Akadia Shelties

Taking some time. Seeing Farrah's kittens

2009-09-23T22:14:00.004-06:00

This picture is from last summer.

The theme of today was calm down, take it slow.. Course, I didn't realize that till the day was almost over. Funny how things force you in a direction sometimes that you don't really know of, till its almost over.

I had ran, ran, ran, at least in my head, all day until tonight, as I went outside to put some bratwurst on the bbq, I realized that just for a moment, I had to take in the night sky.

I wandered over to the edge of the property and looked at the crimson sky, outlined perfectly by the tall mountains. Not a cloud in site,, beautiful red/orange sky. Crickets in the background chirping. I stood there just thinking how stunning it was. How crisp the mountains and how perfect the little chirping cricket.

The events of the last month have kept me on the run and I sometimes forget to take in the moments so that I can enjoy life more.

After work I went to my sister's house and visited Farrah and her kittens. They are just darling. Beautiful little faces with bright blue eyes and sweet little dispositions. They are 6 wks now and getting weaned. Farrah has gone from feral to miss house kitty and enjoys playing and getting her pets. She is a constant of thankful purrs and its just sweet to hear her tribble little messages to her kittens as they approach or as they nurse. She loves her kittens and I am so glad that she was taken in by my sister. I have decided that Farrah will not return to outdoor living at my house and will be placed in a good indoor home. I can't bring her into my house with my other 6 indoor cats, so we will seek a good home for her elsewhere. The coyotes have returned this late summer and I fear for her life should she come back. Besides, she deserves someone's couch and love. I will certainly miss her, and have, but its all good.

Those kittens will never have to know feral life and that is good too.

Now,, I am working on another kitty that I call "Squeaky cat". She does not meow but squeaks to me. She is very feral and will not let me touch her at all. I can get within about a foot of her, so it may be a while taming her enough for capture.

Take care folks. Take some time to enjoy the little things around you. Don't just look, but draw it in,, breathe it in and savor it. Be it a night sky, a perfect little kitten face, or a simple look from someone you love. Its all good!

Power failure ponderings

2009-08-06T22:40:00.004-06:00

click on the photos to see really big!

Well,, the power went out today. Was out for over an hour so I was bored and worked on some bird houses that I started back last November. While digging out paints and such I came across an old journal of mine. Dated back to 92 or 93 with its posts. Talked of my meeting my husband, the death of my grandmother and some important folks that had come into my life at that point. So weird to go back and read what I was thinking then. Man, it sure seemed foolish what I wrote. So blatant too.

One write up was about living life and how busy I had become. It spoke of how at the time I felt as though my life was just happening around me with me just existing in its chaos. How true that can become. I find myself more in the midst of that then not. Tasks become what drives me and molds me to do the next task till the day is done and I have done things out of necessity rather then wanting. Ahh....... to really "live" life. I feel as though I just don't have time. Work, work and more work and then exhaustion seem to be the carousel I am on.

Sounds like complaining,, doesn't it? Well,, do know that I love what I do. I love the dogs and what that represents for me. Perhaps I am really "living" afterall,, doing what I love and not taking the time to appreciate it.? Maybe the ponderings sparked by power failure are best left unthought?!

On another note. A few updates.

I have posted in the past about "Farrah" the feral kitty and her kittens. Well,, Farrah has been captured. She is pregnant again and now living with my sister. After she has her litter she will be spayed and return here to the farm of animals. Her current litter will be raised as tame kitties and spayed and neutered before being places. Good news!. I miss her, but it is best. I do look forward to having her back to do her hunting in the field and to accompany me on my photo sessions with the dogs. She is great for helping to get ears up.

We got back a week ago from our yearly camping trip to the beautiful Sawtooth mountains of Stanley Idaho. That place speaks to my soul and I always leave feeling a sort of peace that I can't accomplish anywhere else. It was a wonderful visit for Derek and I,, and the first with our new trailer. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

A particularly nice crop of pansies

2009-07-02T22:50:00.003-06:00

I love Pansies!! I am not much of a gardener due to my travels so every year I host a few nice pots of flowers to try and color up the place.

I also really like the nice scents that the different flowers provide and will sit out on the porch to just smell them.

This year,, I chose all sorts of pansies and crammed them into a pot together. They have been particularly bloomy, so being the camera buff that I am, I had to get pictures.

Hope you enjoy them.

And the Beat goes on...........happily

2009-06-28T18:35:00.003-06:00

Pictured is Am/Int Ch. Akadia Just Special, "Ethan".

A few posts ago I wrote about how goals as a breeder come along without even knowing it. "Bell", of course, was the theme and I spoke of how I am trying to achieve her ROM.

Well folks,,, we are even closer now!!

Since that blog, both Kaylani and Ethan have finished their Championships. Making them Ch. Akadia Just Heavenly and now Am Ch./Int Ch. Akadia Just Special.

Thank you so much to Nanette Johnson for her talented presentation of Kaylani in getting her majors. Thanks to Yvonne Davey for not giving up on Ethan.

Not only have these two babes finished in conformation, but Chrissy Weatherston has put the CD and RE and RAE title on Akadia Wildfire, and Dixie Eigenrauch complete the grand Championship UKC on Akadia Miss Congeniality.

The Bell kids are sure doing their thing,, I am a very proud person right now.

So,, for the record Bell has 3 Champions, 2 major pointed (almost finished), 2 performance/obedience titled, and one UKC grand Champion get to her credit.

The loves that move me

2009-05-06T20:40:00.003-06:00

Bean (top) Betty (bottom)

I often reflect on the many animals that I have had through the years and how they have brought me through good times and bad. For a great deal of my childhood and certainly, my teen years, my animals were to be my support system. In times of uncertainty and insecurity, I could rely on them to give me affection and unconditional love.
The first that I recall falling for was, April. She was my first sheltie and a very special one at that. Incredibly intelligent, April, thankfully had a very forgiving spirit about her. She delighted me, angered me and more importantly was my very best friend. A best friend of no peer pressure. She excepted my harsh training, before I knew better. She was also a great ambassador for the breed. She slept with me for years and then later slept in an tiny crib next to my bed. What a great dog. She owned my heart and led me in a great direction. I often think that had I not had April that I could have been a very bad teenager and perhaps got into a lot of trouble.
When April was about 5 years old I would go down to the convenience store daily to get a gatorade and hot dog. She would go and ride along for company. I had come up on the store one day and a kitty was running through the wheels of each of the parked cars,, rubbing on the legs of the patrons and asking for hand outs. I just had total visions of this kitty getting mashed by one of the cars. Me being me,, I took that kitty home. She was very pregnant and a few weeks later presented us with a nice litter of kittens under our lounge chair. I moved the litter and her to a puppy pen where she raised them till they were weaned,, then she disappeared. I slowly found homes for the kittens. As the babies grew, they learned how to climb up the bars of the puppy pen and get out so I had rigged a top out of a baby gate with a board over the top and a brick on top of that to keep them in, mostly at night. One kitten would always get out. I would wake up in the morning to this little face in mine.. "HI",, "I got out again!". I named that kitten Houdini. I quickly fell in love with him and decided to keep him. I was able to place all of the other kittens but one. The little runtly looking one. She was a brown tabby that was so shabby looking that no one wanted her. She had this remarkable attitude though and I dubbed her "Better", since she thought she was better then the rest. I ended up keeping her as well. Better turned into a beautiful cat,, that would sing along with me when I sang and always cuddle to me when I was sick.
Years went by and Houdini was my constant companion. I called him "Bean" most of the time and "Better" turned into "Betty". These two cats were to be my companions for 19 years (Betty) and 20 years (Bean).
Bean and I were particularly close. He did everything with me and was truly my best friend. He delighted me with his nightly dramatic yawns when he wanted to go to bed. He loved to be held while I would dance and sing his name to him. His little taps on my leg with his paw when he wanted a share of what I was eating,, and most of all, his bed time antics. He would start out with a quick wrestle then quickly assume his spot on my chest. For 20 years I would fall asleep with Bean on my chest,, his paw in my right hand (holding it) and his chin over the top of my hand. It was "our" thing. He would sometimes rub his little lips on my hand as if to kiss me and then flatten his chin out across the top of my hand. The hardest part of losing Bean for me,, was bed time. I still find myself putting my hand on my chest as if to pretend he is still there. He was just so very special to me.
The concept of someone never being able to find the love and devotion that an animal can add to your life is hard for me to think of. These are just three examples of some of the wonderful animals I have loved. Each one adding something to my existence here and loving without question. A little window into what unconditional love is really about, in my opinion.
Forever a part of me and certainly never forgotten.

Goals,, what drives the dreams

2009-04-11T20:30:00.006-06:00

This is a story about how goals as a breeder come along when you least realize them. I have always felt it important to have personal goals,, that of a point winner, a major winner, a Champion, a specialty winner, a Best of Breed winner, a Group winner, and a Best in Show winner,, but never did I think of a goal as a breeder of a top producer. Not till "Bell" came along anyway.

Akadia HellsBells (pts)

A few years back I bred my cute little sable bitch to a dog that I really didn't think would cross with her so well. We did one breeding,, then I changed my mind, not doing another as I kept waining on my thoughts that it wouldn't work. Akadia HellsBells,, aka "Bell" was that sable bitch and the dog was Ch. Beckwards Chimney Sweep. Three puppies resulted and the quality was very evident. One male was retained and co-owned with the stud owner. That male went on to win 9 points, both majors before the stud owner lost interest. Pictured below: Twincreeks Vintage Spirit (9pts)

Along the way though,, I decided to breed Bell again. This time, to Ch. Hillviews Patriot Games. Four puppies resulted. Such a consistant litter,, it was becoming evident that Bell was becoming a great producer. Her puppies all had a look, all were better then her yet possessed her virtues. Yay!! Ch. Akadia Just Priceless "Price", Int Ch. Akadia Just Special "Ethan"(12 pts, both majors) and Akadia Just Heavenly "Kaylani" (14 pts, both majors) were to be her get from this breeding.

Int Ch. Akadia Just Special (12 pts, both majors)

Bell went on to win the Brood bitch class at that year's national as well with son's "Price" and "Ethan" in tow. Price won a 3rd place in his class also.

I loved that breeding so much. I started to really think that maybe Bell could become an ROM (Register of Merit, top producer). Never before had I ever thought about that for one of my dogs. I have always been the "handler", not the breeder!! The more I thought about it, the more I really began to make it a goal.

Come time to breed Bell again,, I chose a Patriot Games son,, Ch. Braeleen Let Freedom Ring to be her suitor. From this breeding, I retained a girl who would go out and win a major at her first show, a specialty, as a puppy. That girl is Akadia Strawberry Shortcake and she has 12 pts, 1 major.

Akadia Strawberry Shortcake (12 pts, 1 major)

One last breeding this year would leave us with 3 hopefuls to grow out. Bred to Ch. Starfalls The Enchanter CD,, Bell has more then earned her spay appointment with the vet.

Akadia Bell Bottom "Flare"

I hope to finish Shortcake and Ethan this year and Nanette Johnson is working on the last point on Kaylani. That will make 3 Bell kids in 2009 to finish, if we obtain our goal.

Bell will just need one more Champion to get her ROM after that. I sure hope one of these hopefuls will fulfill that dream. If not,, I feel that Bell has certainly made a marked difference in my program and I am so grateful for that.

Funny thing is that in thinking about Bell now,, if I was to have her now days, as a hopeful,, I am not sure I would have kept her. She is little,, 14 inches,, and has round eyes,, and is kinda average, but at the time that she came along in my program, she was the best I had to go on. I am glad I kept her and worked with her and discovered her producing ability. She has been a blessing to me and a grand example of years of work and generations of careful selection for continued improvement.

Dad report and Vogue, Stinky, Vogue

2009-03-29T08:44:00.004-06:00

Been a while since I posted. Really not much going on around here though. I am HAPPY to report that Dad is doing so much better. He is in a care facility now and just sounds like he is coming along. That is such a relief. Keep the prayers coming for him still and we sure appreciate all you folks that have shown concern and prayers.

Saturday,, "Stinky" (Ch. Akadia Totally Intoxicating), got a bath to freshen her up and I decided to get some new photos of her. My friend Kristin Sittner was staying at my house for an agility trial so I asked for her help. The photos turned out great and I even got a movement shot, of which I have been wanting for some time. "Stinky" is my special for this year, co-owned by Ava Jane Pickering Ph.D, and we are particularly excited about the possibilities. The month of April brings on a lot of shows for us,, along with flying to the National. It should be fun.

A BEST day at a match

2009-03-15T19:21:00.006-06:00

This is "Tillie". By Ch. Grandgables Lets Show Off ex UKC Ch. Akadia Miss Congeniality

This is "Smooch". She is Solange Lip Service by Ch. Kymric Xterra ex Mindalyn Spring Fever

Derek and I headed out first thing this morning,, for a fun match. With 6 puppies in tow,, actually 7 and one adult.

The Bell litter (now 10 wks) has not been away from the house and they were little troopers. Somebody urped on the way,, but didn't on the way back. The Jewelee/Price two have been out so they were just game and then there is the crazy Dallas/Grace puppy. We call her "Tillie". She is a riot. She was go, go, go all day. Also a crowd favorite.

We threw Chip in for his first doggy show and also Smooch so that she could have reminder for the upcoming shows.

My friend Debbie, was in charge of the food and did a great job. She made BBQ Chicken sandwiches with chips, a cookie and a soda. Very good. We helped by bringing in a big cooler and a crock pot.

Debbie also stepped in and showed Chip for me. It was so fun to see him out there strutting his stuff. He puts a smile on your face,, that is for sure. He was also a crowd favorite.

Folks took turns passing the puppies around from lap to lap. I saw them getting lots of kisses and snuggles to everyone's faces and the puppies sure ate it up.
The day ended with cleaning up everything and helping the club take down. We helped Debbie with the food things and even got leftovers for later!!

Oh,, and Smooch went BEST IN MATCH!! :)

Puppy Pixures

2009-03-06T20:40:00.005-07:00

This is the Red girl,, 9 inches at 9 wks

This is littler red girl,, 8 1/2 inches at 9wks

This is "Boo",, she is also 8 1/2 inches at 9 wks. I call her "Boo" cause she hurt her footy at about 7 wks and limped for a day. So I called her the puppy with the "Boo boo",, it stuck. So now she is "Boo". Ironically,, her sire's nickname is "Boo". I didn't know that!

My friend Debbie,, God bless her,, has come out almost weekly to help with puppy pictures. I am not sure what I did before she came along. I have always done photos weekly of every litter. I really like to watch the babies develop and be able to go back and compare new litters with old litters. It is just so interesting to look at the photos and see what traits you noticed in the photos that remained into adulthood or disappeared. Thanks go to Debbie though for all her time driving to my house and tolerating me chalking and glueing and brushing each baby for their portraits.

I have always believed that doing photos of my dogs let me see them in a new light. To some degree,, I think that is is almost what others may see if I were to present my dog to them. Course photos can be deceptive sometimes,, but in so many ways, it makes me appreciate their virtues and notice the faults that I need to pay more attention to.

I love it when I do a session and I get the photos on the computer and I see nothing that needs fixed on them. Man that feels good.

So,, even though these are posed and not glamour shots,,they give you an idea of what my youngest litter looks like. I like these babies a lot. They are out of Bell,, who I hope to make an ROM (top producer, takes 5 Champions). Bell does have 1 Champion,, and 4 major pointed offspring. Three of those 4 should finish their Championships this year. All need just 3 or 4 points to finish. The 4th major pointed dog,, will probley not finish as his owner is not interested anymore. Such a shame. So I am hoping that one of the puppies in this litter sired by Ch. Starfalls the Enchanter CD will make Champion number 5 for Bell. Lots of things can change of course.. but for now, I kinda like these babies.

Ron and Chrissy Weatherston will get one of these girls when I decide which one.. hee hee

Saint Russ-O-fur

2009-02-28T23:27:00.003-07:00

Many of you know my weakness for cats. Just a quick review of my blog archive will reveal that.

A few years ago,, we had a feral cat that showed up and was living in our goat pen,, with the goat. They would sleep together and hang out,, sun themselves, and actually seem to really enjoy each other. This cat was a torti,, so I was sure it was female and sure enough,, I was hearing little meows from inside the goat pen, marking that fact that kittens were there.

I would hear them meowing and calling for their momma on occasion, but she was there so I paid no attention till one day when the meows got really loud and continued for hours. Derek had gone down to the shop that afternoon and came right back to tell me about the little kitten he had found wandering across the yard. He put her back into the box, but she had followed him out again. I went down and sure enough,, there were 4 kittens in there. All meowing like crazy,, appearing to be about 3 or 4 wks old. Barely old enough to walk. We put a board up on the box to keep them from crawling out but so that momma could get back in. We have a lot of feral cats come and go around here,, mostly from the dairy next door. If I can catch them,, they got get altered but a lot of times they disappear before I can act. I keep food out for them and heating beds during the winter, so I figured this momma had gone to find food.

The night went on,, I looked for momma cat but saw nothing. The next day, I got up and went out to check,, the kittens were ice cold and all pretty non responsive. They laid limp in my hands. I rushed them up to the house,, feeling like a fool for not bringing them up sooner. I was so sad and mad at myself. I put each kitten under warm water to bring their body temperature up and then started to syringe some water to them. They were badly dehydrated. They all started to come to after a while though.

After I got them settled,, I went out to the road to search for momma cat. I found her lifeless body about a quarter mile down the road. She had been hit. OH NO!!

Long story shorter... I bottle fed this litter. Within the first few days,, I lost one of the kitties but the other 3 thrived. As time went on,, I became very attached to them but did end up letting my sister get one. We kept an orange and white male,, called "Russ" for Mr. Curi-Russ, since he was such a curious kitten. Very brave and outgoing. There was a grey kitten that just bitched all the time so she was "Bitch and Mona".. aka Mona. We call her Monicity now. She doesn't complain much anymore.

They have turned into great little cats. Both are full time house cats with our other 4. Russ is a total character. Loves water and takes great pride in helping me raise the puppies. He likes to lay with his back legs stretched out behind him,, froggy style. He goes to the shower to play at the water coming down and he loves the bath tub, which he puts his footy in the water continually till your done. We call him Saint Russ-O-Fur,, since he is such a little hellion. He and Mona are little blessings and I am glad I was able to save them. I just hate having so many ferals show up all the time. I wish I could take them all in, but there does have to be a point where you have to say no. So I keep them fed and watered.

The 6 we have in the house is plenty. They never go outside so cat box duty is frequent, but they are all very much a part of our lives.

Darn it

2009-02-22T22:24:00.003-07:00

Darn it...

Sarg is the German shepherd that I rescued from the pound a year and a half ago. He has been an incredible dog. He is very large and looks crazy,, but he is a gentle giant. He came into our lives in a rush and has never skipped a beat.

I can put any of the shelties with him,, even little puppies who love to run between his feet and lick his face. He has never lifted a lip or even gave a menacing look. Such a great dog.

When I saw him at the pound he was a mess. During that time, I was going to the pound twice a week in search of my missing sheltie, Bo. I came upon Sarg,, standing in the back of the run with the most sad look on his face. He was old but intelligent looking,, he gazed at me as if to plea for help. I quick look at his paperwork revealed that he had been dropped off by his former owner. This was on a Tuesday. Thursday came,, my other visit day, and there he was still but this time he had messed in his run and he was making great effort to stay out of it but was having a hard time. He made moans and again looked at me with those eyes. I went to the counter to see if anyone had asked to adopt him. No one had and his last day would be Friday since he was so old. I thought about it all day Friday and even though the last thing I needed was another dog,, and a huge one at that,, I couldn't get him out of my mind.

So Friday afternoon at 5:30,, the pound closes at 6:00,, I showed up to see if he was still there. He was. I never even told my husband about this dog, and went and got him out of the run and brought him to the front office and began to draw up the adoption papers. Sarg yowled and moaned and carried on like shepherds do and I thought "oh no",, "what am I doing?"

I finished up the paperwork and led him to the car and got in and called Derek, my husband, to confess to my weak moment.

I got home and Derek was there and along came my friend Kristin. They both helped me to bath Sarg with the hose since he stunk so bad. Sarg was very co-operative and even let me blow him dry.

Well,, as things would go, the vet estimated his age to be around 9 or 10. Since then, we have really enjoyed Sarg. A great dog,, a clown, devoted, fun boy. He has the cutest prance with his toy around the yard.

Around Christmas Sarg began to have some trouble and about 2 weeks ago, after trying everything, I finally talked with the vet about him and his issues. So it looks like poor Sarg doesn't have much time left. It seems that he has all the workings of stomach cancer (only a stomach biopsy would tell for sure). I would put him through the tests but with his age and condition, it would only make things worse for him.

So,, we will see how things go. If not anything, he has been so good to us and for us,, we are made to feel better that Sarg did not die at that pound. Lord knows why he was taken there to begin with, but he has been a joy to us. Thank you Sarg for your addition to our crew, for being so cool and teaching us so much about the joy of a gentle giant dog.

I did what I knew to do

2009-02-11T22:09:00.004-07:00

"You did what you knew how to do, and when you knew better, you did better." by Maya Angelou. One of my very favorite quotes.

I pretty much live by this saying. It can be applied to so many different avenues. Loving, living, grieving, and acceptance.

Lately I have had to do a lot of reflecting. We spent the weekend going through old photos, selecting ones that we thought my dad would enjoy seeing again, and then once we had them gathered, I prepared a picture book of sayings to go with each photo. I mailed it off and I hope he gets it in time for Valentines.

Amazing that when you look back through the years how life teaches you to do better as you gain that knowledge to do so. I am sure I have much to learn yet, but for now,, I am appreciative of how far I have come.

Grief has always been a doozy for me. I have never dealt well with it. I remember losing my first sheltie and going into a bad depression. I never even left my bedroom for days,, the grief was too much to face others with. Time has taught me much about this. I have gained a remarkable peace with it that I never thought possible. I will never be quite "right" with losing someone that I love, but certainly,, I have learned to do better with it.

The same quote can be applied to dogs. At first,, my sheltie was the best. I could not see her faults. I had the rose colored glasses of love on. Then the second sheltie came,, a Champion that was sent to me to do junior handling with (pictured above, Ch. Kimrems Grin An Bear It). The difference between him and my first was so marked, he taught me to do better. From there as the dogs have come into my life and breeding program throughout the years,, each one has taught me at least one better virtue to strive for. I have made notes to myself as I have gone along as to the traits that each dog has presented to me to learn from. I think that is very important. Each one may have not been the "best" dog that I owned but the virtues and faults they presented taught me thus allowing me to do better next time..

Its all a process,, now isn't it? Life and living. Striving for further knowledge and understanding. I sure hope I never lose the drive to keep the "know better, and do better" attitude.

thats all for now folks. Until next time..

Heidi Ho,, Heidi Bell

2009-02-06T18:15:00.003-07:00

Akadia Project Runway.

Been a while since I could get some nice shots of Heidi. She was out all last summer and fall with a litter of puppies then growing her coat back. It is almost completely back in now and she is looking plush.

Heidi is a sweet little dog. Never does a thing wrong and only asks for the occassional handout to satisfy her. I hope to get her into the ring this year, probley in the summer. She needs to be shown in the grass since a leg injury as a puppy makes her show side footy turn out. She moves fine on it and she hand stacks on it fine but on solid ground it shows. Shame,, but we will give it a try anyway to see if she can have a show career. She is a repeat breeding of my CH. Akadia Totally Intoxicating, aka "Stinky".

Heidi just turned 3 years old.

Just Heavenly!!

2009-02-02T22:07:00.004-07:00

Congrats to Nanette Johnson, in SOUTH! Carolina, on putting a major on Akadia Just Heavenly. I sent "Kaylani" out to her in December with 7 pts, and she has her up to 11 pts, 1 major now. Great job Nanette!!
"Kaylani" is by Am/Can CH. Hillviews Patriot Games and out of Akadia HellsBells (dam of CH. Akadia Just Priceless)
I am a proud, proud breeder.

New pictures of the Price/Jewelee puppies

2009-01-28T18:15:00.003-07:00

Top is white head girl, then Star, then Tiny and last two are Petey (the boy)

My friend Debbie came out yesterday and helped with pictures. The puppies are sure getting the personalities now and are so cute. My brother and sister-in-law will get the little tiny girl (basket shot) and I am keeping "Star". There is the other girl and boy that look like show prospects. Such a nice litter. They are special to me since this was a breeding that took place with CH. Akadia Just Priceless (Price) before I sent him to his new home with Barbara Black. Price is basically in retirement but may stand at stud a bit with her for a while. So it was one of my last chances to get Price kids before he left. This is only his 3rd litter sired and he has a specialty major winning daughter. Jewelee was a nice choice for him since they cross faulted perfectly and it was my plan to make this sort of mix when I bought Jewelee as a baby. This was very exciting for me to see actually happen,, and they are nice!!

I Can Shine the Brightest!!

2009-01-26T21:01:00.002-07:00

This is "Star". She is Akadia I Shine the Brightest, from the CH. Akadia Just Priceless and BIS CH. Iona I Can Shine litter.

Star is my favorite for personality. She is just go, go, go and me, me, me all of the time. Isn't that a cute little play bow she is giving.?

She is 7wks now.

Tagged by Tricia

2009-01-24T20:21:00.005-07:00

Tricia said to pick the 5th folder, then the 5th picture.

This is the blue bird house that sits in the tree in my back yard. This photo was taken when we first moved here, the bird house is much faded now from the weather. This little house is the home to mostly little sparrows all year round. They have raised babies after babies in there. Some of fell victim to our Border Collie who sits for hours at the base of this tree hoping that one will fall. He doesn't eat them,, but mouths them enough to kill them. Others have flourished and come back to raise another generation.

This bird house along with this other one pictured with the wagon wheel, are the subjects of a lot of my photo studies. I love to take pictures of them.

I am going to tag: Dixie, Kristin, Jenny, Just Todd, Obay too.

I'm back, a few updates and picts

2009-01-21T22:21:00.005-07:00

I thought I better check in and let you y'all know that I am still kickin.

I have been in Portland Oregon at the Rose City classic dog shows. Very fun time,, great to see the people and incredible dogs. We had some nice placements and Shortcake won the bred by class 3 of the 4 days. She is on the edge of winning, not quite in full coat from her major coat blow, so it won't be long. She showed like her usual self,, baiting all the time till the judge looks.. Darn little girl has this habit of not being patient. She gives me just so much time and if she doesn't get fed by her wishes then she literally will start scanning the crowd for handouts. Little stinker!. She did move out very nicely and actually seemed to have a lot of get-up-and-go.

Unfortunately, Friday my dad took a turn for the worse and was put back into ICU in critical condition. His kidneys were failing and he was having internal bleeding. They ended up transferring him to another hospital and he is doing better now. A colonoscopy revealed not much but they took a biopsy to check out. Keep him in your prayers.

I got real sick in Portland on Sunday night. Monday showing was interesting as I wasn't sure from moment to moment if I might need to leave for a bit. I made it though pretty good.

We got home last night at about 8:30 and I worked today. Been trying to catch up on things this afternoon while still fighting some sickness and a bit of a sore throat.

Jewelee and Price's puppies are 6 wks now and got their first shot today with some worming as well. I really like 4 of the 5 for show puppies potentials. The tiny girl will go to my brother as a spoiled addition to his house.

Bell and Brock puppies have their eyes open now and are about the prettiest 3 wk olds I have had. They are so red and the heads on them are so lean and smooth. I expect this litter will be smashing. I will get new photos soon. Meantime, these are the pictures of the Jewelee/Price babies last week.

Hows about this for cute?!

2009-01-12T21:02:00.002-07:00

This is one of the puppies from my CH. Akadia Just Priceless and BIS CH. Iona I Can Shine litter. This is the little girl that I call brown leg girl.

I had to share this cute little kissy face picture with y'all. Man,, hard to resist.

Its gotta get better

2009-01-11T16:48:00.003-07:00

oh,, I guess I am having one of those days.
I talked to dad this morning. He just isn't doing any better. He sounds so down and not himself. Is it weird for me to say I miss my dad? I do.. I know he is still alive and trying to get better but I miss him. I miss the weekly calls, the sharing of photos, being able to just talk about this or that and knowing that he was there.
Since he has been in the hospital, he hasn't had a computer and he is very weak so talking on the phone is hard. He has a hard time holding the phone to talk.
I guess I am just having one of those days of reflection where I am realizing what dad means to me. I came across one of his emails in my inbox the other day when I was cleaning out my email. I couldn't bring myself to erase it. One of dad's great joys was sending jokes and his photos he had taken. I miss that so much
I just need a good cry. I will be better soon.. I pray that dad will be too.
thanks for listening to my woes,, friends.

Update on Dad

2009-01-07T21:49:00.003-07:00

Talked to Dad last night. It was a hard conversation since Dad was having a bad night. He is still having very hard days. I wish there was more I could do for him. Having him in Kentucky and myself in Idaho is difficult. I know he is getting bored in the hospital (about a month now) and perhaps a bit depressed. I sure love my dad and wish I could be there with him.

Picture above is him on Christmas day with Betty, his love.

Please still keep him in your prayers. There is a hard road ahead for Dad,, I think he can do it.

thanks friends.

Pictures again,, can't help it

2009-01-04T21:54:00.002-07:00

I have been picture happy lately. This happens every winter when I don't have shows and it gives me an excuse to groom the dogs and make them beautiful.

So here are new photos of Lacewood The Star Trooper, aka "Chip". He is by BISS CH. Sea Haven Chasing Moonbeams ROM CC and out of BISS CH. Lacewood Bi Starlight.
Chip is 12 wks now.

Also pictured is Akadia Little Gothic Girl, aka "Silly" and Akadia Totally Intrepid, aka "Deakon". They are littermates from the BISS CH. Aynsworth Silver Moonlight ROM and CH. Akadia Totally Intoxicating litter. They are 11 months old.

Silly is the black one and Deakon is the blue.

Thought I would share.

Bell puppies

2009-01-03T19:14:00.004-07:00

I thought it might be nice to share the pictures of the Bell puppies born on Jan 1st.

These babies are sired by CH. Starfall The Enchanter CD who is owned by Tricia Harris of Lacewood Shelties. "Brock" is her token brown dog and he is a very nice one at that. An old basic Barwood pedigree, his lightness of skull is what drew me to him for this breeding. He has remarkable lack of depth to his skull with smooth, very flat cheeks that transition into his backskull making for the perfect wedge. His topskull has the "corners" that I look for and that Bell needs as well. He also possess the beautiful three corner eye that Bell really needs. He is a nice moving dog, with proportionate bone and sufficient coat. Beautiful color too. Top all this off with a wonderful temperament and I thought the match for the breeding was a very nice one. He is also an older dog (9yrs)with no health issues, and clear health screening tests.

So.... the resulting litter. They have to be some of the prettiest new borns I have had. I am very pleased with them. Oh,, and I got such red little babies too. I am loving that. They were pretty large puppies when born and are the best little eaters. They eat and eat till they cry cause their bellies are about to burst!

So here they are,, 2 days old.

A day of loss and another day of babies

2009-01-02T21:45:00.004-07:00

Today was one of those days that we dog owners all hate to see come. The day when we as owners have to decide what step to take in an old dogs life. There comes a point when they are so gone that we have to make that decision that we all don't want to make.

Today was that day for us and "Hailey". Akadia Windabrae Helvetica,, born just short of 15 years ago and made her decent into the spirit world today.

Just 2 days ago,, we had her grand babies born here. Akadia HellsBells, (Hailey daughter) gave birth to 5 puppies. 4 girls and 1 boy sired by CH. Starfall The Enchanter CD.

There goes the old adage of "when God closes a door, he also opens a window".

"Hailey" was an incredible little dog. For us,, my husband and I,, she was an important part of our relationship. You see,, when we first started dating,, "Hailey" was just a baby. I would go to my friend's house to take care of her (she was a bottle raised puppy) and Derek would come with me. One time while preparing her food, I was in the kitchen and I left Derek and her in the livingroom. I came back with her food and couldn't find Hailey anywhere. Derek sat on the couch not saying a word. I asked him where she was and he didn't say any thing. I then noticed that his hat was off his head and across the room. All of a sudden the hat moved. She was so tiny that his hat completely covered her. We had a good laugh about that one.

"Hailey" always had a remarkable temperament. Very showy and ready for what ever you dealt her. She was an upbeat little spirit right till the end.

There are many wonderful stories and memories associated with her. Derek and I have spent the day recalling them, shedding some tears and feeling so very enriched by that little dog.

In my mind,, I see glasses held high,, smiles on faces and a special toast made to the little brown dog that contributed so much for us. " A toast to "Hailey",, so special, so endearing, and forever in our hearts". Godspeed little one.

Steel and Flames

2008-12-28T21:58:00.004-07:00

Have to share the photos I took of Kohlman today. I had him and Butters all groomed up intending to get photos of them and when I went outside it had began to snow. So I ended up putting them on the front porch for the photos. They turned out very nice.

Kohlman is an easy dog to shoot. He baits and holds a pose so well. I think he got that from his sire,, CH. Denian Deuce's are Wild, the dog I showed last year to number 5 sheltie for owner Karen Ferraro. Deuce would bait and hold his stack till given a signal and sometimes hold it so long that he would finally just bark at me as if to say,, "come on,, give it up!". What a show dog.

Kohlman has that certain something about him. He is as stunning in person as in his photos. On top of that, he has a remarkable temperament. Pretty much bomb proof. What a dog. I can't wait to show him.
He was awarded best expression and best outline and best rear at the Tom Coen virtues match this last August. He is pictured here at 13 months old. I would say he is coat factored!!

Enjoy the photos of Akadia Chandelle Steel and Flames.

Christmas, Snow and Puppies

2008-12-26T21:55:00.012-07:00

Christmas went over with no major special or disappointing items. We got up to a lot of snow,, 7 inches overnight. The roads headed into town were horrible and not passable without a four wheel drive. We made tracks into my sister's house to meet with the family.

Once there we were greeted by the menagerie of kittens she has been fostering. If you look back in November's posts at the "Taking Moments" post, you can read about them more. This Christmas was fun for them. My sister left all the wrapping paper and boxes down for them to play in and it was GREAT fun watching them. Here are a couple of shots of them after they were all wore out.

The snow was pretty bad and has hit such a point that the fence is almost buried now. The fence is 5 ft tall and the dogs are going right over it. Thankfully,, this is an internal fence and not border fence.

Found time today to take pictures of the Ch. Price and Ch. Jewelee babies. They will be 3 wks old on Sunday.

Brown leg girl:

Star girl:

Tiny girl:

White head girl:

Gorgeous boy:

Strange events

2008-12-24T21:01:00.004-07:00

Derek and I were deep into getting our Christmas tree up and strung with lights. I had chicken wings and french fries in the oven and Bell, Nicky, Boots, Nanette and Chip were all present to help us in this task of tree decorating.
All of a sudden the dogs in back started barking. This got Nicky going and Derek was annoyed. I told him there must be a good reason that Sarg,, the german shepherd was barking like crazy. I looked out the door and he was going beserk at the window well. I ran out in my socks and peered there and saw a tan cat. Well,, Sarg was about to kill this cat. It was scared to daylights. I grabbed Sarg and pulled him off and then proceeded to pull him to the door. The shelties, I figured, would not hurt the cat. Sarg was yelling the whole way ( a GS thing) and I opened the back door and screamed for Derek. He came and got Sarg and I raced for a flash light. I went back outside and found the cat again, still in the window well. He hissed at me and was so frightened. I then realized that I was going to have to get all the shelties in the house in order to get the cat calmed down. I was still in my socks,, with no coat too. I ran to the door and Derek and I got the shelties in. I quickly put on boots and a coat. I then returned to the cat. I knelt there in the snow for a good 15 minutes talking to him and trying to work up the courage to reach out to him. Being a groomer,,, I have been bit by cats before and it is NOT GOOD!
I finally reached out and he did too. He sniffed my fingers and then I heard him purr.
I then carefully and slowly reached further to pet him. He liked it and didn't bite. YEAH!
Ok,, back into the house to get a towel to pick him up with.
Back to the cat I put the towel over him and picked him up. He relaxed in my arms and I took him to the fence and put him over it. He immediately jumped back over and ran to the window well again.
I haven't ever seen this cat down in the big shop. I would occasionally see him this last fall but he never came close to being touched. So I wasn't sure if he knew about the water, food and heat down in the shop. There is a cat sized hole in the door for the kitties to come and go.
So I yelled for Derek again. I asked him to meet me around at the backyard and get the cat over the fence and we would take him down to the shop.
He came around grabbed the cat. I went through the house and out the front to meet him. The cat had jumped away from Derek but ran right to me. I picked him up again and then we headed to the shop.
When we got there,, Farrah was there,, as usual, and he was glad to see her. I put him down at the bowls. The water was out so Derek ran and got some more. The poor kitty sat there and drank and drank. He was very dehydrated. Enough so, that he didn't even care about the food. We made sure he was ok then Derek and I returned to the house and our tree.
In thinking about this cat, it is pretty amazing that he lived through the ordeal of Sarg. Sarg hates cats,, but really there was no other way for the cat to let us know he needed help. If he had been out in front of our house I wouldn't have seen him. I wouldn't have heard him,, his little voice all quieted by his lack of water. The only way,, was to get the dogs barking so that we would go see what was going on.
I do believe that some things happen for reasons. I can't help but think that on this Christmas Eve,, that God helped this kitty be realized by us and we were able to help him.
After inspecting him, he has frost bit ears,, now turning black. Probably from the past few days of really cold weather. He is skinny,, but otherwise alright.
I hope he stays in the shop. He will get what he needs there as long and I can provide for him.
Merry Christmas little kitty......you had an angel protecting you tonight.

Rays of light

2008-12-23T21:59:00.004-07:00

click on photos to see full size

Today when I got home, we got a rare glimpse of the sun. It shone through the clouds and made a beautiful ray extending right up to the sky, all gold and stunning.

In the sky just out from the sun was the neatest thing. It was like a sideways rainbow created by the crystals of snow in the air as the sun hit them. The wind was blowing and swirling the crystals around making for a sparkling blanket along the top of the snow and in the air. It remained there for about 20 minutes,, long enough for me to run and get my camera. I am sure there is a technical term for this,, when I talk to dad next,, I bet he knows. At the moment it was happening it really made me feel like something special must be happening somewhere,, it was like a spiritual thing almost. Very special....

It was a bad day for weather. I left for work this morning and promptly got stuck in my own yard. 3 or so feet of snow and even my suburban in 4 low was having a bit of a time. We hired out at the grooming shop a gentleman to plow the snow. Our customers couldn't even get in to drop off their dogs.

In the photos here you will see how the snow is all the way up to the top of the fence on one side. The side that is lower is where the dogs pack it down and we have shoveled. The wood fence we have is a 4 foot divider fence and the other chainlink fence is a 5 ft one we keep there to prevent the dogs from going out to the big yard in the winter. Boots discovered how to walk right over it this morning. He thought he was very clever!

Jewelee's puppies are sure getting cute. They are up on their feet and marching around and we are hearing the occasional bark burst out from them. I have one tiny girl that, so far, seems to have a lot of personality. The boy is stunning,, very rich color and pretty face. There are two girls that are quite nice,, one I call "Star" and the other is "Brown leg girl". There is another girl,, "white head girl" that is in the middle. She might end up small,, but right now you can't tell much. I hope to get photos soon for everyone to see. They are very pretty puppies.. I am pleased.

A day of solitude

2008-12-22T19:12:00.004-07:00

<<< there is Nicky,, the best dog in the whole world!!

I had the whole day to myself to do what I wanted. Usually days like this for me are very unproductive. I get caught up easily in the fact that I have the "whole" day to do with what I want and it usually ends up that I don't do anything but take a lot of naps. Oh brother!

Well, today did kinda start out that way. I made my way to the couch and laid there for a couple of tv shows. I then got the buzz to go check on the ferals down in the shop. This led to over an hour outside shoveling snow and enjoying the horrible weather.

I eventually moved into the house, took a shower, made some breakfast, vacuumed the floors, shampooed the carpets, finished my Christmas cards, made two ads for publish, and then loaded the dishwasher and wiped down all the counters. I finished the day with making a potato soup for dinner.

My day of solitude sure turned into a lot being done. I feel good about it. Lately I have had more energy then normal. I am liking it.

So there you go,, a pretty boring post about the doings of my day. Hope you had a good day folks. The weather here is pretty much a blizzard and all the roads are closed. I like it though.

Beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2008-12-21T17:58:00.003-07:00

It was a very snowy day here. Last night it was down to minus 7 when I went to bed. I borrowed a heating pad (outdoor) from my friend Debbie and put it down in our shop for the feral kitties. Farrah was there and she was most appreciative. I took her a huge bowl of water that plugs in so it won't freeze. She drank a lot and then settled down on the heating pad. The other kitties are too wild so they watched from afar. I checked on them today and all were good and had eaten most of the food I had put down for them.

I took Nicky, Boots and Chip out for a romp in the snow. They raced around and Chip bounced around till his feet were all stuck with snow between his toes. He would lay down and bite it out before off again he would be. He is the best follower. He is always under foot and follows me all over the yard and into the large shop. He makes tracks through the shop as I check on the kitties.

Nicky showed him how to run from the front yard to the back and back again but Chip never went far from me even though Nicky was looking to show him around. Chip would come back and check with me before going off again with his new idol.

We spent about an hour outside before I thought he might be getting too cold,, although he never showed it.

The snow has began again tonight with a huge storm expected. The drift in the back yard is up to the 5 ft fence already. Oh,, how fun.

Princess Squishy

2008-12-20T21:29:00.004-07:00

About a month or so after we moved into our house where we live now, Derek came up from the shop and into the house. He asked me to come out to the garage. I went,, wondering what part or tool that he was going to bore me with this time. When I got out the house door to the connected garage, there sat the cutest little calico kitten. Big eyes,, scared and all hunched up, obviously cold. I picked her up and she purred and made bread with her front paws on my arm.

Since we already had 5 indoor cats,, I told Derek that she would have to live in the garage. Not too bad since we heat the garage for the dogs and keep it about 60 degrees all the time.

Well time went on and "garage kitty" began to develop a personality. I would go out in the evening to feed dogs and she would play hide and seek with me,, chasing me and sneaking up on me and attacking me. I would hunch down and sneak up on her and do the same then we would finish with time to cuddle before I brought the dogs in for the night.

She gained great delight from laying on top of the wire crates and pawing at the dogs heads and bugging them till they barked at her. She would also run the full length of the garage in front of the crates, back and forth getting them all barking at her from time to time.

As she got older, it was time to get her spayed and I decided to get her front claws declawed since she was to be out with the dogs. I took her in and had the deeds done. When I got home with her a few days later,, she was a changed kitty. She didn't like me anymore. Just me holding her or petting her would bring on growls and looks of hate from her once cute loving face. I was so hurt.

Months went by and she still hadn't warmed up to me but the one thing she did seem to be happy with was coming into the house for short visits to see the other kitties.

Soon,, the visits turned into nights and days and then a full fledged house cat.

A year and a half went by and still she hated me. I would pick her up,, hold her loosely and pet her lightly as to not disrupt her or upset her and she would tolerate just short times of this before she would growl, spit and race off.

One night I was again holding her (I don't give up easily) and I noticed a horrible smell coming from her mouth. I opened it up and looked at her teeth to see them all inflamed and full of puss and terribly infected. Poor "garage cat" was in horrible pain.

I made an appointment right away and took her in. Come to find out, she has a really rare disease that causes her body to reject her teeth roots. The only choice was to pull all her teeth.

So we did.

A month went by and it was like she was brand new. Like the kitten I had before her spay and declaw. Loving, tolerant and affectionate. Oh goody.

Since we had moved her into the house,, we renamed her Garage',, with the french twist. I mostly call her "Gigi" and "Princess Squishy" since she has the squishiest belly you will ever feel. She is a delight now,,, almost 5 years later. She enters any room she is in with a tribble of meows,, announcing herself. She also loves to rub on Derek's stinky feet. She is a full timer on the bed as well.

My Miss Princess Squishy...

Blogz

2008-12-19T21:37:00.002-07:00

I have had a mix of opinions about the Blog. Some folk's first reaction is disdain or silliness at the thought, others are very supportive and nice.
I guess I have always considered myself somewhat of an open book. I don't hide much,, at least I try not to, really feeling that I don't have anything to hide. If asked or slightly provoked,, I will share on just about any subject out there. I have always been hard to embarrass and easy to embarrass others even though I am a pretty shy person. So the blog has come as a nice avenue for me to just write and share, hoping that some will be entertained or bothered by my muses.
I love reading other blogs and seeing who has been to mine and how many "hits" it has got.
Since dad has been in the hospital it has kinda been sad for me not to have him be able to read the blog. He really enjoyed it and I hope he will soon be able to read it again.
There is something about knowing that others are interested in what you are doing that gives life a little extra to look forward to. I may not always answer my phone because I am not in the mood to talk but I can still sit down and communicate through writing.
I also think it is good for a person to write and just put to words the thoughts that enter our minds. It's stimulating and important to keep such skills,, I believe.
So,, even though there are some sour puss' out there that sneer and snort at my blog.. heck with them. I know there are a bunch of others out there too that like it, and read it and support it. Thanks you guys. I will try to keep it going,, entertaining, thought provoking and maybe even boring sometimes for ya!!.

Chips aHOY!!

2008-12-16T18:25:00.007-07:00

I made a trek down to Utah yesterday to my good friend Tricia's house. I brought along Fiora, since she has her sister and I was also there to see Tricia's beautiful litter by BISS CH. Sea Haven Chasing Moonbeams ROM, CC, AOM.

Since the litter was born I have been watching one of the puppies with perked interest. A little biblack boy with all the frosting. Each picture I would get of him made him appear so adorable and right.

Well,, I wasn't disappointed. Its been a long time since a puppy has just made me smile so much. He is a charmer,, full of life and interest in all that is around him.

A few years ago, I showed his grandsire,, CH. Lacewood The Star Maker to his Championship (all but 5 pts) for Tricia. It was then that I fell in love with that dog and have always wanted a puppy coming from him that I could name "Chip", for the California Highway Patrol (black and whites). This name came to me while in the ring one time with Star Maker.

This year,, I was able to again handle a stunning dog for Tricia to her Championship (in 10 shows) . That was BISS CH. Lacewood Bi Starlight who is a daughter of The Star Maker and also the dam of this darling little puppy,, "Chip",, that I brought home.

I can't thank Tricia enough for letting me be a part of this little guy's life. He is a great source of a lot of smiles for me!

If all goes well,, he will be named Lacewood The Star Trooper. Mr.. Chip to his followers..

Derek was the first to get his picture with him. Boots jumped in there too.

Cookies! and Puppies!

2008-12-14T21:27:00.004-07:00

Beginning to prepare a bit for the holiday. A bit out of time for me since I usually begin sooner. Every year I try to do something special for my vet and the receptionists and techs. This year I have made them Sheltie cookies.

Of course this is somewhat out of sorts since none of them have shelties but I can always feed them some little ginger shelties...right?

Played catch up today and got some rest. Picked up our Christmas tree and dorked around a bit.

Also got some baby pictures of my new litter. Born a week ago. Sired by CH. Akadia Just Priceless and out of BIS CH. Iona I Can Shine. They are pretty puppies. There are 4 girls and a boy.

The weight of the world

2008-12-11T15:49:00.002-07:00

I think everyone that has lived has had moments in life when you feel like you are carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders.
For me,, it comes when I am confronted with sickness and death. The sadness I feel is one that makes me ache in my soul. I feel it internally and harbor it there. I've had times when I literally felt that my heart hurt,, just from the sadness. Nothing seems to help till I can go through my mourning and slowly process it. Probley the moments I remember most for feeling that way have been when I have lost something dear to me and when I see injustice occur. The longest I have ever felt this way has been with Bo going missing out of my yard,, almost 2 yrs ago. I still mourn that situation badly and think of it daily.
With all that has happened with Dad lately,, I have been feeling a lot of that weight. At first,, it was almost panic that hit me that I could lose dad. "Not now" I kept thinking. "I just can't lose him now". After the initial shock of what was happening subsided and the process of leaving to be with him got underway, some really amazing and miraculous things started happening. It was on my journey home yesterday that I realized how this incredibly sad time for me has made me stronger and more aware then ever.
Firstly, I found that my network of friends rushed to my side. Each one providing such good support and contributing in their own special way. Tricia said words of comfort to me that I swear God placed on her lips Himself,, knowing that was what I needed to hear.
Debbie stepped in and made a road trip for me to retrieve 2 returned dogs and then came out to my house daily to exercise my house dogs.
Tammy rushed right in,, no questions asked, and took my "in labor" bitch and whelped the litter and kept momma and babies for me while I was gone.
Then,, there was the prayer chain of friends offering special prayers and blessings. We joked to Dad that he had every denomination out there praying for him.
My email was full of comforting words and acknowledgements.
Secondly,, in this time when we are at our worst financially (we've had to close our business due to the economy) and I didn't know where a spare penny would come from,, I was able to sell one of the adult dogs I had available to a wonderful home where he will be adored. This provided a great deal of the money needed to go see dad.
And lastly,, a spirit of comfort from God. For once in my life, I am at more peace with the future then I have been in some time. I know that His will is to be done regardless of our intervention and I am ok with that. Dad was ok with that and even in the time of great sadness, facing his own death,, he was given comfort as well. We took the time in slowly and made each moment count. Remembering the past and looking to the future, as it is to be.
I came home last night and just sat in amazement of what I viewed as the weight of the world on me,, not being "me" at all.
The good Lord has provided for me time and time again and here is, perhaps, one of the most special times of all. He placed people, friends and family in all the right spots of my situation to help with what was happening. Like a well orchestrated baseball team. Each playing there base and catching the ball every time it was hit to them.
To say I feel humbled,, would be appropriate.

Dad woke up from his bypass surgery. That was a huge relief and big concern. Now,, a tough road ahead. The surgery showed severe damage from previous heart attacks (that Dad thought was indigestion) and even with the new arteries,, his heart is only able to work at 10 percent capacity.
Dad has had a hard life. Polio as a kid of 7,, Muscular dystrophy, post polio syndrome, and now the heart problem. He has spent most of his life in full leg braces and for the last 10 years, in a wheel chair. I don't tell you this for sympathy, but to show what a fighter my dad is. They told him he would never walk. He played football and basketball,, for a while, till his legs broke. Several surgeries to his knees later,and they told him he would be in a wheelchair most of his life.. didn't happen till 10 yrs ago. All the while remaining positive and loving life. I NEVER heard my dad complain,, even when I knew he was in great pain. So if ever a person could pull through,, dad will.
Keep the prayers coming and I promise to be more positive in my next post.
God Bless you all and THANK YOU!

Update on dad

2008-12-08T19:05:00.002-07:00

Update on my dad..
He will undergo bypass surgery on Wednesday morning.
Kind of the only option. The doctors told him that if he didn't that he would only have about a month to live. Surgery is risky,, but dad has a fighting spirit.
Keep him in your prayers.
I'll be back from Kentucky on Thursday

A very bad day.

2008-12-06T16:06:00.004-07:00

Had a very bad day yesterday. My dad had a heart attack. So I am headed tomorrow to Kentucky to be with him.
I will post more once I get home and I apologize to folks if I won't be able to answer my email.
thanks you all,, and say some prayers for my dad.

Last minute pictures of the sunset tonight. God was being very kind tonight with His colors.

Computer sick again

2008-12-03T21:27:00.003-07:00

Came home today to the power out. 5 hours later,, it was restored but I ended up spending 3 1/2 of those hours in the dark.
I lit a fire in the fireplace and a few candles and laid out on the couch wrapped in a blanket.
Amazing how quiet the house is without the hum of the refrigerator, computer and furnace running.
Nicky took every opportunity to bark at each sound he heard. Jewelee is mad because she has to be in so much. We are on puppy watch with her first due date on Friday.
Derek brought up a camping lamp from the garage and I sat and looked at old Sheltie Special magazines from the 70's, to pass the time.
So,, after the power came back on, I powered up my PC and waited for it to start. It never did. I turned it off, back on, off, back on. It will power up and then just shut off.
I think the power outage zapped it, and we just got it back from being repaired. Thank goodness I have my laptop!.
So, amongst the other things that have gone wrong lately,, now my computer is dead again. Darn it.

Sleep

2008-12-02T22:13:00.003-07:00

The sanctity of sleep.
I sit here watching my cat Russ, curled into a circle,,little nose tucked into his belly and his tail carefully wrapped around his bum. His eyes are closed so tight. He is in a very happy place right now.
On the floor is Bell,, stretched out on her side,, snoring and on the chair is Nanette,, sleeping upside down, feet in the air but weak at the joints with total relaxation.
Animals really know how to enjoy the comforts around them. The positions, the deepness of their sleep,, just makes me envious.
You know when your a kid,, you can sleep like that. Any position, anywhere and you never wake up all screwed up by how you've slept.
Now, all I have to do is lay wrong and my body screams at me all day long for the damage I did to it,, just sleeping.
Where along the way did it become possible to screw up sleeping so badly that your body hurts for it the next day?
Every once in a while,, perhaps with the help of some Kahlua and coke or a nice Tylenol P.M. I get the opportunity to find that place of total relaxation. The one where your floating and your body feels like mush. Love it..
Oh the sanctity of sleep. Reminds me of one of my favorite poems:

The Sacrament of Sleep

Thank God for sleep!
And , when you cannot sleep,
Still thank Him that you live
To lie awake.

And pray Him, of His grace,
When He sees fit, sweet sleep to give,
That you may rise, with new-born eyes,
To look once more into His shining face.

In sleep-limbs all loose-laxed- and slipt the chains-
We draw sweet-close to Him from whom our breath
Has life. In His sole hands we leave the reins,
In fullest trust Him for life or death.

This sleep in life close kinsman is to death;
And, as from sleep we wake to greet the day,
So, too, from death we shall with joy awake
To greet the glories of The Great Essay.

To His belov'd new life in sleep He gives,
And, unto all, awakening from sleep,
Each day is resurrection-a new birth
To nearer heaven and recreated earth-
To all Life's possibilities-of good
Or ill-with joys and woes endued-
Till that last, shortest sleep of all,
And that first great awakening from Life's thrall.

Thank God for sleep!
And when you cannot sleep,
Still thank Him for the grace
That lets you live
To feel the comfort of His soft embrace.

John Oxenham

My fault

2008-12-01T22:41:00.003-07:00

Took Nicky into the shop today and gave him a bath. He hung out with me while I ran some errands and went and visited my friend Debbie.
He was a very good boy but I could tell by the end that he really wanted to get home. On the last road to my house he put his feet on the console and looked right at me and nudged my arm. I got home and he bounced from side to side on the back seat at the noise of the other dogs barking my arrival.
I got into the house and we sat down to watch Ellen. I got hungry and went to the kitchen and got some leftover turkey and a drink of sweet tea.
I went back to the living room and set my drink on the ottoman since I don't have a table handy to where I was sitting on the couch. This is a typical place for me to set my drinks and kinda stupid of me.
I had Nicky, Bell, Butters and Boots all standing around me watching me eat my turkey and waiting for hand outs. Well Nicky got tired of standing at the back of the crowd so he leaped up onto the ottoman, knocking my drink all over me and the two remotes I had sitting there. Well my reaction was "No!,, bad Nicky".
Now,, Nicky is the most spoiled dog ever and he has never had any real reprimands in his life but just the mere reaction of my voice to the action sure got the message through. He went and stood behind the chair on the right of me.
I realized how I had yelled and looked to see where he was and saw him peeking around the chair to see if I was still mad. Just the sight of him peeking at me made me instantly feel guilty. So I said "it's alright,, I know it was an accident" and out he ran and right up to me. He plopped down beside me and we got on with watching Ellen.
It was my fault. I shouldn't have put my glass there.
I sure love that little dog. He is just the best!

An icky day

2008-11-30T10:00:00.005-07:00

An icky day. Its very misty and foggy outside so I put my boots on, wrapped myself in a beach towel (over my coat) and went out to spend time with the dogs playing.

Now,, you might wonder about the beach towel. Well,, my dogs like to jump on me,, and they jump on me a lot. So I take a large beach towel and wrap it around my legs and coat (mid body) and clip it with a spring clamp. The protects my clothes and keeps me relatively clean. I look like and idiot out there but at least I don't come back into the house with muddy foot prints all over me.

Anyway, the dogs loved the romp.. They got nice and dirty and played and played till their tongues hung out.

Sarg is our rescue German shepherd. I got him from the pound over a year ago now. I was at the pound twice a week for over a year when Bo went missing. During my visits I brought home a dog and a cat and paid for the adoption fee monthly for any adult cat. We like to have at least one large dog around. Conan, our border collie is still hanging out, at over 12 now. So we actually have 2 large dogs,, but Conan isn't much threat.

Sarg has turned into a great dog. He was estimated to be about 9 yrs old when I got him. He is gentle with the shelties, puppies and adults alike. He lets the puppies crawl all over him and lick his face. The only thing he really protects is his toy, but he mostly just stands over it.

I got one picture of Camille. She is one of the two Tibetan Spaniels that we have. She has been shown and just needs her majors to finish. Majors in Tibbies are very hard to find though. Our other Tibbie is a Champion. They mix well with the shelties as they are very hardy and agile. They like the cold weather and love to run with the other dogs. Camille is a sweety. Pictured here all wet and dirty, just like she loves to be.

After the romp in the yard I put everyone up for a nap and they all got a chewy. Usually they are outside all day except the house dogs so this is a rare treat for them. They were loving it.

Fiora

2008-11-29T17:59:00.003-07:00

Had a moment today after work to take a few photos of Fiora. I started out on this venture alone but all she would do is sit and look straight at me. Derek got home about 3 hours after I did so as soon as he got here I rushed out and asked him to help before the sun went down. I got a couple that are pretty good. She is much prettier in person, believe it or not.

Sired by CH. Macdega Notorious and out of CH. Imagine Dangerous Curves.

Ironically, I gave her dam a best in sweepstakes win several years ago. I just loved her. When I found out that Jan Williams had leased her and bred her to Nathan,, I just had to have one of the babies.

I saw Nathan for the first time at the national this year and was really awe-struck by him. He was like looking at my vision of the standard,, right there in front of me.

So, as you can imagine,, "Fiora" is quite special to me. She is pictured at 21 wks,, not quite 5 months old.

The calm "after" the storm

2008-11-28T10:00:00.004-07:00

Well, Thanksgiving went over well. We ended up with 9 in attendance and with way too much food.
It was nice to see all the family and watch everyone visiting with one another. I was surprised by the amount of folks that came to the kitchen to hang out while I was preparing things. It was nice.
The turkey came out perfect and the stuffing was great,, if I do say so myself. I added green onions and cranberries to it this year and it had a nice little zing. I made a new dish of sweet potatoes with a butter, brown sugar, and toasted pecan sauce. I topped them with the usual marshmallows but had an added touch of caramel to the top of that before serving. Oh my gosh was that good! That was probley my favorite.
I thought I had gone and burnt my special artichoke dip, but I got to it in the nick of time. It is made with marinated artichokes all diced up. Add mayonnaise, onion, and Parmesan cheese and bake. Wow,, that is a good one too.
The whole family got a kick out of watching Farrah (the feral cat) hunting the back field. I felt bad for her having to hunt on Thanksgiving so I went out when folks weren't watching and filled her bowls up with a nice topping of some turkey and drippings. When I came back into the house I saw her making her way across the field toward the house. She must have heard me out there and was wasting no time coming to get her meal. Good kitty.
Yesterday was sunny and beautiful, we lucked out. This morning it is all foggy and overcast but still quite settling as it makes for a hush when it is foggy. Even the dogs seem quieter in the fog. I like it.
Well, since Derek is off today we are headed into the museum for a visit. No shopping for us today,,, too poor! Good day to you-all.

Preperations

2008-11-25T22:38:00.002-07:00

Spent the afternoon preparing for the Thanksgiving dinner that I will host for my family on Thursday. There will be 10 of us with one friend in attendance.
I like to host the big get-togethers. It sure makes me clean my house!
A common remark to me about these big dinners is that folks just think about how much work it is. True,, it is a lot of work, but, to be honest, I don't really think about that. I get a bit of a rush out of hosting actually. I just like it.
When I was a kid almost every holiday was spent at my grand parents house. Now,, they didn't have the largest house. Basically one bedroom on the main floor and two up stairs in an attic sort of arrangement. They raised all 6 of their kids in that house. Pretty remarkable to think about. Grandma would make the best meals. The livingroom would be turned into a dining room with a grand table stretching from the davenport to the tv. Those were the best of memories for me. The smells as you came in the door of food preparation already stirring the senses. Grandma greeting you with a kiss and grandpa sitting in his chair by the big picture window,, waving a sweet greeting. My favorite food that grandma made was probley her potatoes and peas in white sauce and her homemade dinner rolls. Wow,, she was the best cook.
The thing is,, even though the food was great,, the fact that the whole family gathered there was even more remarkable. It was something you could count on. In this day and age, I see that as a fleeting thing. Perhaps that is why I get a rush out of hosting my own family holiday get-togethers. Now my family consists of my two brothers and thier wives. My sister and her daughters and my mom. Dad has moved to Kentucky.
Its nice to have anyone that can come and one thing I am always happy for is another to join us. So throughout the years I have had many good friends join us also.
With that said,, I guess I better get to bed. Tomorrow I will go to work, bath Jewelee and shave her belly in preparation for her litter (due Dec 5th) and then come home and get to work on all the fixin's for Thursday.

Farrah's kitties

2008-11-24T20:34:00.004-07:00

Farrah is our resident feral cat. She is a torti colored cat with long hair and a nick out of one of her ears.

I watch her daily hunting the back field and in the evenings she makes her way to my house for her bowl of water and supply of cat food that I provide for her. In the last month or so I have built a bond with her that has now led me to be able to pet her and I picked her up twice now. She is still very nervous about it, but allows me.

Last week she followed me into the kennel to get her food. She marched right in and followed me around till I had her food then she followed me back outside.

It is my hope to be able to catch her and get her spayed and perhaps give her a part time home in the kennel this winter. It gets so cold that I am afraid she will freeze so if I can't bring her in then I will rig up some shelter for her with a heating pad in it.

This fall Farrah got pregnant. I hadn't seen her kittens till just recently as they have grown old enough to venture to my house to get the food and water I put out. They are VERY wild and at the sight of me they race off. There are 4 of them. Two orange ones and two grey ones. Three long haired and one short. They are so very cute and fluffy. I am not sure I will ever be able to tame them.

Today, it was a nice crisp fall day and the sun was out. The kittens gathered by the trees out back and were racing around, playing and jumping and climbing the trees. I was able to get some photos of the orange fluffy one through the house windows.

They are really fun to watch. I really wish I could do more to get them spayed and neutered and I will continue to work on them. Meanwhile, I will get Farrah spayed and continue to feed her and her kittens and the other two ferals that come around.

Oh the joys of living in the country next to a dairy.. never at a loss for wild cats!

Butters

2008-11-23T22:40:00.003-07:00

"Butters" at 4.5 months

Most folks that know me know that I don't really care for tri-colors. Of course I love all shelties and really don't care what color they are when it comes to quality and temperament, but, for me, the tri is one of the colors that appeals to me least. So throughout the years I have owned very few. I had a nice tri years ago that I sold to Kensil's shelties. He was CH. Emeraude Take Notice, a CH. Banchory Never Say Never son. He is behind some of my dogs now.

Another tri, came as a gift. Can CH. Weathermans Christmas Spirit who has 7 pts and a major now. I have also bred to many tris, when needed.

So this last spring, a friend of mine bred to the dog I was showing last year. CH. Denian's Deuces are Wild (number 5 sheltie for 2007). The resulting litter produced a tri color boy puppy that I really fell for. Kinda different for me. When I went to meet my friend,, Barbara Ray, to look at the puppies once again, I liked his brother better though. So I asked her if she minded if I took the brother to grow out instead of the puppy I had originally fell for. Something about the head piece that reminded me so much of his sire. A look.

Anyway,, when I got the puppy home he was so chubby. He just rolled and rolled everywhere. So I started calling him the little butter ball. Both my husband and I are fans of Southpark and there is a character on there called Butters. So we both felt it was only appropriate that we call the butterball puppy,,, "Butters".

I have caught more torment over this puppy's name. It is just funny. Now that he is 7 or so months old, I could never see him as anything other then "Butters". He knows it and I love the name. Barbara Ray's kennel name is Salt City so the will be Salt City South Park.

I was really proud of him. In August I went to the Tom Coen seminar. "Butters" was a hit and came home with best profile and best muzzle from the virtues seminar. So far,, he is holding his promise and I am very excited about him. Even if he is one of those "tri-colored" dogs!

Go "BUTTERS"!!!

Ice Cream bowls

2008-11-21T22:58:00.004-07:00

Ice cream has always been my personal pitfall and thanks to my dad,, a night time snack. It started when I was little and has become a habit that I found really hard to give up. Even after finding out I have a real intolerance to lactose. I just take my pills so that I don't get a stomach ache and have my ice cream.

So here is the deal. My dogs, of course, expect ice cream when I have ice cream. It mostly began when Nicky and Bo were puppies. I would get 3 small dishes and in two I would put one scoop and in the third two scoops. Off to the living room I would go and the boys would patiently wait as I put their bowls down for them and then I would sit with mine. Nicky would always eats his fast and look to see if Bo had any left. Bo being Bo, he would, and Nicky would try to help himself to his. Bo never bothered with trying to stop him and was satisfied with what he got. Then both boys would relentlessly lick the bowls all over the living room floor as they would skid with each lick. I have found bowls under much of the furniture from these snack times.

Well, since Bo went missing I haven't done the thing with each having their own bowls. Bell is a house dog now along with Boots and Nicky and Butters. The thing is with these dogs is they are all like Nicky. They eat it so fast and look to see if the others have any that they don't enjoy it. So now we do the thing with them all waiting for my bowl once I finish mine and they all try to lick it clean as fast as possible. Butters rarely gets in on the venture since Bell, Boots and Nicky are such pushy dogs.

Its funny to see them all. They know when I get my ice cream at night to watch me closely for when the last bite is left in the bowl that they will get their chance at the sweet tastes left for them to lick. Occasionally just Nicky and I will have a sit and have our own bowls without the others. I like to think that maybe Bo is there with us, in spirit, sharing that time. I sure miss you Bo.

Ice cream bowls.......

Bi blacks,, a love affair.

2008-11-19T17:13:00.008-07:00

Top: Fiora, Middle: Sunebank Thriller, Bottom: CH. Akadia Totally Intoxicating (Stinky)

Took my Ch. Stinky into work today to have a bath. She is getting her teeth cleaned tomorrow in preparation for her specials career next year. I am particularly excited about showing her as she is one of my very favorites and she is biblack!

My favoritism for biblacks started with a love affair for Ch. Harvest Hills Shoeshine Boy back in the 80's. He was just the epitome of biblack perfection in my eyes. I remember having his picture up on the wall in the bedroom in several places and I would look at it and study it for hours,, daydreaming of the day I would have my own biblack. I was in my teens then.

One of the things that I was drawn to about Shoe was his stunning profile in head. Now, since I only saw his photos and not him, I can't be sure if it was as perfect in person as in his photos. The pictures showed lovely head planes topped off with a really strong underjaw and finish. Something about this profile,, in black, set off with the white made me stumble in awe.

Now,, years later,, I still strive for that profile. I love my biblacks and have a bit of a reputation for them. In the 80's I had bought a really nice biblack male from Sunebank shelties. His name was Sunebank Thriller and he is in just about all my pedigrees now. He came pretty close to what, in my minds eye, I viewed Shoe to be. Jack's head was so smooth, clean, lean and displayed the incredible finish.

Currently my goal has been to get the soft expression of the other colors to come through on the biblacks. I think that is a hard-to-get virtue in black. I have a puppy now,, by Ch. Macdega Notorious that I see coming close to that goal. Her name is Mistybrooks Fiora.

Well,, here's to the future of these little black dogs. Its going to be an exciting year with Ch. Stinky I hope.

Grady's wish

2008-11-17T16:47:00.002-07:00

Part of owning and breeding shelties is the great enrichment that we get from the folks that own the dogs we breed. Time and time again I get wonderful letters telling stories of the little dogs that I have placed. I can never get enough of that. I just love hearing about them.

Years ago, I worked with a gal that was to later become my best friend. Nancy and I spent a great deal of time together and I have always felt that we had incredible kinship of souls. She had started out in dogs by getting a dog to raise to be a guide dog. This golden retriever, Santana, was the light of Nancy's life and when she flunked out of guide dog school and was offered back to Nancy, she jumped at the chance.

Along the way to getting to know Nancy, I had this adorable blue sheltie named Grady. Grady wasn't as happy with me as he always seemed to be with Nancy and since he wasn't big enough to show, I hoped by letting him stay with her for a while that he would win her over. It worked. Hook, line and sinker!!

Nancy has since moved away,, to Portland to work (ironically) at the Guide dogs for the Blind. She has kept Grady all these years. He is over 12 now and has put her through some real ups and downs. Recently though,, Grady was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in his mouth. He went through surgery to remove it and is doing so well. Worried for Grady, Nancy took him to an animal communicator who told her some things about him that she had wondered about. One of the things mentioned was that before he transitions that he wants to chase sheep.

Ok,, well, today I get home to an email titled "Grady's wish". My heart dropped,, all I could think was "oh no". So I reluctantly open the email to a beautiful photo of "G",, and his wish. The sheep. Geez....... I don't know why I thought it would be a bad thing. It did make me swell up with tears though.

It's just beautiful!. Thank you Nancy for being so much to Grady and being so much to me in fulfilling every wish, want or need for him. What else could I ever hope for in a person that would own of my shelties. Thanks for being my friend.

Show News

2008-11-16T16:00:00.003-07:00

Today at the Shetland Sheepdog Club of North Alabama, Akadia Killians Irish Red was Reserve Winners dog under judge Wendy Mount.

"Brew" is owned by Nanette Johnson and co-owned and bred by Akadia. Sired by Ch. Sunebank Caerleon Just Right ex BIS Ch. Iona I Can Shine.

Congrats to Nanette and Brew. He has 11 pts, 1 major (I think) at just over 1 yr of age.

"Brew's" dam, BIS CH. Iona I Can Shine is pregnant now with a litter sired by CH. Akadia Just Priceless

Taking moments

2008-11-15T21:43:00.003-07:00

Yesterday after work I headed to do some errands. At the end of the errands I remembered that my sister, Pearl, had told me about all of the kittens she is fostering and that if I wanted to come by and see them that I could. So I decided to.

I got to Pearl's house and it was evident that she wasn't home so I headed in anyway to see. I entered through the garage and apon coming in I saw a few kittens on the step. I closed the door behind me and made a few steps across the room toward a crate on the floor. All of a sudden out of this crate came one after another of these little siamese mixed kittens. Each one would step out,, stretch, yawn and then come right over to me till I had 5 little ones at my feet all looking up at me. Blue eyes a blinking. I said to them "Hi guys,, are you the welcome committee?".

Then I heard noises. My sister has shelves that run the length of the ceiling in her garage that are connected to a work bench below. She has boxes up on those shelves. So up pops all of these multi-colored faces of kittens,, again, one by one each they made their way out of the boxes in the shelves down the work bench and right up to me. By now,, I am just smiling. All in all, I think there was about 17 kittens all at my feet staring up at me. All different ages, colors and personalities but all extremely friendly and happy to see me. I picked each one up and snuggled it and pressed them to my face to get the feel of their fur.

I decided that I would just sit down on the steps leading into her house and watch these babies. They were so fun. They would race across the room and chase toys that were there, attack each other, pounce, leap, and wrestle. All like they were giving me a personal show for my visit. I ended up with one on my lap patting at one in my armpit. One under my coat and one on the outside of my coat attacking the one on the inside, and then rotating ones on my lap for short visits of loving and pets.

I spent about an hour with them and with a huge smile on my face. All so well socialized and loving,, I was so impressed.
That hour did more for my psych then anything has in some time. I left there feeling so good. Taking a moment for myself to enjoy those babies and their show. Aw,, it was delightful.

Pearl took some to the adoption drive today. Not sure if any were adopted but whoever ends up with one of these babies will be a lucky person.

Show News

2008-11-14T22:33:00.001-07:00

Happy to report that the CH. Akadia Just Priceless daughter,, HiValley the Price Is Right was WB and BOW at the Alabama specialty today for a 4 pt major. Judge was Jan Haderlie. "Plinko" is proudly owned by Carol Howell.

Monicity

2008-11-13T23:12:00.003-07:00

Mona,, or Monicity, is my little gray kitty. She is about the weirdest little animal I have. I can't quite figure her out. One minute she is all lovey dovey and the next,, nonchalant and uninterested. She has never endeared herself to anyone until recently. She has become my computer kitty. She sits on the chair next to me all the while I am in the computer room. Every once in a while she will get up and paw my side or get on my lap but never for long. She hates to be held, hugged or carried anywhere and will scream the most pitiful meow.

She's kind of an ungrateful thing. I found her and her littermates (Russ is one of them) living in the goat pen. Her mother, a feral, had be ran over on the road. The kittens were so cold and dehydrated when I found them that they laid limp in your hand. Out of the 4 we saved 3 and I kept 2. So you see,,, Mona should be the most grateful kitty ever,, but she isn't. Cat rules of life I guess,, never show your servants that you need them...

Ungrateful little shit. I love her.

The BEST dog in the whole world

2008-11-12T20:58:00.008-07:00

Ok,, I have to explain that cute blue puppy on the top of the page. That is my "Nicky", also known as "Super Man", and "the best dog in the whole world".

Nicky is about the most precious thing to me in my life. He is my very best friend.

One thing about him is that he never lets me down. He knows me and my attitudes and always comes and makes sure that I'm ok. He sits at the back door while I am gone to shows, making me sad, but taking him to shows is impossible.
As much as I love Nicky, I realize that he has some personality quirks not so enduring to others like they are to me. For one,, he doesn't like new people,, particularly loud people and he will growl and make a lot of ruckus about them.

The other thing is that Nicky doesn't like crates. I can't crate him to travel or he barks non stop till I let him out. At home, he is not crated except at night or if I leave but not at all when I am home or he will bark and bark and not stop. He also has to sleep in my room.
When he was a puppy I tried to put him and his brother in the guest bedroom right across the hall from my bedroom. Nicky would carry on for hours till I brought his crate to my room. Before long, both boys where in my room permanently. He has separation issues, probley. I don't know.

The one thing I do know is that I love Nicky for just what he is. I don't show him,, because I could never stand criticism of him. I never glued his ears because I hated how it made him look and I just don't mess with much about him. It doesn't matter. He is loved so much just the way he is.

Nicky was a bottle raised baby. I fed him every 2 hours and took him everywhere with his little rice bag all heated up. Even though it was hard some nights when I didn't think he would make it,, I kept going because something about this little light made me so happy. Maybe midlife crisis for a childless lady?? I don't know. I just loved him and he was just a source of joy for me.
I named him Akadia Resonating Light because he is a constant light for me in my life.

Its funny, but every time I have had a very special dog get to old age, the good Lord has placed a new one there to help me. When April passed, I had Kizzy,, when Kizzy passed, I had Nicky. I can't imagine there ever being anther to make the day Nicky passes easier. Maybe at that point,,,,,, I will get out of dogs.

Weird day

2008-11-11T22:40:00.002-07:00

Today was my birthday and it was weird. Overall,, it was really quite a good day but for some reason,, I felt as though I was watching it from the outside looking in.
Do you ever have days like that? Its like I was watching my own life from a different perspective. Not "really",, I am not totally crazy, but its a sort of sensation a person gets.

I have to say that it was such a nice day, in that I felt a lot of love from the folks I hold dear. As we get older we realize that gifts aren't the important part as much as acknowledgement. I felt really acknowledged today and I so thank my family and friends for that. I did get some neat things too. One of which I am wearing now. A kewl night gown with pink elephants on it. Nice! I also scored a giant bottle of pickles. My favorite!
Now I sit here and it just seemed so surreal.
My poor old dog Hailey, who will be 15 in two months, is having a hard day. She could hardly stand tonight. I syringed some water to her and petted her for a long time. After that she felt better and walked all about and went to the water bucket and drank a bunch. I think she needed her own acknowledgement, to be honest. She really perked up after that. I know that in the hustle and bustle of things that I don't spend a lot of time with her,, actually hardly any time, since she sleeps so much. As I was standing there thinking about her tonight. I could see how she was just feeling so down. I spent 10 minutes telling her how much she meant to me and syringing her water through an AI tube (all you dog breeders out there know), I petted her head like I haven't done in a long time. She gave me such a look of thanks and then it was like she was brand new.
I think animals and humans alike just need acknowledgement sometimes to make it over a hill in life. I know I certainly do,, and Hailey sure did. From now on,, I hope to help acknowledge the folks around me more.

Fall

2008-11-10T09:00:00.005-07:00

I love fall! I got up this morning and looked outside from the bedroom window and there it was... gloomy and grey. I can't help it though,, I like it. Something about a fall day that sets my heart to ease and makes me just slow down. To me,, it is a bit of reverence that comes with seeing everything go into the dormant stage, knowing that it will renew once again in the spring. I love the colors of fall,, all orange, red and yellow. Its the time of year that I find myself outside more,, perhaps because it isn't hot and it isn't too cold yet. In the hustle and bustle of life where everyone is go, go, go,, fall seems to make you calm down, slow down and perhaps through a bit of depression,, appreciate.

I love how furry every animal gets. The horses get rich with color when the winter coats come in and even the cows get cleaner looking and their colors come out. Speaking of cows. The neighbor filled the back field up with his this weekend. Boy was that a hay day for my dogs. They barked till they were hoarse and then barked more. The cows would come right up to the back fence and just stand there.. Dogs barking and bouncing against the fence like crazy. The cows didn't care.

There were some neat ones in the bunch.. Speckley and spotty ones that looked as though they might have texas longhorn in them. They were my favorite. There were some boring ones too, but even as drawn as my dogs were to them,, I have to admit that I spent a good amount of time just watching them eat and mosey around. They are gone now,, back to watching for the eagles, and ferrel cats again.

Side note: This photo I took 2 years ago up by Heise Hot springs, ID. This is looking down at the snake river from the highway.

Even though

2008-11-09T22:45:00.002-07:00

Even though the title is Akadia shelties,, I probley should have titled it Shelties and CATS!.

We do love our cats,, all 6 of them and the interaction we have with them is next to what you might view as parent and child.

Each one has such a unique personality. Today it was a funny day with Russ tribbling (thats what I call the little stuttered meow that cats do) to Derek. Derek had walked into the kitchen to find Russ on the counter (oh,,ya,, big deal!). Russ looked at him,, Derek looks back and says "RUSS!",, Russ looks back and kindly tribbles a reply. He didn't move,, mind you. Just tribbled. Then in a look of defeat Derek put his arms up in the air and said "RUSS!" again. Still no movement,, just a light little cute tribble from Russy. Then slowly,, he sauntered off the counter to the floor where he marched up to Derek and rubbed on his leg. "Your no threat Derek".. hee hee.

Beginnings

2008-11-09T22:07:00.000-07:00

Ok,, so I keep reading other folks blogs and thinking that I should take the plunge and join in. I am not sure how often I will post,, although I might be surprised since it is winter and there isn't much else to do.
It is nice to think that there is a place to set into print some of my crazy thoughts for others to view and confirm my slanted grasp on life..