Managing Poppy's social calendar

(Before I start on the topic at hand, I'd like to point out how much of an impediment a puppy is to blogging. 'Downtime' is much reduced, and when I do form a lap, Poppy's either fussing at me or sitting on me – making it hard to think or hold a laptop!)

On Sunday Rick had to go to the coast on a veterinary call, and asked if we wanted to go along. With the beach 'officially' open, I jumped at the chance and Brian was persuaded. Poppy was going to meet the Pacific for the first time!

But first, the call. We mostly stayed in the vet truck out of the way of multiple people, horses, and dogs. But after Rick finished with the horses, Poppy got to get out for a little bit and meet the three dogs – who were big and a bit more intimidating at ground level that they had been from the cab!

After getting take-out Thai food and finding a parking spot near the beach (the actual parking lots were overflowing; there were a LOT of people at the coast!) where we could sit in the truck and eat, we harnessed the puppy and headed out for a walk. The weather was absolutely perfect, windless and mild. Brian and I shed our shoes and got our feet (and Poppy) in the sea.

We walked to the point at the north end of the beach, and noticed a large bird in the snag at the top – a very large bird that could only be an eagle. Seeking a better vantage point, Rick disappeared around the point. Poppy was desperate to follow him, but her paws would have gotten cut on the barnacles. Fortunately someone came along with distractions: a black lab and an apricot poodle. She and the poodle played, and when the lab went into the water, Poppy followed him!

Meanwhile, Brian did what teens do – stared at his smartphone (see him over there, sitting on a log?).

Well, maybe not just teens. Here are both my guys staring at the phones on our way back to the truck; ha!

I don't get it; natural beauty is much more compelling to me.

The very next day, Poppy came into heat. Oh, joy. No playing with the neighbor boy for a few weeks! (The neighbor did tell me yesterday – YAY – that Toby has an appointment at the vet's next month to get 'tutored.' Remember that Far Side cartoon?) Fortunately, Poppy has some girlfriends, and Tuesday my bestie Kate brought Glory over for visit. What a hoot to watch them play!

I'm hoping sometime soon Poppy can have a playdate with her sister. A tired terrier is a good terrier!

That's it for now from . . .

Sons and sisters (with photos now!)

Hard to believe it was just a week ago that Brian was still scrambling to get as much of his put-off schoolwork done as possible before the day's end-of-year (end of HIGH SCHOOL) deadline and fighting with me about whether to do that or go help decorate for graduation (he wanted to do the latter and I wasn't taking him if he still had outstanding schoolwork). He did, indeed, graduate, and even got a 95% on his Physics senior project(!) – although that didn't bring his grade up above a D. 😒 The weekend was a rollercoaster, with a sullen student seated between us for the Senior Tribute on Zoom Saturday night followed by a glowing tribute he had written to us read at graduation the next day. He was also awarded a generous scholarship to the university at which he is accepted for his combined grades/ACT score (a little bigger than we expected), the weather held until after the ceremony and drive-through reception, and a lot of wonderful friends came to the reception, surprising Brian with their support. That included our friends who have Poppy's sister Penny; they parked so the girls could play together for awhile which was such fun to watch. They clearly recognized each other and act SO much alike – two "P's" in a pod!

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My 'tribute rose' with matching spinning project

The diploma hand-off!

The week since has been a bit of a blur. I had to work Monday, so Tuesday was a recuperation day – in other words, I didn't get much done! On Wednesday, our 36th wedding anniversary, Rick had to take his mother to Portland for a doctor's appointment and I had to take Brian to Salem for an eye appointment. (Rick's mother hasn't driven beyond her local community in a couple years because of her failing eyesight and finally sold her car this week – hallelujah! – and Brian isn't driving because of his grades and attitude.) By the time we got home from our various responsibilities, there wasn't much time or energy for celebrating, so we companionably watched a couple episodes of Doc Martin and called it a night. Rick did bring me a dozen roses and a new blooming orchid, though, both in "sunshine yellow," a surprising but beautiful choice.

Yesterday I worked at the office again, while Brian worked for Rick's client for the first time since March. He worked for her again today, so he has a good start on his share of the next installment of our automobile insurance. He is using his graduation money gifts to get the computer he'll need for his engineering program at college – and a .22 rifle he's had his eye on for over a year. Our gift to him was a big Craftsman tool set (and a pair of his favorite jeans), which he is thrilled with.

Graduation doesn't seem like it's changed anything as we head into another summer of parenting and trying to encourage our offspring to work hard, be responsible, and look to his future. Brian has a standing offer to drive combine for the same custom farming outfit he drove for last summer, but that doesn't start for at least 3-4 weeks so we've encouraged him to look for other work. But just like graduation already seems like a distant memory, so, too, will this last summer feel in just three months when he heads off to college. Days crawl, and years fly.

Crawling and flying at . . .

A momentous month

Four fleeces, one box. Abracadabra....

Full to bursting, but sealed and ready to ship!

Fleece harvest is done for another year. I sheared Bittersweet on Sunday; he's so thin that I couldn't bear to take a picture of him. I picked up some supplemental feed for him today, and will worm him (and the other boys) as well; hopefully that will help him regain condition. (I guess I should take a photo so I have a baseline visual.) Yesterday I rooed Sarai, which was as long an ordeal as shearing. Her fleece did not have a good 'break' to easily roo her but enough of a break over most of her body that if I had sheared her, her fiber would have had a tender spot, making it practically worthless. So I persevered, apologizing repeatedly for the uncomfortable tugging, and then used scissors over her shoulders and neck where the fleece wasn't at all loose. She had quite a bit of new growth; next year it would be best to catch her before the rise and just scissor-shear her. Someone remind me!

The neighbors' new house is going up fast, a dominant feature to our north. They are such nice people but I still wish Rick had agreed to let me plant trees along our view line years ago when I asked . . . or even now.

The morning of May 27

This morning, June 4

Tuesday evening Poppy got to go over to play with Toby and I got a tour of the house-in-progress. Neighbors from the other end of our lane walked by with their dog, a beautiful young black tri-color Springer spaniel, and Toby's owner invited them in to let their dog play with the terriers. I think Milo was initially a bit 'terrier-ized,' but soon all three of them were romping happily.

I do worry about Poppy's leg. Rick is surprised that she is still having trouble with it. When she first gets up in the morning, or starts moving after a nap, she limps a lot. After playing hard with another dog(s), she limps more than at the start. Rick hasn't sealed the stock tank yet so I can't make her swim, and I don't want to give her potentially harmful drugs. Today I did order some turmeric supplements to see if that helps her. That bum leg doesn't really slow her down, though. She and my new mare both have more energy than I can cope with sometimes....

"Catch me if you can!"

Brian graduates on Sunday. It is a drive-in, invitation-only affair, followed by a drive-through, open-to-all 'reception.' He has one more final tomorrow, plus his open-book Pre-Calculus final to finish. On top of that he's pulling an all-nighter trying to finish his senior project for Physics, which he chose at the beginning of the year and started constructing less than 24 hours before it's due. At this point it's not even a given that he'll pass all his classes. Such has been his entire high school journey, in spite of us giving 'carrots,' 'sticks,' and everything in between that we could think of. It's kinda hard to celebrate (and I'm sure contributes to my lack of coping with other lively young creatures). College (especially taking engineering!) is likely to be a rude awakening....

Last bearded iris standing (with a yellow bud in the background)

Outside it looks like summer. We got a call from our hay guy; he has 500 bales of good horse hay put up. We don't need that much with what we have left, but we'll probably be hauling ten tons in the next week or two (maybe even on our 36th anniversary!). I've got to pick strawberries tomorrow morning; I may not have time to get much else done with various graduation 'stuff' going on.

Poppy's first strawberry

That's it for today from . . .