Yearling Stacks

Lichen Head

The babies are a little over a year old now, and it is long past time for us to have new stack photos.  So, here they are:

Lichen Stack

Lichen Front

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shady Front

Shady Stack

 

Tucker Stack

Tucker Front

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wylie Front

Wylie Stack

Shortcuts

Gigi and the "Real" Motobecane

You know what they say about short cuts.  I have a couple new rules for myself:  First, when exploring new road bike routes, do it in the car first.  That way you don't have to back track several miles when you see, while riding your relatively new road bike, that the road turns to gravel.  Second, when inevitably exploring new routes on bike, anyway, TURN AROUND as soon as you see the road turns to gravel.  Back tracking adds extra miles for a better workout and avoids the washboard effect. 

"Gigi's Gears Sound Funny"

If you are still foolish enough to continue, or just don't want to ride past that large growling dog again, bring a map of the area because your GPS unit will not have sufficient battery power.  In this way, when you have realized that the compass on your watch hasn't been calibrated (and you don't remember how to do it...) and you don't have a "real" compass, you can look at the road intersections and avoid going half a mile in the wrong direction at the T. 

Not So Bad...

Furthermore, couples should both have cell phones.  That way, when it starts raining while you are still on the gravel with your once shiny pink bike, you can call your partner to let him know that you are having the time of your life being chased by Redwing Blackbirds and exploring mushroom villages.  You don't need him to come to your rescue.  Alternatively, he can call to find where you are rather than drive up and down the WRONG highway looking for you.

Finally, when you are together and dry again, head for the local drive-in for burgers and root beer floats!

Happy trails!

Susan

How to Take a Shower When the Well Is Dry

The Empty Well

First, you need water.  This isn't always easy to come by, especially in winter.  Today is the official beginning of Spring but this is the upper Midwest and the temperature is about 10 degrees Fahrenheit.  The yard is far from green.

There isn't any actual available water in our immediate vicinity.  Therefore, we had to find some potential water.  It looks like this: 

Potential Water

Water-to-be looks like this:

Buckets of Snow

Here we are "creating" water:

Melting Snow On The Stove

Sure, you say, now you have water.  What does a few pots of water on the stove have to do with taking a shower?  That is a great question and I have the answer:

Super Solar Shower

Most of you probably know that it takes a lot of snow to make a little water.  We don't really feel like melting snow for the rest of the winter/early spring.  So, we contacted a Professional.  He had a couple of suggestions, including drilling a new well, but we opted for the band-aid approach for the time being: 

Mark's Well & Pump Truck

Filling the Well

Filling the well is, of course, only a temporary fix.  Heck, it may be very short-lived and possibly a waste of money.  After all, if water seeps in to fill a well, what keeps it from seeping out?  It was almost worth it just to have a full shower this morning!

The dogs aren't as fortunate as we are.  This is how Dora bathed on Monday: 

Dora the Retrieving Setter

Happy Spring!

Susan

Mush For A Cure

I've done it again!  I, the non-musher and owner of bird dogs, have roped Scott, the recovering musher, into helping me with a mushing event.  It isn't just any event, though. 

Mush For A Cure's mission states [participants are] to raise awareness of and raise funds to find a cure for  breast cancer through annual pledge/tribute runs by dog team.


Mushers at MFAC not only raise money to help with breast cancer research, they do so with one of the most entertaining FUNdraisers ever!  As you might expect, there are dogs involved, nearly all of them real sled dogs.  There are also contests:  There is the perennial favorite "Bald, Brave, and Beautiful" contest, best dressed team, a human sled dog race, crowing of king and queen, and much more. 

Dora, Shady, and Sally are ready to run!

Mushers hail from Louisiana to Washington to New Jersey to Maryland and many points in between.  All are brought together by a love of mushing and a desire to help the National Breast Cancer Foundation find not only better treatment, but also a cure, for breast cancer. 

Please help me raise money for this important cause.  You can do it on my personal donation page.  The site is secure, fast, and easy to use.  At the website you will be able to choose an amount to donate and receive email confirmation of your donation. 

Thank you and happy trails!

Susan, Scott, and Team Fiddlin'

Sally's Birthday Hunt

The Birthday Girl

This post is a bit late, but Sally insists I do it, anyway, as we had such a lovely time together.

On Wednesday, 12 December, I took the day off from work to spend the entire time hunting with Sally.  Instead, I spent half the day getting my shoulder looked at and x-rayed and some of it buying dog food.

Split Tree With Core Exposed

Sally and I finally hit the trail in the afternoon and enjoyed a three mile hike.  We only encountered three birds, none of which provided me with a shot.  We were approaching an intersecting trail when Sally slammed to a halt on the left side of the trail.  She was pointing slightly back in my direction, so I left the trail well in front of her and looked for any movement.  Nothing.  I looked at my dog.  No movement.  She was solid.  I started working closer.  When I got closer than she usually points them, I heard the bird flush from her far side.  Darn.  That bird was pretty stealthy to not have alerted Sally to its movement.

Broken Tree Growing Toward the Sky

The next bird was my find.  I hadn't noticed many tracks and started paying more attention to the snow.  I became quite excited--birdy?--on discovering a beautiful line of partridge tracks crossing from right to left.  I began following them and, just as I began moving to avoid running into a rather large tree, the bird left said tree in a thunder of noise!  It had, I believe, been perched at about head-height, observing my blundering progress and well aware of the dog's distance from us. 

Woodpecker Work

The Trail to Adventure

As with any good handler, Sally did not get upset with me for mismanaging the bird.  She did decline to believe me when I told her where I thought it might be, but otherwise she gave me lavish wags and a few licks on the hand.  Then she went off in search of another bird.  The only other bird I heard flushed very far away from us.  We had a lovely time, regardless. 

18 Week Stacks

I know, I know--These should have been posted on 6 October, when they were taken.  They are better than the 26-week stacks. The puppies are shown right after a bath and blow dry.  I notice Tucker and Wylie are wearing collars.  Oops. 

Digger

Shady

Lichen

Tucker

Wylie

Twenty-Six-Week Stacks

These photos show some of the weaknesses of our cell phones as cameras.


Digger has a lovely thick coat that is just delightful for running fingers through.  He is one of the brighter puppies in the bunch.

Digger

Digger, worried about the cat

Shady is as pretty as ever, despite the fuzziness of the photo.  She likes to place catch-me-if-you-can but hasn't quite figured out that running into my arms when I squat means I can actually catch her.

Shady

Shady

Lichen usually has a toy in his mouth.  If he has to choose between going outside and getting a toy, the toy wins.

Lichen

Lichen

Tucker is probably the best retriever of the bunch.  He will retrieve the stick I throw from amongst the others to be found on the forest floor.

Tucker

Tucker and Nokta

Wylie is the smart and brave one.  He will bust down any baby or ring gate that gets between him and Elsewhere.  

Wylie

Wylie

Let us know if you want to learn more about any of our babies.