They bring me joy.

Everyday, when I look at them, my spirits are lifted.  No matter what my mood, they make my heart happy and bring a smile to my face.  Just as a lighthouse keeps ships from harm, and guides sailors home, my collies can shine a light through the darkness and I am comforted.

Our lives can be like the sea, sometimes the water is rough and turbulent, and sometimes all is calm and serene.  But no matter what trials we face, our dogs have this magical way of knowing what we need, and they can calm the wildest storm within us.  They provide companionship, and are always ready to accompany us on any adventure.

So when I am ready to explore new territory, and seek to find the beauty in the world around me, my dogs are the perfect guides.  They take nothing for granted, and are happy just to be invited along on the journey.  Their lives are so short, and they spend most of their time waiting for our return,  How can we not devote ourselves to returning a bit of the joy they bring into our lives?    

If you cannot see the wonder that surrounds you, just try to view the world through your dog's eyes.  Like a lighthouse, let them guide you through the darkness.

Today was "National Trails Day," did you get outside to take a hike with your best friend?  As you can see, we had a wonderful day.

A walk on the beach...

We have been promising our friends at Cowspotdog that we would post some pictures of our beach and all the shells!  Since today was a beautiful, and blustery, Spring day, we took a walk on our beach...

Abby and Holly, my two sweet senior girls

And Ryder, our handsome boy

Ryder wonders....

 It's September 1st already!  Can someone tell me where Summer went?

 It might be September, but it sure feels like Summer is still here!

Good day Sunshine!

We thought Spring had arrived, and then woke up Monday morning to a snowstorm.  It was very pretty, and we ended up with a couple of inches.  By the afternoon the sun broke through, and within a few hours all the snow was gone.  Yesterday the sun was shining, the temperature reached the low 50's, and so we took advantage and went for a walk on the beach. 

The water was so calm, and the sky was so blue, that we all had a lovely walk.  I heard we are going to see more sunshine and Spring temperatures this weekend too!

 

Holly, the happy collie!

 

Look at that smile!  Somecollie was very happy!

Busy week!

Last week my mother fell, when she went out to feed the birds.  She slipped on the ice, and broke both her arms!  Chase, her collie, came to stay with us.  We call him Uncle Chase, and he is a big boy.  This is Chase, isn’t he handsome?

 

So while my mother was in the rehab facility, Chase went to visit her, since she missed her boy.   While he was there, he noticed a woman in a wheelchair, and he walked over to her, and very gently put his head in her lap!  I was very impressed with how good Chase was during the visit.  And then since Abby is so calm and quiet, she got to go visit her Grandma too.  Abby was so gentle and calm, she immediately climbed up on the bed and curled up next to Grandma. 

 

 

Everyone loved both Chase and Abby, and I think either of them would make excellent therapy dogs.  We might go back with Abby, just to let her visit with some of the residents, as it’s not only a rehab facility, it’s also a nursing home.

 

Yesterday, we took Scarlett to a collie specialty show, and she won Winner’s Bitch and Best of Winners!  Because of how many other smooth collies were entered, the win was for 4 points.  They calculate the points based on how many other dogs of that breed/variety are entered at the show.  A major is a win of 3, 4 or 5 points.  To become a champion, a dog needs a total of 15 points, and two of the wins have to be majors.   Scarlett now needs just one 3 point major to finish her championship!  We are very proud of our little Scarlett O’Collie!

 

On the way home we stopped by the beach, to take a couple pictures...

 

Scarlett and my daughter

 

 

 

 

 

Travels with the collies...

What a fun weekend with the collies!  On Saturday we took the collies shopping, and they each received a lot of attention.  After the shopping trip, we took them to Lighthouse park, and we got a few really nice pictures.  Then on Saturday evening we visited with some of our friends, who also have collies, and we talked about upcoming shows.  Sunday we took the collies to the park, and unlike our trip on Wednesday, they didn't need baths after they played.  (On Wednesday it was so muddy at the park, we had to take all the collies to the kennel for baths!) 

After the park we took the collies on a hike in the woods, and ended up at the marina on the far side of the state park.  Since we needed some new pictures of Scarlett, she agreed to pose for us!  They had a great time, and were completely exhausted last night!

It was such a fun day, and even though it was cold both days, we all loved being outside most of the weekend!