Tucker -- Part Chow Chow and all Spunk!

Ruffian!

A pure bred beauty...German Shepherd...and sensitive girl...

Ok, first and foremost I humbly apologize to dear Miss Ruffian for being remiss of posting her photo here!  There is absolutely no excuse, I was wrong, wrong, wrong!  You, Miss Ruffian deserve better, but hopefully there is forgiveness in your big furry heart! 

Fortunately Judy just today resent me photos to post and plenty to write about!  Ruffian is 11 now and has recently retired from Schutzhund training.  For years Ruffian trained and competed in Schutzhund and thoroughly enjoyed the sport.  Ruffian trained often in Brewer, Maine and competed all over since distance was no issue as Judy has an awesome vehicle and a special trailer for the dogs...more on that in a bit. 

Schutzhund training is what Judy calls high obedience training.  I consider it more of a military or police dog training.  It consists of three phases: tracking, obedience and protection.  Dogs who do well in this sport have a high drive to work and have a protective instinct.  It helps that they are big strong dogs, but no longer is this sport considered exclusive to German Shepherds.  though Ruffian is a very German German Shepherd..and a pretty one at that! 

Ruffian loves to work...especially for cookies!  She will often do things not asked of her, but that are so cute, Judy can't resist but give her a cookie!  Like fetch shoes, articles of clothing and even neighborhood cats....well perhaps not those, but you all get the picture!  Ruffian just loves to work and loves cookies!  Thus she thrived in training.

I think she also liked going for long rides in Judy's fancy Honda Pilot and the newest addition--the dog trailer!  I can't imagine towing a trailer  for the dogs, but then again my pack does not compete in anything except for marathon couch sleeping!!

So at last, here is the infamous dog trailer that hauls Ruffain ad Cappy everywhere...even to the Orient to visit Ellie Mae!  I just can't see putting Jasmine in that!!  Can you?

Next post...the Queen of the Orient visits the Branch in Wells, Maine!!

A day full of dogs!

...and friends!

I always have my camera with me and rarely do not have it in my car. So yesterday afternoon, surrounded by adorable dogs, my camera is no where to be found!  Most likely it is in my desk drawer at work where I last remember shoving it while looking for the top on my desk.  Fortunately my cell phone had some battery life and enough space to take a few pictures.

The day started early.  Shirley offered to car pool up to the Scarborough "Meet the Breed" which was held in the Tractor Supply Store parking lot.  There were about a dozen different clubs, vendors, and rescue groups.  We all set up booths of sorts under canopies.  Shirley and Linda are in the photo and they put the display board together.  The board detailed various obedience, tracking, and rally events of dogs in the POC.  It was very well done and lots of folks stop by to see the display and all the different dogs we had there.

Linda brought four of her Pembroke Corgis...they are in the crates under the table.  She is a breeder and her dogs have titles in obedience, rally and the "pretty stuff."  She really does have some wonderful dogs and they were great with the kids that stopped by.  One especially would roll over and let everyone scratch his belly. 

Janice brought her three dogs but kept them crated in the car, taking one out at a time to walk them around and socialize in our booth area.  She has a lovely Thai Ridgeback--Jada.  I just love her face!  She has the sweetest eyes.  I regretfully do not have a photo of her from the event...but this one was taken recently at a fly-ball event.  She is sporting her racing coat here, but under her coat she has wonderful short fur with a small patch running up her back that grows in the opposite direction, which give her a ridge.  Janice also has a Corgi and a Shepherd.

Shirley brought two of her dogs--white German Shepherds.  They are in the big green crates to the right.  As the day warmed up, Shirley would unzip the top part of the crates and let them poke their heads up.  The kids got a big kick out of that.  Linda took some photos of that that I will post later.

We were fortunate that Cynthia and Wayne stopped by for visit.  They recently lost their grandson and many of us from the POC went to the memorial.  Cynthia loved holding little Jasmine.  They have a special bond since Cynthia and Wayne often came over to the house to let all our dogs out.  Jasmine's little tail wiggled so much when she heard Cynthia's voice.  Jasmine was also a huge magnet and lots of folks stopped to hold her, pat her, and ogle over her!  She is not obedience trained at all...all my fault!  She is just so darn cute; I have a hard time making her work.  I know, I know!!  She will be in classes soon!!  A CGC should be obtainable before the new year....right Karen!

There were also some very large dogs at the show that attracted a lot of attention.  This Harlequin Great Dane was at least 180 pounds and such a mush!!  His head was larger than Jasmine!  He wanted so to sniff her little butt, but I was concerned he would inhale her.  I wanted a picture of them standing together, but this was all I could get.  There was also a lovely, very large Newfoundland...black head with white and black polka dots marking his legs.  He too was about 180 pounds and only 18 months old!  And, was a giant love.  He was unaltered, as were many of the dogs at the event since there were a lot of breeders.  All of ours are altered.  Actually, I have never owned an intact animal.  I am much more into rescue than breeding...

In all it was a great day spent with great friends!  We met lots of other dog lovers and Karen managed to test 16 dogs for their CGC.  I helped be the "crowd" in the testing and would round up others to assist.  I just noticed she blogged about this before I did!  I wish I had known that she had a camera, I would have snapped shots of her testing and of lots of the dogs.  We did not have much time to chitchat since she was so busy running dogs through the test.  I also was delighted to have finally met her friend Val.  Val has a special gift of being able to communicate with animals.  She helped so much when Ecco was in her last days...it was wonderful to be able to thank her personally.  She and Karen both have Bearded Collies and their dogs were fun to watch interact!

Time to catch up again!

...sorry Cruise Dad, soon I will finish the cruise, but not this post...

It seems like I am always behind on this blog.  Sueputs me to shame!!  Her blog entries are always timely and complete; whereas, mine are predictable cliff hangers! 

Life seems to be whizzing by at 400 mph and at 20,000 feet at times. It is not so bad when I am actually in a plane...Not JetBlue...and enjoying the view.  Unfortunately on my last flights on Delta I had to pay $5 extra for the window seat, $1 for coffee, but thankfully the toilet was free...but I suspect that will be installed before my next flights!  Honestly, should I have to pay extra for a better view.  Airlines are taking the wrong approach in my opinion.  Then again, nothing in life is free... but I digress.

My last trip was to Philadelphia for the NEC AAAE conference.  Of course I flew out of the Portland International Jetport where construction is well under way on Phase II of the parking Garage and all seems to be progressing well considering the weather we have had this summer.  I was very glad to see the improvements underway. 

On the flight to Philly I sat next to a woman (Mainer) who lives and works in the Virgin Islands.  I could tell from her bronzed skin that she did not live locally!  She had a fascinating life and shared wonderful stories.  Admittedly, I have had very few dreadful seat-mates...but there have been a few colorful wing-nuts!  I felt a bit silly telling her about my job and my windowless office.  We both laughed at the dreadfulness of the situation.  I snapped this wonderful image while we were passing over New York's Long Island.  I am always looking for those airfields!

The flight to Philly was direct and fast.  I was glad to get there early and have time to explore a bit before I would be forced to be inside...though a good kind of forced as I enjoy the conferences, meeting new people and spending time with friends.  This conference was by far the best one!!  The location, the people, the weather, everything was just awesome...I didn't want to leave!!  I absolutely plan to go back and walk around more.  The city was just wonderful and there was so much to see and do. 

Here is Independence Hall considered the birth place of the United States which was built in 1753 (though it took over 20 years to complete).  Every building has a story and a rich history and I loved seeing it all and taking it all in.  It was in this building that the Declaration of Independence was adopted and our constitution was crafted and signed!!  My boss said that there is a hand rail going up a flight of stairs in the building that the founding fathers touched...he was delighted that he too got to use that very hand rail!  I thought I was a history nut!!  Honestly, I have the best boss!!

Just walking around the old streets was a huge delight.  The old cobble stone streets made it easy for me to imagine what it might have been like back in time when the city was developing.  I could feel the stones and walk on them like so many have over the years.  Honestly, it was very moving!  Much of the cobblestones were said to have come from Belgium serving as ballast in ships.  Though actual Belgium building blocks are more square and block like, the cobbles were also used for ballast and construction.  Seeing the cobbles brought me back to my time in Belgium and all the memories...very good memories.

The beer in Philly was also very good...give me a micro-brew and nice view and I am all set for a few hours!  We found a few good places for micro-brews while in Philly and I will certainly revisit them!!

It was still tourist season during my stay and there were plenty of families, couples and tours going on.  It added to the ambiance, but it also made me appreciate the fact that this is a very special place to many and for many different reasons.

My friends Sue and Ed love to visit a place a little further South called Colonial Williamsburg, perhaps during my next visit I will also get down there!

I do not want to talk too much about my work or the conferences that I attend, I bore enough of you with that in person!  But, I was pretty excited to spend an evening aboard the USS New Jersey.  It as my first time aboard a battle ship.  I thought a lot about Jim that night.  My Step Dad was a cook on a ship, not sure which one since he never talked much about that.  I was awe struck by the size of the vessel and the weapons on board...well it was a bit overwhelming.  The closest I have been to anything like this has been the evening news...so it was a bit much to take in especially since we are still in a war.  Still, I get choked up to look at the picture and try to make sense of it all.

Enjoying a day at the Acton Fair!

...and then back to the beach...

Donald and I had made plans to attend the Acton fair earlier this summer and we were excited to spend some time with the local farmers at the fairground.  We have been working on the York County Farmers Network for over a year and Donald is nearly finished with a major overhaul of the database of farmers.  It will be a 1,000 times better than the Get Real Get Maine farm locater.  I am very excited about it and very proud of Donald for putting so much time in it!

The Acton Fair is a fun local agricultural fair with everything from rabbits to work horses and a whole bunch of critters in between.  Everyone is parked in a giant field and must walk through the gauntlet of fried-eateries before reaching any of the agricultural barns.  It was not pleasant to smell all those frialator fumes before having coffee!

Once we found our set up in one of the agricultural barns, Donald and I checked out all the displays.  It was all items submitted by local farmers and craftspeople.  Awards had already been given, so I looked closely to see if I recognized any of the winners.  I kept a special eye out for my friend Sue's craft submissions.  She typically has a bunch of stuff displayed...and most of it has a ribbon on it!  Go figure, she has already blogged about it!!  I got her into blogging and she has put my poor blog to shame!  Granted she has a lot more going on...I am so coveting their barn!!!  I was glad to find her winning square in the quilt on display.  Great job Sue!!

We had a small table and poster of the York County Farmers' Network display located at the entrance to the barn.  Folks could stop and leave their contact information or we could take down their farm information to be included on the website.  Things started off slow, so me being me, I found a kind soul with whom to strike up a conversation.  I am not shy and I enjoy meeting new friends.  I liked Alvin from "Hello."   He is a kind gentleman that gives freely of his time to help out at the fairgrounds,drive veterans to medical appointments and operates a shuttle service on a nearby lake.  I hope to be so active when I retire. 

Honeybear loved all the attention!  Kids flocked to us and would run off and bring more of their friends back!  Everyone wanted to touch Honeybear. Alvin loved telling the kids that the dogs name was killer and he was part German Shepherd!  I reassured them that Honeybear was 4 years old and full grown.  Alvin, Donald and I sat and talked for hours.  We did manage to sign up some farmers, but mostly we enjoyed our time at the fair sharing our stories and talking to folks. 

Val was off cheering her friends and fellow athletes at a local triathlon.  She ran down to the event and biked back. We had agreed to meet up in the afternoon and head back to the beach before winter moves in.  We had met a wonderful family at the beach the day before and they had invited us back for beer and Mexican tomfoolery!  Free Redhook beer...say no more!!

Yesterday their youngest son Teddy was having a major meltdown.  It was their first day at the family beach house and he just could not find his joy.  He was dry-eye sobbing about everything that was frustrating him... Haven't we all been in that place!  His Mom, Kathleen, was taking it all in stride and I started talking to her.  We all laughed and she was relieved that this was not an issue with us.  We eventually got Teddy down to the surf, I swam with him and his Dad and Val chitchatted with Kathleen.

Pete and Kathleen were glad to see us back today and introduced us to their family and friends.  I played a bunch of volleyball, drank some yummy beer and swam a whole bunch.  The water was not as nice as yesterday, but the waves were a blast!  I got Kathleen to swim once...we had fun riding the waves. 

That hopefully is not the last time we get to the beach...but this summer has had a lot of bad weather and I have been traveling more than usual.  Perhaps when Ellie Mae comes down in a few weekends we can still get in the water!  Bring your suit Ellie Mae, just in case!  Besides, you're retired...live a little!

How do you spell retirement?

...And why is it such a sensitive word...

Our friend Ellie Mae has been retired for years.  She is in her early 40's, but obviously made different career choices that allowed her to enjoy her mid-life with relatively carefree.  Of course she lives in Northern East Bum, Maine where the cost of living is much cheaper and there is an ample supply of free road kill!  I love to tease her about being retired!  But I know farmers never retire.

I am not so sure working 4 1/2 months a year qualifies as working your ass off.  Maybe a partial cheek...but not the whole enchilada!  Most of us working stiffs work 48 weeks a year OR MORE.  Now that is working your butt off!  Sadly, I know I Will pay for this post when she comes down to visit soon...but it is worth the risk!

Ok, next installment will have to cover my recent trip to Philadelphia and the New England Light Sport Expo.  Both were great times!!

She is Gorgeous!

...and she comes with floats too...

I just think the Valor A-22 is the sweetest looking of all the light sport.  The New England Light Sport Expo went very well today and tomorrow looks to be even better!  Seven of the ten Sport Light vendors showed up and more plan to be at KSFM tomorrow.  The CFI's were all busy giving demo rides in the Valor and the Gobosh.  Both Gobosh planes had lines of folks waiting to try them out!  It was awesome to see so many folks check out all the planes and attend the seminars. 

The BBQ at the end of the day was great!  Jan always serves an amazing spread and everyone just loves to hang at the airport and enjoy the conversations.  Jim was still giving rides right up until we left.  It is wonderful that he is so passionate about aviation and flying and so willing to give of his time to share that enthusiasm.

I will be flipping pancakes at the breakfast tomorrow...but my pay will be rides in several of the aircraft.  The weather will be perfect tomorrow so I can hardly wait!!  Everyone come check it out!!

Finally an update on Marie!

She called me this afternoon.  Marie has been back in Belgium for two months, taking time to spend with friends and resting up before she heads out again to rebuild some war torn or disaster location.  We were hoping that she was going to spend some time state side, but instead she and I may try to meet up someplace.  That could be a lot of fun...especially if it is some place warm.  I have enough traveling coming up, so I am not even sure where I could fit a trip in before October.  This may have to wait six months.

What is that horrible smell?

...and why is there smoke coming out of JD's engine...

I had a sinking feeling that I knew exactly what the smell was, it had been well over a week since the weather allowed me to get any mowing done.  Typically I open the hood and relocate any squatters that take up residence around the engine block.  For some reason they have their favorite spots and even though the rest of the shed has ample room to make a lovely permanent nest...but no they always nest in an inconvenient spot within the engine block.  So each time I make a bunch of racket and chase the bigger ones out and gently relocate the wee ones.  Anna of course is horrified that I do this, she would much rather I squash them and help to reduce the population that feasts on their crop.  But, that is just not an option for me.  I can't do it, and I do not want to.  Ironically though, I do not seem to mind letting Sachem out for some afternoon snacks.

So anyway, Val took Merlin and Tucker out to run some errands which enabled me to get some mowing done without Merlin coming completely unglued.  She also did not want to deal with him in the house while mowed the front field.  She had had enough of the dogs and being trapped in the house while I was gone.  I had a very small window in which to get a considerable amount of mowing done.  Not that that is any excuse...but I was rushed and not thinking in my usual task list anal fashion.

I had to mow the front three times.  The grass was so long and still wet, but I needed to make sure all the grass was blown off into the ditch.  All this resulted in over working the motor.  I noticed an odd smell about half way through the mowing and attributed it the fact that belt as working hard to blow all the wet grass.  Alas, near the end, the engine actually started smoking and I knew it was much more serious.  My worse fears were realized when I pulled two charred remains out of the engine block.  Very sad.  If that wasn't bad enough; I also checked oil level--or lack of oil level.  Finally, with the bodies were plucked out and properly disposed of in their furever resting spot and a fresh pint of oil added, I thought that I would make the last few passes...but no...the belt comes off the gears and is nearly stretched to 1/3 longer than required.  The gears were about 9,000 degrees and I had already burnt all my fingers extracting the burnt critters.  So I called it a night! 

  

New England Light Sport Expo

A Great Day to Fly!

...most sunny days in Maine are...

Here are two quick pictures I wanted to share from my adventures flying the other day.

My feet are on the right and Jim's feet are on the left.  We were flying the A-22 Valor, one of the newest Light Sport Aircraft at the airport.

We flew down Wells Beach, past Ogunquit and around York Harbor before heading over to Mount A and back to Sanford.  Anyone visiting the Wells area should absolutely go to Sanford Airport and take a scenic flight around the beaches.  I snapped this picture before making the final turn back towards Mount A.  It was a gorgeous day to fly!

Where has the summer gone?

...and where have I been...

It seems like forever since I have taken the time to write in this blog or even read others blogs.  It has not been for lack of things to write about, just lack of time to get the thoughts written.  I have been doing a lot more traveling for work, I started a new company, and I have studying for my CM for AAAE.  All this takes time! 

Work takes up the majority of my time.  Not that I mind all that much, as I have a great boss and I enjoy the all the staff.  The company has a great culture and I get to spend a lot of time out at airports, which is the best part of my job.  Sitting in the office, now windowless, is the hardest part of the job for me.  I absolutely hate not having a window.  Thankfully I am out of the office more than not this time of year.  Not sure what will happen this winter...but most likely I will need a coat that ties in the back!

The last conference I attended was in New Orleans.  I spent five days there and enjoyed every second of it.  I met lots of great folks that work outside of my market area and met several women that have amazing careers in aviation.  It is refreshing to meet women who have been successful in this very male dominated profession and who have kept their sense of humor!  I took oodles of pictures in New Orleans and will try to get them posted on one of my album sites...when  can find the time!  I have another conference coming up that will be held in Philadelphia.  I am looking forward to that too! 

In May I started a new business called iMarketing Maine with Val's brother Donald.  I was already doing lots of websites for various non-profits, so I decided to start charging nominal fees and started getting additional requests to do more websites.  It is going really well and I have completed a new site called www.nelsEXPO.com .  The site is for the New England Light Sport Expo that ill be held August 16th and 17th at Sanford Regional Airport.  The benefit of working on that site is I have been able to do more flying and I have tried out some of the new Light Sport aircraft at Southern Maine Aviation.  My Favorite by far was the A-22 Valor.  The visibility was awesome and was almost like fying in a helicopter...but better since it was a plane!  I liked the way it handled and the way the controls were laid out.  I also prefer a yoke to a central-stick control.  Hopefully the next model will have adjustable seats or I will need a few more inches on my arms to reach things more comfortably. 

The Gobosh G-700 was the first low-wing aircraft I have flown.  It is definitely more of a "luxury sport" aircraft than a "light sport!"  With comfortable leather seats and a powerful 912 ULS Rotax 100hp engine...the thing had zip!  It also offered a smooth ride with unobstructed forward views.  It felt like an episode of the Jetsons!  The bubble top offered just incrediable views.  Both planes burned less than 4 gallons of fuel during our 70 minutes of flight, which makes this type of aircraft very appealing right now.  I personally prefered the Valor, but that could be the bush-pilot want-to-be in me!!  Honestly, if I had found my love for flying earlier, I would be a bush pilot in Alaska, living in a cabin on some remote lake!!  I can dream!

I have also managed to get Merlin through two training classes.  One through the POC, just a basic obedience class and one Rally Class.  The Rally class was awesome!  I offered our front yard to be the training location and Steve Hersey taught the class.  He was the best instructor I have had to date!  I hope there is a part 2 to this class--no matter where the class is, I will sign up for it!