Liberation, Thanks to Liam

I commented to Bill yesterday that we had reached a milestone for two reasons.  It had been a year from the day I first laid eyes on precious Liam in Hunters, Wash.,  and instantly picked him from the litter.

Secondly, a year later, we are finally feeling a bit liberated from the constant care and stress that taking on a puppy can bring. 

At the time of my comment, I was headed out the door, excited about getting back to my regular neighborhood walks----without much concern about discovering a disaster in the garage upon my return.   

We are actually starting to trust Liam-----most of the time, that is. 

He still runs with a leash, and we hold on to that leash most of the time when he's in the front yard or near the woods. 

The great news:  knock on wood---he has not destroyed anything inside the house lately.  The digging in the doggie run continues on, however, but I simply fill the holes and tell him for the umpteenth time "No digging."  I'm sure Liam understands me, but his desire to please Mom on all counts still remains about C+.  

I really would not mind the digging in the dog run if only those pearly white feet and legs weren't coated with a sticky layer mud after Liam's daily excavation adventures.  

Which brings to mind another topic:  more money was spent on dogs yesterday----not just Liam, though.

Since rain has been falling almost steadily since early October and the abundant moisture has caused a lot of mud which has caused daily dirty doggie feet, I decided that life might be a lot easier for me if I had a doggie dryer.  

So, I ordered one yesterday.  It will be here in about a week, and then I'm pretty sure it will stop raining.  

We own a snowblower to stop the snow, and now I'll have a doggie hair dryer to stop the rain.  Well, at least that's the hope.

Nevertheless, should it continue to be wet outside after the dryer arrives, I will be a happy camper, and my towels, washer and dryer can take a rest. 

Doggies can step into their bath tubs----Liam takes the big one in the downstairs bathroom, while little Foster bathes in the laundry-room sink.  Then, comes toweling off.

Hopefully, that will end when the new dryer, which is equipped with a feature that keeps the scary sound from sending doggies under the table like the vacuum cleaner. 

Fingers crossed that my afternoon doggie dry-off will make life easier for all involved.  

All that said, I did enjoy a nice walk through the neighborhood yesterday.  It was a good thing, too, because shortly after my return, the sun left, clouds came, and wet gloom hovered around for the rest of the day. 

Afternoon steady rain washed away that layer of snow from the night before. 

Thankfully, we had the Seahawks who were rolling to another fine victory to help us forget just how ugly it was outside.  Love that Russell Wilson, and I think Pete Carroll's pretty neat too. 

Who knows how much rain we'll have today!  I do know that the entire front yard was a giant sponge as I searched for high ground in the darkness this morning. 

We trudge on, though, looking forward to this Thanksgiving week when we'll wrap up the last of the "to do's" for winter.  Tomorrow, the horses get their shoes off and their hooves trimmed.

Did I happen to mention that I had them shod in late September with great expectation for all that trail riding in October?  Did I mention that it rained almost every day in October?

I've had to rationalize the expense of shoeing horses who never got ridden by thinking of a car (like our Subaru which has sat in the driveway since the deer encounter in October). It still needs its tires for the day we do get to drive it again.  

We're apparently at the low end of a line-up at the body shop.  Could be a few more deer mobiles ahead of us. 

So, cars need tires in case we drive them; horses need shoes in case we ride them. Never mind the expense. 

Now, it's gonna cost me nearly a hundred dollars to have those shoes taken off.  Still, a pittance, though, when I think back on what Liam has cost us in the last year.  

The only answer to all this:  a deep-felt "priceless."  Wouldn't have it any other way!

Happy Monday. 

One more item this morning, related to beloved Border Collies.  The folks who own Loki in the photo above are still desperately looking to find their pup.  

So, if you're local and you've seen a Border Collie pup (six months old) that suddenly appeared in your area back in October, give these people a call. 

I heard that they even stopped at the Colburn ranch the other day when they saw a Border Collie which they had not seen there before.   Turned out to be Little Joe who belongs to Willie and Debbie.  

I truly hope these people find their little dog.  Believe me, the love runs deep for these pups. 

Always a neat neighborhood favorite:  Murray's old board fence