Bichon Puppies

We're getting a puppy! He was born on November 7, 2013.  I just have a couple pictures of the parents and the two males born in this litter (only two pups total). Someone on the wait list changed their mind so we moved up a notch on the list and will be getting the newest member of our family in January. Still missing our Daisy but excited about the new arrival.

Lacy and her pups

Daddy Dexter

Mama and pups

Little Daisy

Devoted Friend~ Faithful Companion

Our Little Daisy

1/29/01~09/27/13

                                                                                       09/23/13

Look not where I was

For I am not there

My spirit is free

I am everywhere

In the air that you breathe

In the sounds that you hear

Don't cry for me 

My spirit is near

I'll watch for you

From the other side

I'll be the one running

New friends by my side

Smile at my memory

Remember in your heart

This isn't the end

It's a brand new start

-Carol Kaufner

Stormin Norman

Our big 22 lb. lovable galumph of a Flemish Giant, Stormin Norman, died unexpectedly last Sunday. Based on our observations and his behavior we have determined that he had either a seizure or an aneurysm on Sunday morning. He managed to rebound slightly during the day on Sunday but I knew he wasn't going to get better when he refused his favorite treat-a kale leaf, at dinner. He died peacefully during the night, surrounded by his rabbit friends. We figured he had internal bleeding.  It was a blessing that he went this way because mercifully it saved me a trip to the vet that morning for what was likely to be the same outcome.  He was only 3 but in that short period of time he managed to win the hearts of everyone he met young and old alike and he never failed to garner a smile of admiration upon his introduction.   Norman was a gentle giant but most of the time he did not tolerate being held for long and he would let you know when he had had enough with a small nip to get your attention.  My friend Maureen reminded me that the day I got Norman (when he was just 7 weeks old) he bit me on the chest. We were at the OSRBA Convention in Columbus in May 2010. My other friend Lisa and I had just picked Norman out of a group of three males that were sale. I payed just $10 for him as he was bred to be a show rabbit and he had marbled eyes which is a DQ (disqualification) for a Flemish on the show table.  Heck I didn't even know what marbled eyes were other than something to do with the color and I thought Norman looked just perfect. Little did I know then how much he would come to mean to us. My friend Maureen referred to Norman as a little turkey (after he died) which just tickled me because he was just that. He actually never stopped biting me right up to the end and I still have a tiny bruise on my leg to show for it from last Sunday. One thing we have learned from our experiences with Norman is that the Flemish Giant is a wonderful breed to keep as a pet.  They are so docile and easy going and Norman got along famously with our Bichon Frise, Daisy.  Although we know there can never be another character quite like Norman we plan to get a baby Flemish at some time in the near future.  Below are some of my favorite photo of Norman. RIP Big Norm. 

 Baby Norman

 Disapproving Norman

Playful Norman

 Congenial  Norman

 Nosy Norman

Cuddly Norman

 Ornery Norman

 You can't see Norman in this picture because he is "hiding'-much to the delight of our nephew

 Captured Norman

Our buddy Norman....

A Week in the U.P.

It's been a crazy couple weeks around here so I am late in posting our vacation photos but as the saying goes better late than never. We headed north for Drummond Island, Michigan on August 10th. We arrived at the Mackinaw Bridge around supper time so we decided to head to Bell's for a fish platter. Afterwards we walked the beach for a bit to stretch our legs, made a quick stop in Cedarville for fishing licenses and arrived in DeTour in time to catch the 9:40 pm ferry to the island.

Saturday in Mackinac City

Stretching my legs and enjoying the clean smelling air

Andrew loves this place!

Sunday Morning in Paradise

On Sunday morning we were treated to a spectacular sunrise and optimal conditions on the lake. Andrew put the motor on the boat and we headed out via the bay to Yacht Haven (where Daisy met a little look a like friend) to top off the gas tank and take a few photos. From there we went to state owned Bow Island, which as you can see in the picture, is long and narrow like an actual bow hence it's name.  We spent a couple hours there photographing flora and fauna and then headed back to our cabin for Tamale Casserole cooked in the dutch oven outside over a fire; followed by a spectacular DI sunset.

Potgannissing Bay Sunrise

Ready to go...

At Yacht Haven

Meeting a friend..

Sow Thistle at Yacht Haven

The weather conditions in the bay. It doesn't get much better than this.

Bow Island

Heading back to the main island in the waves

Spectacular Sunset

Monday Mostly Rain

On Monday morning while I was being a lazy bones and sleeping in Andrew went out and paddled down the Potagannissing River in his canoe and got some incredible images of the sunrise with mist enveloping the river. We left mid morning and when to the Potgannissing Waterfowl flooding area and did some bird watching and photography.  We also drove out to the Maxton plains to take some photos of the prairie smoke seed heads and look for sandhill cranes. (We found both.) It poured down rain most of the afternoon which was fine with us as we relaxed in the cabin and caught up on some reading and just enjoyed the view from the picture window. It cleared up by sunset and we were again treated to another gorgeous evening.

Morning Mist

Potgannissing River (photos above)

At the waterfowl flooding area.

A Great Blue Heron is fishing.

View of the dock and rainstorm from our cabin

Gorgeous sunset

 Tueday is Cancelled Due to High Winds...NOT

With Tuesday and the aftermath of the rain storm came the lake winds. These are not just a breeze. They kicked up the waves so much we were unable to get out onto the lake.  We decided to drive out to Warner's Cove on the other side of the island were it was less windy to explore and do some more photography. We found a lot of fungi and flowers and had a nice time walking along the beach. We also stopped at an old dump site where I found several treasures that you will see later on in this post. That evening we headed out, chasing the sunset to Big Shoal Beach.  On the way we saw some deer and while there a snowshoe rabbit who didn't seem the least bit bothered by me photographing it.  Big Shoal Beach itself becomes more of a disappointment to me with each passing year. Back in the 70's when D.I. wasn't the tourist spot that it is today, my great aunt, who had property on the island, knew the owners of Big Shoal Beach so we practically had the place to ourselves. Now it is run by the township or whatever and they have signs posted as to where and where you can't go. The place is trashed and un-kept and looks like every other public beach where people don't appreciate what they have.

After the storm

At Warner's Cove

Flora 

 Big mama

Snowshoe Rabbit

Sunset at Big Shoal Beach

Wednesday - Happy 50th Birthday to Me!

We got up at 4:30am in order to catch the 6:10 am ferry to the mainland on Wednesday morning.  To celebrate my 50th birthday we had decided on Saturday evening that we would go Para-sailing with an outfitter at Mackinac City. All I have to say is that it was the most fun ever!  I loved it and would go again in a heartbeat. The outfitters were totally professional and very organized.  Daisy even got to come with us on the boat and two nice college students from Central Michigan U watched her for us while we were up in the sky.  After that we spent 20 minutes parked on the Mackinaw Bridge due to road construction which gave us an opportunity to watch the freighter Edgar Speer down bound going under the bridge.  We then stopped in St. Ignace for some amazing pizza on the deck at Patrolman's by the water front. Daisy was allowed to join us. Michigan is so much more dog friendly than Ohio.  We stopped off at the Indian Village and I bought a couple knickknacks for the folks at home and then we headed to Paradise and the Crisp Point Lighthouse.  In Paradise we stopped at our usual haunt, the Snowflake for an icecream cone for us and a "pup cup" for Daisy.  We spent the rest of the afternoon picking blueberries along the road and at the lighthouse picking rocks off the shore. The waves were huge and the water was really rough so we didn't get to go out far.  The cake you see below was given to us by my brother the day we left. We put it in the freezer for a couple days and broke it out later in the week for my birthday. The moccasins you see in another photo below are from 1981 and are Minnetonkas. Yes I have had and worn them for 33 years. That's what made in the USA will give you.  I had a fantastic day for my 50th birthday!

My birthday cake

Para-sailing outfitter in Mackinaw City

Here were are on deck getting ready to rise 80 feet into the sky for our flight

Going up...

and up...

This is a view from bridge of the of the group who sailed after us.

The Edgar Speer downbound under the bridge

 Patrolmans Pizza

Goofing off

Happy Birthday to me

33 year old moc's .

Daisy at the Snowflake enjoying a treat

We picked two containers (improvised) of blueberries on the way to Crisp Point.

Enjoying the beach. This is the first time very that Daisy got to run off leash. She was very obedient in following our directives here, however I would not do this at home.  

The lighthouse and some beach rocks

Thursday's Adventure on Mare Island

Thursday was another beautiful day so we headed out in the boat to state owned Mare Island where we did some more photography and exploring. In the afternoon we went to town for some grocery items and I bought a Pendelton blanket-something I have wanted to get for years. Andrew caught some perch and I did some photography using some nearby flora and the found treasures from earlier in the week.

Mare Island

Yummy Perch

My new Pendelton blanket

Found treasures. A small medicine bottle, a feather, some insulators that say USA and a piece of old gold embossed china plate. Oh and some blue boards that we salvaged from what looked like part of someone's dock that floated to shore. We'll use these to make rustic picture frames.

Mare Island survey marker

Friday-Happy Birthday to Andrew!

Andrew celebrated his birthday on Friday. We went exploring again on the Maxton Plains, where he wanted to look for dragonflies. We fished most of the evening and had an eventful time catching smallmouths -one after the other which much to our chagrin were all 1-2 inches under the length limit so they all had to go back. I also caught one undersized walleye and some other monster that broke my line so we will never know- but likely it was also a very large smallmouth or walleye.  Crap! We were also entertained by a osprey who spent much of the time nearby fishing for his dinner.

Andrew's cake

Michigan Lilies

Mating spreadwings

The birthday boy

Smallmouths

Osprey on a limb (left and top)

Saturday-Dragging Ourselves South

We had such a fabulous time we did not want to leave. We do every year.  We fished (and caught) everyday except Tuesday. We enjoyed a beautiful sunrise and sunset every morning and evening. Flowers were abundant and the weather was cool and crisp with just the right amount of afternoon heat from the sun. We arrived home at 6 pm and I did laundry and made a blue berry pie and organized some of the items I collected.  The last two weeks have been hell-crazy busy at work and unbearably hot...

Manitowoc at the dolomite mine

More found treasures-a cormorant skull, some beach glass, feathers, and an insulator that says USA, a milk glass jar and dragonfly wings from a road kill dragonfly.

Yummy blueberry pie.

 Can't wait to go back....