CLEARLY, I am insane!

FIVE dogs in the house???

I MUST be nuts!

Meet "Jill"

I absolutely adore her!

But she is a PUPPY.

ALL puppy!

Who has reminded "Cisco" that he's not all that far from being a puppy himself...

And then there is "BoGo"

(the Old Soul)

This chubby, Aussie-cross is such a sweet, kind, gentle dog!

(no, that's not a growth ~ he's chewing on a bone)

He quietly sits before me and just waits for me to pet him, or comes up and lays his head gently on my lap.   If ever there was a dog who lived to be loved, it is Bogo!

The resident pooches have amazed me with how well they have taken all of the commotion and upheaval in their happy home...

"Bellamica"

"Sable"

I am so proud of how tolerant my girls have been of the crazy newcomers!  Sable actually PLAYS with Jill and although Bella makes nasty noises at almost everybody, I have caught her 'flirting' with BoGo.

This afternoon, my realtor/best friend will be showing my house.

I know.

CRAZY!

I'll probably be sitting out in the barn with five dogs...

Five dogs really is a lot in one house.

I'll probably look to set up a couple of them into foster care until we find 'forever homes' for them.   Then again!  It IS Christmas...

And I do have THREE Grandsons...

;-)

Don't worry Meem ~ I know that I'm the only lunatic in the family!

P.S.  For those who may be wondering, Jethro has totally taken over his Forever Home with my sister, Penny!  She fell in love with him on the day we  picked him up in Milwaukee and her husband and kids now love him as well.  Jethro is one, HAPPY boy!



Getting into the Spirit of the Season...

We got a decent amount of snow last night.

And it's plenty cold outside.

I got the Christmas decorations out.

I guess it's time to get into the spirit of the Holidays!

Atta Boy, Jethro!

I know you're not really thrilled  with the hat and antlers on your head.

I can tell...

But you're SUCH a good sport!

Sable thinks I'm NUTS!

She refuses to relinquish her dignity!

Even in antlers and a Santa hat!

Sweet Jasmine isn't too sure about this silliness!

But she'd never complain!

Even when she's TIRED!

And THEN, there's

Bellamica...

"You can't MAKE me behave!"

Oh yes I CAN!

"Bah, Humbug!"

We hope that no matter what you believe in, you are enjoying the buildup to the Holidays and that your life is full of good health, good friends, and GOOD DOGS!

Of course, if you don't happen to have a dog, we probably could help you out with that!  If you already have a dog that makes your life more joyful, perhaps your DOG would like to make a donation to our "Chipin", on the sidebar of this blog to help us save other deserving dog, so that they too may one day bring unconditional love into somebody's Christmas! 

Word (and MOTION) less Wednesday...

Prayers Answered!

Thank you God!

They're home.

Bella and Sable are safe and back home where they belong!

I think perhaps they even feel a bit guilty.

*click on image to biggify*

You see, they ran away last night!

I let them out into the 'side pasture' (which has electric fence around it but the fence is not hooked up).  It's the dogs favorite place to be at night and I usually just leave the gate from the back yard open so that they can go out there when ever they want.  They sit out at the top of the hill and bark at everything and nothing.  I don't let my dogs run loose but last night something must have really got them excited because they either jumped the fence or ran through it.   They did that once before but were only gone a couple of hours.  Anytime that the have ran off on me, they have always been back in a few hours.  Usually full of burrs, but back home.  They have NEVER been gone overnight.

When they still weren't home this morning, I was terrified.  I called and called for them.  I opened the garage door so that they could come in for their breakfast.  And I prayed. 

With everything that I have been through in the past few months, I have never been as frightened as I was this morning.  My dogs are my daily dose of love.  They love me and I love them.  They make me smile.  I talk to them and they make me laugh.  I can't imagine my life without them.   I could not stay out here if they weren't with me.  I'd be lost.

Needless to say, I was over joyed when I saw Bella trotting down the gravel road across from my place.  When I rushed out the front door (thanking God like crazy!) to greet her, there was Sable in the front yard!  I'd been calling and calling all last night and this morning with no results.  Now, they both "appeared" ~ as if by magic. 

But I know it wasn't magic...

Sable was quite full of burrs and smelled like she'd had a run in with a skunk!  I don't think she took a direct hit, but she definitely had a close encounter.   She can't come in until I'm ready to give her a bath.  I didn't want to put her through the torture of trying to brush & comb all the burrs out of her long coat so I cut it off!

She looks quite ridiculous but I don't even care.  I'm just so glad to have my dogs back.

Now it's time to bring them in for their bath.

So that I can snuggle with them and they can sleep on my bed with me tonight!

Thank you God.

For always knowing when I really can't take any more and then, giving me a break.  I am so very grateful.

My Prayer...

Dear God,

Please watch over Bellamica and Sable and

bring them home safely to me.

Please!



A Little Caffeine with your Kahlua???

I don't know what's up with me staying up so late at night.  I used to always post in the morning but I find myself doing it more at night now.  It seems that I'm always busy until 10 o'clock at night.

Guess who thinks she's pretty special...

"Bluff Country Kahlua"

I LOVE her fleece!

AND her attitude.

"What attitude?" 

I love the crimp...

and the tippy ends...

AND the staple length!

Kahlua's fleece also has the soft, silky feel of her dam's (Zaria). 

Neither of these photos really shows the true color but you get the idea by combining them both.

I don't know what had alerted the girls but I thought this was a pretty picture.  Even if Kahlua does  have her front feet in a hole!

Bella and Sable are so happy that we'll be staying here for the winter.  They have so much room to run in the fenced in areas.

No wonder I'm feeling happier!

My infections seem to have finally cleared up.

I don't have a doctor appointment for a MONTH!

I spent the day with my Princess and three handsome Princes (it was Matt's birthday and we had a blast).  My handsome son-in-law grilled us burgers and bratwurst for lunch.

I'm home with my wonderful dogs.

I still have sheep living here.

And

I have a secret.

I'm working on something.

I'll tell you about it soon.

It's something near and dear to my heart...

"MuuuuhhhWAAA!"

S.W.A.K.



A walk in the Bluff Country

*As always, click on any picture to 'biggify'
(especially the very last one!)

We're having gloriously beautiful weather in the Bluff Country of South East MN., so I decided to take the dogs for a walk this afternoon.

  Perhaps you'd like to join us...

Off we go.

Both leashes strategically held in my right hand.

Our chosen route for today.

We'll be hiking part way up that hill!

The colors are just beginning to change.

Bella & Sable stay patiently while I take their photos.

Bellamica

Sable

The street sign that marks the intersection of the two roads where I live.

Everything is so beautiful!

The neighbors are baling hay.

If you click to biggify and look very carefully, you can see my house in the lower center of this photograph!

Tomorrow I'll show you our route back home...