Thursday, April 29, 2010

Routines


Photo:   Afternoon Walk with Skinny, Sierra and Buddy

Someone asked me yesterday how a beginner knows what to do when they come here.
The answer is:  the dogs know.   They love their routines, whether it's hooking up to run or going for an afternoon walk... whatever it is, they know when it is their turn.  There are so many things they know that it fascinating to watch them as I move from pen to pen each day.   They know who gets to run free,
who gets tied out, who is tied for feeding.   Generally, they expect me to get into my truck at about 1PM to go for supplies. They expect me to return before 3 PM.  We do change their routines to alleviate boredom, especially in the summer months.  But, routines help us to get it all done, each day.  And they cooperate when they know what to expect.   What great dogs they all are.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Doors

Spring is finally 'real' when we start removing the doors and the straw from the dogs' houses.
We started on Saturday .  The dogs get very interested when we do anything to their houses, either
adding or removing straw.  We also get a chance to look at and repair the structures too, since winter
in and out can be tough on the wood houses.

The winds were back, blowing sand everywhere so we ran the sprinklers again. We also took a quick run
to the lake to mark dead trees for removal.  

Photo:   Still rather stark looking, but early spring nevertheless.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Still No Rain

We had just a few drops of rain, but nothing to help the blowing sand.  We ran sprinklers for a full day.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

A Day at Summer Place: Spring , 2010

Four AM Up and at 'em. Coffee, catch up on the computer.
Five AM Laundry: dog beds, towels, etc.
Six AM Feed house dogs; and older outside dogs.
Feed all kennel dogs. Check older dogs with health problems.
Seven AM Walk house dogs, .75 miles. Feed deer. Pick up trail cameras.
7:30AM Begin rotation of exercising all dogs, cleaning pens.
8:30AM Rake straw from each pen, haul straw and dump it.
9:30AM Fix tarps in all pens, trim, bungee, place for best shade (going
to be a relentless sun day.
10:30AM Continue running dogs; finish pens; change all water, all pens.
11:30AM Haul waste, haul straw, final morning runs.
Noon Shower and head to town for supplies.
2:00 PM Return with supplies, unload.
3:00 PM Give afternoon treat to all dogs; walk house dogs, .50 miles.
Second shower to get rid of more ticks. More laundry.
4:00 PM Medicines to all dogs needing them. Rotate dogs as usual. Return
Buddy and Eos to house for the night.
5:00 PM House chores.
8:00 PM Calling it a day.

More Spring




As I started up the Ranger today, something ran up my back and leaped off of my head before I could see it. I'm guessing it was a napping ground squirrel or shrew
or mouse that I disturbed. They do like to sleep in my machines.

Photos from today:

Monday, April 19, 2010

Spring Sequence








Skinny and Sierra led an off trail tour looking for wildflowers yesterday.
Everything is a bit early.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Early Spring


The dogs are howling, the wildlife is abundant and roaming, the feral farm cat is around teasing the dogs, many birds , including the turkeys, are back. About a month earlier than usual, the grass is growing and we're hauling spring straw earlier as well. And, we've found our first wood ticks.

Welcome to summer at Summer Place Kennel.