I'm not one bit surprised that the ground hog did not see his shadow this morning and it has been proclaimed that we are in for an early spring. The temps have been in the high 30s to low 40's and it feels more like the end of March than the first of February!!! I don't know if I like it or not, while I do enjoy the mild weather, there is some what of a feeling cheated that we haven't had a good old fashion winter. And the fact that my "hand work projects" need cold winter days to be done... doesn't help. But since I have no control of either.... I guess we just enjoy what comes and take it from there.. and that all beginning said.. they're talking snow within the week........
Logan has been turning out to be such a nice puppy.. and so much of her reminds me of my dear Debbie dog..... she is smart and fun, and I just know she'll turn out to do something grand. She and Livy ... and Henry are such good friends, and when they are all together... "trouble" abounds....
Actually, Henry is the trouble maker... he just loves to stir things up whether it be with the dogs, or the other cats. Darci and he have an understanding, but Mona does not have any patience with him at all.
One of my greatest days this past week, though was on Sunday. My dear friend Kym and her hubby Jeff came to the farm for lunch. Kym and I became friends back in middle school and we were chums all threw high school and even afterwards. When we became Moms and raising busy families, we lost touch... and all last fall, she kept coming to my mind.
Now, there are many things that one must watch with regards to the Internet, but there are many wonderful things it can also add to life. So, with the last of the information I had on my pal.. I did a bit of computer research and came up with where she was now. Taking a chance, I called and wouldn't you know... we found each other. We have been talking off and on over the late fall and the early winter, and made plans to meet up again.
and so we did.... the best part is, we are not too far away that we can't stay easily in touch and have dinners and the like together, and it is something I certainly plan to do. I have actually been very blessed that I have kept touch with many "old" friends... either just knowing where they are and can easily reach out to them, or finding them and reconnecting.. but however it works.. it has to be one of the greatest joys of my life.....
Logan looks so concerned in this photo... which is really funny because she loves to go in the car!!! And today, off we went to check in at neads.... her first official check in. Between the holidays we don't get down there for our regular check in, and since she came in November, this is the first. I know everyone will be excited to see her and see what a good puppy she is turning out to be....
We will be saying goodbye to Rory, today is her turn in day. Kathleen says she is more than ready to go back, and we'll be waiting to hear all the good reports with her. I have no doubt she is going to make service dog...
Logan was happy with all the attention that she got... of course everyone commented on how much she has grown since she came to us....
but she's still a baby and was just beyond thrilled to find a wagon filled of toys that look just like her!!!!
She couldn't believe that they weren't for puppies!!!!!!
Everything went right back on schedule.We started the day with going over the puppies reports... and both Logan and Rory waited very nicely under the table while we talked......
Since the day was fairly cold, we decided that some public "indoor" work would be good for both dogs. I really haven't had the chance to do many public outings with Logan other than a meeting or two and going to church... so this was going to be a big day for her. I have (had) no fears of what she would think of all of this, and we decided to go to Home Depot and see what she thought of all of that.... she walked in calmly.. looked about and asked.... "so what are we doing here"....
We practiced all kinds of things... her listening and working skills are really good, and then we worked with a shopping cart... she was great and just walked nicely beside it...
She needs work with commands of "up" "off" and "jump".. but I knew that.. and we played around with her jumping off and on a lumber cart.
The neat thing about these are they wobble back and forth, and make a funny sound when you get on them. Plus being just metal, the footing can be tricky, but she just played around with them and really had fun working for the treats in Annie's hands....the gals were so pleased with her, and are happy with her progress, so we are doing well..
After that, we headed over to a Chuck E Cheese... I wondered how busy it would be and was surprised to see it was quite busy. This was Logan's first "food" outing, but she was as good as gold. Little kids were running about, the games were all loud and flashy.. and the silly mouse was dancing on a stage... but Logan could hardly care about any of it....
We headed back to neads after that (time goes by so fast!!!).. picked up our supplies and started for home. We stopped at our favorite Cracker Barrel.. and we more than welcomed there. Most of the staff asked where we had been because its been a while since we stopped there. By this time, Miss Logan was really tired and was more than happy to lay under the table while we ate. In fact, the people that sat beside us didn't even know she was there until we left, and was beyond surprised that this little girl is just five months old.
So we are now back on schedule and will be making our monthly check ins until (next summer) Miss Logan will be called back. But for now, she is with us and we are loving her....
Today was a therapy dog visiting day at the adult day care for special needs adults. The clients always love seeing the dogs, but I was excited to see what they think of today's crew.. from l to r.. there is Dolly the poodle.. Cam and Livy, Attitcus and Juno the great dane... from the tiny to the huge!!!
Cam and Livy have been here a number of times, so they know just where to go and seemed in a happy mood to get there and starts their visits
Livy loves a good snuggle and wants to climb into anyone's lap who welcomes her
Cam is more of a greeter, she tries to say hello to as many people as she can... she gives a quick kiss and moves onto the next
I love how the clients all seem to have their favorites.. some prefer the smaller dogs and others like the big ones... either way the smiles tell us everything...
Cam has a friend who found just the right spot...
We usually stay about an hour and a half, and really that is quite exhausting for the dogs. It's hard to think that "just being petted" would make them so tired, but it does.. plus the excitement of it all... by the end of the time, both Livy and Cam are pretty much done and ready to head home
I have told Tina that I was pretty sure that Juno was bigger than Mocha, and so after today's visit, Tina came up to the farm for a visit and to see exactly how Juno and Mocha measure up.... We brought Mocha out and at first Juno wasn't so sure what this furry creature was...
Pretty strange looking dog..... Mocha has actually seen many dogs that are just about her size, so she really didn't care one way or the other about Juno...
It took Juno a bit of time to get used to Mocha.... even when Mocha tried her best to be friends...
But in the end, we did get them close enough to figure that they're both just about the same size. When the weather warms up, we're going to do a few pet therapy visits with both Mocha and Juno... I know the clients will be amazed to see that a horse and a dog are the same size......
Not too certain what Livy is trying to do here... but either way.. she is having a good time!!!!
And she has taken on this new game of.. find the bowl... she likes to scoot it around the house like a hockey puck, then picks it up and carries it about.... funny, but sometimes the sound of it is annoying!!!!
We picked up a cool little plow for the front of the tractor. Ed's been thinking of getting one and sometimes when there is a lot of snow to move about, the truck can almost be harder to work with. A friend had this for sale, and Ed thought it might be better in tighter spots and around the barn. With the bit of snow we got the other day, he had his first try with it....
and happy to say, it's working out great and we're happy we got it.....
It's Papa's birthday and everyone has come for a lunch and cake...... I cooked one of the turkeys and was so glad to share it....
Reagan arrived and headed for the toy trunk.....
and the grands played together while the adults visited for a bit....
Happy birthday cake!!!!!
and there was plenty of help when it came to blowing out the candles......
this is what you called... burning the candle at both ends..... not a good idea Papa.....
The day was so pretty and not too cold, so we all headed out for abit... Papa got the little sled out. It hasn't been started all year, but it came right to life....
The grands had fun playing on the swing set....
and then Abi came up with an idea.......
and asked "Krunkle" if he could help her with her plan......
Now, this is what is called... "sledding"......
We tried to get Reagan to go with her, but he was just as happy with his own sledding plans......
Abi had a great time trailing behind the sled... and Krunkle went nice and safe. They must have gone around the farm a dozen times or so......it's not a powerful, fancy snow machine, but it's perfect for things like this....
Reagan moved some snow for me around the barnyard......
and all too soon, the day was over, and everyone was packing up to leave..... but another fun, fun day to pack on the list of memories....
and the happiest of birthday wishes to Papa!!!!!
