LIFE'S BETTER IN THE MOUNTAINS

Friday, March 27, 2009

Fridays are Golden

Last weekend I had a blogger brain shutdown. We had house guests who brought their dog along with them. I had planned to take a lot of photographs, but I was so glad to see my friend and talk with her that I totally forgot about the camera.

It was only when they were preparing to leave that I grabbed the camera for a few shots of their gorgeous English Springer Spaniel. I have a soft place in my heart for Springers, since we had one who lived to age 17 and another who lived to age 16. This one is a beauty.





The dogs got along well. I think the Springer was tired from the traveling and he didn't seem to want to play very much. He spent most of his time right beside his mom or in her lap while we talked. The men and the Golden Girls spent much of the evening downstairs watching basketball, coming up to refresh their drinks and update us on the games.

It was such a nice visit. My friend and I had worked together for quite some time, and we spent hours talking about what had happened to some of the people since I left there. We didn't go anywhere outside the community, since they had already been traveling for more than a week.

Our house guests brought two hostess gift bags...one for us and one for the girls. Ours was full of wonderful Wisconsin cheeses, local wine and jam, and a special treat. Some maple syrup they made at their family farm in Minnesota. The farm has been placed in a land conservancy, but the two sons can continue to farm it.


Here the girls check out their gift bag.


Working together didn't seem to work so well. They simply pushed the bag all over the floor.



Finally the contents spilled out.




Ellie grabbed a fun-looking toy and took off with it.




After playing with the toys for a while, Ellie went back to the gift bag just to make certain there wasn't something left.

This last Friday in March finds us with heavy fog and forecasts for more rain. We certainly hope we get more. We are already behind for 2009 and entering our third year of drought. We are so sorry for all you Duke fans (not) and for others whose teams have left the tourney (yes, really). We will spend another weekend hanging around the house for sure. A major bike race will bring hundreds of bicycles up and down the mountain. Not a good time to be driving.

Whatever your plans for the weekend, have a wonderful one. Stay safe from all the things that trouble you.

27 comments:

Shelley said...

Your friend's spaniel is beautiful! What's funny is my husband wanted either a retriever or a spaniel - but I have him talked into a Bernese Mountain Dog. But i had retrievers & labs growing up and I know I'll have another one again in my future. I love seeing the photos of your girls!

Thistlebrooms said...

Your friends certainly have a MOST Beautiful Dog...Love it when old friends come to visit to catch up on whats been happing in our lives...I'm sure you enjoyed your time together...
I too remember being in Wisconsin and bringing home many different cheeses. (I'm a closet cheese addict)...
Looks like the 'Girls' loved their goodie bag too, it's hard to share!!!
I wish you ample rain showers for your Beautiful North Carolina Mts...
Always My Best...Marilyn

Dog_geek said...

Nice pictures - my dogs would definitely have gone for the floppy frisbee first, though. They are all convinced that we can never have too many floppy frisbees. As for March Madness, I guess since Duke is out, I'll have to be rooting for ABC from here on in! :o) (PS - my word verification is unchor - I think blogger is playing a joke on me, I'm just not sure I get it.)

Kim said...

Love the Spaniel. So cute.

The Golden Girls look like they are totally loving their gift bag!

Cedar ... said...

The girls look like they are having fun with their gift bag,... and what a nice fellow the spaniel was to bring it! I had to cheer for Villanova,.. as a northeast person I was all for keeping it in The Big East!

Unknown said...

Mmm, Wisconsin cheese! There really is no better cheese than good ol' Wisconsin cheese. [Insert dairy air joke here.]

Raining here in the Piedmont, too. My rain gauge is at half an inch, with more TK.

Dave's Bird Watching Blog said...

Fun dog pictures, but let's talk more hoops! :-)

It's a tough match-up for the Heels tonight, Carolyn. I'm fairly concerned about this Gonzaga team. Hope Lawson can play well and that they get the ball inside to Hansbrough enough. Have to admit it was fun to watch Duke lose by 24 last night! Enjoy the games, hopefully. :-)

Cheryl said...

I to have a great love of springer spaniels....we have a lot in this area, they are used for retrieving birds at the shoot. Whilst I am not a lover of that particular sport it is wonderful to watch them work.....

The golden girls are just so funny......I am getting really attached to them....could I adopt them?? I would give them a really good home, honestly.....lol

Have a good weekend and I do hope you get that much needed rain......

The Birdlady said...

That is a beautiful springer - and of course, the golden girls are gorgeous as always! It sounds like a wonderful visit!

grammy said...

Cute doggie pics. We have tons of bikes around here all spring and summer. Boulder... mountains..it is scary. Enjoy being at home. We had lots of snow, but it is melting and the ground is singing praises (o:

Mary Isabella and Kiley too! said...

All of the dogs are very beautiful. Sounds like my kind of gift bag. I love good cheese. Have a wonderful weekend...m

Dawn Fine said...

Howdee,
Just catching up with your blog.
The doggies are all beautiful.
Great blog.
Happy Spring!

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Caorlyn: Wait a second, that first friend certainly wasn't golden. It was in B&W, how neat.

Tina said...

What a beautiful looking spaniel..so pretty. We have Brittanys and love the breed. Such a wonderful family dog..can't go anywhere in the house without my shadow.they love to be where you are!!
Glad you had a nice visit with your friends..funny how time passes so quickly but it is always so much fun to get together and talk old times!

Jayne said...

So glad to hear that the girls got along well with the Springer, and that they got a nice gift bag in the bargain. :c) We're inundated with rain as well, and today is a great day to stay in, and watch the birds revel in the joy of it.

Rudee said...

Your dogs are beautiful.

Cicero Sings said...

That Springer is beautiful!

Looks like your girls had a great time with their gift bag. What a nice idea for your friend to bring them one!

Allison Walton said...

Wat funn gifts! Arr grandmommee haz a brown and white springer spaniel. She don't like us too muchly. Maybee cuz she's an old lady?

Wuv,
Gus and Waldo

100 Thoughts of Love said...

they make me think of my cocker spaniel, Betty,,,whim I still miss after 5 years....

KB said...

A doggy gift bag! What a great idea. I love the picts of the girls trying to get the gifts out.

BTW, I'm a Duke fan and I really wish you'd be more sensitive to my sadness :) I was off-life while camping for their entire 3 game stint in the tournament.

Beth Niquette said...

How ADORABLE!!!

Thank you so much for sharing.

Golden Samantha said...

Hi! Thanks for leaving a comment and letting me know that you are around in blogland! The spaniel is certainly gorgeous! (But I have an extremely warm spot in my heart for goldens!) Love the shots of your girls, heads in bag! Teehee! Looks like you live in an idyllic spot - look forward to reading more posts!
xo Samantha/Miche

Carol Murdock said...

What a handsome fellow! I'm suprised that the girls left him alone for a minute! HA!
Carol

NCmountainwoman said...

Thanks for your comments. Yes, the Springer was a gorgeous dog and my friend does all the grooming.

Dog Geek - Not the dreaded ABC! Shame on you.

Cedar - looks like the Big East is the strongest conference. I was very disappointed in the ACC.

Dave - I think Ty's going to play regardless of the pain. We just might win this afternoon.

Cheryl - I don't think we could farm them out. When we go on vacation we are constantly wondering how they are.

Grammy - My daugher got a blasting of snow in Milwaukee last night.

KB - I try to be sensitive to the Duke fans. Honest, I really try!

KB said...

I need to proof-read my comments. I wasn't 'off-life' for Duke's tournament games - I was 'off-line'!

George said...

It sounds as if you had a great visit with your friends. They certainly have a beautiful dog.

Melissa Weisbard said...

What a thoughtful friend to bring gifts for your Golden Girls. Dogs are such wonderful friends.