IT WAS A DAY OF 'FIRSTS'

OUR TIGER LILIES ARE IN BLOOM  (NIKON D90) 

We had ourselves a great first night with Eve.  I can tell she is feeling very comfortable here with us & she slept at the foot of my bed on one of our cushy doggy beds.  She is undoubtedly the most affectionate dog we have ever had.  She just bubbles over with smooches & I am convinced she thinks she is a lap dog because she loves sitting on my lap in the recliner.  I don't mind a big old smoochy dog sitting on my lap.  That's what having a dog is all about:)) 

We are also so pleased at how Cora & Eve are getting along.  Cora has totally accepted Eve into our tightly knit little Bayfield Bunch family.  It was so important for us to find a suitable & loving companion for, 'the Motormouse'.  Oh, & by the way, it's Motormouse, not Motormouth. 

We were very surprised to receive a phone call from our Vet early this morning saying Eve's previous owner, Matt ,had dropped in to see him yesterday afternoon.  Kelly, on the phone, immediately thought....oh oh!!  We had mentioned to Matt & Crystal that we thought it a good idea to have Eve spayed & would be doing that before leaving for the Southwest.  It was one of the things we had talked about with the Vet Tuesday afternoon as well.

SHARING HER BED 

Unbeknownst to us, Matt had slipped into the Vet's office late Tuesday afternoon & prepaid for Eve's spaying procedure.  Not only was Dr. Ross pleased with that kind gesture but so were we.  What a fine & caring thing for Matt & Crystal to do.  Crystal phoned this morning to see how Eve's first night went so we were able to thank them first hand.  So nice when unexpected good things happen like that.  Eve's spaying procedure will take place August 19th.  By the way, Eve is 2 years old. 

Today was a series of firsts, starting with our good old morning walks again which we hadn't been doing since Max & Checkers died back in April.  How nice to have a fun & furry purpose for being back in the forest again.  We have a large grassy area just before the Pine forest trail begins & I don't think I have ever seen a dog run so fast & be so happy all at the same time.  Eve would have made the energizer bunny look like it was going backwards.  She was great on the trail & would come when called.  It was nice to see her & Cora side by side as they stopped to smell things along the way.  Just like Cora used to do with Max & Checkers.

THE GRASSY PARK BEFORE THE FOREST & LITTLE CORA DOESN'T LIKE WALKING ON THIS WET MORNING GRASS  (CANON SX210IS)

  

EVE'S A SUPER FAST RUNNER            EXPLORING SOME NEW SMELLS TOGETHER 

Another first occurred when we took Eve in the Motor Home & showed her around.  She was racing around everywhere all excited by that big new place as well. 

Our third first occurred when I loaded both the Motormouse & Eve  into  the Jeep & off we went to Subway.  Figured for our first Jeep trip together I would just keep it local.  Motor in the front seat & Eve in the back.  I wasn't out of the Jeep 2 seconds at Subway & Eve was in the driver's seat so we have a little work to do there.  Of course I was mobbed getting back into the Jeep with a 6"  toastedTurkey sub in hand.  (Motor insists they be toasted) Managed to get Eve into the back again before unwrapping the sub.  The guys actually did pretty good in patiently waiting for their little Turkey snacks.  There were no squabbles, not even from me.  A short drive down around the beach area & we were home again with another successful first mission under our belts.

MOTOR'S ON THE PASSENGER SIDE & EVE IS ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE....WAITING TO 'SHARE' MY TURKEY SUB  (CANON SX210IS)

 

IN BOTTOM RIGHT PHOTO YOU CAN SEE A LITTLE 'MOUSE' EAR BOTTOM LEFT SNEAKING UP ON MY TURKEY SUB FROM BELOW (CANON AF 720IS) 

I took Eve for a second walk around the forest trail this afternoon as well.  I always carry a pair of clippers with me & noticed this morning that after 4 months of not maintaining the trail there was forest growth encroaching on the path.  Eve was great as I clipped back a lot of vegetation & we eventually worked our way all around the trail & home again.  She just loves the freedom of running as fast as she can & she just loves the outdoors.  I can't share the first of her two loves anymore but I sure can share the second one.

Having experienced the positive benefits of dog obedience classes 13 years ago with Max I am a firm believer of training a dog properly.  This afternoon we signed Eve up for a 6 week Saturday morning dog obedience class that will begin on September 10th.  Both Kelly & I will attend & do the course with Eve just as I did with Max years ago.  Incidentally, Max came home with a first place red ribbon that time:))

Note to hobopal.....no, I did not see that missing comment.  It is very easy for a finished comment to be accidentally deleted after you write it.  Always double check to see if your comment has landed in the person's comment box or look for the word 'approved.'

Note to the State of Texas....if you noticed your temperatures cooling a bit today, it was caused by wind generated by a little dog in Bayfield Ontario wagging it's tail so fast all day it blew most of the trees down in all the States between Michigan & New Mexico.

THE LAST PARAGRAPH:  Can't begin to tell you how much better I feel now that I have another best Pal at my side again.  To see that constantly wagging tail & those big brown happy eyes.  To feel the exuberance, the excitement, the energy & the curiosity abounding in her brings tears to my eyes.  They are not tears of sorrow.  They are tears of love, happiness & understanding that all animal lovers know so very well & feel so very deeply inside.

CANON (SX210IS) 

GROANER'S CORNER:((  And, did you know that when it rains cats and dogs you can actually step in a poodle.  Did you hear about the cowboy who wanted to buy a dachshund?  Ya, he wanted to get a long little doggie.   And did you ever wonder about the difference between a new husband and a new dog? After a year, the dog is still excited to see you.

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EMAIL THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))
stargeezerguy@gmail.com
OUR
PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The
only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right
now...... AL.

HI EVERYBODY....MY NAME IS EVE:))

 
MY NAME IS EVE & I AM NOW THE NEWEST MEMBER OF THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))
Well, this has been a very busy, exciting & eventful day, but let me just back up for a minute.  After receiving the email Monday afternoon about Lexi I just didn't feel like putting together a whole blog Monday night.  It was time to just break with routine for a change & watch some mindless night time television.  But, one thing was crystal clear by the time we went to bed last night.  We both agreed that 'we will find our own dog next time!!'  And, that is just what we did today.

AT EVE'S HOUSE THIS AFTERNOON
For the past few weeks we had been looking on Kijiji, animal rescue, the S.P.C.A. and local dog pound sites.  Some friends emailed us who knew of some dogs but it was a phone call a few days ago that would eventually turn the tide.
Even while waiting for the decision on Lexi we had a few other irons in the fire and one of those irons was our Vet in Zurich, Ontario.  He had called us with a phone number to call regarding a dog needing a good home.  Kelly called that number first thing this morning to gather some info.  Sounded promising.  But, we also had another lead on a dog near the town of Mitchell.

EVE CAME RIGHT OVER & LAID BESIDE THE LITTLE MOTORMOUSE
Mitchell is where my Uncle Harry is so on our way to see him this morning we stopped at a farm north of Mitchell to meet Sadie, an Australian Shepherd/Rottweiler mix.  She was a year old, beautiful dog and just full of fire and energy.  Liked her a lot but she was just too much dog for us to handle and when we brought the Motorhmouse into the barn Sadie went right after her bowling her over.  It was plain to see that was not going to be a workable solution.

Leaving Sadie behind we headed into Mitchell to visit with Harry.  He is in constant pain now with his back and says the best part of his day is at night when he is sleeping.  No results back yet from his X-Rays and Cat Scan last week.  He is keeping up a brave front but spends most of his days stretched out in his recliner hardly able to move. 
From Mitchell we headed straight for the little town of Zurich to meet Eve, a Burmese Mountain and Australian Shepherd Collie mix.  In other words, a Heinz 57.  It was love at first sight and an instant bond for me.  Eve was every bit as friendly and warm as Lexi had been last week and the clincher was Eve's gentle nature towards little Cora when we brought the little Beans in the house.  It was obvious right from their introduction they were compatible and would fast become great Pals.  Eve is not an aggressive dog.  At one point Motor laid down on the floor and Eve walked over and laid down beside her.  A very caring and gentle dog. 
OUR FIRST MEETING WITH  EVE THIS AFTERNOON
We talked a bit with the owners and then drove down the street to the Vets with a few questions about spaying, etc.  It also gave Kelly and I a chance to see how each other felt about Eve.  The decision was unanimous, so back to Eve's house we went to talk with her owners.  Some tears were shed but they agreed to bring Eve to our house later this afternoon.  They wanted a chance to say goodbye to her.  With a younger couple's growing family, decisions about pets sometimes have to be reluctantly made.
We were home about 3 and Eve arrived about an hour later with her young family.  We all spent some time together showing the younger couple and their wee daughter around our place where Eve would be living.  Eve was flying around a hundred miles an hour and wouldn't you know it.....she landed ker-splash right in our frog pond.  No matter, she was just too excited to worry about getting wet.  And, we were just too excited to care about her getting wet anyway:)) 

UNFORTUNATELY,  I HADN'T LEFT THE CAMERA ON AUTO FOCUS WHEN KELLY TOOK THIS PICK:((
Soon it was time for final good-byes.  A few tears, a few waves and the young folks were off.  Eve was now at home with the Bayfield Bunch:))  And, everything just seemed sooooo right.
She is just a darling and as I am typing this right now in our sun room she is sound asleep right beside me on the carpet.  She is just too pooped out from all the excitement and so are we.  From Monday's mental low we were rocketed in no short order into the highs of today.  It just all came together and we are sooooo happy to have her and we can tell she is sooooo happy to be here.  Of course I will have more to say about her tomorrow:))  
We thank everyone for all the kind comments on yesterday's post and agree that when one door closes, others are opened and today was a big door opening for us:))  Now, where was I before all this excitement started.

I made double sure I rolled up my Jeep windows Sunday night so Mother Nature made double sure it did not rain. Figures!!  Monday night I rolled up and Mother Nature rained down.  I consider us temporarily even now:))

Took advantage of Monday's cooler morning temps to do more grass and shrub trimming.  An elderly fellow going by on his scooter stopped to say how much he enjoyed seeing our garden lights at night so that inspired me to carry through with a few more lighting ideas I had kicking around.  Tuesday morning we woke up to pouring rain.

 
If the heat is getting you down I suggest you cool off with some fine snowy glacier photos, cooling lakes and cascading waterfalls in the North Cascades National Park, Washington.  The  GYPSY LIFE JOURNAL folks were enjoying their beautiful cooling days while the rest of us are sweltering in the heat and humidity of a long hot summer.  Also, check out what happened when they were just pulling into a campground and a man yelled at them......."YOUR CAR IS LOOSE!!"


MOM'S NEW KITCHEN HELPER
Catching up on a few blogs this morning I noticed one of our fellow RV Bloggers in North Virginia is fast approaching a well deserved retirement.  His post a few days ago titled, I FEEL NAKED caught my attention.  You may find this man's career rather interesting, just as I did.  Paul and Marti Dahl from  R SANITY RV ADVENTURES are an RV couple planning to travel full time shortly in their Class A Motor Home.  Just a little matter of selling a house first. 

If you happen to be traveling in Canada you might want to stay off Saskatchewan's secondary roads and IVAN will tell you why!!
 
LITTLE CORA IS TRYING TO TEACH EVE HOW TO PLAY 'TOYS:))'
THE LAST PARAGRAPH:  I had said to Kelly a couple weeks ago that no matter which dog we eventually end up choosing....it will be the right dog for us.  Whether big or small, green or blue, it didn't matter because we would shower the dog with love, affection and attention and make it feel welcome, needed and wanted.  It is just the way we are with our very much most bestest Pals of ever.................10-4:))
Tomorrow I will let you know how our first night went.....................
GROANER'S CORNER:((  And remember, 'Don't believe everything you think!!'
---------------------------------------------------------------
EMAIL THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))
stargeezerguy@gmail.com

OUR
PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

The
only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right
now...... AL.

LEXI....A DECISION WAS MADE TODAY

We received the following email late this afternoon which in part says........

Hello,   After meeting both families, the board took both families /situations into consideration. You offer some wonderful things for Lexi and no doubt would enrich any dogs life, however, the board decided to go with the other family.

Lexi absolutely fell in love with the dog the other family had. The two of them bonded right away. She took to him immediately. He submitted to her allowed her to heard him and anywhere she went he followed. If he went another direction she would go get him he would come right back with her. He played nicely with her they romped together and rolled on the ground acting all silly having a good time. Lots of tail wagging and doggie grins.

After seeing this it only makes sense to let her to to this family. It was almost like she chose them. She chose her friend and new pal. Animal Love strongly believes in also taking what the dog wants into consideration as well as what the homes have to offer. In this situation Lexi and the other dog spoke volumes with their instant like towards one another.It was an amazing thing to see so much love between them.

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It is very quiet at our house tonight.