Anniversary

Forty years ago Dave and I were married in what is presently our backyard. Before the ceremony, guests went into the woods and yard to admire and gather wild flowers to use as decorations.

I have greatly expanded the gardens but we still have the wildflowers which are still admired by guests and our fir kids - even Vineman.

 Topydog

Cedar was coaxed from digging in the flower beds for a photo.

Cedar, Koyuk and Trask

 Koyuk with puppies on board.

 Cedar

 Trask

Dave, if possible, I love you more today than 40 years ago. We have shared a wonderful life together.

Logging Front Row Seat

Icemageddon took out hundreds of our trees including several old growth firs behind the house. Today loggers started to salvage the giants. The dogs and I had front row seats from my office.

 The yellow is the skidder.

Before last winter, the trees and their branches were so dense you could not see the forest floor let alone the sky on the horizon. Now the skidder dragging logs can easily be seen against the sunlit forest foliage.

 Koyuk at her view point.

 Trask chose the shade in the 90 degree heat.

 Something caught Trask's eye.

Cedar chose to watch from the dog couch. She seemed to get a kick out of Koyuk choosing her backside to sit on for a better view.

After the loggers had gone for the day I spotted a swarm of bees over 100' high and 10s of feet wide between our yard grass area and the woods. .

The loggers must have displaced them. Years ago a similar swarm chose our unused fireplace chimney to set up home. After a bee keeper removed the swarm and it's honey, I put a metal plate covered with cement over the hole. These guys are not going to find a new home there again. But I do wonder where they took up residence.

The dogs watched the swarm from a respectful distance.

Cedar's face is healing but I am afraid she will retain the scars from her attack.

Father's Day Trask

Happy Father's Day Trask sire of 6 pups.

Wrigleyville Litter born 4-27-2017- Addison and Clark

 Addison 6-17-2017

 Clark - 6-17-2017

Rain Mountain Irish Revoluntionary Litter born 3/8/2016 - I do not have adult pictures.
Wolfe Tone (Rudy)

Rudy with Trask

 Bernadette Devin (Sitka)

Maud Green

 Bobby Sands

Koyuk IS With Puppy

"PR" BrownStone Iditarod Koyuk, CGC, CGCA, CGCU, TT, NSD, RN (Koyuk) is 29 days pregnant.
We couldn't stand not knowing and since my vet finally got an ultrasound machine, we made a quick peek confirmation appointment.
She has had morning sickness for a three days - right on time and a sure sign. To supplement her not eating and increase her protein intake, I have added a hard boiled egg to her diet. I did learn the hard way that the egg needs to be eaten in the morning - urpy mom or not. Koyuk starts out her night as close to me as possible and with her head on my shoulder. At some point during the night she flips around, head to to bottom of the bed, but still stretched out against me. Egg farts are sleep disruptors.
Not happy to be at the vet and on the scale - she has actually lost 1 lb from not eating kibble.

In the tiny Ultrasound room. Koyuk is phenomenally strong and was not at all willing to be wedged onto her back on the exam pillow. We finally got her placed and quick wand passes showed at least 3 pups in each horn though there are probably more. She was not up to a slow examination to identify each whelp.

 Two of the little whelps.

Now to the store to get her high protein puppy food, cottage cheese and more eggs.

Beautiful Morning - Tasky Day - Horrible Evening

The dogs were very persuasive when it came to getting up early this morning. After one look outside, I ran out with my sheers and camera.
Morning bouquet

 VineMan welcoming the day.

 First light on the poppies.

 Plumping Koyuk

 "Come on guys - just one more shot and you will get breakfast."

 Got it.

Koyuk is gaining weight - puppies or lazies?

Good thing the dogs got me going early. Nothing around here is a one step process. Thus far today that truism held. Dave lost two wheels on his mower and it was in my way of my boat. After finding the the wheels, I had to find a shovel down in the garden to dig holes so I could fit them back on and bolts to replace the pins that had been lost somewhere in the yard. Then I could move the mower and move my boat trailer in to the garage so I could put my boat on it. The tire was flat on the boat trailer. It came off the rim as I moved it to the garage. With the totally-in-my-way-canine-assistance, all of the items pictured, including two socket sets, wrenches of various sizes, air tools, two straps (the first broke while making a windless to go around the tire), house jack, CRC, spray soap and of course the last of my morning coffee were used in the process of getting the tire back on the rim and inflated.

 A frozen wheel bolt prevented me from just taking the tire to town.

Everything is now put away. I am having a relaxing lunch while editing pictures then it is off to finally putting the boat on the trailer.  Or maybe napping in the grass with the dogs - after mowing it that is.

Mowing is done. A dump load of weeds are pulled. The boat is on the trailer. However, a day that started out so beautiful did not end that way. My dog are enclosed in an invisible fence system. I heard ruckus barking while sipping my wine on the back patio but thought it was the dogs going crazy because the kids next door were having an end-of-school party. The usual quiet of the evening filled with rap music and barking. Then Dave called me to deal with Cedar's wounds.

These had to have been caused by a neighborhood dog coming into the invisible fence area of our yard. My beautiful, sweet, National Champion of Champions Cedar is now a scar face.

These pictures were taken after I cleaned up the blood. There is not enough wine to end this day.

A Day at BrownStone Chinooks

June 5, 2017 - began a cool, sunny, beautiful day with every outdoor surface coated yellow pollen. But, alas isn't that why hay-fever medicine was created - for use in the pollen capital of the world? Without pollen, we wouldn't have such beautiful flowers and trees delighting our morning.
Icemageddon clean-up is still ongoing. This morning I met with the neighbor to remove part of a large oak tree that had taken out my vegetable garden fence and irrigation system. A wonderful friend had repaired the irrigation pipe and replaced the sprinkler head but dangling 8' diameter, limbs from the oak tree threatened to once again take them out. Success. The deer can still easily hop over the fence and finish off my pea crop but the pipes are no longer at risk.
Next chore was mowing the lawn. I tried to sit with my coffee and paper to enjoy the morning light but just couldn't. The overgrown grass called. I now know that my lawn mower is not a two-stroke engine and that two-stroke oil makes it not run. I thought I was being prudent starting the season out with new oil.  Guess I should have asked when type was needed. We now have a future dust free section of our gravel drive and the mower works perfectly.
When I came in for lunch, I looked out to see:

From this vantage point, the deer can easily see the tasty morsels awaiting in the garden. All five of these bucks still have velvet on their antlers. Protecting the four trees I just planted to replace those lost to snow and ice needs to go higher on my to-do list before they become handy velvet relief and marking posts.

This beautiful dock was built by friends during Dave's last birthday party. Currently a mom mallard and her four chicks live under the ramp and in the iris. They have kept us entertained for a couple of weeks. The little ones are real speedsters until they try to perch on the Lilly pads.

Early afternoon Dave and I went to the hospital where he had nine pounds of fluid taken off. He is now breathing and moving much easier.
And for all of those following her progress. Koyuk is looking pregnant. She is up a couple of pounds and is exceptionally clingy. I don't know if it is her hormones or not but both she and her mom Cedar are digging dens.