Introducing Stoney Ridge's American Chestnut, aka "Chessie"

Yup. We've decided on a name for our new little chocolate Lab addition: we're calling her "Chessie" -- short for "Chestnut" -- which is short for her longer, AKC-registered name, Stoney Ridge's American Chestnut. :)

American Chestnuts (the trees) are actually quiet rare, though they used to be plentiful in the northeast US. It's a fast-growing, deciduous hardwood that produces nuts enclosed in a prickly casing.  The nut itself is very similar in color to our little Chessie girl, hence the name.

We're privileged to actually have a rare American Chestnut tree growing on our land near the lake where we take the dogs for water retrieving in the summer (my father planted it as a small boy in the 1920s).  And since Chessie seems to love the water, and the lake is where we all romp in the water, the name seemed doubly fitting (we almost called "Water Chestnut" instead of American Chestnut" but I just couldn't name her after a food we use in stir-fry). :)

So here she is, Stoney Ridge's American Chestnut girl (at nine weeks old):

I actually thought we had more pictures of her than we do!  :)  So I guess I'll just have to take a few more of the sweet Chessie girl and post them ASAP so you can start to get a sense of her personality.

In any case, there she is!  :)

And now training begins. :)

'Til next time,
Joan