Watching from the Rainbow Bridge

Yesterday, our good friends, Darlah and Nathan, lost their beautiful Golden, Terra.  She was 10 years old.  She was, as they call her, the Havanese Socializer.  Over the years, Terra was introduced to the small pups as a way for them to get used to bigger dogs.  She was a wonderful family member and our Cooper got to play with her when he would visit Talemaker Camp.  All of us who have become part of the Talemaker Family over the years are feeling the pain of their loss.  Terra is now watching over her family and furry friends from the Rainbow Bridge.  I am taking the liberty of attaching two pictures of Terra that Darlah posted on her blog.  Pictures are worth a thousands words.

Today is September 1 and it feels like it.  Although the weather is sunny and very warm, the leaves have started to turn and even fall, from lack of rain.  Russell will have to blow the leaves soon otherwise Cooper will bring them all in the house.  Yep, the fun season of pulling leaves out of Cooper's coat has started.  But we don't mind.  It is part of the joy of having a full coat Havanese.

We had a great trip to NYC. The weather was sunny,  hot and humid.  We walked miles and miles.  We didn't buy anything except a few dog toys and a dog clock which is pretty original and it fits nicely in our home.  We ate at nice restaurants and tasted some good wines.  We saw Mamma Mia for the 5th time and we thought the cast was the best we had seen.  We went to the Top of the Rock and admired the view of New York City.  Pretty impressive.  It was a fun few days and a nice way to celebrate our anniversary.

As usual, while we were away, Cooper was on vacation at Talemaker Camp.  He had a great time and even ran in the mud with Kat.  He also went swimming with Roxie.  Darlah took many pictures of his exploits.  I attach a few, including one that she took of Cooper after she gave him a full bath, which was soappreciated by us.  It was a thoughtful gesture on her part.

We are still doing some hard manual work outside:  on Friday, 12 cubic yard of mulch was delivered.  Today,  2 bush cords of wood was delivered (equivalent of 6 face cords).  Russell and I put it all away in the wood shed. It took us about 5 hours.  We should have enough wood for a couple of winters....  I will start mulching away in the next few days.  I have a bit more planting to do first.

This is a short blog.  I will be honest.  After putting away all this wood, I am totally spent, so is Russell.    We have no energy left.  It was hard work.  I hope you are all having a nice long weekend.  I wish you  a nice short week.

Terra and Andy

Lola resting on Terra's head

Cooper navigating the pool...a natural swimmer.

Shake it baby......after a nice swim.

Cooper behaving as best he can post bath...the treats keep his attention.