Happy Barkday Fred!!

It's hard to believe that he's now 9, but our dear ol'Fredman still has the heart of youngster.



So 8 1/2 years ago we ventured into cardidom. An ice storm to get Fred and Phoebe, then 12 inches of snow that those two had never seen before. I swear it took me over 2 hours to get them inside the house after we got home. To this day, snow is Fred's favorite thing. Okay, anything having to do with water-snow, ice, rain, creek, wading pool, sprinklers and hoses. He even taught his newest grandkids the joys of the pool the other day.

Fred has done it all-conformation champion, juniors dog, obedience, rally, agility, herding, therapy dog and a certain boy's best dog. I think Alec would be lost without him. He's a snuggler, controller of the fun at the Gibson Ranch, mud puppy and chief greeter. Believe me when I say that you must pass Fred's inspection to come into the house.

And to top it off, Fred will be a great grandpa towards the end of August as Russ has sired his first litter. Check out Russ' blog for details later in the month.


Happy Barkday to the best brindle dog around! I know you have a special place in a lot of people's hearts.



Later gators...

C

What a weekend!!

Okay, let's get this out of the way before I burst, then on to the rest of the weekend.

I am proud to annouce that Frankie finished this weekend in Waukesha, WI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He is now known as CH Sumjammin Five O'Clock Somewhere FB CGC. I was fearing that he might be one of those to chase that last single point he needed, but need not worry. That boy can pull it out of the hat when he needs to. Alec is beyond happy and I think Frank knows he did well too. He's strutting around like a proud peacock. This is Margie's 3rd CH offspring and that makes it even sweeter. With a group placing son, two other champions, one on his way to an obedience title, another working on her championship(1/2 way there) and well, a super exciting breeding for her final litter, I see this girl contributing so much to not only our breeding program but to others. Way to go Marg!!! Special thanks to Rus, Sherilyn and of course Phantom, who made it all possible!

Oh and Frankie, finished in almost the exact same time frame as his Papa Fred---13 mos and a few days. Is that not a tradition or what?? Would have been faster if I hadn't forgotten to enter a few shows.

Congrats Frankie!!!!!!!!! Who said red dogs are hard to finish????

Okay for the rest of the weekend--it was a fun and fast flurry. A blur so to speak, as we had so much going on.

3.5 inches of rain on Friday night, not a good setting for a picnic the next day, was it? Saturday was run and run and run to get all the things back in place after the storms so that all of our guests could arrive for the Iowa Corgi Frap.

Everyone was on their best behavior and we had a grand time with all the dogs present. It was so great to see Jimmy come out of his shell and even more fun to see how Carla, the foster dog from last year, as she looks awesome. I think I have a post to put up from her to end her foster dog story--that's for later. Thanks to everyone who attended, it was so much fun and the food was awesome.

So Saturday night we realized, no kids, not a thing going on, humm, romantic date?? Nah, we hit the bed by 9 and were asleep by 9:30. But a 3am wake up call ended that peaceful night--coyotes in the pasture and ducks huddled up by the house. David went out and made some racket and seems to have chased them away, but we are making sure that the ducks are covered for the night, the ducklings are double secure and sleeping with an eye open waiting for the telltail calls at oh dark thirty in the morning.

With that interruption, I tried to go back to that deep sleep I love, but nope, alarm went off and I had to get ready to judge a county fair. So off I go to Benton Cty to judge dogs and pets. Oh it was a blast! I got to meet my first Alpaca up close and personal as well as judge some really up and coming dog handlers.

So home, but to what, chaos-puppies who decided to shred every bit of paper in the house, so out they go. Merlot and Eddie decided to teach them to swim! Yes, now I have water puppies. More messes to clean up.

Alec, Bekka and Meredith make it home, unload and spent a pleasant evening chatting outside, watching puppies and making sure Frankie knows how special he really is!

Now back to work to get a breather!

Later gators.....
C

G'bye Leonard

I got up this morning, usual routine, then walked by the puppy pen and sighed. Yeap, puppy sighs. Leonard aka Papa aka Yoda Ears is heading to his new home with Pam and Brian this weekend. I'm going to miss the little mouthy bugger. I'm not sure his siblings will though.



They are all piled in the puppy pen with a fan just outside of it. It got a little humid in the house last night and they have learned to appreciate the fans. Though, Leonard likes to bite at it when he runs by it on his way outside-watch out Pam. Anyway, they wake up as I walk through, having all been sleeping on their backs--Leonard has both ears up, sort of. If you call looking like Yoda as ears up. Again, sorry Pam, this is actually cuter then dumbo ears. They won't stay up for long though, give him a few minutes of play and they drop back down again. I just love it when the ears do that--Sweet Pea is at half mast right now but her's are so thick, it'll be another couple of weeks before they get up.


So to say goodbye to the first little monster to fly the nest, here's a few pics from last night after they all came in from harassing Eddie and Max in the front yard. Some just drop where they are at and some, well, like the company of a friend, even if it's their butt ;0)

Leonard and drapping himself over the pillow....

Lee--guess who uses the whole bed?? Over the next hour he rolled over and over until he was wedged upside down on the other side of the dog bed.

Sienna in front and you can sort of see Connie in the back. Cool kitchen floor to crash on.

And of course some times they just drop where they are. Sweet Pea was laying across the arm of the pillow, but stretched and rolled off, wedging herself next to Hope.

Ready for a flash back??? Here's my "boys" from last fall--Frankie, Arlo and Moose. Leonard is going up to WI to live with Arlo. He'll give the red boy a run for his money!

Later gators.....

C

Seeking corporate sponsorship

Any one interested in sponsoring a lovely young junior?? I still not sure how the heck I'm going to keep clothes on this kid unless I get some sort of underwriting!

Last night, we once again, trudged out to the stores, ending up at Gordman's, looking for junior's outfits for her. Yes she's grown again, don't get me started on that one. I got her new outfits for the CWCCA National Specialty, outgrown by the June shows. Now the stuff I got her in June, too small. UGH And do you know how hard it is to find professional looking clothes for someone that is skinny, no chest(yet), no butt(like her brother) and still a kid??? Not easy at all.

So I am willing to accept sponsors and will glue or sew their logos on her current show jacket ;0)

All puns aside, we did find two very nice looking tops and jackets that go well with her current skirts. I should have more time next week to look for more, but the other issue is that school starts soon so she needs school clothes too! Did I mention that she wears the same size shoe as I do now? This can't be my baby, is it?

Later gators......
C

Happy Birthday

Just a shout out to Mom to wish her a Happy Birthday. She took the day off to go do something for herself--buy a new sewing machine! And then stopped over for lunch. We just got back from a wonderful spaghetti dinner at Deb's and lots of chit chatting.

Thyroid news--it's not dead. The test she took was a little false because she was also on supression drugs. She's been off those now and retested. She thinks her thyroid is pretty much dead - she's gaining weight and her hair is growing again! Might not be completely destroyed but at least it's not on maximum overdrive.

So here's to Mom!!! Hope you have a great rest of the day and can't wait to see the new sewing machine!

Later gators......
C

websites

Isn't it ironic how some days you plan to post something. don't get around to it, then someone else posts something on their blog that is very relevant to what you were typing? Scary.

Well Joanna over at Ruffly Speaking is asking about website choices-fonts, set up, etc. And yesterday I was writing about the very same sort of thing, but never made it to the blog.

SOOOOO......I was surfing this last weekend, visiting some websites that I hadn't been to for a long time and people, people, people, it's just about as bad as my rant about spell and grammar check. Websites are now a mainstay. It's a first link to you for many people. What you put up or what other's design for you, says a lot. So for Joanna, sorry, no help on the font or the placement of the links but here's a few things that I found this weekend that might be of some help.

Layout and design. KISS--as in keep it simple stupid. Constantly changing your color, layout, graphics is annoying and gives the impression of indecision, uncertainty. Professional designers will say to keep the font simple with one of the well known ones. Colors-I go against the grain-black background with white lettering. Most say do a simple white back ground, black font. I think the cardigan photos look better against a black background, that's me. But the font is an easy to read color and font.

Layout-make sure that when you create the site, your sizes and pages will open up in a manner that allows it to be accessed on a variety of computers. Otherwise some people will open it to a mess of squished photos, overlapping links and odd looking pages.

Photos--here's my beef with websites promoting dogs. Collage photos with multi colored dogs of the same breed are hard on the eyes. Too much going on. Lots of random shots don't allow for your eyes and brain to follow the flow of the page. Again, KISS. Also, if you are displaying your dogs, have shots of all sides. Makes me wonder when I only see a head shot or shot of a dog standing in the grass, what are they trying to hide? Are they too long in the leg? Do they have a short neck, or do they have a crappy front? On that same note, if it's a big win, great, but if the photo is crappy, don't post it. Always show your dog in a good light, not just to brag about the win. I have many photos, including Frank's last major win and the brood bitch at the National Specialty, that won't see the light of the website--they might be big wins, but not ones that are the best of my dogs.

Links--when you are all finished, have someone else look over your site and make suggestions for changes, let you know about your spelling or grammar errors or where links don't work. The biggest turn off per website gurus is when visitors hit Error 404's or page doesn't exist. They tend to leave at that point, or make a judgement on the website based on that and the above items.

Text--make sure what you say is correct and appropriate. Little quips, quotes and sayings are fine but they can be taken out of context by someone who had no idea why it's on your page. Keep the personal vendettas off your site, heck put it on your blog ;0) Websites are public forums where you are promoting something-family, dogs, hobbies. If you prefer to have people think your mean, rude and inconsiderate of others, they will be more then happy to form that opinion based on a simple phrase on your website.

Remember the web remembers everything. You would be amazed at what you can find if you just know the right place to look.

Last pet peeve---update your site! Now I know that many sites are there purely for informational purposes. That's okay, but in the case of dog people, we put up show results, breeding information, puppies etc. If you announce that you are having a litter, keep the site updated. Heck I went on one site and it was still announcing a litter due last fall! And no the breeding didn't take, in the time being they have breed two additional litters and yet still state they are taking reservations for the fall litter. I don't always get on every day to change on little there here and there or reword something, but at least once a month I take the time to look through and see if there's anything that needs updating. That's tonight's project-new photos, announcements and yes Admin Asst, update the newsletter ;0)

I don't know if that will help out not, Joanna, but just a few things that irritate the heck out of me when surfing.

Later gators.....
C
Last pet peeve is

Busy bees

Just a few more days before the corgis' invade for the 3rd Annual Iowa Corgi Frap. It also means we are towards the end of summer, sigh.

David, Alec, Meredith and I have been busy little bees the last week and just a little more to do. I finally buckled down and got the basement partially cleaned. Okay I took 1 full tahoe load to Goodwill, which leaves a load of Meredith's old toys, two couches and an easy chair. The rest is pretty easy--it's just sorting and boxing up for storage.

Then we tackled the garage. What a pit that was. It became the dump station for everything. Tools, stuff, tools, stuff, shovels, pvc, you name it, I think we had it. But at least we now have it cleaned and sorted. As soon as the hay gets moved in the barn so David can get to his tool bench, then the rest goes to the barn, leaving me room to set up the other kennel run and still have room to lay down runners and have practice area for training the dogs. The one thing I won't do though, is leave the dogs out in the runs during the day. Too many things can go wrong, especially knowing that there are more robberies on farms these days-so locked doors are a must. But it's nice to have a place to let them dry off before they come in for the night-that's if it's muddy outside or what not.

Last night it was the yard. One last load of mulch for the planter beds and we are done. Fun part is I now have some spots needing plants, so I get to do a little shopping for plants! Only thing to do is mow, if the rain stops. Hate to loose a corgi with our tall grass, though mine seem to love nothing more then playing jungle explorer in the area I left tall. Did you know that we have brindle snakes and they love to jump out of the grass and scare you?

Now if the weather man helps me out and sends the rain away so that we have wonderful weather for the picnic!

Back to being a busy bee!!

later gators.....
C

Garden part 1

I'll get some more vegetable garden photos tonight but here's a few snaps of the flowers currently blooming.

Daisies are my favorite flowers. I would rather get an bouquet of daisies then roses any day. They are sunny, last longer and well, just plain and simple.

The poppy looks like one of those that the American Legion makes, doesn't it. All wrinkled and just so perfect. These are Meredith's favorite flowers and we have many of the large varities, but this is one of the red California poppies that self seeded in front of the garage. Going to be careful and remove the ripe seed pods this year and sprinkle in a few of the other flower beds.

Lator gators....

C

Belated Happy Barkday!!!

I am a bad dog mom, very very bad.

Sending out Happy 2nd Barkday wishes to our most special Ruff Ruff or Rosario or Hugh Ruffner, which ever personality he is at this moment.

Special dog who belongs to an equally special family. Thanks for the ride Kim, Kathy and Nick!!!! Stay tuned--Russ has a special announcement in a few weeks ;0)

And to talk a little more about where he lives, here are a few shots that I just got off the camera from when Meredith was down in LeClaire for the week. A barge on the Mighty Mississippi, a drink at the Go Fish bar and standing beside the cabin at the Buffalo Bill Homestead museum.

Later gators....

C

Easily amused and very tired too

There are some days that I am easily amused. Usually when I’m coming down off a week of chaos and am extremely tired. Like this week.

So last night I decided it was time for the brats(not the brats I grilled to be mentioned later-reminder I am easily amused right now-heehee) in the xpen to expand their world and go outside. No sorry, no photos, the batteries in the camera went dead so I had them on recharge while they were playing. Anyway, this is the first litter that went outside and immediately took off for the hills. Not a fear of something new. Though I now have to put up something by the steps so they don’t squeeze behind them. I fear one getting in but not being able to get out. Go figure it was Lee too. It was actually a great time for me to just sit back and relax, watching them exploring their new environment-remember right now I am easily amused.

So they raced around the planter bed, spilled water, pummeled Eddie, grabbed their mother’s tail and tried to kill it. One hosta is a little worse for the chewing, so are a few pansies. Lee, once again, proved why he’s a Harry in Red. The goofiest puppy of the litter and would run to the 3” tall grass, plop down and play-you can’t see me. Then he would crawl through the grass like a snake. Way too funny and he knew it.

Pissy Pants aka Sienna, who is no longer living up to her fun name, has taken on both boys and won. She was in charge of running the foot path and barking at the other dogs. Sweet Pea spent quality time with Eddie and managed to slime him. Connie had a hair up her butt and it was zoomie time all night. Then there’s Papa aka Leonard. He can’t decide if he wants one ear up or not. I am so thankful that none of them have ears up yet. I always dread those early ears-they tend to be smaller, lighter in weight and just not correct cardigan ears when they grow up. Leonard’s only got the one, so at 7 ½ weeks, I’m not upset at all. None of the rest are ever considering going up—thank GOD!

I did manage to get some stacked photos – they are posted on the website under WEEK 7. Not to shabby, though they figured out what cheese was and were just up from a nap, so not as good as they should be-squirmy little things! Connie is the only puppy available. Yes she’s a dark black brindle with tons of spunk and would make anyone a great companion.

More amusing items are that TJ the Turkey didn’t learn a damn thing from his sibling’s early demise, nor from the week being harassed at the petting zoo. This morning he was sitting on the fence where he had roosted all night long. We go out and check the fence first before letting dogs out in the morning-he was lucky.

And more you say? How about playing tag with a collie? I was bored while the brats were on the grill for dinner so Lace and I played catch me around the trailer. She’s one smart cookie and knew that she could out run me-I got a nip right in the butt cheek for that one. She’s one sassy girl when she wants to be. Practiced a few weave poles, the dog walk and then some rally advanced and excellent moves--she might just have to come out of retirement and try a few runs for another title.

Yes one more. As I have stated over and over again, I’m open about my life and dogs. Why hide things? Why act secretive? I find it absolutely hilarious the lengths that people go to to hide or even purposely omit things on their websites. Yes I do have a few things on mine that due to a few people’s copyright infringement can only be viewed with a password but everyone knows about that. The next best thing is the lies that are told. They tend to evolve into a life of their own—ever notice that? Or the way people warp the truth to suit their current set of ethics? But by far the thing that gets the most chuckles out of me is that those people think they are much more ethical, more reliable and better because of their secrets, lies and tall tails. ,Unfortunate for them what they might be doing to thwart one person, actually makes them look seedy and suspicious to the rest of the world. Good Job!!! Roflamo is all I can say. Thanks for the chuckle.

To which I remind those reading this blog-you know about me. You read about my life here and on the website. I don’t remove posts, don’t change them(well other then if I see a spelling or grammar error that I didn’t catch before) and the same on the website. Wysiwyg in computer terms.

Lastly, to address a comment from LybertyGirl about Dawn. Yes, there are people in this world who will use her passing as a tool to belittle me, condemn me and to pass judgement on me for the worse. They will also turn it to what they think is their advanatage when they are asked about me and will say that I breed sick, unhealthy dogs and that I am unreliable as a breeder. It’s such a shame, not something I am amused by at all. Those same people are just the ones I noted above who harbor secrets and are not open and honest to all about their dogs.

To end on a chuckle, how about this--I ate too many of these and regretted it last night. Not funny at the time but this morning I laugh at myself and am reminded that less is more sometimes. Zucchini pancakes with some of our first picks of the garden. Did I not remember that those darn plants explode with fruit? Yes it will be 101 ways to use zucchini over the next month! Anyone want any? Beets too or lettuce or beans or or or..... my eyes were too big for my stomach this spring when we planted the garden-heehee.

Later gators.....

C

Iowa Corgi Frap

Okay, here is the information as requested.

Many states hold annual corgi picnics. There is an MN/IA picnic but unfortunately it falls on a date that many in both states can't attend, so a group of us decided to hold one later in the summer.

SOOOOOO----

Usually the last full weekend in July, this year it will be on the 25th.

Location--Central City, IA at the Foggy Bottom Farm. I will post a link to a map in a day or two.

Time--10ish to ?????

Food--- but of course, lots of it. David and I provide bbq chicken, grilled sweet corn, lemonade and iced tea. Plates and such are also provided. This year the garden is really in full swing so some garden delights-snow peas, broccoli, lettuce, zucchini and maybe some beans, but no tomatos yet. Please bring a side dish to share-desserts always welcome as we have a sweet tooth. Doggy treats welcome too.

The area where the picnic is, is fully fenced and corgi proof. Corgi wanna bes also welcome as we know they dream of being a corgi one day. We've had Ibizian hounds, collies, sammies and lots of other wanna bes and it just makes it that much more fun.

Also if you read this blog and are interested in meeting a corgi, come on over. Everyone is welcome.

Suggestions for games readily accepted. We do have a few wading pools out, ice to chew, and lots to bark at. Please bring an ezup if you have it, it's been hot a few years and we don't have enough trees yet.

Also taking donations for a small silent auction for CorgiAid. A lovely little girl that benefited from a grant last year, will be in attendance this year!!!

That's about it-looking forward to all the fun and conversations we can have. I promise Eddie will try to be on his best behavior but you know Eddie. Oh and puppies---they will be 10 weeks old, have 2nd shots and would love nothing more then socialization time with adults, children and other dogs. Sunday will be Leonard's(Papa) trip to his new home, Sienna and Lee are hanging around till mid August.

If you have any questions, email me at fogebotom at aol dot com . Yes I had to spell it out-blogger doesn't like emails posted.

Later gators....
C

Endings

It's finally over and we are all exhausted. I know anyone who's been in 4-H, had kids in 4-H or volunteered for this wonderful organization, knows that you wait all year for county fair, then can't wait for it to be over.

As noted before, Meredith had ducks entered. Linn County has the single largest poultry show in Iowa and when it finally ended at 9:30ish on Thursday night, we all agreed, it's now a double judge show so we can get out of there earlier. Since her ancona's had molted the last two weeks before fair-again, it always happens that way, she had no big anticipation of winning big. So in the light duck class, another ancona won, simply for his condition, though he did have incorrect markings. But the surprise is that Paige, the lone Indian Runner we have left, took Reserve Light Duck. All got blues in the end, so that was okay too. Everyone loves Paige and she really is a wonderfully correct Runner.

The ancona and cayuga ducklings spent the week at the Cock-A-Doodle Zoo and it was the best way to get them hand tamed. Loads of kids playing with them all week long. The Pekins and TJ the Turkey also went up and more kids found it fun to be able to pick up a big duck and then hand feed TJ and the Pekins. Good learning experience for them all. They came home happy and tired birds last night.

In the dog building, Meredith got a blue in showmanship then it was wait until Sunday for the obedience and agility. In between, yes, we were up there all 5 days of the fair, we took Old Glory up for the Draft Horse pull--no she didn't pull, just wanted to have another type of draft. She was a hit and handled all the chaos of the pull well.

I honestly don't think we got to bed before 10:30 or 11 each night and most mornings up by 5 or 5:30. I need a vacation now.

On Sunday at the dog show, Moose and Meredith were an awesome team, in the beginning. They ended up with the High Scoring Regular class dog with a 196 in obedience. Jazper also got a blue but with all the dust up there, this was his retirement show. Now Moose fell apart in agility when he got too excited after the teeter and darted out of the ring to see his public. So no score there, other then he was doing really good to that point. Ah I see more agility classes in his future.

One more show, bear with me. Monday, yesterday, was the horse show. It's hurry up and wait time. Glory won the draft class and once again, the judge remarked about how spectacular a draft she was, even saying she was one of the top three horses in the ring today. But no champion or reserve-though she still got a trophy. Moo was a gentleman and they did awesome in the trail class. I think she's caught the bug and now we have to build trail equipment for the front yard ;0) 4th place in her age division!!!

So fair is done. Booths are torn down, ribbons litter the dinning room table and she's plotting what will happen next year and all I want is to make it through the end of August.

On a sad note, we made the difficult decision to send the puppy, Dawn, to the rainbow bridge on Saturday afternoon. It's about the hardest decision I've ever had to make. Old dogs or ones that I have had for a long time are hard, but you can prepare yourself for that. It's the young and those that you only have in your life a short time that seem harder. I think Henry was super difficult, knowing that if he had been treated earlier at the shelter, we might have had a chance. But a baby with no reason to be sick, it's torture. Unfortunately, she started seizing again on Friday night. All test had come back normal so Doc feels she had something wired wrong in her brain or a tumor. A total fluke and only God knows why. So it's out there for people to mull over and take as you will. No one feels(vets that is) that it's genetic. With no history of it in either line, it's just something we couldn't predict happening. Doc was crying with me, how come it's the always the cute ones?

This is the one reason I am open about the health of my dogs. I keep an extensive record of all puppies -pets and show, that I produce and have what would be called an open data base available to anyone. Just ask and I'll be more then happy to provide you with the information you need. Unlike some breeders who chose to hide their dogs faults, isn't it in the best interest of the dog to share?

Well now I have to find my house and yard before the 25th and the annual Iowa Corgi Frap. I know I have a dinning room table under all those trophies, ribbons and projects!

Later gators...
C

And the winner is.....

First round results from County Fair Static Exhibit judging and it's all blues for the Ms!!!

Due to the rain, no rocket launch but blues on both her one stage and two stage model rockets. She also got blues with her head of broccoli and two entries in the heirloom vegetable class.

We were worried on the broccoli as it was so close to bolting this week but thank GOD for cool weather the last three days. Her lettuce-which is the heirloom entries(Amish Deer Tongue and Forncenalus-something like that), were a little smaller then I would have liked but looked good none the less.

Poultry is entered today, with the show tomorrow. Not looking good for a repeat win there-they all decided to start molting again this last week so the Runner looks a little moth eaten and Commander Cody with his girl Pip lack a little feathering also.

The ducklings and a couple adults will go up to the Cock-a-doodle Zoo tomorrow along with the remaining Turkey. Should be an interesting little group-I guess there's a goat in with them too.

Dog showmanship is tomorrow afternoon. Obedience and agility on Sunday then it's Horse show in Monday.

We look forward to it all year long but when it gets here, I just can't seem to shake the feeling of - when will this end????

Later gators....
C

Dictionary

We watched the National Spelling Bee a few weeks ago. Wow is all I can say. Those kids are amazing but it got me thinking about the words we use and why we use them. One of my favorites, not to use, but to pun around with is assume.

Assume: to take something for granted; presume. Or in layman's terms-to make an Ass out of U and Me. That's the kicker that a former boss would use all the time. It's stuck with me and I like to use that acronym at times with others. But let's think about it a little more.

I must apologize for the way I came off yesterday. This is my soap box to stand on. I get to say what I want, when I want and if you don't like it, tough. But after a weekend of worry with a young puppy, a big pain in the neck-a real one with a pinched nerve and 400mg of advil every 4 hours and once again issues with my sciatic nerve, well, I'm just a peachy person to be around. I spouted off a little rant and for those is might offend, sorry. But let's use that word-assume, for a moment.

There are people in this world with little self dignity, low self esteem, that feel the only way to make themselves feel better is to belittle others, push them further down when they are already hitting rock bottom. I didn't want gossip to find it's way to people who will - here's that word--- assume that I am not forthright nor a responsible person. When it back fires it does just what the acronym says-not only makes an ass out of you but also me. If I had decided to withhold information, to not say a thing or have people wonder what way going on--aka make assumptions that lead to rumors, false accusations or worse, a foot hold for someone to attempt to malign me.

I greatly appreciate the comments from other's after my post. We can try and try to do everything right, but there are just things we have no control over. Flukes in nature, God's will when it's not ours. Breeding is not an exact science. No matter how careful, how much or little we test or how we manage our breeding program, we will always have unexplained things crop up. What I dislike the most and what has happened to myself and close friends in the past is that people in this world have two sets of standards by which they live. The one where they do no wrong, they are righteous in what they do and that if others can't live up to that high standard, then they are low lifes, unworthy and irresponsible. Then those same people turn around and do just what they accuse others of doing wrong but can justify it for their own means. It's a shame to have to deal with people like that.

My point being is that within a definition of a word, there are many many different meanings. One is not the only answer, the only truth or the only way to interpret the results.

Assume: to take over the duties or responsibilities of, as in "to assume the office of treasurer."

Everything needs to be taken in context of the situation but yet we also need to look outside the box. There is no perfect way to accomplish a goal, just our own way to do it. In many cases even our way isn't the right way, God's way is. That's the fun part though, figuring out how He wants us to continue down that path.

Update-I love my vet, love her, love her, love her. Puppy Dawn is at the clinic today to be spoiled and monitored. She's on some heavy antibiotics as well as drugs to control the seizures, though she's been seizure free since Sunday morning. Going to look at lowering her dose on a few things and then just see where it takes us. One test left to come back tomorrow, so crossing your fingers it points us in the right direction. Things are looking up though I could use a good nights sleep without whining puppies, headaches, awkward sleeping positions(just so you can be some what comfortable).

Later gators....
C

Out in the open

What a weekend! Hoping everyone had a pleasant holiday, ours turned out wet and weird.

Our usual trip to Hanson's Grove was a short 45 mins. It was raining, parking sucked and 1/2 the usual vendors weren't there. Sad actually as one vendor who I always think about buying something from and don't, I had actually saved up to purchase something this year-bummer. So up to Mt Vernon where a few of those missing vendors turned up. We had fun, wandered and headed to Marion for the rest of the afternoon.

I will say we did come away with a few prizes-a couple collie prints and Meredith found a hug, no GIGANTIC jar of marbles. The kid will never complain about loosing her's as she's more to spare, hahahaha. Anyway, I did find one collie statue that I hadn't seen before, so the day was not a total loss.

Now on the out in the open part. I don't hide things about the health of my dogs. I will be open and honest, not hide or tell one person this lie, another this one. I don't bend the facts and I stand my ground. Funny, I've heard of people belittling others for their stance on health, say they are better then others for what they do, yet their own follow through lacks. Okay, here it is, if you are going to go on and on about testing, then test. Don't breed a dog before the test results are available, don't buy a dog dog from untested lines and if you are so big on testing, then wait for the offical paperwork to be in your hands before you brag about how much you test. Stick to your guns, draw a line in the sand, or shut your trap. Oh and be forthcoming about your dogs-all of them, dead or alive and give the real reasons for a dog's demise. Sorry, got that off my chest-it's been a bad weekend.

For me even if it's a dog not envolved in our breeding, such as the collies, the pom or the 14 yr old lab, if it gets sick, you will know about it. So Hope, the lab, has a large tumor, has had it for a long time. It's growing and she's got fluid on her lungs and heart now. We are treating with love as you do have to realize that some times treatment does give you a few months or a year but in all honesty is it a good quality of life balancing vet visits, drugs and everything else? Doc and I are on the same page and Hope's happy, so leaving it that way. But this weekend, she was beyond goofy so she's not the issue right now. .

At issue is that I came home Saturday afternoon to a 5 1/2 week old puppy have seizures. Called Doc, tried a few things-maybe her blood sugars low, maybe Mom snapped at her and she is hurt. Nope, so off to the EIVSC(emergency and specialty clinic). I love this place and in all honesty it's worth the $$$....$$$$ you spend for their services. So the puppy spent Saturday night and Sunday night at the clinic. Now on meds, with no clear idea what's wrong, she's not seizing now, happy, eating, drinking, pooping and peeing. Waiting for the results of one more test before we decide the direction to go.

We've done all the research this weekend into the pedigree, bloodlines, asked multiple breeders about their lines, it's been covered. So at this point, it's limited to this puppy, for what ever reason, she's gotten the short straw. Honestly, we are hoping it's something toxic-though the house is totally dog proofed, but she might be just the one pup to have a super sensitivity to what ever it is or a super rare occurance of chemical drift off the neighbor's field. Could be a liver shunt. Don't know, might never know, but what we do know is that it's not something we could have tested for on the parents, grandparents or so forth. Not something that will show up further in the line. Just happens. But one think I know is that I'm am open to anyone who wants to ask questions, open to anyone who chooses to use this against me and my breeding program, and I am open to say I don't know why or how, but that everyone I know needs to know the truth.

Oh, her siblings, perfectly fine, not one thing out of place and not one looking anything but adorable. So please keep little Dawn in your prayers. She's home tonight, back with her siblings and hopefully, it's just a random act of God-only he knows why.


Later gators....
C

It's dead!!!!!!

Mom called and was over joyed to tell me - it's dead!!! Well her thyroid is!!! After two rounds of radiation, umteen tests and all the highs and lows, at least now all she has to do is get the medication correct.

Later gators....
C

A little calmer evening

It was much more relaxed this evening so we took some time to take stacked shots of the puppies. After looking at them day in and day out, taking the photos helps with evaluating them more. Go to http://www.foggybottomusa.com/ and they are listed under the 5 week photos. But for now here's a couple shots of them interacting with the rest of the crew. Well at least Hope and I think I see some blue Eddie in the one shot.

Later gators...

C

It's that time of the year...

YIPEEE---three days and counting for the once a year event that David and I have done for over 8 years now. Yeap, it's time for the Hanson's Grove 4th of July Antique Show!!!

It's a huge one day flea market/antique show held at a farm along Hwy 1 between Solon and Mt Vernon IA. We all have our missions or a list of what we are looking for. After wandering the Grove for about 3-4 hours, we head up to Mt Vernon and shop at Polly Anne's, The Silver Spider and of course, eat hot dogs and brats at the UMC stand. If we are still steaming ahead and the weather cooperates, we go to Marion and all the shops up town.

Several years ago we were there when severe storm came through. Spent 15 mins holding up tents for the vendors. Then there's the year with 90 degree heat at 9 in the morning.

It's always an adventure and we always come home with something neat.

Hope to see you there!!!!!!!

Later gators....
C

Turkey Jerky

I'm officially naming them-Turkey Jerky being the stupidest one of the two, his smarter pal, ie the one that stayed in the poultry yard, is Turkey Dinner.

Update on TJ-still clucking. He's up, eating, drinking and pooping. So there's hope for some tasty turkey later in the summer.

Forgot this little tidbit last night. I suggested to Alec that he bring over the other turkey to keep the injured bird company. So Alec goes and gets it, you can hear him muttering as he carries it through the yard-stupid bird, hard to catch, etc etc. Then as he comes into the garage I hear "Oh shit!" Panic. Did he drop the bird, it claw him(see the claw mark on my leg from last week), is it loose???? No just oh shit---heehee, it shit on him as he was walking through the garage. About spewed the whine I was drinking. Just a nice cherry on top of the whole nights events.

Yeap, as Jinne asked, that's pretty much a typical night for us. I thrive on chaos but I honestly was looking forward to coming to work today. Scary isn't it?

Later gators....
C