Catching up!

Oh wow, what a beautiful sunrise this morning...just amazing! See that little bird in the lower left, I want to herd him. Can I? Can I?

Bet you're wondering what we've been up to the past few days, since we haven't blogged since Friday. It's been a lot!

Mum finally got the lawn mowed again, so the HOA lawn police wouldn't give us a ticket. Again, it was as tall as my tummy, and Mum had to mow about three times to get it all done. That hill behind our house is a real toughie. Doesn't look very big, but it's steep and getting more and more difficult to mow every year. Mum just wishes the big pine trees would grow faster and take it all over. Our hydrangea really looks great this year with all the rain we've had. Check it out!

Since it's been so hot and humid here the past week, we haven't gotten in any backyard agility practice. But looks like the weather channel says it's going to cool off just a bit after the big storms that rolled through last night. There were some big boomers! Good thing all four of us 4-leggers in the house aren't afraid of that stuff...or it would have been a really rough night. We all slept through most of it.

Some of the calmer nights we see the hot air balloons taking off from the church grounds (you know, the one where I took off after a bird) across the street. Everytime Mum sees one, she remembers back on her first balloon ride. She said it gets cold up there in the clouds. And she remembers when she used to crew for a balloon team - that was fun! Me? I just bark at the darn things.

Most of the past few days Mum and I have been paws to the keyboard working on our new website redesign. It needs it sooooo badly. The current one is not at all easy on the eyes, less than stellar to navigate, and isn't at all Google friendly. We are really liking how the new one is turning out. But it's taking a long time, too long IMHO.

Mum and I are really looking forward to the day we can announce it's live!

With all this hot weather I've really been blowing my coat. Our trainer says that I'm now at the age that I'll start coming out in clumps and that's just what I'm doing. Didn't know you had to be a certain age to do that. But now that I think about it, Gracie isn't blowing the way I am. Interesting.

Have to tell ya, we sure are going to get comments at our next AKC trials, 'cause I look nothing like a sheltie now with no coat. Unless you count the old time working shelties from way, way back in the olden days.

Even though it's been super hot, it hasn't stopped me from herding birds a little each afternoon. Mum snapped this pic in the middle of my mission. Don't I look determined!

And Gracie is keeping cool by attacking the water from the hose, and practicing for her upcoming debut as an entertainer at the August children's party gig. She's a crazy girl, that one!

Mum is way, way behind in signing us up for upcoming trials and really has to get on that. There's a USDAA trial and CPE trial (for the Gracester) in August. And a big AKC trial Labor Day weekend in southern Indiana, which we'd love to enter and stay with our bud, Cosmo.

And a new organization is putting on a USDAA show 'n go in August. Gracie is entering that one too, since it will be at our trainers place and it's familiar territory for her. Gracie hasn't been in any trials since she started 'running off' in the ring last fall. Hope all the hard work she and Mum have put in pays off. Guess we'll see come next month what's going on in the Gracester's mind.

Mum found something really weird on me the other day. I have a very small patch of fur missing from underneath my left eye. Doesn't look like an injury - from, oh maybe, a cat scratch or something. She's not sure what's up with it, but is keeping an eye on it. It's way too close to my eye for her taste.

Mum is making us homemade frosty paws today! Can you say excited?

Time to get back to the pool for me. Hope you all have a great week!