Kady and Molly got to watch their cousins herd sheep on Saturday. Kady was quite enthusiastic about wanting to play the game herself. Molly was glad that there were laps for sitting on in the bleachers.
Zoe came first:
The highlight of Zoe’s run and why I think I may not be trialing Kady myself:
Huxley/Zoe daughter Minnie is a dynamo!
And she even has a “down”.
If you haven’t seen them, Missy has videos of the run on the Spyrock blog.
This weekend was the Jackson County “Harvest Fair” to which we hitch the Southern Oregon Kennel Club Responsible Dog Owners’ Day(s). Alice went for about a half-day on Saturday, while Molly and Kady spent the entire day both Saturday and Sunday. Photo credits to Tom.
Saturday started out bright and sunny: warm but not horribly hot. Saturday afternoon clouds moved in and Sunday was actually cool.
Mollly: "Up just a little higher . . ."
Molly and Kady both love children. Especially small children with sweet, sticky hands.
It was a great experience for Kady, who has new friends. One friend is a 12-year-old Dalmatian.
Another friend is a Doberman Pinscher named Chas. He is just the same age as Kady (15 months) and is already working on his Grand Championship. I was delighted that Kady could enjoy playing with a Big Black Dog.
A third new friend is a 3-year-old Toller boy named “Diggs”. He only came on Sunday and I didn’t get pictures of him. And then there is a ”Big Dog” who has not yet made Kady’s BFF list: another brindle “Molly”. This Molly is a 4-year-old Mastiff. There is still some work ahead of us.
And a Sun Day it is.
The smoke has cleared and the sky is a deep blue, offset by the golds and greens of the grass and trees. A mild day on the cusp of autumn.
I had a request for new pictures of Audrey, so after doing some website work and helping to stack a ton of stove pellets I hauled out the camera and went to sit on the lawn with the pack.
Hi Hi, I'm Audrey!
At first it was difficult to get them away from eating pine cones sitting in the shade next to me. But then there came a “cat alert!” in the pasture.
"Look, over there: it's a bird, it's a plane, it's a . . . . CAT!
Molly and Audrey. And yes, Molly did eat a big hole in her side but it’s growing back now.
Toot, dah dah Doo - Charge!
Bo-o-oring.
Audrey would like to be a stock dog please, because they get to jump in water troughs when their run is through. (I did add more water after snapping the picture.)
I also managed a couple of Audrey’s dad Huxley. Ungroomed but still handsome.
A mature man at seven.
Willamette Valley 09/11/11
Sam's Valley 09/12/11
Thank you for the birthday wishes yesterday. I love you all!
Last week also marked my 18-year anniversary at “the day job”. Today we implement some personnel reassignment and task reorganization. I am hopeful this will solve some problems and take a load off of my shoulders.
So now on with the “first day of the rest of my life.”
No fairgrounds this year, the show was moved to Pioneer Park in Brownsville, about 20 miles north of Eugene. Fortunately there are more trees for grooming under than I thought there might be. Except for out in the ring there was shade.
Satellite view of park, group rings are in the big grassy area.
Herding Group
Pilot ended up with a Group IV. He stood pretty and smiled at the judge but was moving in slow motion in the 95 degree heat.
Calapooia River
Kady and I took a walk between breed and groups. I took these pictures with my phone.
Kady wanted me to come in, but I was still in show clothes.
Now back at “camp”, the girl is exhausted. It was a good day for Kady. Even though she didn’t win, she learned that she could share a setup with Beardies and a Bouvier and live to tell about it.
* Happy 7th birthday to my good buddy Hux, CH Wolfrun Brave New World.
And to his littermates Chaucer, Flint, Maya, and the rest.
A new season is coming, sooner than anticipated. This morning it was crisp and bright and in the upper 30′s.
The leaves are already starting to change, and not just from drought.
We should make some time to pick a few blackberries this weekend.
The fall webworms have been busily spinning. They’ve really exploded locally this year (see Mail Tribune article). Driving to work, I pass trees that are totally covered in web, giving them into a ethereal fairy-tale look.
Some trees are engulfed, others untouched.
It’s a beautiful drive in to the office this time of year, but I fear that I will soon be suffering from snowbird-itis.