More Water...the Deep Kind

Dear Everett,

This past weekend, Paisle and Gopher went up north for the second time. Two weekends in a row, frolicking with Trooper and Gus! Jenner was amazed to learn that yes, the Old Man Trooper was playing a game of Catch Me, onshore, with the young pups.

Jenner and I accompanied her aunt, Renie, and her friend Karen up to the lake. Four ladies, four dogs! We had great meals, great conversation, and of course great weather. And I do mean great--thankfully it FINALLY rained though the heavy stuff held off until Sunday afternoon.

But I digress. What I really came to tell you today, was what fun we had in the water. Two weekends in a row, playing on, off, under, and around the dock and boat.

Here are the ladies, Renie and Karen, after proudly paddling themselves around the small bay.

Here are Paisle and Gopher, with me on the same paddle boat (Paisle up in front with me, Gopher in the kiddie seat behind me)

We only went on a short paddle. There were other things to do! Like learn from the master, Trooper, on retrieving balls in the water. Note the students are on the dock, while Trooper is in the water. Then there is the Orka Blue Thing, which does float, but is harder to grab than a ball...
Paisle showing off her retrieving skills which really are very good for an 8 month old, unless the object lands in Deep Water (she still doesn't know how to swim). In this photo, she is looking at Trooper, who is swimming under them at the end of the dock.

Here is Trooper, in the water. It is hard to tell, but he is standing on the bottom with his back feet, and treading water with his front feet, while he waits for the ball to be thrown. Isn't he just amazing!!

And is it just too cute that she seemed to prefer the pink ball? Of course, its attraction was probably the super short nap, which made it harder to peel off--one of her favorite occupations is stripping tennis balls then demolishing the ball itself.

Can you see Paisle here, jumping onto the dock with Trooper? For a while, she went toe to toe with him, chasing balls and retrieving together. Though light in frame he is a tall boy, much bigger than the Bean. Gus, the other crazy fetch dog, is on the dock.
And I don't have a single good shot of all four pups from this weekend, so I will close with my favorite shot from the previous weekend. This is almost the last photo I took as we packed up the dogs and left for home July 27. Left to right they are Gus, Paisle, Gopher, and Trooper.
And then there was the drive home...this is a girl after Jerome's heart...

Water, the New Frontier

Dear Everett,

Paisle and Gopher have discovered yet a new way, to enjoy their little pool. This is not Paisle's first trip inside the blue waters.

C'mon in--the water is nice!
But it IS the first time she's tried digging her way through the bottom!

And Gopher's first venture inside the confines...hey I can BITE the water!
A little crowded, but they make it work--both dogs in the pool and flinging water OUT of the pool.
What's over there? (Paisle has gone to get the rope...)
Now we have WET rope--it flings more water!Not satisfied with a small, mobile toy, Paisle removes the hose from the pool (the water is still on). Watering the plants may never be the same....

Gopher realizes there's something moving at the end of the hose.
And wait...I can bite THIS water, too!
Oh, I laughed and laughed...as I moved the hose he followed the water over and over again.
Here's to the simple fun you can have, with a hose and a good spirit!

Gopher Update

Dear Everett,

Gopher had his first Adoption Weekend. He did very well! The other foster mamas really liked him, as he is such a GOOD DOG! And good looking, too!

He's probably gained a little bit of weight, and he's certainly settled in to the house well. He has even met Ansel in a variety of ways--through his crate in the kitchen, as they pass each other when one comes inside and the other goes out, and then last night Jenner helped me walk the two boys!! It was very exciting for me, as Ansel did not pay any attention to Gopher at all--at least no more than he does to Paisle when we walk together. Very encouraging!

The house remains separated and their crates will always be in different rooms. As Gopher has now been in the house for a week, with no negative incidents, I am very VERY hopeful that Ansel is agreeable to having him around, even if not in his own space.

Foster Gopher arrived Tuesday, July 8

Dear Everett,
We have a new friend. His name is Gopher. He's young, maybe 6 months old or so, and from a questionable past. He has unknown parentage, so guesses have ranged from American Bulldog (large!) to Great Dane (large!) to Boxer (probably because of his coloring) to Mastiff (large!).
He has big feet. He is gangly, and skinny. But growing!! He weighs 46 lbs, and is just a tiny bit larger than Paisle.
Gopher and Paisle are already great friends.

They share everything.

But thankfully, they are not dependent on each other! At least not yet. :-)

Self-contained Entertainment

Dear Everett,

Paisle has found a new toy. Well, perhaps a better statement would be...Paisle has turned the outside water bowl, into a new toy.


It started with the ice cubes. She loves them. The ice cube bowl is stainless steel--larger than the water bowl, and always brings about laughs from the humans and excitement from the pooches as they empty the bowl and throw the ice cubes about the patio. Paisle quickly learned if she tips the bowl, the cubes spread out much faster. She THEN learned that she can nose the bowl around the patio, and flip it over!


I shot my first video on the camera, of Paisle pushing the ice cube bowl around the yard. She yips at it, when she cannot get her teeth under the lip to turn it right side up, or to toss it behind her. I laughed so hard I cried, watching her entertain herself.


Exit the ice cube bowl, and enter the clever mind of the Little Bean. In no time at all, Paisle realized the water bowl outside can ALSO be tossed about the yard! She's now become an expert in emptying the full bowl, shoving it into the yard, and pushing/pulling/clawing it all over the place to her delight. Yesterday she managed to shove it under the patio, out of reach. She spent about 30 minutes trying to figure out how to squeeze herself under there, to extract it. I finally fished it out with a pole, but now I know how to occupy her for long periods of time--flip the water bowl upside down and shove it under the patio! Oh, the endless entertainment....

Can you see the water about to splash out of the bowl here? She has just given the bowl a shove--one of her first moves, to flip it over and start the game....

P.S. She now weighs 43.3 lbs, as of Saturday 6/28/08! And in a few days she'll turn 7 months. I am holding out hope that she'll break 60 lbs as a healthy athletic pup....Ansel still towers over her, however.

Faces of Paisle

Dear Everett,
I promise, there is no lemon nor vinegar on this bone.

There is no ice cream, nor peanut butter, just out of reach of the Little Bean's tongue.

And there is no robin nor rabbit at my feet, capturing the Bean's attention.
She is just a puppy, trying all new things, with the attention span and concentration of a domestic turkey.

Isn't she precious!

Happy Father's Day

Dear Everett, Dad and Pat played host for today's celebration--Nina and I provided the brunch. Well, part of the brunch.

Dad and Pat made mimosas, starting with one of Dad's favorite champagnes...

and fresh squeezed orange juice....

Nina and Pat discussing the meal....

And here's the table. Nina made two quiches with her farm fresh eggs--ham and cheddar in one, and spinach, mushrooms, and onion in the other. I made a spinach salad with a raspberry vinagrette dressing, goat cheese, etc. Dad wanted fresh croissant, so the Artisan bread didn't make the table, but you can see the bread basket here in the photo. Koren (who is still in NYC but will hopefully be home for July 4th) made that basket many years ago, with ebony hook and eye for handles. (For those of you reading this who know my last name, this is just one example of Koren's innovations while in the shop.)

It was a short gathering, but a fun one.

After cleaning up Dad went back to painting the doors between the garages--Nantucket blue of course. Mr. Wills was home so I went over to say hello and check out some of his antiques. And then the pup and I headed for home. There is a lot of clean up in our neighborhood as we had strong winds topple some trees and bring down some large limbs last night.

As always, wishing you were here.