Love Fall, but ....

Yesterday I treated myself to a stop at Power's Farm Market. I had to get the oil changed on my car and drove by and decided, on the spur of the moment, to stop on in. Can I just say that it totally made my day and I didn't want to leave. They had a big wood fire going in their fireplace, there was the smell of 10 different types of apples in the air and the place was flooded with color from bright orange pumpkins and scarlet and yellow mums. I bought some apples and an apple crisp mix, a jar of maple mustard (made right near by in Nunda, NY), some chocolate walnut fudge and a loaf of homemade cranberry orange bread with crystallized sugar on top. Yummmmmmm!

I love everything about Fall: the leaves, the food, the crisp days, the way my Westies go out in the morning and come in all energized and frisky.

Well, I guess I should have said that I love "almost" everything about Fall because there is one thing that I really don't like at all: Goose Poop. Yes, I know that it is a nasty subject but Calvin and Teddy seem to just love the stuff. They can find the smallest amount anywhere on the 2 acres of property that they patrol each day. Now, Calvin isn't too bad, he finds it and kind of just does a quick roll so it gets here and there on his little body but Teddy, he's another matter all together. Teddy finds it, smells it, circles it and then finds the biggest, smelliest, deepest part and rolls his neck in it. You would think that just having it on a small part of his body would be better but No! he makes sure to cake it on, right on the side of his neck under his ear and along his jaw line so if you aren't careful you don't know it's there until he is sitting square on your lap looking up at you with those big beautiful brown eyes. And, then, whammo! you get a whiff of him. The really bad part of getting it caked on that part of his body is that that is where his collar is so not only does it get caked on him, it gets all caked in his collar. It is really, really gross and really, really smelly!

They came in from outside yesterday morning and both of them had it on them. Calvin, who is a lovey and wants to be near me all the time, just whined and wanted me to pick him up. He knew how bad it was and wanted my help in getting it off him. Teddy, who is a bit of a grumpster sometimes, just reveled in how bad he smelled and hid under the dining room table when he knew it was his time for a bath. Needless to say I coaxed him out (with a treat), tucked him under my arm, and took him upstairs to the bathtub. Within a half hour they were all white and coconutty smelling again.

When they were dry, we curled up on the couch (Westie bookends) and looked out the window at the beautiful Fall colors on the trees and the V shape the geese made on their way South (good riddance!).

Life is Crazy

Boy, where did the summer go? Today is the first day of Fall. The leaves have started to turn and the grass has, finally, stopped growing so fast. Westies, Teddy and Calvin, spent most of their summer relaxing at the pool with their human brothers, Jake and Dan. I'm not sure who was more sad on the first day of school, when the school bus came and picked up the boys, the Westies or me. It meant our summer of fun had come to an end. Our September has been crazy with so much going on ... end of summer get togethers with friends, painting a bathroom, a quick trip to Hershey Park in PA, making plans to refinish our hardwood floors, an unexpected surgery for Papa Bear, school open houses, meetings, etc. In the midst of all the craziness I found myself wishing for September to be over and for October to get here at last. However, if there is anything I have learned in life, it's to not wish for days to pass, but to enjoy each day as it comes. Now that the boys are back at school and it's just Calvin, Teddy, Patches, Stitches and I at home we hope to jump back into blogging about our adventures again. We hope that you'll jump back in with us :0)

Funny Pictures

My Mom was weeding through some pictures on the digital camera the other day and came across some really funny ones. You know, the ones that don't exactly come out the way they are suppose to but are too funny to delete.

Of course there are the pictures where you dress us up because you think it makes us look cute:

Calvin playing Santa Paws Teddy's First Birthday Teddy playing Santa Paws Teddy the Pumpkin on Halloween Teddy the Grumpy Elf Calvin Incognito Calvin singing Christmas Carols Teddy protesting a PINK scarf

Then you get the pictures of us when we aren't looking our best:

Teddy on a Rainy Spring Day Calvin feeling very comfy Don't know ... don't wanna know ... don't ask

And, then there are the times when you sneak up while we are sleeping:

Tired Teddy Calvin loves sleeping on his back Calvin in his crate at night - what IS he dreaming of?

We can't help it if you aren't fast enough with the camera to get a face shot:

Westie's are cute from ANY angle! Baby Calvin from the back with a floppy ear

And, even though we are sweet dogs, sometimes we have just had enough!

Get these glasses off me! There can be no more pictures if I eat the camera!

Ears

So, when I first came to live with my Mom she didn't really know a whole lot about Westies, except that we are the cutest dogs in the world. When my Mom went to pick me up at the airport she was dismayed to see that one of my ears was folded over. She thought that I had broken my ear in transit! She felt bad until she saw pictures of other Westie puppies and realized that all Westie's ears are down until they get older. Silly Mom! My brother, Calvin, also had one ear come up before the other. Mom can't decide if she thinks we are cuter with our ears up or down. What do you think?


Calvin's ears both down Starting to move up a little One ear almost up!

One ear up - one ear down Those aren't really YOUR ears!

You have to grow into those ears Calvy!

All grown into his ears and beautiful!

Calvin looking sweet and cuddly

Teddy showing off his beautiful ears too!

Our friend, and fellow Westie, Riley

Riley

We recently watched our neighbor's dog, Riley, for two days. He is also a Westie and came to live with his family after I came to live with mine but before Calvin came to live with us. Riley and I were friends from the start. There are quite a few dogs in our neighborhood of 18 houses. The majority are different colored labs - chocolate, yellow and black (why do some dogs come in so many different colors?) so I was very happy to see a fellow Westie move in. My family and Riley's family are very good friends and he comes to visit quite often. I thought it was so cool when he moved into the neighborhood. My goodness, he looked just like me! When Calvin came to live with us he made three Westie's which means we are almost even in number with those labs. Riley's family has thought about getting Riley a Westie brother or sister but they realize that it is a big commitment. My thought is that you can never have to many Westie's in the neighborhood! But, for now, Calvin, Riley and me, Teddy, are the Three Westie Muskateers of Candlelight Run!