Summer 2010 Camp Doings :o)

Well, we've had alot of Spring rain and a new resident Beaver has made a itself a Lodge and is active nightly "banking" the spillway/dam/walkway with sticks & mud to raise the pond water level (and every morning, I restack the long sticks and reopen a small water runoff area) ...  the kayaks are now out and with the higher water level, we can still kayak out into the Marsh and enjoy the sounds of song birds & the chorus of the bullfrogs and catch a glimps of mother ducks with their various numbers of ducklings ... even startled a mother deer with her fawn grazing the marsh grass  ;o)

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  My niece Pam and one of her Rotty pups came for an afternoon and my Goddaughter Jess visited for 2 overnights :o)
  
  
• Sutter & I had a day away together at a seminar called "The Nose Knows" and we had a blast ... Sutter always loves/needs a job to do, so she worked to master some new interactive/educational toys ... paired an old trick with a new scent (vanilla or raspberry) smell command ... she worked very excitedly at the "Box Search" game where 8 boxes are scattered about the room and she was to find the one with food in it ... Ohhh, Sutter being Sutter though, did jump the fence once to go on one of her "zoomie" excersions ... at 8 yrs she still is a "Wild Child" ... Atta girl Sutter!!!

• Jess & I kayaked with Sutter & Willow, visited Willow's breeder Kara at SunKissed Goldens and had a nice swim in the Wetherby's beautiful pool at Landscape Goldens with Willow's mom "Sophie", sister "Dazzle" and Lyric's mom "Shimmer"
• Willow's sister "Dazzle" came back with us for 2 overnights at "Camp Cedar" ... after an afternoon of swimming in and kayaking on "Cedar Pond", chasing & roughhousing, a scrumptous supper and a good DVD movie, everyone just collapsed into their beds (2 and 4 footed) for the night!
• we took Sutter to her Thursday morning Agility class and I think she was showing off for Jess and the pups 'cuz she was great! So those are the updates on doings at Golden Embers, Camp Cedar & Cedar Pond ... Jess has gone home and Dazzle goes home this evening before work ...
  so until the next time...

THANKS EVERYONE FOR THE FUN IN THE SUN ;o)

Kayaking Easy as 1...2...3... Go ;o)

Hey wait, I can do it, really ... wait!!!

First practice on the land ...  Second try it on the water ...

Ahhhh ... this is the life ... look at all this beauty ... birds, ducks, frogs, fish, neuts ... I told you I could do it!
Hey, there's Sutter ... paddle faster Mom!

LIFE'S RELAXING MOMENTS
                     ;O)

Retrieving, Jumping & Pretty Poses ;o)

Tomorrow and every Monday for 7 weeks Willow starts her next class "Basic Pet", where she'll learn what comes after the play of  "Puppy Kindergarden" ... as the photos show, we've been doing a little bit of everything ... some repetitive, some new:

• socializing at an occasional Breed show, Agility trial, pet store and Sutter's class has been fun ... puppies attract much attention from young and old alike (2 and 4 footed) ;o)
• she's "weaning" from and rapidly outgrowing her car crate, but car potty training isn't 100% yet and there have been a few extra laundry loads ... she's also begun barking at traffic behind us  :-0
• she's loosing more baby teeth ... keeping different types of "hard" teething bones that are safe for a 4 month and an 8 year old is an on going challange (marrow bones, bully stix, antlers, elk & bison bones)
• Willow had her 2 lessons to our Canine Invisable Fence (IF) ... learning to run back from the "beep", then the "white flags" and finally the necessary "shock" ... she now leaves the house proudly wearing her red "Big Girl" "IF" collar with bell, like big sister Sutter!
• the girls sleep in the "dog van" at mom's work and enjoy 2 walks during the night ... so excited when co-workers come out to visit!
• "play" breaks from yard work are an enjoyable and welcomed must ... ball/frisbee fetching, a slow paddle around our pond in the rowboat, some brief agility work or just spreading a blanket on the grass for a brief nap or rub down in the sun ... ahhhhh!
• When Sutter asks to climb the gated stairs to the loft "toy room", Willow is right there ... she's anxious to climb without hesitation (with mom's constant guarding) ... coming down is a real challange and she has to be fully held with the prompt "every step"  :-O
• During our relaxing "walk-about" the yard times, the camera opportunities are many ... the girls at play, flowers in bloom and the beautiful nature of our property ;o)

FOCUS on the BLESSINGS