This and That

These pictures are from several weeks ago; but since I have been remiss about blogging, I thought I'd share them now. Hope for pictures of the gang soon; it has been gloomy and gray for weeks (except for when we've been away).

Picking a pumpkin from up the road. There is an honesty box where people pay for what they take. The farm stand next door also does this at the end of the season and I asked the owner how well it worked and she said it worked great. We're a very honest bunch out here.
Sugar maples in Lanark county
Our back deck...canvas was taken off the gazebo on Wednesday.

The creek is clearing up with the frost we've had a night. The heron is timid and flies away when we go out on the deck.

Pete and I spent last weekend in Rochester attending a seminar given by noted breeder/handler Julie Desy. The seminar was entitled "Objective Evaluation; The Key To Success" and it was a super seminar. We are grateful to the breeders who share their knowledge with others. Julie has been in the breed for 50 years and is a wealth of knowledge and very approachable and humble. We always leave these events with renewed commitment and very inspired.

This weekend, weather permitting will be devoted to winterizing the yard, house and barn. Like it or not, winter is coming and it is best to get things done before the snow flies.

Vancouver weekend

We just returned from a wonderful weekend away in Vancouver. I've posted photos on our travel blog.

Emma Cleans Up Real Well

I drove down to Burlington ON with Emma (the little bi-blue that is usually pictured on this blog with mud from head to toe) as there were three breeder judges on the panel. The first day I got to the show early in the morning, as I didn't want to hang around the motel. I made the mistake of thinking it was an indoor show, and so wasn't really dressed appropriately. It was very windy, damp and cold! I sat in the car with the heat on and the seat warmer in the afternoon! I had thoughts of packing up and going home even before the show started...I'm a fair weather shower and am not into discomfort!

I stuck it out and little Emma won WB/BOS over a Special and Best Puppy In Group under judge Denise Cornelssen. The following day we were on early in the day and she won WB/BW/BOS, and then Best Puppy in Group so we had to stay until the end of the day. It got colder and colder and started to rain. I was lucky to have set up with Graeme Burdon and he was able to get a pop up tent from his client, so at least we had shelter. Miss Emma was a little star and went on to win Best Puppy in Show under noted judge Mark McMillan! I was thrilled...this doesn't happen too often with our puppies, as our guys are slow maturing. Then on the third day judge Glen Stark awarded our baby girl WB/BW/BOB and Puppy in Group! This win finished her Championship...yay!!! It was a fun weekend, despite the weather. I got to meet some new people, get to know some acquaintances a bit better and as a bonus, brought home a new Champion.

The Standard Poodle Am/Can Grand Ch Classique Scaramouche won Group 1st on Saturday and Sunday

I met the lovely Samantha Taylor. She celebrated her 13th birthday at the dog show, and I think her ears are still recovering from our rendition of Happy Birthday!

The Rojas brothers

A little mite

Emma under Denise Cornelssen.

Five Years and Still Tears

Am/Can Ch Laureate Search Party

January 25, 1989 - September 27, 2004

Fall is a beautiful season, but for us it is a bit melancholy to watch the leaves turn...it brings to mind our most treasured friends who are no longer with us. Even as I write this, I am brought to tears; the special ones in your life have a way of doing that. Hannah was from our first litter, and along with her sister Sparkle shared our lives for nearly 16 years.

Hannah had a doll face that always had a smile; her ears where always beautiful, and I don't think she had the ability to put them back. They were always alert and even if she looked skyward, they tipped perfectly. She finished both Championship titles with ease. Her Canadian championship was won in one weekend; her first shows as an adult. In the U.S. she finished quickly winning majors in tough New England circuits. We showed her only one weekend after that; we couldn't bring ourselves to have anyone judge her, because to us, she was perfect.

After Hannah and then two weeks later, her sister Sparkle's passing, Pete and I dealt with our grief by planting trees. We dug holes and planted, dug and planted until we couldn't dig another hole. When we were done we went around to look at all the trees and shrubs and we counted how many we had planted. Little did we realize that we had planted a tree for every year they were alive. One of the varieties we planted was the amur maple in memory of a wonderful photo shoot we had of the girls when they were 13 years old. This is just one of the beautiful shots. To view a few more you can see her page here.

Out Back

Early morning by the creek. Front and back are a bit confusing with our house. This is the view from the balcony at the back of the house, but it is angled towards the road.

We call this the back 40. At the far end it is 2,000 feet from the road. So it is out back too!

Today is actually the 6th anniversary of us taking possession of the house. Remember in the last posting I said they found wire? This was all buried in the weeds which was very dangerous had the dogs gotten in there. Pete brought all this to the salvage yard, a trip he's made many times in six years.

Meanwhile at the front of the house, a pesky red squirrel was helping himself to all the sunflower seeds in the bird feeder. The package this feeder came in said it was squirrel proof...don't know how it is supposed to work; maybe only big fat squirrels can't get in.

So I took down the feeder and this guy went a bit wild wondering where it went.

Down here maybe?

Hmm...this doesn't look right!

Have to pick up the seeds on the ground then...

(While red squirrels are beautiful animals, we don't encourage them around our home. They are very destructive and will chew through the wood of our house to build their nests.)