Baby Dog Flip

Kane says to Baby Show Dog, "Study hard, Grasshoppuh, and you too can master the Cardigan Flip some day. Oh, and stay off my sofa, too!"

*I know, I know, the photos from my cell phone are less than stellar, but it seems like I don't have my camera anywhere near where the cute stuff is happening these days!

The Flip

Taken with my cell phone so the quality is bad, but just for Cathy to compare with Louis. :-) Cardi boys, they make you laugh!

Skyla

We have been doing some dog show traveling with our friends Michelle and Skyla. Skyla is Darby's BFF outside of her sisters Bree and Syd. We think she's very pretty, and she loves to play.

(please note, the photo of Darby and Skyla is taken at our completely renovated Motel 6 in San Antonio. Platform beds-great for short dogs to run under, laminate flooring, flat screen TV built into the wall)

Sky and Michelle graciously hosted Darby for a week when I had to travel to Montana for work. We traveled to South Dakota for shows, and then they came along with us to San Antonio. Alas, not even Skyla was immune to the sombreros for dogs campaign. She thought maybe it was just a "Vallhund Thing" but she discovered that she was also going to have to endure the humiliation right along with her Vallhund friends.

Darby was really happy to have her friend Skyla along with us on the trip, especially when we had to stop the van and stay over an extra night in Texas. Darby's mom was really glad Skyla's mom was with us on the trip, especially when we had car trouble and had to stay over an extra night in Texas! I hated that Michelle had to miss another day of work and that we lost an entire day, but she is definitely very calm and cool in a crisis!

Kane's Weekend

Kane and friends stayed with the Kingsbury gang while the Vallhunds went to Texas. We were delayed with car trouble (that turned out not to be car trouble), and did not get home Sunday night as expected.

Monday morning I was texting Jacque to be sure the dogs were OK and she had enough food, etc. etc. Jacque texts me back: Your dogs are fine here. Mr Sassy Pants thought he was goin' home last night so he's in a snit here today, although breakfast seemed to take his mind off it!

Poor Kane, he really likes to keep to a schedule, and he does NOT like a last minute change in plans. I guess he was a bit vocal and gave Jacque a talking to and flea-biting tantrum Monday morning! When I picked up the dogs last night, I did not have enough crates for everyone for the short trip home. I put Kane in the front, and notice that he was not going to let me off the hook for leaving him an extra day. He would not look at me, and he leaned as far to the other side of the car as possible. He's not spoiled or anything...

HomeChicken Takes a Road Trip

This is so stupid. Is it over yet??

Breezy, my sweet little red HomeChicken, took a trip to the dog show over the weekend. We went to Vermillion, South Dakota. Travelling with us were Hawk and Darby from the Hurrikane homestead, and Michelle and her Cardigan Skyla. Bree is such a homebody, she loves going for a ride in the van, and she loves visiting some of her friends' houses and her dog buddies, but she's NOT the dog who loves to go new places. So I made her travel hundreds of miles and go to a dog show anyway!!! She has a classic pout with sad eyes and ears straight out to the side.

I had no idea how Breezy would do with Skyla. Skyla and Darby and Hawk are absolute BFFs, and Bree and Darby are inseparable at home. I wasn't sure if Bree would make everyone miserable or not. But she did really great, was able to walk on a leash right alongside Skyla, and the two girls were even up on one of the beds at the hotel together for a short time.

At the dog show, Breezy told me that she still holds the opinion that smash-faced little dogs like Pugs and Frenchies are alien life forms that should be erradicated from the earth, but she showed very well in the Cardigan ring and earned Reserve to a major both days this weekend. Not bad for the HomeChicken on her first trip to a show. In her 2 1/2 years, she's shown exactly twice before this weekend. One day at 6 months and 1 day old, and then again one day last month in Gardner. Here's Bree and Skyla, watching Border Collies show on Sunday from a cool spot in the shade.

Breezy was VERY vocal in telling all of us that she has absolutely NO use for wiggling, jumping, bouncing tri-color Cardigan puppy boys named Justice, though. If you've never heard Breezy's combination whine/growl that she can sustain without taking a breath, it's quite a treat. When Justice showed up at our room to play with Skyla, Darby, and Hawk, Breezy was definitely not amused. I'm not sure she ever stopped to take a breath from her whining.

Scenes from Butte, MT

Our Lady of the Rockies on the Continental Divide.

I dunno what it is, but I loved the shadow with the sunset approaching. I'm sure it's something mining related! *** UPDATE*** I asked at the hospital this morning, and this rig is called a "head frame." There used to be pulley cables from the top down to the right, and the solid part on the left was an elevator down into the mine. I learned something new today.

Seeing Montana in person leaves little doubt as to why it's called Big Sky Country. I think this week is the first week they have not had some kind of snow.

Photos of the Berkley Pit, the biggest copper (?) mine in the state (or the country, I should have paid better attention).

I just loved the brick design on this building and the amazing purple flowering vine creeping over the walls.

One Lucky Squirrel

I was walking Carly this morning, and we were in the front yard. I noticed a squirrel running sort of awkwardly down the driveway next door. It looked like he had some kind of yellow flag sticking out the side of his mouth. He didn't seem startled or afraid to walk right by Carly on the Flexi leash. I watched him climb the tree, and when he came back around where I could see him, he was flat against the tree, and he was carrying an entire Butterfinger candy bar in his mouth. It was wider than his stretched out legs! I took Carly back inside and grabbed my camera. The photos aren't very good because the little squirrel went pretty high up in the tree, but I thought these were cute. He was VERY excited about the treasure he found for breakfast. I have no idea where a squirrel finds a Butterfinger candy bar just laying around, but I guess it was his lucky day!


Too bad Cooper wasn't here, it would have been a two-fer. Squirrel plus candy bar, definitely better than just a stupid old rabbit by itself!