Saturday Report

Karen's figuring our finances and taking care of the laundry. I just finished dead-heading the roses and sprayed them for blackspot and Japanese beetles. The beetles were shredding the foliage. So far the beetles don't seem to be as bad as last year, but it's still a bit early I think. I'd already sprayed the roses last week but now the battle is joined. Me and Ortho are all over those bad bugs and little black spots. Later I'll take care of some paperwork and then head outside to pull the tall sides off of the dog ramp. We'd put them up to help keep Hope from falling but as you know, they're not necessary any more.

Our day actually started rather early with a couple of Cocker Spaniels howling at the bottom of the stairs. For some reason I wake them up every morning when I come downstairs during the work week, but on Saturday they are always up before we are and feel inclined to let us know how lonely they feel. Go figure.

Lately the dogs and I've started our Saturdays (once the howling session ceases), with a drive to the Circle K market for a medium coffee and then a trip up to the airport for a run in the grass. I drink the coffee, they don't. They run, I walk. I also whistle for them, yell, wave my arms, and chase them down when they're getting carried away by total doggy-ness.

There's about a 20 acre section of cleared land across from the airport itself that the dogs really enjoy exploring. There are deer droppings to eat, ground hogs to track, there's thick grass to chew on, and lots of neat smelling things to roll in. Jolly. The dogs like the rolling part more than we do. However, today they were far more busy running than rolling which is fine.

They also soaked up several acres of early morning dew. We hit the fields about 6:30 AM as the sun was rising and it wasn't long before they were soaking, dripping, wringing wet. They loved it and it's always fun to watch them having fun.

Here are a several photos:

Tracking a ground hog

Tucker and Tanner hitting their stride

Tanner passes in review

Tanner & Tucker ready for the ride home.