Wonderful Ocean Vacation :o)

We've arrived  :o)

WOW ... this is FREEDOM is AWESOME!

                   Lookin' Pretty :o)

                                My Ball !!!!!

         

Running free before the rain ;-)

Footprints in the sand :o)  

Getting the beachsand off in the outside shower!  

 

This place has EVERYTHING!!!

Bone-chewing on our very own bed ... GREAT!!!!

Mom's inside LL Bean getting us new "bumpers" to toss at the pond at home .... Oh Boy!

Bye Old Orchard Beach Maine ... we'll definately be back ;o)

Thank You GOD for our wonderful vacation time together enjoying one of your natural beauties   :o)

As September Starts!

As 90 degree days usher in September 1st and folks sequester themselves in home-work-car air conditioning, I enjoy a steady breeze flowing through the wide open house ... the sun disappears earlier and earlier every evening, but I start my vacation by enjoying sitting at the picnic table under the 2 huge Beech trees, with a wondrous breeze, peeling my 3rd year of small but "juicy" peach crop, both for the freezer and crisp/cobbler ... the girls sit right close for those "bruise" spots ;o)

• The trees are turning their wonderful Fall colors and the berries are gone, but Willow can still be spotted hunting under the bushes for a last berry or two ... there were 22 apples on our dwarf tree and I can pick a "fresh" eat any time I want (15 left)!
• the school buses pass at the crack of dawn and at day's end!
• sitting on the pond side dock where the kayak and rowboat are tied, I can look down and see various size tadpoles and tiny sunfish enjoying the sun-warmed water ... and I wonder if they'll make it through the upcoming Winter ... can they go deep enough in the pond to survive ... I want to hear those Bullfrog croaks join the Peepers serenade and watch those moving black clouds of "bazillion" Hornpout babies next Spring ;o)
• the "veggie" garden struggled but with pond water pumped up with the submerged "sump pump", it produced just enough tomatoes, cukes, green beans and summer squash for us ... the "potted" lettuce is approaching an interesting flowering stage ... can't wait to see the flowers!
• Willow is shedding her 2nd crop of "puppy" coat and I'm sad to see all that soft hair go ... it's being replaced with slightly darker and coarser feeling hair :-(
• Sutter sheds some but nothing like our 7 month old girl  :-)
• all day long, the Woodpeckers and Nuthatches feed at the suet-feeders outside the kitchen window ... I place just a small piece of suet in each feeder during the heat of Summer and it's adorable watching each mother bird teach her baby to feed ... the babies are quite vocal  :o)
• since the berries have gone, I haven't seen the "now grown" Wood Duck youngsters feeding the pond edges for dropped berries morning and evening ... started with 9 ducklings and at last sighting there were varying numbers as they ventured out on their own ... I'm sure the Snapping Turtle and the Hawk cut their numbers!!!
• last night as Willow and I came in from our nightly kayak paddle around the pond, there were close to a dozen huge beautiful green & turquoise Dragon flies flying around the yard  :o)
• I'm hunting for an audiotape of Owl calls, to identify the night sounds that I hear through the open windows ... fascinating to hear one calling to another and getting closer to each other ;o)

The girls and I have enjoyed time away from home this Summer visiting friends/family in Kennebunk Maine, Washington NH and Wolfboro NH ... all visits seem to have the same enjoyable WATER theme ...

See Willow learning to "Dock Dive" .... OOOOOhhhhh!

LOOKING FORWARD TO MORE FALL ADVENTURES :o)

Life is Sooo Short ... What Brings Happiness?

Being a lover of  fulfilling time spent with my "golden" girls and the relaxation enjoyed here at my lil' piece of heaven at "Golden Embers", I've unusually been "mind" wrestling recently with various thoughts & feelings ... questioning if they are spiritual or menopausal responses ?

• making the time to return to Church after a brief hiatus ... I sooo love the hymns & spiritual songs :o)

• to retire or keep working while I'm still physically able ... don't want to outlive nor leave the retirement $$ that I could have enjoyed more ... but on the other hand, working keeps my mind sharper and I enjoy my co-workers ... humm,  3 more years to the most profitable retirement age!

• the wonderful "common interest" times that have been enjoyed with family ;o)

• the fun & happiness that comes with feeling included with like-minded  friends :o)

Sooo ... what's my answer to

DON'T POSTPONE the JOY!

August Already?

August has started with one very sad goodbye ... this past week my family said "good bye" to my Mom's twin brother Ben ... common remembrances were his huge heart, his huge smile and his huge hugs ... 

He'll be deeply missed :o( 

Willow's first big Dog Show happened this past weekend dispite my work schedule and we were able to share in the nervous excitement ... we entered a special class for "amature handlers" like me and Willow at 6 months was judged to be worthy of a "Blue" ribbon ... then she competed with all the "big girl" blue ribbon winners from the other 5 classes ... What's that saying ... "it was an honor just to be nominated"  ;o)

(thanks to Kara for the wonderful photo ... a day to remember for sure!)

Willow started her 7 week "Canine Good Citizen" class today and I'll update as that goes along ... we're just lovin' training together ... did I happen to mention what a quick learner she seems to be  ;o)

As you can see, the relaxing blanket is spread but we are ready for whatever the rest of August has in store (training experiences, visit to my sister's vacation rental, Willow's 2nd dog show, connecting with friends) ... the blueberries are most gone (plenty frozen for winter pies) and now we're enjoying blackberries and waiting for our own peaches and apples to rippen ;o)

SUMMER IS JUST GOING WAY TOO FAST!!!

Celebrating Willow's 6 Month Birthday ;o)

January 28th during a day-long snow blizzard, the SunKissed "Catch" litter was born in Charlestown NH to mama "Sophie" and dad "Apollo" ... 3 girls and 4 boys ... Willow was one of those girls and maybe I'm prejudice but I'll say she has the sweetest personality ;o)

Today those special pups celebrate their 6 month birthday and we here at Golden Embers, have had some pretty "FUN" celebrations together with our lil' girl ... a weekend away in Maine for a long over due visit to the Walkers and Matthews at their family lake camp ... an Ice Cream celebration at "Kimballs" in Jaffrey, NH (managing 2 doggie bowls and a cone proved to be quite a "melting" feat in 90 degree temps ... but what the heck, quick tongue licks helped clean up the drippy mess!!!!)

Then this past Monday Willow graduated from her "Basic Pet" class ... proudly I like to think with "HONORS", as she was pretty amazing (all of the 9 dogs made such great improvement from week #1) ... in a couple weeks she'll start a 7 week "Advanced Pet-Canine Good Citizen" class ... we both love taking class together ;o)

Oh ya, we still share in Sutter's Thursday morning Agility classes!

We've spent part of the afternoon today playing fetch in the yard ... retrieving balls & bumpers from the pond ... doing some kayaking, berry pickin' and tonight grilling some burgers, hotdogs and corn on the grill ... Oh Happy 6 month "Birth" Day

HERE'S TO MANY MANY MANY HAPPY BIRTHDAYS
and ADVENTURES AHEAD SWEET GIRL   ;o)

Rainy Days are Great for Blogging :o)

My 2009 summer spent shoveling gravel into my 12 hp lawn tractor-trailer and hauling it down to the soggy "Meadow Project" has now been somewhat flooded by the 2010 beaver's work ... it's turned into an "Island" ... needing a plank bridge to get to it ... OK, so "Cedar Pond" now has an island, with a hue of green as the grass seed has started to sprout ... hummm, do I order more gravel?
I heard on an NPR radio program that the "Dragon Fly" flies over clean water and is a good sign ... if that's the case, then all the huge helicopter-size and many wonderful tiny blue, yellow, red dragon flies that have been graciously eating our pesky mosquitoes, are a healthy water sign and I'm delighted :o)
Here at pondside, on my wonderful family "60th" birthday bench gift, rests my newest necessary foot apparell purchase (not the best of color choices) ... with the current high water level, wild "high-bush" berry pickin' is done from the "Cedar-Sage" rowboat, one of 2 kayaks or "Yup" wading to bushes wearing "high water" boots ... 14 quarts in the freezer thus far (for the pie lovers: it takes an hour plus to pick a quart and a quart to make a pie)
Willow just loves to walk the "dry" ground and graze from the many "low-bush" blueberry bushes ... attractive purple stools! Oh, and I tried kayaking with Willow and doing some berry picking ... creates quite a visual "Kodak moment" ... her mouth goes faster than my hands can pick! "Willow, get your snoot out of that berry pail!"

Where is Sutter you wonder ... lying back on the dock, waiting to be hand-fed her share of berries ... smart girl Sutter!

A wonderful benefit of the high water this late in the year is that I can kayak with each of the girls out into the quiet "Marsh"  and enjoy the sound of nature ... normally the Marsh is only accessable in early Spring after the snow run-off ... approaching August, it is usually pretty dried up ... at the right of this photo, looking out into the marsh, you can see the beaver's lodge  :-)

                      


Reflecting:
back in 2007 when SunKissed Golden Retriever babies Lyric, Diva, Truly and Teller were just "lil' shavers", SunKissed friends spent a wonderful weekend at 3 days of showing in Essex Junction Vermont (Truly won "Best Puppy in Show") ...  last year we returned to that fun scene and Lyric brought home 2 blue ribbons (ok, in each class by herself) ... well, it's that weekend again and the SunKissed friends are returning ... sadly, my work schedule won't let me join them this year   :-(

               DON'T POSTPONE the JOY ;o)

Berry Pickin' Time!

First blueberries in the "Calder" berry basket

... a night relaxing at home

Inspecting the Beaver "Mud" work and reaping the benefits of high water swimming...

Our tiny vegetable garden, watered by pumping water from the pond (also keeping the grass green) ...

a visitor on the dock ... 

A challenge is fighting for every handful of blueberries ... Willow at 6 months is truly carrying on Lyric's love of berries (on the bush or in the hand) ... Sutter appreciates a privilege of age and cashes in on those offered handfuls of pre-picked berries!

MISSING YOU SWEET LYRIC ... EVERY DAY  :-(