fall posting

It is now the one year anniversary since bringing Rosy home! She grew up so fast. I really wanted her to slow down a little & not grow up quite so fast. She's a darling, and looks grown up until I see the full grown Welsh Springers. We are doing Rally class now, which, in case you don't know about it, is a more fun version of obedience. She's by far the least experienced dog in the class, and her heeling is still a work-in-progress. But last night, after we had done some practice routines, then practiced heeling and finishes, and all that fun stuff, she looked up at me, jaws agape, tongue lolling out, and eyes all lit up. I think this is her favorite class. Her agility class is ending next week, so I need to find one closer to home. She loves that too, so it is great to see that she also loves working with me in more obedience style stuff. She's a honey.

I'm also thinking that I need to rename this blog Rosy's blog, since that's pretty much all I talk about. On the book level, I'm reading Michigan books like the new book from Kent State University Press, about Orlando M. Poe. Fantastic book, and what a marvelous job of research & hard work. Very painstaking. Poe was the guy behind the Sault Ste. Marie Locks and the one who built many of the Great Lakes Lighthouses. Pretty darn cool stuff. We're still getting books in, and so many of them are so good. One recommendation: January's Sparrow. it is for the older child, possibly juvenile & is a 97 page book. Patricia Polacco wrote this one, and it is based on a real life occurrence in Marshall, Michigan. Really amazing piece of work, as she did both the illustrations and the story. No more time to write, but suffice to say that I'm very busy, yardwork (20 plus bags of leaves, despite the ten I've already taken out) and very involved in tracking sports right now. And planning for Thanksgiving.... much cooking. Mom's asked for my cranberry relish & I will look forward to making that again. It smells so delicious.

With me (and Rosy)

Great class on Friday. I asked for a private training session, so that I could work with some issues with Rosy. The main things were grooming (tolerating it), heeling and casual heeling, and ability to tolerate being handled.

Interesting thing about Rosy is that she prefers that people not handle her head. She also likes to look at what's happening around her. She's very attentive to sound, movement, etc. And yes, most dogs are, but she is particularly so, to a degree that is interesting to work with. She will actually turn her rear end to most people, and lean on their legs (just a little, not hard), so that they can rub or scratch her flanks.

So, since that doesn't go over big in the obedience ring (stand for examination) or in the conformation ring, we'll work on her allow that to happen when I ask her to. The heeling work is particularly important, as I really need her to walk nicely with me so that my back doesn't get yanked out of joint. She's very smart, and learned quickly what we wanted her to do. We'll work on it in the house, in the backyard (those squirrels tease her a lot, so this may be a challenge) , and then driveway, then side walk, and onward. Also did a little bit of obedience work on heeling. The casual heel command will be 'with me' which will let her know she doesn't have to look at me, etc. while we're walking. The heel command will be reserved for the more military style heeling used in the obedience competition ring. I'm very pleased with her progress already.

Also working on attention, which just means the dog looks at you & pays attention to what you're saying. Sound easy? Not for Rosy, who prefers to lean on me (which keeps track of me) and look elsewhere. She definitely wants to keep track of me, which is really fun. She's a good girl.

Had a great track today, and for the first time, I did it without much assistance. I looked back at the first corner to see if she really was indicating the corner & my friends said yes. Did as suggested (and as I had done several times before on tracks) and just called her to me when she started galloping, and held her for a moment to settle her down. Each time she refocused & showed me where the track was. Boy, she's fast! I need to practice my sprinting. Good day for tracking. I put down two tracks, and one went through treelines & the other was a road crossing plus a really difficult tree & plant area, that was a set of bulldozed ruts. When you walked in there, it looked like you were climbing a mountain, but it was actually very easy to go up the hill. Very nice working dogs made short work of them.

saying

When eating a fruit, think of the person who planted the tree.

- Vietnamese saying

Deborah Frontiera's books

Two really wonderful books, both by Deborah K. Frontier. Deborah is a native to Michigan, growing up in Lake Linden in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. She has lived away from Michigan in her adult life, but has a cottage in the UP where she spends her summers.

I especially wanted to mention two books that were recently submitted for the Michigan Notable Books program. One in particular, I especially liked & this one is LIving on Sisu: The 1913 Union Copper Strike Tragedy. The story is written in journal format by the oldest daughter of a Finnish immigrant family at the time of the miners strike, where Big Annie of Calumet plays a prominent role. The story is a remarkable one, encompassing the decision to unionize, to join the strike, the long months of not working, and the ending of the story. Frontiera manages to put a very personal face on the miners' strike, including the effect on people's families and what people did to survive. As well, many details that are missing from modern life, including canning, preserving food for the winter, children having to work to help support the family are well presented here. She does a wonderful job of showing, not telling about these details as well as accurately portraying this long ago time.

I recommend it highly, and this book may be of interest to young readers who like the Laura Ingalls Wilder books. Parents whose children are sensitive to violence should be aware that the Italian Hall Disaster, where over 70 people died, including many children is talked about in this book, as the main character is there in the Hall during that time.

The second book I wanted to mention by Frontiera is Copper Country Chronicler: The Best of J. W. Nara. What an absolutely charming photographic book. Nara took many pictures in the Upper Peninsula, and his photos are full of family details, details of buildings, children, places & scenes of the UP. Really well put together, interesting, and the captions put together a historical perspective on the region.

Enjoy!

Closeup of Rosy's pretty face at 1 year old

I think her tongue is always out. She enjoys life & looking at every thing going on around her.

Rosy's getting ready to show!

Picture says it all! She's growing up nicely.

Ricky passes

Ricky was Gingerwood's Partners In Crime. He's the little guy at the top of the picture, and Bridie is below, with the happy face. His other names were Rick, Ricardo, Richard the Claw (for his habit of pawing whatever he was near to get people's attention). He was an absolute sweetheart, and his only goal was to be near the people he loved. Since he had severe anxiety (separation and other kinds), he was retired from the show ring early on, and my parents had him for the last ten and a half years. He turned twelve on the 3rd of July this year.

I called him Grumpy Old Man, because he was the disciplinarian. Fiona, the black lab took great delight in teasing him gently. He'd bark at her & she'd lick his face gently. He'd get grumpy & you could tell from her demeanor that she thought this was funny & it looked like she was saying, "I know you're grumpy, but I love you lots." They were best buddies when she came here about six years ago. He adored Bridie and his huge stuffed teddy bear with all of his little doggie heart.

Just a couple of weeks ago, he started to lose control of his hindquarters. A doses of prednisone seemed to help, but he developed seizures. The vet believes he had brain lesions or a brain tumor. He went gently to sleep on Friday, one of the best good old boys I've ever had in my life. Rest in peace, dear Ricky, your only goal was to watch over us all, and you did a very good job of that.

Rosy's update

Rosy now has a new harness and it is in dusty Rose to fit her name. She looks cute & this new harness isn't as big as the old one, purchased nearly sixteen years ago. She's also going great guns & getting more & more confidence in tracking. She's great to track with & a great deal of fun. Growing up by the day.

And I can see her from the window, digging a hole to bury her rawhide in. Remarkable that both she & Bridie both liked to take their rawhides out to season. Although in Bridie's case, I think Bridie also wanted to take the rawhides out so the cats wouldn't look at them. As if the cats even wanted to chew on them! (they didn't but she was firmly convinced they had nefarious plans on her rawhides).