not as bad

The snow storm that came last night, didn't turn out to be as much as they had predicted. We actually got more rain than they thought, and ended up with about five inches of very, heavy snow. Our morning was quiet, but productive for me... getting a number of "house chores" done, so when I play this weekend, I won't feel guilty about the things that I didn't get to.

I found Camille and Dancer cuddled in my chair. Camille has had a long week, and there is no doubt in my mind that she is missing Moxie as much as I am. She now has to "do" all the dog classes herself, not that she hasn't been doing them since I "retired" Moxie from the floor, but Moxie still came to classes, and waited in the crate while Camille and I worked. Then, when Camille needed a break she would go into the crate with Moxie and rest, and there I believe she really misses her pal.

She seems to have this somber look about her these days. She just needs time, we will heal together I am sure.

Even though I am getting tired of "winter".. you have to admit, there is a beauty to it, and we should appreciate that.

It was perfect snowman snow for sure, as a child I would have made a dozen snowmen on a day like this!!!

It would be nice if this were the last snow that found it's way into Ed's work shop!!! The guys just didn't have enough time to get the roof on before this snow. We're not out of the woods yet, maybe more snow on Sunday... and we still have the month of March to deal with. (which can be some of the biggest snowfalls!!!)

Thought I would get this picture of my "front door and steps"... I seriously hope it won't be like this NEXT winter!!!

Annabelle was in rare form today... she found stall mucking a most interesting task... and also found that she could give me a "whacK' as I passed by with the shovel... what a funny girl she is turning out to be....

I have decided that I am going to buy a new camera hopefully, this weekend. My little camera is getting tired, and the white mark on my photos is a result of a badly scratched lens. We bought this camera about five years ago, and a lot has changed in the digital world since then. As Ed said, with all the blog photos I do and just photos in general, it is time to up grade... so, guess that will be the project of the weekend. I also have been in contact with my trainer, and Tonka and I will be back on schedule beginning March 5th.... oh to ride again... that is a sure sign that spring is close...

it's on the horizon.....

Here comes another ... I knew that winter wasn't done yet, Mr. Groundhog was right!!! We're suppose to have a storm coming in tonite with a possible 6-10 inches of snow... unless it takes "another track" and brings rain... I'm for rain, even if it does mean a muddy barn yard. Course the good thing is, these storms usually blow thru quick and the snow is usually gone (or at least down) within a week... not like the storms that come in November!!! The grey sky, the wind picking up and the drop in temperature pretty much says it all. Chances are the guys won't be up to work on the house, and I am pretty much planning on a "in house" day.....

On a "brighter" note... the plumbers came today and began to "rough in" the plumbing... they were working on the upstairs bathrooms.

Now, maybe it's easier to see why you need that "false floor" in these timber frame homes. This is the first of "inside" work that has begun....

Just thought the bathtub looked funny sitting in the bedroom.....

here's an "inside shot" of Ed's wood working shop... no roof yet, but the blue sky made a pretty background ..for now.

And this is Eric and Steve, cutting rafters for the roof. Looks like that will be next week's project as the weather will put them behind for this week...

oh well, it's all progress, even when it seems slow...

last of the "walls"....

This week it's been all about Ed's garage... as you may know, it's a four car garage, with ceilings high enough to bring trucks inside. Ed has a couple of antique trucks (from the 1918's &1920's) and he wants to be able to "putter" on them, and who knows what else might come along. Needless to say, he's been pretty excited watching "his space" come to be.

Yesterday was an "on the road" day for me, so I missed much of the going's on... but I was able to get a few shots before I left, and when I returned....

Ken and crew had the gable walls all made, and just needed to stand them in place. With five guys ... "the crew" and Ed, they felt they could do this fairly easily. Do I need to even say how heavy those walls are????

Ed's wood working shop will be on the second floor of the garage. This picture was taken from the "shop" looking back into the house. The space you see is over the mudroom, and due to the design, it actually turned out to be another room in the house. If we wanted to, we could have put a couple of skylights in the roof and made an "office type" room, but since we have plenty of space... we have decided to use this space as two walk in closets for the bedrooms. Ed also decided to put a door here and that way he can enter his wood shop from the second floor of the house.

The front wall was just going into place when I got back this afternoon. I was so happy to see the "pine bow"!!! We have always followed this tradition when building a new building, and I would have felt sad if they had forgotten.... but Ed remembered!!! I guess the front wall gave them some trouble going into place... the back wall went up fine, but they struggled with the front.... I am told that the guys said "it's Sue's pine branch that made this wall so heavy!!" (really?? couldn't be the fact that they had worked all morning with the other wall, or the fact that they all had lunch and a nice little break...noooo.... it was "my pine branch" that caused the problem!!!!)

I hope Ed didn't think he could catch this thing if it had decided to go over the edge!!!!

Here it is... the last outside wall that needed to go into place!!!!

In other news, I finished the sampler that I have been working on (and off) over the past year. It's one of four in the series, and yes I do intend to do all four.. this one is "Summer"... it will be my "show piece" for the Acton Fair this year, and I know just where it will hang in the new mudroom....

I haven't had as much time for cross stitch (quilting, knitting) as I would like... but, that's ok... I just putter on my projects when I can, and eventually, they do get done....

a blog about dogs....

This is how Trevor took his morning nap yesterday... silly dog.. hard to tell which end is up... but since cockers don't have tails, and have long, long ears... if you look hard enough, you can probably figure it out!!! silly boy!!!!

What in the world are those things?????

Why graduation hats of course!!! It's hard to believe that another six week session of puppy classes has come to an end. And last night was "graduation night".....

I haven't been making the hats, so the past few classes did not get them. However, I quickly learned that the hats are a "big item" and students look forward to receiving them... guess I am "known for my hats"... so, this time, I made a big batch of them and now have plenty on hand...good thing, since there are five more graduations coming up here soon.

Among the graduating students, was my "grand-dog" Banjo... Charlie (my other grand-dog) is also a graduate..so, he came last night to support his "little" brother...

cute family photo....

And.. another graduate, from the Advance class.. was none other than Kelli and Rick's boxer pup... Gus!!!!

So, another group of dog heads into the world from puppy classes, and a new group will come in soon. Many of the puppies will be in the Advance class, so I don't have to say "good bye" to them just yet. Let's see.... six weeks... puts us into April... not to rush the time, but that sounds so very nice........

musings of the day...

I sadly do not have pictures to go with the blog... as I wasn't there when it happened.But even if I were there, I doubt I would have had the time for pictures.. and the story goes like this...

Last Thursday, I was in Kennebunk working with several private students, leaving Ed to "tend to the farm". He had been puttering around the house, and then walked up to the barn around noontime to give out lunch and check on "everyone". As he approached the barn he noticed that Mocha was in with Silver and Tonka... another break out!!! We have worked so hard to keep her in "her place"... but, this was more than a break out with Mocha... it was a FENCE down!!!! Tonka and Silver were still "inside" but Duke was out!!!!

Thinking quickly as "what to do" and knowing "what not to do" (ie: chase a horse that is loose).. Ed went into the barn, grabbed a handful of hay and went out to call Duke in. Now, the good thing is, Duke does come when called, and he NEVER passes by any food, so hearing his name and seeing the hay in Ed's hand... he came a running. To quote my Ed... "seeing 1800lbs of horse coming at you , is a little like standing in front of a train!!!" Ed ducked into the barn, threw open the first stall door and stood there, calling. Our gator was parked in the barn alley way, so it was a bit of a tight squeeze for Duke, and at first he stood outside the barn debating as to whether he would go in or not. Ed just waved the hay and then threw it into the stall, and in Duke went.... whew!!!!

Now, Ed had the fence to deal with. He went and shut it down, only to realize that the horses could still "get out" because all the outside stall doors were open. Course Duke had to see what he was up to, and came out. ONLY... to get tangled in the down fence!!! He began to panic a little, but Ed told him "Whoa and stand".. which he did... (so grateful for a horse that will follow voice commands and has had enough driving experience to know not to get upset with things around his legs!!!!!) Ed said that when Duke stood, the fence loosened around his legs and he just stepped out of it.... another whew!!!!

This time, Ed put hay in all the stalls, brought everyone in, locked the doors... and headed out for the fence again. I guess it was quite a mess.. and it took him nearly an hour to get it up and running again. We have no idea what they were doing to bring it down like that.... probably "horsing around!!!"

It was funny, because when I got to the farm, the first thing I noticed was all the hoof prints in the barn yard. I knew that I hadn't had the horses out to make those prints, and Ed can bring them out, but it isn't something that he usually does... so I commented on it, and then got the story!!!!

My Ed doesn't give himself enough credit when it comes to the horses. They have been mostly "my hobby", but he has a natural way about him that they like and he handles them well. Course, being on the farm now, he has the opportunity to be with them everyday, and that's makes it all the better. It was quick thinking on his part to get food, and not go with the impulse of "run and catch it!!!" So,job well done, honey.. and like it or not... you are a "horseman!!!"

Then the other story I have to share with (sadly) no pictures...is... Saturday is was extremely windy here. You can only imagine that when the wind whistles across that open lake, it really can get a good head of steam!!! Well, we were having our coffee and I could hear a rumbling noise. I looked at Ed and asked "do you hear that...what is it?''' At first I thought that maybe something was wrong with the furnace... just as we were looking about, we saw an ice fishing shack go sailing past the house!!! The wind had caught it just right, and being on "skies", it just skated past the camp... going at a really good clip!!!! I wished I had caught it on my camera!!! Fortunately, there was no one inside, because I doubt you could have even jumped from it, it was going so fast!!! It ended up at the end of the lake, and broke one of it's "skies", because it sat there lop-sided. Yesterday afternoon, I saw some folks go by on a snow mobile... looking for their "lost shack"... and a bit later I saw them, pulling it back up the lake. It must have been surprising for them to arrive and see their shack gone!!!! It has been an "interesting" winter here on the lake... you just never know what you might see.

Amos...

This sweet old boy is Amos... he has been a guest for the past week, and heads for home tomorrow. What a darling he is, nearly 10 years old.

But, what is even better than that, is Amos and I have a long history together... I first met him when he was 12 weeks old. I had a wonderful lady call me.... "I understand that you train dogs, and that you make house calls.... I have two golden puppies that I would like you to work with".

Well, as it turned out... I went to the house three times a week to work with Amos and his brother, Andy. Their owner became a good friend (as clients often do!!!) and I stayed on, working with the goldens until they were about 16 months old. They both got their CGC's and I began agility work with them. but, there came the day when they were beautifully trained, and my service wasn't needed any more.

For years, their owner and I kept in contact with occasional phone calls and notes at Christmas time. Then "life" took over (teenagers in my case) and we lost touch.

Last June, my friend called... "I understand that you are still training!!! How are you?? I have two new puppies, would you come and work with them??" Course one of my first questions was... do you still have Andy and Amos... and it turned out that she did.

So, I went out to her farm and began working with the puppies, but I have to say the greeting I got from Andy and Amos was overwhelming.... there is no doubt that they remembered me from all those years ago.

My second week back to work the new puppies was bittersweet... Andy had passed away due to cancer. I felt so very sad, and yet so very grateful that I had been able to see him that one last time before he "left"... Amos was thrilled to see me again, and I couldn't resist doing just a little obedience with him.... he seemed so happy to "work" for me again.

My friend called me a month ago and asked if I could dog sit while they took a little vacation. I was so happy to have them... the two new puppies, and dear sweet Amos!!! all to myself. He has been a wonderful house guest, and the first to be invited to sleep in our bedroom at night!!!

It's very rare that I get to see my "puppy students" in their later years. It always surprises me when a client calls with a new puppy and says, "you trained my other dog.... 10, 12, 15 years ago"... because in my mind they are still the little puppies that were in class... I know they have grown up and aged.. but I am sort of like your first grade teacher.. who will always think of you as a child instead of a grown up.... So, to have Amos here has been a real joy.. and who can pass that dear face!!!!

"nascar" Sunday...

Today was the running of the Daytona 500... and the NASCAR season has begun, much to the delight of my dear Ed!!! Since I knew that he would be sticking close to the TV this afternoon (after waiting all winter!!!) I loaded up some cockers and went down to the barn to "play". I have been wanting to get that new harness on Mocha, and can't believe a whole week has gone by and I hadn't done that.

Annabelle was very interested in this pile of "leather"... probably thought it was some new toy for her. I have found my driving whip in various places in the barn... she likes to grab the end of it and haul it around. Just hope she doesn't take out the door one day!!!

After a lot of fussing, buckling, unbuckling, I got the harness to fit Mocha. She stood (for the most part) quietly on the cross ties, letting me work on the harness. We did some ground driving, took her out on the road for a little walk about, and she was a pretty good girl. She did get a bit of an attitude when I made her walk past the driveway and not allow her to turn towards home... but that's a horse for you. And the fact that Silver was pitching a fit and calling for her, didn't exactly help.

Just as I was finishing up, Betty came... (I was missing her!!) She had a lesson with our trainer, Laura, so didn't get to the barn until later in the afternoon. Since Mocha wasn't completely unharnessed, I told Betty that she could take her out for a bit if she wanted to... which she did. Mocha wasn't so happy about that idea... she thought she had done her work... too bad!!!!




While Betty was working Mocha, I took a little walk around the farm, and got some pictures from a different angle.

Always curious, Duke, walked down to the end of the pasture to see what I was up to...(Tonka and Silver were following Betty and Mocha along the fence line)

As "promised".. I got some pictures of the "false floors" that the guys are working on upstairs. This space gives us places to run electrical and plumbing and the like. Course it looks a little funny now, but once it's done and the plywood goes over, you won't even know that they exist.

this is one of the bedrooms...







and this is "our room"... looking towards the bathroom...

So, Ed had an afternoon enjoying "one of this things" and I had an afternoon enjoying "my things"... nice way to begin a new week......

another movie???

Yes, another movie night!!! I don't know when we have ever seen so many movies in such a short time!!! and Valentine's Day to boot. Ed had asked me what I would like for Valentine's... my answer.. "nothing thank you!!!" I have everything I could possibly want..... and just being able to have this time together, building our house, enjoying our horses, being with our family.... there isn't anymore. To top it off, I (we) got a new harness for Mocha just last weekend, so that certainly could "qualify" as a Valentine's gift.....

I did however, find a beautiful card on the coffee pot this morning when I got in from doing barn chores... and that was pretty wonderful.

Tonite, we met up with Kelli and Rick... (friends, dog students, woodman!!!) and we went out to the movies. We had all seen "New In town" but really wanted to see it again, sadly, it has already left the theatres!!!! (good movies don't seem to stay long enough)... since it was gone, we thought we would give "Confessions of a Shopaholic" a try.

Another very "cute" movie... no language, no "detailed" scenes.... just fun, light and enjoyable. I still liked "New In Town" a little better, but this one goes on the "keeper list" too. Thank you to whoever has finally gotten their act together and is making some nice, decent movies!!!!!Sometimes they seem so few and far between!!!!

We had a great time with Kelli and Rick (HI GUYS!!!) we have so much in common and can talk about so many different topics... we definitely need more time together!!! It's nice that they live fairly close to us, and I hope that we can make this more of a "regular" outing!!! (hint, hint)...so, it was a nice Valentine's Day... and hope you all can say the same.....

dog cookies.....

I apologize to my loyal readers for not posting so much these past few days... there just doesn't seem to be much to talk about, and I am still having a hard time with the passing of Moxie. I do look for those stories, but life seems pretty "normal" just now....


However, we did run down to Kassy's last night. She has a little cookie business on the side, and she called with a "I need help"...

A friend of mine had ordered two cookie baskets, but she wanted all the cookies to look like English Cockers. Kass didn't have the cookie cutter, but my friend did, she dropped the cutter off along with a list of what she would like the cookies to look like. Poor Kas, she understood what "black and white" would look like, but the other two terms... "orange and white" and "blue roan".. sort of threw her. I said that I would come and see what we could figure out. We decided that pizza would be an easy meal, so Kas also asked Deb and Dave to pop in as well.

After pizza, we set about decorating the cookies. Kas had them all made up, and the frosting was done too, so it was a matter of mixing up the colors and finishing the cookies. We had great fun...

Deb concentrated on the black and whites, Kas did the orange and whites, and I tackled the blue roan...

In the end, they all came out pretty well...

Kas finished them off with wrappings and arranging them in pretty little baskets...

Seems almost too bad that all the work is just going to be eaten!!!!

The house is progressing along... "we're" in that stage where lots is happening, but you don't seem to notice much on a daily basis.

Ken and crew go back and forth between working inside and then on the garage. Inside, they are working on the "false floor" upstairs... because a timber frame doesn't have the type of walls that you can run electrical and plumbing thru, it has to go between the floors. So, they have made a false floor that allows spacing for that sort of thing... (I will get pictures on that to show you....)

In the garage, the second floor decking is done, and the gable ends are in works.... I think those will be up next week... that will certainly change the look.

Things are well in the barn... Annabelle is friendlier everyday and now looks for us to arrive and follows us all around. She is getting more comfortable with being picked up and is turning out to be such a love......

The "hennies" certainly appreciate the bare patches of ground made by the warm temps this past week. They had a grand time getting a "dirt bath" in front of the barn doors... and sadly, we are down to three.... The two that stayed out side last time are both gone... one to the hawk and the other (I think ) got frost bite on one of her feet. We watched her over the past few days, and one of her feet did not look so good. She had been staying inside and yesterday morning when Ed went to feed, he found her "gone" in the corner of the stall... Seems my luck with guinea hens isn't so great, so I don't know if I will add to the flock come spring or leave it at these three, and just let it "go".... but, don't have to make that decision today.....

muddy boots!!!!!

I have a feeling that a month from now, I won't feel quite the same way... but for today... muddy boots were actually EXCITING!!!! With temps reaching the low 50's, the snow dropped a good four to five inches, and the barn yard was a muddy mess!!!
Small price to pay to have such a grand day, and I don't know whether to call it a "bad joke" or a "blessing"... either way, I simply had to be outside most of the day.

Ed and I "tore" the barn apart and did a complete clean up. Not that I haven't been doing chores all winter, but because the day was so nice, it was good to go thru it in detail. We opened both ends of the barn, moved things around and swept out hay, re-arranged, dusted, the whole nine yards... it felt good and the barn looks amazing.

Our friend, Faye, is here for a short visit.. she lives in North Carolina, and came to check on friends . She and brother Bill, put together a fine meal, and we had the first "cookout" of 2009. We invited Ken,Eric, Buzz and Steve to join us, and it was so nice sitting in the sun and cooking on the grill. Almost as good as a "real summer" day.

I know we still have March to deal with, and we can get some dandy winter storms in March, but for today, spring came and we greatly enjoyed it... and it's a reminder that winter won't last forever!!! I'm ready... to deal with muddy boots and even those "spring black flies"... bring it on......

Mocha goes "Hollywood"....

This morning I got a phone call from neighbor, Dusty Perin, who is a professional photographer. "I need some mini photos for a project", she said, "and was wondering if Mocha might be available".. fine with me!!! So, I finished up some dog chores, packed up a cup of coffee and headed to the barn. First thing, clean stall... can't have photos with poop in them!!!

Dusty arrived and just wanted to shoot some "general pictures".. as she said, she doesn't exactly know what her client may or may not want, so she likes to have a variety to chose from. We got Mocha "clean up" (fortunately NOT mud season so that wasn't any big deal) and using hay, treats and other props... tried to get her to pose in whatever direction Dusty needed.

After the broken harness and getting out of her "work" this weekend, and now all this "Hollywood picture taking" adventure, I hope Miss Attitude doesn't let it go to her head!!!!










I've worked with the dogs on different photo shoots, but it's a bit different with horses!!! Took a bit of "horse wrangling!!" (and I didn't exactly mean to pull her tail!!!) Silver was pretty interested in all the fuss.... keeping a close eye on "his little mare"...

I'm not sure if Dusty "got the photo" she was looking for, but it seems as though Mocha had some things to talk over with Tonka after it was done.

So, who knows, maybe the "movie pictures" will be Mocha's next big gig......