Saturday, May 26, 2012

The Weather and The Dogs


Thanks for your comments on my first Foto Friday post. I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures and I'm looking forward to posting photos only every Friday. 


The blue sky and warm weather took a break yesterday. It's been very, very windy here for several days and yesterday the weather turned very cold. It was around 50 F, with a wind chill factor and as gray clouds gathered and blocked the sun it got really cold. I had to fish out my wool sweater and my hubby was thinking of making a fire in the fireplace. Well, that didn't happen, but it may today since it was a chilly 38F early this morning. That's around 3 plus Celcius (this for my Lindsjo Taxar friend, who gives me updates on the heat-wave in Sweden).


Last night it rained and hailed for a while. If it had continued, we could once again have had some snow today, May 26, our last snow day in 2011. Had you asked me last week, I would have said, "no way." Our spring had been way too warm, but then that's the weather here in the mountains. It can get pretty crazy. 

Soldier and me in 2008 ~ We are both a bit older and grayer now.

I have felt sad since Angel died and it has helped a lot to lavish love and attention on Soldier and Samson.  Soldier, whose back was so injured and so painful he was unable to get up on his own last fall and we were giving serious thoughts to having him euthanized, gave me a gift of grace and joy this morning.

Soldier last November.  Thanks again Terry for the harness that helped him so much.

He actually ran through the living room on his way outside to the dog run. In horse terms, it would be called a canter, almost a full out gallop. Never did I think he would be able to do that again! It thrilled me so -- I'm still smiling.

Samson with Gracie 2 and his bone. 

Samson gets very sad at times and goes off by himself, I know he misses Angel. In the house he plays with Gracie 2 and his bone, but outside he always used to play with Angel. So he has done a few things to amuse himself outside lately. The other evening, he brought a half-dead mouse in the house, jumped up on the dog couch and played with it, like a cat. My hubby killed the half-dead mouse and brought it outside. Samson was not to be deterred, while outside alone a few days ago, he dragged down one of his daddy's pepper plants from a table and began to play with it. This it what's left:


Daddy wasn't too pleased. But this made me realize that Samson needed some toys to play with outside as well. So in my hall closet, I found some old toys and a bunch of tennis balls, left behind by Angel and Princess who both loved to play catch and retrieve. So yesterday, after resting from our walk, Samson and I played and played with the toys and the tennis ball. He got the idea that I wanted him to pick up the ball and bring it back to me almost immediately. Soldier never understood this, so while he may look like part lab, he definitely isn't. Samson is smart though and it's very easy to teach him things. He is no real retriever, but he enjoyed the playtime. And as the gophers begin to pop their heads out of their holes and mice and lizards invade his space, Samson is developing his hunting instincts and they seem to be very strong in him. That part of the story will be continued some other day. 

18 comments:

  1. this just hurts my heart to the bottom of it. and playing with Samson is a wonderful thing to do, you can take Angels place. dogs love each other just like they love us and they do miss each other when gone. so happy you thought of finding the old toys. yet again you are not coming up in my reader, i have to go find you. making me crazy

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  2. forgot to say when Baby ate my husbands Papaya plant, i said what is more important? a silly old plant or that sweet dog? are we gonna starve if we don't have papayas? he calmed down a little bit... poor pepper plant

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  3. Always love the pics of your dogs and the stories. I hope you have a restful weekend. Happy Memorial Day! -Jeff

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  4. My boys love tennis balls but they also like to eat them so they can only have them when we play. Do you know that these two will not go outside and lie in the sun on the deck because I might do something and they never leave me. I'm downstairs now on my computer but will soon go up and take a shower and they will both follow me waiting outside the bathroom door! Such is life with Weimaraners. They have all been just like this.

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  5. Poor Samson, missing his friend. My Faulkner's mourning period lasted about a year after our hound dog died. I love the photo of you and Soldier, and his harness looks fascinating. I'm glad he ran this morning. It's so hot here in Florida. I wish I could experience just a few minutes of your cold weather. It would perk up the dogs. During the summer they find the coolest spots in the house and lie on their backs, chasing rabbits in their dreams. And don'tcha just love it when the dogs bring in something dead or nearly dead? My sister once awoke to her dog putting a dead squirrel in bed with her!

    Love,
    Janie

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  6. well, i'm glad you're all adjusting to life without your sweet angel - and pippi birdie too. such a hard thing to let go.

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  7. Uhh lite kallt har du ju...vi har haft rätt ok väder idag, runt +20 och mulet. Men bra väder då vi haft städdag på skjutbanan och bl a målat fönster på stugan vi har där. Sedan blev det lerduveskytte.
    Härliga bilder av dina vovvar...kan förstå att han saknar Angel...det får ta sin tid för vovvarna med som för oss.
    Fin bild på dig!

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  8. It's good to hear that the dogs are starting to get used to life without Angel but it takes time, I know. Thinking of you. Hope it warms up soon. It's unusually sweltering in the UK.

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  9. Dear Inger, I so enjoy reading about Samson and Soldier. The fact that Soldier has healed so well that he is now cantering/galloping is a sign of what good and loving care you take of him.

    And playing with Samson is another sign of your true love of animals. You inspire me to play more with the three cats with whom I live: Ellie, Maggie, and Matthew.

    Peace.

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  10. awww, I bet both the dogs miss Angel as I know you do as well! ...poor plant but hey, life goes on :)

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  11. It will take some time for Samson--& the rest of your family--to get used to life without your beloved Angel.

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  12. You have such interesting pictures. Including a very Scandinavian-looking you, with your Soldier.

    With Angel as as angel now, you will have the opportunity to discover new aspects of Samson's personality. Like the fact that maybe he has some retriever in him. "Oh mom, a new way to play — fetching the ball! "

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  13. Så fina hundar, men kan förstå att saknaden av Angel är stor... Kul att se en bild på dej med :) /Susanne

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  14. It's so good to hear that Soldier is doing great! What a strong spirit he has.

    I'm sorry Samson is feeling sad from time to time. Angel was a special friend.

    We had terrible winds here today - 44 mph with gusts over 60.

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  15. Thank you for sharing these wonderful photos. I love these restful glimpses into other people's lives - it's nice you have these lovely pets to amuse and entertain. I think posting just on Fridays is rather a good idea. Otherwise, it's awfully hard to keep up! :)

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  16. I love to watch Moon and Copper "hunt"...:)JP

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  17. What is with the wind lately? I traveled from Utah to Colorado, wind all the way, sometimes 50 mph winds in Wyoming. Colorado isn't much better either. We're headed back to Utah today, maybe if the winds are going the right way for us we'll get better mileage!

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Thanks for leaving a comment.. ~~ Inger

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