Judge humping, is that a sport?

Does anyone know how to capture an image on a youtube video? I got this just taking a photo of the computer screen.

Sometimes we are given a gift!

And it might come in strange forms. Yesterday Rich was talking to his brother who asked what I was up to. Rich replied that I was at an obedience trial with Roscoe. His brother said..........."WHAT??? Roscoe does obedience???". Yes, it does seem an oxymoron, Roscoe obedience dog. But, he has a gift and he has given this gift to me. (This is when she gets all mushy and poetic and sappy and everyone wonders when it will stop) He may be the toughest dog I have ever lived with, grumpy, growly, barky, snappy, anxious, nasty, mean to the other dogs, just plain major pain in the ass, but he has this gift. He works his heart out for me when I asked him to. Especially in the obedience ring.


This morning I woke up and thought about my day. Another attempt at a perfect score in Rally. The thought of entering the ring with Roscoe made my stomach flutter with excitement. I can't wait! I know we may mess up, I may forget a station, he may not hold his stay, his butt may not hit the ground - actually his butt WILL hit the ground today, damnit, that it WILL - but the thought of entering the ring with him no matter what happens, excites me. I know every time we enter, every time we line up and I remove his leash, every time the judge asks if we are ready, I know we are ready. I know he will give me his all. I know it. Every time. He has this gift. And other people see it and comment when we leave the ring. People comment. Sometimes they say things like - "I have never seen a MinPin so good at obedience". "Wow, you did so well with a MinPin, that's really unusual". "Very nice job, he's very enthusiastic". And other words that make me beam and so proud. He is my gift. And I am thankful.



Today he got his first 100 score in Rally-O Excellent B. A perfect score! I knew the judge wanted to give that to him, so I tried like heck to keep him settled and focused. He was and it showed. It was lovely weather, not freezing cold, just perfect for him. Our course did have some stations I have not practiced much at all with Roscoe. Moving drop isn't one of his best, but he does an awesome drop-on-recall in regular obedience, so he should get it. The judge told us at the briefing we could say "down" as many times as we wanted when walking around the dogs, so I DID!! Steve counted 7 times I said DOWN!! LOL!! Whatever, I wanted to be successful and staying in a down on cold, gravely dirt wasn't something Roscoe wanted to do, but we got-er-done! Then he had to do his honor stays in a down while the next dog went. He was perfect. Even resting over on his side for his stay. What a good little man!! My gift!! I thank Sherry Britton for having faith in him even at his most difficult and worst times. She saw his spark and knew it was in him. I didn't believe her, but look at him now!!!!



He is my precious gift. He has humbled me and frustrated me, angered me and scared me, thrilled me and amused me, but regardless of all that he is special and very fun and I am very proud!!!



**Now, in classic Roscoe style as the ribbons were being handed out and the judge was shaking my hand and congratulating me, Roscoe took advantage and started HUMPING HER LEG!!!! WHAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTT!!! Only Roscoe! Thankfully, she saw humor in it and didn't make a fuss. Oh MY!!! He is SO bad! He was definitely feeling pumped up with all the praise he was getting, he was celebrating in the only way he knows. Being BAD!!!!

To see them larger and to see the one of him humping the judge go here -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3vtq4bIR5Y&feature=channel_page fast forward to the one minute mark for the humping part.

To see the routine check out "other videos by roscoespur" and the routine is "roscoe100".

Should-a, would-a, could-a!! Rally-O today could have been a 100!!

Today at the Cumberland Fairgrounds, I messed up. Just a wee bit. It was SO cold and wet and muddy. See everyone wearing their winter coats?? It's August 28th, for crying out loud!! My coat needs a bath, it is covered in muddy paw prints, but tomorrow may be just as muddy, so would it be too tacky to wear it again tomorrow? I mean, it is COATED in mud. Poor little Roscoe was SO cold I carried him some and his tiny paws were coated in mud like someone had cemented his feet as if to.......well.......now THAT'S not a nice thought. I digress........where was I ............um............OH yeah, the Rally-O trial. As expected the little buggar was SO high, he LOVES Rally, and some of his heeling was on two feet, but I don't think they take points for that? So long as he is in heel position why would they? Do all four feet need to be on the ground? I don't think that's a requirement. "Heel position" is heal position, four feet or two!!! What happened was on one of his halts he "sat" just a tiny bit behind my leg. I could not see that his butt was not exactly on the ground. Darn, if he were a Pomeranian no one could tell!!!! Maybe I'll put hair extensions on him for tomorrow. Hmmmm, hair extensions for a MinPin?? Probably not. So tomorrow his butt will HIT THE GROUND!!!!

The judge LOVED him and came right up to me and said that she would have given him a 100 except for that one halt. Darn it!! Although, if you look at the video really she was being very kind. He was a little erratic. I never had to give him a double command, but he was kind of crazy at times. Notice during the stand where I walk around him, when he gets into his stand he KICKS the dirt before standing still. That's a trick I taught and even thought I don't ask for it he offers it. It's absolutely adorable and you could hear the crowd ooooohing and aaaaaing and chuckling. I had several people come up after and comment about what a good working dog. All this without having practiced since June!! Good little buggar!!

So, tomorrow is another day! 100 here we come. Same judge, she really likes him, so it's totally possible. If I can keep him settled and not being so HIGH, it's totally possible. That elusive 100!

For a slightly better look and one where I think you can expand to fill your screen. It really shows the dirt getting kicked up on his stand!! He's TOO much!!!

http://www.youtube.com/user/roscoespur

What do MY dogs do in the heat?

I don't have a real pool - seriously considered it until I visited my friend's pool and it's icky green and slimy already - but now we are into nice cool weather again, so I don't need a pool any more. I NEEDED it last week. I needed it BADLY! I do NOT handle the heat well at all. My dogs, well, they do have the streams and ponds around us. Sometimes the streams on our walks are low and icky and not great for the dogs to cool off in, but we did get some rain that filled them up and they look cleaner and fresher and fuller. So, my dogs have been enjoying the streams to get cool. The wildflowers are beautiful this time of year along the streams. There are times we all want to go in there with them. George, the border terrier, likes to act like a hippo. Just laying in the cool water and hanging out. See George? See George's leash? Without it George might have gone upstream, found some gopher hole, made Kathy call Nate, made Nate leave work and come home, made Nate bushwhack through the thickets, made me say goodbye, made Kathy mad - George was on a leash, this time.........
Spur and Roscoe. Yep, even Roscoe goes into the stream. Shallow enough he doesn't have to swim..........
Colby was in there farther up, hunting for HuMonGous Frogs or some such thing. Colby, Huntress Warrior Princess.

Ahhhhhhh, to be a dog!!!! And to hang out with the dogs, with George on a leash!!

I need to practice! When bad dogs go good!

Cuz last night in agility class he was WAY TOO HIGH for doing obedience!!! If he stays this pumped he might look like this photo. Heeling while only his back feet touching the ground???..... We are signed up for Rally-Obedience this weekend at the Cumberland Fairgrounds breed/obedience trial. He did so well at the trial in July even though we RAN from the agility ring and had NO warm up, he nailed it. This looks more like it..........

But, really, we haven't practiced since then. Nothing, nada, zip, ZERO practice. It's been TOO HOT! I've been busy with agility! I am going to have to just hope, on a wing and a prayer, that he settles down and focuses on his task. I'll bring my Rally-O flash cards and hope I remember the stations/moves. I love Rally, so it should be fun and he's a pro so we should be fine. I just want that 100 score. Am I asking too much? Nah........he can do it. He has so much enthusiasm. His down fall is too much enthusiasm. One judge even said that.........."He was a little crazy" and scored him a 98. I'll take that over some of the dogs I see getting "dragged" around the ring as if they simply hate it. That's not much fun to watch.

Obedience is something Roscoe has a solid background in. He loves it, he thrives on it and for what ever reason he is really good at it. Colby finds it slightly boring. Maybe more than slightly boring. Roscoe just loves it. So, I want to continue with him and Rally is a great way to do that. In regular obedience his next advancement would call for out of sight stays and I am not leaving him next to a line up of other dogs, no way, no how, I ain't goin' to put him in that situation. He's come too far with his aggression, so I won't ask him to do that. Stays in Rally only occur in Excellent and are done alone on leash. So, it's just not that same thing. Wish us luck. Anyone who wants to come, this should be a nice show. It is four days, Thursday through Sunday at the Cumberland Fairgrounds. It looks like the schedule has us in the ring sometime around 1:00 or maybe 2:00? But, it's really hard to say. Definitely after noon some time.

The day we know that fall is on our heels

The geese are gathering. I think this is a strange photo. I swear my camera focus box was zeroed in on the GEESE, but the blades of grass are in focus, not the geese. They have arrived, are eating the corn that's been chopped up and ready to be plowed under. It seems each morning there are more and more. We figure they gather and wait for the rest and head south when they are all together. We try to avoid the corn fields because too much moldy corn causes diarrhea and can make the dogs quite sick, really. But, there is an advantage to the geese in the mornings.Spur LOVES to chase them. He loves to chase anything with wings. Birds, ducks, geese, moths, flying grasshoppers. Game on!!! Maybe I could hire him out to the golf courses to chase away the geese? Nah, I'll just say he's a working farm dog. Although I don't think the farmers care about the geese eating the corn gone by. Hard to capture that quick moment when he takes off and flushes them.

It's a happy time of year for Spur. He LOVES his geese chases.

Yeah, Yippee, Yahoo, YESIREEBOB!!!!!

The days of poking her with a HUGE needle morning and night are OVER!!!! We made it! No abscessing, no irritation, no apparent complications......WE DID IT!! Me and her, we made it through THREE weeks of injecting 28 cc of thick, Oxytetracycline into her vein. She was such a good girl, absolutely an angel about it. I am so proud of her I can just about burst!! I have spoken to quite a few people who attempted to do this and their horses got so upset they quit and never finished. I can only say we got better and better at it. I found just the right spot and hit the vein every time, she stood quietly, flinching only a little. It IS a HUGE needle. I have never been so happy to see blood. They said if I got outside the vein it could abscess and be very bad, so I made SURE I was in and each time I pulled back and got a nice red swirl of blood I was happy. I guess that makes me a vampire of sorts? Happy about the sight of blood. Oh MY!!



Here is what she thought of the whole thing............... I used up three bottles of this stuff. Icky, sticky, gooey, slow moving stuff that I hope killed all the lyme critters in her body.............

ACK!!!!!!!.....................

Can there BE a sweeter horse? I don't think so!

And just for the record, in case you didn't know this......... I HATE ticks. I hate them with such a passion. They have made my life miserable on WAY too many occasions. Now, we wait 6 months and test again and let's all hope her titer is low. This has been a fairly good tick year. You know what I mean, good in that we haven't had a whole ton, thankfully!! I mean, she could easily get reinfected. But, now I know that oral meds just do not work for her. Crazy thing is the injections were actually cheaper and she handled it better. The oral meds gave her some digestive issues. She had no apparent issues with the injections.

I am just so glad it is over. It was not a fun three weeks.

Is deer fly season coming to an end????

With one swat of my hand on Roscoe's back I killed these two buggars!! Nasty critters! They have kept us out of the woods, which stinks in this weather because it would be cooler and nicer in the woods. They seem to like the cool, shady areas, so we stick to open fields. It does mean we have to RACE through the woods that connect the two fields. Roscoe races ahead, but often runs back so I can swat the flies off his poor bum or tender ears. However, as you can see in this photo the dogs are not racing and not doing the deer fly dance!! They are slowly passing along on their merry deer fly cycle. Do they go to deer fly heaven?? That's a place I don't want to go. I don't care where they go, so long as they GO...........Wahoooooooooooooooooo......... Even the horses are taking note! That fence line is the "gate" I open up when they want to head to the far pasture. They haven't been out there since the deer flies came. WAY too buggy for them. They stick close to the barn, venturing out for short periods along the woods, then racing back to the barn where the deer flies are not so bad. It's just a nasty time of year to be deer fly bait. I think this is the first time in two months the horses showed interest in going through the woods.

Soon, girls, soon I will let you out there.

Doncha just love Maine??? Ice and frigid weather for months, rain in the spring for months and months, then brutal humidity and heat and deer flies that bite. Maine, the way life should be. Right? Am I sounding irritated? Maybe, maybe just a little, cuz really this is my LEAST favorite time of year. Heat and humidity is my downfall. I can't do it, I can't handle it, I can't get anything done in it, I HATE it and thank my lucky stars it lasts just a few weeks around here. Although my all time favorite season is quickly upon us and that makes me VERY happy..........come FALL and I am ONE happy human!!!!

Life rewards, the Premack principle? Or as my mom always said........."Finish your veggies and then you can have desert". I like my veggies!!!

I watched some of Jenny Damm's DVDs last night. Rich is away, so watching training DVDs is a good thing to do while he is away. When he's here it's all like......"Again? Don't you KNOW this stuff already??? ANOTHER training DVD?? It sounds like all the same stuff???". I guess to him it's just like watching re-runs. That's also what he says about the Red Sox games. Reruns, same characters, same activity, same locations.......boooooooorrrrrriiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnngggggggggg. HUH???? Red Sox games boring????? Never!!! Anyway, back to the DVDs. Jenny suggests using life rewards, often. Make the most of your time with your dogs and train, often and in many different settings. Yesterday when I was working Spur he wasn't BOLTING off his start line stays. In fact, he was hesitant and needed a few release words before he broke. He so worries about being wrong. So, this morning we worked on releases with speed. The best way I know to do that is with social pressure of the other dogs. When they break, Spur breaks. I would LOVE some day for Spur to beat the The Pin Heads to me, but he feels the pressure (wonder why? Maybe getting a discussion from Roscoe holds him back? Ya think????). It does help, though, to get him bolting off his stay with speed and power, even if he isn't the first one to me. Hmmm, notice who IS the first one? Little "furry stomach"............

Good stay!

Hmmmm, see a pattern here?...........

He's just not right...............he's special.........

Oh yeah, and the life rewards? Continuing on our farm/woods/stream walk!!!

Identify please! Cuz I can't.

I see these flowers growing wild everywhere. I saw them in someone's perennial garden. I have cut them for arrangements. I don't know what they are. They grow really tall, maybe 4-5 feet sometimes. The cows are enjoying some fresh cut hay at Red Neck City. They other day the guys said it's amazing how they stop bellowing when they have fresh hay. Uh......yeah....FEED them and they stop complaining. Rocket science? We have hawks. A whole family it seems. They hang out on the fence posts out back. Of course, I never have my camera when they are closest. They cry their eerie cry it seems almost constantly. I believe there are two pairs. One over by the houses, which might drive me nuts if I lived right there. And the other along the thick pine woods. They are Red Tailed Hawks. I identified them by listening to this - http://www.naturesongs.com/rtha1.wav They make that sound nearly all day long. Or, at least, any time I am out there!!!

Colby started growling when I played the sound. What did she think, it was going to come out of my computer screen and get us???

It happened. Two years ago today.

The biggest puppymill bust in the history of Maine's Animal Welfare department. I sometimes wonder what would have happened to this sweet little boy had I not taken him. And where are his siblings now?He is one of the sweetest dogs I have ever known and I am SO happy to have him as my little buddy. I have never had a dog who loves everyone he meets. It's all about Spur Love, love, love, love, love, he loves with no boundaries, no predujices, no considerations, he just loves everyone. He loves George, too, even when Kathy doesn't feel the "George Love", Spur feels it. He worships George. He love Stella, the shihtzu and Lisa and Douce and Mr. Jones, even when Mr. Jones beats him up, he loves Mr. Jones. He loves Justi, the Malinois, but he pretends he doesn't love her that much so she won't be offended by being loved by a little dog. He loves his agility instructors. He loves...........and I love him back, every day with little Spur is the best day ever, it's all love, love, love!

Sweet Little Punkin Head Monkey Pants Crazy Man Spurminator!!!

My best little buddy!!! When I send in his AKC mixed breed registration, which is coming up in October, his official name will be - "Trout Brook's Spur of The Moment". See, we call our farm Trout Brook Farm. Trout Brook runs smack through the middle of our property. My family all asked me if his name was because he was a spur of the moment decision. Sounds good to me!!!

I will never forget the whole event. From the first day there, helping to clean kennels, apply eye ointment, treat ears, feed, help sex puppies (I probably helped sex him, but I don't remember exactly there were SO many!!), do lime dips. It was horrible, messy work and kind of unnerving since the place was on high security, with hired police guards to keep us safe from the Frascas. :O We had to follow protocol strictly and sign in and out and got lectured on what to do if one of the Frascas approached us. It never happened to me, but I guess it did to others. Then the transition to the temporary shelter on Bishop Street. Not the best deal, no drainage, so cleaning was difficult. The volunteers and hired help were tremendous and it was rewarding, but very hard work. I think I cried in a cage with some worried, troubled dog at least once each time I went. The dogs were scared and sick and some had lots of trouble with all the activity going on trying to care for them and treat the diseases. It was a busy place and the kennel they were used to probably had very little activity. The bare minimum is what it seemed. Their lives were suddenly very different and it was hard on many of them.

Spur got out at 5 months old and he sure has been a lucky boy!!!! I love this little dog. He's a pleasure every single day!!!! One of the nicest dogs I have ever known, for sure. A gem!!!!

He has two Pin Heads to keep him company. He loves his Pin Heads, even Roscoe, he loves............

- don't they look like trouble?????.................

He gets wax beans to eat when picking is good and the picking is good today, so we celebrated this two year anniversary with a wax bean party............
He shares..........

Roscoe got his beans, too, but he kept eating them too fast for the camera. Little stomach with four legs and some fur!!!! >:/

Happy Puppymill Bust anniversary! We are feeling the Spur LOVE today!!!!

**Update!! Am I losing my touch? I can't believe I forgot to jump on my soap box and discuss puppymill purchases!!! This place had SIX absolutely lovely websites for the dogs. Beautiful photos of puppies with kids, playing by the swing set, on soft beds by the woodstove. HUH??? These dogs lived in cement kennels!!! It is very easy to make a website and make it look like these dogs were raised in a loving home. PLEASE, please, please do not fall for this sort of thing. A good breeder would NEVER sell their puppies on the internet and ship them across the country to someone they have never met. A good breeder requires that you come meet them and see the dogs. A good breeder will want to interview you personally. Besides, there is no way to know a good breeder without stepping foot at their home where the dogs are raised. You can never know unless you see for yourself. Do not just mail order a dog because the person on the phone sounded nice or the website looked good with photos of pups with kids and grass and toys and soft, fluffy beds. That can all be made up, so PLEASE do not buy a dog that way. I see and hear about that sort of thing more and more these days. The internet is an incredibly attractive source, but you never know what you are really buying without actually going there and checking it out in person. You NEVER know! Spur's kennel had SIX lovely websites. They shipped their dogs all over the country. They made all sorts of claims and it was very easy to believe them by looking at the photos. Do not fall for that. Mail order pups are becoming more and more popular and I just don't understand why people are falling for it. Every pet bought this way supports people like this and promotes more and more sadness for these dogs. Don't do it! And the pet stores are buying from these sources. There were over 100 complaints to the BBB against the Frascas filed by area PET STORES!!! Do not believe any pet store that says they buy from good breeders only. It is never true. A good breeder would NEVER sell their pups to a pet store.

Stepping down..........

Eye sockets to pant's pockets. Nose flicker to pants picker. You chose. Does it really matter?

OK, so I have been running, or is it jogging? I've been jogging now since, when? Since the rains came. Sometime earlier this year, let's just say. Enough time to be now up to 2.5 miles 3-5 times/week. I actually do 2.7 miles, but there is one MAJOR steep hill that I kept going the very first time........I guess I was just pumped I made it that far..........but now I walk that little hill. It's in the shade, it's very steep and I just walk it. Kind of gives me a breather and a focal, goal point, a break, whatever, so I WALK it, OK???? It's probably good for me, right? Different muscles needed to walk it? Oh heck, I'm just plain beat by the time I get there, so I NEED a rest and walk it, OK???? Whatevaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh................

I try like heck to have good running form. I read about that on the Internet. Good form. Cuz, seriously when I watch my agility videos I swear if you put a 5:00 shadow on me, shaved my head, stuffed some icky black shit in my mouth and a batting helmet on me I would look like Dustin Pedroia running the bases. I wing out my arms and that's just not good form. That's what the Internet gurus said. I am now a jogging critic. I feel like yelling out to other joggers............"QUIT RUNNING LIKE THAT!!!"...........I see them with their elbows out, arms up high, wasting energy. But, you know, I watch these joggers and they go for miles and miles. They even jog up very steep hills. I hate them.

Oh well, at least I am still doing it. You thought maybe I quit, didn't you? I didn't, I actually really do feel the benefit. I can run three dogs in agility class and not gasp for air each run any more. My calf, that I tore the muscle on two years ago, never feels bad any more. It did, even two years later I would feel it. Like a can of hot motor oil in the bed of a pick up truck on a 95 degree day, ready to explode, I felt it and wondered when it would tear again. Yes, that did happen to a contractor friend of mine. Oil spewed all over his truck and along the side of the house he was building. What a mess, but my calf.............. I never feel it any more. I am disappointed that I can still see cellulite, though. Yes, even thin people have cellulite. I thought jogging would take that away. Nope, not on me. It's there and there to stay, I guess. Cellulite be damned, I can now say I am a Jogger. I am no Flo Jo, but I am a jogger!!

95 degrees, what??????

Yesterday we spent the day sweating. Colby spent some of it standing in the blue water bucket in their pen (drat, camera was left in the truck then). No working out of the truck when it's 95 degrees. We tucked into the edge of the woods to get as much shade as possible. During the morning it was sunnier, but the trees provided nice shade in the afternoon. You can't see Roscoe in this shot, he's being a snob in his crate. At this point the dogs are all exhausted and not barking like crazy monkeys every time I brought out one of the other dogs. They all had to tag along, even though Spur was the only one working. Rich is off on vacation, flying to some crazy place in Canada. I hope he made it. He bought a new inflatable life jacket for his plane. Should that make me worry? It was a "Spur seminar" with Alicia Calhoun in Buxton. Spur did great, looking a LOT better than some of the dogs, so that made me feel good! He had times of trotting and looking worried, but most times he worked really well. Of course, at home he's a World Champion, fast and crazy, nutzo, slammin' his weaves with his head down for extra speed, racing his dog walk and nearly beating me to the end, wrapping tight turns around jumps and zooming fast into tunnels. Yesterday his weaves were nicer than any of the dogs, but the rest of the stuff he was all ho hum, not so sure, kind of pokey, not the zippy fast, monkey pants man I have at home. Get in front of others and he (we) melts some. It's just never the same when other people are watching. BUT, he looked no different in 95 degrees than any other temp, so at least I know he can work in the heat. He did great and worked all day and I am very proud of my Little Spurminator. I planned to bring out Roscoe or Colby later in the day, but Spur kept showing promise and desire to work! My old favorite............"Moments of Brilliance". That's my Spurminator!

Here they are at the end of the day looking tired, but in the shade at least. This was our last run of the day.

Just before that last run. Yes, that's Sponge Bog Square Pants on their bed. I soaked the bed in water, so it was nice and cool for them.

Using Colby to make Spur jealous before I brought him out. We were rewarding contacts, Amanda Shyne style. Easy game, lots of reps. "Find yer It".......actually that's what Amanda says, I say....."Go Hit It"..........but it sound so similar I don't know the dogs would care the different. They speak dog, not English. Wah, wha, wha, wha, wah, but they do hear the occasional sharp sound likt "It"!! :D

Finally, during the last run of the day parts of the ring were in the shade. Phew!!! Doesn't make for good photography, though.

What did I learn?? Mostly a better way to toss his treat bag and remove him from it, but not to remove the bag from him. Send to the bag, run and open it or leave it open, let him eat some, then pull him away from the bag. Never facing the dog. I guess that's important. Others have told me that. I guess I should listen. Their all like Champion, Champion, Champion trainers, so I guess they know what they speak? I learned Spur can work in the heat. I learned that I don't like the heat. I learned that Spur has really, really good weaves. I knew that! I learned that my little Monkey Pants is still worried and needs a LOT more time. I learned that we have Moments Of Brilliance. Did I learn enough? I don't know. I wish I could say YES! It wasn't a cheap seminar. Maybe the treat bag thingie will be more important than I think. I mean, they are like Champion, Champion, Champion trainers.

It's hot, what new?

But, with the heat comes an explosion of color from my flowers!! I don't usually grow zinnias, but this year I planted a few. They are really incredible flowers! Check out the detail! Like there are tiny little flower heads on top of the flower head. You know there is a whole world going on there on top of that flower head!

Love the deep mahogany sunflowers!
And we have squash! Tons of summer squash and zucchini. We grill it nearly every night. Yum!!!

Roscoe likes his snap beans. Always trying to steal any that hang over the fence.
Gimme, gimme, gimme..............
It's been hot. Hot enough that the farmers are now irrigating from the farm ponds. Which means the ponds are low and icky. You would think we had enough rain, there are still some hay fields the tractors can't get into, but the pond is low and slimy. Always is this time of year. Our walk yesterday brought us into a fine mist from the irrigation pumps. The HUGE jets spray water over the corn powered by the tractor sucking water from the pond. You might think........"How refreshing!".........which I actually did and voiced to Kathy, who quickly said........."Ewwww, you know where that water comes from!!!!".........and she was right, it even smelled icky!!! Ewwwwwwww some more............... So instead of farm pond swims my dogs have to make do with my kiddie pool. Yesterday as the temps hit nearly 90, I decided to haul out Colby's pool I used when she was rehabbing from knee surgery. It's big enough I can even plop in and float on a float. It felt GREAT today after doing a bunch of mowing. I set it up on the patio, so most of it is in the shade and I just enjoy the cool water and refresh after some hot, dusty mowing. The dogs all enjoyed it!!!Roscoe figured out how to climb onto the float...........After getting wet he has to try to roll-dry...........

And then sun himself dry on HIS chaise lounge.

Drying himself like a cat with his tongue? He's special.......I can't leave out Mr. Jones, who enjoyed his pool time, but dried himself in the cool shade watching the horses graze. Life is good for Mr. Jones. His housemates are stuck in a kennel, while he lives at the pool house with his cabana girl to fan him off and bring him snacks. Lucky man!

Black Eyed Susan's, Russian Sage and purple Monk's Hood. Life is good..........Thousand Belles............

My thriving garden!!!! Finally!!

The Fan Dogs............