1st Day of School

I can't believe he is starting Middle School today. It doesn't seem possible that he is in 7th Grade! He's excited, but also very nervous about all the challenges that he will be facing this year. I know that he'll do great!

His younger brother isn't nervous at all. He is very ready to tackle 6th grade! However, this is the first year that big brother isn't on the same bus & that made him very nervous. I don't think he was expecting to feel that way, until the bus came and he got a bit choked up.

Here's an old picture of the boys & Haley, starting Kindergarten & 1st Grade, back in 2005. Wow, have they changed!

The girls were with their mom this morning, but she sent me a picture. Don't they look ready to take on the World? Go Girls!!

BIG DOG!

Diesel, the English Mastiff, came to the family reunion yesterday in his very own car...

Daddy's Boots

This is how you play in the mud puddles without getting dirty!

Izzy Bop

Our adorable little Westie...who kept getting buried in the snow! She's so happy that we got some rain on Saturday night, which made a crust over the deep powdery snow. She can get around much better now...

A Boy & His Dog

Yesterday afternoon my younger son & I took a short trek through the snowy woods. It was tough breaking trail for us, but even more so for poor little Izzy! She had to stay right in our tracks, but she wouldn't have wanted to miss such a fun adventure! She is such a bundle of energy!!

Awww...come ON!!

After a long day spent cooped up in the house, Izzy, the Westie, was excited to play with Rusty, the cat! I'm not so sure that Rusty was as excited as she was...but on the other hand, Rusty doesn't ever seem to get excited anyway...

Hey! You're not Santa!!

Izzy was posing for me, dressed up in her Santa outfit, when Rusty jumped into the chair with her. Fortunately, my trigger finger is quick!

It's Izzy!

I have always wanted a Westie. Not quite sure why, the breed just appeals to me. Saturday evening we drove 3 hours North, in a snowstorm, to pick out a puppy. We chose an 11 month-old female that they were going to keep as a breeder, but decided not to because her ears are too big. I think she looks adorable, like Gizmo! (Who remembers Gizmo?) Since she is older, we don't have to deal with the typical puppy issues, like potty-training, which is nice considering our lack of spare time. She has immediately blended right in here, although Aly hates her, not that I'm terribly surprised. She is smaller than the cats and looks teeny tiny beside Daisy, whom she keeps 'right in line'. The boys are completely besotted and were even picking out little pink sweaters for her at the pet store on Sunday! She is so cute and cuddly, that we are finding ourselves breaking all of our personal pet behavior rules, like dogs on furniture. She manages to find her way into someone's lap, as soon as they sit down on the couch. And yes, she won the 'Battle for the Bed'...

Haley's gone....

Today was particularly retched. Yesterday evening I opened the chicken coop door to find dead bodies all over the place. I was pretty sure I knew who the culprit was....this morning she killed one of our free-range chickens, the ones that she hasn't bothered in the 4 years that we have had her here on the farm, right in front of me. Killers have no place on the farm or in the family. I loved that dog. I'm dreading telling the boys when they return home this evening. I have spent most of today crying....

Here comes Charlotte!

We experienced some torrential rain storms during both days of the penning event this weekend. My husband was up in the judges' booth that overlooks the arena, when he saw Charlotte climbing the ramp. He snapped this quick photo, which I just LOVE! She is such a smart little doggie. She was headed for the shelter of the room behind the judges. She knew the rain was coming and if we humans weren't smart enough to take cover, well, she was. She headed for that room about 15 minutes before each storm hit us. It was amazing! When I posted this photo last year, I didn't know what kind of dog she was. I recently asked her 'mother' and found out that she is a Lancashire Heeler. Actually a cast-off, because her ears don't stand up straight. She's just about the best dog I've ever met, whether or not she meets the breed standard!

A Tight Fit

The dog is almost as big as the car! He's quite the traveler too - all the way from Montana!!

Dogs Rule

Hubby took this one and I guess it was a challenge. The driver of this vehicle was speeding, so it was quite a chase to get the shot! ;-) He was determined though, since we are currently arguing about me bringing home a kitten...

Dreaming of summertime...

It's snowing again, so I needed a pick-me-up. This is one of my favorite photos from last summer. Our youngest, up on Kitch, headed off for an adventure with his trusty sidekick, Daisy!

Deep Powder

Daisy isn't about to let the snow slow her down! She plows right through it, but it's hard work and I get exhausted just watching her. ;-) For the most part, she stays on our snowshoe trails, where the snow is packed down. However, she finds it hard to resist all the yummy smells off the trail...

Our Flowers in the Snow

Lily & Daisy enjoy a visit...

Daisy's New Friend

Daisy made a new friend this weekend! My niece and her family were amongst our overnight guests, but they didn't want to leave their yellow lab, Zoe, at home alone. We have plenty of space for the dogs to run, so we said that Zoe was more than welcome to join the party! (My brother's family also brought their dog, so that made 4 canine guests!) Daisy thought Zoe was just wonderful and they played and played for hours!! Here you can see Daisy's favorite trick. Maybe you've noticed that my dogs never wear their collars & tags? This is why! We ended up taking off Zoe's collar too because we didn't want Daisy to bury it in the deep snow. The thing that amazes me about these 2 dogs is that they are both Labrador Retrievers, but with such different bloodlines that they look completely opposite. Daisy is compact, short & round; Zoe is tall, long and lean. The disposition is the same though, happy-go-lucky and super-friendly. They are both great dogs!!

Get her Haley!

The dogs were having so much fun playing in all the fresh powdery snow yesterday!! That's Haley, our almost 12 year-old shepherd mix, chasing Daisy, the 1-1/2 year old, big black lab.

Naughty puppy!

That big, fluffy pom-pom was just too much to resist, so she snatched it right off his head!!

Doggie Kisses

This chocolate lab got to ride in the patriotic truck that I posted a few days ago...

...and he got to enjoy smooches from the girls!

Little Dog

This lucky little doggie got to participate in the Veterans' Day Parade. Her mom held her during the Memorial Service. She was taking it all in and seemed happy to be out with all the people!