Thursday, July 28, 2011

Very Special Visitors

Today the dogs and I got a really special treat: my niece Amanda and great niece Cadence flew in into Eugene on their way to Grandmas. We got to enjoy their company for most of the day.

Cadence is enamored with Harley's and tractors but at three has never gotten a chance to ride on either let alone drive anything with a motor by herself. Well, the World's Best Great Aunt doesn't have a Harley but she has a quad and a tractor.

I put the tractor in low gear and off went Cadence, solo at the wheel. She drove a good 500 yards with only a little corrective assistance to avoid hitting dogs or trees.Next up was the garden tour. Cadence loves berries but had never seen them on the bush. First the blueberries -then the raspberries. The dogs also love berries and Cadence's basket was just the right height for an easy snack.Cadence showing her mother the empty basket.To the dog's chagrin, the strawberries did not make it into the basket. With Cadence's hands on the handle bars we took the quad to the back pond. The road is almost completely grown over making our trip as adventurous as a carnival ride. "Sorry about the new bump over the eyebrow Cadence. I really did need to hit the breaks to avoid the rock I didn't see in the tall grass." A couple seconds of mom comfort and we were back on the bumpy trail. Once back at the house, it was time to explore the yard. The most outstanding lawn ornament is the dog agility dogwalk. The dogs showed our guests how it is done. Cadence's first couple of trips over were a bit tentative but a strong grasp on mom's hand made it doable. Then she could not get enough. "Hey, that is my dogwalk." Only a little time left for a walk through the overgrown pond garden and we headed on the freeway north to Grandmas where more fun adventures awaited.