey.. I'd say your first day on the farm was a success.... but there is much (much) to go....

chapter four...

 The call has come!!! and we are back in puppy raising mode.... say hello to "Bogey"....

He is five and a half months.. began in the Prison puppy partnership program... but NEADS feels a home environment would suit him better just now. Lucky for me... another little golden bundle on the farm...



Let Chapter "four" begin!!!!!