Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Kippa and Tryggur

Icelandic Sheepdog Vinlands Kippa Jane owned by Dr. Suzanne Terrant earned Winners Bitch under FCI judge Dr. Wilma Roem at the ISAA Nationals in Colorado and became an American Kennel Club Champion with three earned majors last weekend. Suzanne has worked very hard with Kippa and it shows. Judge Roem also awarded KJ an AKC AOM - Award of Merit. Photo by Brenda and Randy Solomon.

Hidow Thrymheim's Tryggur, an American Kennel Club Bronze Grand Champion, was awarded Best in the ISAA Specialty Show by Dr. Roem. Photo below by Brenda and Randy Solomon.

Vinlands Kippa Jane Winners Bitch, Best Puppy, Award of Merit
European FCI Judge Dr. Wilma Roem,
Handler Jennifer Sanders
Owner Dr. Suzanne Terrant, DVM, LTC, VC, USAR RET (not shown)


Best in Specialty Show Bronze GCH Hidow Thrymheim's Tryggur CA CGC HT
European FCI Judge Dr. Wilma Roem
Handler Cori Countryman
Breeders V. Dowling & C. Lallemand
Owner Dr. Suzanne Terrant, DVM, LTC, VC, USAR RET

Monday, October 26, 2015

Monday, October 26, 2015

Brenda and Randy Solomon of Arcticridge kennels organized and put on the very successful 2015 ISAA Icelandic Sheepdog Nationals in Colorado this past long weekend. I've never met Brenda and Randy who did an amazing job putting everything together. By all accounts things ran smoothly, everyone had a good time, and people made many new 'face to face' friends.

Sadly this old codger is not able to travel for any length of time; I would have loved to have seen all the beautiful Icelandics and would have enjoyed meeting their families. I especially would have liked to meet and talk with Dr. Wilma Roem, Friday's judge and a recognized expert on Icelandics. This breed has brought much joy to my life over many years.

I'm enjoying Joshua Bell playing Mendelssohn and yet another amazing first light and sunrise over Lake Huron. I know I should be up and doing something productive but I'll do that another day. Clicking on photos enlarges them.



Friday, October 23, 2015

Autumn Joys

Virtually everywhere I go my pack of Icelandic Sheepdogs follows and watches to be sure I'm doing things right. They're not exactly critical but - they watched while I cleaned fallen leaves out of the pond today and -


wandered around in the north garden. When I bought my land here I had to cut the wild shrubs in the north garden to the ground, the red twigged dogwoods and viburnums were hugely overgrown. They've recovered in the three years since and look really nice now. Clicking on photos enlarges them.



Their red stems will be very nice against the white snow this winter. The autumn leaf color is nice now too.

I went down to the beach to add beach gravel to the inside of the fire- pit I dug last week by the bluff; Kathy and I will cook hot dogs and s'mores hopefully after her new Golden Retriever puppies leave. Later I picked the rest of the yummy Bosc pears; I ate my first one today and it was absolutely fantastic. Boscs are my favorite pear. This was the second picking all from one tiny tree I planted last year. I probably got three dozen nice sized pears in total. (As an old man I swore I would never plant the "old man fruit tree" but - I did. Why not?) What I like (so far) is that none of the pears are wormy or damaged. I never sprayed or fertilized - and won't. There were bugs on the leaves but they were easy to kill.


I also recently found a small volunteer pear tree growing in the north garden. Someone probably threw away a core and one of the seeds grew. I will transplant it to a better spot next spring and let it go - I believe volunteers should be encouraged, don't you? I love my volunteers. They are such happy, serendipitous surprises.

While working in the yard, I've been eating concord grapes from my vine also planted last year. When I was a kid we had three vines at home and we made quarts of grape juice and grape jelly from them every year. Well worth the work for the delicious results.


We have not had a frost up here by the water yet; Lake Huron moderates the temps so the dahlias, cleomes, candytufts, lavenders, and cosmos are still going strong. It's been a great year for the garden.



These might be the last rose(s) of "summer".


This viola is a volunteer I found growing in some Vinca; the viola must have self-seeded from a few that I planted about fifty feet away last spring. It's done better than any of the ones I bought.


Yesterday I finished planting some recently delivered bulbs, almost 400 of them, that I ordered last summer when I optimistically thought that it would be a piece of cake to plant them by myself. Ha! It turned out to be a back breaking task but they're in the ground now and I feel great. I also moved a few autumn flowering colchicums to better spots. I think I'm ready for serious fall weather now - at last.

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

I've been contacted by owners of one of my dogs that's about 8.5 years old with tooth problems. There might be auto-immune issues involved. Has anyone had similar problems with their dogs?

When I moved to the Thumb, I brought a 50 year Ginkgo bonsai that I started from a seedling; and released it. It's doing well. I read an article once in the New Yorker that said that all Ginkgoes in the same place lose their leaves simultaneously blanketing the ground with golden leaves. I'd love to see that sometime. Clicking on photos enlarges them.


 Two ships passing in the early morning.
 
An Ed Duff sky.


 
I now have all the house plants back inside the house. Although I haven't had a frost yet, I expect one soon. Frosts come later here than back in Royal Oak even though I am further north; I think Lake Huron moderates the temperatures in the fall. Spring comes later here for the same reason; it takes longer to warm back up because of Lake Huron.

My late blooming variegated liriope


My basswood (Tilia americana, linden, lime tree) has lost most of its leaves.

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Over 300 bulbs, the first half of the order, have been planted. There are some species tulips, windflowers, several species crocus, spring flowering  iris bulbs, some star of Bethlehems, etc.With luck most of them will survive the winter and brighten next spring.  Clouds were heavy over Canada this morning.




On the way to Sandusky, I noticed the red warning lights on the energy producing windmills. Each tiny light represents one windmill. I haven't seen them since last winter but days are shorter now so when I'm traveling in the morning they are again visible.


 
On clear days it's much easier to see freighters on the horizon.

Nights are cool now, most trees are colored, and half of the leaves have fallen from them.

Saturday, October 10, 2015

Sunset - Sunrise

I really feel sorry for people who miss sunrises and sunsets! There's a nip in the air mornings now but no frosts yet. Bulbs came yesterday afternoon so I'll be very busy today.

The leaves on some trees have started to show their colors. Last night this birch tree was lit up by the setting sun west of it. Clicking on photos enlarges them.




Sunrise this morning - above. With mixed feelings, I figured out how to get back on Face Book - but I still can't get into my older account there. It's probably long gone now.

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Kippa and Suzanne

Kippa, Tryggur, and Suzanne Terrant were at an American Kennel Club Trial in Monroe, Michigan with Icelandic Sheepdog Judges Sonny Ambrosio, Tamra K. Green, and William P Shelton. Shadow cheered his family on from the sidelines. Here are two photos from that weekend. Clicking on photos will enlarge them. The awards are posted in the photos below which were taken by Booth Show Photography.


Here are Hidow Thrymheim's Tryggut (l) and Vinlands Kippa (r) with AKC Judge Sonny Ambrosio and Handlers Joe T. Caton (Tryggur) and Kathy Musto (Kippa).


Vinlands Kippa and Handler Joe T. Caton with AKC Herding Group Puppy Judge Tamra K. Green; the Breed Judge who got Kippa and Joe to the Herding Group Puppy was William P Shelton.

Monday, October 5, 2015

Monday, October 5, 2015

The blustery weather on Lake Huron that we've been having for more than a week ended this morning. I love the 'weather' here. I noticed that a dead tree in my north garden was knocked down by the powerful winds sometime during the storm. I'll cut it into moveable sections and leave the pieces on the soil to provide homes for ants, isopods, centipedes, millipedes, spiders, etc. and to decay and enrich the soil. Everything else seems to have weathered the storm OK.

Sunrise in the East, Birches Still 'Leaved'

Sunrise with Grass

Orange Dahlia

Pink Dahlias

Colchicums with Sedum

Colchicums

Colchicums

Goldfish with Young

Storm Tossed Bartlett Pears
 
Shy, Shrinking Violet

Isabella


Stefsstells Ingaló Ísabella, Jennifer Sander's Icelandic Sheepdog bred by Stefanía Sigurðardóttir in Iceland, had some photos taken recently. Ísabella has been doing wonderful in American Kennel Club conformation trials.

Ísabella

Ísabella

Ísabella

Ísabella with Handler Maria Neff

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Lula Bea Sanders

I heard this morning that Lula the Boxer passed away last night. She will be greatly missed by Jennifer, her family, and many friends.

Here are some photos of her. Clicking on photos will enlarge them.

 
Lula had an American Kennel Club CD (Companion Dog) title, an RN (Rally Novice) title, a CGG (Canine Good Citizen) title, and also a United Kennel Club CD. Lula's personal favorite title was her BFF. She was very smart and a loving, good natured girl.

 
Jennifer and Lula at trial held at Sportsmen's Dog Training Club in Detroit.

 
Lula use to go with Jennifer and Lee to dog shows. Lula loved going to trials and her presence at them gave Lee confidence. They were best buddies.

Mentor Lula and her loving pupil Lee at Sans Souci.