Oh Hurricane High!

Go...Big Red...Fight, Uh Huh! Go Big Red, Fight Big Black, Do it Do it, Alright ALRIGHT!  They Came they played and they conquered!  Hurricane is the State Champ 3A Football team, wow am I proud to be from Hurricane right now!  Congratulations to the Tigers!  Long live the RED and BLACK!

Fav Pics of the Day

A couple Anne Geddes moments...

 One of the boys

 napping at it's best!

 Purple girl

 The whole gang after I changed their bedding, they love the soft blanket, I guess it feels like mom.

 Big roar!

They gravitate to puppy pods, most likely to keep warm and feel safe, they are so cute and cuddly when they are sleeping, but boy does it get noisy when it's time to eat!

A side note today, Sadie is at the vet having stupid porcupine quills pulled from her back leg.  Last night when I let her and Hoss out of the kennel to bring them into the garage, they took off down the pasture like they usually do to finish up their business before they go to bed, they were only gone a couple of minutes, but Sadie came limping back.  I think they must have caught the scent but in their excitement I'm guessing that Sadie didn't see it quick enough and tried to jump over it.  I've never seen them in the back legs and not in the snout.  She did have one impaled in her tongue, looked like that one really hurt.  Thanks goodness the vet is near by, I tried pulling some last night, got about 30 before she had just had enough.  There were probably another 50 or more in her leg and it looked to be from a young one because the quills weren't very big.  Dang stupid porcupines!

One week and growing like weeds

For all of you who wondered whether I climbed into the box to snuggle the puppies....

...well, duh!   Wouldn't you?

Pure contentment!

Love those little paws and faces!

yep, just enough room for the 11 of us!

11.11.11

Precious packages

The pictures say it all....

Puppy Update

This morning started really early, 4:15 a.m. which is really uncivilized.  I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep so I got up and took Dira out for a walk.  She was very grateful, I think she gets tired just laying in there all day and all night, plus her need to hunt for cats and other small creatures has returned.  So a quick walk with Dira, then she's back with the mupsters, next is Tessie, Sadie and Hoss while I feed horses.  It was still too dark for the first walk, so I went back in for a quick nap, a little work and then back out with Dira for another walk, then back in with the mupsters, then back out for the morning walk with the 3 musketeers.  It is still only about 15 degrees but the sun is coming up finally so it will start to warm up.  Now everyone is happy, walked, fed, rubbed, grubbed and in their individual spots.

 Another half hour or so of email, another quick nap, breakfast, a shower and it still was just barely hitting 9:00 a.m.  Time for the first conference call (that didn't happen) so I can finish drying my hair and think about taking Dira out one more time before I run to the post office and Walmart (need yarn to replace the ribbons on the puppies, they are already getting tight).  Later today I need to finish module #3 of gem identification which means looking through the refractometer, hopefully a stop at the chiropractor and finishing up the advertising campaign for the high school seniors.  Should be a good day.

The mupsters are growing and they move so fast and so much it is hard to get a good picture.  I tried holding one but he was squirming and yelping so that won't work.  But at least you can start to see the shapes taking form and the markings coming out on them.

The one with the blue ribbon is a boy, and a chunk, needless to say they are eating well!

Hannah is happy because I fixed it so she can get in my office again so she comes in and torments me and the plants.  She's pretty curious about all the sounds coming from the laundry room, speaking of those sounds, they are pretty sweet.

On another note, Bruce got home last night and was so excited to see the puppies that he tripped stepping over the gate and on his way down he grabbed onto the door frame and cut his hand on the striker plate.  As he hit the floor he let out a bad word or two but he is going to be ok.  And it needs to be said that when I was up at 4:30 taking care of dogs, cats and horses, he was still snoozing, this is something that will need to be rectified.

Passing the critical time

It's day 3 and everything seems to be going well.  Puppies are eating, moving around a lot, making funny noises, pooping and growing.  So I am starting to relax a little bit feeling that everything is going the way it should.  Bruce has been gone for the past week and will be home tonight, I am excited for him to see the new additions.  One big surprise is the unbelievable amount of laundry!  I have been changing the bedding to keep it clean and dry, this morning I hacked up a mattress topper made of memory foam to line the bottom of the bed and I think everyone is much happier.  But still it takes a ton of towels to keep these critters clean and dry and smelling sweet.

And have I mentioned the balancing act keeping Hannah from being eaten by Dira while they are both in the house?  I have to keep a gate up even though it probably wouldn't stop Dira for even a second.  This morning I caught Hannah perched on the back of the couch so she could watch over the top of the gate to see what all the commotion is about, not a very safe thing to do.  Also, when I take Dira outside, all the other dogs must be contained, it is just too scary at this point and I don't need any mishaps.  So I start planning first thing in the morning, around 5:30, Dira goes out first and comes back in, then Hoss and Sadie can go out and Tessie too if she wants.  Before I can take Dira out again mid morning, Hoss, Sadie and Tess must be kenneled or in the garage, even though Dira can only stand to be away from her puppies for 2 minutes, max!  It's cold here too so I have to get all bundled in my snow suit with my gloves, hat and shoes on before I hook Dira to the leash and head out, yesterday I didn't have time and couldn't find my gloves, so ended up doing chores without them, the girl cannot wait once she's ready to go to the bathroom.

Day 2

The happy momma, she's such a good girl and she is stellar as a new mom.  Everyone made it through the night and are growing already, the ribbons correspond to the birth order.  Seems I need to get to the store and stock up, they will outgrow the ones they have on shortly.

I believe this is where the term "belly up to the bar" came from.  These guys can eat!  So you can gauge the size, that is her paw in the forground, they are all good sized, about a lb. at birth, no runts and pretty uniform in size and color.  The last 2 were probably the biggest, at least they looked bigger, we are calling the last girl born, Stretch, she resembled a weiner dog, but she's already filled out her long skinny body.  She went right to the trough and made up for lost time.

Dira Delivers to the 9's!

Wow what a day!  Dira delivered 9 beautiful puppies in about 3 1/2 hours.  All are healthy and mom is doing great!  The miracle of new life and all that goes with the birth of animals is pretty incredible.  How do they know to do the things they need to do?  I was so grateful that Dira's instinct kicked in right from the start, I wouldn't have known to do everything that need to be done, but she did.  3 boys and 6 girls, not bad for a days work.  So grateful for miracles and so grateful to be a witness to such a spiritual event, what a way to spend a Sunday!  Congratulations Dira and your new family!

The nap after the last one was delivered, whew!

Who are all these strange little creatures and why do they keep calling me momma?

Puppy Update

Mom, here's the Hannah "Special Delivery" picture.  She's not at all happy about having a dog camping out in the laundry room.....

We have reached the "safe to deliver" time, so I am grateful for that.  Dira is due, huge and uncomfortable.  Hoping for a safe and uneventful delivery.  I haven't really ever midwived puppies, so I hope I can at least help and not get in the way.  Fingers crossed, I will post pictures when the puppies are safely here.

The Last of Fall

I'm mourning the end of Fall today.  It snowed almost a foot last night and it's pretty darn cold out there tonight.  So enjoy some shots from around the Elizabeth and Frantown areas from a couple weeks ago.

Elizabeth Creek

The bridge at Castlewood Canyon

Castlewood Canyon

A friend joining me for the picture taking session

A cool cruiser at Centennial.  So long Fall!

The Steel City

Well, as my journeys continue, I was in Pittsburgh this past week and delightfully surprised.  I guess I though it would be all ugly factories and stuff but at least the parts I saw, were nothing like I had pictured in my mind.  I was there for a work conference so I didn't get to poke around as much as I would have liked, but did get some great shots of places around the hotel where I stayed at Station Square.

This is an old part of a steam engine, kind of cool with the city skyline in the background.  Right behind the engine was the train tracks and I gotta say, I love the sound of trains.

This is the end of the bridge leading across the river.  I loved the columns and the ivy growing on the front, very story book looking.

Well, it's not the Belagio fountains but it was pretty cool and instead of Sinatra it was set to classic rock, hello Guns and Roses!  I sat and watched for a long time, the night time temperature was perfect and just behind me is the Hard Rock Cafe, perfect for a little hot chocolate and people watching.

The bridge at night was pretty spectacular!

I hoofed it across the bridge to get a picture looking back at Station Square.  If you look to the left of the picture you will see 2 rows of blue lights going vertical.  That is the famous Incline.  It is a rail car that basically goes straight up the mountain behind the lights and then you see the row of lights (homes and businesses) along the top of the hill.  Of course we had to ride the Incline, it would have been unPittsburgian not too.

The city from the top of the Incline

These pictures are inside the old train station, it was incredible!  The stained glass was so amazing, the pictures just don't do it justice.

  3 Rivers Stadium where the Pittsburgh Steelers play (ok it's now called PNC Park, whatever!)

I loved the lights reflecting off the water, we were on a big boat motoring up the river.  This was the best part of the conference, by far!

The Eagle has Landed

From my recent Minnesota trip, finally able to edit some photos.  I was flying the Cub and we had to dodge him as he came in for a landing in the tree.  We took several passes to get the pictures and it didn't seem to bother him, he just watched from his perch.  Tom is flying I am snapping the shots.

Dresden, OH

The home of the Longeberger Basket Company.  This place was nuts for baskets, I didn't really understand why the ladies were so crazy for the baskets and why they are so expensive but I'm hoping Patty GB sees this and sheds a little light.  The town was very quaint, I got there with about 1hour before the stores all closed and too late for a tour of the actual factory, so will have to go back again and get my basket on!

One of the basket shops

and another one that had retired baskets

Inside one of the shops...

That's one big picnic basket!

It would have been a lot of fun and very interesting to get to go on a tour, I just didn't know about this place even though I had heard of the baskets.  For sure this will be on my list of places to visit.  Anyone want to go?