Sunny, Soggy Saturday

We saw the sun today for the first time in a fortnight or more. Chilly day, with a bit of breeze, but no new precipitation happened and the sun was shining, so it was good. The ground started out pretty solid and frozen in the morning, but the sun brought out the mud so it was still a messy day. 

I took Maya and Della on a 1.5 mile walk at Pleasant Grove and then took everyone out to the pasture to give all the dogs a chance to get wet and muddy. I worked most of the day and made a futile attempt at house cleaning, even washed dog beds. Cleaning seems rather pointless at this time of year, but we keep going through the motions.

They both alerted to some sound in the bushes off the trail.

Della ran with Lando quite a bit today. She was really wanting to run and Serena wasn't.

Lando is always ready for a good run.

Lando had a good time.

A rare pic of Theo without a ball.

Lando and Serena played tug with one of the balls today until Della broke it up.

I walked around the pasture quite a bit today because it was too cold to stand still.

Theo followed me carrying a ball.

Della's stride gives her an advantage, but Lando's youth and enthusiasm

make up for what he lacks in length of legs.

Not sure what Lando saw here, maybe just some snow. I saw him eating it.

A little Dane play.

Nine year old Theo says "fuck you" to Newsmax and their fucking assholes who had unkind 

and vulgar things to say about Biden's senior shepherd, Champ.

I fucking hate republicans more each day because they continue to give me more and more reasons.

Next to last Friday in February

I wrote a couple of ambling paragraphs but deleted them because they really were pointless. I'll just share some pictures that I haven't posted, including some of the new foster dog I may be getting on Sunday if the transport makes it out of Texas. 

Ice sliding off the roof of the dog yard shed. It was cold enough to hold together but

soft enough to bend into a curve as it slowly slid downward with the pull of gravity.

The Christmas lights are still up because I leave them to help dispel the gloom of the

mud season known as winter in Virginia. I'll take them down by the equinox. 

I never get tired of seeing Della move in and snuggle up with Serena. 

It reminds me so much of her puppies who always slept in a puppy pile.

This one sort of surprised me. Della moved in on Theo who was occupying one of the

big Dane crates. I think this may have had more to do with Della asserting an ownership

claim to the crate rather than wanting to snuggle with Theo. 

This is Everest. She's a young, recent mother, currently in boarding in Texas.

As I understand it, some group took her in along with her puppies.

She didn't work out at the foster home they had and they didn't have another one

so she's been in boarding for several weeks now I believe. 

I think that any group that takes a litter of puppies has the responsibility to move

heaven and earth as necessary to find a good home for the mom. 

She's young, probably part shepherd, maybe part Husky, but seems to be a sweet girl.

And because I don't have a lot of material for this post, here's an update on my mom's pug, Jake, from my sister Paula in Montana. Not everyone reads comments, so I'll re-post it here.

A Jake update for the winter. When we hit the lows in the -20s he took a few steps out then being a smart little pug, turned right around. But close to 0 he would turn around and expect me to follow. So my habit has been hard bottom slippers, my moms really heavy robe and a coat in the mornings. There aren’t any really close neighbors so whatever. We would venture out but not that far. Now that temps are in the teens I have learned that clothes are necessary as we are headed up or down the road! FYI his name was “turd bucket” there for awhile .... suffice to say one should be careful when picking up a pug in the morning! Lucky he’s pretty damn cute...

Winter storm, continued

Most of the area was shut down on Thursday. Clay was even off for the day and he's an "essential worker." I am not, and yet I was the one working all day because of my home-based, computer-based job. It was actually a fine day for working because it was lousy for anything else. We didn't get much snow or ice, although they are still calling for more overnight and early tomorrow morning. I was happy to miss out because it almost certainly would have left us without power. Imagine, we'd be no better than Texans. 

The mud was more more solid today and covered with a crunchy crust of ice and snow - not pleasant but better than slogging through deep mud. The dogs aren't thrilled about it either. Even Della, who is very outdoorsy, isn't crazy about being out in this. She would often go to the door, look out, and then look at me instead of going out, wanting me to do something about it. Outdoor trips were mostly focused on necessity, but I did take them all out for a walk and romp around the pasture for a little while in the afternoon. 

Recent adoptees, Summer and Madison, are doing well in their new homes. Summer and her big rottie brother play together, a lot. Madison has discovered the joy of sleeping in a king sized bed. She's still a bit insecure it seems, but she's adjusting and will settle in. She took a good week or more to get used to things around here. 

Lando and Theo

Max carried this chunk of wood today and actually kept it with him the entire time we were out there.

He usually drops whatever he's carrying and then wanders off and wonders why he can't find it later.

Sort of like me and my cell phone.

Theo in front, Max in the rear, and Lando.

Lando was a little too interested in Theo's ball today. 

Theo corrected him and they got into a bit of a fight.

Fights among the boys tend to be self-limiting and this one was, but

Della came over to see if she needed to intervene.

Serena and Lando

These last pictures are a series of shots of a short-lived Dane play session.

Della was inviting Serena to play.

Here Serena is agreeing to it.

Both girls are airborne here.

Lando should know to just stay out of their way. 

You don't want to get hit when they are flying.

And here it's all over and we are heading back in.

Madison's adoption

Madison was adopted today. Although that's a very good thing, it is always tough to leave a dog with a stranger after that dog has come to love me and trust me and follow me around like my own shadow. It was made easier by the fact that I was not leaving her with a stranger, but a friend and prior adopter of not one, not two, but three former fosters. Two of the former fosters were Great Danes, Diesel and Drogo, both now deceased. The third former foster, Brutus, is still a very large figure in the household. 

So I'm happy, and I think Della and Maya are very happy because Madison was really beginning to act like she owned me and there's at least two dogs in our house who assert prior ownership claims. 

Maddy will adjust. It's a great home, more space inside, lots of room outside, and a king sized bed that I expect her to claim. 

We are now down to just one foster dog, Lando, but that is expected to change this weekend with an arrival from frosty Texas. 

Madison in the back of the van on the way to her new home today.

Madison, getting acquainted with River and Brutus in her new home.

River is another Great Dane but was not one of our former fosters.

Brutus was one of our fosters almost a year ago. He is looking really good.

This is Penny, the most senior dog in the household.

Madison was very busy checking out her new house.

Brutus leaning in to give me kiss in spite of the mask.

I think Madison will be very happy here once she settles in.

This is always a good reminder. Madison was about at the three week mark with me.

She figured this was her home and she had figured out the routines of the household. 

I actually think she will adjust quicker moving to an adopter's home.