Spring Transitions

We enjoyed the first barbecue of the season last night. After working in his forest for the afternoon, Bill came in and said he was headed to town to get propane.

"I'll barbecue some chicken," he added.

Well, he later added some Polish brat burgers to the menu's meat mix.  I fixed a salad, and melted some Tillamook cheese over tortilla chips.

More than enough of a feast, I decided.  Brat burgers are pretty rich, so the added chicken breast smothered in barbecue sauce turned to be a little more than my stomach could hold.

While Bill went to town to get his propane, I was raking lawn clippings in the front yard.  

I could hear someone with a dog named Zoe behind the cedar row bordering the road.

Turns out it was yet another puppy parent, and, later, I learned that the eight-month-old pup was related to the pups Foster met last week at the Ginter Property puppy party.

Well, Resa (hope that's spelled right) brought her adorable Zoe into the yard.  As we humans got acquainted, pups, along with Foster's big sister Kiwi,  played nonstop for an hour.

Yup, Resa, who just retired from the Forest Service, and I talked all through Bill's trip to town.  Then, Bill added to the mix cuz he'd known Resa through work. 

Pups played on.

Needless to say, Foster slept soundly last night.  

I'm astounded at the number of us crazy, newly minted pup owners.  Resa told of another new pup mom Dolly who'd received her new mini-Aussie from North Dakota last week.  

Small world in pup parenting, and I could almost say that was "so ten days ago" cuz I'd already heard about the "about to be a pup mother" story from my good friend Kim (Dolly's daughter) at Yoke's Pharmacy.

We have "so reverted to younger days," being new parents again.  I told Bill this morning I was going to have to take Foster to the Pooch Parlor to have his nails clipped.

Then, I caught myself and said, "What has become of us that we are now resorting to all this primping of pups?"

We're crazy in love with our young dogs---that's all.  And, the way our little Foster has taken to my mother is worth it all.  He loves her and provides her great joy.  So, it's worth it all. 

Speaking of "worth it all," we're waiting to hear from some local fence builders who, we hope, will build us a dog run south of the house. 

With the hay field needing to function as a hay field to keep the horses fed, we need to find another safe place for the Border Collie Nation Plus One to play.

Today we may know the details---especially how much it's worth---about getting the facility built.

And, as I mention horses, I must note that today marked the last day of barn cleaning until November.  Within two days, the garden hoses will be coming out for morning watering of gardens.  So, time taken up cleaning barns will be replaced with another task.

The horses will stay in the barnyard at night for the rest of the spring, summer and fall.  During that time, we have to do another project----replace the rotted-out stall floors with something that won't rot.  

We're hoping to put gravel in the stalls, line them and then reinstall the mats.  It's going to take some time, and we definitely need to tackle that project before the summer heat comes on.

Finally, in this morning's transition line-up,  I must do another shout out for our beloved Debbie (I do miss our morning visits).  Yesterday, she and her friend Alicia witnessed history in France.

And, they were in the thick of the crowds as the announcement came that France will have a new president.

It gives me goosebumps to think of the phenomenal opportunity Debbie has had to witness world history firsthand.  

So, there's a transition at the dinner table to barbecues, I've said good bye to shoveling and hello to watering.  Soon, doggies will have a new place to play safely, and, on her travels,  Debbie continues to experience daily transitions in her life.

It's a gorgeous Monday here,  so good bye to complaining, hello to Hallelujah's.