Catching up

Shame on me! It's been way too long since my last entry. So much has happened since then.

Last fall Joey and Dixie competed in gun dog stakes, both earning placements. I am hoping this spring will bring some blue ribbons for the pair. Sara and Dylan began training as gun dogs last summer out in North Dakota, but aren't quite ready for prime time just yet. Buddy has become a useful field trial horse now. I've judged , scouted, planted birds, and handled from him now. He's doing it all.

This winter, the company for which I have worked for the past eight plus years, Circuit City, closed it doors for good, leaving me in unchartered waters - unemployed. All I can tell you is that searching for a job may be harder work than actually having a job. I'm hoping the economy turns around soon.

Lastly, I am planning another litter this spring - Dixie to Dylan. This should be a very nice breeding of pups with great field ability and wonderful temperaments.

Mid-summer blahs

OMG! I can't believe that it's the middle of July already! It seemed like just yesterday that all the "kids" came home, and now they are headed out to North Dakota with trainer Dave as I type. I think they were ready to go though... they were getting rather bored around here. Going to summer camp, as I call it, means ample time for running and working on birds. And summer in North Dakota is much cooler than summer in Virginia. Chase, the pup I was boarding for a few months while his owner was on temporary assignment, as rejoined his "mommy" now. They are in the DC area now, soon to relocate to Texas.

I have spent much of my time this summer learning first hand about pasture management. I divided my pasture into two parcels with temporary electric fencing. The key word there is TEMPORARY, because it seems like the horses, deer or goblins end up taking down the dividing fence every time we have a good thunderstorm. What amazes me is just how far the insulators will fly off the fiberglass posts when the fence is plowed down. Anyhow, my intent is to rotate the horses from one side to the other on a regular frequency to allow the grass on each side time without horses on it to build back up. We'll see how well this works.

Dog Days of Summer

Summer has definitely hit Virginia this week. I believe the temp reached 100 degrees today in Richmond. I started off the day by bringing Buddy and Komanche over to my newly fenced in pasture. They seem to be happy enough with their new home. They found the mud road along the back that connects the two pastures, and spent a good part of the afternoon hanging out there in the shade. The dogs haven't quite gotten used to the idea of horses being on the other side of the fence. Misty was the first to spot them, sounding off in her "intruder!" bark.

There won't be the sound of any new little feet around here, unfortunately. The breeding that was attempted this spring was not successful. Very disappointing.

A Little Bit of Everything Going On

Heading home this past weekend, I chuckled to myself at the thought of my minivan as being a mobile geriatric ward, daycare, nursury and brothel. That's because I was carrying my two older girls, my 5-month old tenant, two females in season and a stud dog to breed to one, and I just picked up Zoe and her four babies to keep while Kelley is away on a business trip. Somehow we managed to fit in a short weekend at a field trial. Don't have any field trial brags from the weekend, but perhaps with so much going on, I haven't exactly been focused on just the trialing.

The breedings have been done, and hopefully I'll be announcing an upcoming litter soon. Stay tuned....