Service dog awareness day.....

 I just never know "where" dog training will take me.... I have to say, it has been the most wonderful adventure, being a puppy raiser.. not only do I work with really great puppies, but the places I have been, the things I have done and the people I have met due to dog training, is a world all of it's own. And thus today, was no exception!!!!

Logan and I found ourselves in Concord, NH.... having been invited to the State house for a ceremony honoring service dogs... in fact... it was proclaimed that today was "Service dog awareness day" for the state.... it was a beautiful afternoon and we went a bit early to get the lay of the land.. and a few photo opts to boot...

Course, "important matters" need to be attended to first... we don't want to make the wrong impression inside the capital!!!!

Everywhere we go is considered a "training event".. and it was no different with this outing.... a very small, closed in elevator took us up to the Governor's office... and stepping off.... nice bright..shiny... slippery floors greeted us. Service dogs never know "what" surfaces they must walk on.. so this is one thing that we take the time to practiced with. Sitting on these types of floors has it's own "special" task as well....but Miss Logan can do it...

My goodness... is this not grand!!! We went right into the Governor's office!!!!

Being a dog person herself... Maggie Hassen greeted (with permission) all the dogs right away. Logan thought she was just grand......

I was so impressed that she took the time to talk with everyone... listening to their story and hearing about the dogs and the different type of work that each one does. It really made it a very fun event....

Sandy T.. (the pretty lady in black) is the lady that brought this all together. She has had two NEADS dog... CeCe her first dog is now retired and Rally is her second and current working dog. Sandy has done great work in the state house with regards to laws about service dogs. She is well known about the halls of the Capitol....

Here Governor Hassen is proclaiming that June 2nd is NH Service dog Awareness day.....

I have to say, I felt very honored to  be called up and personally thanked for my work as a puppy raiser........

Nice group photo of the Governor and the people and puppies who came today....

A few private moments spent with Rally (Sandy's dog) and a few seconds for a very busy Governor to sit and just enjoy the day and the event.

Logan... do you have any idea of how special this all was???


(No says Logan.... I just enjoy being out and greeting people!!!)

Two NEADS dog... Rally, working service dog.. and Logan, puppy in training... were very good ambassadors for both NEADS and the service dog community....

Guide dog, Finn... service dog, Rally... PTSD service dog, Lily... puppy in training Logan.. Service dog, Jafey....


great day and one that I will remember for a very long time!!!!

Memorial day weekend......

Memorial day weekend is usually the "big" start of the summer... but with the fall like weather we ended up having, it didn't feel very summer like. Still.. it is the start of good weather.... outside weather... and we are getting ready for when it comes. We have been enjoying the deck ... I think back on last year when we were just starting this project.. and here it is. 

The orignial design of the house didn't call for a deck, it was going to be a three season room. But the budget cut that idea out, so the deck is fine. Except the doors in the living room out onto the deck are "wrong". They open out as though it were another room... and we couldn't have the open without all the bugs and such crawling in. Ed found some screen doors that are made (or can be made) to go on the inside.. he ordered those and first project of the weekend was to put them up. The project was - quite frankly - a pain in the neck, and took longer than we thought it should have. But in the end he got them figured out, and they are just what we were looking for!!!  Now, I can open up the door, let the breeze go threw the house - which it really does - and all the buggies can just keep themselves outside...

Our pond is doing just great!!!! We added a few more plants.. and even some small fish... Everyone who sees it thinks it's really neat and I love sitting out in the mornings and watching, listening to it. I'm glad we took the time and did this project too... it seems as though we are really getting the finishing touches done on the house and making it a very happy place to be...

I have a bull frog polliwog that lives in the pond. I hadn't seen him in a while and feared that he might not have made it. But the other morning, when the light was hitting the water just right... I spotted him. I don't know how long it take a polliwog to become a full fledged frog... but I guess we'll find out....

Kass and Nate invited everyone to the house for a cookout. And though it was almost cold... we all went and had a very nice time. Looks like Calvin is finally beginning to fit into the little sheep hat I made..... I love making these hats for the kids, but (must be my knitting talants /or lack of ) becuase  the hats always come out a little different in size. Oh well, if it's too big, the good thing is... they'll grow into them...

The campfire felt good, and made for a nice time to sit and have good conversations....

Reagan was very excited to show everyone his construction site. He had all his equipment lined up and ready for work. I doubt any of us will be surprised if this little guy owns a huge construction business one day...... (and we all know there is money in "dirt"...)_

Very busy and had to bring in the "big equipment" for this job!!!!

Friends and family gathered for good times, a bit of rest after working long weeks.... and the thing that "real" life is made of....

Couldn't help but take this cute picture of Alna.... all the little ones are just growing in leaps and bounds....time really does just fly by.....

and not matter "what the summer weather" actually turns out to be...



we're going to enjoy it..



Happy Memorial Day... keep in mind the ones who have and are still keeping our country safe. We enjoy these good times, because they have done the work....

checkin in with Logan 5/26

a fun weekend 5/20-21

"THE" pond.....

fiber fest......

5/15... The New Hampshire Wool and Fiber festival... usually this event happens on Mother's Day weekend... and since our weekend was jammed packed, I figured I would be missing it this year. But, I saw that it wasn't on Mother's day this year, it was this weekend... and even though we were jammed packed with things to do.. we took some time to go out and see it. One of my goals is to learn more (and do more) with wools and fibers... so, I love going even though I really don't know "what" I'm seeing. Spinning is on the list of things to learn, and I've dabbled in it, but haven't taken the time (yet) to really learn it. I do love the looks of a spinning wheel... especially the traditional ones....

Of course "everything" is here... from the knitting supplies to weaving. I haven't been taken by the "weaving bug"..but friends who do it love it, and they can create the most wonderful things. 

I was really on the hunt for roving. I like to do felting and make the dryer balls.... Kass has asked for some because when Calvin goes into cloth diapers.. the dryer balls can be used in the dryer..... you can't use the dryer sheets, because they ruin the diapers, so the dryer balls are nice. I need to make a few for myself, and I have had other requests from my sisters for them... so.. I best get at this project...

I thought this was a clever item.... roving punched into a basket and making this hanging. I think it's a poodle... though I suppose it could also be a sheep... but either way... nice idea....

And then, of course, the animals.... when we first moved to the farm, I kind of thought I would have some type of fiber animals.  Honestly though, they are a bit of care and I can just as easily buy any of the fiber things I need without the care of the animal.... so... more and more not likely they will join our farm.. but I still can appreciate them....

This lady was doing a demo with angora rabbits.... there's more to it then one would think. The biggest part is having the rabbit be still when grooming for his fiber... she showed how you can do it from your lap....

or a bunny grooming table!!!! He's a good bunny not to be hopping about!!!!

Alpaca are pretty popular around here. You see them way more than llamas..... not sure if it's their size or temperament or even fiber as to why people choose them. But they're certainly not unusual....

Even though the day was rather cold and very windy.. there was good food, wonderful things to see and do.. and 4H kiddos showing off their animals. Just a nice break from what is seeming like our extremely crazy schedule these days... and of course, other crafts and idea for things to learn about....

spring things...

  (5/10)   So after all my (their) hard work of getting threw the winter.... I ended up losing my little bee hive afterall. We had a nice warm spell of weather, the bees were all out flying, getting ready for brood, doing their bee thing.. and then a cold snap. They were gone... and I again, was extremely sad. I just love having bees, I like to watch them fly around, and just know that they are there. We cleaned out the hive and found a lot of honey, so they had plenty to eat... they just didn't stay warm. 

My friend John keeps bees as well.. I was telling him my tale of woe.. and found out he had dealt with exactly the same thing. He said he had ordered some more bees and would going to collect them, and suggested I call to see if any bees were still available. Much to my delight, they had some packages left.. so I put in my order and John very nicely offered to pick up my bees when he got his. 

I haven't worked with "packages" before, I usually get "nucs".... but John assured me the packages do well, especially if you have a hive to put them in, where they can just take over... so I decided to give it a try. They arrive in a box, and the queen is in her own little box. This is because she is really not the queen of the hive yet, and the workers need to get to know her to accept her as their queen. We placed the queen box in the hive, and in time the workers will spring her and then she will be their queen. So, in a few days, I will need to check and make sure she is free....

Once we had her settled, it's just a matter of dumping (literally) the bees out into the hive.....

There is three pounds of bees here... since there is no way to count them, keepers have found that about three pounds is a good start to a hive...... it's amazing how calm they are... probably more like shell shocked with all the traveling they had done...and they basically seemed happy to find themselves back in a hive....

Gentle brushing to encourage them out of the way...

on go the tops......

And it's back to business.... it will take them a few days to learn where they live, where the food sources are (I will be feeding them as well) and get their queen doing her thing, but in about a week, they will be all settled in and I am just thrilled to have them around......

Logan girl is doing so well with all of her training... she likes walking up the barn with me in the mornings while I do chores. She's 9 months old and I have a feeling that it isn't going to be too much longer before the call comes and it will be her turn in time...... 

I had some "fears" about my garden. It felt like everyone else had their flowers popping out and mine were so far behind. But, we finally got a bit of warm weather and all of a sudden.... there they were!!!! I'm pretty excited about this, and hope that I can keep a nice garden going all summer....

Logan seemed to enjoy seeing them as much as I did.......

And reminded me... that we should always take a little time to stop..........

a day for Mom...

Mother's Day.... (5/8)  and Ed decided to see what we can do about getting our garden pond up and running. We had planned this last summer when the walkway went in, but basically ran out of time and good weather. So, we let this project just sit over the winter, but now it's time to get it going. 

We're kind of doing it by the seat of our pants... there is a lot of information on garden ponds.. they seem to be quite popular, but like everything..... everyone has their own way of doing it. So, we're taking advise.. doing some research and then doing what we think is right. I guess if it holds water and the plants survive.. then... we got it. This is going to be an over flow drain, because a lot of rain will come off the roof and go into the pond, we needed a way to drain off the excess....

This took a lot of work and planning, and basically is where we got this weekend..... hopefully  next weekend, we'll get to the design and putting in the liners.... but... it's all about the time....

Sunday morning we all went to church with Kas and Nate... this is Calvin's dedication day. Everyone was in happy spirits....

There are a lot of young families in this church, so there were other babies being dedicated as well. It was a nice little service..... Reagan had a great time being up there in front of everyone....

Kass and Nate have made a promise to Calvin, to their family and to the church, that this little baby will be brought up to know the Lord. When he is old enough to decide, he can be baptized and make his life's commitment to the Lord.... and we as his family have promised to support them and Calvin in his Christian walk. 

After service, we all met together and had a wonderful Mother's Day brunch. The family seems to be growing each year.. and there was so much fun and busyness.. that I totally forgot about taking any photos....

But it was a wonderful day and a great weekend... and I can only think again at how extremely blessed I am....

you should be dancin'

May starts grey