Puppy pics!

Well I got about 1hr of sunlight this afternoon.  I took the babies and Patsy out for a walk with the camera.  I got some great shots of the two babies!  They are so fun to take pics of, when I posed them, they stayed perfectly still and posed wonderfully!  Very Beli-esc:-))  I haven't had another dog that would take pics like Beli, he loved the camera and liked having pics done of himself.  Funny boy...

Bea on the move, can't get enough of it!

Pretty freckly ears!

How can I resist?

One more for good measure!

The girls watching Patsy up the hill.

Lazy Phebs

Phoebe sez What?

Pretty Phoebe!

Really how can I resist either one?  I could eat them up!

This is the scene in the house though, dogs passed out.

Rainy Day

Well the day didn't look good for a hike but we went anyway.  I left the puppies home, as I planned to go up to the Big Bald.  When I started driving up the road, the Bald was dark cloud covered so I went back to the Nature Trail.  We took the trail to the Appalachian trail entrance, it really was very nice.  Bit hard to get past in some areas but the dogs had a great time running ahead and hunting.

View from the back porch this am

Abby waiting for me to catch up

Crazy Aussie exploring

Leading the way

Did u see the Chippie?

Sally and Patsy waiting on the bridge

4 Hiking Girls

Cool little salamander, thankfully the dogs didn't see him!

Close up of a beautiful large boulder

Pretty native Azalea, just starting to bloom

Patsy sez " Hurry Up"!

The rain caught us for the last 20 min.

We all got drenched, thankfully I had brought some rain gear so the camera didn't get wet.  The dogs are still drying off on the porch, that may take a while!  That was pretty miserable but I'm sure glad we went.  They are calling for heavy rain this pm so that may be the last hike we get this trip!

First NC hike

The dogs and I took a late morning walk, before the rain started.  The light hasn't been great today but I was able to take a few pictures of the girls.  The hike was only 2 miles but the dogs got to stretch their legs and the puppies got to try and keep up.

Pretty Abby

Little Bea

Pretty Evy

Phoebe on the log too.

My pretty puppy girls

Camo Patsy

Little puppy, Big Forest

Camo Weed

Evy and the puplets

Pretty Phoebe

The dogs had a great time, everyone is passed out on the porch now.  Perfect day for a nap I think:-))  Hopefully the weather will clear and we'll be able to take a longer walk up to the Big Bald this afternoon.

R+R=L

I'm not great at math BUT Rest and Recuperation does in fact equal Lazy!

We took a very short walk this afternoon, the babies had a blast and the big dogs were wishing we had been gone longer.  The puppies learned about hills and rocks:-))

Cute little Bea

Phoebe, I'm going to untape those ears today and see what we've got.

I love watching Bea move its like silk.

Phoebe is always coming towards me, she loves her people!

Sally- Chipmunk hunting

The Weed- also on the hunt

Abby begrudgingly came along, she is wearing her cape today

Crazy dogs!

Front garden at the cabin; there are loads of mountain laurels and rhodedendrons  blooming

View from the back porch- ahhh peace.

Finally... rest.

Well I finally got to NC late tonight, we had a rather harrowing ride over though.  We are safe but I apparently don't follow directions well when I'm exhausted.  So we were almost 2 hours behind schedule and pulled in right after dark with hungry, tired and rather loud puppies and tired adults.  I'm looking forward to some veg out time and pics tomorrow.

Dory's travels

Well Miss Dory is finally ready to share her news!  She has relocated to Chicago!  Lucky Dory went to live with Anne, Holmes and Chloe as well as the human family.  You can keep up with Dory and Anne and the rest of the gang at her blog http://urbancardi.wordpress.com/ 
Dory had a big day of travels.  I was so proud of her at the airport; she was a trooper up and down escalators, elevators and stairs, oh my!  She took it like a champ and charmed the socks off of the TSA personel and airline employees.  Anne tells me that she did well with intros to the crew up north and is making herself at home already.  I sure will miss that sweet girl but Anne has the time that Dory needs.   I sure wish them luck in all the upcoming endeavors!

Quote

I came across this quote today while going through photos of Beli.  I also have a similar quote in German on a plaque that I bought while there many years ago, I love it!

He is your friend
your defender, your dog.
You are his life,
his love, his leader
He will be yours
faithful and true
to the last beat
of his heart.
You owe it to him
to be worthy
of such devotion.

-Author unknown-

Getting back to it

Well I am trying with some sucess to join the land of the living again.  My life has been a whirlwind since loosing Beli.  Some days are better than others, but the HUGE outpouring of support I've recieved from both the herding and Cardigan communities has been so uplifting!  Thank you to EVERYONE who sent cards and/or emails; it really means so much to me that we really affected that many lives:-))

So Basil went to his new home over a week ago now.  He seemed to be doing well when I last spoke to Mike.  Here are some pics before he left.  The two girls are doing well and are so much fun; I love these puppies!

Bea and Basil gotta get in one last scrap!

Bea does actually still fit through the fence she just chose the wrong hole:-)

Patsy and Bea

Bea on the move

Phoebe is a water baby, she loves it!  Patsy was trying to kick her out of the tub!

Bubbles is so cute with her babies, she loves playing with them.

Phoebe on the move

Patsy and the boys

Abby and the boys

While I have worked dogs here and there, the girls don't think its enough.  They wouldn't quite walking up and moving sheep on our walk.  Can't blame them!  It's been a while since I worked them hard.  We are going to GA next weekend to work cattle and whatever else we have time for.  Then thankfully we are going on to NC for a  MUCH needed break.  I'm looking forward to hiking with the dogs and having a little fun up there.  Dory has some news as well but I'll wait to make that announcement for another post!  Big change is coming for her!