Spring Envy & Swallows!

Okay, I admit it. I have spring envy! 

I'm sure if you look, you'll find it in some medical journal some where.

Everyone else has pictures of colorful flowers and bright green grasses and pretty little birds. 

We have mud and snow and ice. Yes, still! 

Blackie waiting for Dan to throw him a snowball.

So, to get into the spring frame of mind, we decided to build some swallow nests. Something we've been meaning to do for a while now. And hopefully, just in time to entice the swallows when they arrive. Dan picked up the lumber and cut the pieces out.  

My friend Melayne cut the nice little holes for the doors.

She has cool tools. We don't.

 I nailed them together and painted them with Krylon.

These are the tops. Like my Camo Painting?

 Dan and Blackie hung up the first one today. 

 (It was sort of a community project.) 

Facing South, of course.

  We couldn't have done it without Blackie. (:  

 He had a blast chasing snowballs and wallowing in the snow.  

I just want it to melt!

 

 

Doesn't it just say, "WELCOME!"?

 

 

*** 

 

Oh Spring.....and little Swallows....

 How we anxiously await your arrival!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**** Linking in to Verde Farms, Farm Friend Friday. Thanks Amy! ****

Check it out, Ya'll!

 

 

The Amazing Dog and Odor Layering

If you're an experienced bird dog man or woman, you probably already know what odor layering is. But if you don't I will explain it now.

When we make a pot of vegetable beef soup, we add the individual ingredients all together in a pot and simmer it up until it smells like "soup". You may sell the bay leaf, or the beef,  but in general, you smell the odor of the combined ingredients. If your dog is in the house he's smelling that same pot of soup, only he can smell the individual ingredients. The carrots, the potatoes, the meat, the spices, all individually. This is odor layering.

Odor sort of hoovers like fine baby powder then settles to the ground. Many things can interfere with a dogs ability to find  odor. Ultraviolet rays and wind can break down an odor.

So doesn't it seem almost impossible for a dog to pick up on an odor that is days, or weeks old? Does to me, but they do.  And some blood Hounds have actually been known to track the odor of a human down the road and down the interstate for miles and miles. I saw a test they did on "Dog Genius" on Nat Geo Wild, myself. It's hard to believe but true.

Amazing Dogs with amazing noses!

Hooking Up Veterans With Dogs

War Dog Memorial in Guam- A soldier and his canine partner stop to pay their respects.

Rep. Michael Grimm, R-NY, spent 8 years in the Marines serving his country, before he started representing NY. He knows a little something about Veterans and their needs and has a wonderful idea on how we can help them.

His idea also includes saving shelter dogs. Pairing them with Veterans who will train the dogs to help other veterans. Many Veterans who are dealing with Post Traumatic Stress have trouble with a lack of focus and purpose in their life. Something we all need, every day. Training the dogs, is suspected to give them focus and purpose, by the fact that the dog they are training will go to a another Vet to help make his life easier.

It's not known for sure if training the dogs can help reduce Post Traumatic Stress, but Grimm would like to launch a pilot program to find out. The bill is co-sponsored by Reps. Peter King of New York, Leonard Lance of New Jersey,  and  Michael Michaud D-Maine.

The Human Society has endorsed the idea, and has already implemented a program of their own in D.C. called,  Dog Tags.  Camp Pendleton in California, also has a similar program called Operation Heroes and Hounds. Both programs use homeless and shelter dogs.

This is a no brainer - a true WIN WIN WIN situation. A soldier saves a dog, who saves a soldier, who saved the first soldier.

God bless the soldiers who protect us, they are our Heroes. And 

God bless the dogs who are their Heroes.

This article was originally posted on the web site Army Times, by Rick Maze.

Photo courtesy The Blog Of Record

WOW! Look What Terry Scoville Did!

As you guys know, recently I posted a note about Terry Scoville at Women's Hunting Journal , and her quest to find quality hunting apparel in women's sizes.
She has written to Cabelas several times and asked them to address the issue. Frankly, Terry was pretty pissed off. And she got results!

Go to Women's Hunting Journal to read the story and find out how she became a Cabela's Field Tester.

If you're a woman hunter you'll want to sign up on Terry's web site. If ever you wanted any piece of hunting apparel that you can't get in women's sizes,  NOW is the time to speak up and ask for it. Terry is providing a wonderful opportunity for all of us girls.  It's going to be exciting to see what they will send her to test. She's got my attention!

Way to go Terry!

Can You Hear Us Now, Cabelas??

Ladies, this is your chance to speak out! Terry Scoville, at Womens Hunting Journal, is putting together a list of what we ladies would like to have in hunting apparel. Terry is fed up with the "tremendous inequities amongst what is offered to men and not women who participate in the same outdoor pursuits."

As a small woman, I agree totally. I am not "one size fits all". That's the worst size of all!  I know there are other small women out there (Leigh) and (Emily) but this isn't just about being small and not finding the right clothing for the hunt. It is about finding quality hunting clothing that is available and is actually made for a woman.

I don't understand why the market is so limited in women's hunting apparel. I've had my blog now for over a year and I've seen women involved in all kinds of hunting. There are bird hunters, deer hunters, elk, moose, antelope, bear and bore hunters. There are shooters,  bow hunters, and lots of women who fish. Including me. All that is a market in itself!.......for someone.

"Do you hear us Cabelas?"

Please got to Terry's blog,  Womens Hunting Journal, and lend her your support. If there is anything you want just comment on this post: Cabelas please return my call!   Terry will list your items.

If you're a guy, you probably don't have any problems finding what you need. But could you support Terry in her efforts? Just add your name to the list of supporters. Thanks a bunch guys! 

    .....and please, will you help spread the word?          

That Big Wet Nose Can Smell More Than Birds!

I've done posts on some of the amazing things we teach our dogs to do. 
Hunting Dogs Sniffing Out Peanuts at Angel Service Dogs is one such post. Here is another.

That big wet nose on your canine pal may be able to save someone's life. Researchers have found that by smelling someones breath, a dog may be able to smell lung and breast cancer with about 90% accuracy. Cancer has a waste product, and that is what the dog can smell.

This is especially important for people who get lung cancer. With lung cancer, usually by the time a person is diagnosed, it's too late. These dogs may be great preventative aids in saving lives.

Once again.......the dog proves to be ingenious!

SOURCE:  http://www.dogage.com/care/tipoftheweek.aspx

Memorial Day Weekend Tribute

Memorial Day......A day of remembrance. 
A day to honor. A day of appreciation. 

In my home I have pictures on the walls of the stairwell of all of our ancestors.


I have a special portion of the wall that is dedicated to those in our family who have served their country and fought for me and you.



My Uncle June served. He died when I was really small. My Mom loved her brother dearly.  Thank you Uncle June.

 

My Uncle Ed served too.
He's Mom's other brother.
He was a nurse.
This is Uncle Ed and Aunt Louise.
Thank you Uncle Ed.....and Aunt
Louise too.

And this is Dan's father, Bill.
He was in the Navy.
He spent a lot of time aboard a ship
in WWI and the Korean War.
Thank you Bill and Wilma too,
for your sacrifice.

My step father served in the Navy too.
Thank you Doug.
My little brother joined the Marines.
Thank you Jerry.

My husband, Dan, was in the Army.
He survived in Vietnam.
Thank you Dan. Thank you Duane.

That's him on the right and his cousin, Duane, on the left. In 1969, in the middle of the Vietnam war, my husband and his cousin ended up at the exact same place, at the exact same time, by chance. They had just enough time to say hello and snap a picture, then  they were both off in opposite directions. The chances of that happening, must have been a million to one, at least. Duane made it back too. Thank God.

 So many young men and women didn't make it back. 

One of Dan's friends, James Nicholson, didn't.

This is his high school photo. 

He was a senior.

It was 1966

In March of 2001, the Half size, Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall was on display near by.

 Dan and I visited the wall and found Jimmy's name. 

JAMES A NICHOLSON

  This is the actual photo of his name etched in the wall.

The blue color is the reflection of the sky.

It's very sad to see. 

To see all of those names and touch the printed name that will forever be etched 

in stone knowing that Jimmy is gone forever.

All those names. All those lives.

 Gone Forever.

 He died for his country. He died for us and our children.

Thank You Jimmy for your sacrifice. 

And last, but not in the slightest least, I pay tribute to the fallen Canine Heroes. In every war there have been amazing canine heroes who saved the lives of many humans. There were over 4000 dogs used in the Vietnam War alone. Some gave their lives to save human lives.  
They served their country admirably. 

What ever you do today, wherever you do it,  take the time to say a prayer for the fallen. 

All gave some. 

Some gave all.

In War

there are no winners.

I plan on leaving this post up through Memorial Day. 
Thanks for visiting!

Leaving...But Not On A Jet Plane!

Dan and I will be leaving soon for our road trip south to Nashville. I am so excited! My niece is graduating from high school and I will get to be there! I love taking road trips with my husband. We always have such a great time. No worries, no dogs to shovel up after or feed, (although I will miss them)  no responsibilities, no cooking, no housecleaning! Did I mention.....no cooking and cleaning?! I can't wait to have some Sweet Tea and Strawberry pie and eat at Cracker Barrel and Shoney's! Smell the honeysuckle at my grandmothers house, and sadly, visit her grave. See my cousins and some relatives that I haven't seen in many many years. Leigh....we'll honk the horn when we roll through Nashville! : ) And on our way home, I'll be seeing my best friend, Michele, from years ago, that I haven't seen since we were 14! She is pretty special. I named my daughter after her. WOW! It's going to be a great trip!

Our friends are staying here at the house to take care of things. It's nice to have someone staying with the dogs all the time. We're going to have a litter of pups just about a week after we get home!

Our friends will be here to take care of everything but my blog! That will have to wait until I return. I will be checking it once or twice,  but do not know if I'll be able to reply to anyone. I'm sure you all understand. But, do feel free to comment for the benefit of others. I will address them when I get back.

I have a few posts done ahead and scheduled to post while I am gone. I hope you guys will also take the opportunity to check out some of my older posts. I can't believe I have done over 300 posts in just 10 months! I'm sure there are some you have missed.

Be sure to catch my Memorial Day Tribute Post. (will post on 5/25)  I know you'll enjoy it!

 See ya'll in a few weeks!!

Happy Easter 2010

 

Happy Easter 

From Gordon Setter Crossing

The First Robin Has Landed in Montana!

YAY! The first Robin has showed up in my yard. She was hopping about from spot to spot looking for a worm or a bug.  That HAS to mean that spring is here. It's always the first sign here in Montana. And even though we have had a mild winter, I'm still very ready for spring. How about you? What's the first sign of spring where you live?

Got Snow?? Make Snow Penguins!

I know that some of you are REALLY sick of the snow. Montana is enjoying a mild winter this year, but usually we gets lots and lots of snow. Foot after foot, after foot, of snow. This is what I did one year.

Meet : The Snow Penguin Family
I saw this idea in a catalog a few years ago. They had all of the felt pieces for in a package for sale. I made my own and had a great time doing it. Kids will too! The only other thing you need is snow and imagination.  I got lots of comments and our propane delivery man said, "I like your little friends there!" I even made a few pics and used them for some of my Christmas cards. I used the caption, "Hope Your Christmas is Full of Fun Surprises!"Everyone loved them.

And why stop at Penguins? You could get creative and do all kinds of animals. The important thing is,  to have fun and try not to let the weather get you down. Felt is cheap.  Buy plenty of it and sit the kids down with the scissors. (supervised that is) Use only felt, or possibly wool material. The rough texture is what makes it stick to the snow.

For the penguins make: scarves, bow ties, ear muffs, feet, flippers, eyes, beaks, and noses. Ad to the scenery: Christmas trees ( well, maybe not now) Flags, signs, etc. 

If you do make some snow penguins, send me a pic and I'll post it! Or, at least let us know so we can see what you've done.

Can anyone make a MOOSE??

Dream Pursuit Grants Wishes to Ill Children

                                  http://www.dreampursuit.org/



I have found another web site that I'd like to share with you. Actually I didn't find it,  BenG-Outdoors, did and I found it on his blog. So, I have to give thanks to BenG-Outdoors for doing the "leg" work with an interview with Rick Davis who started Dream Pursuit.

If you'd like to read this interesting interview please go to :http://beng-outdoors.blogspot.com/2010/02/interview-with-rick-davis-of-dream.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BenGOutdoors+%28Ben+G.+Outdoors%29

Dream Pursuit is a non-profit organization that funds hunting and fishing trips for young people under the age of 21, that have been diagnosed with a life threatening illness, but has been released by a doctor to participate in such a trip. Currently Davis works with 3 hospitals; Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, Cardinal Gleenan in St. Louis, and St. Judes Children's Hospital in Nashville, Tn., and social workers who help connect patients with Dream Pursuit.

Dream Pursuit pays for all expenses related to the dream trip. Not only do they cover equipment and licenses, but they also pay for travel expenses, lodging and meals. That's a lot of money and they depend on the contributions from hunters, taxidermists, guides, outfitters, and people just like us to make it happen.

I challenge you all to match my donation of $15.00, or more.

If you'd like to donate please go to: http://www.dreampursuit.org/  to do so.  
I am not set up to collect donations.
When you see the smiling face on Dream Pursuits website, it'll melt your heart!

This is a great quote that graces the front page of Dream Pursuits Website.........

"The habit of giving only enhances the desire to give"   - Walt Witman

Hunting Dogs Sniffing Out Peanuts at Angel Service Dogs

It never ceases to amaze me the things that humans teach animals, and particularly dogs, to do. I love to highlight these in my blog.



One such place is the non-profit organization, Angel Service Dogs Inc. located in Monument Colorado. Owned by Brett and Sherry Mer, Angel Service Dogs Inc. is dedicated to children and adults a like who have sever allergies that are life threatening, on a day to day basis. The Mers have 2 children who have such allergies and this is what started their pursuit to find the perfect dog as a companion and "care taker" for their first born.

The Mers' learned about Allergy Alert dogs, also sometimes called peanut dogs. Dogs that are trained to "sniff out" certain foods that their human companions are allergic to.

Angel Service Dogs Inc. is designed to support the acquisition, training, and placement of highly trained Allergy Alert Dogs for sufferers of life-threatening allergies; and the distribution of related educational material to churches and civic groups allowing them to create and maintain a safe environment for those challenged with this hidden disabilities.

The service uses dogs that are allergy friendly, no shedders, such as Australian Labradoodles and Portuguese Water Dogs. They also use German Shorthair Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, and Golden Retrievers. Dogs are trained and placed, according to the needs of the soon to be human companion.

This seems to me to be quite an amazing place. I hope you'll visit their web site and spread the word of these amazing dogs.

15 Year Old Ginger Doing Well On Adequan - 1 Month

Ginger And Erin

For those of you following 15 year old Ginger, and her experience on a drug called Adequan, here is an update.

Ginger started Adequan on Jan. 27. She has received 2 shots per week, for 4 weeks.  After this initail dosing, she will now go on a "maintenance" dosage, on a "as needed" basis. 

If you've been following Art's updates, you know how much of an improvement Gin has seen.  It's been a huge improvement for her quality of life. 

This from Art on the cost: 

I'll send you a post with the dose etc. but its $98.00 for a 5ml vial.  Gin weighs 43 Lbs and the she gets 0.9ml two times a week so that's 5 shots from the vial.  You give two shots for four weeks than a shot as needed to control symptoms.  I'm not sure how long that's going to be but I'm going to assume it's about once a week for her based on what I'm seeing.  So, if your dog is 50 or 60 lbs - probably 4 shots from the vial so your looking at about $200 for the first month than a $100 a month after that.  Not cheap but not outragous either. 

I made them something special tonight and they ate like little pigs! Gin is sitting up and under foot waiting to be fed.  She didn't do that a few weeks ago.  She also has been out at least a dozen times walking around enjoying the sights and smells. 

For Your Health and Your and Your Bird Dogs

Studies have shown that spending time with a dog can do wonders for a persons spirit, which in turn, does wonders for the body. We, and our bird dogs,  get lots of exercise during bird season. But this time of year is more of a challenge. At least if you live in a place where hunting season is done with. We do other things in the off season.......our dogs still need something to stimulate and excite them also.  A little play time,  with a little training mixed in, and a lot of love and affection can ad years to your life and his. Play with your dog, make sure you give him plenty of praise,  and make it fun for you both. He'll know if you're not having fun and it will affect how he participates. If you're excited,  he'll get excited too. This is great bonding time for you both. All it takes is a few minutes a couple times a time. Aren't you BOTH worth it?

FACT: Interaction with a pet lowers blood pressure and stress levels.

Inner Peace

Inner Peace:

If you can start the day without caffeine,

If you can always be

cheerful, ignoring aches and pains, If you can resist complaining

and boring people with your

troubles, If you can eat the same food

every day and be grateful for

it, If you can understand when your

loved ones are too busy to give you any

time, If you can take criticism

and blame without resentment ,

If you can conquer

tension without medical help,

If you can relax without liquor,

If you can sleep without the aid of drugs.....

 You must be a dog.

Pictures of Snow Storm in Maryland

ArtOC's House  in Maryland - With Ginger, and Erin playing in the snow.

First 2 pics are the same porch, before and after the storm!




That's a LOT of snow to have to shovel! And I hear they are going to get a second round! Hang in there guys!


All Photo's By ArtOC

WWF Earth Hour 2010 - Lights Out Party!

This isn't a post about bird dogs, but it is an important one about the mountains and woods and streams we stomp around in.

In a Press Release on January 19, 2010, the World Wildlife Fund announced that Earth Hour 2010 will take place on Sat.,  March 27, from 8:30 - 9:30 PST.  Earth Hour is an opportunity for everyone and anyone in the whole world, to voice their concern for the environment by turning off their lights for one hour.....hence the name"Earth Hour".


The 2010 Earth Hour is expected to be the biggest call of action on our climate, in history! Among some who will participate are: Mt. Rushmore, The Empire State Building, The Golden Gate Bridge, the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign, The MGM Mirage and Caesars Palace. And that's just a few in the U.S. . The WWF is hoping that all 50 states will participate. Countries from all around the world will be participating.

Some people are planning pot lucks and parties. Another reason to have a party!

Please join me and my family, and the hundreds of millions of people from around the world in a show of solidarity, to demand climate action now....before it's too late.

If you'd like to see what's it's like when the whole world acts as one, watch the video here. It's Super Cool!  :

 http://www.myearthhour.org/earth-hour-video

I promise to cut off all of my lights for Earth Hour. Who's with me??

Ginger Day - Day 8 - Adequan

From ArtOC:
( I actually received this last night)

Ginger was really good today.  She was waiting for me when I got home.  I carried her outside and she walked around for quite awhile without a problem.  She was out 3 or 4 times and walking all around the house.  She was doing very well indeed.  We are getting another nice snow storm tonight so I brought work home so I can work at home tomorrow.  We're looking at a possible big storm this weekend.  Looks like we are going to get it good this year.  Thought the snow is a pain, especially with the dogs, The time at home that we can spend with them is a nice change of pace.  Looks like omelets for everyone tomorrow!

Ginger -Day 7 - Adequan

Ginger got her third shot of Adequan last night. She's been on it for a week now. Here is the report from Art.

After the injection last night, she was sleeping so sound this morning that I actually thought she died in her sleep.  She was completely limp and I had to really give her a shake to get her to wake up.  When she did get up she seemed pretty comfortable.  I really think the arthritis pain is very much improved.  She still has a lot of weakness in the rear end but she is more active, walks further and has less trouble getting up.  I don't know how much more improvement I'm going to see but I'm really pleased with the results.