Cooper & Spicy's Kingdom : Cooper, Brie and Colby playdate!

Today, we had the pleasure of having Brie and Colby over for a visit, with their human parents, Jane and Mark. It was fun watching the dogs play their hearts out, well mostly Brie and Cooper, while Colby was perfectly content to stand back and watch them play. It was interesting to see the interaction between the three Havanese. Colby is the quiet one while Brie likes to be part of the action. She found her match in Cooper. Having said this, Colby was all set to get his treat as you can see in the attached picture. We wanted to take a group picture. Colby and Cooper were cooperating but Brie was too excited and wouldn't stand still for the picture! All three have a unique personality. Jane and Mark brought yummy cupcakes and a couple of toys for the Coop. Thanks for coming over. We had a great time!

This past week was a good one. I had a good agility class with Cooper on Wednesday although we cut it short a bit. The mosquitoes were at their worst, with all the rain that we had the previous days. I applied all the tricks that Lynda, our trainer, showed me, and she was impressed at how focused Cooper has become.

I planted many more plants and I think that I am truly done now. I know I say that all the time and somehow I always find a spot to plant more but this time, I think I am truly done. The deer have not touched any of our plants in over two weeks and they have been around. The Bobbex deer repellant seems to work.

The pollen season is still in full swing, at least in our area. According to what I've been reading, it should end in a week or so. I gotta to tell you that every single day, we have to sweep the deck, the outside furniture, the inside furniture, floors, etc as the pollen is everywhere. Of course, if we kept our windows shut, we wouldn't have this problem, but who wants to keep windows shut when the weather is so nice. Even Coop's paws are yellow. No wonder why my allergies are so bad.

On Monday morning, Russell noticed a luna moth on our front porch light. It stayed there for a full 6 days and finally left yesterday morning. According to what we read about luna moths, it completed its transformation over 6 days and departed to complete its lifecycle. The things we see and learn.....

We had quite the thunderstorm on Tuesday. We sat on our front porch and watched it happening. At some point, we literally felt the ground shake. Cooper was a tad unsettled but we made no fuss about it. He got up, walked around the deck, then settled down behind our chairs. That was his way to find refuge. Cooper does like to be on the front deck though. He likes to watch the chipmunks and it takes everything in his power not to run after them. That is because we tell him to "stay" and we no longer put him on a leash while we are on the deck with him. That is an improvement from last year where we always kept him on a leash.

All is good with Russell and I. Russell keeps going to the gym although he has modified his workout. He has some joint stiffness which prevents him from doing certain things. He will start having deep tissue massages this week and hopefully this will help. As for me, I decided that I didn't want to be cooped up in a gym during the Summer months so I go for my fitness walk every day. It is a 4.8 km walk. Sometimes I run into one of our neighbours so we walk together. Otherwise, I walk alone, with my bear bell and walking stick.

My parents' house will be listed most likely by the end of this week. The real estate agent took pictures for the listing and was very pleased with how the house looked. Now we wait for the house to sell. Russell and I thought that they could use a little break so we will go to Montreal towards the end of July, pick them up, and bring them to Huntsville for a few days, then drive them back to Montreal. It will be nice to have them over.

That's about it for this week's blog. The sun is shining and it is so warm. Nice! Cooper is now having a nap, being quite tired after his playdate. No doubt Brie and Colby are also having a nap! Have a great week everyone. For my friends in Quebec, Bonne Fete de la St-Jean-Baptiste!