CRASH! That was the sound that reverberated through Mary's head, on Sunday night at nine o'clock,  as the words she had keyed, reporting our Friday activities, disappeared off the computer screen. All that's left is to post the photos and hope they will give our readers a sense for what we did all day. 

         

   

     

   

   

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day, so maybe there will be a turnaround  in our luck and we'll be able to get the events of Saturday and Sunday and Monday posted without any more system failures. 

Three carpenters arrived this morning at seven-thirty to start some work on the install of a door and window in the barn which is a good reason for us to start a major barking episode. The impact on us, of having these guys here, is that our range is considerably reduced while they are working. We experienced this after breakfast when we had to be escorted out the back door of the house instead of our usual exit out the front door. Because we are creatures of habit, when our routine changes we have to be as disruptive as possible, just so Mary and Stephanie know that we don't like change.

Mary has to spend some time with these guys to make sure that they do exactly what she wants and, if that's not possible, then to listen to their suggestions on what they could do as an alternative. She also has to make it very clear that they must not leave any doors or gates open and to be mindful of the dogs at all times and not leave any hazardous stuff lying around. In turn, we will have to limit our excursions to areas that don't intersect with their work.

So, we still got to make an excursion to the beach by taking the back road and we had our usual fun time. We had been joined earlier by Lucy    who was fixated on getting to the shore with her blue ball and all of the regular Thursday visitors who look forward to this social outing with their peer group.    

       

   

In addition to Lucy's stay for the long weekend, we also rolled the welcome mat out for Mazie  and those two wild and crazy guys, Max and Jesse   who will be staying for a couple of weeks. We waited for the carpenter guys to clear out, along with the day-visiting critters, and then we focused on our dinner. It sounds like tomorrow will also be another departure from our routine, as the carpenters are back, but we'll try to adapt to the change of routine and keep things on an even keel. 

If you looked up today, you would have seen some of the most beautiful clouds ever. 

   

   

   

   

 

It was a day to dodge the showers and keep ourselves entertained during the breaks in the weather   .

 

The clouds were quite fascinating to watch as they kept moving and changing and the surf was still high as the winds from that mid-Atlantic storm were causing quite a bit of wave action.

Of course, we started the day with a trip down to the beach with the regular Tuesday crowd while Mary kept the gang of little critters with her.  

    

    

   

With the wind conditions so favourable,  the kite surfers were out in full force. 

There was lots for the little critters to do back at the house while the rain was holding off and they had a great time chasing one another around the yards and Stephanie continued to find lots of beautiful garden displays to photograph. 

    

     

Holly Berries                                                       Rose Campion                                        Holly Blossoms 

   

 

 

Monday saw Remy and Ruby being picked up by their  humans and the arrival of one of our Friday regulars, Emo who will stay for three days. Another one of our long-time favorites, Sasha  , the Shiba Inu, also dropped by for a visit and she spent most of the day checking out all of the familiar sights and sounds while ignoring the rest of us.

Then it was time for our beach walk with the regular Friday day-visitors and we enjoyed the big surf and sunshine. 

     

   

   

While we were having fun at the beach, Gin, Tonique and Ozzie were having a grand time chasing one another around the yard and wondering where Sasha could be hiding out  . When the beach goers returned, Stephanie joined the two packs and got some photos of the fun and games. 

     

After lunch, Desi and Bruce arrived to help with some chores and keep us busy while Stephanie attended to some appointments. At three o'clock, the day-visitors started to depart and, by four o'clock, we were all ready for our dinner which was followed by some walks before Desi and Bruce had to go home.  We were all very tired after such a busy day, outside in the sun, so it wasn't a big surprise that we all fell asleep in front of the TV at eight o'clock and we slept until ten o'clock.  That's when Mary rounded us up and took us for our last walk under the stars, while she checked on the lambs and locked the Guinea Fowl in their coop for the night.   

Hello, my name is Ruby    and this is my first visit to Seaforth so I got nominated to do the weekend report for the DogBlog. I think I'm supposed to feel honored but, to be truthful, I'm thinking that my new 'friends' just wanted to off-load the job onto whoever was trying to make a good impressioon, like me. 

I arrived here on Friday and I spent the first afternoon and evening trying to figure out the way things work around here. I was confused at first but I decided to just follow the lead of my fellow guests and be a good girl.

When I  woke up on Saturday morning and got caught up in a stampede down the stairs and out the front door, I felt a little like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz when she said to her dog ... 

... Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore.

I've never seen such a boisterous group first thing in the morning and they seem to be primarily focused on the delivery of their breakfast. 

The hungriest one of the bunch, base on the volume of howls, was Louie  , a nice Doodle and friendly to me,    and he definitely qualifies as the most aggrieved guy if he doesn't get his grub first. A close second was this senior Spaniel, Bogart   ,  who ran from one end of the house to the other, demanding food and trying to out-howl Louie.

I watched from a safe distance as the carefully orchestrated meal delivery took place, with Gin and Tonique   having their breakfast 'al fresco' on the back veranda because they are well known for helping themselves to food that doesn't belong to them. While Shamsky   has been a perfect gentleman and very welcoming, all bets are off when it comes to his food. He waits, glued to the gate so he can be sure that no one gets into the mudroom, where most meals are eaten, ahead of him. 

Murphy    has an edge on the rest of the gang, because he sleeps in the mudroom office and Stephanie gives him his meal first, just because he's very persistent, hopping around Stephanie and repeating the same phrase over and over again. 'Feed me, feed me, before I expire from starvation.'

My head is literally spinning at all the commotion breakfast can generate and there are still more theatrics as Kali  , one of those 'raw food' groupies, has to eat in a room by herself, because her food smells so good, someone is bound to want a taste. While Kali is a sweet-natured gal most of the time, when it comes to her grub it's best not to get between her and her food dish.

And that leaves Remy  , the Keeshond, who likes his food, but he is fascinated by those lambs and he can hardly drag himself away from the fence where he talks to them   and all they say to him is "Baa, Baa' . Finally, Mary convinces him to come and eat, promising that the lambs will still be there, when breakfast is over. 

I think it's safe for me to come into the mudroom, now that it is quiet, and eat my breakfast in peace, Stephanie keeps telling me what a well-behaved girl I am and I get a couple of extra treats just for eating in a civilized fashion. 

We had some fun on Saturday playing and getting to know one another and I showed off my 'zoomie' skills, impressing everyone with my 'wild and crazy' side. 

    

 Sunday, now there's a day I won't soon forget. After another one of those boisterous and noisy breakfasts and the arrival of another Doodle, Charly, I got the impression something big was going to happen. Word was passed along the grapevine that we were going to go to the beach this morning and if I thought breakfast was wild, a trip to the beach beats all. At first, I didn't know where they all disappeared to, they were so fast racing down the veranda. I missed seeing them turn right and I turned left, wondering to myself 'which way did they go?' 

I finally clued in when I saw Stephanie waiting for me and I raced   to catch up with that herd of wild canines. 

I seemed to be the focus of Stephanie's picture-taking  and I had a swim and enjoyed the big waves that were rolling onshore, along with some sticks and the excitement was contagious.   

        

       

     

After we returned to the house, we were all thirsty and tired so a nap was suggested while Mary and Stephanie moved the lambs into the pasture on the west side of the barn. After downloading all those photos, Stephanie  took a few hours off to spend with her husband and daughter and we enjoyed  relaxing on the veranda with Mary. After we ate dinner we were all outside when a heavy shower started and Stephanie, with her camera at the ready, snapped this photo of a beautiful rainbow. It made me think about that song from the Wizard of Oz.

 

'Somewhere over the rainbow,

skies are blue and

the dreams that your dare to dream,

really do come true.'   

All in all, it was a very exciting day and after dinner we said goodbye to Louie as he was picked up by his human and hello to Harrington, who will be staying for about three weeks. Now we've just been out for our late walk and it's time to go to bed. Now, at least, I know what to expect and I think I might be able to join in the excitement and be one of the gang . 

Thursday the grading of the driveway got done with another load of gravel delivered around 7:45 am. After dumping a 14 metric ton load of crusher dust by the gate, the trucks and machinery were hauled out of here by 9:00 am. Our day's excitement got underway as we took turns climbing the mountain of crushed rock  and posing for our pictures.

    

Stephanie readied the day-visitors and the others for a morning hike to the beach and she got a pile of photos so you could have a look at our various activities.  There was lots of beach to race around on today, which was a good thing, since Daisy needs lots of space.  

       

   

Ollie seemed to think that, because he was going home tomorrow , he better get in as much beach fun as possible. He's pretty spry for a guy who just passed his tenth birthday and, due to the lack of rain,  there were no opportunities for him to engage in his favorite pastime - mud bathing . 

 

   

The afternoon passed quickly after our Doodle Club member, Louie   , was dropped off and Joey   raced over to be the first once to say hello. Just before dinner, Hali, Arthur and Karter were very pleased to see their Keeshond buddy, Remy   , arrive for a short stay, after a two-year hiatus since his last visit. For those of us who had never met him before, we were a little in awe of this rare breed, looking like he just came home from the dog groomer after a major blow-dry. Apparently, he always looks like this but it didn't take long for the thorns from the rose bushes and raspberry cane to get caught in his puffy tail so his perfect coiffure was already beginning to look a little less perfect. Remy couldn't have cared less as he enjoyed running through the deep grass and sniffing every thing he found along the way.  At one point, Arthur    followed him into the Stephanandra Hedge and he had a hard time escaping the tangly branches whileday-care Remi   found it somewhat confusing to be called more often than usual, only to find out that they were calling for the other Remy.  

Friday was another busy day with a full roster of Friday visitors that included the Grimes Gang ,

Fern , Oak  and Opal    

plus Finnigan  . The beach crowd were assembled and off they went while the rest of us waited for the next round of excitement, with Gin and Tonique arriving and Ollie O and Karter being picked up. Ozzy and Ollie W sure got excited when they saw that their Doxie playmates had arrived  

 

Here are some photos of the beach goers enjoying their romp. As she was picking the photos for the DogBlog, it occurred to Mary that we represented a real United Nations of dog breeds at the beach today.

Remy ............ Keeshond, originated in The Netherlands

Ollie W .......... Dachshund, German origin, born in France

Marlea & Mylea  .......... Russian Spaniels

Kali ................ Entlebucher, originally from Switzerland

Finnigan ....... French Bulldog, born in Hungary 

Murphy ........ Havanese Terrier, originated in Cuba 

Sula ............... Labrador Retriever, from Canada 

Maggie .......... Bernese Mountain Dog, Switzerland

Arthur ........... English Setter, Great Britain 

Lulu ............... Texas Heeler, USA 

    

     

       

Here is Murphy   , after his most recent grooming,  having a special photo taken to show off his Goth look, including, a studded collar. He tells us he might go for a nose piercing next time if his human will get him a nice diamond on a ring but he won't do any more tattoos. 

At noon, after we got back from the beach,  we welcomed a new guest for her first stay. This is Ruby , a sweet Chocolate Lab and she was a little bit overwhelmed, meeting all of us and trying to remember our names, especially the Remi/Remy  duo. It didn't take long for her to be racing around the North field wanting us to chase her and after a few laps her tongue was hanging out and she had a big grin on her face. 

The afternoon was spent playing and keeping out of the way of Desi, the house cleaner and the Handyman, Bruce who was repairing the torn-up lawn, where the  Skid-Steer was working on Wednesday, amongst other things.

After the day visitors went home, we had a quiet evening while Ruby got accustomed to the hub-bub of activity  that comes from a houseful of critters that have stayed here many times. We all tried our best to make her feel comfortable which gains us some extra Good Dog rewards. 

Randy, the Machine Guy, arrives at eight o'clock to begin some of the work that is required to keep this place ship-shape. Of course, this means that we have to watch our step and do what we're told when all that heavy equipment is moving around. We enjoy spending most of the day over at the cabana with Stephanie and the beach walk was the highlight.   

     

    

   

 

The first job, while we wait for the day-visitors to get here, is the removal of the thirty-two-year-old garden shed. It has been sitting empty in the front yard, the mice and squirrels have been the sole tenants for many years and it is looking somewhat run-down while it blocks the view  . One more bad storm and it would probably fall down, so it has to go. 

Randy takes his Skid-Steer, equipped with forks, through the gate and within fifteen minutes the shed is flattened and in the back of the dump truck ready to go to the recycling depot.   Job #1 - Done. Mary has a plan to turn this patch into another flower and shrub display. 

On his way back from unloading the debris, Randy picks up the new concrete cover for the North well and, when he returns, the Skid-Steer again is put to work picking up the well cover and carrying it in the yard to replace the cover that is starting to show some wear and tear. Job #2 - Done. Then the big job of grading the driveway starts while Mary waits for the first gravel delivery. Unfortunately, the second delivery is delayed so it doesn't look like the driveway job will get competed today. Randy will have to come back in the morning and meet the delivery truck at seven o'clock. 

Stephanie had a photo session with her herd of little ones and they didn't disappoint. They posed, looked cute and enjoyed one another's company. 

    

    

   

The first two days of this week have brought us such wonderful weather it's like Mother Nature saved the best of the summer till what should be the last of summer. Hot daily temperatures in the 20's, cool nights, low humidity and brilliant colours in the sky, over the water and in the garden. It's like a feast for the eyes to enjoy. 

      

       

And here we are making the most of all this, whether we are at the beach or playing on the recently mowed lawn, while Stephanie takes these great photos. 

Finnigan, day-visiting on Tuesday.        Shamsky arrives Monday for a couple of weeks   Ollie O gets dropped off on Tuesday.                                                         

      

A flotilla of furry critters, led by Rosie, cruise toward the shore in a smart formation. 

Kali, Murphy, Lulu and Briar scan the beach in advance of the flotilla.  

      

Ruger is fluent in Lamb so he can chat with them through the fence.

 

Ozzy, wearing his Puppy Bumper, enjoy the feel of the grass under his paws as Ollie and Sage keep a close eye on the little Houdini, who can vanish in a blink of the eye. Molly tours the garden looking for just the right spot to have her picture taken.    

    

Later on , we watch from the house as Stephanie and Mary offer the lambs a change of accommodation, moving them from the East Pasture to South-West field, after getting a bunch of new feeding buckets hung up on the fence. The lambs spend the rest of the afternoon inspecting their new digs and right on schedule, at five o'clock, they start with the 'Baa Baa , we're hungry'  refrain.

Weekend Update

with

Karter   and Nala J  

                                               

Karter: Saturday was very busy with lots of new arrivals both for overnight stays, as well as day-visitors. 

Koda  , the NSDT, arrived first and she was ready to 'rock and roll' before she got through the gate. Then Kali  , Lyla     and Remi   were dropped off and the excitement started to build as everyone wanted to get the introductions out of the way so they could get to the B-E-A-C-H . I don't know why I bother to spell it, since they all know what's going on as Stephanie gets her beach paraphernalia organized. Take it away, Nala. 

Nala J: That's right, Karter, the humans have deluded themselves into believing we can't work this stuff out in our own way. We not only know that the beach walk is in the works, but we can send our own version of a text message to our fellow guests without the need for a device. 

Now don't forget, some of them are not going, like Molly M , who is being picked up by her human this morning so Mary will be on duty to take care of the departure process and any other arrivals.

Karter:    Thanks, Nala J. You better go and get your scuba gear and bathing cap and Arthur and I will wait until everyone is nearing the bottom of the hill, before we make our move. 

While we're waiting, Molly M has a happy reunion with her human and quickly hops in the car before  departing and then Ruger gets dropped off       for a short stay. He does a tour of the perimeter with Bogart   and Saphira     listening to them pass along gossip about their fellow guests. 

Nala J: We were having lots of fun at the beach when Arthur and Karter joined us and Koda's   paws barely touched the sand as she ran to met them.  I got in a few demonstration scuba dives   showing my fellow guests how to find the perfect rock and some of them dove in   looking for the perfect wave   .  

Karter: I must see if I can't master that scuba diving trick but today's beach time is just about over so it will have to be another day. When we get back to the house, Saphira is totally engrossed in her virtual travel as she follows the route that she thinks her humans have taken while on their Italian vacation and today she is leaving Tuscany on her way to Rome. 

My human went to watch a golf tournament so I don't think I'll bother following him as he trails along from one hole to another watching some guys putter around. 

Nala J: We had to say goodbye to Charly L, Lyla and Remi before we could have our dinner and then we enjoyed some long naps after our busy day. It should be interesting to see if Saphira is ready to cross the Rubicon.

Sunday ,  

Saphira tells us that she did make it to Rome after hitching rides through Tuscany and, to be honest, she thought the usual tourist meccas in Rome, looked pretty boring.  If you've seen one collosseum or systine chapel, you've seen them all. She headed right for the Vatican so she could have an quick visit with her buddy, Pope Francis, and he offered to take her out in his popemobile and show her the sights. 

Saphira was amazed at how many people lined the roads cheering when she went by. Eventually they stopped and got a virtual pizza. Then Saphira had to say arrivederci and return to reality in Seaforth to make sure she wasn't going to miss dinner with all her buddies. 

While the rest of us didn't ride in a popemobile, we had a fun Sunday which included a hike to the beach and then we kept clear of Bruce and his mower as he proceeded to mow the various fields. Our Havanese buddy, Murphy  , was dropped off for a lengthy visit and he was proudly showing off his new haircut.

Now this photo , taken by Desi at the beach, had Mary wondering why Desi wanted to have a photo of this driftwood in the DogBlog, It took her a while but she eventually figured it out. Let's see how long it takes you to find the critter in this photo.