Light at the End of the Tunnel

The Light At the End of The Tunnel

I have Julie to thank for sending us some really cool pictures recently of Bullet and Sassy investigating and exploring this culver pipe.  There are several awesome candids showing them running in and out, carrying a toy, going through together and just having a blast.  This one happens to be my favorite and perfectly demonstrates ATB style - about reaching the light at the end of the tunnel.  Of course I could take this to a deeper, more reflective level in terms of spirituality but not today.  Just for now - it is enough to have the visual that is needed to add some humor into extremely full and busy days where time seems to slip through your very hands.  So on a day when "Lions, and Tigers and Bears - OH MY!"  meets up with "I'm Late! I'm Late! For a Very Important Date- no time to say hello! Goodbye! I'm late, I'm late I'm late" my Bulletman pictured above indeed proves once again there is light at the end of the tunnel! 

Our oldest grandson fell and cut himself fairly seriously last night, and had to go to the E.R.  The good news is he is allright, and they did not take stitches but he was home recooperating.  I spoke with him on the phone earlier and the most significant thing to him was the story his mum told him about how when his uncle's  friend shot him in the foot with a B-B gun and he screamed all the way to the hospital".  And I do remember that as if were yesterday, very scary stuff but evidently it helped ease the pain.  Our oldest grandaughter just called grampa and she's all excited because turkey hunting season is approaching and she's looking forward to going out with her dad.  Hunting is a family tradition here that is for sure.  Last but not least we celebrated a very special birthday party for her sister earlier this week!  It was a lot of fun.

Pippin really looks beautiful and is already for the upcoming shows this week.  She had one more day in the field yesterday; John worked her with Jack and came back very happy that Pippin had backed him nicely.  Frosting on the cake.  Not sure how she'll do in the field trial but it will be fun, I'm sure of that.  I've never been somewhere before where there was a show one day and a field trial the next, with many (not all) of the same Brittanys. I really can't wait and I'm looking forward to see which Brittany comes out as the 'dual winner' and especially getting to see that work in both the field and the ring.  I hope to take many photographs of these beautiful Britts and share them.  We won't be there for the entire field trial weekend but instead will go to Sassy's flyball tournament and that will be fun too! 

Saturday John spent the day at the Maine Bird Dog Club Field Trial Grounds with a few club members who showed up to do some much needed work before our May field trial there.  One of the highlights of the day was the new outhouse built by our good friend Frank Pride! Seriously, this was a well needed enhancement especially made on behalf of the children and moms who had to deal with the old one - YUCK.  Here's a picture of the new one to the left.  Our Brittany club hasn't had a spring field trial in quite a few years so we're expecting a good turnout, including perhaps some pro-trainers with their string of dogs.  We have a couple of pups to run in the puppy stakes just for fun that are 6 months old.  John will probably enter Pippin and Jack too.  I am ECSTATIC because he just told me tonight he's really like to run Jack in a couple of upcoming field trials.  Jack is 'finished' or 'broke' whatever you'd like to call it.  We're not big into field trials but Jack surely could be competitive with the training and experience behind him. I hope in the future I am writing about the field trial(S) that Jack ran in and how he did! 

True has a handling class coming up in a couple of nights, I know he'll be very happy to see Pam.  She and Sam had a wonderful vacation and returned home this weekend.  Piper is doing well in her informal training.  She's a now you see her now you don't girl!  Couldn't have a better name than that of an airplane. We have a good friend who is a photographer, and especially enjoys airplanes.  Needless to say he speaks highly of her!  I think I said this already in an earlier blog but he and his wife recently lost one of their Brittanys. She was 16... John and I shared their grief and shed tears right along with them.  They are wonderful folks who love Brittanys.  He's going to be at our field trial taking photographs again; he took them professionally several years ago and they were some of the best I've ever seen.   That was the day Sassy won her field trial puppy points by winning First Place, Open Puppy.  It was pouring rain and no one wanted to stand out in it for their pictures but God bless Ralph... we all slopped out to where the display and banner had been set up the day before - just so Julie and Sassy could have their photo taken.  Julie is grinning in that photo from ear to ear - but Sassy?  Sassy looks SOME ticked off.   Anyway, I'm looking forward to Ralph taking the pictures for us again, and spending time with both he and his wife.  They got one of their first Brittanys from Sebego Kennels and remain good friends with "Pete" Jordan - who is 94 and going strong!

Well, there is a TV show on I've been waiting to watch, ATB are all settled down for the evening, and it is couch potato time. Rarely do I settle long enough to watch much on TV, and there really is very little on anyway, even with the hundreds of chanels one gets with a satellite dish!  As always we appreciate your interest in All Things Brittany. Oh! Almost forgot.  The website is nearly finished as far as the revision goes.  A few more tweaks but that will wait.  I do want you to check out the new link with "Our Journey" on it.  It's a new cool free online program for making slideshows etc. and I wanted to present our show and field photos in a unique way.  Take a few minutes and look at everything else, there's a lot of new stuff! Here is the link to our journey http://www.mainebrittanysitejas.com/Field--and--Show.php   Always love to hear from people, and feel free to drop a comment or upload a photo to our Facebook Page!  Take care and God Bless you and yours,  Sincerely John and Ann Short and our canine crew!