Weezee

WeezeeJ has moved

2009-12-02T10:37:00.002-05:00

I know you showed up here looking for words of wisdom, cute dog pictures, all the usual stuff. But Weezee has moved and morphed so come visit us at louisehinckley.com.
All the stuff you're looking for will be there.

Let me know you visited and how you like the new digs!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T19:52:00.006-05:00

I wish you all a happy and safe holiday.

Enjoy:

family,

food

and

blessings!

Picture from guy-sports.com

Never too old

2009-11-18T13:50:00.003-05:00

I just love this video!!! This gentleman is 97.5 years young!!
You are never to old to learn or compete or keep at something.

George Richards & Hummel at Dachshund Speciality 2009 from John Richards on Vimeo.

Congratulations to George and Hummel.
So glad I have almost 50 years to perfect my dog training. (OK, 45 years.)
Go practice something!!!!

Thank you Veterans

2009-11-11T15:08:00.002-05:00

I was brought up short today when I went to read my sister's blog while having lunch.
I know its veteran's day and I am very thankful to all those who have served and are serving in our military. They protect our freedoms so weenies like me can stay home and do whatever I want. I so appreciate that because of them I can feel pretty secure my life will continue just as it is as long as God allows it.
My nieces and both their husbands all served in the military as did my father so today I want to especially thank them for their service and sacrifice.

Do you yourself a favor and go read my sister's blog today. Dlyn She says it better than I can.
And Thank a veteran today.

Working the recall

2009-11-09T22:28:00.008-05:00

So how is that recall coming along? Are you ready to take the next step?
By now you should have trained your dog’s recall in several rooms and attached a command to it. Your dog is now coming on command approximately 99% of the time. Congratulations, you’re ready to take your recall on the road!

You need a 15 to 20 foot drag line attached to your dog. If it has a loop on the end just cut that so your dog can’t get caught on anything.

You still want to practice in a somewhat safe and confined area. It’s ideal if you have a fenced yard or access to one. You’ll also need your cheeseburger or whatever yummy treat you’re using to entice your dog.

Start with a couple practice recalls letting your dog wander only a few feet away before you call him and then give a jackpot when he comes. This sets the stage for success for this session. You want your dog to succeed as often as possible so you can reward him. A reward (cheeseburger etc.) is often referred to as reinforcement. Reinforcing something makes it stronger so rewarding your dog coming to you, increases the likelihood your dog will repeat the behavior so he can get rewarded again, reinforcing the behavior so it gets stronger and increasing the likelihood your dog…… well, you get the idea.

After a couple practice recalls, start letting your dog wander further from you and wait longer between recalls. You want to continue jackpotting your dog for 20 -30 seconds when he comes, especially as you increase the distance you let him wander. When your dog gets really good at coming in this location, switch to new place to practice. Dogs do not generalize behavior so you’ll need to continue working in many new places until you teach him he is to come on command regardless of where he is. Keep jackpotting your dog as you work in new places and be sure to keep him safely on the drag line until you think he has got it.

You can start to incorporate this into your walks with your dog. Naturally you want to be sure your dog is safe so be careful where you take your dog. The woods are a great place except during hunting season of course so check your area. There are nice playing fields near where I live and I use those too.

As your dog gets better and better at coming to you on command you can graduate to removing the drag line but I recommend you go back to the fenced area and work for a bit before assuming your dog will come without the line attached to him.

If you have diligently worked at this, rewarding each step along the way you will have taught an effective and trustworthy recall. Well done!

Now before you think you are all done and you can put those treats away forever, let’s talk about maintaining that recall. Come on back in a few days and we’ll discuss how to keep that recall strong and dependable.
In the meantime, let me know how it’s going.

Jackpot!

2009-11-04T22:49:00.011-05:00

In my last post To come or not to come that is the question I mentioned using a Jackpot to reward your dog. This is an extremely effective tool.

Merriam Webster dictionary defines a Jackpot as: an impressive, often unexpected success or reward.

Like playing a slot machine in a casino.

People sit and pump coins into a slot machine anticipating they will win the big Jackpot. Why? Well because they have won before or they saw someone else win and hope to hit the big one! And why not, when the machine pays off it's a flood of coins accompanied by flashing lights and blaring horns while the winner cheers. The result, the winner and many people watching will most likely sit down and play again.

This is the same philosophy in jackpotting your dog.
Train a behavior, a sit, shake, rollover, whatever and when you get a really good one, jackpot it!

Pay out a whole bunch of treats one at a time while lavishly praising your dog. Chances are your dog will repeat the behavior just to test if he will get that fantastic jackpot again!

And lucky you, because you jackpotted a really good behavior it will most likely improve your dog's future performance and result in faster responses.
Here is a short video that shows how to pay out an effective jackpot.

Kindle loved helping us make this video. It was indeed difficult to convince her we had a good one and were not going to continue. She kept sitting and then running to me in hopes she would get another of those jackpots!
She is an over achiever.
Give it a try and let me know how it affects your results.

To come or not to come; that is the question.

2009-10-26T23:44:00.019-04:00

My sister the famous food blogging photographer Dlyn has been encouraging me to write a bit more about my dog training techniques. I decided this could be a great way to reach a few more people. So let’s start with what I consider to be one of the most important things you will ever teach your dog. That is the recall or rather, to come when he is called.

We all want our dog to respond quickly when we need them to come to us. But it is one of the behaviors most people have trouble teaching their dog and maintaining. I believe it’s all about the association our dogs have about coming to us. Create a strong, pleasant association and your dog will prefer coming to you over everything else.

I am a huge proponent of using really good food to train dogs. Of all our senses smell and taste form the strongest and longest lasting associations.

Just a whiff of warm apple pie and I am transported to my Grandma’s house learning to make pie crust and sharing tasty warm pie just from the oven. A wonderful memory and even now apple pie is one of my favorite desserts.
Likewise just a hint of eau de beef bouillon and I feel terrible. I had the mumps when I was 14 and was terribly ill. Swollen throat, high fever, I couldn’t swallow so my mother made me beef bouillon to keep me hydrated and nourished.
I lived but I HATE beef bouillon. The smell is enough to put me off and I wouldn't ever consider eating it!

Our dogs also form strong associations based on taste and smell and we can use this to create an association that assists us teaching our dogs to come to us whenever we want.
Use good food, create a strong behavior.

Take my advice get your dog a cheeseburger from the local fast food restaurant or some plain donut holes from the donut shop. At the very least use that left over prime rib you had last Friday when you went out to dinner. I know I know, its people food, full of fat and sugar. But people! we are forming an association here! My dogs eat very healthy most of the time so a few training sessions with food not so healthy is fine. Just trust me. Go get the cheeseburger. I’ll wait.
Back already?

OK, cut that cheeseburger into very small pieces. You are ready to start your first session.

Take your dog to a controlled area. I use a small room with a door. Let your dog wander and get distracted.
Then call him using only his name. Hold the food out and lure your dog to you praising as he comes. As soon as your dog gets to you feed the cheeseburger one piece at a time telling your dog continually how brilliant and wonderful he is. This is called a jackpot and it should take 20 to 30 seconds. You can have someone time you to be sure you’re taking enough time to form the association.
Now let your dog wander and get distracted again. Then repeat the process and continue this 3 more times during this session.
You will find it is harder for your dog disengage from you at the end of the session. This is a good thing.

When you begin the next session a few hours later you can go to a bigger room maybe without a door. Let your dog get distracted and then call him using only his name. Hold that lovely cheeseburger out and when he gets to you feed for 20 to 30 seconds and praise him the entire time. Again you will repeat this 3 more times this session.

Students always ask me how many times they will need to practice this and I tell them between 4 and 4000 times depending on your dog. Seriously there is no cut and dried answer.
Just like people dogs learn at different rates. You'll be able to determine your dog’s ability as your training progresses.

When you are 99% sure your dog is going to come to you every time you call him you are ready to attach a command to his recall. I use "come" but you can call it anything you want, just be consistent.
I will caution you that if you are retraining your recall and already call it “come” I recommend renaming it as you’ve already taught your dog he has a choice to come or not as he chooses. A fresh command attached to the behavior will give you a better chance of having a more reliable recall.

OK, keep practicing.
Make sure you are only using your command if you are truly in control of whether your dog will come to you. Don’t take him to the back yard off leash and let him wander 50 yards away then call. You have no way of controlling your dog under these circumstances and you may set back your training. We will work up to that but in the meantime, keep working in small areas and if you choose to go outside please, have your dog on leash and only let him get a few feet away.

In the next couple days check back and we will continue to the next step.
Happy training!

What!

2009-10-16T19:51:00.006-04:00

OK, it is fall.
I can't believe it, still wondering where summer went!

It is pretty here.
The dogs love the cooler weather.

But do you see this! Its snow on the my screen porch roof! SNOW! This morning! SNOW!
Oh my, at least it is supposed to warm up again next week.

Hurrah for Lacey!

2009-10-06T20:24:00.008-04:00

You all remember my student Patty and her amazing whippet Lacey right?
Well folks they have done it again!!
On top of finishing Lacey's AKC Novice Jumpers with Weaves title on September 19th at the Wachusett Kennel Club show; last week they cleaned up at the Whippet Racing Nationals. What an amazing dog.
I received this email from her humble owner:

I took Lacey to the whippet racing nationals in Indiana and she won 4 trophies: high scoring bitch in her grade, reserve high score Rally titled dog, reserve high score Agility titled dog, and the coveted Loowit Memorial Versatility Award that went to the dog with the highest combined score for the two days that was titled in racing, lure coursing, rally or obedience, and agility. So, the fact that I got her agility titles this year made her eligible for 2 of the trophies that she won. We had a lot of fun.

A lot of fun!? Well YEAH!

Here's a few pictures Patty sent me a while back of Lacey in action.

Woohoo, do you think she has fun?

Beating the competition!

This is my favorite! she needs a cape with a big S on it.

Super dog!

I am pleased as punch for them!

Congratulations Patty and Lacey. Can't wait to see what you do next!

S-whine flu or H1-UH OH

2009-10-02T09:07:00.007-04:00

OK, I feel like crap. Let me just say that up front. I caught some horrible cold/sore throat/plague sort of thing.
(Big sigh!) I suppose it could be worse. Oh wait, it is, my truck failed its inspection because it has a broken tie rod end thingy, so its at the repair shop racking up who knows how much of a bill. And tomorrow is our annual Open House at the dog training business, so I am popping Vitamin C and eating aspirin in hopes to be cured by then.

So there has been even less blogging than usual. I have had way too much couch time this week and there truly is nothing on TV!

So that's why you have not heard from me.

I'll be back soon but in the meantime here are a few pictures to keep you all busy.

Kindle and one her best buddies, Sydney.

Christie and her baby dog Winee. I think she needs a bigger toy!

Tyler doing his stalking wolf impression. Very scary!

Tasha being, well Tasha. Gotta love those ears.

See you all soon.

Kindle's Debut

2009-09-22T21:59:00.005-04:00

Well Kindle made her debue this last weekend at Wachusett Kennel Club's Annual agility trial. I am so proud of her.
Just watch this!

At just 16 months she did a stellar job and I had a blast running her! The judge was quite charmed by Kindle as she left the table to say hi and kissed her hand.
She qualified and took second place!

What a girl!

She kept me humble though here is her jumpers run on Sunday.

Do you think she had fun?!

Scott and Beta get their 1st Master Standard Q!

2009-09-15T07:00:00.001-04:00

Since making it to USDAA (United States Dog Agility Association) Masters level Scott and Beta have done really well so far they have earned their Master Relay title, excelled at Master Snooker but they have struggled with Master Standard.
But 2 weeks ago they had a wonderful run and Qualified taking first place in the 16" division.

Can you tell who was the most excited?

Hip Hip Hooray for Lacey and Patty

2009-09-14T07:00:00.000-04:00

You guys know I teach agility dog training classes, right? I teach people to train their dogs to compete and really it is a great job.

I get to spend lots of time with dogs and other nutty people who love dogs and I get paid for this. What a country!

I have students who started their puppies with me when they were only just a few months old and I am able to watch them develop with their owners into a team.

One such team is Patty and Lacey. Lacey is a gorgeous black whippet and it was apparent from the first that she is something special. Her owner is also someone special. Patty works hard and they are both a joy to have in class.

Late last year they competed in their first Agility Trial at the Whippet National Specialty. They did really well qualifying and taking first place in Standard and though they didn't qualify in Jumpers with Weaves had a very respectable run. They still took high in trial and I was so proud of them. Usually a handler will have a picture taken with the judge to commemorate the run but Patty wanted her picture to be with me because she said it was my teaching and coaching that helped them to take the prize! I am very flattered.

So here we are.

A couple weeks ago they went to their second trial. They competed for 3 days and qualified twice in Standard, finishing Lacey's Novice Standard title and qualified twice in Jumpers with Weaves, so they need only one more jumpers Q (qualifiy) to finish her Novice Jumper title. Oh yes and I almost forgot, they also took first place in all four runs! Woohoo!

I am so proud and happy for them.
Here they are with all their ribbons.

The other dogs better watch out! They are an awesome team and I predict they will continue to eat up courses!!! Go Patty & Lacey!

Guest cook

2009-09-13T20:34:00.004-04:00

I got a night off and we had a cook come in.
so nice to just relax and let someone else take care of us.

Alright not really, we took my mother-in-law out for her birthday.

Happy Birthday Mad!

Cattle Dog Swim?

2009-09-08T22:09:00.002-04:00

They do have a style all their own.

More from Vacation

2009-08-31T20:05:00.013-04:00

One of my favorite things we did on vacation was visit Ithaca's Farmer market. We had a ball and so did many, many, many others!!!
Here's a shot of the crowd. Oh the humanity!

There was lots to do, see, eat and buy. I had a fantastic cuban sandwich with a spicy bean salad. Oh and I had to have a Chili Relleno. Yum! I loved this fiddler. What do you think 11 or 12 years old maybe? He was fantastic!!!

I saw this tree practically the first thing and I really wanted it. But at $250- I let it stay in Ithaca.

We stopped at this gorgeous place on the way home, Fall Creek Falls in Ithaca.

Back home at my sister's our parents and Grandma joined us for dinner. We started with hors d'oeuvres on the porch. Mark was in rare form and decide to show off his physique,

was ready for his close-up;

shared noogies with Uncle Scott;
and big hugs too.

Then Mark and Anna had a nice walk with their grandpa, Big Lar around the garden.

A really great day, and I cleaned up at poker that night too.
I want to go back!

The Pub!

2009-08-28T18:45:00.006-04:00

It's Friday!
Every Friday Scott and I are in town we have dinner at a little neighborhood Irish pub. We are very fond of it. I truly look forward to it every week.
The food is good and they have really, really good beer.
Now I don't want you all thinking I am a lush or anything. My days of drinking to the point of falling down, walking into walls or ending up waking the next day with a pounding head are long gone. But I do love a good beer.

I do NOT drink light beer. I would prefer water to that. I like stouts, porters, good wheat beers and a Murphy's Irish Amber will make my heart sing. Scott feels much the same though he prefers a nice bitter IPA.

On top of all that, the owners of the "Pub" have become friends, family. The waitstaff know us by name and even fight over who will wait on us. So flattering! We have also made some very good friends with other "regulars". It's like Cheers, we walk in and people yell Scott! Louise!
We love it.

So its Friday and in a few minutes we will head out to relax and watch the Patriots while we enjoy dinner and a good beer, at our home away from home.

Hmmmm should I have the Fire & Ice steak tips or Bangers and Mash.....

Want to visit? Check their website J P O'Hanlon's and come on down. We'll save you a seat!

Photography Lesson

2009-08-24T22:46:00.005-04:00

While on vacation my sister Dlyn gave me a few pointers on taking pictures. I have way too much learn. You should probably just go look at her photos, they are wonderful.

Here is just a small sample from my lesson.
I am still working on posts from vacation. come back and check them out.
In the meantime how do you like this pic?

Shoes make the woman

2009-08-21T19:02:00.001-04:00

This is Anna. You can learn more about her here. She is my Great niece and is just 2 years old. We found out on vacation, which we shared with our large family, she has a shoe fetish.

Really she likes all shoes, hers, mine, yours, who's ever she can get her feet on.
I lost these the first morning of vacation while having coffee on the porch.
She had a little trouble walking in them but did pretty well. I also lost a pair of flip flops to her but didn't have my camera handy.

Any one's shoes are worth taking a spin in.
She loved her Great Uncle Scott's shoes.

Those were really hard to get the hang of.

If you get a chance to visit, be sure to bring interesting shoes. They entertain her for quite a while.

Really you can understand her sense of style, just look how her parents dress!

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree!

My baby is growing up

2009-08-16T22:15:00.004-04:00

It has been awhile since I have updated on Kindle's progress.

She is a hellion! And she is wonderful.
A bit of a challenge but a joy to work with and quite the snuggler.

For better or worse I have entered her in her first Agility Trial this coming September. She will have her coming out party at the Wachusett Kennel Club trial on September 19th.
We have a bit of work to do before then (oh my gosh why, why, why did I enter her!!?) but I don't expect her to take first place or anything I just want to see what we've got so far.

She is so different from Jackaroo, the most marked thing is that she runs quietly. You may remember Jackaroo barks the ENTIRE time he runs. Without all that noise I can think while I run Kindle. And though she is fast, she is responsive and works away from me. Jack is what we call in the biz a "Velcro" dog. I can't get him off me!!!!
Kindle is also just a gorgeous jumper. Jackaroo is a bit challenged but after all he is a cinder block with legs. Kindle is lighter boned and elegantly shaped but just as powerful as her muscle bound big brother. Do you think I like her a bit?

I can't wait to start her, but mostly I just love her! And look, this is what I see when I am driving.

What do you think people?! Gorgeous or what?

Vacation

2009-08-13T21:39:00.007-04:00

Still not really back yet but had to put up a couple photos. I took 520 so it will take a bit of time to get through them all.
Here is my Grandma we went to the annual family reunion and celebrated her 100th birthday. She is amazing, still sharp as a tack and physically doing fantastic!

I love this photo of Scott with our Great Niece Anna. She is a real cutie and just loves her Uncle Scott.

I love Willow trees and I think this one is especially pretty. It's at the field where we have our reunion. Nice little pond too, and had the day been a bit nicer we might have swam.

Ok. back to vacationing.

The family dogs

2009-07-27T22:25:00.000-04:00

My family loves dogs. We all have at least one. Well OK, I far out number everyone else with my five hooligans.

But just look at this array of canine beasties.
Most of you know the famous blogging dog Riley owned by my sister Dlyn.
So handsome!

Then we have my brother Scott's dogs. His new pup Ronnie, a Klein Poodle. What a cutie! She was only one day off the plane from Georgia when I snapped this. She has been a wonderful comfort for him since losing Debra.

Scott also has Lucky.
She was Debra's dog so is very special to him.

Yes she only 3 legs but I understand she is "lucky" just to be alive.

My brother Kurt owns Randi. If I lived closer to Phoenix she would go missing... straight to my house because I just love her! I mean look at that face!!!!! Kurt really lucked out she was a stray in his neighborhood and is just a perfectly behaved little girl.

My brother Jason has 2 dogs. His little girl Corey has Orion, a cute little white poodle pup. Here they are together.

And his wife Robin has Donut, this rambunctious little terrier mix. I think he'd make a great agility dog. Imight steal him too

So you see, its not only me who has gone to the dogs. Its all of us.

Caroga Lake sunset cruise

2009-07-21T21:33:00.007-04:00

My friend Judy has a cottage in the Adirondacks on a beautiful lake.
She's a teacher and at the end of each school year she heads up there to rest and regenerate. She graciously invites her friends to join her and it has become an annual girls weekend that kicks off the summer.

The school year was long this year because the winter was loooooooong. Lots of snow days so they didn't get out until June 26th!
We wasted no time, and drove up that evening. There were 6 of us and we had a simply wonderful time. I will probably write more about it but I want to tell you about one of the most special times of the trip for me.

Everyone else had headed back home a day before me so Judy and I spent my last day just the two of us. She has the cutest little pontoon boat we went and picked up from winter storage and she treated me to a fantastic sunset cruise. It gave me an opportunity to practice with my new camera and I am thrilled with the results.

I wish I had thought to take a picture of the boat but I didn't, take my word though it is really cute! Small but can seat 4 people and its battery powered so its quiet and so relaxing!

We set out just as the sun was starting to think about setting.
Judy's little dog Maggie gets the seat of honor on her mom's lap.

She was just adorable with the wind in her ears!

I took a lot of pictures that were all pretty spectacular. This new little camera is a gem! Here's a few I really love.

I think this one is my favorite.
We hated to head back to shore but as the light faded we motored back.
It was just a wonderful way to end the trip and such a wonderful memory. I am still going through the pictures so I am sure there will more I want to share with you all.
Hope you enjoyed these.

A weekend at home!

2009-07-18T10:31:00.005-04:00

Wow June and July have been challenging and so I am stunned to get up today and have no where to rush off to.
No dog shows, no private lessons to give, no trips to the mountains, just a whole weekend at home! Woohoo!

I do have a whole day of projects to tackle but I actually got a few minutes on the porch all alone. I left the dogs encamped in the bedroom with my snoring husband and stole a few minutes to watch the rain. So peaceful so quiet.

The sun is starting to peak out here and there so the promise of a clear afternoon has made me want to get going but I'm glad to have had a few moments all to myself this morning.
I hope your weekend is great!

Caroga Lake

2009-07-10T00:01:00.005-04:00

A couple of the million pics I took on my recent trip to the Adirondacks.
Enjoy!

Despite the Rain!

2009-07-05T15:41:00.000-04:00

My first rose of the season.

What a beauty!

Happy 4th of July

2009-07-04T20:44:00.004-04:00

Woohoo Happy Independence day!!!
I hope you all enjoyed celebrating our freedoms!!

Pheonix Trip

2009-06-23T21:10:00.012-04:00

Its been difficult to get back to blogging since my trip. So I'll try to catch you all up on what I've been up too.
First I am so glad I was able to go to Phoenix and be there for my brother Scott.

It was a difficult for us all but of course especially so for him. He has started the slow process of healing and my family has pulled together to support him. In spite of the sadness it was wonderful to spend time together. I am reminded how wonderful family is, what a gift they are. When we walk through really hard times there are people who we belong to who truly care and are ready to throw their arms around us and see us through.

Phoenix is just beautiful. A little more crowded than I like but still a really nice to visit.
I got some awesome pictures and it will take me months to share them all.
Here is just a sampling.
This palm is in my parents backyard and I just love it. Their pool is pretty nice too.

I caught this sunset in their backyard too.

These mountains are on the way to my youngest brother Jason's home in Maricopa. The landscape is so different from the North East. So sparse but the beauty is unbelievable. This same day we saw a herd of wild ponies out there. Very cool.
We spent a lovely day at the home of my future sister-in-law Jean who is to marry my brother Kurt. She lives out in the desert and her home and yard are gorgeous.
More about Jean another day. (Hi Jean!) (I really like her!)

This moon bid us goodnight.
More tomorrow.

Happy Father's day!

2009-06-21T11:45:00.003-04:00

I wish all the Dads I know a blessed and happy day today.

Especially my own Dad.

Love you Dad!

I'm back

2009-06-15T11:16:00.003-04:00

I actually got home from my trip last Tuesday. My sister and I flew the red eye from Phoenix last Monday and then got stuck in Newark (so lovely) for hours while we got to watch thunderstorms out the terminal window. It was impressive and i was just as glad to be inside the airport instead of in a plane.

So since getting home, I have cleaned the house, (Scott does a stellar job taking care of things but I am, well, particular), planned and taught my classes, went to Connecticut to visit my mother-in-law who decided to worry us all and get admitted to the hospital. (She is doing fine and going home today.) Then yesterday decided to wipe my laptop and and re-load it. Still working on that, (aaaaaahhhhhh).

But I wanted to say hi. I have a million pictures to post and much to tell about my trip. I will get to that this week. So HI!
See you later.

Beta earns her Excellent A Standard Title

2009-05-31T21:13:00.004-04:00

I am off to Arizona on Tuesday and though things are pretty hectic right now I can't resist tooting Beta and Scott's horn. They did a bang up job this last weekend and earned Beta's AKC Excellent A Standard title and took first place in the class as well. Here is the run:

I am very proud of them and looking forward to watching Beta run with the big dogs!

Jackaroo did himself proud and Qualified in Excellent B jumpers earning 9 MACH points. Nice the old boy has still got it.

Be back in a couple weeks

2009-05-28T22:02:00.004-04:00

I am taking a blogging break and traveling to Arizona to be with my family.
My brother Scott got married this last Valentine's day and yesterday unbelievably and unexpectedly his new wife Debra passed away.
We are all just in shock.
Please pray for my brother and all my family.
I will see you all in a couple weeks.

No time to blog

2009-05-26T22:34:00.008-04:00

With agility competition, getting the veggie garden going and enjoying the lovely spring I've had no time to write. So instead, enjoy a few pics from the new camera.

One of my favorite subjects, my little baby Kindle.

My friend Clee's gorgeous backyard.

Clee's cute little kitty Bell.
Time for Tyler's close up!!

Hope you enjoyed the first from the new camera. Come on back for more.

Catching up

2009-05-19T22:00:00.003-04:00

Hello Bloggy friends.
I have been way too busy this last week and so need to say hi. First of all it is weigh in day and alas I am up 2 lbs. Us Weight Watchers say the scale owes me. I really deserved a loss this week so hopefully it will be there next week.

On another note, my camera died. Now I am no great photographer but I really like to see the world through the lens. I also love to see how the pictures come out. So I ordered a new camera and it will arrive tomorrow. Woohoo! Its a Canon Powershot SX10IS with a 20X wide angle lens. My lovely niece Ellyn over at A Little Piece of Heaven got one a few months ago and loves it. Her photos have been just gorgeous too. Of course she does have some of the best subjects in the world. My great nephew Mark and niece Anna. She also has a nice talent for photos. Go visit!

Stay tuned, the camera will be tomorrow and I will try to break it in and get some photos out here.

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T22:59:00.003-04:00

I hope all the great moms I know had a blessed and wonderful Mother's day.

Henrietta Turkey

2009-05-09T18:36:00.006-04:00

Well it seems this wild turkey has decided to move in. I have seen her everyday for about 2 weeks now. I decided if she is going to hang around she has to have a name and Henrietta just seems to fit.Our Henrietta sashays about the yard and visits all the neighbors. She snacks on the leavings beneath the bird feeders.

I have noticed she has a special affinity for Scott's nature path.
She grows bolder every day so I am getting some really good pictures of her. The dogs are half crazed when she makes her daily visit but even they are getting used to her. If she sticks around til November we will be all set. I have to go throw some seed on the front lawn.

More Nature

2009-05-08T08:58:00.007-04:00

We went to an agility trial in Granby Massachusetts last weekend. Its a really beautiful place and I always enjoy being there. The show grounds are nestled next to a lovely pond and this year we had a new visitor.
Enjoy!
He was very majestic and I couldn't believe how BIG he was.

This just might have to be my new banner!

Weigh-in and catching up

2009-05-07T13:16:00.003-04:00

No pics today because I am writing from the office. Its been a really busy week, and I am behind updating a few things so thought I would do a quickie post.

Jackaroo did great last weekend at our first agility trial of the season. We didn't qualify in any runs but he did run great and I was very concerned the spondylosis would affect him. But until the last run on Sunday he was a real trooper and did fine. I pulled him from the last jumpers run because I just didn't like how he was acting. We had a blast though! its nice to be able to keep running with him.

I also lost weight again this week. Down another 1.4 lbs. It seems to be taking forever but whatever. I have lost 8 lbs and still I have 17 to go but I will get there. Maybe not by June 1st but I WILL get there!

Lastly I have been very remiss in celebrating a couple birthdays so those pics will show up shortly.
Kindle turned 1 year old on April 15th. I think I really didn't want to admit my baby was all growed up but alas she is a year old.

Tyler our Cinco do Maya dog turned 12 years old on Tuesday this week. Unbelievable! didn't we just get him?
So Happy Birthday to my doggie children.
And you all have a great day.

Way to go Beta!!!

2009-05-05T08:12:00.003-04:00

I am so proud of Scott and our little girl Beta. They had an awesome show last weekend at the ACE Agility Trial in Granby, MA.

Beta took first in the Master Snooker class and got a super Q which means she had the highest score in the class. She was also the fastest!!!

She also took first place in Master jumpers with a blinding speed of 29.6 seconds!!! She was fantastic and her dad did her proud with his fabulous handling.
What a team!!!!!

New Yard Meme

2009-04-29T00:01:00.006-04:00

I love this tree. It's a Tulip Poplar. I was looking at it a couple days ago and thinking how much I enjoy it. Every season it does something wonderful and I love to watch the changes throughout the year. So I decided to share ir with you my bloggy friends.

Here it is in spring just as the leaves begin to open.

This branch is just over our deck and you can see the leaves peeking out.

A close-up of the branch end.

My plan is to re-take these pictures each month throughout the next year. Just to share with y'all the changes of my favorite plant in my yard.

I'd love to see your favorite tree, flower, plant, whatever, in your yard. If you like, grab the idea and let me know you posted.

Weigh-in day!

2009-04-28T21:46:00.004-04:00

Woohoo, I lost another pound this week.
I also won a raffle at my meeting.
Lovely huh?

All I had to do was show up for 8 weeks in a row. I did that anyway and won this too. I got some cool measure thingys, a new food scale, cookbooks. Good stuff.
I'll see you next week..

Country Girl is having a Giveaway!

2009-04-28T08:06:00.002-04:00

Go visit Kate at Chronicles of a Country Girl. She is having a giveaway! I love her photos and her dog George is a real cutie!!!
Go visit!

I'll see you all later for the results of weigh in day!

Kindle!

2009-04-24T19:49:00.004-04:00

I am so excited about Kindle's agility training. She is just a wonderful jumper and her stays at the start line are gorgeous. She runs quiet!!!!
Here see what I mean?

She is a blast to run and a gem to work with.
I am so looking forward to competing with this little girl.

Urban Dictionary Meme

2009-04-21T22:28:00.004-04:00

Flea at Flea's World stole this Meme from Kate at Chronicles of a Country Girl and in turn I am stealing it from Flea. (They are 2 of my favorite bloggers, go check them out.)

Here's the directions and if you read this, you are tagged!

Answer each question by typing in your answer on Urbandictionary.com. You MUST use the first definition!

1. Your name: Louise

Louise is a popular feminine form of the name Louis; it is used in all English-speaking and French-speaking countries, and is commonly found across Europe.
rhymes with most opf the english dictionary: cheese, peas, keys, please, knees, wheeze, jeez, bees, ease, tease, sneeze, these, fees and so on..................
Also in a famous saying
What up Louise!
"Jeez Louise!"
(Oh yes very famous, if only I had a buck for every time I've heard it......)

2. Your age: 51

A joint made of 51% weed and 49% cocaine.
Hey dude let's smoke a 51.

(Ha! yeah lets smoke a 51! That would make me a hyper paranoid!)

3. What should you be doing: Going to bed

Telling people during a party that you're going to sleep but rarely end up in a bed
Guy 1: dude its 5am im going to bed
Guy 2: bitch get off my counter
Guy 1: sorry
(Curious...)

4. Favorite color: Green

yes... it is most definitely referring to the marijuana... and also, upon occassion, any substance with similar uses. too, properly, of course, it is a golfing term, but that;s really not very much fun, now is it?
'yo, where da green at?'

(Is this some sort of trend? I seem to be in drug sort of thing here. Hmmm)

5. Birthplace: Endicott

Endicott NY is a small town in southern NY characterized by a disproportionatly elderly population, early teenage pregnanicies, a grade school educated workforce, pessimism, ignorance, pollution, and ever increasing economic and urban decay. Endicott is best known for the speedie fest, during which the local hicks, get drunk, and consume large amounts of food the form of speedies which are skewered meat not unlike a shish-kabob. Popular activities in Endicott include: eating, smoking marijuana, going to church, collecting welfare and complaining.

My hometown is this hole named Endicott, you've probably never heard of it but it's an hour south of Syracuse.

(Jeez, glad I was only born in Endicott and grew up in Owego the coolest small town in America!!! Although speedies are wonderful!! I am making those soon.)

6. Month of your birthday: September

A wonderful month when the air smells sweet and the weather is perfect for the girls where to tight little sweaters that show off their curves.
I can't wait for september to come so we can play in the leaves!

(Ok, then. I just thought it was a nice beginning to fall.)

7. Last person you texted: Donalyn

Donalyn isn't defined yet.
(Wiser words were never said :-))

8. One of your nicknames: Weezee

Weezee isn't defined yet, but these are close:
badness
expression likeness towards something, OR being impressed by it

that car is badness! {that car's off d hook}....
OR those shoes look like pure badness (shoes look hott)
(I'm not sure how I feel about this though I like the shoe reference)

9. What are you doing this weekend: Gardening

to hella blaze/to smoke pot
Africa: Did you get the supplies?
Hookah: Yeah. We'll be gardening in the grove tonight!
(This is getting unsettling.)

10. Random word: Lion

A big, furry brown cat, found in the savvanna of Africa. NOT the jungle, you phyco's. Often toated as the king of beasts, and no one knows why. Some say that the lion is the biggest cat, even though the tiger is the biggest cat in the world. Often hunted for trophies.

Lion- Bwa ha ha! I'm the lord of the jungle!
Tiger- (walks out of jungle) Dude, you live in a savvanna
Lion- Shut up and bow, slave!
Tiger- (bashes lion with paw, instantly snapping neck) Bitch!
(This is bizarre!)

That was fun! And educational! Although I do not think much of the spelling and grammar and the Urban Dictionary, but fun.
OK, be brave, give it a try! You know you want to.

The squirrel battle

2009-04-20T13:55:00.006-04:00

I have been doing battle with a family of gray squirrels who seem to think my bird feeders are their own private a buffet. You remember this post, Smorgasbord.
I love watching the birds so knew I had to find a way to discourage this squirrel gluttony.

I started with this baffle.
Because our squirrels had learned to shimmy this pole, the little buggers!
It has worked great!
This last weekend I got the first squirrel proof feeder.
They are a little pricey so I will wait a couple weeks to replace the other larger feeder by the driveway.
This morning while having my coffee and watching the birds, the gray gang arrived and were shocked to find the buffet closed to them. They tried a few approaches all to no avail.

Ha! It was satisfying to see them settle on the ground to munch on the leavings.
Too bad I didn't snap a few photos of the perplexed looks.

I can't wait to replace the other feeder.

Peaceful Sunday

2009-04-19T00:01:00.001-04:00

How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings.
Psalm 36:5-7

Our Easter Visitor

2009-04-17T19:02:00.005-04:00

I think this lovely fellow was a bit confused when he visited last Sunday.

Or perhaps he thought it was safe to come feast at the bird feeders on Easter rather than Thanksgiving.

The dogs were extremely upset about his visit and he almost moved on before I could bag a picture of him. (Why are the batteries always on the charger when this stuff happens?!)

He's actually quite handsome or maybe she is quite attractive.

Perhaps my brother in law big Lar can clear up the gender for us.

HEY LAR, is this a girl or boy turkey?

Easter

2009-04-13T22:28:00.013-04:00

Easter is always a family day for us. For the last 16 years Scott's brothers and their families have joined us for an annual Easter egg hunt and dinner. Its fun to watch the kids some now teenagers, search for eggs and try to out do one another.

The day was bright and sunny but quite brisk. The hunters kept moving though and were able to stay warm.

Baskets are getting full!

Hmmmmmm, these children look rather, well, older.
You have to watch your basket! Uncle Peter may just make off with it. Run Juli, run!!!
Hey who is this? Charlie Chaplin in our driveway!?

Just nephew Peter hamming it up!!!!

Everyone worked up a good appetite..

So we adjourned to the house for warmth and dinner. Unfortunately there are no pictures of that. With this group eating is serious business.

Hope your Easter was as much fun.

Window on the world

2009-04-09T07:46:00.004-04:00

We've had some cold and rainy days recently and though it doesn't bother the dogs much, I am a wimp so we have not been outside as much.

This means little puppies have to settle for watching the world.
Luckily there has been lots of activity at our front bird feeders. What with the return of the birds and the marauding band of squirrels its like a nature show.
Kindle likes to rearrange the pillows on the couch, creating a lovely perch to watch all the excitement.

It's sunny today, I better find a way to sneak in a walk between classes and private lessons.

Poor Jackaroo

2009-04-07T18:38:00.006-04:00

I know spring is on its way because the bees were out last weekend. Buzzing about probably searching for a great place to build the new hive, checking out the status of flowers and projecting when honey production can commence. I think the queens are promised bonuses if there is a good yield this year.
Our own Jackaroo who seems to be a bee magnet had his first run-in this year with a Yellow Jacket. They're particularly nasty bees and really don't seem to need a lot of provocation to sting. They don't make honey either so really I see no purpose for them. I guess the cross pollination thing is a good reason for existence. But, do they have to be so ill tempered?

Now Jackaroo is no shrinking violet. I have seen him kill several snakes and he is fast and efficient about it and certainly not afraid of them. In fact if he sees a snake it is indeed difficult to keep him from killing it. He is very unhappy if I am present as I do not allow snake eating. (Is that a form of sushi, hmmmm no, I guess that would be eels not snakes.)
But, I digress.

Scott was out working on Sunday and all the dogs were out there helping (read getting in the way, chasing wheelbarrows and getting underfoot). Jack who is always bringing a ball just in case you want to take a break and toss it for him was milling about. He started crying (poor baby) and Scott saw a huge yellow jacket crawling away. He immediately realized it had stung our little red boy. Into the house they came for me to take charge of the patient. That's one of my jobs you know. Jack looked quite pitiful, limping and worrying over his foot. It was slightly swollen and if you've ever been stung by a yellow jacket you know it hurts!!
Thankfully it does not appear Jack is allergic to bees but I doctored him up. Have you ever tried to hold an ice pack on a Tasmanian devil's foot. Not an easy job.

After just a few minutes he was quite recovered but milked it for a while for some extra cookies and sympathy. He held the foot up off the floor and looked at us with big ole sad eyes.

He seems to have suffered no long term effects.
The bee didn't fare quite as well. Scott stepped on it.

Oh well at least this is a sure sign of spring!

Weigh in day!

2009-04-07T18:33:00.002-04:00

Woohoo! I lost 1.7 lbs this week. All my changes have made a huge difference not only because I lost but because I feel better. Working out more is helping me have more energy. I have also been eating lots more veggies and fruits and feeling better because of that too.

That's it for this week but I will be back later with another post.
Thank you all who have sent encouragement and support. I really appreciate it!

Weigh-in day Grrrr

2009-04-01T15:26:00.004-04:00

OK, so I am on a plateau. It happens, can't say I am enjoying the view though.
As frustrating as this is I am going to look at it positively. I just need to change some things and I'm sure I will get myself off here and start losing again. I'm switching my food choices to include lower carb stuff. (I have a great recipe I'll tell you all about tomorrow.)

I am upping my exercise again, puff puff..... the dogs are loving all their extra walks. I have even roped Scott into a few more hikes in the woods.

I'm also giving up those lovely Weight Watcher ice creams for a week in an effort to jump start things and opting for more fruit instead.
Stay tuned, it shouldn't be long with all those changes.

Smorgasbord

2009-03-28T22:51:00.013-04:00

I filled this bird feeder the other day wondering why I had not filled it for a few years. Well, I pulled into the driveway the other day a few hours later and found this bold little thief chowing down.

Oh yeah, that's why I stopped filling it. My intent is not to provide an all you can eat buffet for the squirrels in our yard. We do enjoy watching the birds though so I put baffles on most of our other feeders.

This cute little guy certainly enjoyed the free meal. He at least got a little nervous when he realized I was taking pictures.

Not for long though. I guess I will have to go get one of those squirrel proof feeders my sister Dlyn talked about.

In the meantime I noticed this little guy's squirrel suit is a bit tighter than it was. Glutton!

Cutest puppy in the world!

2009-03-28T22:48:00.004-04:00

I am sure you all agree!

Weigh in day!

2009-03-24T21:56:00.004-04:00

Woohoo! I lost 1.6 this week. Go me!
So lets see that leaves me 19.6 pounds more to lose.
Right on track! I still have 2 months until my goal date June 1st.

I am exercising more and though I hate to admit it that is making me feel so much better. Come on back next week and see how I'm doing.
I found these little guys in my one of my flower beds this last weekend.

Spring clean-up

2009-03-23T22:27:00.006-04:00

It was lovely here this last weekend. The temperatures were in the high 40's and 50's and Saturday was beautiful and sunny. We took advantage of the day and started our spring clean up.

I want to take this moment to tell you about one of my worst gardening faux pas. Several years ago we realized we had termites. One night as we sat quietly watching a movie, Jackaroo suddenly leaped onto the couch peering over the side alerting us that something was amiss. We realized the floor was moving with millions of termites. EEEWWWWWWWW! Extremely disconcerting to say the least. Apparently in the spring termites hatch and a swarm leaves the nest in search of a new place to start a colony. They just couldn't find a way out of our house.

We hired an exterminator and they got rid of the vermin. But, they told us we should not use mulch in the gardens next to the house because it might attract more termites. Who would want that to happen. Well certainly not us!

So we got some gravel and replaced the mulch. For a time I was ok with it but the honeymoon was short lived. So here is my upper garden with the ugly stones.

I hate the way it looks and it keeps my flowers from growing well. So Saturday I decided that was it. Termites be damned! They've been gone for years and this garden is next to the deck not against the house. The stones are history! I am also going to pull up that landscaping cloth and replace it with cardboard. Just my way of leaving less plastic behind in the world. And I am going to use mulch!

This is one of my favorite gardens. It's full of day lilies my sister dlyn gave me plus a really nice peonie that was here when we bought the house. My one rose bush is there too and I also have a bunch of daffodils and crocus growing there. I think while I am working this garden I am going to add a clematis too. I hope to have the finished garden for you to see in a couple months.In the meantime we will be continuing to clean up the winter and hopefully we will see the last of it soon. Its been a long one.

Babies gotta play!

2009-03-22T21:12:00.004-04:00

Ok, I know I said I would do my Frontdoor/Backdoor meme today but I got busy training with Kindle and we went for a nice long walk in the woods. so, the meme will have to be tomorrow.
In the meantime I found this on YouTube and its so adorable I had to share it with you all.
Enjoy!

Almost me again

2009-03-20T13:07:00.003-04:00

I am pretty much back among the land of the living. I even managed to get a layer of dog hair out of the house today.
Tomorrow, my Front door Back door meme.

Sick day!

2009-03-17T13:18:00.007-04:00

I feel rotten today. I have been nursing a bad cold, cough thing since last Friday and I am not happy about it!
It's nice outside. I could be trimming things and raking or cleaning up the screen porch. But here I am on the couch.

Oh I have stuff to do, lesson plans to write, behavior clients who need their programs tweaked, and I can be productive even feeling like a zombie.

But....its St. Patrick's day and I am going to miss all the fun! We hang out at a little Irish pub in Ayer and of course today is a big day for them. It's called J.P. O'Hanlon's and it is our home away from home. I always joke if we don't show up on Friday night, they call the house to check on us.

No green beer here just good Irish music, food and awesome beers! It's always a fun time and we join our good friends Hal and Irene and pretend we're Irish for the day. Well, actually Hal is Irish, but the rest of us, just wannabes. Here they are last year decked out for the day.

Today they will have to celebrate without me. I am sure they will not appreciate my spewing germs as I hack into my Guinness and really I don't even think I could taste it.

So Happy St. Paddie's day to ye. I wish ye all lots of craic, but not too much since I won't be there.

(Don't know what Craic is. Go look it up, and yes its legal!)

Our little Niagara Falls

2009-03-12T22:17:00.007-04:00

Just around the corner from our house there is this beautiful waterfall. I love to go there and just watch the water.
We stopped by after our hike on Sunday. Look what a gorgeous day we had.

Now listen!

Weigh-in day!

2009-03-10T19:59:00.006-04:00

Well folks it was bound to happen. I gained this week, .8 lbs. But not to worry I am back on the wagon. However if you want to encourage me, bring it on!

I have another commitment I am putting up here as of today. I am committing to exercising at least 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. I figure its the best way to speed-up this process. So I will update you all on my exercise progress as well as my weight loss.

Check back for my loss next week.
I'll leave with the cute puppy pic!

AAAHH! More snow!

2009-03-09T16:41:00.010-04:00

Ok, I am really trying not to go stark raving mad but geez, how much snow do we have to have?

I officially have spring fever. I am so ready to plant something, put my agility equipment back in the yard. I want to de-winterize the camper and pack it up for a dog show. I want to grill burger and sit on the screen porch with a beer.

But not yet. Yesterday it was over 60 degrees and we trekked through the woods practically in shirt sleeves. But today it was snowing when I got up at 6:30 and continued for most of the day. So now we have about 4 new inches of snow that will have to melt. If my crocuses were coming up I can't tell now. Oh well, I keep telling myself this can't last forever!

Here are some pictures of our trek in the woods yesterday. I have been training Kindle to run off leash and she is doing really great. They all had a great run except Tyler who was looking a little too gimpy to go with us.

There was much running
Lots of play!

Arguments over the best sticks

A bit of resting now and again.

Even when we were done they wanted to go again!

Doesn't Scott look relaxed after our hike?

This is fun but I am looking forward to hikes with warm breezes and being able to shed all the winter layers.

Weigh-in day!

2009-03-03T19:34:00.005-05:00

I know you have all been on the edge of your seats today just waiting to hear how I fared the last week.
I am happy to say I lost 1.6 lbs. woohoo!!!
So that leaves 20.4 lbs to go!

Tasha is happy for me too!

Jackaroo's games

2009-03-02T00:01:00.000-05:00

The intensity with which Australian Cattle Dogs do everything is one of the things I love about the breed. They have an amazing ability to focus on the task at hand, sometimes to the detriment even of their own safety. It's what makes them so good at herding cattle. They go at it with a fearless verve that I find, well, fascinating. (You can picture me here with my eyebrow raised in Mr. Spock-like fashion.) It's also why our vet has become a friend. We have had to visit quite often.

I am sure Jackaroo is not all that special as cattle dogs go, but to me he is extremely special. He just lives life with wild abandon, well with as much abandon as he can manage anyway. I have to manage his wild abandon. For instance, the first week he lived with us, he figured out he could sit on the stairway in the living room and wait for an unsuspecting older dog to walk by, then he'd launch himself on top of them with joy and abandon. I ended this with the addition of a baby gate at the bottom of the stairs.

He has always played or worked with that same intensity, always. He also has invented some fascinating games (there goes that eyebrow again).

You see, we used to have a bunch of saplings in our back yard. If you look here next to Scott's workshop there is a little knoll and the yard slopes down behind it.
The saplings were there. Were being the operative word. Jackaroo systematically removed them. He figured out if he ran full tilt and launched himself in the air (practiced on the stairs as a pup) at the knoll he could "fly" a few feet and latch onto a small tree about 4 feet off the ground. He would hang there for a few seconds bending the tree and then drop to the ground. He repeated the whole exercise over and over until he broke the tree then joyously raced around the yard with the tree in his mouth dragging it leaves and all like a trophy. This activity resulted in a forest of spire-like trunks we had to cut down.

I only wish I had a video camera back then.
Now a days Jackaroo is waiting for new trees to grow so in the meantime he waits for branches to fall into the yard so he can annihilate them. I caught a little activity recently.

That dog knows how to live!

She's got them on the run!

2009-02-27T09:51:00.004-05:00

Kindle dearly loves a good game of chase and I love to watch them. Tongues lolling, ears flapping in the breeze! Too fun!
I hope your day is this much fun!

Front Door/Back Door Meme - February

2009-02-25T00:01:00.003-05:00

My Friend C-Lee tagged me for this month's Front door Back door meme so, here's how we are looking in Massachusetts these days.

The backyard: Tyler always has to get in the shot.

And the Front:

I couldn't resist taking a picture of my side yard where lies my little veggie garden.

I can't wait to fill this with new plants. Only a few weeks, 12 or something like that. Come on spring!

OK, I am tagging my friend Sheila over at We Three Corgis. Lets see your front and back yards!

Join in if you like - the guidelines are simple:
This is a photography meme.
1. Step out your front door and take a picture.
2. Step out your back door and take a picture.
3. Put them on your blog, along with the rules.
4. If there are things in the photos that you particularly like or dislike, you can point them out, or just explain what we are seeing. Maybe changes over the seasons or some junk in your neighbor's yard that drives you nuts.
5. Tag as many or few people as you like - preferably at least one though.
6. Do it again next month if you like.

Go visit

2009-02-24T22:03:00.002-05:00

Hey Kate at Chronicles of Country Girl is having a give away. Her photos are absolutely gorgeous and her dog, George is way cute.

Go visit and maybe you will win one of her fabulous photos.

Weigh in day!

2009-02-24T14:13:00.002-05:00

Yup its weigh-in day and I lost .2 lbs this week. Not much you might say but still in the right direction.
Only 22 lbs to go.
Woohoo! Go me!

Also go visit my friend Sheila's new blog We Three Corgis. Tell her I sent ya!

Have a great day all.

Girls just wanna have fun!

2009-02-24T11:40:00.004-05:00

A Living Prayer

2009-02-22T12:58:00.000-05:00

Dogs love snow

2009-02-19T23:06:00.008-05:00

Just a little fun in the snow with the dogs recently.
I found this little fox playing in the backyard.
Oh wait! That's our little Kindle! Isn't she a beauty?
Beta knows where the toys are stored and she wants them!
Right now! (Kindle says uh oh, we are not supposed to use that language!)
Even the old girl Tasha enjoyed the nice sunny day.
I'm glad they enjoy this but I am looking to spring. Come on sun, shine!

Just some photos

2009-02-18T10:09:00.012-05:00

I was just fooling around when the snow started meltin last week. this is our stone wall out in front of our house. I like how these came out so much one became my new banner.
Pretty!
Melt snow melt!!!

It's weigh-in day!

2009-02-17T14:13:00.005-05:00

Hello Bloggy Friends.
Today I start updating you on my weight loss effort. It has been a big help to me to know you are all out there, on the edge of your seats, just waiting to hear the results of my first week after going public. Can't wait can you?

It was a good week with the exception of some sort of plague I contracted and have been fighting the last 3 days.
In spite of that, I ate well and was able to get in some exercise. I even made it though Valentines Day without a hitch! Of course it helped my hunny brought me gorgeous irises instead of chocolate. Thanks Babe!

The result....I lost 2.8 lbs. Woohoo.
Lets celebrate with a hot fudge sundae!
Oh stop it I am kidding!

Seriously, knowing you are out there reading really helped me so please tell me you were here and how proud you are of me! Only 22.2 lbs to go!

Happy Valentines Day

2009-02-14T19:40:00.006-05:00

I like to make a special dinner for us on Valentines day. This year in light of my goal to lose 25 lbs. by June 1st, I needed to be creative. So I lightened up a favorite of ours, Shrimp Alfredo and it was stellar!

In case you want to make it, (sorry I did not take step by step photos like my famous food blogger sister Dlyn) I will give you the lo-fat scrumptious lo-down.
Here is my recipe.

Shrimp Alfredo
1 tbsp of butter (the real thing, what says I care better than butter!)
1 tbsp of flour
2 scallions chopped
2 garlic cloves chopped
1 cup of fat free milk + 1 tbsp half & half
A splash or 2 of white wine
4 tbsp Parmesan cheese
1 cup of peas (fresh is best but I used frozen tonight)
1/2 lb shrimp ( I used cooked frozen so if you use raw be sure to clean and de-vein first.)
6 oz. uncooked pasta

Cook pasta in a separate pan while you assemble the rest of the meal.
Saute the scallions in the butter and add the garlic after a minute or so and saute for about a minute. Add the flour, cooking it about a minute so it loses that raw taste. Then slowly add the milk and half & half stirring to get rid of any lumps. Let this all cook, stirring often until it starts to thicken then add the still frozen peas, (I like them still snapping when I bite them) and the Parmesan.
Splash the wine in and stir it in. Lastly add the shrimp and let it cook just until done. Not too long or it will be tough.
Drain the pasta and add to the shrimp and sauce mixing well to combine everything. Serve immediately with extra Parmesan and a nice crusty warm bread. Woohoo delicious!
This makes 3 servings and if you are a weight watcher it is 7 points a serving. With a slice of bread and bit of butter add another 2 points for a great 9 point dinner. Yum and lo-fat! What could be better. Sorry I should have taken a final picture at least but... we were hungry!

So for my Valentine hunny I made him a nice healthy tasty dinner he moaned over. Is that love or what?!
Hope you enjoyed your day.

Weezee's Amazing Journey

2009-02-10T19:56:00.004-05:00

OK maybe not so amazing to most but I a trip I gotta take. I have been considering this for a few days and finally have decided to go public with my weight loss effort.
Now usually I would run from even mentioning that I am a lifetime Weight Watcher member who is NOT at goal but serious times call for serious measures. In this case I need a little more accountability.

My goal is to lose 25 pounds by June 1st. I think its doable. I will not be posting how much I weigh. I was raised to believe ladies never discuss such things in public and I think that is a policy I will cling to forever! But I will post my weigh-ins every week. I attend my meeting and get weighed every Tuesday and today.... well lets just say I will start that business next Tuesday.

Why you may ask have I decided to make this commitment now. Well because I have this new little baby puppy to prepare to compete with. She is awesome and fast and I don't want to hold her back. Plus that whole I'm not getting any younger thing.

So there you have it. I know a few of my regular readers are also Weight Watcher members so I look forward to your encouragement and support and recipes. So come on bloggy friends saddle up. The journey begins.

Snowmen

2009-02-05T22:10:00.007-05:00

You know I really don't like winter. I do my best to stay cheery and find projects to work on but I really don't like cold weather. So I guess it is a bit strange that I love snowmen. I have a whole collection in fact.

I get them as gifts, in fact in the photo above the couple on the right were from my friend Grace for Christmas this year. She knitted them herself. Pretty cute huh?

Look they're ready for their close up.

I got this little guy in Stowe Vermont when Scott and I had a romantic getaway weekend. It always reminds me what a wonderful time we had.

Each little snowman has some meaning, memory or a good friend attached to them. Each is special to me.I put them out each year with the Christmas decorations and usually leave them out until the first signs of spring. This year I put them away at the end of the holidays hoping perhaps that would hurry an early spring but instead winter tightened its grip and has held us even tighter than usual.

Next year I am leaving these guys out until April. In the meantime I will have to enjoy them here and just keep waiting for warm breezes and green growing things to break winter's icy grip.

Hmm I am waxing poetic tonight!

Sunday Feb 1st

2009-02-01T08:47:00.006-05:00

I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from?

My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Psalm 121:1,2

Fooling with photos

2009-01-31T19:45:00.007-05:00

This is a cross-stitch someone gave me. I cropped and blurred the background a bit. Here it is cropped even more and highlights added. I like this effect.

Here is my cutie little baby Kindle as a 6 week pup.
Here is the same picture with a hot wax effect. Pretty cool.
This is a geode we have I cropped down. Pretty huh?

Very interesting!

Happy Birthday Jackaroo!

2009-01-29T00:01:00.002-05:00

I learned how to make a movie so here is a little birthday celebration for my maniac boy. Enjoy.

On no say it isn't so!

2009-01-28T10:22:00.002-05:00

I can't believe it but my boy Jackaroo turns 9 years old tomorrow. Seems like yesterday he came to us as a bouncing baby boy and I do mean bouncing, he was fat!
See:
We will save the birthday celebration until tomorrow but I am feeling especially sad about him aging as I found out on Monday he has Spondylolysis of the spine and arthritis in his shoulders and elbows. Of course Jack does everything as though he may never get to do it again so he gives it his all. Some of this is normal wear and tear so I was not too surprised but the spine problem is disconcerting. The ortho-vet we saw said he can continue to train and run agility and that it actually will be good for him. But eventually his spine will be too stiff to jump anymore so until then I will keep him going. He will be getting chiropractic care, ultra-sound treatments and massage. Good thing we have pet insurance.

He did manage to charm everyone at the vet office as usual. He tries to divert their attention from probing, x-raying and massaging with kisses and soulful brown-eyed stares. I swear if he could bat his eyelashes he would. By the time we left he had been petted, fed and hugged by all the staff. Here he is with the x-ray tech, she really loved him and he loved her since she fed him incessantly.I took this with my new phone camera and I am still learning to use it so excuse the poor photo. But, isn't he cute?!

I hope you will come tomorrow and wish him a Happy Birthday.

My Interview with Ellyn

2009-01-23T13:43:00.003-05:00

Kate over at Chronicles of a Country Girl started a really cool interview project. She invited bloggers to interview each other by asking 5 questions.
I asked my niece Ellyn over at A little Piece of Heaven to interview me. And here are her questions.

1. What was your inspiration for becoming a dog trainer?
I was first inspired because Tasha was such a bad little puppy. This was before I knew about Cattle Dogs of course. I really got inspired by clicker training though. Learning about Operant and Classical conditioning and applying it to dogs learning to do, well anything! From "sit" to "Put your toys away". I am fascinated by it all and love to watch dogs learn. On top of that I got involved in behavior counseling for dogs. Really! I help people who have dogs with anti-social behaviors teach them to deal in our human world. Its wonderful to see a reformed dog settle in to "normal" family life. I could go on but you get the drift I LOVE what I do!

2. Do you have one dog you love more than all the rest? Or do you love them all equally?
Well, I love all my dogs but one is more of what people call a "heart dog". In this case it is my sociopath Jackaroo, but don't tell the others. I have had to spend so much time modifying his behavior it has created a bond that is really strong. My new little girl Kindle is quickly becoming a heart dog too. You probably remember my Golden/Samoyed Cassidy I used to have? She was so sweet and when I lost her I thought I could never love a dog that much again but they have a way of twisting themselves around your heart.

3. Is Scott's hair growing back. Do you think he will do Locks of Love again?
Scott's hair is growing back. It is almost a year since he gave up his wavy tresses and he really loved doing that. He says he will do it again as long as its not Super Bowl Sunday. You may remember last year the Patriots went to the Super Bowl undefeated and then lost the big one. Scott is sure it is because he let them cut his hair on the day of the big game. I told my hair dresser and she has agreed to move the event should that perfect storm ever happen again. :-)

4. What is you finest culinary creation?
Hmmm, that is a tough one. I love to cook and hardly ever follow a recipe as its written (that runs in our family) and over the years I have made some pretty memorable dishes. Last Easter I made a leg of lamb and I had never done that before. It turned out fabulous and the family is already asking if we can have it again this year. I guess we'll go with it. Although weirdly Jackaroo was afraid of the oven for months after that. Every time we turned the oven on he refused to come in the kitchen and would stand in the dining room barking at it. I guess he didn't think that was one my best creations.

5. What is your favorite time of year? And why?
Oh easy! SUMMER!!!! I love hot weather and I love plants and seeing all the shades of green of trees. I love flowers and warm breezes and sitting on my screen porch late in the evening sipping an ice cold beer as the dogs frolic in the baby pool. And of course we compete in agility a lot more in summer and I love that. Only 5 months to go. sigh

So there you have it Now its somene else's turn so.....
1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. (I get to pick the questions).
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.
Bring it on people.

Tyler's Intuition

2009-01-20T21:09:00.000-05:00

I am often amazed at what dogs know , at how perceptive they are. They often just know stuff and what to do for us. Tyler recently reminded me of this.

I had taken him to visit our vet for a check-up. When we went in the office there were 4 little children sitting in waiting room chattering, laughing and coloring. Tyler likes children, mostly because we give them cookies to feed him whenever we meet them but he is polite and only approaches them with permission. I was on a mission, busy and wanting to get in and out quickly so we continued on by and went into the exam room.

When we came back through 15 minutes later all the little kids were crying and were very distressed. Their mother hugged them as she explained their dog was very ill and not expected to live very much longer. It was heart wrenching to see their pain at such tender ages. I went to the counter to pay and Tyler started pulling on his leash trying to get to the children. I pulled him back thinking he would be an intrusion on their sorrow but he was very insistent and kept pulling toward them. I asked their mother if it would be OK for him to greet the children and she nodded. Tyler went to the first child and put his head in her lap. She dropped her tear stained face on his head and hugged him. He stayed with her a moment and then moved on to the next little child and so on down the line until he had offered comfort to each. By this time the children's mother, the receptionist, vet tech and I were completely undone by this lovely simple offer of ease from this generous dog.

Tyler has always been such a sweet dog but even so I was totally unprepared for how intuitively he knew just what to do to help those little children. It was a beautiful moment I will long remember. Dogs are amazing, they just know stuff.

New blogging buddy!

2009-01-20T20:14:00.003-05:00

Go visit our friend Nancy and welcome her to bogging at Gold'NPem.

And Happy Birthday Beta!

2009-01-11T06:00:00.003-05:00

We have another child with a December birthday. That would be our little spitfire Beta. She was born on December 5, 2003. Yes she turned 5 years old this last December. Where does the time go?

Happy Birthday Beta!!

You all first met her way back in February of 2008, Time to introduce the baby. She was our baby back then. Now she has become the proud big sister to little Kindle. Beta does a good job keeping her in-line too.

She is Scott's fast little agility dog and we are so enthralled watching her burn up the agility world. Her breeder has been approached by several people who would like one just like her. But, we have the only one!

We are looking forward to lots more years with our little Beta.

Happy Birthday Tasha!!!

2009-01-10T17:35:00.010-05:00

We missed celebrating this occasion with all of you on December 15, 08 because we had been plunged into the 1700's by the now infamous Ice Storm of 2008. On that auspicious day our Tasha girl turned 13 years old!

You may remember her introduction way back last January in Intro the Dogs. She's the reason I became a dog trainer. If she had been a mild mannered, easy going, laid back sort of dog, I would still be training tellers and customer service reps at a local credit union. I would have missed helping other people get control of their wild child dogs.

So thanks Tasha for being such an unmanageable doggie as a pup and Happy birthday. We hope you have several more to celebrate with us.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T19:02:00.004-05:00

Don't you just love a new year? It just stretches out in front of us with all kinds of potential and possibilities. What will it bring? Will it be good, will it be difficult, hhhmmmm, who knows. But...we a get a new one every 12 months and here is ours all ready for us to get busy using it up. Exciting, isn't it?

So my sister dlyn has made a few resolutions and from the look of them she will be pretty busy! I don't like to go public with my resolutions cause then everybody tells you when you mess up. but this year I am going public. Ready? Here goes.

I think this year I am going to resolve to be more resolute. I think maybe, quite possibly, that is what I just might do. I think so, yup this is probably what I am gonna do. Pretty sure anyway.
I think I will also continue to have really cute dog pics too. Like this one:
You guys have any resolutions?

Winter in New England

2008-12-26T16:29:00.002-05:00

Some pics from out storm last Friday. It pretty much snowed all weekend.
Enjoy!

But we were warm and snug inside.

Christmas Dogs

2008-12-25T21:40:00.009-05:00

Dogs are really like furry little children when it comes to Christmas.
The cattle dogs especially like to unwrap. Jackaroo is so fast I couldn't get a good picture. It doesn't matter how many gifts each gets, they all want the other guy's gift.
Kindle has not yet mastered unwrapping but this was her first Christmas I am sure but next year she will be ripping and tearing with the best of them.
Tugging wars often break out as they vie for ownership.
Alas this little snowman took the worst of the battle.
Then there is the need for regeneration.
We wish you a very Merry Christmas and hope yours was as much fun.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T18:29:00.001-05:00

The ice world

2008-12-21T16:33:00.013-05:00

Whew Christmas Open House is over. Everyone had an awesome time.
I just have to get a few stocking stuffers for Scott and I will be set for Christmas morning. Well except for all the baking I will be doing since I could not do that last weekend with my electric stove (I hate that stove!)during our ice storm and power outage.

I told you I had more pictures of the ice storm of last week so I wanted to get those up here. By the by, there are still scads of people without power, especially in the little town of Lunenburg just a few miles down the road from us. The Governor has launched an investigation into the delay and I saw about 25 electric company trucks while on my way to church today. The worst part is that it is snowing here today. In fact it has been snowing since Friday. It started about 2:00PM Friday and I really think it has not stopped since. From flurries to blizzard like conditions it has just been snowing.

First here is what we saw when we got up Friday 12/12.
This is the top of a birch tree used to be totally just outside our fence. We're lucky it fell in the fence and not on it.

You can just see the top of the broken tree in this pic. Pretty tall huh?
and here is a close-up of that, the rest encased in ice.

Scott and I usually go and cut down our Christmas tree each year. We go to a tree farm in Lunenburg but they had to close down this year due to ice damage. We set out last Saturday and were astounded by the absolute devastation we saw in that little town. I keep saying it looked like a tornado went through and left a wave of ice behind. This was a typical look down a side road. The glare from ice everywhere made it difficult to take pictures.
This was also a far too common site for the whole week.

This video shows what it was like when the sun came out and melted everything that day.

I have more pics I will share later on. But for now I'd like to focus on Christmas. Uh oh, the lights just flickered. I hope we stay in the current century. I am not much of a pioneer woman.

Front Yard Backyard Meme & Ice!

2008-12-20T08:01:00.007-05:00

It has been quite a week. Last Friday we woke up here in Central Massachusetts to a world of ice and no power. I was reminded of Narnia except we really only had a touch of snow but most of our world was encased in ice.
Here is the front yard:

and the back yard:
We were very lucky just some minor tree damage and only one tree fell into our fence instead of on it. but we were without power from Friday at 2:00 AM to Tuesday at 3:30 PM. That was way too long but again we are lucky. There are many who still don't have power and won't until Christmas or after, because of downed trees like this one. It is amazing to see what ice can do to our modern convenience filled lives. I came to the conclusion that I am way too spoiled but really I am ok with that.

I love this picture.

There is so much more to tell about this week and I took lots of pictures but thankfully we are able to have our annual Christmas Open House today so I need to get going to finish preparations. I will come back to give you more of a taste of what this week was like. Have a great day bloggy friends.

The new look

2008-12-11T22:56:00.002-05:00

So bloggy friends how do you like my new look? I have winterized the blog.

Come on I know you are visiting and not leaving a comment. Comment!
Hal? Sheila? Irene? Nancy? Mom?!

I know you were here! Comment!

Do you love Christmas?

2008-12-10T09:22:00.002-05:00

I absolutely love Christmas! I love all the decorations and lights. The shine, glitter and greenery and how it warms up the leafless landscape. I love carols and sing, listen and drown myself in them for the few short weeks we get to hear them. I love the preparation for our annual Open House cooking. cleaning, baking and planning. I love gathering to see friends, relax and catch up. I even love the tug of stress getting it all accomplished.

The dogs love it too!This is a preview of our Christmas card though not the picture we picked.

So do you love Christmas too?

Thank our Troops

2008-12-02T21:09:00.003-05:00

Regardless of how you feel about the war in Iraq I think we can all agree the soldiers are making a huge sacrifice of their time.

I was trolling my favourite blogs this evening and came across LetsSayThanks.com at Chronicles of a Country girl. (Her photos are gorgeous!)
This is especially important to me because my niece Lauren is serving in Iraq right now. Go visit her blog Laurne and say hi. LetsSayThanks.com is a program Xerox created to send Thank You cards created by children to our troops. You just click on the card of your choice choose a message and your card will be sent to a soldier.
This is a great season to let them know we are thinking of them and thanking them for their service.
Go send a card!

What a cutie

2008-12-02T19:06:00.004-05:00

Look at this little dog! Isn't she one of the cutest dogs you have ever seen?!
I am still not feeling well so enjoy this little cutie for today.

Black Monday

2008-12-01T09:32:00.007-05:00

When Dlyn and I (by the way go check out her 1 year of daily blogging celebration give away!) went shopping on Black Friday I think I picked up the black plague somewhere in the mall. So today feels like Black Monday and I am on the couch napping, doing a bit of work and making lists. I will leave you with a few pics of the recent trip to Springfield and the largest AKC agility trial in the country.

Kindle our baby had a wonderful time staying in the motel. We usually take our travel trailer but it is put away for the winter. She did stay in a motel before when I picked her up in Pennsylvania at 9 weeks but she was not allowed free range at that time cause, well cause she was 9 weeks old. This stay she made good use of her time.

She hung out with the other cattle dogs and watched TV.

She was very intrigued with the bathtub, I kept finding her standing in there, just looking around. The other dogs were scandalized since they have to be dragged into the tub!

You can't see her in this picture because she is checking out what is under the bed. I really didn't want her under there and Tyler doesn't look to happy about it either. He is enjoying his new travel pad I got for him though from Comfy Critters of Cape Cod. I have 10 of their pads. They wash up just beautiful and as long as puppies don't chew them up they last for ages.

Ok, I hope you enjoyed that, I am going to nap. Go visit Dlyn.

Back to dog stuff

2008-11-30T18:59:00.006-05:00

We say a fond farewell to Thanksgiving for another year. We had lots of fun, ate way too much and shopped till we dropped. So now that our company has returned home and the turkey has become stock for a soup later this week we return to normal life.
Well normal for us, back to the dogs!

The Thanksgiving cluster in Springfield MA is the largest AKC agility trial in the country so it is truly an experience.

The exhibitors and their dogs are set up in row after row where we wait for our runs.
Scott and Beta relax and chat with our neighbor.
We hang out and chat with friends
There are lots of vendors so we do a bit of shopping.

and we have lots of spectacular runs with our dogs.

Thanksgiving is over

2008-11-29T00:34:00.011-05:00

I hope you all enjoyed your holiday. We had a wonderful time with my sister dlyn and her husband Big Lar. I am always sad when they go home but I am ready to get back to "normal" life. In the next couple weeks we will be preparing for Christmas and our annual Open house but here a few highlights from Thanksgiving.

Jackaroo was especially happy to see his Uncle Larry. Jack is the founding member and president of the Uncle Larry fan club.

It's hard to get clear pictures of them because Jack tries give Uncle Larry many kisses.
Kindle is new to the fan club so she looked on from afar with her dad. Though as the days went on she became the newest inductee.

We cooked and baked. Here are our gorgeous pies

Dlyn is of a course a baker and cook extraordinaire but our mama didn't raise no bad cooks, so I do hold my own. Between the two of us we created a wonderful feast.

My mother-in-law sent us a really nice bouquet for our table. Thanks Mad!
And the table looked very nice! I would have taken more pictures but this was about the time the furnace started screaming and we had to shut it off and call our furnace guy. The furnace is only a couple years old so we were a bit dismayed by this turn of events but probably not so much as our furnace guy who left his steaming turkey and stuffing to come to our house to work! He did get it going but had to come back the next day and charge us big bucks to replace stuff.

So Dlyn and Big Lar are on their way home and we a rattling around getting used to the quiet of our house again. Some of us are just exhausted!

Dog Agility is done for 2008

2008-11-25T00:00:00.002-05:00

We had a great time at our agility trial this last weekend. It was a 4 day show we entered just 3 days and got home last evening. The show was held at the Big E fairgrounds in Springfield MA in the large building that houses farm animals at the annual fair. For our show, they truck in tons of dirt for the rings and pack it down, which makes for excellent footing. Nice and level and cushy to run on for dogs and humans. The drawback is that by midday a haze of dirt and dust fills the building making it harder to breath and everything gets covered with it, I mean everything! We had to bathe all 5 dogs when we got home.
We still love that show site. Its huge and the show is too! We had really nice courses and great runs. Jackaroo and I managed to qualify once on Sunday. The rest of our runs were really close with just little mistakes that kept us from qualifying.
Here is our one Q for the weekend.

It was a wonderful run though I see lots of places for improvements. Isn't Jackaroo a speedy little guy. Hard to believe he will be 9 years old the end of January!

Scott and Beta had some wonderful runs too which I will post about later this week or possibly next. My sister Dlyn and her husband Big Lar are visiting for Thanksgiving so we will be busy eating, cooking, eating, playing cards, eating, sipping wine, eating, shopping and oh we might go out to eat one night too. Should be big fun. (Go visit Dlyn's log she is celebrating her one year anniversary of daily blogging! Congrats Dlyn!)

Check back for more on the show. This was also Kindle's first stay in a motel since she was 9 weeks old. She made the most of it!

Even though this was the last show for us this year we will be back at it the first weekend in January. In the meantime I will be working on those improvements!

PHOTO MEME

2008-11-13T09:32:00.003-05:00

My sister over at dlyn got tagged for a photography meme yesterday and because I read it, I am tagged.

Here is what you do: Go to your 4th photo file, then to your 4th photo inside that file and then post it.

Here is mine. I so wanted to cheat because though I love dog agility trials this is not the most exciting part of a show, waiting for your run in your tent in less than nice weather, but oh well. You can just see Scott and our friend Clee hanging out between runs.

Ok so you are tagged, go do it!!!