Camp Cedar is Open

Wonderful Seasons are Ahead ;o)

A green grass explosion, a canope shade of green tree leaves, colorful flowers, berry bushes & friut trees in bloom, the hatching of multiple colors of butterflies, the anticipated arrival of the Hummingbirds at the feeder and the welcomed spotting of Dragon Flies cruising around eating those pesky mosquitoes ...  sooo the Spring activities have begun ... equipment "tune-ups" for grass mowing and garden rotortilling for planting ... the "Cedar-Sage" rowboat and kayak are out on the pond edge ... 3 Canada goslings have hatched and handfuls of frog eggs & young fish can be seen ;o)

3 Canada Goslings Hatch ;o)

Frog & Hornpout Eggs

In between our travels to various "dog" trainings and occasional 4-hour per diem work shifts at the hospital, Camp Cedar has been readied to open ... meet our first 2012 lil' camper "Leena"

Leena Wetherby-Ferri ;o)

Water Fun!

Group Tug Games ;o)

Hiking the Falls!

Pulling "Jugs-on-a-Rope"

Digging

Playtime!

"Sit-Wait" Lessons

Of Course Snack & Nap Time!

Sweet Dreams Leena ;o)

Toys & Bones!

Goes to Agility Class ;o)

We still have the rowboat and kayak adventures for Leena to experience...

Happy 1st Birthday Sweet Emma ;o)

A year ago after a long 12 hour work shift, I witnessed a lil' miracle being born by C-section ... it's a boy ... no wait, it's a lil' "singleton" girl ... a smile a-mile-wide and a thrill beyond expectation ;o)

"It's a GIRL"

Emma Minutes Old ;o)

Today, that special lil' girl turns ONE year old ... every minute has been sooo special ;o)

Foster Mom "Billie" & Foster Siblings

First Gruel Feeding ;o)

Sweet Dreams

What's Yours Is Mine ;o)

Latest Kayaking Fashions ;o)

"Ooops, Good Thing I Had My Harness On!"

Graduation Day ;o)

Agility

Exploring the Falls!

There Will Be Some Bad Storms!

Emma & Mom Shimmer ;o)

SunKissed Family Play Day ;o)

Swims Into Dock from Kayak @ 9 wks!

Emma's Successful Launch to Retrieve 2 Days from 1st Birthday ;o)

*SUNKISSED EMERALD DREAM CATCHER*

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY SWEET GIRL and MANY, MANY MORE to COME ;o))

Spring Has Sprung, Grass Has Riz, Wonder Where the Blogger Is?

Easter at Aunty's

"Hey where are the Blog updates???"
WELLLL ... the beautiful sun just pulls us outside first thing in the morning, with all kinds of possible "home projects" both planned and unplanned everywhere we look ... Ahhhh, early morning "walk-abouts" in slippers, just enjoying the early morn sun and before you know it, hours later, hands are dirty, slippers are wet and girls are kinda muddy ;o)
-dead Blackberry bushes stalks pruned
-ball throwing!
-removing the beaver's overnight work at the pond Spillway

"Breakfast Nook"

If it's a nice sunny morning, breakfast is outdoors over-looking the pond or if too chilly, inside by the cozy woodfire ... there is an unending supply of kindling to take the Spring morning chill off ;o)

2012 Meadow Project!

Looks like our 2008 "Meadow Project" now needs more gravel to keep out the pond overflow ... perhaps this year, rent a small tractor with a bucket to scoop gravel ... don't relish the idea of "shovelful-by-shovelful" with the lawn tractor and trailer!

Family Brunch ... yummmy ;o)

-6am "Burrr" Easter Sunrise Service at the Cathedral of the Pines
-girl have breakfast "on-the-road"
-Family Brunch, "teenagers" Easter Egg Hunt and a spacious fenced yard for running & games
-birthday Lemon Meringue Pie

Our Beautiful Forsythia Bush

Annual Canada Visitors and Girls Enjoying "Froggin"!

Sutter "It's Easy Emma ... just take the plunge"!

Sutter and Willow have already been swimming to retrieve bumpers, but lil' girl Emma is still trying to muster the courage to swim & retrieve ... she stands belly-deep and paws the water to try to pull the bumper/ball/stick toward her ... Ok, so we have the whole summer ahead to work on that ;o)

Willow Swims with Canada Goose ;o)

"SunKissed" Puppy Party

On a gorgeously sunny day, we enjoyed the 2nd Annual SunKissed Puppy Party ... Willow's mom "Sophie" has five 7 week old pups ... their friends & future "forever families" snuggled and played with the pups all afternoon ... there was a yummy cookout, book signing/answering questions by author Kathy Goodman, and just pure FUN for all ... "Thank You" Jean, Duane, Kara & Jonathan for a wonderful time ;o)

Big Golden Friends Get to Party!

Emma Plays "Keep-Away" from Sutter on the Diving Board!

...and it didn't turn out to be all about the puppies ... the big dogs also got to come out and play on the pool cover ;o)

Emma Meets Puppy ... Good Girl Emma ;o)

Emma Has a lil' Snack ;o)

600 lbs Bagged Compost/Garden Ready!

Emma Smells Tulips ;o)

Emma Naps With Willow ;o)

Emma Naps With Sutter ;o)

In May we're excited that 2 lil' Golden visitors are going to spend a little time with us while their family is on vacation ... Willow will be in 7th Heaven being able to use her "babysitting" skills again ... a new litter of SK puppies will be born very soon ... so we're resting up and having very happy GOLDEN dreams ;o)

Willow's Introduction to Tracking ;o)

Willow continues to be actively training in Agility, but is trying to work through her "Teeter-fear" (low see-saw) and also is dealing with her inability to concentrate when distractions present themselves ... she just loves being a Golden "greeter" and is sooo ready for play at a moments notice ;o

We gave several months to training in "Rally" Obedience last Fall and then this past weekend we were active working participants in a Tracking clinic in Western Massachusettes ... way out there in the field is Willow pulling on a 6-20ft lead attached to a special tracking harness, enthusiastically scenting a 90yd straight path that Donna laid 1 hour earlier ...  following are Donna and the instructor picking up the 6 spaced articles with treats on each (sox, glove, plastic bottle etc) that Willow has just found/acknowledged ... as time goes on Willow's track will  be laid by a stranger and gradually increase to 450-500yrds with several corners, fewer articles and age several hours ...Willow seems really eager to move on to finding the next article ... GOOD GIRL WILLOW ;o)

Willow, Emma & Sutter

    4-7-12 Addendum: today was a gorgeously sunny day and all 3 girls successfully gave Tracking "a go" with members of the Massachusettes Tracking Club ... Sutter did this last year, so it was a refresher for her, but this was Emma's first experience and she took right to it ... picking up each article and eager to move on ... GOOD GIRL EMMA ;o))  

NOW THAT the WEATHER is NICER, WE'RE GOING to ENJOY GETTING OUT into the FIELDS to CONTINUE TRACKING LESSONS ;o)