We wanted to wish you a happy July 4th, and hope you are having a less windy day than we are. We have had gusts to 48 mph, and average winds over 35 mph all day, at the airport, 5 miles south of us. We are protected somewhat by the trees to our west, but it has been really crazy for the past couple of days. I’m glad we are not out for a picnic today.
The last posting told you about my recent visit to my cardiologist, and nothing much has changed along those lines. I’m still recovering, slowly. My energy level is not back where I would like it, and I still cannot yet raise my left arm over my shoulder. But, I’m alive and well, and getting better each day – and very thankful for it.
As time goes by, we hear more and more about people who have had challenging medical emergencies and made it through as well. There have also been some who haven’t, so that is always food for thought and prayer.
We just learned of a serious accident with friends; a swather (machine for cutting hay) fire in Oregon (in their field) that caused severe 2nd and 3rd degree burns to our friend. He and his family are in our prayers, as he gets through the burn unit in Portland, OR.
Speaking of swathers, our neighbor ran over a rock and jammed his swather. John volunteered to chisel the rock out, and it worked. Amazing.
We are still caring for our puppies, who turn 6 weeks old tomorrow. We have a lot of care taking them in and out of the house, and now we are in charge of feeding them instead of their mommy. She has weaned them with our help. They are eating hard puppy chow just fine now, and are romping and playing in the backyard. They have a big dog house they can escape to, to get shelter from the wind when they need rest from playing. It’s nice because they do all their peeing and pooping outside, and not in our washroom, where John has to clean up the papers and carry to our compost pile.
We have homes for all but 3 now, as one we were counting on, fell through, because of the facial markings. That is NOT the way to choose a hunting dog and family member, in my estimation. I’m just as happy he’s not getting her. We are thrilled the little guy, who is doing very well, has a forever home, here in Ellensburg, where we might keep track of him. I’m sure he will eventually catch up, but he is still half the size of his siblings. He is going to a fishing family as is his sister to another, so they will be introduced to fishing soon.
We won’t want to ship any of these puppies, so if you are reading this and know of someone interested in a fine hunting dog, but who is within the Pacific Northwest, then let us know, please.
Speaking of dogs: since we last wrote, our Brittany (the brother to the mom of these puppies) finished his show championship — in Pennsylvania. Yes, you heard that right. Our trainer (field) was out West, but inherited his family farm in Aleppo, PA, and moved there a couple of years ago, taking our pup with him. He and his wife have been campaigning him in field trials, and also in shows when the availability presented itself. Just this last weekend, he was entered in 4 shows, and won two of them and was runner-up in the other two. The significance is that it finished his show championship, and he is now titled, Ch. Cedaridge Vintage Cork. We hope they finish his field championship this fall, and then he will be a Dual Ch.
ALEPPO — meaning: as John found on the web, is a pine tree. It’s also known as the Jerusalem pine. It is unlikely it would grow there in Aleppo, PA, but could be. It is found mostly in eastern Spain, the south of France, and on to Jordan and Morocco. Supposedly, it is grown in the southwest U.S. (It is also an ancient town in Syria.)
Finally, about the 4th of July celebration for us. For John and me supper will be a good inside picnic with BBQ pork and beans tonight, but the real celebration was on Friday, July 2, when the music group I play with … Kittitas Valley Fiddlers & Friends, entertained at the local Dry Creek Retirement Center who together with the Adult Activity Center put on their annual July 4th BBQ for the community. We have provided music for 5 years. This year we did our regular old-time music, but interspersed patriotic songs: Battle Hymn of the Republic, There’s a Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere, America, America the Beautiful, This Land is Your Land, and our specialty, the national anthem, sung acapella. We did it at the beginning and near the end. We stood up and so did almost all of the elderly people, many in walkers, and they sang at the top of their lungs, with their right hand over their heart. It was a most moving and awesome experience. It is not something we will soon forget. We played music from 11:30 to 1:30 with a short break to eat of the catered picnic buffet.
Hope this finds you all well. Thanks for continuing to check this blog. We will try to update it every weekend.