Mandy and Mimi's visit to Nana Camp.....

Mandy, the sable Japanese Chin, aka the clown

Mimi, the tri-colored Papillon
Mimi, not sure about boating, hiding behind Mandy
Pet Smart is always a fun trip for the pups. LaLa, Chili, Mimi, Mandy & Icee
Mandy trying to beat LaLa to the ball.

Most times LaLa got to the ball first. She's always up for a game of ball chase.

Mandy, a Japanese Chin, and Mimi, a Papillon, stayed with us this week while their owners went on vacation. Mandy is a clown who loves to talk to you. She will throw her head back, make her mouth into a little O and Roo Roo Roo at you as if she's really got something important to tell you. All I can do is laugh and say "What Lassie, is Timmy in the well?" Mimi loves to run around the yard chasing Mandy and the squirrels. They are a hoot. Sweet dogs and a pleasure to have around. I took Mandy, Mimi and Icee fishing on the Minnow today. At first Mimi didn't want to go and kept pacing along the dock waiting for us to return. I finally convinced her to come with us. She wasn't happy to be out on the water and clung to the seat while keeping an eye on the shore. Mandy on the other hand was happy for the outing and enjoyed cruising along at a whopping 2 mph. They had fun chasing a ball in the yard even though LaLa was possessive of HER ball. They also enjoyed a trip to Pet Smart. Got the whole gang in a shopping cart. Now that was an adventure. And that was Mandy and Mimi's week at, what my daughter calls, "Nana Camp".

Visitor from Tennessee.....

Haley and Kierstin, at 12, are almost as tall as their Aunt Kathy.

Roxy, wasn't so sure about swimming. She much preferred wading in the shallows or riding with Haley on the "Minnow", our mini-pontoon boat.

This is the best Roxie could do. She's an American Eskimo, snow dog, not a water dog. We were surprised to see her go into the water this far on her own.

My sister's Rottweiler, Chelsea, had a great time swimming in the lake (look at her smile) this week during Kathy's visit from TN. I did carry Roxie out for a swim and she was totally insulted at getting so wet. Kathy spent some time with us at the barn giving Haley and Sherry lessons on Canyon. She gave us lots to think about. She even trimmed his hooves for us. Can't believe how tall Kierstin and Haley are getting. Kathy also got to visit some of her horsey friends who were very happy to see her.

It's a Race......

Icee, our little water dog. She's the best swimmer of all three Papillons.Stop splashing Reno!! You're cheating. And the winner is.....Icee!!!!!

Icee went for a swim in the lake with Reno today and they had a race to the dock steps. Reno had the early lead, then cheated when Icee was passing him, by splashing her in the face. Icee won the race to the dock steps though it was quite an effort for her to drag herself with all that wet hair up the steps.

Haley and Canyon

Added note: It's hard to believe that this wonderful horse died on August 12th. He will be missed by all that knew him.

Haley has been having a great time riding Canyon. Cantering was a big hurtle for her, but now she loves it. She needs to concentrate on her leg position, heals down, etc., which is hard, but she's improving with each ride. We're hoping to have a professional instructor come out for a few lessons to help her along. She is really trying and is a good student. Canyon is also a very forgiving horse and will keep working with Haley until she gets it right. He even hopped over a caveletti which Haley was very excited about.

Kierstin is another story. She just isn't into the horse thing. Walking Canyon is as fast as she wants to go. I think she could be a good rider if she would just put forth the time and effort. The interest is just not there and we're not going to force it on her.

Soft Shell Turtles.....

A pair of Soft Shell turtles have been coming in around the dock when we are feeding the fish. Today they were checking out Reno while he was swimming after the minnows. At first I was worried that they might attack him, but, of course, he was too big. They were just interested in his splashing around. After a couple of looks they just ignored him. I'm wondering if this is a mating pair. They always seem to be together.

Reno spent the week with us while Sherry, Keith, Kierstin and Haley were on vacation. He was a busy, busy boy, constantly begging me to take him down to the lake where he would swim for hours. He especially enjoys retrieving toys for me. You should see the gaskin muscles on that dogs hind legs. Looks like a Quarter Horse from the rear. No fat on that little fella. I also took care of Kierstin's two pet rats. They were easy. They slept during the day and played in their cage all night. Wish I had gotten some pictures of them, cause they are actually cute for rats.

Happy 4th of July!!!!!

We decided to stay home and avoid the crowds this July 4th and I'm kind of glad we did because we had a beautiful fireworks display just across the lake from our home. I tried to get pictures, but the pictures just didn't do them justice. Of course, it would have helped if I knew how to operate my new camera. I've got to sign up for the How to Use Your New Camera class soon. The pups were sure glad that we were home. Chili ran to her crate and LaLa jumped in my arms. Icee sat on the back of the couch watching the fireworks from her "safe" spot. Our neighbors must have spent a ton of money on their fireworks because they were as good as the ones the city puts on. Last year we went out on the Rivership Romance to enjoy the fireworks. That was nice, but expensive.

Plumbing problems....

John decided to buy a hose reel to attach to the deck to make it easier for me to water plants in that area of the yard. Of course that means he had to run water pipes to it which meant digging a ditch for the PVC pipes. Wouldn't you just know that he'd run into a root which he had to cut through, and who would know that under the root were more PVC pipes for the lawn irrigation system. Oops...... Now the poor guy is spending his evening trying to fix the pipes with the sun setting and the mosquitoes moving in. Of course, all this would happen just before he's supposed to go into the hospital for foot surgery tomorrow morning. Talk about putting pressure on a guy. All because he was trying to do a nice thing for me. Guess I'll take him a nice cold beer.

Oh, just found out that the bottom PVC held the electrical line going to the deck. Of course when he cut through that PVC pipe he fried his PVC cutter as sparks flew. Good thing that Lowe's Hardware store is just a mile from the house. They love us there. This calls for another beer.

New Fish Tank....

The volcano is really cool and the cichlid likes resting in the cave.We named the cichlid Tigger...

Goldie likes the new tank a lot better than his bowl.Yesterday, John and I purchased a 75 gallon aquarium from an ad on Craig's List. The owner sold the aquarium complete with tank, nice cabinet stand, Rena filter, gravel, decorations and even a Cichlid fish of some sort. We went to Petco and purchased a variety of small fish, tetras, mollies, catfish, etc. I even put our only Fantail Gold Fish in with the group. We really like the bubbling volcano. There are some pebbles scattered around that glow in the dark which is kinda cool. We put it in the living room where I could just sit and watch the fish for hours. I especially like the little Neon Tetras. I'm heading back to Petsmart tomorrow to get a few more.

Fun at the lake....

Reno loves jumping into the water from the back of "The Minnow"He would swim to Haley to be held until he was off again...
Haley loves tubing!!!!!

Haley and Reno spent the day at the lake today. John pulled Haley behind the boat on a tube. She had a great time and was able to catch some "air" going over the wake. Reno didn't want to stay on the tube for a ride so he swam back to the Minnow for some fun jumping into the water. He's such a silly dog. He will play and swim in the water for hours if we let him.

African Iris in bloom....

I was surprised today to see my purple African Iris just bursting with blooms. This bloom stalk was hidden behind a palm leaf and I hadn't even seen the buds so what a surprise to see all those blooms peaking out. I also just love the purple color along with the tiger stripes and leopard spots. The blooms only last a day so at least I can save them via my digital camera.

Happy Anniversary to us....

Today is our 29th wedding anniversary. John surprised me with this beautiful yellow rose and peacock feather arraignment. Very unusual. He's so sweet, I think I'll keep him. He took the day off work so we could go on a road trip to Webster. We enjoyed a pretty drive through some rolling hills, in Florida no less. We took the pups with us to the Webster flea market where they made lots of new friends. We enjoyed some of Webster's great food for lunch. Then we went out to dinner at Kobe Steakhouse with some good friends. A good time was had by all. We were also celebrating our friend, Teresa's birthday.

Summer Bird wins the Belmont Stakes

Summer Bird, ridden by Kent Desormeaux, won the 1.5 mile, Belmont Stakes. Summer Bird is a half brother to Mine That Bird. I was hoping Mine That Bird with Calvin Borel up would win, but they came in a close third, right behind Dunkirk. Oh well, that's horse racing. If you want to see a phenomenal Belmont Stakes race go to U-Tube and type in Secretariat and watch his Belmont run. What a race! That is one I will never forget. Gives me chills just to watch him run. I wonder if there will ever be another Secretariat. Don't think so. He set track records in each of his Triple Crown races.

What a power house Secretariat was. Truly one of a kind.

Gotcha....

This little Field Mouse has been causing havoc with John's barbecue grill. She has been making a nest in the covered grill along with chewing up the starter button and generally making a mess. We finally trapped her and took her for a ride to another location in a nice wooded area. I think Icee would have helped us get rid of her.

Turtle visitors....

Today we had two turtles cruise through the yard. It appears that the turtles are laying eggs in the woods or in our yards then heading back to the lake. Icee, LaLa and Chili discovered this turtle having a hard time trying to get around our fenced yard today. John eventually put her in the woods only to return to the yard to find another turtle also looking for a way out. He put this one in the woods too in case they were a pair. We believe that they are Yellow Bellied Sliders, but we could be wrong. If you can identify them let me know. John's brother, Tom, calls them Cooters. Later on I found another turtle in the yard making it three turtles passing through. I put this one on the other side of the fence and it took off for the lake. When it got close to the water it actually ran. I didn't know turtles could move that fast.