"I'm dreaming of a .... "

Diva's first Christmas at home photo begs the question:

Is she waiting for presents ... or squirrels?

pajama-rama

the best dog jammas give easy-access to the belly.

Farnam thinks these are A-Okay.

Etta Bull

Is thankful for

toys

and friends to share them with.

playing dress-up

The nights are finally getting cooler here in Northern California as the holiday season rushes up on us.  Once its dark, the three barn pooches prefer to romp and play in the warmth and comfort of the barn rather than out in the cold air.  So last night, after the trio were done with dinner, their post-dinner potty breaks and playtime, we decided to rifle through the doggy-coat closet to find warm holiday coats for each of them. 

Like a true girly girl, Etta got into the spirit of the activity and tried on over a dozen outfits before we settled on just the right one.  Loni and Farnham indulgently tolerated Etta and my enthusiasm and finally each of them was dressed up and ready (somewhat) for a photo shoot.  So without further ado, here's the result of our little dress-up session.



Here's Etta wearing a warm pink fleece coat featuring pretty colored snowflakes.

She's looking a bit baffled though as she's wondering what snowflakes are.  She is a California girl after all.

Big chested sporty girl Loni wasn't sure what to make of this 'dress-up' stuff though she liked the warmth of her bold red and green 'boughs of holly' coat. 

I think right now she prefers to be naked, but once the temperature drops some more, she'll be happy we found her this lovely coat.

 Farnham's a big boy now so we found a coat with a more sophisticated winter forest scene on the exterior and a nice warm fleece interior. 

He doesn't care whether he's wearing a coat or not as long as he can go play afterwards.







Now each of the dogs has a nice warm holiday coat to wear when it gets cold at night, and they look festive as well - don't you think??

Behold!

Behold! Jimmy with his new dad, strutting through class. Two tall drinks of water, aren't they?

After a surgery to remove some irritating tumors from his eye, Jimmy went off to live with Dave and Clare. He's been at home for a week, and while he was initially distressed (pacing, pacing, pacing), he's finally settling down, de-stuffing toys, claiming sleep spots, enjoying morning runs with Clare, and going to work everyday with Dave.

It was great to see both smiling today. No, more than great -- It was fantastic. Go Jimmy, Go Jimmy, Go Jimmy! Have yourself a LIFE now, ya'hear?

A Job for Jilly

 Jilly is the new guardian of the fig tree. Uba is an easily distracted squirrel watcher, and Lulu really doesn't care, so Jilly is proud to lead squirrel patrol.

The pesky squirrels launch themselves off the fence into the fig tree and Jilly is there to watch.

The squirrels sit in the tree eating figs, chatting and throwing their leftovers down at Jilly. 

She dreams of the day she figures out how to climb the tree.

willy's "ready for school" look

Willy went to Pit Ed Class today and as I went to let him out of the car, here's what I saw.  This boy's too cool for school!  (Giggle, snort, giggle)

day dreamin' Willy

I see trees of green..... red roses too

 I see em bloom..... for me and for you















And I think to myself.... what a wonderful world

Oh Modo!

One of life's bigger challenges: Enjoying a meal in peace when a determined puppy is on the scene.

'Modo' spent a few days at the barn on his way to foster care and - next! - a real live home. We're just fine to leave the housetraining work to the new suckers wonderful people who'll be bringing him home this weekend.