Meant to Be

 I want to share these pictures with you.....   it seems that Rhaea is actually where she is meant to be and happy.  Here she is with Sparkle, a Staffordshire terrier who is her best bud.   Out in the woods for a hike and loving every minute of it.

This made me so incredibly happy.... but I also had a tear or two.   💕

PS. My blog is 13 years old today!  😊

Little Big Girl

Now, isn't that a classic terrier pose? Some kids were approaching us on the sea walk and she was very keenly watching them come closer.  She never barked but took it all in.    She also never barked at the other dogs that walked by on leashes either, which I was very happy about.  

She also has no leash manners but we hope in time to fix that. She starts puppy classes this coming Monday evening.  Not a moment too soon.  Rhaea is 13 weeks today and changing so fast.  We've gone from cuddly, soft and fluffy to a new wire hair coat coming in. There's only fluffy hairs  left  on her ears.   She's like an early prepubescent teenager now.... all legs but with fangs.    And a bigger bark. 

Here she is in her playpen , where we used to have a dinette table and chairs. Its so reminiscent of a small human baby with scads of diapers, clothing changes, food, bottles and a ton of other 'stuff'.    Plus loads of her  toys which are only attractive if you shake or make them fun.  Chewies of all sizes and shapes for the discerning gnawer.

You can't hear her voce but trust me, she packs a punch with it.  We have high vaulted ceilings and it echoes nicely. She knows it too. 

 So, I'd love to show you my latest weaving but  I can't do that just yet.  I did actually dust the looms this past weekend.   

I'm not by nature an early riser but having a puppy means I (we) are up somedays as early as 4:30 am.   A sleep in is 6:30 am!    So there comes a time period in the day after 'baby duty' and house chores when I could go and weave, but I don't feel alert and on my game. So I have been napping and occasionally spinning to unwind.  

A time off from the loom for now.  Sorry if that's what you come here for.    There will be more weaving related posts in time, I promise. 

Nobody will be happier than me once I can get back to throwing a shuttle again.    In the mean time, it seems 9:30 pm is the new midnight.    😴💤

Rhaea at 10 Weeks Old

 

I guess it goes without saying that there is no weaving going on here at all...... and I'm okay with that........for now ... but hopefully I can start again soon??

Rhaea is 10 weeks old today and we can see how she is changing and quickly too.   If you scroll through these pictures and the previous ones taken at 8 weeks, you will see it too.

There is a dog trainer coming today to give us a one hour lesson  to tide us over until puppy classes start on October 19th and run for 6 weeks.   Its been a long time since we last had a small puppy and we were also younger then too. So we need to brush up on our techniques and get this done right.  😊

We are working on "sit" and "come" and naturally "no bite" and "leave it". We keep small bits of freeze dried liver treats in our pockets as inducements.  I have to check all pockets now before doing laundry as they look kinda creepy all soggy in the bottom of the washing machine! 

House training is coming right along and its mostly successes. That's due in part to being able to read the messages and being prompt with answering the call!    Our day starts at +/- 6 am now and there is nothing happier than a dry and warm dog bed with a sleepy puppy in it.

So do you think she has 'daddy' all wrapped around her paws?    Yea, I think so too.   😁

And so it starts..... 😇

 Rhaea is so darn cute...... when she's asleep!   In between, she's a pint sized ankle shark!  

Meet Rhaea

 Our big started early yesterday and we had a long drive down island to pick up our new Irish terrier puppy Rhaea ( pronounced ray-uh) Its Welsh Gaelic. All the usual Irish names are very commonly used and we wanted something unique.

She’s the quiet shy one from the litter, but she has a fiery spirit when she wants something or not! She finally fell asleep about 10 pm last night and we went off to bed. Not one peep last night! Not one…. I took her out at 6:30 am and had great success! Followed by lots of praise. Now she’s on a blankie next to ‘Dad’ and sound asleep while we have our morning coffee.

So here’s me (with my hair all wind-blown, too long and suffering from high humidity) holding Rhaea as we picked her up from the gang of siblings…. who were all chewing on my sandals and toes. Sharp little teeth!

🍼 Its Official.....

See that sweet face looking up at you?  Well, she's our little girl now.   We pick her up on September 5th.  Click on the picture to enlarge....

Lots to do to get ready.... but we're excited.  😁

Baby Pictures

Well, the pups are three weeks old now.... and starting to do a bit more than eat and sleep!  Still no idea which one is ours.    Enjoy!  🍼  🐕

I think Mum Sienna is doing a fine job!

🍼🍼🍼

... and a bonus three more pictures came in today August 9th....   ❤️

They are enjoying a drink of goat's milk in the bowl, and the pan are beginner potty training. They are going out on real grass today sometime.  If I get more pictures, I will add them here.   (Yes, I saw the gnawed wood ..... ominous!  😳 )

Anticipation!

Its been three years and a month since our Airedale terrier Calli died suddenly.  Our hearts were so broken by her loss since she was only eight years old.     We weren't ready for another dog for a long time, but we also knew that getting another would also take time so we put our name down onto a long list.

The first litter turned out to be a false pregnancy, complete with swollen tummy.

The second litter was all boys.... and we had requested a girl.

The third try didn't take at all...no pups again.

So this time we were first up for Airedale terrier pups and  Irish terrier pups. We also said girl first, but will take a boy too.   So basically hedging our bets!

So the Airedale mum had another false pregnancy.....but the Irish mum had seven pups on July 17th.  Six girls and one boy....

So here's Mum Sienna having a well earned rest shortly after her  delivery.    One of these little nuggets is our new pup!     Homing starts mid to late September.  

We have a lot of shopping to do to get ready!

Yes, this is seriously going to get in the way of weaving for a time, but that's probably a good thing.

🍼🐶🍼

Friendly Fences

Its January, and winter.
In Canada no less.

Yet here we are replacing two runs of fencing on the east and west sides of our back yard in January with relatively mild temperatures for this time of year.  We had a fence panel on the east side blow down last winter and its been 'juried rigged fixed' for some time.  It was all due to start last fall, but it got too late in the season.  So now we are ahead of the curve for 2019's busy spring season and fencing contractors' schedules and also before the gardens spring to life again. (Which is any time now given how mild it is!)

Below is the west side of the yard, shared with our neighbour Dave. Its a nice open look as they remove the old fence panels which are well and truly all done. Most likely the original fence from 20 years ago.

The east side has been cleared, new cedar fence posts set into concrete, and five foot cedar boards installed.  It goes quite quickly once the posts are in place.  They have connected it nicely to our run of black picket fencing across the back, and also the side gates near the house.  I took this picture while they were at lunch yesterday.

close up view

An old tired panel waiting to be taken to its final rest

 Then this picture (below) was taken about 3:30 pm yesterday ....and the east side is all done.  Just finials for the post tops to be added.  Our neighbours on either side have been great and participating in this project fully.  The fence is a foot taller than the old one and we'll adjust quickly to the new view.

 Meanwhile I kept busy inside the studio with Bruce helping me to beam on  an eight yard warp of 8/2 cotton for some tartan towels.   I haven't woven towels in some time so this will be fun.   'Dress Stewart' anyone?

All good to go!  By the days end, we had it all loaded onto the warp beam. I'm going to weave it as one long piece and then cut apart into towels later.

Meanwhile over at the desk I'm busy twisting fringes on the completed scarves.   Its been really hard to get a decent picture so I'm hoping for a sunny day (sunny moment?)  once they are complete and pressed.

Purple weft above, and black weft below

So, who's this I hear you asking?

This is a stock photo I found on line of a young Irish Terrier pup.   We are hopefully expecting to be new parents to a pup to be born in March, and newly homed with us in May.   We have requested a female and now wait to see how this all works out. Irish terriers have 4-6 pups per litter and we are on a list with other prospective parents...... so *fingers crossed*!  The kennel where we are dealing, raise both Airedale and Irish terriers and it just so happens that the Irish mum is first to have her litter and the Airedale pups won't be ready until late October.

Our love is for Airedales  but no new Airedale could replace Calli and so I had concerns on that score.  Irishes run to about 25-27 pounds which is half the size of Calli but have all the heart and love, plus quirky  personality  that terriers have.   Here's a link to more information on the breed.
They are known for being healthy, few issues with genetic type conditions, hyper allergenic and good temperaments.

Now you know why the fence must be tight !

A link to a short video on the breed:       https://youtu.be/zrLGzCoU77U