Preparations

Why does it take so long for me to prepare to leave town for two days?  Lack of practice?  For three years I was often gone for 2 - 3 weekends a month.  After sitting home since May it seems to require an amazing amount of effort to prepare for a quick trip to Ohio.  And I'm flying, taking no dogs.  Guess I am out of practice.  Hopefully I will have less trouble getting ready for 3 days in Kansas City next month!

I always make a list for Ron, what to feed the dogs, supplements if any, and what needs to be done with the fish.  The fish will all be fine for a couple of days as there are no new babies right now, BUT the Marmorkrebs will need feeding, especially the hundreds of new babies.

Marmorkrebs are self-cloning crayfish, not a natural species apparently, but something that turned up in the pet trade in Germany.  Lots of unanswered questions about their heritage, but they're here to stay.  I had received 6 youngsters when I purchased fish last summer, but had no idea they were old enough to produce offspring until I discovered some in a tank - tiny miniature crayfish.  Once I started looking I discovered that one of the other females (they are all females) had hundreds of tiny babies attached to her abdomen.  Oh my!  So algae wafers will need to be dispensed to the 5 tanks that have crayfish inhabitants.

Had to remember to charge everything, including cell phone, camera battery, Nook reader, and iPOD.  How did I survive without them?  Computer, iTunes and iPOD were not communicating last night so I could not download a book I purchased for the trip.  I'll solve that issue next week, I guess.  Technology can drive you nuts!

Laundry done, things ready to pack, but decided that I need a new carry on as mine might not measure in - as happened to Jess coming back from Westminster.  The size is correct but the wheels make it too long.  Drat.  Let's see, I can pick one up on my way home from work.  Assuming I remember.  Add it to the list.  Because I am used to having a mini van and quite a bit of room, I have trouble packing a small suitcase.  Now I can learn to pack an even smaller one.

See ya.  I promise to take pictures of Nati's pups, Argus's grandpups.

Out Of Time

Spent my free time fighting with my computer this morning.  Good news is that the new one is supposed to arrive with Eric next Monday.  Could have gotten it Friday, but I'll be on my way to Cincinnati to see Nati's pups!

Letty has a new toy and not even Josie can steal it from her.  Think I may have to remove the squeaker to keep my sanity! 

Rare Golden Dalmatians?

Still no computer and no word from my nephew.  Would be nice if he'd let me know what's happening here.  Guess I should have stuck to my original plan and bought my computer at Best Buy.  Oh well, this one is still clunking along.  Hopefully it holds out a bit longer.

Off to Ohio this weekend, a quick down and back to visit "Nati" and her pups.  Really looking forward to seeing them, and spending a bit of time with Ann & Dave.  Anyone still looking for a puppy?  Nati has 9 of them and I understand a couple may still be available.  Let me know what you're looking for and I'll keep you in mind when I evaluate the babies.  Two black parents, but lots of livers and a few blacks.

Speaking of color, here's an interesting one.  I have a number of pictures of Bailey on my computer.  She's a liver-nosed lemon - nope that's not light liver spotting, that's lemon.  Or perhaps it's orange, but we normally refer to all of these dogs as lemons, with either black or liver noses.  Some lemons are a rich deep shade of orange, sort of a pumpkin color, while others are so pale you can barely see their spots.   Bailey has interesting two-tone spots with a darker edge and a lighter center.  Very unusual.

Lemons are much more common than tris and long-coats, but most show lines do not produce them.  An English dog who produced lemons came to the US about 30 years ago and lemons were more common in show lines for awhile, and we saw quite a few of them during the popularity boom in the 80s as some of the commercial breeders were coming up with them.   Again, this is not an exceptable color for the show ring, but some people really like them.  There's a simple cheek swab DNA test available that can be used to see if a dog carries the genes that produce lemon.

Years ago we saw an ad in the classifieds for "Rare Golden Dalmatians".  Now that's marketing!

Doodling

My new computer did not arrive yesterday. . .  I'm so disappointed, but Eric is sick, and everything is on hold.  Hopefully this one holds up just a bit longer, but it's getting increasingly hard to boot up in the morning.  It's normally left on most of the time, but has taken to shutting itself down at night.

Like most people these days, my pictures are on my computer and never get printed, but what a treasure trove!  I've been looking through the ones that were on my previous computer that crashed.  I had them switched over to this computer by the Geek Squad, but have not gone through them in years.  Forgot all about some of them - like this tattooed fellow!

The pictures also include quite a few long coated, odd colored and interestingly patched dogs, pictures sent to me by people who know my interest in such things or found the color pages on my website.  I'll start using them in my blogs.

This handsome fellow is a real tri-colored Dalmatian.  A tri is not black and liver spots on the same dog, but rather  black & tan or liver & tan spots in the same areas they would show up on a black & tan non-spotted breed like a Doberman.  Note the tan spots on his cheeks and lower legs.  This is not common in Dalmatians, and is not an accepted color, but well marked tris are very handsome dogs!

Is It Monday Already?

What a fun weekend, and lovely fall weather too.  This is the best time of the year with cool nights and brisk sunny days.  Wish it could last forever, but will settle for a couple of months before winter attacks.

Laurie arrived on Saturday to spend the weekend, just as Jess arrived with the Cruise/Penny pups on their way back from BAER testing.  We got some lovely pictures of the pups, especially Amery who will go home with Laurie and come back in the spring to be shown if she is ready then.  Really like the boy Ellsworth too, who will be a fine mover and has a particularly appealing personality. 

Letty went home with Jess for an overnight, so she could meet the German Shepherd girls Simmie and Pepper who are very good with puppies.  Being the snooty sort she was NOT impressed with being thrown in with her little nieces and nephews.  She met Jess's puppy visitors, was thrilled to see Don again (what a memory she has for friends), and spent some time in the indoor/outdoor run.  Meeting the Shepherds and Penny was very good for her.  We call it Puppy Camping, and need to make arrangement for her to stay with friends in the near future.  Camping makes a dog more adaptable and self confident, and makes it easier for them to accept any future changes.

Dinner with mom on Saturday at her favorite Olive Garden.  We went early and didn't have to wait quite as long as we usually do.  Nice meal and lots of laughs, and a particularly good drink called an Italian Margarita - highly recommended!

Laurie and I took Argus to the Dog Park on Sunday morning and he had such a good time with his friends.  Totally blew us off though, other than checking in from time to time.  Think we need to work on our recalls!  Am so glad I found this place, and have thoroughly enjoyed watching the dogs interact.  Lots of sporting breeds yesterday, so lots of hard running which pleases Argus.  Breakfast at White Castle on the way home.

Later we went to visit Jess & Don, enjoy the dogs, and retrieve Letty, but also to collect on my Mother's Day Gift.  Wine tasting and excellent appetizers at a nice little restaurant in St. Croix Falls.  Again, lots of laughter and a good time had by all.  The leaves were just beginning to color - it's going to be gorgeous in another week or two.  "They" say we will have excellent fall color.

Such a fun weekend!  Thanks Ron, Laurie, Jess & Don, mom and assorted dogs.  I had a great time. 

Weekends are too short, but really looking forward to my new computer arriving tonight.  I spent some time going through all the old photos and documents on my computer and found some great stuff for this blog.  Stay tuned!