Faster Than a Speeding ...

View of the sheep pen at rest

Gracie on the run

Gracie at her safe zone

Note how she is intent on Leah

And people wonder how I got run over by sheep!

Putting the herd in the corner to finish

These are the last of the photos of Gracie at work. You will notice that she is a blur in all but the ones where she is in a down position. I swear, this dog was born to herd. She is in constant motion once we let go of the leash.

I don't know which of the sheep stepped on my left thigh, but oh, boy! I am still sore, and a lovely shade of blue. Very pale, not too vivid. But enough for class participants to ask me at the pool, what happened to you? Oh, I was run over by a herd of sheep. No, really, what happened to your leg? Really. Sheep. Run over.  It's just not something I ever thought I'd say. For example, I'll never jump out of an airplane. No skydiving for this grandma. But falling down in a herd of sheep? Bring it on.

On another note, we were just out in the backyard when Gracie became very interested in something moving along the foundation of the house. I have a ranch on a slab, no crawlspace. I thought it was a bug, because she loves to chase all insects. Her little butt was wiggling, paws going back and forth, and then she caught whatever held her interest and trotted into the center of the yard. It was too big for a bug, so I told her to drop it. A mouse. My dog caught a mouse. Sigh. Over the fence it went. The feet were still twitching, so I'm not sure if it was mortally damaged.

I've never had a dog like this one. Sarge walked over, sniffed, and sat down on the deck. He just can't be bothered with little creatures like that. It is beneath him. Just another day at my personal zoo.
Linda

Debit

This is Amy in a very small pen with Debit

Debit is just saying NO!

The sheep that ran me over are really laughing

Debit smiling, she's out of the pen

And I'm not going back....

I am learning something new each time I venture to the farm. Amy brought her border collies, Debit and Sassy, to "pack". I had no idea what that was until I watched them try this. The sheep are in a very small pen, and the dog is suppose to circle against the fence and pack the sheep together. Debit was not sure she wanted to do this. At one point, she actually sat down and looked longingly outside of the pen, away from the sheep. She was probably looking towards my car where Sarge was reading the Sunday paper. Doing his nails.

They also tried Sassy at this, and I think she was a bit better. But think about it, this has to be scary for the dogs. They are between sheep who could care less who they push around (living proof here), and a chain link fence.  Leah kept telling the dogs to "be the wolf." Naw, not today Leah.

I love the colors on Debit. She is a very pretty girl. Have a great day.
Linda

Sunday with the Sheep

Milk cans against the fence

Alex with her dog, Tilly

Tilly is scattering the herd, Alex is trying to stop her

Aren't they beautiful?

Gracie herding

Linda trying to direct Gracie

We all met at the farm this morning. There was Alex with her blue heeler named Tilly. Amy was there with her border collies, Debit and Sassy. And I had Gracie and Sarge.

Leah, our trainer, took Alex and Tilly first. They told me it would be a good idea to just have Sarge out with me so he could watch the sheep. Right. I was standing at the fence taking pictures of Alex, Tilly, Leah and the sheep, and Sarge sat next to me, the entire time. With his back turned towards the activity. Not once did the little fart look at the sheep, at Tilly, nada. So he went back into the car, which is what he wanted to begin with.

I took 172 pictures this morning, so there will be more sheep related posts this week. But Amy was kind enough to take a few shots of Gracie in the pen. The above photos are the second time we went in to work. The first time I had a slight accident. Gracie was excited as only she can be to get out of the car and into the pen because THAT'S WHERE THE SHEEP ARE, MOM! Consequently she was running around like crazy, the sheep decided to move and I was in the middle. I did start to bend my knees to brace myself, but everyone was moving too fast, and down I went. Face first. That wasn't bad enough, but the sheep ran over me. One of them brought their foot down, hard, on the inside of my left thigh. Oh yeah. It feels like I've been stomped.

On the positive side, I am seeing definite improvement in Gracie's responses. She is stopping when we ask, staying out away from the sheep when we command. You can see the light bulb go off above her head. OH, THIS is what they want! I really don't know if I'll ever enter her in competition or not. I'm doing this for the exercise, and for the mental challenge for Gracie. This is so good for her. She is a smart dog who can become bored easily, and I want her to have something to think about.

We're going back this Wednesday. We missed 2 weeks due to vacations and illness, so I want to get her back soon this time around. Sarge will stay in the car. He's thinking about taking up knitting. Have a good one.
Linda

Bugs

Caught this small butterfly on the butterfly bush

I'm not sure, but the fly might be dead...

I love the close-ups I see of insect photos on other people's blogs. I never seem to be able to capture them, but this time I got lucky. The butterfly was quite small, and I stayed back from the bush and zoomed in with the long lens. On the hibiscus, the fly never moved. Do ya think?

We have a festival here this weekend, and the dogs are going with me. This should be interesting. It's at Washington Township park, and there are dog adoptions and contests for the pets. I sincerely doubt my two would win any contests, but it will be the perfect weather to walk around and meet and greet. Gracie will be her normal, carefree self. Sarge will be nervous.....and elegant. Did I ever mention that he lays in my closet and bites his nails? I've never had a dog like this one. He is unique.

You have an enjoyable time no matter what you are doing this weekend.
Linda

Friday

Ahhh, smell the ....what???

I am elegant. I am regal.

I am SHELTIE!!!

The price of having dogs. Accidents happen. Oh, yeah. What is a mom to do?

We went to the park for a nice walk this morning. It is windy. I mean, it is really, really windy. The car was being pushed on the highway. That kind of wind. SOOOOO...after the walk, we came home and the dogs were feisty as only they can be, running through the house and chewing on one another. It was morning playtime. They headed for the back door, which meant they wanted to continue the attack of one another in the backyard. I opened the storm door, the darlings pushed to get out now, mom!, the wind caught it, and ooopppppsssss! The piece of wood that the hinge is attached to totally cracked and broke. Dang.

This is why we have handymen for hire. I am most fortunate in that I found 2 brothers that will do this type of work. And their work is excellent.

I think the repair bill should come out of their allowances. If they had allowances. Which they don't.

Spoiled brats, both of them. But they are my spoiled brats, and I love 'em. Have a great weekend.
Linda

Autumn Wreath

An easy wreath for fall

Details of leaves

So I pick a day when we are expected to break an existing temperature record to make an Autumn wreath. Go figure. But I'm in the mood for fall, and by golly, it is time!

This is just a plain grapevine wreath from Joann's. I used a Maya Road chipboard leaf album, and sprayed the individual leaves with Maya Road Mist. Started with a bright yellow, then added red and orange until I got the golden tones I wanted. The stems are wrapped in skinny jute twine, and I attached the leaves by punching holes and threading more twine through. When working with a grapevine wreath, experience has taught me it is better to tie things on than glue them. I'm not a fan of a hot glue gun.

The metal leaves I cut out by hand, using one of the chipboards as a template. I first ran the metal through my Cuttlebug with an embossing folder. You can use whatever you have on had. I then inked the metal with Ranger's Andironacks Latte ink to darken it a bit. The metal is glued to the chipboard leaf alongside of it with the Ultimate glue.

The banner is just cardstock glued to a piece of cardboard for strength. Letters were cut with the Plantain cartridge from Cricut. I punched holes in the ends of the banner and tied it on with the twine. Making wreaths was one of my favorite things to do when we had the craft business years ago. This brought back a lot of memories.

Indianapolis broke a temperature record on Tuesday of this week, with a high of 96. Today is heading in the same direction. The weather this year is surreal. You have a comfortable day.
Linda

Sigh

Oh Sarge, give me a hug!

The front yard, or what is left of it

3 blooms at once

This is what your grass looks like when all of the rain goes north or south of where you live.

It's getting depressing. I am watering plants, but not the grass. It crunches when you walk across the yard. Just a quick post today. Gracie had me up 5 times last night. The little girl has a bad stomach, so we're all heading for a nap. Have a great day.

Dogs in the Fall

My leaves! Back off, Gracie!

Chewing on Gracie

Showing a little fang

Sarge November 2009

I received Sarge on October 9th of last year. He came from a home with 41 dogs. He had not been abused, had been fed, but was lacking in socialization skills. Sarge appeared healthy, was current on all his shots, and most importantly, got along with Gracie. My entire purpose in adopting another dog was to have a playmate for the hyper Australian Shepherd puppy.

In these photographs from last fall, Sarge has just turned 4 and Gracie is 10 months old. He had been with us, at this point, for about a month. This is in the backyard of my youngest stepson's, (David) home. My 2 grandsons, Michael and Kevin had just meticulously raked up a huge pile of leaves. The dogs thought it was something to play in, and Sarge dived into the pile.

We've come a long way since this autumn day. Sarge has finally figured out that this is his forever home, that I am not leaving him somewhere nor returning him to Wisconsin. I am MOM, in caps. There is no doubt he is now my dog. We love him.
Have a great day.
Linda

Mackinaw Island

Late afternoon - Lake Michigan

The Grand Hotel

View from the walkway to the fort

View of the harbor from the fort

Last October, my friend Pat and I drove to Mackinaw Island in Michigan. When we departed from the south suburbs of Chicago, it was a beautiful fall day. The air was crisp, a few clouds in the sky, sunlight dancing, and we were looking forward to a great weekend getaway. The closer we got to the island, the worse the weather. We crossed the Straights of Mackinaw in pouring rain and high winds.

There are no motorized vehicles allowed on the island. All transportation is horse-drawn or my bicycle. So. The carriages (taxis) are open. It was still raining very hard. By the time we got to our hotel, we were soaked. I don't think the jeans I had on dried out all weekend. What started as such a promising weekend looked to be a dismal failure.

Don't mess with Mother Nature. Saturday morning dawned very overcast, chilly, but no rain. And the day improved as it progressed. We had a wonderful photography day. After breakfast, we decided to get out while the getting was good. By late morning, we had made our way to the Grand Hotel. I think I can honestly say that the lunch buffet at the Grand Hotel was the best meal I have ever consumed. With that positive experience, we set out to explore the remainder of the island. I don't know if we covered it all, but I think we came pretty close.

If you enjoy walking or riding bikes, and want to spend a peaceful few days, I do recommend Mackinaw Island. Thanks for stopping by.
Linda

More puppy photos

3 months old, in the car

6 weeks old, in the back seat of the car

6 weeks old

Winter 2010

The top photo is the one on the front of my phone. I took the first 3 photos with the phone camera, so the quality is not the best. But I'm glad I have them now.

In desperation to wear her out as a puppy, I drove to a local Pet Smart and just walked her around in the store. Of course lots of people stopped to pet the cute little puppy. I should explain that Gracie was born in late December of 2008, and we got her in late January of 2009. So it was cold when she was a young pup, and there wasn't a great deal we could do outdoors. When the weather was decent, I did indeed put her on a leash and walk her to a local park. At the time we were living on the west side of Indianapolis. If you have a puppy now, walking and interaction at a local pet store are highly recommended. I guarantee the pups will come home and crash.

If I had to do it all over again? I would adopt two puppies together. They could wear each other out completely. Hindsight is wonderful, isn't it? Have a great day.
Linda

Puppy

This is Gracie as a puppy. She was approximately 5 weeks old when we brought her home. I now know that that is way too young, and that puppies should stay with the mom until they are 8 weeks, at least. The litter learns manners from the mother dog. Needless to say, Gracie was a pistol as a young pup. I learned a great deal about raising dogs from my little Aussie.

Chewing on a toy

That look.

Her eyes were a beautiful blue when she was young. They stayed that color until she was about 3 months old, then started to change. See the stuffed animals she has? She had all of those toys until she was 8 months old. She would play with them all day long, tearing through the house with one or more in her mouth, tossing them in the air. Then one day she tore one of the toys up and discovered the plastic squeaker inside. I snatched it from her before she could chew or swallow it. Gracie's solution to that problem was to run and get another toy, squeak it, and then destroy it. No more stuffed animals.

She was so darn cute. I enjoy going back and looking at her puppy pictures, and thought you might like to see them, too. Have a great day.
Linda

More Dog Splash Party

Now what do I do?

Ok, so if I take a step...

I want to go in now!

Standard Poodle in life jacket

First of all, I love this water park. It is not as big as some I've seen, but it's laid out nicely. I also happen to work at the indoor pool teaching aquatic aerobics 3 days a week. Perhaps I am prejudiced, do ya think?

I spotted this dog that had stepped out on the floating turtles. The water in this particular pool is about 3 feet deep. The poor pup was stuck. He wanted to go in, but didn't. One of the 2 legged guys standing on the deck did reach down and pull him off to the deck.

And then there was the standard Poodle. Poodles are water dogs. They love it. But evidently the owner had some misgivings, which is cool. You do what you have to do. So this dog was in and out of the pool, never having to work all that hard to stay afloat. He had a blast.

I was a fun time. Even though my 2 babies didn't go in the water, I enjoyed the hour watching all of the other dogs. On a different note, today is Sarge's 5th birthday. Happy Birthday to the boy! We went for a long walk at the park this morning. He is now taking a nap. No, I didn't buy him a present. My thought on this subject is that I spoil my dogs rotten every day of every week, so they don't need anything special for their birthdays.

Have a good one!
Linda

Dog Splash Party

The gentle giant

Get it, Coal!

OK, so I'm thinking about going in...

Coming back from retrieving the purple ball

Throw the ball, mom!

Coal climbing out of the pool

Gracie, Sarge and I went to the Dog Splash Party at the Splash Island Aquatic Center, in Plainfield, IN yesterday afternoon. This is an annual event to raise money for various causes. The pool is officially closed on Labor Day, so the weekend after hours are designated for small dogs and large dogs to enter the pool for play. Balls, toys, and frisbees are provided for the dogs to fetch. The cost is $7 per dog, per entry.

Sarge considered it beneath him to get wet. I knew this from the start, so he stayed at my side, on leash. I took Gracie off leash in the hope that she would indeed enter the water. I thought if I could just get her wet once, she would enjoy it enough to play with the other dogs. Humans are not allowed in a pool with a dog by state law, so us two legged critters had to stay on deck. Gracie got her paws wet, and acted like she would go after a ball, but then stayed on deck within my sight.

The large (130 pounds), beautiful boy in the photos is Coal. We know Coal and his mom, Carol, from the dog park. He is a very gentle dog with a great disposition. And I have never seen him as active as he was yesterday afternoon. Coal can get really warm, due to his size and black fur. The water was cold, and it must have felt wonderful to the big boy. He swam, fetched and ran around for close to the full hour. The odd part of all this was the balls: there were 2 different color tennis balls, green and purple. Coal would only go after the purple.

Gracie watched Coal fetch, and she started towards him a few times, but then would stop. They do play fetch together at the dog park. My little girl just doesn't like the water.

We had fun watching the other dogs. It was a beautiful afternoon, 82 degrees, and it was just good to be outside enjoying the weather.

Thanks for stopping by.
Linda