Fall is in Full Swing!

Last weekend we were at another dog show, and both ZuZu and Nolan did some more winning.  ZuZu earned a few more points towards her grand championship and Nolan picked up another 2 points towards his championship.  He now has 5 of the 15 points needed to become a champion.  This weekend is another show, with the possibility of a major, so fingers crossed he wins some more points.

Addi and I visited our favorite Pumpkin patch, and she posed for some Fall pictures.  She was doing such a good job, the other people visiting the pumpkin patch asked if they could take her picture too.  Addi was happy to pose for them too, as she does love the attention and admiration!  

The Fall foliage is now on full display in our corner of New England.  I’m hoping I will be able to get a few more pictures this weekend.  It will largely depend on how our collies do at the show.  If they win, we may have to stay for the herding group.

Addi wants to know, what is your favorite Fall activity?  Do you love the Fairs, apple picking, leaf peeping, or visiting Pumpkin patches?

Autumn Collies and Poetry

 

“For lovers of poetry

And seekers of good

There is gold in the fall 

There are trees of the wood

There are stars in the ether

And rivers that flow

In the sweetness of

The heart finds its home.”

Laura Jaworski 

Morgan, “ready, set, play!”

"Autumn wandering

A thousand golden poems

Drift across the sky." 

Laura Jaworski

“Gold in hand is pleasant

A pocketful is nice

But autumn’s gold holds such a worth

Each leaf is counted twice

So give me gilded woodlands

And gently falling leaves

I’d gladly forfeit opulence

For walks among the trees.”

Laura Jaworski

“Dear trees, what magic you must hold

To change the leaves from green to gold

And weave a flaxen cloth so fine

To dress the wood in autumntime.”

Laura Jaworski

“The scent of cinnamon and cloves

Round pumpkins and crisp, sweet apples

A world turned ruddy in rich shades of orange and gold

Puffing chimneys, sweaters, warm drinks

And leaves, gently leaving one home for another—

Autumn.”

Laura Jaworski

“A little leaf

In a sea of green

Takes a breath, and poof, he’s yellow!

Then his friends join along

And begin Autumn’s song

All because of that brave little fellow.”

Laura Jaworski 

“How sweet the early autumn days

Their changes barely seen

When Nature in her quiet way

Begins to blend her green

With shades of tawny gossamer

And bolder rosy tones

Till colors mixed and stirred unveil

A palette of her own.”

Laura Jaworski 

Beautiful Morgan, by Pinscher Portraits 

“There is a first leaf to turn

There is a last to fall

And in the space between the two

The grandest show of all.”

Laura Jaworski

Fall in New England

With the beautiful Autumn weather we were experiencing, I decided to go to our favorite picture spot with two of my seniors. To get ready to start doing therapy visits,  Phoebe and Maizie had a vet appointment on Wednesday, which was only a mile from the pumpkin patch.  Phoebe had never gotten to visit for Fall pictures, so I decided to stop by.  

Almost everyone else has visited this spot over the years, except for Phoebe, Peyton, Rosie, ZuZu and of course, the puppies Nolan and Morgan.  Rosie is visiting her breeder for a while, so we will bring her next year.  If there is time, I’d love to bring the others, we will see.  Unfortunately, a NorEaster is going to hit us on Sunday.  As it brings high winds and torrential rain, I’m not sure what will happen with our Fall foliage.  Looks like I will have to try to get some pictures tomorrow.  I usually go early on Wednesdays, as there are less people, so it’s easier to take pictures of the dogs.  (Less distractions)

Hopefully the upcoming storm won’t cause too much damage.  This is my favorite time of year to take pictures, and it will be sad if the high winds pull down all the colorful leaves off the trees!  But we still have tomorrow…more pictures to come!

Another beautiful fall weekend!

 This weekend was very busy, but the weather was perfect, and we were able to enjoy some of the beautiful Fall foliage that is starting to appear throughout New England. On Saturday, my daughter and I drove from Connecticut to Massachusetts to meet up with a photographer.  This was the same photographer that took some beautiful pictures of Rory, now called Valkyrie, a couple weeks ago.  

Valkyrie, 9/9/25, photo by Pinscher Portraits

She agreed to take some pictures of our other collies, and Valkyrie and her owner came too, so we get some new pictures of the sisters!  While the pictures aren’t ready yet, she did give us a sneak preview…

Morgan left, Valkyrie right, 10/4/25, photo by Pinscher Portraits

The picture is just beautiful, and these two puppies are turning out to be everything we hoped for when we planned this litter!  We can’t wait to see the rest of the pictures! After we finished with the photo session, we drove to Amherst, New Hampshire for another FastCAT trial.  And along the way we were able to see some beautiful Fall colors.  Massachusetts and New Hampshire, being further North, have a lot more color than we do in Connecticut.  We stopped along the way, when we spotted this pretty lake.  My daughter’s collie, Sorsha, agreed to pose for a picture.

Winter is my least favorite season, so I am trying to enjoy every Autumn moment. Winter does have its beauty and it does include my favorite holiday, Christmas, I just hate the shorter days and freezing weather.  This Autumn is a little bittersweet though, as I miss taking pictures of my Ryder, the beautiful Fall colors just seemed designed for him.  But the other collies are happy to pose for me, and I will be sharing more of the pictures taken by Kenzy of Pinscher Portraits when they are ready!  Hope everyone is enjoying the last golden days of Autumn with their best friends!

What a beautiful week!

This week we had some exceptional weather!  It’s been sunny and in the 70’s, so we have been heading outside as much as possible, before the cold weather sets in and I start to hibernate. I’m really hoping this mild, Autumn weather lingers through the end of October.  It’s such a joy to hike with my collies amidst the beautiful Fall foliage with the sunlight setting all the leaves aglow in the trees surrounding us.

This was taken on our hike through Chatfield Hollow

We don’t get to Chatfield Hollow often, but it’s a lovely State park.

This season is providing a never ending display of color and sunshine.

This was at Quinnipiac University, after a therapy visit this week 

And of course, we visited Strawberry Hollow Farm again

What’s your favorite season?  Please let us know in the comments!

You were warned…

We are still enjoying mild Fall temperatures, so the collies and I are taking advantage of the sunshine before the days grow cold.  This week I did a therapy visit with a friend and her collie, Kelsea.  After the visit we ran over to my favorite picture spot, and I took some pictures of my seniors, Ryder and Scarlett, along with Kelsea.  I did warn everyone that Autumn is my favorite season for photographing the collies! So while the leaves change, and the days grow shorter, we will be sharing some of our favorite pictures each week.  And so it’s not just pictures, I am including some Autumn collie poems, that AI helped me create.  Usually I write my own poems, but wanted to give this new AI feature a try.  

Ryder, 13 years old, and the sweetest boy!

Kelsea, she is a doll

In a field of golden pumpkins,

Stands a loyal Collie dog,

With fur as soft as silk,

And eyes as deep as fog.

He guards the harvest with pride,

A sentry in the night,

Barking at shadows that hide,

In the pale moonlight.

Among the orange gourds,

He frolics and plays,

His joy singing out loud,

In the crisp autumn days.

With every wag of his tail,

He brings warmth to our hearts,

A friend that will never fail,

As the season departs.

So here's to the Collie,

Among the pumpkins so fine,

A loyal companion always,

In this harvest time.

Scarlett and Ryder

In the crisp autumn air, the Collie plays

Amongst the fields of golden maize

With a coat as rich as a pumpkin's glow

He roams freely, with a graceful flow

His eyes reflecting the colors of fall

As the leaves gently cascade, one and all

His loyalty as unwavering as the autumn sun

A faithful companion, always on the run

Through pumpkin patches, he frolics and plays

His spirit brightening the autumn days

With every bark and playful leap

He warms our hearts, our souls he keeps

So let us cherish this Collie dear

In the season of autumn, so clear

For in his presence, we find pure joy

A loyal friend, our hearts employ.

Scarlett 12 1/2 years old, and my perfect girl!

In the autumn's golden light,

The collie runs with all her might.

Through fields of pumpkins ripe and round,

Her joyful spirit can be found.

With fur as soft as fallen leaves,

She romps and plays among the sheaves.

Her eyes aglow with autumn's fire,

A loyal friend that will never tire.

I think the poems aren’t too bad, considering they were written by a computer!  They definitely captured the sentiment of our collies amidst the beautiful Autumn scenery. Going forward though, I think I will stick to my own poor attempts when creating poems about my collies, because the one thing AI can’t do, is write from the heart.  Happy Fall, hope everyone is getting out and enjoying the foliage while it lasts!

My Autumn Collie

 

In the brisk Autumn air,

The collie bounds,

Into the forest of red and gold,

A Fall palette of color surrounds.

Dancing through the falling leaves,

His steps are swift and light,

Chasing squirrels through the trees,

His playful spirit takes flight.

His burnished coat of red and brown,

His paws so snowy white,

His beauty steals my breath away,

In my Autumn collie I delight.

~ Kat Pirro

These pictures were from many years ago, when my Ryder was a young collie.  But they are some of my favorites so I wanted to share them once again.

All Things Autumn…

With the advent of Autumn, I am always inspired to grab my camera and a collie and head outside to try and capture the beauty of the season.  The Fall colors seem created to complement the sable and white collie in particular, providing a perfect backdrop to display their lovely coats.  This weekend we were gifted with sunshine and mild temperatures, so Addison and I headed to my favorite pumpkin patch. 

“Fall has always been my favorite season. The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale.” — Lauren DeStefano

“I loved autumn, the one season of the year that God seemed to have put there just for the beauty of it.” — Lee Maynard

“She looked like autumn, when leaves turned and fruit ripened.” — Sarah Addison Allen

“No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace as I have seen in one autumnal face.” — John Donne

We are joining the blog hop hosted by our friends at Comedy Plus. Click the link to discover more fun blogs!

Fall is here! (Well, almost, officially it will be here on Sunday)

It’s no secret that we love Fall.  With the fairs, and fair food, Halloween and Thanksgiving, apple picking and hiking, what’s not to love?  It also happens to be our favorite time of year to photograph the collies amid the Autumnal splendor.  There will be many Fall collie pictures on the blog over the next few weeks, but I haven’t taken any pictures yet.  The leaves are just beginning to change here in our corner of New England.  So in the spirit of the Autumn season, I wanted to share one of my favorite Fall pictures.  This picture is of our first champions, Holly and Abby.  Abby, CH Marchello’s Seraphim Song, was our foundation bitch.  And all our collies are related to both her and Holly, CH Accent Marchello Holiday. These two girls, along with our first collie, Lad, are the reason we are obsessed with all things collie…

We hope everyone is enjoying the wonderful Fall weather, and getting outside to get a peep at the beautiful foliage.  Please be sure to return soon, so you don’t miss any of our upcoming picture spam posts!  Happy Fall Y’all!

Nature's first green is gold,


Her hardest hue to hold.


Her early leaf's a flower;


But only so an hour.


Then leaf subsides to leaf.


So Eden sank to grief,


So dawn goes down to day.


Nothing gold can stay.


— Robert Frost

Autumn weekends = tons of pictures!

Another fun weekend has come and gone! Friday night we did a “trunk or treat,” which is where people in our town gather together, decorate the trunks of their cars, and kids come to one location to trick or treat.  It has become really popular, and over 700 kids came to the event! I didn’t go crazy decorating my car, I just had this cute spider decoration.  My Mom and Ryder came with me, and Ryder was a huge hit.  The kids were fascinated by him, as they had never seen a collie before.  More than a few of the children left, asking their parents if they could have a dog just like him, which made me smile.

Saturday I took Sophie to the Barn hunt clinic, and we had a great time.  Without prejudice, I can say she did the best job at finding the rats.  She seems to love it and is so quick that she really impressed me! Hopefully she will do as well at the trial on Saturday, and hopefully I won’t mess up and get her disqualified again!  What this clinic did, that the other place didn’t, was let Sophie actually meet the rat before she started searching.  They had it in a cage before transferring it to the tube, so Sophie could see what creature she had been searching for in the hay.  The rat was unfazed by Sophie’s quiet sniffing, and approached her and gave her a sniff right back. It was nice to see that the rat was socialized with dogs, and had no fear around them.

These aren’t my photos, they were taken by one of the women at the clinic.

After we finished finding the rats, we decided to go on a hike at a nearby park, since we were in the area.  I used to live in that town years ago, and loved this particular park as it has a waterfall and a covered bridge.  The weather was so warm and sunny, it felt like Summer had returned!  

Sophie looks so happy here…

When we got home I grabbed Maizie and Kori, and visited another park, closer to home.  It’s one of my favorite Fall picture spots, and I was grateful for the nice weather, so I could get a few more pictures before we lose the last of the beautiful Fall foliage.  

Sunday we saw the return of the cooler weather, along with heavy rain, so Addison and I met up with friends and did a therapy visit and then had lunch.  It was a nice way to spend a rainy Sunday, and a peaceful way to end a busy weekend.

Hope everyone is enjoying the remaining Autumn days, the seasons are passing so quickly and the snow will be here before we know it!  We are joining Comedy Plus, in their blog hop.  It’s a great way to discover other blogs, so click here!