What a scrubbing!

And it was "rinse and repeat" today; hurray!

Last night we got the most spectacular thunderstorm I've seen here in 31 years; it went on for hours, accompanied by heavy rain. What a godsend! After initially barking to let the 'intruder' know she was ready for it, Poppy wasn't bothered by the noise and flashing lights so that's good. Jackson wasn't crazy about thunder, but I don't think he heard it more than three brief times in his life; that's how rare such a storm is here.

The rain last night and today has restored clean air and color to our surroundings; it is a feast for the eyes and lungs and I am relishing it. I had opportunities to enjoy it, too, because I had to drive Poppy to the vet this morning and pick her up after her spay and microchipping this afternoon. She's resting quietly now on a big, soft bed covered with a light fleece blanket after some restlessness and whining. Two days ago she got stung by at least two yellowjackets, so she's had a rough week! I did chores tonight without her, so of course I saw a mouse in the tack room for the first time in weeks....

A brief and short-lived semblance of her usual self

More pleasant visitors (than a mouse) were a family of bluebirds hunting bugs in our yard yesterday afternoon, and this newt in our garage tonight (I moved him to a better location):

Yesterday just before the first few raindrops warned of weather to come, I worked with Stella, then noticed the boys hoovering up 'crispy chips.' Now the leaves are soggy and  the arena is dust-free. If we get any more warm weather, I predict that our garden is going to go into last-minute overdrive. There's nothing like rain to bring out the best in plants – including weeds, of course, but I'm just so thankful for the soaking that I don't care!

That's it from a refreshed . . . 

A pile o' puppy pictures

Too many photo opportunities! Every single day. Poppy's just so stinkin' cute! And she's a good puppy, too. Sleeps through the night, doesn't get carsick, happy to meet all comers. But make no mistake; she is "Terrier Tough." Keeping an eagle eye on her to keep her good (no pottying in the house, no chewing on cords, etc.) AND trying to keep up with at least the minimum inside and outside responsibilities, all while being distracted by photo and play opportunities sure makes it hard to keep up here. So just a reminder: if you really need daily doses of Poppy (hmm, is that like, um, a heroin addiction?) you can check my Instagram feed (click on the little blue bar at right).

So here are selected photos from the last few days, right through to Poppy napping in a sunbeam this morning.

A few comments. 1) Poppy's motto is obviously "Play hard, sleep hard." She is also "Queen of all the toys." ;-)  2) Poppy LOVES being a farm dog! She is intensely interested in spots where there is mouse smell, thinks the wooded lot is Disneyland, and romps in loose hay bales like a kid jumping on a bed. 3) Poppy found that soft disk on her own in the toy basket. It was Jackson's favorite and my heart ached a little when she appropriated it. Not that I would have kept it from her; I just thought it was too big for her right now. Ha. 4) The new neighbors who handed down the snuggly "sheepskin" coat brought over that little blue bed and another coat the wife made just for Poppy. (The coat is adorable but too big right now.) 5) A man and his matching puppy. Rick was eager to show Poppy off after church yesterday. I think he likes her. :-)  6) I am so thankful that Poppy has a ready playmate in Chuckie. WHAT a cat!

Now it's almost noon. Poppy's on her second nap. I have four loaves of whole grain and seed bread raising in the oven. Both my horses need exercise, but between the bread and the puppy and a house concert we're attending this afternoon (Jim Malcolm again, this time with his wife), that may be difficult to squeeze in. On our way to the concert, we're dropping off Poppy at her sister Penny's for their first post-gotcha-day playdate; I predict they will have Fun-with-a-capital-F and wear each other out! It will be interesting to see how much Penny has changed in a week; I know Poppy has grown and changed but it's hard to gauge how much when I'm with her all the time.

That's it for now from . . .

Before it's "All puppy, all the time"

This is the last post in which I can promise there will be no Poppy pictures. I don't plan to post tomorrow, and starting Sunday, all bets are off!

We enjoyed a rare dry day today; January has done its best to make up for the lack of rainfall in November and December. There was a bit of color in the sunrise, then some pretty clouds and SUNSHINE(!) . . . before it turned gray for the rest of the day. But I was able to get both horses exercised and nobody got wet. Well, not from rain, anyway. Stella ran and bucked and played and rolled for quite awhile, and then played hard-to-get and ran some more, so she get very sweaty.

What's blooming now? The snowdrops are starting to fade and the daphne odora are just beginning to open. The Tasmanian Tiger euphorbia in front of Brian's bedroom are tipping their budding heads. The sarcococca bushes along the north side of the house are in full bloom and saturating the area with their heady fragrance.

Small but powerfully perfumed!

Basketball games are giving me lots of time to spin; I've finished two samples of Jamieson & Smith dyed Shetland top and am starting to ply one of them. (Yes, I take photos of Brian playing, too, but I'm behind on editing them.)

On the one hand, January has been a very sad month. Jackson's soulful eyes gaze from the calendar I made for my office wall; I can only glance at that photo if I want to keep my composure. But anticipation over our new family member has been a happy distraction this final week; "Joy cometh in the morning." Joy – that would have made a good name for the pup!

That's it for now from . . .