OOOWIE!!!!!

Remember that I told you last week that my dear Ed fell on the ice?? and that he had been pretty much "laid up" all of last week.. and that he had a "prize winning bruise" on the back of his leg (and in other spots too)??? well, a number of you have asked how is he and how bad is (was) the bruise... so..... not to be too gruesome.. he allowed me to get a couple of shots of the this "bruise"... forgive us if this is too graphic... but, you have to admit... it's a beauty to be sure!!!!

Needless to say.. it's going to be MONTHS, before this all goes away.....

valentines..

Happy Valentine's Day... kind of a fun little "holiday" in the middle of winter. I like seeing all the "color" that goes with this holiday.. lots of spring colors..pinks, red, greens.... gives the continued hope that spring is on the way!!! I don't know if "they" make as much about Valentines as they seemed to do when I was a child. We always had a big party at school, came home with the "class list" so that you could make out your cards for everyone in the class.. and then the boxes!!! My Mom made the most amazing Valentine boxes with (for) us. She would use an old shoe box and would decorate it to the hilt!!! I can remember many evenings when our kitchen became a craft room, and the table was covered with all sort of bits and pieces to decorate the boxes. Then we proudly took them to school, set the box on your desk and your classmates filled them with little cards. Seems sort of sad now, when I think of all the time and effort that Mom put into those beautiful boxes, and we probably played with them for a bit and then... into the trash they went. But, you can't take the memories away, and I certainly do remember making them with her!!!!!

We celebrated Valentine's a day early.. it was "friend day" at church so Abbie invited Auntie Kas and Uncle Nate as her friends for church. They came up, went to church and then came back to the farm for a Valentine brunch... home raised bacon... blueberry pancakes... hot coffee... some Valentine gifts and a fun time to be together.....

Blueberries that were picked last summer... they made the most wonderful pancakes!!!! Abbie ate two!!!!

The "real" Valentine Day was a Monday this year, so it was back to business... we had to run a couple of errands in the morning, and while we were out and about.. Ed took me to the little jewelry store in town and had me pick out a couple of beads for my Pandora bracelet... it's a little hard to see them.. but I chose a sleigh and a horse!!!! Very cute.....

Monday was dog school night, but as it turned out, this was also graduation night. My friend Scott is "studying" to be an instructor and has been working with me all session. He would teach part of the classes, and he'll be a good instructor one day.. I am sure. Here he is with his dog... Louie... Louie is a "service dog to be" like Ginger... Scott and his wife Mary, volunteer for CCI( canine companions for independence)... this is the fourth dog that they have raised.

One of our students and his puppy doing the "relax" exercise....

Now, since I am busy teaching the classes, it is so helpful for me to have my friends handle Ginger so she can still be a part of the classes. On Monday's, Kathleen takes over as Ginger's handler (Rick works her on Tuesdays).... this is so good for the service puppies to get used to working for different people......

And of course, at the end of the class...it's all about the caps and diplomas!! and the group photos. So, happy graduation puppies.. and Happy Valentine's Day to you all.....

Maine chapter, puppy night

Last night, members of the Maine Chapter of NEADS met to do some training and get the puppies together. Linda, our leader, is working on building the chapter up again, and we thought that a monthly meeting/training would help to do that. Along with puppies in training, we invited all working NEADS dogs, plus some of my friends who have certified therapy dogs...





This is Deb with Rusty... if you remember dear reader, Chester, Camille and I attended a fund raiser that Deb was doing to get her service dog... and then we went to Deb's graduation when she had received Rusty. It was great to see them again, and all in all things are going well for the two of them.







Suzan and Logan joined us as well. I love having Suzan around, she has so many great tips to share with us, since Logan is her working dog. There are so many things that I don't think about, that Suzan reminds us of. Like, working the puppies from a sitting position... I am usually on my feet, but what if Ginger is placed with someone in a wheel chair???? It would be good for her to see a "human in charge" that is just about at her level.... (can't get over how big Ginger is... almost the size of Logan)

Here is Mindy - Rick's dog - who is a TDI dog working her sit stays with Leo next to her!!!

And Rusty.. Deb's hearing dog....

Ginger doing a down stay.. which by the way, it about the only time that she sits still!!!!! We didn't have as many as we thought for our first night together, but hopefully in the month's to come, there will be more that will join us.. including some new puppies and raisers. We also talked about some training ideas and just having the chance to get together.


I also want to add to my "record" here.. about my Ed... last Monday he took a hard fall on the ice. This has pretty much laid him up all week, and the bruise that he has on his upper leg (and other places) is impressive to say the least. (I thought it might be cool to take a photo, but we decided against that)... he is really sore and hasn't been able to go too far.. though he is hobbling less and less each day... it's been a long week for me, it really take s two of us to run everything around here and I miss his help. Fortunately we haven't had any snow storms that require snow removal, because I'm not so sure what we would have done about that. Needless to say, I have been super careful walking on the ice, and we're just happy that his bruises are the worst of it...

got snow

These photos are actually "old" as they were taken last week, we had another round of snow, and I recall saying something about "just a bit more and my garden horse might be gone for good". Well, it's getting close, poor thing!!! I already know that I will measure spring in how quickly he reappears!!!!









It's been cold again too... cold meaning anything under 20 degrees. I find myself happy to do inside projects on days such as this, and believe me, the inside list is long... there is always something that can be done. On this day, Abbie and I decided that peanut butter cookies might be just the thing. She loves to help with anything... unload the dishwasher, feed the dogs, pick up her toys... and bake!!!





Course, I'm not exactly sure how many cookies I 'loose" before they make it to the oven!!!!!












I was so happy last fall when we moved all those piles of dirt and you could see the front of the house. Now the snow has taken the place of the those dirt piles... at least this will melt and the front will be "see-able" once again...









Ed continues the battle with the snow. He had to take the snow blower and go around the entire fence line. In some places the fence was so buried that the horses couldn't see it, and could easily walk over it. The usually don't stray too far from the barn, but just in case they did want to spread out further, I feel better that they stay inside the fence.

The piles and drifts are so large that from the driveway, you can't even see the barn!!!!

Happily our "little furnace" keeps chugging and is keeping the house nice and warm. As long as we "feed it" twice a day...we had wondered how it would be to rely solely on wood, but so far so good, and this has been the winter to prove it. The tent building has worked out ok.. but we're thinking that a pole barn would work better, so there's another thing on the to do list. All in all, life is pretty average around here, and the winter is on the downhill side...

winter's beauty

It's feeling a bit "long", but winter sure does have that beauty of it's own. We had an "interesting" storm the other night... snow, sleet, rain and THUNDER STORM!!! so strange to see the lightening (and there was a lot of it) reflecting on the snow!!! Camille was beside herself and promptly climbed into bed with us.

The next morning, the world looked like it was made of glass. So after church, I took a little drive around and got these shots... enjoy!!!













Icy roads!!!

Apple orchards waiting for spring blossoms

Pines, frozen in time.....

ground hog day!!!!!

February 2... ground hog day!!! If he sees his shadow, he gets scared, runs back into his house and we have six more weeks of winter!!! But, if there is no shadow to be found, he stays "out" and we are in for an early spring.....
















Well, one look out the window this am (and with all the warnings we have had for the past few days).. it was pretty certain Mr. Groundhog wouldn't be seeing his shadow today. Another foot of new snow has been added to our already "good amount".... Mr. Groundhog may not have seen his shadow, but I fear if he stays out, he will be lost in the snow!!!! Happy early spring everyone....





And if Mr. Groundhog doesn't get lost in the snow, there is a pretty good chance that a kitty could. Good thing Mona is black, because we could at least see her!!!!










Other than the fact that we are into a new month and winter is certainly on the down hill side... there are signs of "spring" creeping up everywhere... like here on Ted's sign.... yup, they're looking for help.... which means, opening can't be too far away.....








Now, let's take a minute and talk about "Red"... he's the little foster dog that we have been keeping since October. Rick ran him thru an obedience class and brought his manners up to date for me... and we have just been looking for that perfect family....







And "that" family arrived this past weekend!!!! Red has gone to a wonderful couple who (like him) are very active. He will be the only dog - and doesn't have to share his new people with anyone!!! By the looks of this photo, I would say it was love at first sight, by both parties....










not only does Red have a new home, but a vacation home to boot (out on Cape Cod).. I think this little guy hit the jackpot!!!!











So, on behalf of Red... he sends out his thanks you to Cocker Spaniel Rescue... Rick.. and yes, us too... because he has been given that second chance and a great new life has begun.....

cold!!!

As I look out the back and over the dog pen, seeing that the snow has pretty much hidden the fence, I tell myself that next summer, in the heat... I'll miss this. Ya right!!! It's been a "typical" Maine winter and I am very happy that February is next week. It's time to move on... onto the next season, where I will then complain about the black flies and mud...

We have come thru quite the cold snap. I don't know how to photograph "cold"... actually I don't want to stay out long enough to photograph "cold" so I guess you will just have to take my word for it, unless you live here and then you know just what I mean. I could take a picture of our dwindling wood pile (though Rick is great about keeping us supplied)...

but, this picture better describes it... I don't think this cat (Darci) went more than a few inches from the stove. Maybe she changed from one side to the other, or popped out for a moment to eat, however this is where she was during the whole time.

Titus on the other hand, has his own little tropical island. You can pretty much find him hanging out on his rock. He doesn't even bother to go into the water when you walk by the tank... he knows a warm spot.

And cold winter days, when you aren't going very far, are perfect pj days. I must confess that when Abbie has been home, she pretty much hangs out in her pj's. Note the "dog on the leash"... this is her newest game... she loves taking the leashes and clipping them on her "doggies" and walking them around the house. If it would warm up just a tad, I would take her out on a real doggie walk....

Look who has a "new project"!!! Here is Rick with service dog #2 ... Ginger!!! Rick was so great helping me with Chester, that when I asked him if he would like to help with Ginger, he was all over it. They're first class together was this past week....

She likes her new friend!!!!

I am very fortunate and get to take care of lots of doggies. Everyone is my favorite when they are here, but once in a while.. there is one that is a "favorite" favorite.. and this award goes to Ella. She is a mini wire-hair dachshund. She was in my puppy class and is currently in the Adv. class.. I fell in love with Ella the first night she came thru the door. And everything that you see in her face is true... she is grandest little dog you could ever meet.




I'm not sure "who likes who" in this picture. Darci is quite taken with Ella, and I think she is in return. Course, they get so busy playing that "potty" time seems to go out the window....

We have to make that "business" run when kitty isn't around... and yes... the cat is bigger!!!!!

Back to the snow... my garden horse, another storm or two and he might completely disappear - and this is all "real" snow.. not just a plowed up mound around him....

I'm even thinking about next year's garden...

time to leave Mr. Winter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!