Socializing with the big boys

So with the weather being nice..aka HOT! (It shouldn't be 96 anywhere the temperature drops below 0.) We have been walking down at the park by the house.

The park has a nice walking path that is a couple miles and part of the rouge river that runs through it. (more like a nice creek) It makes a nice place to walk and let him sense out the outdoors. We find birds, kids, grass, smells, leaves, and dinosaurs. That's right very large dinosaurs. Known today as Newfoundland dogs. This was the first time I have seen one of these things, and not exagerating he was bigger than I was, much less my little puppy.

Here is the link to them on wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newfoundland_%28dog%29

Well mannered dog, but wow he was big.


We apparently like our new bed.

This is our newest trick in addition to being able to sit, shake, and speak. We lay on our back and put our paws in the air when you hover your hands over us.

Boy has it been hot!

So enough for one night, since I woke the sleepers in the living room getting this picture.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful evening, Happy Friday!

All Ollie all the time!

So I recall a statement by my lovely wife about 4-5 weeks ago saying something along the lines of "So are you ready?"   And of course my ignorant self says "Ready for what?"   So as the story goes she says, "For your life to be completely turned upside down when we get the puppy."  The End

Well that's probably not exactly how the story went be it was something really similar, and BOY was she right.

 

So we have been blessed the joy of raising this puppy, and watching him grow.  And Grow he has, he doesn't appear to get any bigger, but every time he takes a nap, I"m convinced he grows in his sleep.

So as a tribute to the last 2 weeks.  Here is a dial-up unfriendly tribute to the "puppy piranha" as the neighbors nephew calls him.

Ollie giving "kisses" to the camera.

Although through this week we learned what real ducks look like, then have suddenly became interested in real ducks, we are still slightly afraid of the creek.  But before too long... watch out ducks Ollie wants to play.

Practicing our sad face

Our bed finally came in the mail.

Worn out, and hot.  About the only time I like to sit still for the camera.

 And of course it wouldn't be any fun without moving pictures.

Home Sweet Dog Locker

We finished Ollie's dog locker before we picked him up this weekend (pictures following).  His dog bed still hasn't shipped yet, but we had fun with some of the other accessories like the fleece blanket and pillow I made.

My mom gifted us his dog treat canister for our anniversary too by a china company in England called Spode.

In college my mom hand-made this potpourri satchel, painted with portrait of our family greyhound, Tiler.  It hangs as a decoration above Ollie's bed now.

My Uncle Bruce even made this little model dog

when he was a kid and I've had it ever since I was little, 

so now it's on shelf in Ollie's locker. 

I used Pottery Barn's utility baskets to store extra toys , treats, and leashes.

vizsla approved . . . .

With family in town, shopping, the Memorial Day parade and lunch on the patio, you could say we've had a busy weekend, judging by Ollie's reaction . . .

Turn you're speakers on for this one . . . .

more to come, the excitement is never ending.

Ollie Ollie Oxen Free II

Les I drove 3.3 miles North of a town called Bad Axe, MI today to visit the Sunrise Vizsla Nursery today to meet the puppies and pick out Ollie.  The litter had (3) boys and (3) girls, all of which are super cute. 

One of the boys was pretty outgoing and immediately made Les his jungle gym . . . an then a few others joined in

Then there were three.

Dog pile!

It was a hard decision, but we did pick one and we're excited to get to bring him home in two weeks!

Oliver Key

Rosco says Hi

Thought I'd throw a couple pics up for entertainment.  Wanted to let everyone know what was going on in the now not so frigid North.

Neighbor said he saw a groundhog making the rounds at the house recently.  Well....with a garden in the works the last thing we need is help digging and consuming.  So, we borrowed his live trap and set it up,  go to town.   Come home, and the excitement is brewing, the door is down and we caught the thing, only to be surprised by one of the stupid squirrels.

If you ever wanted to use live animals as a projectile, all you have to do is cage a squirrel, aim the cage, and open the door.  Recently freed squirrels can move nearly the speed of light.


With the puppy on the way, it's been high gear for getting the dog's furniture completed.  More to come soon but here is tonights progress.Rabbited the back of the top tonight, so I can put the beadboard in.  Add the shelves and pins, add trim then it's turned over to the finishing department for completion.  (aka Amanda).

More to come on Sunday.

There she Grows!

Well with gardening season upon us, more progress has been made the the growing department. Being the "tree-huggers" we are we decided to try our hand at composting.  We recycle all we can since the ability is readily available to us so we have already minimized the amount of trash we generate to less than a bag a week. But...with the amount of cooking we like to do and the amount of vegetables we like to eat, they in themselves tend to generate waste that can be used to nourish future veggies. So... off to researching compost bins.

there is always the utilitarian approach...

But of course with a small lot we have to consider the amount of space, the neighbors, and the aesthetics of this approach.

Then of course there are the pre-manufactured versions

But again, although clever and functional,  these get to be expensive and the idea of a big black plastic device, just isn't quite right with the appeal of the house.  Just lacks cohesiveness. 

So we need classy, cutesy, clever, and creative. The 4 C's,  at least I think that is what the jeweler was referring to. Back to scouring the endless trails of useless information, aka, the internet.

And of course if you search long enough your bound to find something interesting.  Perhaps a compost bin that looks a lot like a beehive.  GREAT, it meets the 4 c requirement.  Now, price... only 150 British pounds  ~ $300 American.  Well that is out of my price range. So the clever and crafty kick in, and again, a little more web wonders, some manipulating free bee-hive plans. and Whala! (voila if your proper)

5/8" x 6" x 6' cedar fence slats, $2.50 at lowes.  4 slats = 3 lifts.  The rest was scrap wood laying around, as well as the black paint left behind at the school, now put to good use.

So...for what could have been $300 and perhaps a little different.  has a home for less than $25 hardware included.

The lift on the right was an extra from the decision process of how tall to make it. Perhaps it will need a twin eventually. But for now our composter is set in place and has begun it's duties in making us natural organic fertilizer.  As for the stereo-typed "smell" web research says that if you start getting an odor it is out of balance; there should be a balance of organics and greens I believe is what it said. Or at least something like that.  So for now....   

More images to come once the mulch is spread.

Ollie, Ollie, Wood dust everywhere

So the weather is warming up and the projects are moving along.  Not much to post on this one but thought I'd share a little interum progress on the dog locker.  Still have pieces to make and lots of taking apart working and putting back together to do but its starting to take shape.

It's still in it's rough stages but we should have to more progress in the next week or so,  it's nice to see things coming to light.  Hope this finds everyone safe and blessed.