Prepping for summer

Summer is definitely upon us like bees on honey. Drying out the depths of corners and the edges of the earth. Heat waves rise off of everything in sight as if praising the day for all this glorious warmth. My peonies bloom and my garden greens combust with goodness.

The week did not start out half this nice, I know I always sing the praises of warmth and lovely sunshine but I'm singing a bit extra the second half of this week for sure! The rain came down in bucketfuls for days and the dogs sloshed around mostly inside their house but playing for spells out in the floods.

Along with the rain and the sunshine, photos and updates have also been flooding in my way of wee pups not yet teenagers smiling up at the heavens. Adored and in love with life.

Gangly teenagers sport their growing bods with pride. Camping, swimming, paddle boarding, beach digging and romping with new friends.

Grown brothers reunite showing off how thick and magnificent they have become. And then their humans, figuring out how to juggle it all.

I am grateful for the warmth, for the updates, for the love sent my way. I soak in it all. 

Keep the updates and photos coming everyone! I LOVE them all!

We balance the heat around here with pockets of shade and corners of coolness. One foot in, a tail out, a bod flopped and a tongue out constantly. 

We swap out water buckets on days like this 3x to make sure everyone stays hydrated and cool. Sometimes ice cubes get added to the water, sometimes they get dumped on the outside mat. 

All my dogs are suckers for summer and thoroughly enjoy the heat... which is a bit odd as they are hot bodied dogs. They do transition to these shady corners eventually if we stay out for a spell. 

Summer salads get made for the dogs frequently with frozen fruit and greens from the garden. The ice cubes always get added for extra fun.

I had a family out a few days ago that had a wee 7 yr. Old. He ran down to the garden multiple times for handfuls and handfuls of lettuce to feed the dogs through the fence. I'm not sure who loved the game more, the boy, the dogs or myself watching this connection over lettuce take place. My heart soared. The dogs were topped up with greens for days! 

I have not yet gotten my pool out for the dogs but I definitely could have this weekend. The water doesn't stay in the pool very long as it gets immediately dug out but the game is much loved so I keep the hose nearby to refill often. At times these summer salads get dumped into the pool for them as an extra enrichment game of 'bobbing for salads' no one is a huge fan of the hose (Sola was my hose lover) so we keep water play in the pool and only minor hose 'attacks' from the side. 

There have already been a couple of reports from past pups of bees being eaten. Oh the dangers of summer! Goodness.. these dogs and eating things! Keep Your benadryl stocked up and your ER # close by just in case. 

All the dogs here are happy, healthy, loving my time with them and very much going with the flow of their happy carefree life. 

The latest game of 'Eat Leia' continues to be a favorite and fills our days entertainment endlessly. Tonka chomps on her back leg, Meiko attaches to her ear and Isla follows up on her tail. Leia loves every minute of the attention. Leia eventually 'dies' belly up and goes limp. The dogs celebrate their victory and stand off and gloat at their 'kill' Leia lays there with one eye open to see if they are watching and grins the whole time. Yes the entertainment is endless around here. 

No signs yet of next chapters starting as of yet but mother nature has a plan and I trust my dogs that timing will be perfect when we are blessed with the start of a new story. 

So now I continue to catch up around here on the property and everything else the dogs need. Everyone gets vet checked, updated and retested in areas of need. 

My youngest daughter Arai, my right hand girl around here is once again heading off this summer to Tanzania, this time to lead the way as a student ambassador. I only have 2 more weeks with her here until she flies off for 2 mths to volunteer her time and heart to the villages and people over in Kahama.

Thinking of my planning around here on taking off to do a breeding, getting ready for 2 litters ahead, and everything in between without her is daunting. I have yet to truly wrap my head around this or/and figure out exactly how this is all going to play out. But where there is a will, there is a way. I will indeed figure this out. I am ecstatic beyond belief that Arai has been gifted this opportunity again this summer. I will miss her greatly but we are both where we are supposed to be.

Big dogs, little dogs, piles of dogs, fuzzy dogs, happy dogs, BRING ON MORE DOGS!!!!!