Gettin' at Gardening!

Spring Fever must be in the Air! We started ( and finished ) a project this weekend that had been on the 'Hunny Do List' for probably 3 years!!!
The Job??
Organizing the raspberry canes!
Doesn't sound like much right??? This was a 2 man - 2 day operation with heavy equipment involved!
Basically the canes were in a big clump in the garden. When we moved here the grass was so overgrown that we didn't even realize there had been a garden and we found the raspberry patch! So for 5 years we have tried to pick the berries in this clump and for about 3 of those years I have want to dig them ALL up and put them into rows!

So finally this weekend - its DONE! I am really pleased! Doesn't look like much but it is 100% better than it was a couple of days ago!
To the right of the canes, is my strawberry patch which should be a bounty crop this year as I did all the transplanting last year!
Call me a hick but there is something just so natural about going out to your own garden for your produce! With all the big hype on for natural and organic...I tell you folks this is the way to go. With a little hard work and some time it is so much cheaper this way!

Under this dirt (I hope) will be my aparagus. We all love this veggie although it is deathly expensive but a treat for us! We transplanted this as well to have all the permanent crops in one area of the garden.

At the far end is rhubarb and over more left are blueberry plants. We hope to add more of those plants too.

This was the perfect time to do it! The canes are just budding and I imagine they will look fabulous once they start to grow their leaves. Even thing else is just starting grow from the winter too.

So I am extremely pleased that the task is finished. With that job off the list there are several more to follow as the list seems to never be clear around here!

I am tired and scratched and sore but its ALL good knowing that it was a team effort that got the job done!

Upcoming Arrivals!!!

Also coming up in 3 short weeks (or less) is the arrivals of a new litter of puppies!
This is a repeat breeding that resulted in Cruiser a little more than 19 months ago!
Cole is dad to be again and Sienna is the proud mama!

"Cole"

"Sienna"

Maybe you don't recall (I do) but about a year ago Sienna suffered an anaphalatic reaction to a bee sting outdoors (we think) so I hope I have given her enough time to recover and be strong for this litter.
Sienna is huge, absolutely huge already! Her wee belly cannot expand anymore!
I hope for a healthy delivery and healthy babies! My hope too is to retain a female for an eventual show baby! Time will tell what mother nature has chosen to give us!
Good luck sweet Sienna! Will keep you posted!

The Goats are arriving!!!

"Peanut"

I vividly recall a year ago how excited we were researching and putting ourselves on a couple of waiting lists, checking websites and selecting kids that would hopefully one day be ours. Well this year we are doing all that in addition to having our very own kids! This past week has been a busy one with several new additions to our little goat family!
Peanut (shown above) was born April 1, a full week sooner than I had calculated. She is tiny but she makes up for it in spunk!

"Chaos"

"Winston"

"

"Romeo"

"Mocha"

"Cleo"

We still have 3 mama's left to kid! We are pretty excited about the wee ones we do have! In turn we are hoping for the addition of a few more new babies this year as well from other farms. These guys are amazingly cool (never thought I would be so excited about goats) and what is even cooler is the way Dave and I are pouring over pictures and talking about who we like and where we'd like to take this venture!
I already have a small waiting list for kids and once all are born we will decide on who we are retaining and who will move on to start someone else's venture!
I love spring with the birth of New Life!!
Will keep you posted on the arrival of the remaining kids!

Cruiser hits the show circuit a Blazin'!!!

2 weeks ago I met my handler Pete at a commuter lot along hwy 400 for him to take my boy Cruiser up to Sudbury for a 6 show series. I would have never dreamed how successful my boy would be!
I honestly had hoped he would pick up some points. There was a total of 4 dogs entered each show and to explain it quickly if Cruiser won best male he would win 1 point, if he then beat the best female he would win another point = 2 points per show (if he did that!)
2 shows per day, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.....
To sum in up quickly Cruiser did win 4 points per day finishing off the weekend as champion with 12 points!
I am amazed and thrilled for my young boy of just 18 months who I was just going to enter here and there until he cleared in the head. I never dreamed he would finish in one weekend! NEVER!!

Cruiser did win a Toy Group 4 as well and I am so proud of this! ANY group placing is terrific! His mom Sienna won a group 4 at the same show 3 years earlier!~
This is the epitome of doing what we do. Love the breed, love the puppies and certainly love when your very own breeding results in such a successful weekend! That is the ultimate satisfaction when 6 judges all agree that your dog is Best of Breed!
I picked Cruiser up late that Sunday evening, I got the greeting of a champion! He was tired but non the worse for wear! I'm sure he did not realize what he had just done!
Pete enjoyed handling him and said he was a 'cool dog to show'.
Cruiser is back in wraps and will stay at home for a while until he clears some. I am told our National Specialty is being held in our town this year so I perhaps will keep the show coat and see how he does there in October!
So SO proud of my boy and his accomplishments!! Way to go buddy!

The Dress!!!

Brittany has found her grad dress!!! We had done some shopping around for one and she kept coming back to this one after trying several dresses on!


It is cute and perky just like her! She feels like a million bucks in it! Can't believe my baby is graduating this year! High School bound for the fall....geeesh!!!

The new 'do'!

Feeling the need for a change I decided last week to chop my hair and give it a boost of colour.

This is a chop for me! I have never had my hair this short in many many MANY years! However wanted to step outside my comfort zone and see if this would be something I would actually like I went for it! Then I got a super colour put on. My only requirements to the hair stylist was, "I didn't want black and I didn't want red"!
She chose this perfect chocolate brown.
I have to say I am loving it!

This is the shot of the back. I wanted one of those styles that tapers longer to the front.


Maybe its a spring thing or something but I am really happy with the cut, the style, the colour! I think now and again its good to change it up a bit and step outside the box of our security blanket! Surprisingly you might find something out that you really like!