Player

Canadian Champion Laureate Cold Play, bred by Kim Aston and Peter Culumovic, came out of a five year retirement in 2011 to attend ASSA in St Louis Missouri. Entered in the Open Blue class and handled by Becky Johnson, Player placed second in his class. A big thanks to Kim Aston for the great pictures she took of Player both from ringside, and outdoors.

Player stayed in the US with Becky to attend a few American shows. On May 20th, at the Greater Kansas City Shetland Sheepdog Specialty, Player was awarded a 4 point major (Winners Dog) for his first US points, tyhen took WD, BOW 2 days later for a second 4 point major! Thank you to judges Sulie Greendale-Paveza and Professor Douglas Taylor for these major wins. We are absolutely thrilled! Thank you also Becky - we hope he continues to shine for you!

On May 26, at the Greater Cincinnati Specialty, Player was awarded his third 4 point major under breeder jusge Jean Simmonds. What a team he and Becky make!

These pictures are from his week at ASSA in April 2011. Thank you again Kim for the great photos.

And the winner is...!

Thanks to Clarice, we have the answer!

The first is a white crowned sparrow, and the second is a chipping sparrow!

What is it?

The bird feeder fell down (again) - the string holding it together broke (again). Darned cheap bird feeder!

Speaking however of cheap - or is that "CHEEP"? - when I noticed it was "gone" I leaned over the deck rail to look down to the ground. Lo and behold, there it was, surrounded by several very pretty little birds. Now, I am not a birder - I can identify robins, meadowlarks, crows, redwings, hawks, eagles and sparrows - and of course those annoying grackles - but beyond that I am a bit (more than a bit) hopeless.

So people, help me out here - what ARE these pretty little birds?

I went back with the "big" camera to see if I could get a better shot, and found another similar bird hopping around. Good grief, that must be good bird seed! Anyone able to identify this one?

Both varieties/species are about the same size - bigger than a sparrow but much smaller than a robin...

A Gorgeous Day At Last

The sun is shining, and who cares if the wind is blowing! It's neither raining, nor snowing, nor sleeting, nor hailing - yippee!

The Ellie Brother babies had a good run in the yard this afternoon. Even managed to avoid the pond - bonus! We managed to snap a few pictures of them "au naturel"...

This is Loni (Skyehaven Valonia)

Such a pretty face and outline!

But more than a pretty face - look at her side gait! She is coming along nicely on leash as long as there are cookies in the offing!

But standing and looking pretty can be pretty boring!

Bethany (Skyehaven Verona) is also a very appealing puppy. She is a bit of a clown when the leash is attached...




However, with a bit of encouragement, she also shows her style...














Of course, the joke was on us when she sat and laughed at us when we tried to encourage her to stand once more....








But with a bit of encouragement she once again cooperated and showed us her pretty face...complete with teething bumps!






After a good romp and a bit of bite-the-butt, both girls joined me for a lap cuddle and a kiss - or was that a dental check-up?