Monday, April 14, 2008

Kenya's Growing Up

Well, the Kenya Bean is definately growing up. She was born in July, '06, so she's officially only 21 months old now, but she's looking every bit the part of a grown-up dog. :o)

Here she is lounging on the hammock behind Elsie (photo taken two days ago):



She just completed her third (maybe fourth -- I can't quite remember) heat cycle.

Yes, Ridge went bonkers, but that's the norm.

Geez -- what's it going to be like if all three girls' heat cycles sync so they occur at the same time? Won't THAT be nuts!

Do canines do that, like human females do? Scientists still can't explain why that happens in humans.

So, anyway, Kenya is growing up (yes, she has all four legs, despite what the photo below implies!).


Here she is with her buddy, Pinot, "helping" Daddy Don with spring poop pick-up duty (see, she still has four legs!):


We'll hold off until she's a full two-years old to get her hips and elbows screened and her eyes tested, but she's shaping up really nicely. We don't foresee any issues, but we want to be sure before we breed her. If all goes well, we'll breed her with her next heat cycle, which should probably be in October. That would mean puppies in late December or early January, and puppy pick-ups in early March.

Elsie, on the other hand, should be ready to breed again with her next heat cycle (she's completed one full uneventful heat since her litter last summer, and she's getting back into shape!). :o)

That should mean we'll have late summer puppies again. :o)

Are we ready?

Hah!

:o)


We'll see.

Most of you know I resigned from my day job in December to focus on things here (family issues). Well, the family stuff got really crazy again two weeks ago (hence my lack of posting), but are settling down again. Who knows what's coming?!

And dear 24 yo, first-born son dropped out of college and moved home this weekend, which means I'm back to driving him to and from whatever job he finds. And we're still neck deep in wedding preparations for DD's June wedding (invitations should go out in the next two weeks). And the other family stuff, well, it is what it is.

Yee haw! :o)

So I'm not pursuing regular employment -- there's just no way I can do it.

Instead, I'll be working on my freelance writing, I've reopened my little eBay store, and I'll be working with the dogs (training and puppy care!).

Gee -- too bad... I really need to be available and flexible with all the family stuff. I guess that just means I have to work from home now!

Aw....shucks. Can you tell I'm disappointed? (hehe)

;o)

There's always a silver lining!

'Til next time,
Joan
(who can't believe how fast Kenya and Pinot have grown!)
(and who really, truth be told, would rather work from home!)



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8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Joan!
Glad to hear all is ok. You were very quiet for a few weeks so I was wondering.
Have a great day!
Tiffany :)

JuliaR said...

Maybe it is just "meant to be". Good luck with the income-producing writing too.

Mmm, puppies.

Anonymous said...

Welcome to the wonderful world of working from home. I work from home and it is WONDERFUL! : ) Plus, I too have a 10 month old Lab puppy to raise and she takes up a lot of time.....all good though. : ) Hope all gets better with your family soon and hope you really enjoy staying home.

Anonymous said...

Don't you love how the dogs cross their legs when they are laying down? My son's yellow lab does this too. He also lays down when he eats from his bowl. It's so cute.

I check your blog every day and I'm so glad when you post. I so enjoy reading about your dogs.

Charlie said...

I don't know about you, but we're ready for more puppies! Glad you're not too disappointed about having to work from home.

Anonymous said...

Kenya Bean looks like an old soul to me. Maybe it's because of her deep ebony coloring and how it shows up in pictures. Or how she looked at you at that particular moment. Come to think of it -- she reminds me of my great Aunt Isabel -- in a lab-dog kinda-way.
Now Aunt Isabel is passed away, but I know if she was still alive, she would not find fault with this comparison, for she had a sweet way about her, had a child-like soul and laffed easily.

What I am not too sure of is what Kenya Bean would think if she knew I compared her to an old italian woman from South Philly. :)

Anonymous said...

I know you've told us before but I can't find the post.....where do you buy your dog hammock from?


kayceebeebee

Sparky said...

My mama would love to stay home with puppies all day - that sounds like a dream to her!