And The Hits Just Keep On Coming!

I suppose it's a good thing we didn't do the kitchen update after all.

My husband took his truck in yesterday to get some work done on the front end and now they are saying it will be more than the original $500 estimate. Aarrrrgh. He also decided (rightly) that the truck needs a couple of new tires... to the tune of about $260 apiece. More aarrrrgh!!!!

The fence guy came out and gave us some advice about the electric fence. The bad news: We are in a bad area for electric fences. It has to do with the dryness of the area, the rockiness, the climate, etc. It's not impossible but it's not the news I had hoped for. Meanwhile he took the measurements for the area we wanted cyclone fenced and he will be calling us with that estimate.

Tonight we went out to #1: feed, and #2: chop wood for this evening's fire. Hubby went out first to cut the wood and a minute later came back in to let me know the bull was not in his pen.

CRAP!

We both went out to find him. I opened his gate wide and threw a flake of hay in his pen. We found him to the far south west (not far from his pen) and managed to herd him back. I think it helped that it was the normal dinner time.

I found the spot where he escaped from his pen and fixed it. I did see some blood on the ground and after examining him I found a small scrape on Dakota's shoulder. *HUGE SIGH*

So hopefully now things will calm down a bit and the $ bleed will slow down.

I took some comfort tonight in a picture of our old cat, Kneadermeier (about 13?)...

...and our goof ball dog, Clyde.

One day at a time...

Got Our Tree

Today we got our Christmas tree. We drove around our town but it seemed like the trees here were all too small and they were too thick, like a sheared Douglas. I don't like those because the ornaments stick out and in my opinion it looks stupid.

I've always preferred the medium thick trees so I can put lights and ornaments inside and all around the tree. Plus I wanted something a little taller than we normally got because we have a vaulted ceiling for the first time ever.

So we ended up driving through Redmond and eventually heading toward Bend. We stopped at one place that had taller trees but the guy must have thought I was a sucker. When I asked about a particular tree he said it was "a lot". He said "a tree like that is going for $100. Twenty. Nine." I swear he kept adding the numbers. I hemmed and hawed and told him I would be back if I couldn't find anything elsewhere.

We drove around a bit, then stopped at a Home Depot for a pottie break and while we were there we looked at the kitchen countertops. I grabbed a few samples and we decided to cut our losses and head for home. On the way home my husband happened to see a tree lot down a side road and we swung in there.

There was a tree right at the gate and we asked the guy how much for something like that. "Oh, I'd take forty for that one." My husband and I looked at each other and we said, "We'll take it!"

So we got it home and it is up though I still have to decorate it. Ollie is enjoying it too. I had to watch her to make sure she didn't try to climb it. I only had to yell at her once.

Ollie isn't the only one enjoying the tree.
Hopefully I can find all my lights and ornaments now!

Cat In The Box

Clyde occasionally gets fixated on Ollie for some reason. Earlier today I cleared out a box that had a bunch of older bills and miscellaneous papers and I left the box on the floor. Ollie thought it would be a good place to park her big behind in.

Maybe Clyde can't figure out what she is doing in the box.

She seems to be aware of his presence and is mildly annoyed.
Now she is just pretending he isn't there at all.
Silly creatures!

In other news we had a big storm come through here last week. It knocked out the power in a bunch of areas, including ours. We weren't as lucky as some, and were luckier than others. Our power was out from about 3:30 in the afternoon until 8:15 the next morning.

The bad news for us is that our big tv appears to be fried now. It just won't turn on. We've managed to attach the cable to our little 16" tv and that's what we're watching now. How I miss our big tv. :-(

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We got a cost estimate from the bank for the property and construction loan.

Yikes! If the construction costs are as high as they are estimating (and she did say they are estimating on the high side), then we will NOT be able to move forward.

As it is written now it will take every single bit of cash we have. That wouldn't be so bad except then they want an additional four months worth of "reserves" in the bank. That basically means four months worth of mortgage payments. Which will not be there after the 20% down payment and closing costs.

We met with the transport guy yesterday. We figured it would cost a little bit extra to get the house parts up to the property because of the bit of hill they would have to travel. Fortunately it was not as much as we had anticipated.

Today we met the contractor at the site. Though specific costs were not discussed I felt a little better about everything. I had the impression that the construction cost estimates that the bank had were very much on the high side.

I am praying every day that if this was meant to be then God will provide the means for us to make it happen. I also ask that if it's not to be then we will know and it will just fall apart. So far it seems to be happening.

Though it is hard to let go of control I am leaving it in His hands; like the Carrie Underwood song says, "Jesus, take the wheel!"

Bracco Wine

I ordered some of this "Bracco" wine through our Bracco Italiano club. Obviously the main reason is because of the name and the picture of the Bracco on the bottle. It's a red wine and I don't usually like reds.

We tried it out last night. It's okaaaaay... Like I said, I'm not a fan of red wine usually, unless it's sweet, and this one isn't.

But this picture of Clyde and the wine is!

So now I know. The remaining five bottles will be used for display and/or given selectively as special gifts. The bottle we opened was given to our friend the dairyman, who claimed he liked it.

In truth it reminded me a little of the wine we get at the Basque restaurants. The first two glasses are a little hard to swallow, but then it gets easier and easier!

Waiting For Leftovers

Watching Monday Night Football with Clyde waiting for handouts and/or dropped goodies.

Study Of Clyde

You can tell there's not a whole lot of anything happening here lately when I post a bunch of pictures of Clyde.

I am still fighting this awful cold but I think I'm slowly starting to turn the corner on it, finally!

Meanwhile, here's Clyde!

On Display

Here we go again. Clyde is so intrigued with one of the new displays in the entertainment center cabinet.

He sat there staring at it for the longest time. In fact, from the moment it jumped up there.

It was Ollie, the silly fluff ball cat.

Cat & Dog

I can't figure out if Clyde thinks the cat is so fascinating or he wants to lay in the spot Ollie is in. Silly dog!

...Now You Don't

All right, it's not readily apparent...yet...but Clyde went to the vet this morning with two danglers and came back this evening sans said ballos. Tonight he has two empty sacks where his testicles used to be.

I try to be a good pet owner and that means being responsible. I'm not showing Clyde (which requires a "whole" dog) and although I may have toyed with the idea of breeding him I knew that wasn't really something I was ever going to do. So the logical thing to do was to neuter him.

This county is overrun with unwanted dogs and cats as it is and I wanted to ensure that I would in no way be adding to the problem, even if it were by accident. Isn't that how a lot of these poor dogs and cats end up in the pound? Because they are "accidents".I am by no means a PETA activist, in fact I think they are a bunch of wackos. And just by virtue of my having sheep, cattle, chickens, a pony and a goat probably disqualifies me. I love eating meat and I don't have a problem with leather products. I think I'm getting off course here.

Anyhow, it really irks me when people want to breed their dog or cat before neutering them so "the kids can see the miracle of birth". Yes, I know people like that and I really tried to talk them out of it. They were able to give away all their puppies but one, the chicken/goose killer that lives next door.

I was all for neutering Clyde when we first got him but my husband and his breeder had a small panic attack about it. They thought he was too young and it would be too much for his system because he also needed a hernia repaired. I looked at it in a practical way. Two procedures for the price of one anesthesia. The vet said the only physiological difference in the early neutering would be Clyde may be a little taller and lankier than if we waited until later. To ease the breeders' and my husbands' minds I acquiesced to their entreaty. Clyde's nuts were given a reprieve.

Now, two years later, it's time to renew his county dog license. "Whole" dogs cost $60 for one year. Neutered dogs' annual tags cost $10. Taking the cost of the surgery into consideration I don't think I'll be saving any money on his licensing fees for at least eight years, but at least I can rest easy knowing I did the right thing.

Now You See 'Em...

Come back this evening for more! Or maybe I should say less?

Spoiled Rotten

Foggy Fotos

Here's a couple of pictures I took in the fog.

Here's Clyde in the backyard. The light caught his eyes just right so he looks like a zombie dog.

Now check out the blown up version. It looks like his eyes are glowing outward.

And last night there was a big ring around the moon. It would probably have shown up better with a wide-angle lens and a photographer who knew what they were doing, but you can kind of see it here. In person it was a lot more impressive. I don't know if it's an old wives tale but I've always heard that a ring around the moon means a change in the weather. We'll see. The weather people are saying the temperature is supposed to drop and there are rumors of a big storm. I wouldn't mind that if we could have a fire on that day. The way things are going the next time we can have a fire won't be until Christmas, and that will be just to appease the people.

One last comment about the San Joaquin Valley APCD. It seems that we, at the end of the valley, are the ones getting punished for the bad air that floats down from the upper end and gets stuck in our pocket. Okay, 'nuff said.

Wow, how did this go from foggy fotos to ranting about the no-burn days!? I'm getting old and crotchety! And speaking of getting old...

We have several birthdays this month, with one just passed and two this weekend alone. Have fun everyone!

He Loves His Kong

Clyde's Hunt Practice

We took a few of our new quail to a field to practice with Clyde. We don't want him to forget his expensive lessons.

Dad was supposed to work the electric collar while son handled the shotgun and I tagged along with the camera.

Clyde didn't forget what he was supposed to do.

After all, for hundreds of years, this is what this breed was bred for.

Clyde And Coturnix Quail

Over the weekend we got 8 coturnix quail. We got them with the idea that we could use them to keep Clyde tuned up with his pointing skills, since we got him back from the trainer too late for hunting season.

We haven't taken him out to the field yet, but we put the quail behind the fence to see what would happen.

I'd say that's a pretty good point. When we got home from the store where we bought the quail we found a little surprise. (Look how they match our counter top!) From my brief research on the internet it looks like the quail are easy to keep and breed. The quail are obviously edible as are their eggs. If you ever watch Iron Chef America then you know fried sunny side up quail eggs are a popular item the chefs use in their cooking.

As yet we haven't tried consuming either. Tonight, of course, we are having corned beef and cabbage. I'll let you know if and when we try out the quail eggs!

Dinner Ear Muff

Have you ever been behind the scenes at a dog show and seen the long eared and silky eared dogs wearing what appeared to be a scarf or wrapping of some sort on their ears? Those covering are actually to keep the long hairs (think Borzois) and the long ears (think Bassetts) from getting dirty on the hanging parts.

We had that problem with Clyde. Everytime he'd eat the ends of his ears dangled in his food as he ate and they ended up getting caked and gooky on the tips. (Yes, "gooky" is a technical term.)

I had forgotten about all that while he was away, but of course I was reminded again of his problem when he came home. I'm sure someone must be making those things and selling them at the dog shows, but I haven't been to a dog show in over ten years. I'm not much of a seamstress but then I remembered I had an extra ball of yarn laying around.

Here's Clyde showing off his latest fashion accessory: the dinner ear muff.

It's loose enough to be comfortable.

And as you can see it does a superb job of keeping his ears out of his dinner.

See what you can do with an extra ball of yarn, a crochet hook, and a couple of hours?

PS-The pattern is available so you, too, can make a Dinner Ear Muff for your loving, long eared companion. Send $9.95 + $6.99 S&H for pattern instructions! (Just kidding.)

Clyde Is Home

Clyde is home after being at the bird dog trainer for four whole months. My husband went to pick him up and met the trainer at the training field for an overview of how things went and how to keep him in training.

Happy to be home.

My husband said Clyde did everything he was supposed to do; pointing, holding the point, and retrieving properly. He was told by the trainer what commands to use and when to use them and advised on certain equipment he recommended, like a flat buckle collar with a flat metal nameplate riveted on it, a crate for transportation, etc. He let my husband know that Clyde had been bitten on his neck by another dog at one point and received antibiotics as a result to ward off any infection. The kennel girl said Clyde started a strange behavior while there. He ate most of his dinner and then turned around and pottied in his dinner bowl. Hmmm. A reflection on the meal, perhaps? I'm glad to say he hasn't repeated that behavior here.

First time meeting the baby.

At one point while they were all in the field, one of the hobbled birds became intangled in a bush so my husband went to get it out. He says he bent over while trying to get the bird from underneath the bush and another "crazy" dog ran full force into his back side. Fortunately the dog didn't bite. As he straightened to see what the heck was going on, here came Clyde who took the other dog's back leg into his mouth and lifted it up. He didn't bite, but it was like a bouncer wading in to start pulling fight participants apart. It was like he was saying, Get off my dad!

My husband and Clyde got home just a few minutes before Gus and I got home from our visit at the convalescent hospital. We weren't sure how things would go between the dogs since he'd been gone for four months so we let Clyde out alone in the back yard to begin with. I went to say hello and he was very happy. He didn't forget me after all and that made me happy. Then we let Gus out and they seemed happy to see each other. The big test was Mr. Macho Chester, but that went well too. Later on even the cat acted as if Clyde had never been away and rubbed up against him when she came in.

It's like he never left. Clyde just made himself at home.

Clyde seemed fine when he came home with one major exception. His feet were hugely swollen. I gave him a bath and before that I cleaned his ears. They were quite dirty and very red looking. By this morning his feet were still extremely puffy so I called the vet and we were able to get in early. It looks like he has a major raging all-over yeast infection. He got a cortisone shot for immediate relief and two types of pills to take twice a day, as well as a special shampoo for twice a week bathing. I hope it's just a result of an allergic reaction to whatever they used to clean the kennels and not a food allergy, which we had been kind of dealing with before he left. I don't think it's the food thing because that had almost been taken care of. And he ate well last night without throwing up, one of the symptoms of the food allergy.

Clyde's swollen feet.

I wasn't able to finish this post yesterday. I'm happy to report that today Clyde's feet look much better already.

Much better today.

Clyde seems happy to be home and I know we are glad he's back, too.

Clyde Goes To Training

Saturday we brought Clyde to the hunting trainer. I was excited because this is the first hunting dog we've owned that's going to be professionally trained. I can't wait to see what he'll be able to do once he gets in the field.

The one thing I did not anticipate was how hard it was going to be to actually leave him there. I felt like a mom leaving her kid at school for the first day of Kindergarten. I felt kind of guilty. But it's all for his betterment.

Saying goodbye to Clyde.

As we were leaving another new dog came in and was put on the line next to Clyde. He was a young Labrador Retriever. Maybe he and Clyde will be kennel mates.

When we got home I'm sure the other two dogs were curious as to where Clyde was. Funny thing was, though, they didn't seem too upset. Or maybe that's not so unusual. Chester, the oldest, seemed quite happy that he's back in the top dog position and he doesn't have to worry about the youngster challenging his authority. And Gus, even though he's quite the lover, not the fighter, seemed relieved to have a little peace and quiet for a change. There's no Clyde to constantly nip at his legs, tail, or face in an effort to entice him to some rough housing.

Sheldon, the trainer, encouraged us to visit whenever we want. He even said I could take as many photos as I wanted. We'll be sure to take him up on that, even though it's a 3 1/2 hour one way drive.

Meanwhile, I bet Clyde is going to be an outstanding student.