Ginny’s Recovery

Posted on June 7, 2015 by Robin

Ginny is at that age where I realized that it was time for her little operation. I’m going to be gone off and on this summer and after I looked up info about dogs coming into heat I realized that I couldn’t leave and think that someone else might have to deal with that. Ginny was a sad puppy when I picked her up from the vet office Wednesday evening. They hadn’t done the spay operation until the afternoon so she was still woozy and tired all night. The next insult was The Cone, but it didn’t hold her down long. She figured out how to pick up her favorite Toy even if i was underneath the cone. This is one day after the spaying and she expected me to throw the Toy. I guess she didn’t read the instructions. This is the next day (2 days after spaying) and she is rolling around with Rusty. No jumping or climbing here and only a little bit of running. Maybe I can discontinue the pain killers.

Dogs in Our Lives

Posted on May 27, 2015 by Robin

This post started as a way to show what Rusty looked like at the age Ginny is now. Ginny is 7 months.I got Rusty when he was 6 months old.

This post has evolved into photos of the other dogs that have been in my life. I am clearing off my old computer before I get rid of it and I found photos that had never been transferred. Then when I searched dogs on my computer I found old scanned photos too. So here you go.This is my mom sometime in the mid-70’s. Murka is the German Shepherd that was our family dog. Blue is on the couch–he was my mom’s dog that she found somehow. I have forgotten the story. Katya or “Kat” is on the table. She was my half-Keeshound (supposedly the other half was coyote) who was very loving but timid, especially of men…like Bonnie and Maggie, who both came to me later. I had Kat through my moves to Utah and Arizona, but she died before I came back to California. Then there was a no-dog period although mom had Blue. When the kids were young and we lived at the dairy we had Brandy and Flash, both rescues of one sort or another. Brandy was given away by someone who also gave us a huge bag of all the flea and anti-itch things that didn’t work on her and Flash was found in a parking lot by a veterinarian I used to work for. I got him as a puppy. Brandy died while we were still at the dairy, but not long after we moved to our current location in 1999 we got Benny, rescued in the Safeway parking lot. Doc, on the left, showed up as a lost dog and was later identified by his owners from just down the road. They took him back but I told them that if they ever wanted to give him away I’d take him. They moved and didn’t want him. He was a wonderful dog, but was killed by a big truck on the road when he chased Benny, who is the only dog we’ve had that would leave the barn to run to the road.I got Rusty after Flash died, but while we still had Benny. My son and DIL got Sam the next year.This is what Sam looks like now. He outweighs Rusty by at least 50 pounds. That’s his buddy, Kirin, who is even bigger now. Bonnie came later. She is the only dog that I have given away but she went to a life that is much better for her. That’s a long story that Rusty has told in his blog.Rusty’s role is as a herding dog. He helps me when I need it but doesn’t have nearly as much work as he’d like.Benny died a few years ago and I wanted to get a dog as a buddy for Rusty. That’s when I got Maggie through Dog Spot Rescue. Rusty told that story too. So now there is Rusty and Maggie……and Ginny.

Ginny is the only dog here that likes to play with toys. While I was working in the garden she dug that hole specifically to bury her toy. Rusty has the last laugh.

Weaving Class Gone to the Dogs

Posted on March 2, 2015 by Robin

I taught a Learn to Weave class this weekend. There were three people who worked diligently all weekend and finished their samplers. I don’t make everyone use the same yarns. Willard used Jaggerspun Green Line, an organic Merino yarn.Ruth used Ashford Tekapo yarn. I didn’t get a photo of Marion’s piece until our group photo but she used Imperial Stock Ranch Erin yarn.I wish that I had a separate classroom that could remain set up for classes and Spinners Night Out but we just have to move everything aside to turn the shop into a classroom.

And this time we made room for dogs also.

This is Bear, who came for the weekend. I don’t usually invite dogs to functions here but made an exception for Bear and her owner. Bear is a Leonberger and this is what Wikipedia says in addition to describing a “generous double coat”: “When properly trained and socialized, the Leonberger is vigilant, loyal, and confident in all situations. Robust, adaptable, obedient, intelligent, playful, and kindly, the Leonberger is an appropriate family companion for modern living conditions”. Evidently that goes for weaving classes too although at times I think Bear was a bit bored with us.

“Mom, can’t we go yet?”

Can you tell from this photos how large bear is? It’s not just the camera perspective.

And then there is Rusty who gets to come in the shop when he hears gunshots and needs to feel safe.At the end of the day.

Bassi Falls

Posted on January 1, 2015 by Robin

Yesterday it was way too cold and windy at Loon Lake … …for us to enjoy snowshoeing for very long so we drove back down……to the trail to Bassi Falls at about 5400′ elevation.There wasn’t enough snow to snowshoe but there was no wind and the other signs of winter were still there. At the base of the falls Meryl and Chris showed off their gymnastic skills.Here is a group shot where we’re not quite as bundled up as in the previous post. How many people does it take to arrange a dog-only group shot? You can see the result of this in Rusty’s blog after he gets his turn at the computer. Maggie and Ginny Once again, Maggie provide entertainment for Ginny because just hiking isn’t enough for her.After the trauma of the first stop we made, Ginny had a great time on this hike. We all thought that she would be worn out for the day, but it seems that the long car ride was enough to revive her and she wasn’t at all tired last night.

Ginny Gets Around

Posted on December 21, 2014 by Robin

Ginny has been here a week and a half. I have been taking her with me on errands so that she’ll be used to going in the car and to help get her socialized. Her first trip to the big city was when I delivered woven pieces to The ClayGround in Winters for a holiday sale. Ginny’s selfie when choosing a Christmas tree. Ginny at her first visit to the veterinarian.

Socializing at home with some of the spinners. Christmas shopping in Vacaville. We’re watching cars go by. More Christmas shopping. I learned that it’s best to go during times of heavy rain because most people stay home (or maybe they are at the malls instead of walking to stores). Even in town you can get off the cement.Back home at the shop. Rusty is fairly tolerant but not always happy about having Ginny around.View from inside looking out.

Wish I Was There

Posted on June 30, 2013 by Robin

It was 107 degrees today and the weather people are predicting 6 days of 105 degrees or over. After a few days of this already I am thinking about a hike we took a few weeks ago. This is a trail in the El Dorado National Forest from Wright’s Lake to Twin Lakes in Desolation Wilderness. We went with my son, Matt, my brother and nephew (who were going to continue into Desolation for a backpacking trip) and, of course, the four dogs.

With my 40 mm lens I get views both …… grand and … …close. It’s dry in the valley and foothills now, but at 6000+ feet there are still plenty of wildflowers.

I love the granite boulders and huge views in the Sierras. That distant mountain is Big Hill, where there is a fire lookout and where Matt sometimes works.Dave and Jack were to continue hiking and discussed the options with Matt who knows this area well. It’s not always easy to get a group photo of all four dogs. We are so fortunate to live in an area where we can get to the mountains in just a couple of hours and that we are able to enjoy it by hiking.

But this is what I’m thinking about today as the temperature soared.Silver Creek cascades over granite and forms beautiful waterfalls and refreshing pools along its length. That’s Matt with Sam and Kirin. I took a dip too and I would relish that now. Rusty and Maggie like their water a little more shallow.We hiked about 8 miles I think. Toward the end Maggie didn’t want to leave the pools. I think the water felt good on her feet.This is one of Twin Lakes in Desolation Wilderness.

Benny 1999 – 2012

Posted on June 11, 2012 by Robin

Benny was found cowering in a rain storm under the shopping carts at Safeway by the daughter of my friend, Colleen. Colleen rescued him and got him healthy. We had just moved to our current location a few months before and decided that we could handle another dog since we had only Flash at the time. Colleen had said that Benny was probably a Border Collie mix. What I didn’t expect when I saw him was that his legs were only about half the length they should have been to match his body. Colleen raised Corgis–maybe Benny looked normal to her!

We’ll never know what trauma Benny had experienced before he was adopted. He was always loving to our kids and their friends, but was not trustworthy with adult strangers.

Katie took Benny in the obedience classes at the 4-H Dog Shows, but he was never given the Canine Good Citizen award because of his tendency to growl at a stranger who approached with a hand out (unless the hand was throwing treats).

Flash (right) was also found in a parking lot as a puppy and I got him from my vet at the time. He was probably about 6 when we got Benny. Doc (left) was a wonderful dog who came to us later when the neighbors moved and they didn’t want to take him. Benny looks as though he fits in, except for those short legs. Flash and Doc are both long gone.

The next dogs were Rusty and Bonnie. Bonnie has since found a good home in Modoc County where she is a lot happier than she was here.

Benny greets Ozzie when he moved in two years ago. What is it with animals with no homes?

Investigating this spring’s temporary house-lamb.

Benny had congestive heart failure and kidney failure and is now buried under the trees here at his home.

Flash

Yesterday

Posted on May 26, 2011 by Robin

In a round-about way I figured out how out how to find my photos that are resized for the blog. I will probably learn a better way later.

My friend, Jackie, had asked me to check Rusty’s social calendar for Wednesday because she needed help moving her sheep into the shelter in preparation for shearing a few of them today. What a difference a dog makes. Poor Rusty didn’t get to do much because once he showed up the sheep WANTED to go in the shelter with the llama.

Back at the shop, here is what UPS delivered today. This is silk/merino sliver in several colors. Soft, ready to spin.

And this is soft Merino fiber. Now I need to get this posted on my website.

Wool samples, wet dogs, and a turkey!

Posted on June 24, 2010 by Robin

I posted a photo of my rams yesterday. Here are the wool photos:

This is the fleece of Meridian Tioga.

Here is Kenleigh’s Savor’s wool. Tioga’s wool is crimpy and soft. Savor’s wool is lofty without visible crimp. Both are good fleeces for spinning, but have different character.

Portrait of Savor.

Jackie came back to the fair today to help out with the SplashDog performance and give her dog, Ringo a lesson. These are photos of Ringo learning the game.