[UrsaMajor]

Sounds like D should take Houndini out for a long walk and work off some of her "Issue." Picking a fight for the sake of doing so is totally counterproductive, regardless of how stressed she is.... DISengaging is very much a valid strategy at this point

Good luck with recovering the rest of your day and well done on the gallery arranging! That had to be a good feeling!

Oh, and by the way....
 

You need a new thread...

[MourningDove]

UrsaMajor - I can always count on you to keep me in line. LOL

I took Houndini out at 4 am this morning. I couldn't sleep anyways. It was so incredibly quiet and peaceful. A nice change from all of the activity just hours before.

I didn't put her back in her crate and instead we curled up on the couch and slept for a couple more hours. She is so much smaller than my lab was. She likes to just curl up at your feet, and she won't move until you are ready to get up. When she sees you stirring, she inches towards you and wants to be cuddled like a baby. It is what she does when her owner is here. It is rather funny to watch this big, burly kid with this puppy who crawls into his arms and wants to be hugged and held like some little toddler. She is a much easier dog to watch than the other ones that I have had here in the past.

We just came back in from our first walk of the day and that now includes a stop by the orchard to pick out a pear to play with. The pears are huge this year, so she can barely carry one in her mouth, but she is determined to play fetch with it and then she plops down to rest and eat her "prey". After resting, we have been working on commands like waiting and not to chase the cats, who are getting used to her. George gave her a good swat the other night and she has a new respect for him. He is now willing to sit next to her and she is trying to make friends with him. She had another dog in the rental that she was with all day, but cats are a new thing all together.

The walk this morning did me a great deal of good. The sun is out and it rained at some point last night, so the sun was making the little droplets that remained just sparkle on the leaves and tall grasses, like little diamonds in the sunlight. I walked around the property and have accepted that my best plan of attack for now on the gardens is just to cut everything back and in the spring worry about the big plans I had to reconfigure things. Last week I was discouraged about it, but today, I have a sense of calm and acceptance combined with a gentle reminder to myself that it is okay to let go of those expectations I had. I need to be kind to myself and not beat myself up.

It was then I spotted the small Japanese Maple tree that S and I had moved not long ago and put a post next to it, to help support it. It had been given to me by my uncle, my F's B, a few months before he died. He had several saplings that he had nurtured along in his backyard and given them away to family members. Mine is the only one that has survived. I adored my uncle and that little tree always makes me smile and think of him. This morning, I noticed it has grown and is about 4 feet tall. A huge leap from the little spindly sapling that I started out with. The sun was hitting the leaves and for the first time ever they all were a stunning red color.

That little storm last night passed and today, I am going to do my best to chase rainbows. 

[MourningDove]

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