Totty & Taylor, LeRoy & Jennifer

Under AKC Judge Terry DePietro at the Richland County Kennel Club show on Saturday, December 15, 2012, Jennifer Sanders showed her own dog Lee to Best of Breed and junior handler Taylor Fisher showed Totty to Best of Opposite. Huge and well deserved congratulations to Taylor and Jennifer.

                                            Jennifer Sanders - Vinlands Leifur

                                             Taylor Fisher - Vinlands Totty

Totty and Taylor

Taylor Fisher showed American Kennel Club Champion Vinlands Totty to AKC Judge Sandra Wheat on Friday, December 14, 2012, the second day of the Cleveland Winter Classic and was awarded Best of Opposite. Good job Team!

 Many thanks to Jennifer Sanders!

San Salvatore?

With "La Petite Poule Rouge" firmly, firmly, in mind, we added a bed, a sofa bed, a desk return, a small TV, a dresser, an old fashioned record stand, etc. to the office.

Some paintings will need to be re-hung. Nails can only be pounded into the walls at very specific locations which complicates things a bit.

For now the return faces out. That may change. (The bright square on the return was the sun shining through the door window.) The day up north was sunny and chilly with a light, a very light, snow on the ground - an absolutely gorgeous winter day. On the way back I noticed a huge dark cloud hanging over the entire Detroit Metro area. Jon and Tom were extremely helpful and considerate. Thank You! (On the way up one of the men became a dad to new born Liam!! Was it Tom? He was very anxious to get back home.)

                                     Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

MIss Timber - December 11, 2011

"Miss Timber is doing great! She/we just completed our Intermediate Obedience class and will continue with the Intermediate/Advanced class after the New Year. She is amazing at obedience--"gets it" almost immediately. We do plan to do agility but will wait until she's older (as both you and the trainer recommend). May also go for our therapy certification.

She has adapted beautifully to both city and country living. She is a favorite in the shops on Walnut Street (the upscale shopping area of Philly)--seems to particularly enjoy the Apple store! In the Poconos, we enjoy long walks together and visiting at the horse barn where she loves to watch the horses work. She most definitely would like to herd the horses!

We are planning to have her spayed later this month--it's longer than I've ever waited to have a dog spayed/neutered but I am mindful of what you said about the breed and when they mature. The timing was decided in consultation with her two vets (she has one in the Poconos and one in Philly, in case) and the trainer.

I have attached photos which aren't the greatest (dog photography is difficult!) but at least give you a sense of how beautiful her markings are and what a good sport she is in getting into the holiday spirit! She was actually on hand for Santa's arrival in Rittenhouse Square (Philadelphia)!"

Aunt Jen, Aunt Sylvia and Totty

AKC Champion Vinlands Totty and I visited Great Aunt Sylvia and Aunt Jennifer today and got a surprise, to Tot anyway, nail clipping, bath and blow out. Her fur looked so pretty and she smelled so very nice! Thank you more than I can say.

I also got to see LeRoy, Totty's nephew who was a tad upset that he couldn't get out and play with Totty. Poor boy! He craves attention now, thrives on it in fact.

Must be genetic. Totty is a bit of a camera hog and demands to be the center of attention as well.

I ran some errands and after her make over, Sylvia and Jen told me that Tot stood at the door waiting for me to come back - which is a bit hard to believe. If Totty could sing, I think it would be the "I Feel Pretty" song from West Side Story.

AKC Grand Champion Vinlands Leifur

AKC Grand Champion Vinlands Leifur has met the qualifications for Grand Championship in only six weeks time with 25 points including four major wins and four defeated champions. 

Jennifer Sanders attributes his amazing accomplishment to the help and support of Guy H. Fisher, Jeff and Lucy Bauer, Stacey Williams, Jo-Ann Secondino, Debbie Ostrander, Cherie Berger, Sylvia Sanders and many others.

Clicking on photos enlarges them. Final show photo will be posted when it arrives.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Up to Sans Souci today - Wednesday, December 5, 2012. I love the trip up especially when I get to Lakeport. It's a two lane road on M-25 from Lakeport all the way up to the tip of Michigan's Thumb and down the Saginaw Bay side.

Had my 'usual'  breakfast at Mary's Diner in Port Sanilac, the last 'big' city before my property. Breakfast brightened my mood in spite of the gray overcast drippy day.

I have asked friends to come up with me, but so far it's just me. That's OK. That's the one person I can always count on. I wonder if I'll get positive responses when there's no work to do. I had some productive meetings and hope things might start to move vis a vis the house.

I moved Fred and Annette's great house-warming (pole-barn-warming) real genuine horseshoe from over the door outside into the kitchen where it's warmer and safer. I LOVE it!!!

 There was a light snow on the ground after Port Sanilac and the temperature was cold, low 30s, up at my property but I worked outside in my shirt-sleeves and cleared some trash: - broken booze bottles, salad dressing bottles, pop (soda) bottles, a dish drainer, a broken plate, some pieces of plastic, half of an old iron fireplace grate, etc. from the northern deciduous forest. The bottles were real glass so they must have been there for a long time. I brought them home to recycle but maybe I'll clean them out and use them as flower vases up there.

The new septic tank had not been covered completely by the workers so I spent some time digging near-frozen clumps of dirt and raking the area first.

Then I also cut down some dead popular trees, large grape vines, and shrubs like sumac and viburnum before my old-faithful and reliable tree saw broke. That great saw must have been more than thirty years old and was missing several teeth.  

I piled the brush in front of an access onto my property that is neither a road nor a driveway. My neighbors said that someone had used it in the past and driven over my septic field. Yoicks!

In the northern deciduous forest near the bluff I also planted some small spring bulbs, might have been English hyacinths, not the big Dutch varieties; I hope the critters don't dig them up and eat them. I scattered some Rosa rugosa seeds, some hardy hibiscus seeds, and some seeds from Grandpa Ott's morning glories. I hope some escape becoming food for birds and small mammals and actually germinate and grow.

Lake Huron was a gorgeous cold-green color and with white caps all the way out to the shipping lanes where I saw several freighters. These are both views from my bluff.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

I did not teach my Fun with Agility class today with Jerry, Terri and Kim. I never missed a day of work in over 34 years of teaching Biology and French and Royal Oak's high school. I have also never missed a day of teaching classes at my all-volunteer, un-paid instructor, dog training club - - until today. I enjoyed my day off. Now I know why people do that. I may have to take next Wednesday off too!