Ramblings

I’ve had the worst writer’s block lately even with a gazillion things going on around here as inspiration! I sit and stare at the screen for a couple of minutes with my brain whirling in thought and decide not to write! Believe me, I could write about these Llews and life with puppies all day long, but feel sometimes I talk too much just about the puppies (although who can talk too much about puppies?!) Perhaps it’s just “too” much going on… and all heck is going to break here in another month with more puppies on the way, training season really kicking in, work exploding more than ever, on and on. I’m sure everyone’s life is the same.  Someday I will simplify, but it doesn’t look like it will be anytime soon.

 

Santana x Steele’s puppies are doing fantastic and I have to get down to brass-tacks and get some good photos and hopefully videos over the next week. It’s hard to believe that the “picking” will begin in just a little over 2 weeks! The past week has been but a blink and the changes in their looks and behavior is exceptional.  It is always amazing how fast puppies grow and change in such a short time. I know, I sound like a broken record saying that about every litter. But, I was posting a few photos taken yesterday and today and could not believe the difference in the photos of the pups a week ago having their first taste of puppy mash compared to today’s photos!

 

Poor Santana… She seems a bit miserable at the moment. It happens to all the gals about this time with those razor-sharp puppy teeth gnawing at them all the time. She is eating fantastically and nursing a lot, even with the additional feedings of mash being offered.  She enjoyed quite a bit of outside time today and made the most breath-taking points while the pigeons were out. She is beautiful!

 

The pups have spent the last few days completely out of the whelping box and have quickly taken over the room. The living room/office is now completely a puppy playroom and is pretty-much a constant disaster! 🙂 The puppies love their freedom and love to explore. They enjoy running after anyone that comes into or through the room and have a blast untying shoe strings before you ever notice it happening. They love pant legs, too!

 

Maddie is certainly pregnant with about 3 weeks to go. She is not huge, but is getting larger. She is still very active and today she had a blast around the property while I cleaned out the pigeon coop and the 3 lone (male) pigeons circled the area. Maddie is so incredibly agile and is just crazy for birds. She had a grand time! I want the gals to stay active as possible throughout most of the pregnancy, but start to worry a bit in the last few weeks about the leaping and jumping and the effect on unborn puppies–yikes! I just cannot keep Maddie’s feet on the ground, though. She always seems to be in-flight–and effortlessly so. She is sooo cool and so pretty–she also had just beautiful points on the pigeons today. Love her stylishness and attitude.

Midge (Bird) is more noticeably pregnant than Maddie and  is due a week later. She doesn’t have the long feathers Maddie has, so I just think the differences are easier to notice in Midge. When my Lady-Bird was out today, she just wanted to hang out with me and did not give much attention at all to the pigeons! Poor girl just doesn’t know what on earth is happening to her. Many of the gals are like this during pregnancy.

Nashua is also looking pregnant, due a week after Midge and sticks close by me, although she was very excited to have some birds to entertain her for a while. She had a blast backing Maddie’s points, too.

Yep, I was insane at the thought, I know. Three litters at once!!!! I seriously thought I would be all settled in to a farm in the north woods by the time the litters came. Yes, you would be correct if you said, “but you don’t have a farm in the Northwoods!” I don’t. I am not even close (unless the lottery ticket I never even purchased mysteriously landed in my wallet AND held the winning numbers). I suppose you would be very correct in thinking that I am a smidgen close to insanity, but we won’t talk about that right now. I just can’t “go there” right now. If I give in to such nonsense, it just might come true, right?

 

Okay, so, I probably will not be all settled into my northwoods dream farm and kennel/training/breeding facility by the time the litters start arriving over the next month. So, now what? I do have a back-up plan, not to worry. 🙂 I may be a rebel, but I do still have a bit of sense and Llewellin Setter puppy rearing takes center stage here.

 

Scott was finally able to mow most of the yard today, which is no easy task even when it is dry, but he got it done and actually made it back up the steep hill only getting stuck once at the top and outside the gate. We had to pull it up the rest of the way with the handy-dandy ATV. I spent most of the day super-cleaning kennels. I love using so much straw all winter long, but when spring arrives and the rain comes, my likeness of it turns in the opposite direction! Actually, I am just mad at myself. If I keep up with things properly, this never happens. But, I have had to rely on others lately and just a day or two of rain without proper upkeep makes things a mess! It must have been raining sideways the past few days because I don’t know how else straw gets wet in covered kennels! That, and the fact that temperatures went from the 40s to the 70s, and ugh–straw is not so welcome then! Anyway, it took me all-day-long to get straw out and kennels scrubbed. In the mean time, the dogs had a grand time getting to be out much longer while I worked on each kennel.  It was supposed to rain all day, but didn’t! It was rather warm, muggy, and buggy and they all took a nice dip in the spring-fed water hole.  I should have had the camera outside with me, but feared rain, hosing, mud, etc., would harm it and didn’t take it out with me. But, anyway, all the kennels were nice and clean although I ran out of cleaner and never did get to scrub all the boxes. Which is probably just fine because after the dogs ran and swam and got covered with mud, the boxes would have been wrecked again anyway. I can’t keep them looking clean for long at all. In fact, a brand new box that is less than a week old already looks awful! It is a rainy spring with tons of mud. Nothing stays clean for long. Already, the nice clean kennels look totally gross just an hour after completing the chore–I should have left the straw in the kennels (not just the boxes) so the dogs could dry and clean off in it! I will pick up more straw Monday.  My gosh, you should see the dogs–white dogs are now green and brown dogs after rolling and romping in mud and damp, freshly cut grass! And, the whole house just got mopped and it is 2:00 am. Before 10 am, it will be wrecked again. It’s life with dogs and mud! I need to get over it, right?

 

Okay, well it looks like the writer’s block is over and I’ve rambled on about not much of anything! I do have a few excellent articles in the works that I will finally complete and post soon. For now, I can no longer hold my eyes open and must get some sleep.

 

Talk to you, soon.

 

Happy Easter all.

 

-LML