Time Well Spent with Friends

Steve and Stephanie with "Starr" and "Nash"

Yesterday was a day that John and I had been looking forward to for quite awhile.  For awhile our schedule and that of Steve and Stephanie was just so busy that it was impossible to find just one day where we could plan to enjoy some time together.  It was at the end of February that we finally decided that April 11th would work out.  Back then, it sure seemed like a long ways off! Their visit was well worth the wait.

Each time someone arrives at our home they are loudly announced by our Brittanys so we were notified appropriately when Steve, Steph and their two Brittanys, Nash and Starr, pulled up to the gate.  John let them in, secured the gate as our ATB "greeters of the day" were eagerly awaiting to see who was here.  Soon I opened the door so Molly, Treasure, Piper, and Jack could do their job with great enthusiasm and  unrestricted joy.  This particular method of greeting is not appropriate for everyone but was appreciated and embraced by Steve and Stephanie who soon released Nash and Starr to join in the fun.  We're always mindful of initial interactions between the dogs of course, and can fairly anticipate if things are going to go well or head south. It's not always possible to have all our dogs interact with those who come visit for various reasons including hormonal issues etc.  While it's fun to see if pups and/or adults remember each other (Nash and Starr were both born here) the reality of it is that may not always be possible. Yesterday things went very well though and it was a lot of fun to see those 6 particular individual dogs interact, check each other out, get their act together, and enjoy a little time romping and running around.  Jack and Molly are the parents of Nash so I really enjoyed comparing the similarities.  Starr is out of Wish and Coos Rylee and although Wish was not out playing, I could easily see things about Starr that remind me of her mother.  Starr is also Treasure, Jack, and Scooby's half sister (confused yet?!).  She's a near mirror image of Wish except for her colors.  Starr is a very pretty little tri-color girl and is pictured here resting with Treasure. Handsome "NashDog son of Jackdog" enjoyed some positive interaction and play with his father.  They look a lot alike except Nash does have his mothers finer bone and is smaller than his sire.  He also has his mother's face, although it is masculine in appearance.  Jack REALLY liked Starr and although she is spayed, it did not stop him from having a keen interest in her.  She didn't put up with it though, and neither did John who draws the line with certain behavior from Jack and decided the visit would be more enjoyable for Starr if Jack was in the kennel. We did have the same kind of thing going on between Nash and Treasure.  She's just come out of season and was not up to the typical inquisitive gestures that are typical of canine communications.  Molly, whose pups have only been gone for a few weeks now has just plain decided that she's had it with motherhood - and abruptly told her son Nash this was a fact!  In the meantime, sweet little Piper enjoyed bouncing here and there and everywhere, having a blast interacting with the adults and also communicating calmness to them by her insistance on running in between them.  The dogs continued to romp and play under our supervision while we sat outside and caught up a little bit. John had just taken some of the patio chairs out of storage but athough the sun was out the breeze was still quite chilly!  

Stephanie had brought pulled pork, Asian slaw, and rolls to go with the baked beans we had cooking so it was a no-brainer to finally go into the house and enjoy our dinner together.  John and I really enjoyed the afternoon.  It was relaxing to visit with Steve and Stephanie and especially to see two of our full grown babies return to ATB for the day.  Plus John had made strawberry shortcake for dessert!  (Most every weekend from now until forever it seems we are committed for one thing or another. This is not a complaint because we always look forward to times with friends, family, and canine related events.) I'm so glad we finally had the chance to spend some time with Steve and Stephanie, it was really a lovely way to enjoy a Sunday afternoon.

I am still continuing to work on new webdesign for our site at http://www.mainebrittanysitejas.com/ and it is coming along well.  Some of my software programs make it easy to work with graphics and photos, something I really do enjoy doing.

John's worked with Pippin more this past week, getting her ready for our trip to New York.  We've been looking forward to this for about 2 years now.  It will be fun and the Brittanymobile is pretty much all set for the journey as Julie and I travel out to the futurities, a field trial, dog show, and flyball tournament with Sassygirl, Bulletman, and Miss Pippin. (Ought to be interesting with two canine  '-anators'.)

Last evening John and I stood together at the edge of the pond and enjoyed the simplicity of watching our trout jumping.  We now have Brook Trout and Rainbow Trout and so far so good. 

Last but not least I really miss True puppy.  Pam has given me updates every day about how well he is doing.  She did something really fun by sending a picture of True and a picture of Gibson as a puppy and having me guess which dog was who.  I really did have a hard time telling the difference, True looks like his father a lot.  We spoke on the phone and I could hear him in the background. I could have talked to him but I believe that it would have been disruptive for him - beneficial for me, but not so much for him.  This time the two of them spend together is very valuable for the future.  He'll be back home soon!

Heard from Bob P. that Remi (Jack and Chrissy pup) had a run in with a porcupine, poor Remi!  It could have been worse and it can happen to anyone but I'm sure it hurt.  Also Boog (Treasure and Gibson pup) had a quill on his tongue - evidently he got that from Remi, that's not fun Boog!  A couple of summers ago I was working with Rosie at one of the nearby orchards and noticed she'd locked up solid on something.  I thought probably a bird but boy was I wrong!  I didn't know it because she was quite far away but not less than three feet in front of her was a porcupine all curled up in a ball under the apple tree. Let's just say it was a teachable moment in respect to her remote training collar as I reached out and "touched her" from a distance,  enough to let her know she best not move one single muscle forward!  As I approached and saw exactly what had caught her attention I quietly but quickly hooked her check cord back on and walked her away with little fanfare while my heart raced.  I think that was the same day I saw the fresh bear 'dropping's there; it's been awhile since we went back to that particular orchard.

Monday morning, and an April one at that! The sun is shining, sky is a bit cloudy, a chill in the air but the signs of nature all around indicate the promise of warmer days.  And all is well at All Things Brittany... Take care and God bless, John, Ann and our canine crew.