April fools

Getting ready for snow tomorrow--and winds with gusts up to 60+ mph. The daffodils and hyacinth are in bloom, but I'm not sure they'll survive in the wind. Snow is no problem, but the wind...that could be a problem. I'm working on a quilt--haven sewn in quite awhile. It was rainy today, so sewing it was.

Glenda--good to see you back. I wondered if your wrist was making it difficult to type! Glad you got the cast off, too.

Doug, Rock decided it would be a good idea to lay down in a big mud puddle yesterday. I think he's been reading about Sky's adventures!

Hi all, a little late for April fools, hope everyone is doing well.  

Today is Garth's Birthday he was born on Easter evening 2015.  I will try to get pictures tonight, it is always hard cause he does not like the Flashy box :)

It is a day of mixed emotions for me, it was the night he was born and the last night I got to spend with my Rocky.  We helped Rocky over the Bridge 1 year ago tomorrow.  I do think that somewhere in that "in between" plane of life they ran into each other.  Garth has some traits that only Rocky had, we often laugh and wonder about that .

But back to happy thoughts, Garth will get Doggy Ice cream and a walk and some Frisbee play tonight.  He is so good on his leash and I have found it to be easier to use a harness with him.  

Lots of Redbuds, Dogwoods, Iris,  & Tulips blooming around here    I love spring!

This weekend our little community is having "Spring Fling"  all the local shops will be open and offering special spring discounts.  We have many Antique Stores and Flea Markets here.  A Bakery was just opened across the street from the office, yummy.  I have tried to hold off to only 1 or 2 days a week for baked goods.  This will be their first time to experience the special downtown shopping fun.  I hope they do well and get lots of business.

Everyone take care, Kate did you survive the storm?

Ginger, today is the one year anniversary of my Dad's passing--he and Rocky must have crossed paths at the Bridge, because I am sure Dad stopped by to check on all our pups that were there. It sounds like Garth is growing up!

The storm--what was supposed to be wind and a bit of snow turned into 6-8 inches of snow. I was not ready for that! The poor daffodils were covered. The wind was intense, but we didn't get the brunt of it at our house--thank goodness! The ferries were cancelled all day Sunday. We're supposed to get some rain today and then more snow on Saturday. I was all ready to put my winter coat away, but that's not happening yet!

I hope everyone is doing well.

I might be able to make a living pimping out Sky.  man with a pretty little GSP female wants to know if he will be available next year.  Need to get a pink Caddy convertible and a wide brimmed hat.

Ordered a lathe. Should be here tomorrow.  20% off coupon, $7 freight.  I will have to assemble it and see if I can get it to work without hurting myself.  Apparently there are numerous ways to get hurt with this machine.

Sky met a Husky/Pit cross at the park and made a new friend.  They play the same-rough and lots of contact.  Then he met the 2 yr old doodle just coming out of heat, and spent a while chasing her.  Good exercise-she is faster than he is and wasn't interested at all.

Took wife car in for routine maintenance at the Ford dealership and looked over the new stuff.  If they will give me $40,000 for my 97 F150, I can get a new F150.  Hard to believe anyone uses the new ones for work.  They might get dented or dirty.   I had the tires rotated and oil changed on my truck by our local garage.  $50.  For both, not each.

Oil and filter alone was more at the dealership for wife car.  Then they changed the air filter.  $14 for the filter, $12 to install.  Next time, I'll do it myself.  $10 for the filter, and buy a pack of good beer for the savings.

Stopped at a local Culvers drive through for lunch.  The lady running the window asked if my dog would like a treat.  That is a word Sky knows. and he has had a treat at that window before. Very intent dog staring at the woman.  She thought the dog was so cute, she gave him 2 scoops of ice-cream in a bowl.  This may be Skys favorite food stop in the world.

Snow just changed to rain, so were going into St Peter to sign our taxes and get such.  We get a refund.  I had to look up the word to see what he meant.  We always send checks, but apparently sometimes you get money back.  

Mankato U is putting on "Mary Poppins" this weekend, and we are taking the kids and GKs.  Looking forward to this.  last play we took the grandkids to was 'Beauty and the Beast", and we had three little girls dressed up like little princesses with us.  Cute doesn't start to describe it.

Ginger, please give Garth a belated "happy birthday" belly rub from me.  I can't believe he's one already.  Still plenty of puppy in him, I bet!  I also can't believe it's been a year since you said goodbye to Rocky.  Where does the time go?  

Kate, I also can't believe it's been a year since your Dad passed.  I hope you and your Mom find it easier to smile when you think of him now, even though I'm sure you both feel his absence all the time.  

My mother had about 4 inches of snow last Sunday -- she was eager to put her winter coat away, too.  On the  opposite end of the spectrum, we're having summer in April here.  Yesterday it reached 88 degrees!  It broke all records for the area.  It was actually too warm in the house when we went to bed last night, but we did not want to put the A/C on in early April.  Crazy!  We had plenty of rain all winter (desperately needed after last summer's drought), but after this week of warm, dry weather, our flower beds are already dry well below the surface.  We had to hand water some things yesterday since lots of perennials are in their new growth phase.  Ruby is enjoying the early sunbathing, however.

Doug, I think Sky is correct to choose Culver's as his favorite drive-thru spot.  Who needs biscuits when you can get 2 scoops of ice cream?!  As for the shiny new pick-ups ---- the majority of huge, new trucks I see around here are clearly not used for work.  They simply look too fancy.  I think many people just like to drive large, good-looking trucks, even if they're just driving to an office or the grocery store on a regular basis.  

My friend's car was hit a few weeks ago (she wasn't in it, thank God), and it was a huge pick-up that hit her in a parking lot.  Hers was an old Camry, so the damage was enough that they totaled it.  She just got a new Subaru Outback, which is what I want for my next car.  It's so nice!  My car will be 15 years old in November (I bought it new), and it has lots of miles left in it, but I sure would like something with new features.  My friend was showing me all the cool safety features in the Outback.  If I find myself with a huge windfall, I'll buy one.  But, in reality I'll be driving my VW for a while yet.  Unfortunately, our tax refund is definitely not that large!  :-)

Happy weekend everyone!

Hit the river WMA from a different direction.  Came in through heavy brush and trees.  Prickly ash .  I am healing.  Sky chased a turkey and had a good time until it jumped and flew.  Neat area.  Looks like it was mines for sand and gravel but has regrown.  Steep hills and a creek with ponds, rolling grass.  Have to walk through a century old cemetery from a town that doesn't exist any more.  

Sky has two more classes till graduation.  going to do some rally work at the next class, and then work with obstacles  and weave poles.

Gal with a Bernese pup was at the dog park.  A bundle of fluff.  Cute doesn't even come close.

Been playing with the lathe.  Now I need a sharpening system for the knives. A curved tool rest for bowls would be nice.  Better knives would be great, and some adjustable chucks would be really sweet.  All it takes is money.  My wife figured out that I haven't been using my fun fund money for this.

Learning that slow is better.  Nothing like watching a pointy knife fly across the room to realize fast is not always better.  Got lots of firewood logs to play with and turn into mulch.

I think spring is finally here--the tulips on the south side of the house are in bloom!  That late snow did a number on the hyacinths that were in bloom. The ones that came out after the snow were OK but the early bloomers froze. I've planted my onions and have started some tomato seeds (in the house). Windy today, but I need to get some yard work done and get the potato patch ready for planting.

Rock graduated from his second pet therapy internship last week! Ronnie and I have been practicing off-lead recalls at the beach (before people start to arrive for the summer).  Mozey continues to do well after her bout with pancreatitis.

Son is sending out invites for his Octoberfest party.  Band, food, beer, tents, tables, chairs, leather shorts.

Sky is finishing up Obedience 2.  Had a demo of rally competition last nigh.  Looks like fun.  Instructor wanted to know if Sky could jump a hurdle.  I am just hoping he doesn't discover that he can jump a fence.  Last class will be Agility demo.  Sky should have fun.

One of the dogs in the class is a pyrenees x.  109 lbs.  Sitting and down are major tasks when the dog is that big, and jumping a hurdle is different when the dog is that long.  Walter just steps over the hurdle and his back feet walk through the bar.

Yard is green.  May have to start working in it soon.  Got shrubs to remove.  be interesting to see how the veggies do after the trees were pruned.

WMAs are closed to dog running now.  Ground nesting birds.  On the last run, Sky was chasing up ducks, so we called it quits for a couple of months.  To the dog park.

We actually have 3 fenced areas at the mankato park, and two get little use.  The have grass and trees and running water , but everybody uses the big sandy area.  It smells funky and has fine sand that traps in the hair, but it is big and open and the dogs have a blast.

Got another fence post  hole dug and the post in today. The rocks are a major challenge! A couple more post holes and I'll be done with that part of the job.

Doug, I can just imagine the Pyr X going over/through the hurdle! Rock takes a long time on Sits and and a semi-long time on Downs--he's just not a natural sitter.

The grass needs mowing--so I guess that has to be added to the chore list. We got just 1/10 of an inch of rain this weekend but boy did everything green up in a hurry!  

Tracy, I keep looking at the new Outbacks, but my Forester is still going strong, so no new car yet. (My Forester is just 10 years old--still a youngster!)

Wow - where did April go?  I haven't stopped by here in ages.  My calendar at work and at home was fairly full this month -- lots of extra commitments it seems.  In fact, I'll be closing the month with a board meeting tonight and donor reception at our local shelter tomorrow night.  

I'm looking forward to a weekend without any firm plans.  I've been battling some germs for a week now -- last weekend I was sure I had strep throat -- a sore throat that hurt far worse than any I've had in years.  But, the test was negative, so I nursed it with over-the-counter stuff, lots of gargling, hot tea, Airborne and Zicam.  I felt nearly 100% better by Tuesday, but yesterday I woke up with almost no voice.  Luckily I don't have to talk much at work, so I can rest it.  A quiet weekend will hopefully kick the rest of the germs to the curb.

The image of the Great Pyr trying to "jump" a hurdle is very funny.  I remember when we took Tonka to a recreational thing for dogs and their people, and they had games and contests to do.  We entered a basic obedience game, and Tonka won the prize for "The Slowest Down."  He was very good at responding to basic commands, but at 130+ pounds, he wasn't very quick.  You could almost hear him sighing as he moved into position, as if to say, "Okay, okay, give me a minute, I'll get down there."  

Last Saturday was Ruby's 5th Gotcha Day.  So, she's around 6 years old.  Still has the energy of a 2-year old.  We wanted to introduce her to my coworker's lab/pittie mix, so we went to the shelter so the training staff could help.  We were worried, as Ruby can be selective, but she behaved much better than I expected.  In fact, our friend's dog seemed to have more trouble remaining calm.  They suggested we take on-leash walks together for a while so they can spend more time together before we bring them back for another session in the fenced play area.  She'd love a rowdy playmate, but it's hard to find a dog who has that same style and who doesn't get too amped up that it becomes too intense.

Hope everyone is enjoying more spring weather and activities.  I think tomorrow is Arbor Day, so here's to our favorite trees!  :-)

Skys last class in obedience 2 tonight.  Next week, he has his date.  I think a beret with a red tie would be appropriate, with a good roll in some roadkill.  Gave him a bath today-smelling funny.  He has a cowlick on the top of his head.

Running him on a walking trail at the dog park yesterday, and he got a little ahead.  I yelled "sit" and he did.  Two other dogs came up to him while he was sitting, and he held the sit until they touched him.  I was impressed.

City wide garage sale tomorrow , and we are putting some stuff out.  Exercise equipment children toys, misc office stuff.

Tracy-did you gargle brandy.  The trick is to swallow often.  

Big dogs are amazing to watch.  Dignified moves, and often they are so gentle with smaller dogs and kids. Except for Zeus, a 109lb lab  x hound.  He is fast in a straight line, has trouble turning, and doesn't really watch who he is running into.  Nearly tipped me a few times, but he is a love.

Happy Gotcha Day, Ruby! I can't believe it's 5 years already! She and Ronnie would love playing together--he is loud and loves to play hard. Mozey has to correct him every now and then if he gets too rowdy. Tracy, you've described Rock's sit perfectly with the picture you painted of Tonka's "down"--Rock just isn't a natural sitter and you can see him working to sit his behind down--it's slow--and as soon as he thinks he can pop back up to standing, he does!  Today was his last day for pet therapy with the college students this semester--I think he will miss them, but we're going to see "his" senior citizens every couple weeks during the summer. And, we're going to try to put in some more focused time on obedience.

Took Ronnie to the beach yesterday for off lead practice--he got to run to his heart's content and he did quite well with recalls. On Saturday, we get to see Rock's and Ronnie's rescue Mom--very cool! I stocked up the van with supplies to give her.

I broke down and bought a new laptop, so I'll spend the weekend getting it set up. Kind of fun...in an expensive sort of way!

I hope everyone is well! Sky--no rolling in the stinky stuff (though Ronnie tried that at the beach, too...)