It's been over a week since I posted and I can't remember much of last week. Lyn went to Yearly Meeting in Montana and I stayed home with Ardella and Aidan and the cats. Meeting pet needs, working with Ardella, feeding self and taking the occasional Ardella break took up most of the week, but there were a few highlights.
Ardella and I did go to Awards night on Thursday evening and Lyn and I received a plaque and certificate for raising Ardella.
It was a hectic evening because I had my hands full and Ardella became very excited by being outside in a yard with many dogs and being in a yard with lots of bark dust. It was a warm and pleasant evening and it was nice to visit with other raisers and eat ice cream bars and other desserts.
Now while relieving issues are resolving, distraction issues are blossoming. I'm also trying to wean Ardella from using the head collar all the time, which is a challenge because she thinks it's so funny to grab the leash while walking to take me for a walk. I thought I had this resolved by Sunday, only to come inside and have Ardella spit out a plum she had picked up on the walk. She'd been carrying it in her mouth for who knows how long and couldn't hold it and the leash. It is getting better with multiple corrections and That's enough! said firmly and in a louder voice than I usually use.
Letting Ardella loose in the yard has become a bit difficult because of these in the back yard:
and these in the front:
Ardella grabbed the blueberries once and has known what they are ever since. She also discovered the raspberries another day and now every day wants to go to the back yard and tries to lead me to a berry bush. It's been a great year for berries. I hate to see them go, but I'll be relieved when I can let Ardella play in the yard off leash again.
A high point of the last 2 weeks is that I have gotten in contact with 2 old friends - an old high school friend from Kingsport, Tennessee on Facebook and a friend that Lyn and I lived with when Keri was born (who also was our childbirth educator) came to visit me. That was really nice. We sat outside and talked while soaking our feet in the Ashiyu and came inside to drink ice tea/hot coffee and talk once Ardella started eating all the pine cone things on the ground.
The new facility for Southwest Washington Humane Society opened to the public on Sunday and I visited. It's beautiful and I've signed up to volunteer walking dogs and socializing cats and dogs. I'm not far away and I've wanted to volunteer there for a long time.
I'll be preparing the next two weeks for Ardella's evaluation. I'm very nervous about it. We have a new CFR and I don't know what to expect from her. We have a lot to work on and I want to be assured that I'll be bringing Ardella home from the evaluation. I hope this is a silly fear.
I have to finish up Saturday - the book for the newish book/knitting group I belong to, and nurse the cold Lyn brought back home with him from Montana. It's been hot and things have been drying up right and left. There are a few spots of intense color around the yard though and I tried to capture some of that color today. I'll leave you with some flower photos:
(I love butterfly bushes, even if they are considered an invasive species)
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