Fall has arrived

             Well Fall is certainly here now..........rain and more rain!  We just had a lovely weekend of sun and mild weather, too bad I work almost 20 hours on the weekend.  Now we are back to some rain, but the nice thing is all of the grass has turned very bright green again.  Washington is a very green state already, with our evergreen trees always in view, they create a beautiful contrast to the maples and other trees that provide such beautiful fall color.
               Does the fall weather and rain slow down a german pinscher? I don't think so!  They may run a little faster BACK to the house when it is time to go in, but the 'let's go for a run' attitude is just the same.  I find it amusing to watch the dogs look at the sky sometimes when a really large flock of geese go overhead.  The honking is nearly constant, impossible to ignore, but just a distraction from the good smells on the ground.  The mice must be digging in a little deeper these days, too.  The dogs can't seem to catch one, but there must be some pretty hot scents, you can see their bodies vibrate with excitement at times, and more than once I have had to convince them to leave a hole that was being dug.  It is nice to see them using their natural talents, but quite another thing to bring home mud.
                   October is apple month here, too.  The perfect time to pick up those apples, find a spot, and lay down to eat it at leisure---sometimes Wiley brings one back to the house.  I don't mind that, if he makes a mess, the other dogs clean up the rest.  One day I may name a GP 'Hoover' as they are one of the best vacuum cleaners, and if its edible, one of the dogs eats it right up!

Weather the weather??????

          We have had such a nice summer in the Pacific Northwest this year.  Lots of summer sunshine, but is too much of a good thing finally over?  We had one heck of a thunder and lightning storm last week--it lasted for hours!  If we have any thunder storms they normally last maybe three hours, but this one overstayed its welcome by a lot.  I am lucky to have German Pinschers that seem to ignore the booms and flashes for the most part, though we were all a little worried when the storm was right on top of us.  Our biggest dog, our old Lab named Honey is truly afraid of the thunder and lightning, and stays in the whole time those storms are here.  The best thing was that I was home, and the power stayed on the whole time, a lot of the area was dark at least overnight.   Yesterday we had a near 100 degree day, but the dogs have their cool dog room, and lots of cool water and shade in their yard-- after their morning run all they had to do was lounge around all the rest of the day.
           I am hoping to get back to some performance work with the dogs this fall.  I am on a regular schedule with my job, but it includes weekends.  That means Saturday classes are out, and even going to dog shows on weekends, too.  Maybe I will find a class that is during the week on one of my days off,  otherwise I will just have to continue to train at home for now.
           

Some new pictures

       I have posted a couple of pictures of the B/T puppy from our litter.  He was named "Nubs" by his new family. I am pleased to hear updates about my puppies, and post pictures.  They report that he is a very loving dog, loves to be social with whoever he meets.  He has been in classes and done some agility, and can run really fast!  They are so pleased to have this dog, and as always I am glad to hear what a happy home he has with them.  He looks so handsome, much like his daddy.
       There is a picture here of one of the many deer we see around here.  This is a doe and fawn that come around and pass through our front field, after visiting the apple tree.  If there are no apples on the ground, the doe reaches up or stands on her hind legs to get some.  Then if they are not disturbed by dogs, horses, or people taking pictures, they browse through the field for an hour or so before disappearing into the woods again.
        I work quite early on weekends now, and Wiley and I were surprised to see an owl flying low over us in the driveway at dawn one morning.  It may have been a youngster, as it seemed curious as much as anything.  It was really quiet, with very little light, and it flew over us, then landed on a fence post.  The dog and I looked at each other, then back at the owl, and I said, "What are you doing around here?"  The owl just sat there, so I went in to get the camera, but it was gone when I returned. I may have to start carrying the camera when I step outside, you never know what might appear!  
          We have been having some lovely summer showers today, but just rain without any thunder or other drama, and temps. still in the 70's.  We had a really long stretch of hot dry weather, so glad for the soaking.  Soon enough summer will be over!

Deer Me!

              High excitement in the back yard today!  When I heard Foxy barking, I could tell it was something different.  There is a higher pitch and rapid barking that signals high excitement. This time instead of a mouse, snake or bee, it was a deer.  When I looked out to see what was up, I saw a doe emerge from the woods, hardly an uncommon sight around here.  But the great part was seeing her two spotted fawns!  A garbage truck had gone by a few minutes before, so that doe was waiting for the all clear to cross the road into the deeper woods.  I was too far away to have gotten a good picture, even if the camera had been in my hand, but I will be watching this summer for another glimpse of our local twins. 
       I was able to briefly attend a dog show last week, my first in about a year.  I am now working almost always on weekends, but this one was not only on Friday, but in Chehalis, where I work!  So after I got done, I went over to the farigrounds in time to sit ringside and watch the GPCA supported entry at the Mt Rainier Working Dog Show.  This is the first time in 4 years that I was not entered in this show, taking home some ribbons.  Dash won her first major there, and Wiley and Foxy both won there, too.  It was a really beautiful sunny day, and a nice entry of dogs, too.  So it was really nice to be able to be there, although I didn't get much chance to visit the other owners. 

          Happy Spring!  It is pretty nice these days to not have such frigid temperatures at night, lots of flowers either blooming or coming up nicely.  The last of the trees to get their leaves here are the maples, and they are now blooming and showing green.  As I get to spend more time outside, so do my dogs.  We went on a walk yesterday, and Foxy was so excited when her hunting was rewarded.  She found a snake, but didn't really know what to do at first except bark.  Then she did what must be the way dogs have treated snakes for centuries, bit it, shook it, and flung it away.  Of course there is no danger as we have the garter snakes, no bite, no anything, just usually slither away.  The worst thing is to find one run over on the road and have the dogs roll on it........then they smell horrid!
            I have posted a couple of new pictures of the girls hunting yesterday.  The grass is still mostly dead and dry, it will be so nice when the green returns.  It won't be long now.

        April will be gone before we know it at this rate!  It is a cold and windy day here, will have to try to pick a sunny time this afternoon, if one appears, to take the dogs out.  Not much new around here, still working too much to do extra stuff.  I have looked online and seen some excellent plans for building your own agility equipment.  It is now on my 'to do' list, though not very close to the top I must confess. 
         There are several new holes dug in the back yard, so I think the moles, voles, or any other creature that is underground has been moving.  At least that is what I think motivates a German Pinscher to dig! As much as they have fun with that,  I do know they still have a favorite spot on my bed, and one chooses the couch when there is not a person there.  That is what happens when the 'kids' play outside, they get rid of lots of energy, and have to come in for a nap.   Some day I will have such great soft comfy dog beds that there will never be a dog on the furniture again.  If you believe that........  until next time.

           I have been neglecting this blog for various reasons........new job, company visiting, teaching our daughter to drive, family dinners, just to mention a few things!  It is now officially spring here as swallows and hummingbirds have returned.  The dogs and I have only been doing the usual, daily trips to the barn, and a run down the road-----I ride a bicycle, they get to run as fast as possible.  The trip ends in an open field where they get to run and jump and sniff and hunt mice for a while.  Then a race back home, and naps on the couch-----and yes sometimes I join them!
          We have had a few days of really great weather here, I did take a few pictures, so I will post some new ones now.  If you know of anyone wanting to adopt a German Pinscher, there are some available as a breeder that has serious health issues has to let all of her dogs go-----check it out at the GPCA Rescue page. 
        Happy Springtime, remember April showers bring May flowers!