VACATION!! Let the 'GAMES' begin!!

I started my vacation today. I have several things "planned" for the next 9 days and some of that time involves clearing out some of our old "CARP". Bill is struggling a bit as he's just sure I'm going to throw away or "recycle" something he's attached to. I've been "planning" this cleaning for several weeks now. I'll look at rooms and visually decide, "that's GOT to GO!!". So I'm pretty well set in "my mind" what I'll be doing. It will involve at least ONE full load to the "dump" and as much as I can to Goodwill (even they have their standards). G

Today I had a busy morning and ran the dogs to the Chiro in Davenport through the rain to/from and stopped at a couple places on the way home to get some "supplies" for other projects to take place next week. I got home about 1230 and did a few putzie things.
(AKA - took a brief nap). (':

So I thought I'd start small and attack a couple of the cabinets in the bathroom! OMG!!! I can now open my own drug store. I have 8 new deodorants, 4 for me, 4 for Bill! (How did they keep getting added to the shopping list???) 4 tubes of toothpaste, 4 - 48 count boxes of sudafed (probably breaking a law there). I combined 6 different styles and brands of tampons into one box. Tossed several bottles of near empty hair gel away (I'm sure it was Bill's). Tossed 2 bottles of ibuprofen in the trash. They each had ONE pill in them!! I took the pill first of course. G UGH!! Through out countless, perfectly good, never been opened contacts. A few expired as far back as 2002.

I filled a tall kitchen garbage sack with the "junk" I took out of those two cabinets. A lot of it was those cardboard containers that just take up so much room when there's only one thing in them. The oldest expired thing I found was from 8/99 (not bad since we moved in 11/99). My peroxide expired in 04/04, but it still bubbles, so it's good. G Oh and up in the food area a box of raisin bran that expired in 8/07 (that will go to the chickens).

Then there's the towels. I made a "rag" pile. Of course I realized this pile will soon be migrated back into the "good" towels as Bill has a hard time understanding that "if" it has a big hole in it, move on to a better towel. I know that several of the towels we still use (which now have been moved to the rag pile) are from 1982 and my first year in the dorms at college. They even came from Target!!! Scary the things you can remember! We still use some of our wedding towels (1986) and we've added some. Our hard water is hard on towels, so we should probably recycle more often.

So the purging frenzy will continue next week. I'm getting rid of stuff we haven't worn in - 5 years! That's probably a LOW figure. A couple weeks ago when I was sorting socks and underwear I asked Bill to please start tossing his nasty socks and underwear in the trash after he's worn them. (Hey, it's clean, you might as well get one good use out of it) I know this has not been happening. So I asked him again. It's when I asked the second time that he wanted to know the criteria!! Honestly, do we need to draw a picture here!! LOL So I explained that if it had holes in it or the elastic was SHOT and his underwear wasn't staying up that was probably a pretty good indicator. It's apparent I'm going to have to start sorting before things go "into" the washer.

Happy Cleaning!!!

Scooter's Surprise!!!

Funny story to share today......you know how much we LOVE the dog across the road, Scooter. Yes, the same lovely Shep-X that thinks our birds taste like....um, you guessed it CHICKEN!!! g

Anyway, I was sitting in the bedroom reading a book today and I thought I saw a dog go by out front. No big deal, I thought maybe Bill had put the dogs outside for a bit. I notice again as it passes by and it's ...... you guessed it.... SCOOTER!!!! OUT FRONT in the agility yard. OMG!!! The BALLS!!! He was up by the north fence "peeing" on everything in site. I'm not sure I've ever moved so fast!! (barefoot mind you....) I raced out the back door and ran to the red gate and SHUT IT!! Yep, I now have our NEMESES CAPTIVE!!! He was TOTALLY freaked out. BUSTED!!! I was far enough away, but he did NOT want to be there NOW!! Sorry BUCK-O, you should have thought about that BEFORE you came over!

I left him "shut in" out front and then I ran back into the house to announce to Bill that I was once again the GREATEST hunter ever! I've captured a CHICKEN KILLER!!! "What????" was his response......so I took him to the bedroom window and showed him. "Now what are you going to do with him?" he asks. "I don't know, relish in my victory. Watch him panic for awhile. Call Linda and ask her to tell Alan his dog's over here. (maybe not, Alan would get in trouble for not watching him) Maybe bang on the window to freak him out for a bit. I'm not totally sure." I respond. I make my point by bang on the bedroom window which causes Scooter (135' away mind you) to try to dig under the fence. Bill says, "Great, now you'll have holes." I told him that those weeds needed to come out anyway and it's the least Scooter could do.

Alas, Bill started to lose interest....and you think I have a short attention span!!

It wasn't 5 minutes later and I hear a lawn mower start up!!! I look out front! OMG!! Alan (the neighbor) is going to mow their front lawn. I yell at Bill, HURRY!! Back to your station! Stay away from the window, you don't want him to see you!

Bill says, "wait...I need to open the red gate a bit so Scooter can get out". So he runs out to open the gate a bit and races back in. Scooter is too focused on Alan (his SAVIOR) to realize he can now be FREE!!!!

So Alan's still mowing, OBLIVIOUS!! (We could take LESSONS!!) but you know as soon as he turns toward our house he's going to see Scooter in our front yard. Scooter has spotted Alan right off and he's standing at the North fence with his tail wagging....just BEGGING for Alan to save him. Bill and I are on pins and needles as we wait for Alan's reaction.

PERFECT!!! It was SO WORTH IT!!! (I just wish I had my camera). The look of surprise was AWESOME!!! As was his hollering, "SCOOTER, YOU GET OVER HERE!!!!" Of course, Scooter was like...."Dude...I'd LOVE to! Can't....Stuck....Screwed.....F'ed"....... G

So Alan makes one more lap around the yard on the rider and finally stops the mower and walks down our lane. He didn't come to the house, just opened the little yard gate and collected his dog and left. Scooter was THRILLED to be heading for home and didn't even wait for Alan.

Bill asked if he thought Alan would share with Linda where Scooter ended up today. "Not on his life" was my reply. LOL

It was a good day in the neighborhood.......

Seeker's 8K Training!!!

Yesterday I had a graduation to attend. It's that time of year!!! But why does it still feel like March outside??? My sister Dawn, was there. So of course we talked about upcoming races. I'm looking at a 5K or 8K June 21st, she's looking at an Olympic Triathlon on June 22nd. How sad that I'll have a harder time completing mine that she will hers? Although I KNOW my overall time will be BETTER!! LOL

She asked how my "running" was coming and I told her okay. I've been doing most of my "running" inside on the treadmill as it's been so windy. In case you don't know...I HATE WIND!! So, she says, "Running into the wind makes you a stronger runner". Honestly, I really need to STOP talking to her!! G This from the same person that told me that I should have NOTHING left at the end of the race. UGH!!!

So we talked a bit about the Marion run and what my strategy should be for this next race in June. I ask her, do I enter the 5 or 8K so I can FINALLY place? Of course she answers, "Well, just let me get out my crystal ball". Honestly, I think we ALL got that Sarcastic gene!!!

After some discussion she figured since it was a small town race, the first one and another larger event was happening nearby most people would be running the 5K. So I might want to try the 8K. Of course you also might need to factor in all the other "old people" in your age group might also be trying for a placement and come in and beat you! UGH! Thanks a lot!!

She said it sounded like I did a good job of really trying in Marion. This time however she said I should try harder. I need to vomit at the end!! I swear, that's what she said!! Okay, it was more like...."This time I want you to run so hard that you vomit at the end.". BH!!! WHAT!! "Have you"? I asked. She said, no, but I know people that have. Did they place? No. Well, then I'm not doing that unless I do the doughnut run in Ames next June!!!

So now I've made my decision, I think. I'll do the 8K (5 miles) in June vs the 5K (3.1 miles). I need to find out what the route will be. If it's "laps" I might change my mind as I really don't want to run in circles. I'm planning on taking Seeker with me this time and since he needs to get "ready" I thought I should probably take him out running when we got home.

Guess what? It's still WINDY at 6 PM when I'm getting ready to go!! UGH!! "It will make you a STRONGER" runner I hear this voice in my head. "It'll make me BITTER!!!" I respond back. I give Bill a kitchen timer and tell him, "Seeker and I are running to town, when this timer goes off, come and get us." Now this might seem like a risky move, but since I have his puppy with me, I know he'll at least come get him. Once he's stopped I'll have an advantage as I know how to open the van doors and Seeker doesn't!! G

I grab Seeker's collar and leash and ask him if he's ready to go. HAIL YEAH!!! DUH!!

Off we go. Now Benton County is pretty cheap, they don't like to spend money on ANYTHING!! So when they decided to put new gravel on most of the roads in our area I was surprised and not necessarily pleased. Adam doesn't like to run on it and honestly, I don't either. It's a nice way to sprain an ankle looking for your footing. On the bright side, it gives you something else to think about other than RUNNING!! (':

The route to Norway is a "safe" one. Meaning I've ridden Adam there enough to know that we're safe from dogs that run out at you. This is VERY good information to have. I'm guessing it's 4-5 miles to Norway, so I'm hoping to make it in about 45 minutes. We head off straight into the East wind!! EEWWWW~~ It's pretty slow going and I'm not sure if we're making any progress, finally about 3/4 mile we get to head south and with the wind at our side it's much easier going. It's actually a pretty route, the houses are well maintained and the corn is just starting to peek through the black dirt. We run by some cows/calves and they stare at us as we cross the bridge.

As we're running I'm starting to feel a bit over dressed in my t-shirt, sweatshirt and sexy old sweat pants. As I think about it more I realize my sweatpants are starting to slip off. CRAP! So I'm checking to see if there is a string that I can tighten. I'm running and trying to use my teeth to get the string and avoid twisting an ankle on the rocks. I can NOT get a hold of it. So finally I have to resort to pulling my sweatpants up and over my sweatshirt to keep them up. I know, way too sexy for words. Luckily Seeker wasn't carrying a camera!

As we get closer to Norway I've decided that we'll just run to the fire station and get a 50 cent soda. Only one problem. I don't have any change. I ask Seeker if he has any cash. He doesn't answer, so I take that as a NO. Crap! No problem, we'll just get 50 cents from Bill when he picks us up.

We're within a 1/2 mile or so from town when we come across an older man walking on the opposite side of the road. He says, "hello" and I reply "good day" and Seeker darts in front of me like he's suppose to cross over and give a hello too in "dog". HOLD ON THERE BUCKWHEAT!! So I'm still running and trying to get Seeker back where he needs to be. What a CF!!! I might add here that Seeker is tied at my waist so my arms are free. To be honest I usually forget that he's even there. He's a great little running buddy, but apparently we need some practice when it comes to other people running/walk next to us or behind us. We have a few weeks to work on that. So for the next 1/4 mile or so Seeker keeps looking behind us to see where that "man" went. Nothing like having to drag a puppy along behind you!! Okay, it wasn't that bad, but honestly dog.....FOCUS ESTER!!! G

We make it into town and now we're running on sidewalks!! I go past the church and look at us in the window. OMG!!! First off, we are NOT going very fast!!! You know how you see those people "running/jogging" and you think...OMG!! You're not going anywhere!! Well, that was us!! LOL Then I look at my outfit! Let's just say I'm safe from being "picked up". They will get NO RANSOM money from this hot chick!! G

We make it to the fire station. We're in front of the soda machine which is across the street from the bank. What do all banks have out front? A sign of course with the time/temp (ever wonder why that is??) do they want to make sure their employees make it to work on time???

Anyway, I think we made it in about 44 minutes. That would be great if it's 4.5-5 miles. We'll have to wait for Bill to figure it for us with the van. He arrives a few minutes later and says, wow, that was a long way! Did you run all the way. I roll my eyes and think to myself, "No, caught a ride". G Instead I ask. Do you have 50 cents?? He looks in the van. No. DOUBLE CRAP!! Okay, honestly folks, we're 5 minutes from home and we have soda in the fridge, but I want 50 cents to buy one! Where's the logic in that????

My billfold is in the van, so YIPPEE!!! CHANGE!! I take out 2 shiny quarters and anticipate the cold delicious soda!! I drop in the first one and it passes through the machine and lands in the changer. UH OH....the same thing happens to the second quarter. UGH!!! Not being easily discouraged and I give it another try....okay....4 (I really WANT that soda) NOTHING!!! OH MAN. Oh well, I guess we really didn't need it anyway.

So the 3 of us pile into the van and head for home. It was only 4.0 miles, so my time wasn't stellar, but I have no doubt the 2 of us can do 5. We'll have to check out some other routes or I'll have to double back on that one. I'd prefer to see new scenery on the run, but that's alright. Seeker's feet were in good shape, so I shouldn't have to worry about that. When he got out of the van he ran after Cougar and did a few victory sprints. He could have at least tried to LOOK tired!! (':

I'll get my entry sent in this week. I want to be sure I get a LOW number and a T-Shirt!!

Happy RUNNING....and remember....

If you're not living on the Edge..... You're taking up TOO MUCH ROOM!! G

Tammy and Seeker

His FINAL FLING!!!

Alas, all good things must come to an end. Thus tonight I thought I'd tape Seeker "one more time" exhibiting his OCD for the Teeter. It's well documented that Border Collies can become easily obsessed with "ANYTHING". For instance the "crack dog" who's unable to go for walks in town as he can't get past the cracks in the side walks. Or the "Microphone" dog who's not able to function if a microphone is hanging from the ceiling. Thus, in order for Seeker to avoid becoming the "Teeter" dog, we must now put an end to this behavior. Poor little dog!!!

Actually, it's a testament to a clicker. Or NOT??? Seeker really didn't care for the teeter too much. He wasn't much for jumping on the up side or racing across. I'm not sure if he didn't like the noise, the movement or both? So we started clicking the "bang". Over the winter months, with the low teeter in our living room he got pretty good at running across it, in his own "style". This style consisted of making sure one hind foot was safely on the ground at all times. Picture someone skateboarding and using their "kicking" leg. Yes, that's Seeker on the teeter. I would try to tell him that someday he'd need to get rid of the training wheels. But I don't think he was listening.

So Spring came (kind of) and the teeter moved outside. We needed to set it up to full height for class and so it was time to (as Liz would say) "Suck it up or Blow it out".

I took Seeker out with some treats and a clicker. I'd hold the board and let him jump on it and bang it down. Click/Treat. He thought this was pretty fun and soon would do it without any assistance from me. After a couple days he'd race out to the teeter and wait for me to catch up. Soon he didn't even wait for me to get there to start. Thus, the obsession began.

He will literally do this for hours. Within a few minutes he has saliva flying. He gets in a Border Collie "trance" and there's nothing that will get his attention. He's just focused on jumping on and off that board. It's 24" at the base with a 12' board on it. How high does he have to jump to make it to the top of the board? I have NO IDEA. All I know is he'd better NOT be knocking bars in competition. G

So as they say. All good things must come to an end. So.....sadly, good-bye to those free wheeling days with the teeter. Seeker will be a better agility dog for it.

This is at actual speed....no tricks with mirrors or other funny business. You'll notice at the very beginning Cougar is in the lower left corner. That lasts about 3 seconds or after the first drop of the teeter board. Even he knows it's NOT safe!!

New 5K Record!! 26.53 Chip Time

Okay, for ME, not for the race itself. G

Bill, Meme and Brian met at Rilda's house to head over the the race at the Arts Festival this Morning. THANK YOU FOR GOING!!!

We parked at Rilda's and walked the 5-6 blocks (Rilda's terminology for 12-14) to the city park. I've never really spent much time there, but they do have a very pretty park! I'm thinking I might have to join St. George's Church...but more on that later.

We arrive EARLY. I know, this is ME we're talking about...imagine that! LOL I register and pick up my "goodie bag" which included a nice T-Shirt and 8 packets of Biofreeze. Hum....I don't suppose someone is trying to tell us something? We not only have racing numbers this time, we also have CHIPS!! WOW!!! BIG BROTHER'S WATCHING!!! G

So I have my towel to sit on and I'm doing my stretches. The other 4 are standing around talking and wondering "What the HECK are we doing here so early!" SORRY!!!

Monique and Kelly join us. I work with them and this is their first 5K! Way to go LADIES!!!

With 10 minutes to go we head up to the start line. Hind sight I think this was a mistake. I think I might have been better off doing some brisk walking and coming up the the start line right before they started. I'll remember for next time.

As I'm standing there some people are talking and saying that if you can "get out of the cemetery" you're home free. One guys said, "The cemetery is going to sort out the 'runners' from the 'non-runners'. BH!! STOP!! This course is suppose to be FLAT!!! CRAP CRAP CRAP!!!

Next thing I know the "gun" goes off and we're OFF!!! I'm moving right along and people are passing me like crazy!! STOP!!!! Geez, show some respect!! I'm just thinking about the "water station" as I know that's at the half way point. So we're kicking right along and here comes the CEMETERY!!!! AWESOME!!! IT's DOWN HILL!!!! Um....Wait....why are all those runners running UP A HILL? What happened to FLAT!!! Can I get my $$$ BACK!!! I suppose what goes down must come back up? (EEEWWW that was NOT a good analogy!!) Anyway, I let my legs carrying me easily down the hill. I thought I'd gain some time going down the hill to make up for the time it will take me back up. UGH!!

We come to the one mile point. 8:19 the volunteer yells as I got by. This tells me how fast I "ran" the first mile. Of course I quickly calculate the pace and figure at this pace I'll finish around 25! WOW!! Keep kicking!!!

The water station is just ahead!! YIPPEE!! Geez, they must NOT expect much business as they have only one 8' table and 3 people working. I grab a MUCH needed cup while still running and pour a little into my mouth. It's not that I'm thirsty, it's just that my mouth gets so dried out from sucking air!! I suppose I should be glad I was still breathing!!

Trying to get control of my breathing seemed to be the struggle on this run. There were honestly times I thought about walking. However, I talked myself out of it and let up a little to try to get it under control. I think in the next race I'll be sure to do some brisk walking for about 10 minutes right before the race.

I felt like I really struggled at the end. I think part of it was I "kind" of knew the route and that I was starting to watch street signs at the end. I was also looking for the big FINISH sign. I suppose that the signs might help some people, I think I'd rather NOT know. In a way the same applies to the 1 mile and 2 mile times, for some I'm sure it's motivating. For me however, it's almost TMI. I start to wonder if I can really keep that pace.

On the last turn I see the finish line and really try to kick it in. UGH!!! I just hear Dawn saying..... "Pain is only temporary, but giving up and leaving some at the end of the race is for forever." I don't think I had much left.

Final results
Pace - 8:42
1st mile - 8:19
Gun Time - 27:00 (compared to first race time of 29:37)
Chip Time - 26:53
Division Placement - 12
Women's Overall Placement - 86/319

I enjoy the before and the after. I'm still debating how I feel about the "between".

At the Arts Festival, they have a lot of "you guessed it" ART! They also had food however. Some REALLY GOOD FOOD!!! Back to the Church I'll be joining. They had this fried bread with sugar on top. YUMMY!!!!

Next run? Newhall - 6/21. I'm debating between the 5K and the 8K. I was pretty sure before today that I'd do the 8K. After today I'm not so sure??

From out of the SHADOWS.....

Wednesday afternoon as I’m driving up the gravel road I notice there are people on our barn roof!! GREAT!!! Since it blew off last month – well, a few sheets did anyway, it was nice to see it getting repaired.

So I’m visiting with one of the guys and he says. “You almost lost your yellow cat today”. WHAT!!!! OMG!! I’m thinking he got run over, or almost got run over. Cougar is the friendliest darn little cat and has become my favorite. He chases Seeker and “hides” behind things to attack him. Very cute!!!

Turns out it was nothing like that. They saw Cougar coming out of the back of their construction trailer yesterday morning and they had just come from another job. The house they left had several cats and the owner is pretty attached to them. They thought Cougar was one of his cats, thus they called him. The guy drove 30 minutes to our house with a kennel at the ready to take his little beast home. Luckily the guy saw Cougar and said, “That’s NOT my cat”. I’m so glad he didn’t take him, I would have wondered what ever happened to him. Today Bill is going to put Cougar in a “box” so he STAYS out of trouble. Or out of as much trouble as a Cougar can stay out of.

So last night after class I was letting Chemi and Cougar out of their "box". (To keep them for getting run over or chased by dogs) and I thought I heard a strange meow. I stopped and listened again. Yep, absolutely a NEW voice in the barn!!! G “Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty” Out comes this adorable black and white cat with NO TAIL!!!! (‘:

She is really cute and I know she’s not Alan’s because those cats run whenever a stranger is near. It’s pretty obvious she’s someone’s ‘pet’ because she’s so friendly. HUM>…..wonder if she’s the “other guy's cat???” Here we go again!! LOL

Anyway, Bill called last night to let the construction crew know. She’s in the “Cougar/Chemi” box so Cher can’t chase her off. If she’d not that guys cat, she can stay. She’s VERY CUTE!

Don’t tell Bill…..I’ll have to think of some “other” reason she needs to stay!! LOL

I’ll have to start thinking of some cute names, that start with a "C" of course……JIC ..

pooparazzi stikes again!!

Well, it was a challenge. Maybe an assignment is more like it?? (Rilda, do we have a new assignment yet??)

But when you take your little "point and shoot camera" with you to a trial you MUST USE IT!!! It was a nice evening Saturday (before the rain) so I didn't want to miss the fun of taking pictures. I made sure I had my little PHD (push here dummy) at the ready for ANY and ALL opportunities!!

Surprisingly, dogs are a lot more like people than you would think.

Pull out the camera when they are "going" and they try to HIDE!!!

I did get a couple dogs however and ONE PERSON!!! G

My first "victim", if you will was Ollie.

He was NOT terribly pleased with being the "center" of attention.

I did manage to get this rare footage however!

Poor Cozzie!!!

He wasn't happy either!!

He saw me coming, but couldn't get away!!!

Apparently Barb's dogs were the only ones full of....um...you know.

Finally our human, Carrie! She had NO idea I was SNAPPING away.

Carrie has a very interesting poop pick-up technique. She likes to "stalk" her pray!

I'm not really sure why she sneaks up on it? It's like it might actually be able to ESCAPE!!!

This one however, did NOT get away! GOOD JOB CARRIE!!

Do you really think she needed a baggie THAT BIG??

A Soggy WEEKEND!!!

Well, that's not totally true. Carrie, Barb and I left at the wee hours Friday am (or in the middle of the night - take your pick) to drive to Decatur, IL for a Dog Agility Trial. It was rather cool and windy, but we survived both the trip and the days courses.

We were in charge of setting up camp, which means finding a location in which a tent will NOT take in water and with the grass of similar length. This wasn't necessarily an easy task as the grass was in clumps with mud spaced in-between. When we finally located a spot, Carrie and I unrolled the tent and proceeded to set up the tent with only one problem. We'd gotten it up and then realized it needed ONE MORE pole inserted!! UGH!!! So, we had to drop the tent back down to get the pole in. Tent was up and it LOOKED GOOD. The 3 of us were sleeping in our vans, so this was the "boys" tent.

We ate our supper and all went off to our vans for the night. Terry and Jeff were to arrive around 10 pm or so. They arrived without any problems and NONE of us heard them....until about 11:15 PM when Jeff accidentally hit the trucks PANIC BUTTON!!!! Well, so much for a quite night!! (';

It was a COLD night and I was kicking myself (literally to stay warm) for leaving my sleeping bag at home! UGH!! What was I thinking!! I had one quilted Pepsi blanket and a couple small fleece blankets. IT was NOT enough!! I had Mad under the covers with me to try to keep warm and Kruz (who doesn't like to be under the covers) was at my feet. BUURRRR!!! We lived to see the coffee Saturday morning!

Saturday was a BEAUTIFUL Day!! The sun was shining (at times) and low wind made for a cool, but nice day! The only problem with this weather was as soon as you thought you could remove your sweatshirt, you got cold and had to put it back on. The dogs ran very well and we continued to pile on the Q's.

Saturday evening after our pizza we let the dogs play with Bea's Frisbee. It was nice to see the 9 dogs able to run together and "take turns" NOT!!! Getting the Frisbee.

Jeff, Carrie and Terry (with the Frisbee) TALKING!
Pauley, Rippy, Bea, Mad Dog, Tre and Kruz and all telling him to
THROW IT ALREADY!!!

Mad has it!!! Bea is confused and is still looking for it....everyone else is in hot pursuit of that MAD DOG!

Sunday night we got hit with some pretty heavy storms. Luckily (or not??) it was just rain. It was however a LOT of rain!!!






Jeff, Carrie, Terry and Barb looked a little TOO happy this morning in front of "their" mud puddle. Makes you wonder what they have in those mugs!!!!

The pole behind Jeff is either a weather alert siren or a UFO tracking tower. You decide.








Our dogs ran really well today, especially with the weather conditions. In the 20" Excellent B class we had a CLEAN SWEEP with Bea in FIRST, Kruz in SECOND and Mad Dog finishing THIRD!! YIPPEE!!

We no more than finished our JWW course when the rain started to come down heavy in sheets and the cold front went through. The wind knocked over ALL the jumps, chairs were rolling and the fence was coming untied.......YIKES! Notice the orange fence that is NO LONGER attached. G

We collected our winnings and headed home! We of course had to stop off at the DQ for ice cream and I told everyone that our dogs had "upgraded" from a dish of ice cream to the baby cones!! So of course EVERYONE had to try it. It was a HIT!!

Bea and Jeff - I think she's getting a BRAIN FREEZE!!!
But she LIKES IT!

Being NEW to the cone feeding method, Carrie needed some assistance from the now VETERAN "Uncle Jeff". So he's helping Addie and Carrie is working with Pauley, who's NOT sure what to think of having a whole cone to himself.

Addie obviously understands the "finer" points to "cone eating", which is to finish YOURS FIRST so you still can get some of your brothers!! VBG

1. Mad didn't like hers on the ground, so she needed some assistance. Once the top was gone the cone soon followed.
   

Poor Kruz, he tipped his cone over onto the cement. He was deterred by that however, and carefully cleaned up all the evidence!! YUMMY!!!!

Seeker - The BC with Teeter OCD!

Seeker completed a TWO hour (and I'm probably shortening the time frame here!!!) Teeter drill Monday night.

I know!! No lectures please!! One really should NOT work a dog over two hours, especially on Just ONE obstacle! But, when the drilling is "self induced"...what is one to do??
(Besides get a DIFFERENT breed!!!)

When I got home Monday I really wanted to get some planting done, so I put the dogs out front. I didn't have a tie out for Mad yet to prevent her from eating too much critter poop (see prior post) ....although I could have used twine to show my RED NECK side!!!! G

So, I'm working and checking out front to make sure that the "Seeker Dirt Removal and Tile laying Company" was still OUT OF BUSINESS. What I see makes me run for my FLIP!!! (see below)

Seeker is circling (NOT THE WAGONS), but the Teeter!!! Of ALL THINGS!!! He was racing around it like a dog possessed! He was trying to figure out how to jump on the high end of the board. (we've been working on jumping up on the higher end and riding it down Sunday night - I hadn't realized I'd created a MONSTER!!!!)

He'd rear up to try to get to the high end and then run around again. I was getting tired watching him, so I left. Bill got home and I showed Bill what Seeker was doing. He just shook his head and walked away. We went on with our gardening and when I'd check back he was still at that bloody teeter board. His tongue was about a foot long and his sides were just a heaving. We put Kruz and Mad inside and had Seeker come out with us to prevent him from dropping dead of a Teeter Induced Heart Attack!!

HONESTLY!! Maybe someone should show him how to get on the LOW END!!! (':

Later we went back out to help him do the whole thing, but he's totally obsessed with the banging noise that he doesn't really go to the end, just to the drop part and then spins around. Oh well....I guess there's worse problems to have????? Can't wait to start those weave poles!!!

VBG

Shot right off the DOG WALK!!!!!

Poor Pauly! Ever have one of those days where it's just NOT worth getting up in the morning? Well, Friday was it!! The second obstacle of the course was the dog walk and he took it at such speed that he over compensated and took a tumble off the 4' top. Luckily he landed on his feet and was just fine. Unluckily I only pushed the camera button one!! RATS!!!!

On Saturday however, Pauly did a GREAT job on his Dog Walk, I think he learned a bit of a lesson. Not sure it will stick however!!

On Sunday, Pauly was back to his old tricks and his "mom" even gave him the threatening FINGER!!!
Too no avail. Pauly broke his stay at the start and GAME OVER!! Some days it really stinks to be a short red dog with short legs and no tail.

Sister Addie was BRILLIANT all weekend!! She earned her MX with a DQ and several placements!! One of them BLUE!!
Way to go ADDIE!!

Packer NOT to be OUT DONE!! Earned her MXJ and two placements in the JWW Class! One of them BLUE!!! She also bought us DQ on the way home!!!
YIPPEE PACKER!

Poor Kruz!!!
When your handler can't stay focused during a brief "judges briefing" how will she ever stay focused on course!!!!

Luckily, Kruz was paying enough attention for the both of them!!!

I Can't believe I ATE the whole thing!!!

I finally got my potatoes planted Thursday afternoon!! NO SMALL FEAT!! With the amount of rain we've had it's been difficult to get the garden tilled, but I made myself commit to getting it done! While I worked, I thought it would be nice to let the dogs run. Kruz sticks around and watches, Seeker herds Kruz and Mad....we'll, I "know" what Mad was doing. Looking for "stuff" to eat. I guess I just didn't realize HOW much "stuff" she'd actually find and how it would come back to HAUNT me! UGH!!

We had just gotten to bed Friday night about 10 when it started. You know the sound, but Mad only made ONE...the explosive sound of chicken parts (supper), cat food, cat poop, pony poop and chicken poop all hitting the carpet! UGH!!!! So she spent the rest of the evening in the kitchen where she produced a nice watery present from the opposite end. Of course I accidentally stepped in some vomit in the bathroom which totally cause me to dry heave! It was slimy and sticky at the same time and COOL!!! It would make a awesome "FEEL IT" texture at a Halloween party!

Unfortunately I had to leave Friday am to head to Omaha for an agility trial. Actually, the only unfortunate part was that Mad was entered.....do I take her or do I leave her home?

I debated. You know no matter the decision, Murphy's Law will apply. Take her and she'll be too sick to run. Leave her home and by 4 pm she'll be totally back to normal! I'll note here that it is possible for a Black dog to be GREEN!! Mad felt like CRAP!!! I was honestly having a really hard time feeling sorry for her. I did however make some hamburger to take along.

Long story short, she did NOT run all weekend. She really did NOT eat most of the weekend, unless you count 6 kernels of Carmel Corn. Mad will NOT be allowed free range of the yard while we're NOT watching her. Guess what she did when she got out the van today?? Yep, checked the yard for cat turds!! EEEWWW!!!!!!