Late autumn has given us more decent weather than we had all summer. Another sunny day supported Airedale games and Ken's leaf raking. Lee was held captive inside, cleaning in preparation for the trip tomorrow, making pot roast to take to Shelagh (at Shelagh's request) and continuing to sort through the emails backed up and waiting for attention. The phone was busy with dogs coming and going so we weren't worrying about what to do next!
Annie waved good bye this morning as she had a bath and hopped in her crate to fly to Ottawa. Air Canada was wonderful and all is well now that Annie has joined Higgins and Allan in the Capitol. Allan is thrilled to have her home. It will be a busy week end in the kennel. Bear the 1o year old Wheaten arrived to join the geriatric wing with Wille (aged 16 on Saturday), Savannah (aged 10) and Kirby (14), joining Danu and Nemo who are already in residence. The old boarders are great to work with, appreciating everything you do for them. They also enjoy going out together to share stories and wander around the big yards in the company of other dogs that don't jump on them, pull at their hair or look them in the eye. All are doing well - we are cooking for Willie who prefers freshly cooked hamburger from the meat market across the road. To this point, the rest are happy with their dog food and treats on top.
The housedogs are going strong. Little Viola is a sweet little Welsh puppy and delights in spending hours on the deck with the Norwich and her still-doting mother Paula. Piper is at the pregnancy stage that she can't possible eat all of her food but can eat milkbones, treats, table food and lick the pattern off of the dishes. The pre-wash cycle on the dishwasher is no longer necessary. Since treats are Piper bound, Clementine had to have a dish of vanilla ice cream last night. Her world righted itself at about that point in the evening.
We will pack and be on the road tomorrow with a planned stop to see Shelagh and deliver her dinner. It will be a busy four days away with shows and company filling the house on the Island. Meals are communal affairs and laughter easily fills that house so we will return Monday tired and with stories to share. It will be the first road trip for Georgie and Clint. Time will tell how that works . . .
Regalridge Kennel
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Tuesday was an adventure. Elmsdale is a small community of about 5000 people in the East Hants corridor. There was a decision taken by the department of health to begin H1N1 vaccination clinics here - a test area, perhaps, the vaccine immediately available fit our demographic, maybe, or we were simply ready because of our organized public health staff. At any rate, the brilliant (and new) minister of Health decided to tell the public on CBC radio that if they wanted to get vaccinated before there was a clinic in their area, that they should go to Elmsdale. Chantelle works in the Resource Center - did I mention that we have no public health facility designated solely for health care so Public Helath is housed in our Municipal Resource Center? It looked like the line up for a U2 concert. People were lined around our lovely building before 8:00 am, children in tow, and more were steadily arriving. Hundreds were there by mid-morning so Chantelle's amusement through the day was watching the line slowly wind its' way through the area. What a mess.
The dogs were happy with the good weather and spent the day in the sunshine. Piper continues to broaden and thicken. She is eating everything in sight - I worry about closing my eyes at night! Another week will see her hardly able to move, I suspect. At bedtime she and Patti came up stairs together. Patti found her way into our bedroom on her way to Chantelle's so was given one of Piper's bedtime treats. She had it for at least 1/8 of a second before Piper ignominiously hauled it out of her mouth - she isn't strong on sharing at this point. Ken worked on the show puppies in preparation for the week end and Chantelle continued that process through the evening, including Jessie Rachel in the equation.
Old Wille arrived for a couple of weeks stay. He will celebrate his 16 birthday with us this week end. John will have to make the cake! Kirby is still with us as well in the geriatric ward. More are coming for the week end and Savannah is arriving for an extended period. The kennel will be a busy spot this week.
Lee had a day in the office working with backed up email responses and vet offices on CKC business. We are facing a busy few weeks as meetings are set up to discuss with vets their concerns and relationship with CKC and purebred dogs. Then it was on to the city for a meeting with our vet followed by two HKC meetings. It was a long day.
The dogs were happy with the good weather and spent the day in the sunshine. Piper continues to broaden and thicken. She is eating everything in sight - I worry about closing my eyes at night! Another week will see her hardly able to move, I suspect. At bedtime she and Patti came up stairs together. Patti found her way into our bedroom on her way to Chantelle's so was given one of Piper's bedtime treats. She had it for at least 1/8 of a second before Piper ignominiously hauled it out of her mouth - she isn't strong on sharing at this point. Ken worked on the show puppies in preparation for the week end and Chantelle continued that process through the evening, including Jessie Rachel in the equation.
Old Wille arrived for a couple of weeks stay. He will celebrate his 16 birthday with us this week end. John will have to make the cake! Kirby is still with us as well in the geriatric ward. More are coming for the week end and Savannah is arriving for an extended period. The kennel will be a busy spot this week.
Lee had a day in the office working with backed up email responses and vet offices on CKC business. We are facing a busy few weeks as meetings are set up to discuss with vets their concerns and relationship with CKC and purebred dogs. Then it was on to the city for a meeting with our vet followed by two HKC meetings. It was a long day.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
It was a pleasant day with winds and sun, cool and clear. Everyone enjoys this weather - dogs and people alike. The housedogs had lots to supervise. Ken and John are working on the shingle project so the white hats are out for Sophie, Patti, Charlotte, Billy, Atlas and Dolly. Hope John appreciates attention. Tom was off so Ken was in charge of everything.
The kennel was quiet and busy with the dogs moving in and out of the exercise yards in the good weather. Kirby soldiers on and Annie is finally packing her bags, getting ready to fly to Ottawa to her new home and her great owner this week. Danu, Grendel and the Cairns are going strong - we think they have a plan but we aren't quite certain what it is.
Lee had a day in the city with errands completed and traffic that would make NYC look like a village. What a mess. Every street in Halifax is being worked on. Cheryl Tissington's street is completely closed (apparently there was a very messy water main break), and the rest of the streets downtown have red cones that seem to be a movable feast. There is no parking and there is some character on every street corner playing something - yesterday in a short walk there was a woman playing hymns on a trumpet (think about that) and a guy playing scales on a tenor sax on the next one. Cities are noisy places and getting out of them near impossible! There was traffic stopped in all directions and backed up on every route off of the peninsula. A helicopter was the only hope and ours was down for repair. That meant a late supper and John rose to the occasion with lovely hot sandwiches.
And we get ready for a day of organization in preparation for the trip to PEI.
The kennel was quiet and busy with the dogs moving in and out of the exercise yards in the good weather. Kirby soldiers on and Annie is finally packing her bags, getting ready to fly to Ottawa to her new home and her great owner this week. Danu, Grendel and the Cairns are going strong - we think they have a plan but we aren't quite certain what it is.
Lee had a day in the city with errands completed and traffic that would make NYC look like a village. What a mess. Every street in Halifax is being worked on. Cheryl Tissington's street is completely closed (apparently there was a very messy water main break), and the rest of the streets downtown have red cones that seem to be a movable feast. There is no parking and there is some character on every street corner playing something - yesterday in a short walk there was a woman playing hymns on a trumpet (think about that) and a guy playing scales on a tenor sax on the next one. Cities are noisy places and getting out of them near impossible! There was traffic stopped in all directions and backed up on every route off of the peninsula. A helicopter was the only hope and ours was down for repair. That meant a late supper and John rose to the occasion with lovely hot sandwiches.
And we get ready for a day of organization in preparation for the trip to PEI.
Monday, October 26, 2009
And the rains came
It was a wet and windy end of October day. The dogs were not amused but the saving grace was that it was warm. By afternoon when the monsoon ended, there was steam rising from the ground in the heat and a raft of muddy dogs at Regalridge. Charlotte, our top mudder, thought it was just great.
Projects were moved inside in the morning and Ken concentrated on the air cleaners - gotta keep moving is our Ken's premise. By afternoon he had moved outside and worked in the garage, looking longingly at his garden that was up to its' bulbs in mud. Courtesy of John and Cathy's bringing in the crops while we were in the south, Lee finished a batch of tomato chow. That will be well received through the winter. Chantelle was busy pulling hair - both clients and show dogs hit the grooming tables during the all day marathon. Dinner of Caesar salad, spaghetti and garlic bread and a lime-coconut pudding rounded out the day.
As usual, the boarding is quiet in late October. Kirby, the two Airedales and the two Cairns have full reign and are enjoying the freedom. Piper is well and truly pregnant and is getting broader and hungrier by the second. It will be interesting to see how well our coddled Piper manages the last weeks of her pregnancy and the whelping. At the moment, her total focus is on food - her food, the other dogs' food, our food . . .
Projects were moved inside in the morning and Ken concentrated on the air cleaners - gotta keep moving is our Ken's premise. By afternoon he had moved outside and worked in the garage, looking longingly at his garden that was up to its' bulbs in mud. Courtesy of John and Cathy's bringing in the crops while we were in the south, Lee finished a batch of tomato chow. That will be well received through the winter. Chantelle was busy pulling hair - both clients and show dogs hit the grooming tables during the all day marathon. Dinner of Caesar salad, spaghetti and garlic bread and a lime-coconut pudding rounded out the day.
As usual, the boarding is quiet in late October. Kirby, the two Airedales and the two Cairns have full reign and are enjoying the freedom. Piper is well and truly pregnant and is getting broader and hungrier by the second. It will be interesting to see how well our coddled Piper manages the last weeks of her pregnancy and the whelping. At the moment, her total focus is on food - her food, the other dogs' food, our food . . .
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Back In Harness
It doesn't take a long while to get back in harness after being away. It was a grooming day with clients for Chantelle followed by an excursion with Lee to Tatamagouche. Ken and his 'crew' worked on and in the garage where a shingling project had been started by Bob early in October. That will be the project for the next few weeks.
The trip to Tatamagouche was a bit later in the day than usual and Shelagh was 'caught' playing bingo with a vengeance. The nurse offered to interrupt her to let her know that she had visitors but we all decided that would be a mistake given the level of concentration we watched through the window. Shelagh won the game and came back to the room triumphant! She is working hard on her speech, searching her mind to find the words that she wants to use. Many of her usual expressions are returning, with sentences prefaced by 'in fact' and 'perhaps', a testament to the return of more and more of her language skills. Multi-syllable words are much more in evidence as well. Not only was Shelagh aware of when we were to return, she was downright annoyed that we had said we were going to be away for three weeks and that it had been more than 21 days because three weeks is 21 days! There was a list of items on her mind. The days are colder and winter clothes needed to be added so the summer things were put away and winter magically appeared. More will need to be added since much of what Shelagh had was not carried out of her house. She also wanted a book on tape removed. Apparently the support staff tries to help by putting them on her CD player but the same disc was being played by each shift. That did not amuse Shelagh and she just wanted it gone. Her high point of our three week hiatus was the visit by Cheryl Tissington. Shelagh noted that she didn't know Cheryl in her new slim build and thought she was quieter than usual. However, she was thrilled with the chicken pot pies with almonds that Cheryl produced and asked me to bring more of those as soon as possible - thanks Cheryl!
The dogs are doing well and had a wonderful day in the sun. All are glad to have all of their people back and are moving into their late fall routines. Naomi and Moses departed among waves from their Airedale friends and Kirby is holding the fort - along with Danu, Grendel and the two Cairns. Patti and Sophie are running the house and yards - John and Cathy have kept Sophie in good form after the turn over by Luella who had Sophie eating for a week straight and feeling like a million dollars.
There was a pantry-full of produce from Ken's garden to deal with so tomato chow was begun today. Ripe tomatoes became tomato gratin to accompany the brined pork tenderloin and Ken's potatoes. That at least allowed a path to be carved through that important room.
And we batten teh hatches for the rains to come.
The trip to Tatamagouche was a bit later in the day than usual and Shelagh was 'caught' playing bingo with a vengeance. The nurse offered to interrupt her to let her know that she had visitors but we all decided that would be a mistake given the level of concentration we watched through the window. Shelagh won the game and came back to the room triumphant! She is working hard on her speech, searching her mind to find the words that she wants to use. Many of her usual expressions are returning, with sentences prefaced by 'in fact' and 'perhaps', a testament to the return of more and more of her language skills. Multi-syllable words are much more in evidence as well. Not only was Shelagh aware of when we were to return, she was downright annoyed that we had said we were going to be away for three weeks and that it had been more than 21 days because three weeks is 21 days! There was a list of items on her mind. The days are colder and winter clothes needed to be added so the summer things were put away and winter magically appeared. More will need to be added since much of what Shelagh had was not carried out of her house. She also wanted a book on tape removed. Apparently the support staff tries to help by putting them on her CD player but the same disc was being played by each shift. That did not amuse Shelagh and she just wanted it gone. Her high point of our three week hiatus was the visit by Cheryl Tissington. Shelagh noted that she didn't know Cheryl in her new slim build and thought she was quieter than usual. However, she was thrilled with the chicken pot pies with almonds that Cheryl produced and asked me to bring more of those as soon as possible - thanks Cheryl!
The dogs are doing well and had a wonderful day in the sun. All are glad to have all of their people back and are moving into their late fall routines. Naomi and Moses departed among waves from their Airedale friends and Kirby is holding the fort - along with Danu, Grendel and the two Cairns. Patti and Sophie are running the house and yards - John and Cathy have kept Sophie in good form after the turn over by Luella who had Sophie eating for a week straight and feeling like a million dollars.
There was a pantry-full of produce from Ken's garden to deal with so tomato chow was begun today. Ripe tomatoes became tomato gratin to accompany the brined pork tenderloin and Ken's potatoes. That at least allowed a path to be carved through that important room.
And we batten teh hatches for the rains to come.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
I'm pretty sure we're home
It is almost a month since the computer was turned to this page. Regalridge clicked along as several of us headed South. First stop was Pennsylvania for a great visit with Jo and Mary. State College is a beautiful area, in the mountains of Western Pennsylvania and home of Penn State University. A new farm has been the biggest news, even outstripping the antics of Haydn Airedale puppy. It is a fabulous property, its' acres of well tended land occupied by a lovely farmhouse (quite similar to Regalridge but half a century younger), a pond with gazebo, barns, a plethora of chicken houses and its' crowning glory according to Ken - a tractor! We spent less time there than we would have wished and drank the best coffee in the world in Jo's kitchen. Lee covets that coffee maker. Jo taught us a great deal about breakfast and we took away with us the understanding that anything in the fridge is not only acceptable but can be downright encouraged as long as it is eaten at the dining room table!
Then it was on to Philadelphia to join Chantelle and Margot for the Montgomery Kennel club shows. As always there were great dogs, reunions with friends that we see only once a year and lots of laughter. Fraser's brother Lucas did well, winning the breed every day, the group and Best in Show at others. A Nick daughter also did well, winning the highly competitive bred by class at least one day on the week end - she is lovely. The Welsh ring was a delight - always fun to watch and on Montgomery day a lovely young Canadian dog won the breed under a breeder judge in excellent competition. The Norwich were plentiful and impressive. We watched them at Devon on Saturday and enjoyed every exhibit. What a difference from 20 years ago when the entire entry would have fit into one class this year. The Best In Show ring was stunning with many outstanding dogs. Every terrier fancier deserves to experience that ring at least once to see the best terriers from all over the world, in impeccable coat and with the top handlers giving it their all at a well run show and this year, in perfect weather.
From Pennsylvania, Chantelle returned home with Margot while Lee and Ken turned further south to Virginia (eventually since Ken decided to take the scenic route through West Virginia then Charlottesville) and Richmond. There we stayed with our great friend Linda and her two Welsh - Maggie and Remus. Maggie is Ellie's daughter and Amy's granddaughter, very much a product of that line. She enjoyed the visit, loves company and is thriving. Remus was a super host and he and Billy played hard. Both are intact males and the camaraderie that developed between the Welsh and the Airedale was something a legend is made of. It was a great visit with trips to the Jefferson Hotel (a must see for any visitor to Richmond) and to Fort Monroe for our 'War Between the States' annual historic tour. This was the fort that contained the President of the Confederacy at the end of the war and is a fascinating museum in a beautiful location on Chesapeake Bay. Shopping, of course, was great and the van was heavier coming home than when it headed south.
There was a show while we were away. Anjin was at his second show week end while Bella made her debut. From all reports, both did well. Logan won yet another Best In Show under a terrier breeder judge (these are very special wins under highly knowledgeable specialist judges). We returned to a well-functioning Regalridge and all is well.
The kennel has been ticking along. There are lots of boarders with Danu back in residence (Fraser will be so upset when he hears), Naomi and Moses who waved bye to Lucy and Baron and are awaiting Sue's return. Kirby is also here and continues on in geriatric Welsh fashion. He is a great guy and we all enjoy his determined decision making as it relates to his kennel routine.
There was a call from Willow Lodge on our return - Shelagh asked that we be called because we were due home and she wanted to make sure we were here. Obviously a trip to Tatamagouche is in the offing.
Then it was on to Philadelphia to join Chantelle and Margot for the Montgomery Kennel club shows. As always there were great dogs, reunions with friends that we see only once a year and lots of laughter. Fraser's brother Lucas did well, winning the breed every day, the group and Best in Show at others. A Nick daughter also did well, winning the highly competitive bred by class at least one day on the week end - she is lovely. The Welsh ring was a delight - always fun to watch and on Montgomery day a lovely young Canadian dog won the breed under a breeder judge in excellent competition. The Norwich were plentiful and impressive. We watched them at Devon on Saturday and enjoyed every exhibit. What a difference from 20 years ago when the entire entry would have fit into one class this year. The Best In Show ring was stunning with many outstanding dogs. Every terrier fancier deserves to experience that ring at least once to see the best terriers from all over the world, in impeccable coat and with the top handlers giving it their all at a well run show and this year, in perfect weather.
From Pennsylvania, Chantelle returned home with Margot while Lee and Ken turned further south to Virginia (eventually since Ken decided to take the scenic route through West Virginia then Charlottesville) and Richmond. There we stayed with our great friend Linda and her two Welsh - Maggie and Remus. Maggie is Ellie's daughter and Amy's granddaughter, very much a product of that line. She enjoyed the visit, loves company and is thriving. Remus was a super host and he and Billy played hard. Both are intact males and the camaraderie that developed between the Welsh and the Airedale was something a legend is made of. It was a great visit with trips to the Jefferson Hotel (a must see for any visitor to Richmond) and to Fort Monroe for our 'War Between the States' annual historic tour. This was the fort that contained the President of the Confederacy at the end of the war and is a fascinating museum in a beautiful location on Chesapeake Bay. Shopping, of course, was great and the van was heavier coming home than when it headed south.
There was a show while we were away. Anjin was at his second show week end while Bella made her debut. From all reports, both did well. Logan won yet another Best In Show under a terrier breeder judge (these are very special wins under highly knowledgeable specialist judges). We returned to a well-functioning Regalridge and all is well.
The kennel has been ticking along. There are lots of boarders with Danu back in residence (Fraser will be so upset when he hears), Naomi and Moses who waved bye to Lucy and Baron and are awaiting Sue's return. Kirby is also here and continues on in geriatric Welsh fashion. He is a great guy and we all enjoy his determined decision making as it relates to his kennel routine.
There was a call from Willow Lodge on our return - Shelagh asked that we be called because we were due home and she wanted to make sure we were here. Obviously a trip to Tatamagouche is in the offing.
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