Wags

January 3rd, 2012

 

There is something about writing the year “2012” that I seem to really like. Not sure why. It just writes and types nice?

 

So, anyway…..

 

January 3rd, 2012 started out at a very chilly something below 0°F. Not sure what it actually was with the wind-chill factored in. My thermometers don’t have that advanced capabilities… I stayed up most of the night working so had a late start this AM and even though I had the alarm set for 6:00, I didn’t hear it. Do you know that some of my poor children actually have inherited that awful thing? Really, they sleep right through their alarms, too! Can you believe that is inheritable? There is no known cure, either (believe me, I’ve tried). It makes you wonder, doesn’t it? I mean we as humans should seriously consider going through the same processes as a dog breeder and think about what positive and negative attributes our children may inherit. I feel badly for my children many times when I realize some of the negatives they have inherited from me! I can remember a place I lived and was working two jobs and the neighbors would call me on the telephone (because that would wake me up) to tell me my alarm was ringing! They could here it, but I couldn’t (obviously) and it was next to my head. Nuts! Strange, eh? Well, so, anyway, I did not get up at 6:00. It was more like 7:30 and it was cold and crisp and crunchy and the snow was squeaking under my boots and my nostrils were sticking together so I couldn’t breathe. Scarf around the face helped restore breathing. That brings back memories of walking to the school bus when I was a kid with my brother and sister…. our nostrils would stick together and we would choke and make faces with our nostrils stuck and laugh and laugh and laugh until we peed. Funny, the things that trigger memories…

A beautiful morning with blue skies, though:

 

My Llews and I had a fun time (their nostrils don’t seem to stick together, though), doing our usual kennel chores, running (them, not me) around the place, and scooping poop (me, not them–It’s not difficult to figure out who is smarter, here). I really don’t mind scooping the frozen stuff. 🙂

 

 

Here is my darling Nash. She is such a sweetheart (and expecting puppies in a little over 5 weeks).  She is a bit sad because there are no pheasants at the feeding stations this morning. Did I tell you about the wild pheasants here? I don’t talk much about them. I have never been a big fan of the “ditch chicken,” but they have at least been something to watch, besides Blue Jays, eating the corn I have been putting out for the wild things. I bought the 100 lb sacks for weight in the truck, then had to take them out and couldn’t get them back into the back of the truck! (call me a weakling, I know.) So, the critters get to eat the corn and I have fun checking tracks if there is snow! I probably would never have bought it otherwise and now I have started something.

 Here is a picture of a few of the long-tails from last week. I’ve seen a few hens, too.

And, here is the lovely Addison (just bred to Steele, by the way! Yahoo! Fantastic repeat breeding), making her rounds checking out the brush piles and hedge row. She is having fun. She makes her own fun and her tail is always wagging (except on point, of course). See, what I mean, though? We could just make life fun by wagging our tails and everyone not wagging would have to wag (like smiling makes someone else smile).

 

 Addie is so pretty and so bird crazy–just like her sire, Brier and her dam, Shay. Yes, if you notice, she has a collar on. Why you ask? Well, first, because she wants to hunt and I haven’t taken her lately, and second, because she is in heat and I don’t want to take any chances that she might take to going off with the local ‘yotes for a frolic in the woods! There is something about Addie in heat that seems to be luring the coyotes in very close the past few nights! It just must be the cold northern wind carrying the scent of love! 🙂 Steele, Luke, and Ike will protect her from the ‘yotes, though. You now, maybe that’s why she is wagging her tail today… ha ha..

And now… finally….

the puppies have been named…

Or, at least I think I have named them.

I have struggled so much with picking the names this time!

Tell me if you like them or not.

So, without further ado… introducing the first litter born at the Upper Peninsula kennels and named, of course, after towns and villages here!

This is the first-born, a female. She is a tri-color and named after the town of Crystal Falls, where some very dear friends live.

This is “Soo.” A black/white female named for the “Soo” locks (Sault Locks) and the two cities named Sault Ste. Marie (shortened and pronounced Soo).

This is Gwinn, a black/white female and named for a little town in Marquette County.

Isabella is a tri-color female and is named for a tiny little “village” that I was going through one day when a Ruffed Grouse flew across the highway and almost hit my truck! I couldn’t wait to use the name. I think, of course, she will be called Izzy, for short. 🙂

This is Copper. He is named for Copper Harbor, in the Keweenaw Peninsula and of course refers to its former use as a port for shipping copper mined here. I want to live in the Keweenaw… up there surrounded by the waters of Superior.

Mohawk, a male tri-color, is named after another small town in the Keweenaw Peninsula. I fell in love with a place I wanted there (but couldn’t afford, of course) and loved the name! Maybe I’ll move there someday. 🙂

Mack, a male tri-color, is named for the Mackinac or Mackinaw Bridge (fondly referred to as the “Big Mac”, which is the third longest suspension bridge in the world, is 5 miles long, and spans the Straits of Mackinac to connect the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan.

 

This is Drum, a male orange/white, named for Drummond Island in the far eastern end of the Upper Peninsula and has always been a favorite hunting destination and a sportsman’s paradise. 🙂

 

Sorry about the horrible photos! I am sending the good camera to get checked and cleaned. I cannot get it to focus. I am so bummed about that as I love that camera. I am making do with another one. It’s okay and it takes decent pictures, but not like the “good” camera. It’s much too slow on the action shots, too. And, as you can see above, not so great in the house. The cell phone really seems to be taking the best photos at the moment, although not action shots. I’ll post more, soon.

 

That’s all for now. Until next time, wag your tail–like a whole body wag–and when it’s cold enough for your nostrils to stick together, laugh hysterically… or at least smile! 🙂

 

And, of course, hug your Llew tonight!

 

-ML

 

P.S. Boone, Ranger, Levi, Jess, Brier, Maddie, Jenna, Shay, and Maisy: I miss you all terribly!!!  🙁  Tell your dad to bring you here right now–I can’t stand it one more minute!