Names

I've settled on two names. They could always change of course but I like them both and they kind of stick to the theme I started with "Moxie".

For a girl, Kharma.
For a boy, Savvy.

What do you think?

Or I really like Zen, it meets the short name common a working sheepdog in England. As does Cam, which was my first choice.
Then there is Rooqui (rookie) Made up of dads name Roo and mums name Quiche.
Or Te Quiero, same concept but spanish for I love you. Of course I would call him Te (tay) for short.....

Oh I don't know! GAH! This is hard.

Tagged!

Hiya pups! My friend BadPanda and her super survivor pup Oso tagged me.

Here are the rules:

Each player starts with seven random facts about themselves. Dogs who are tagged, need to post in their Diary the rules & their 7 pawsome facts. Then choose 7 dogs to tag and list their names.

Here are 7 fun facts about me! Introducing, Moxie!
1. My favorite toy is my ducky. I've had him since the very first day my Mom brought me home from the shelter
2. I hate it when the cats play with the laser pointer.
3. I love going to the mailbox. Somehow going out the front of the house is a whole different outside than the outside thats out the back door.
4. I still have buckshot in my back leg.
5. I am a shameless begger at mealtimes.
6. Sometimes I tell people my mommy hasn't fed me, even when she has.
7. I will do ANYTHING for ice cream.

Pass on the fun...
Love,
Moxie

I choose:
1) Brutus and Rufus
2) Marley
3) Morph
4) Derby
5) Boomer
6) The Poi dogs
7) Cara

Crufts

Crufts 2008 is March 6th - 9th. If all things go to plan and the stars align properly, that weekend will coincide with my new puppies 8th week of life. What does that mean?

I may be in England for Crufts! How cool would that be. Could I be so lucky? Fingers crossed all around!

More Puppy talk

Just came across this tonight. A webpage dedicated to my puppies sire, Roo.
Weircourt Truly Un Roo Lee


Looks like it hasn't been updated in a bit. There are a few fab videos of him running agility. He has a knock out pedigree. I was already sold on this breeding but now I'm even more excited.

I've decided my puppy will be called Karma, if its a girl, and Cam, if its a boy.

Its going to be a LONG six months.

Is it possible to be over prepared?

I've found out the requirements for importing a dog from the UK to the US today. No rabies vaccine required as the U.K. is a rabies free country! This is excellent news it means I can collect my puppy at 8 weeks of age. Otherwise I would have to wait until he was 16 weeks (30 days post vaccination date at 12 weeks). I want to spend every moment possible with my puppy and really bring him up right.

I found an airlines, Lufthansa, that flies non-stop from DFW to London and will allow me to carry an animal less than 8 kilos in the cabin with me. I wouldn't do this if I had to ship the dog below as cargo. I plan to make my plane reservation as soon as the pregnancy is confirmed. I'm hoping to make the reservations at least three months prior to departure date to get a better price. I'm looking at a little over $1000 for the round trip ticket, another $100 for the puppies return ticket. I'll also need to pay for ground transport in England, Lodging and food while I'm there. And stuff for the puppy I'm sure. Probably a vet visit, food, etc. I'm going to buy the travel kennel and ship it to the breeder ahead of my arrival so she can start getting him used to being in it and quiet. I also want to spend a few days bonding with my puppy before the trip. I want to eliminate as many possible stressors as I can. So being familiar with the crate and with me should help him remain calm on what must be a very strange experience for a dog, an airplane ride.

So these are the things I want to have paid for before I collect my pup:

The puppy itself
The trip to England (flight, transportation, lodging, food, extras)
A travel crate
One of those warming toys with the heartbeat sound the keep the puppy calm in the crate.
A soft pad and several absorbant pads for the trip.
A crate for home.
Bowls
Food
Toys/chews
Leash/Collar
A puppy pack at my vet (Inlcudes all puppy vaccines, wormings, exams, flea/heartworm prevention/ and spay/neuter)
$1000 in an emergency account.

Anything I'm forgetting?

Puppy Update!

It official! Im third on the waiting list so Im pretty much guaranteed a puppy as long as the breeding takes. The pups should be on the ground by January 2008. Merry Christmas to me, Im going to England to pick up my puppy!

Dogs make life worth living.

Moxie and I went to Rally class last night. It was fabulous! I can't wait to start competing again.

Here is our run.



She heels like a hurricane. She is so focussed and snappy. I love it! She's a fabulous little dog. I'm so proud of her.

I'm going to skip agility on Thursday night to attend the GTDOG business meeting so I can join up again. The club has really changed since I've been there last. I look forward to taking part again.

I'm in communication with a women in the UK with two fabulous BC's whose careers I've been following for the past few years. She is planning a litter and I mean to have one of the pups. I have a puppy fund in the works.

This is Quiche the Dam, she is two years old this month.




Roo, the gorgeous sire






Mom and Dad together


A video of Roo


Both of these dogs are amazing. They are everything I want in a border collie. I'm going to put my deposite down soon. Hopefully I can save enought to fly to England to pick up the pup and fly back with it.

Moxie - Back in action!

Moxie and I started taking classes again this week. On Sunday night we went to an agility class. I was unsure of how we would do as its been more than two years since we have been active in agility. Moxie was spot on, though. She ran courses like she had been doing agility every day her entire life. I was far more rusty than she was. Encouraged by our success on Sunday, we made plans to go to a more advanced class on Thursday night.

Tuesday night Moxie and I went back to GTDOG, the obedience club we belonged to and trained with many years ago when I lived in Denton. We dropped in on a Rally class and Moxie was a little star! This was the first time we have even attempted some of the more advanced obedience commands in many years also, but Moxie fetched them from her memory banks and performed each task flawlessly! Next week we are running a full Rally course. I will try to get someone to video our run, so I can show you what a fabulous obedience dog she really is.

Last night we hit that more advanced class in Agility and had a blast. Moxie was very excited and charged up. She is super fast and I am super slow which causes problems for me handling her (she has no problems completeing the obstacles). So we will start working on some distance work to see if we can improve our course times and get some clean, tight runs. I like this class so I think I will stick with it. I may pick up another class if I can find one.

Here is some video from last night. Not clean runs, but deffinately fast. Look at Moxie's tail, it never stops wagging!

This is a jumpers course. Both dropped bars were my fault, handler error. Shes just so fast and I have to be faster. I'm jumping her at a low jump height, just 12 inches, because she is coming off that injury, and she is older, and its been a while since we have trained. I may work up to 16 inch jump heights, but I won't ever run her at full height again. I'm going to put her health over what the agility clubs say she should be jumping.


This is a standard course. Would have been fabulous except she kept anticipating the five second pause table, and we kept having to go back and do it again and again until she held her down for five seconds. We missed the entrance to the weaves, but that was my fault too.

Sadness

I'm kind of having depressing day. I think the finality of it all is hitting me. The vulturs are circling to pick away what is left of my responsibilities in Mexico. Won't be long before I lose my email account, and Syl loses my phone number. It just isn't fair. Life just isn't fair. I've worked so hard, for so many years, for so little. It isn't my fault that I had to back off now. I don't want to give up entirely. I've invested too much time, too much of my heart to just walk away. I had hoped to play a smaller role, for a time, and come back when situations improved. Deep down I knew that it wouldn't work that way. With Syl, its all or nothing. Since I'm not 100% in, I'm out. Its only a matter of time. I feel so completely hopeless. I don't even have the energy to fight it. This is it now, this is my life. Go to work every day, come back home, go to sleep and do it again the next day. Never really making any real difference in the world. Just waiting to die and leave a world who will never miss me, inconsequential as I am. I know, at the end of the day, it was me. It was my fault. I just wasn't strong enough to endure. And for that I am ashamed, but at a loss as to what I could have done to make the outcome any different. He always promised me he would never leave me, but even now, I'm a shadow in the rear view mirror. *sigh*

I don't have alot of hope for my future at the moment. The more I study for my GRE the dumber I feel. There is a very real chance I won't get into grad school. Even if I made the grade, I might not be a good match personality wise. I know my personality isn't the best. I have to work at being open and friendly. I have to remind myself to talk to people. Its so much easier to just live in my head. I've never been good at being social. But I think, when it comes to helping people, I'm different. Compassion takes over. I'm in my element when its one on one. When its about pain, that a language I understand. I can't help but wonder if I will be judged for my past history and my current mental health issues.

There is nothing wrong with my life now, really. I like working at the vet clinic. I have free time to spend with my dog. We can go hiking, we can take classes, we can make friends together. We can even volunteer together. We can help people together. I have my family, a comfortable home, a reliable vehicle, a decent income, friends (if only on a very basic level) Really, its okay. Its just not how I planned to live the rest of my life. Its an idea that will take some getting used to. I think this is what "settling" feels like. I've settled on a job, on a level of education, on the depth of my relationship with others, I could probably even settle on a boyfriend if I really wanted to. I remember a time in my life when settling was tantamount to death. I was so on fire. Now I'm just numb, and a little sad.

Of all the things I miss the most, I think I miss my friends the most. I need a close meaningful relationship with other people. All thats left of the last close friendship I had is nothing but tailights now. So I guess thats where I start. If I'm going to pull myself out of this hole, I'm going to need help. Time to start working on my interpersonal relationships I suppose. I've neglected them far too long. I just hope it isn't too late.

Update

So now everyone is on a diet. The cats are fat, I'm fat, and Moxie could lose a pound. The only ones complaining about it more so than myself are the cats. They are not amused. The reduced rations have sent them into some sort of primal hunting mode....they spend their days stalking and consuming....carbs. Thats right. My cats are carb whores. Be it bread, muffins, or cookies, the cats have left no processed grain based product uncompromised in the kitchen. HIDE YOUR ROLLS!

Moxie's social calendar is filling quickly. We are looking at Rally classes on Tuesday nights, Agility, and possibly in the future, flyball, on Sundays. We went to the lake this afternoon and Moxie had quite an audience. Every small child within a five mile radius had to throw the bumper for moxie, and get moxie to do a trick. Shake, wave, roll over, spin, she had the everyone in smiles all afternoon, from toddler to parent. Most of them spoke spanish. How lucky were they that the worlds greatest dog is fluent in spanish. I can't wait to get Moxie's Delta Society papers renewed and get back to our therapy work. My dog was born to be a healer (tee hee).

I got a paycheck! First paycheck I've recieved in quite some time. It was more than I would have made in three months in Mexico. I went straight to Wal-Mart and bought a mothers day present, and a bicycle. Believe it or not, it took me a few minutes to remember how to ride a bike. Its been a few years. But Moxie and I took a turn around the block and I think biking reguarly will be added to our fitness routine. Believe it or not, after two hours at the lake this afternoon and a two and a half mile walk after her bath this dog is STILL tossing her squeaky toys at my feet in expectation of play. Oh, to have that kind of energy.

I'm liking working at Southridge again. The staff is excellent. Really a great group of people. I'm going to an anesthesia continuing ed course next Sunday, and hopefully, a weekend course on Feline Internal Medicine in June. I don't like to half ass anything. Since I am going to be a tech again for a while, I want to be the best tech I can be. I want to suck up the knowlege like a sponge. *slurp*

After rave reviews, I broke down and bought a "Furminator" today. I probably spent an hour, hour thirty working on Moxie and I have NEVER gotten that much undercoat out of her at once. It was amazing. I could probably work on her more tomorrow and get just as much. The dog is a shedding fiend, but the Furminator is a wonderful tool. A must have for owners of shedding dogs. I can't wait to furminate the cats. They don't share my enthusiasm.

Word from Mexico is they have finished my workbook of doom, and are ready for another. I must prepare more torture...I mean, schoolwork. I moved my GRE to the 30th of August to preserve my own sanity and promptly forgot all about studying. *sigh* why do I do this to myself? I need to structure my time off better. Writing Workbooks of doom, studying for the GRE test, and Spanish all needs to find its way into my schedule every week. Bummer. Its so much more fun to spend all my free time playing with my dog.

Kobie

A post just for Kobie. My flawless furry vagabond.

End of an Era

I made the decision yesterday, that I will not be returning to Mexico.

This was probably the most difficult in a series of difficult decisions I have had to make recently. The reasons for leaving outweigh the reasons for staying, though they cannot outweigh my conviction and my passion. I will go back, someday. But right now, my family needs me. I plan to take a few years, work, get a masters degree, and support the program here in the states. I will work to be certain that I grow during this time, intellectually and spiritually, so that when the times comes to go back, I will be ready to meet the challenges that await.

In other news, I'm working full time at the vet clinic, I'm studying to take my GRE on May 31st (EEK) and still preparing lessons for the students still studying at LAM. I have my hands very very full, but I think this is the right place for me to be at this time in my life.

Dallas World Aquarium

Took the kids to the Dallas World Aquarium today. They loved it! I was so happy to see Kenneth awe-stuck watching the manatees and sea turtles. So they learned some things and had a good time. Great day all around. My only complaint, the river otter exhibit was shut down. I heart otters. They are one of my favorite animals. But alas, I saw nary an otter today. Got some good pictures of the other residents however. The way this place is set up, its like walking through the flooded tropical rain forest, complete with heat and humidity. The place is set up for the comfort of the animals who roam the building out in the open. Neat place. On to the pics

First the Sea Turtle. Would you believe ALL of my turtle pictures were blurry! I mean, they're freakin turtles, but they were moving too fast for my camera....I think its new camera time.


This three toed sloth was SO amazing! She was out in the open. I could have reached up and touched her. These animals have lived on the earth for millions of years!


The shark tunnel scared the daylights out of me. I have a totally irrational fear of sharks. Though they fascinate me, and are completely gorgeous!


Indonesian Sea Horses


Sea Dragon


PENGUINS! This exhibit was less than impressive. The penguins looked ill and the pool smelled awful.


The Manatees were gorgeous. So graceful and gentle. SAVE THE MANATEE!


The Lion fish wasn't moving. Finally, something I could photograph without the blurries.


Jaguar. BIG kitty. I felt very sorry for this animal. These are solitary creatures, he was clearly distressed at being the center of alot of staring people. Unlike the rest of the creatures there which were part of captive breeding and endangered repopulation programs, the Jaguar was just for show, part of the Mundo Mayan exhibit, to show the big cats were revered in Mayan culture. So sad. :(


Howler Monkeys were smaller than I had imagined. They literally swung through the trees by their tails!


Beautifl Flamingos. They eat upside down!


GIANT Catfish!

Forgiveness

I got a notice in the mail today about a certified letter addressed to my brother to be picked up at the post office. Upon recieveing the letter I realized it was actually addressed to my father who has been dead three years now. Enclosed was a large packet of legal documents related to some property my father jointly owned with his brothers up in New York State.

Sure that this was something that probably needed attention and not having a clue what to do with it, I called my cousin, Jessica, a social worker in New York State.(Social consciousness runs in the family) Jessica is the one that, when Dad decided to live out his last days back home, set him up on disability and medicaid, found him housing and when the time came, set up his hospice. I owe Jessica alot for being there during a time when I was so unstable. Because of her, my father got the end he wanted. And today, I decided, it was the comfortable end that he deserved.

I feel like, recently, God has been trying to teach me the lesson of forgiveness. The recent barage of personal assaults on all fronts have been, mislabled opportunties to turn the other cheek, to show some understanding and compassion, and ultimately, to forgive. Forgiveness is good for the soul. Its about reaching out to your fellow man, and drawing him close, though he would just as soon stab you, as hug you.

I've recently come to some conclusions about my Father. At the end of the day, he was a good person. He was kind, compassionate. He loved to help others. He was naive, easily taken advantage of. He loved animals. He was a kid at heart. I do believe he loved us, in his own disordered way. I don't think he knew how to express that love appropriately. My dad has his problems.He had no clue what it meant to be a father, or a husband. He needed help that he never got. He didn't set out to hurt anyone, not me, my brother, my mom. I think, like me, the only person my Dad ever intentionally hurt was himself. The more I think honestly about my Dad the more I see myself in him. The more I see the good in him. He wasn't an evil man, or a bad man, he was a sick man.

This whole situation with my brother has made me see "offenders" and "abusers" in a new light. Rather than letting a disordered behavior define them in my eyes, I need to see the whole person. I know my brother very well, much better than I ever knew my Father who was both emotionally and physically distant most of my life. I know that my brother is not a monster, or evil, or a bad person. I know that my brother is simply a victim of the same sad childhood as I am. He is no more a "pedophile" as the sum total of his persona, than I am a "depressive" as the sum total of my existance. Every human being is a rich tapestry of behaviors, characteristics, likes, dislikes, talents and experiences. To take any human being and judge him based solely on any one of these is wrong.

I have been wrong about my Father. It was so much easier to hate him, to vilify him and degrade him in my mind to match the level of hurt I experienced at his hands. But just like what I experienced by him is not the sum total of my existence, what he did to me is not all of who he was. I think I am finally ready to recognize the good person that lived with the pedophile and the abuser in the same man. I'm ready to forgive my Father, and let go of this pain. I'm ready to stop letting abuse define me. I'm ready to say, "I forgive you, Dad."

Moving day!

Well tomorrow is moving day! We should roll out at about 8pm, get to the airport to pick up our driver by 10:30pm, then off to Zacatecas. Hopefully just a brief layover to unload the stuff I'm leaving there then on to Texas. I'm anxious to get home and take a break. I feel like I've just been going going going lately, without much time to rest. Will be good to see my family too and friends.

I hear there is some nasty weather about in Texas. Hope I don't run into any of it driving.

See ya'll soon!

-Rachael

Progress

Packing progress about 40% - I have most of my clothes packed and my extra toiletries and computer stuff. Need to go through my books and sort those I'm leaving vs. those I'm taking and pack up a few odds and ends here and there. I will pack my car with the zen of a master tetris player. Everything will fit. There is no other option.

Student packet progress 60% - It occured to me today that they really won't need these until May, so I can stop freaking out about them. I will be teaching them for two weeks in the states in April, and probably two weeks in June, so its just May that needs a packet. it will be fine. Chill Rachael...find your zen place.

Diet progress -18 pounds. The stress is causing me to eat more, but the persistant stomach trouble is balancing everything out. I just hope I don't go crazy on the fast food when I get back to Texas.

Spanish progress - just ordered an expensive program to get over this tope. Its promises conversationally functional spanish in 30 days. I tried it out online free and the structure really makes sense and works for me. Fingers crossed, I WILL learn spanish gosh darn it!


Overall I'm feeling pretty good. Much calmer about things these days. Everything is going to be fine. I just have to keep repeating this to myself. I think I will make one last trip to San Martin to take them the extra clothes and blankets and such that I'm going to leave behind.

I talked to my boss today, and in addition to the pay, the free housing, internet and telephone, I will be eligible to enroll in a Masters program at the Universidad Autonomo Zacatecas. Another reason to get my Spanish skills rolling!

The future is exciting! Its the place to be, so I've got to stop living in the past.
Moxie says I've got to stop typing on this damn computer! Enough already! Lets go play!

I love my dog.

Random thoughts running through my head.

The chickens went to their new home tonight out in San Martin. Moxie helped me round them up in the back yard and load them into their box. She FINALLY got to chase the chickens. She was so happy I thought she was going to explode.

Out in San Martin the local vet was out vaccinating all the dogs and cats against rabies. Its a state funded program, free rabies vaccines for dogs and cats in el campo, out in the country. You can get them free in town too if you go to the centro de salud. The U.S. should have such a policy. More people would vaccinate their pets. Watching the vet work was interesting, as an ex vet tech. The man was missing three fingers on his right hand, one could only guess how that happened. It made drawing up the shots and pushing the plunger on the syringe tricky, but he managed it. His animal wrangling skills were, interesting to say the least. I say wrangling because it was. These are ranch dogs, not used to be restrained in any way. A rope around the neck and a loop over the muzzle to control the head and prevent bites. The next part was intriguing. They flipped the dogs over onto their backs to give the injection in the thigh muscle. Why put the dog is such an uncomfortable and scary submissive position? That injection can be administered with the dog standing. But I guess they weren't really interested in the comfort of the dog.

The culture here is very different, especially with regard to animals. This same night at San Martin I spotted a baby bunny being housed in a bird cage and fed tomatoes. Most of the things I see here with the animals flies in the face of everything our culture says is right and proper animal husbandry. But it works. So is it wrong, or just, different?

This was probably my last visit to San Martin for several months. It felt weird. Something is very wrong in that community, but as an outsider (after all these years still an outsider) I may never know what it is until its too late. Lupe is going to the doctor on Sunday. I'm glad for that at least. I will worry about those girls day and night. Sometimes this job is so defeating.

I decided today that I really hate drunks. People who drink to excess are about the most inconsiderate, self centered people out there. Getting drunk is just plain selfish. What about the people that have to take care of your sorry drunk ass? What if those people are your children? Do you know how pathetic you are as a parent, when your child has to make sure you don't do something stupid while you're drunk? DO you really think that kind of responsibility should rest on a childs shoulders? I hate to be the one to break this to you, but your friends don't like taking care of your sorry drunk ass either. While I don't mind being the designated driver, I do mind cleaning your vomit out of my car upholstery. When are you going to grow up and take some responsibility for yourself and your actions? Oh, and I don't buy the "but I was drunk, I didn't know what I was saying/doing" excuse for a second. Being a dumbass and drinking more than you can handle does not excuse you from being a civilized human being. Saying nasty hurtful things and doing nasty hurtful things, is unacceptable, whether you are under the influence or not. Just because you can't remember what happened last night doesn't mean I don't. The rest of us, mature enough to have a good time without getting wasted, have to live with the memories of your insults and abuses. I hate being around you when you are drunk. You are a mean, arrogant prick. I wish you would just grow up!

There. Glad I got that out of my system.

Big Changes

Well its been a big day. My boss was in town and we met this morning about the future of the school. We both agreed things cannot continue as they are. We are digging ourselves into a financial hole, all for five students, four of whom could give a damn about school. All the while there are communities that really need and want what we have to offer. So the decision was made to make the students studies more independent, with me leading classes once a month for a week, the rest of the time spend in Zacatecas, Zacatecas, teaching in rural and urban settings there. In this setting I am poised to help the most possible people with my limited resources (namely, me).

Zacatecas is no Mazamitla, and there are things I am going to miss about this place. The natural beauty, there is simply no comparrison. Zacatecas just does not have it. The open areas and offlead romping places for Moxie. I'm sure Zacatecas has them, I just have to find them. And I will miss my kids, as much grief as they have given me lately, I am going to miss them. But Zacatecas has an awful lot to offer me. A nice home, in town, rent free. Running water and hot water pretty well guaranteed. Laundry on site. A women who comes in every day to clean and cook for us! Real meals, of real food! Wireless internet and telephone. Gas for my car paid for. And the opportunity to complete a masters program at Universidad Autonomo Zacatecas for free. Not to mention I will be working in the communities which is my real passion, helping kids of all ages and local teachers. I'm excited about the opportunity, but still sad about the end of this era.

The worst part was telling the kids today what was going to happen. They were really broken up about it. Part of me wants to be angry with them. They were warned. Syl was here a few weeks back and told them if they didn't shape up, he would move me somewhere else, and yet they did nothing to improve their behavior or work ethic. At the same time, they are just kids. I expected alot of them, and they gave me very little, but at the end of the day, they are just kids. I hope that they wake up and realize their whole future is riding on their getting this education. I hope they are willing to work for it. But I cannot work for them. I've done my part, time for them to step up and do theirs.

Syl keeps telling me it will be different working with these kids, truly living in poverty. They will know the value of education and will work for it. Lately, I've felt as if I was teaching in the U.S. with how spoiled and lazy the kids were acting. I really hope this new arrangement works out because teaching in the U.S. is my last resort. I am very catlike in that I don't like change. Its hard for me to adjust and this is a huge change for me. Its major faith time. I just have to believe. Thats the only thing that will see me through this.

So if you are of the praying persuasion, pray for me. And pray that my spanish improves about 300% in the next month. That would be great. Thanks.

Wet, wet, wet

Make an on-line slide show at onetruemedia.com

Calm before the storm

All in all, its been a quiet week. I've been sick with a stomach virus and there was a nasty run in with Pato and the kids earlier in the week, but other than that, everything calm and even. The new batch of spring breakers arrive on Sunday, so that should put an end to that.

We went back out to Las Juntas today for the afternoon. The kids just love it and we use it as their P.E. time. This is my favorite picture of the day. Syl always says, if you don't like the out look, try to the uplook. So I looked up and shot this picture today. I rather like it.



Moxie did a ton of swimming. I thought she would wear herself out after about 20-30 minutes. No. Two hours we played in the water. She finally took her ball over into the sun and laid down. Whew! We only lost one ball this time. Moxie bit a hole in it and it filled with water and sank so deep I couldn't get to it. Poor Moxie was frantic swimming in circles and whining looking for her bally. I felt so bad for her that I trudged back across the river and up the steep rocky hill and down the road back to the car to get her another ball to play with. Good thing I love this dog.















Moxie is a little motor mouth when it comes to two things, tennis balls and agility. I took some rapid fire (as rapid as my camera would let me) shots of Moxie barking and this is what I came up with.













Hahaha. I think they're funny.

Finally, spring is officially here. The goats have started kidding.



With spring comes the brutal sun, heavy rains and taxes. Fortunatly, this year my Mom , being the miracle worker that she is, managed to pull enough stuff together so that I am actually getting a return this year. I thought I would owe close to a thousand. Thanks Mom!