Question, Pre Mud Season Adventures, And Riley News :)
I thought to start this week’s tales with a question for our readers. When I went to the Fields this week, the dogs were particularly interested in something on the ground.
Usually obedient, the girls did not want to leave the area of interest. On further investigation, this is what I found..
Then it occurred to me, another weather season was about to begin. And along with the change of season come repetitive behaviors of nature. Any ideas? Maybe this photo will give you some help.
And the answer is:
There is a large migration of geese that use the fields as a stopover both in the fall on their way South, and in the Spring on their way North again. Evidence of their resting here was very evident in the number of footprints and droppings. Since some of us view goose livers as a much desired delicacy, I could understand why a retriever might find the taste of their pooh to their liking..
This past week we have been vacillating between warmer touches of mother nature and some chilly days. While it is refreshing not to be cold, the arrival of the sun and blue skies means wet dogs and mud. Some parts of the run were snow covered, but much not.
And that means our kitchen floors get extra dirty. One day this week the dogs were so matted with dirt that I had to fill the small pool in the garage. They didn’t mind the water, and look how much dirt almost made it into our home on this one run.
Everyone’s moods were much calmer at the change of weather and the appearance of greenscape underfoot. If you are a regular reader of this site, you might be able to identify everyone by name here..
As you can see from the first photo, not all of the mud is easy to get off their feet, and you just have to sweep or vacuum when they are finally dry.
And now the news that we, and many of you have been so anxious for.. Riley is pregnant! We brought her to have an ultrasound today. She was very well behaved. Look for the small circle on the ultrasound picture. That is a gestational sac with a puppy embryo in it.
We were able to identify three to four sacs on one side of her uterine horn. It is still early from when she was inseminated, so we will repeat the scan over next weekend . A dog usually carries its puppies in each horn of the uterus. The other horn was not well seen, but that is due to my lack of knowing how to do the ultrasound properly on a dog. I am sitting here with a smile on my face.. a great moment to sit back and reflect on the efforts of so many that made this possible. We hope that God will bless Riley with good health for the remainder of her pregnancy.
And finally for this week, Gayle sent us some photos of puppy Cooper playing with her two goldens: Emmy and Swimmer. Gayle is happy to dog sit for Cooper when her sister Gwen goes away. And Cooper is a puppy from our last litter, and brother to Rocky. As you can see from these photos, Mulder and Emma should be very proud of their efforts.
What a hunk he is going to be.