It's a big job!

Last summer I looked at the house and realized how badly faded the stain was. The logs were starting to go grey due to weathering from wind, sun and rain. So, I ordered a pail of stain from Canadian Log Home Supply...

The recommended way to apply the stain is to hand brush it in, to ensure all cracks and crevices are properly filled. The entire job was done with 2 brushes - a 2" for the difficult areas such as behind the trim boards, and a 4" brush for the larger areas...

I began in late September 2012, by staining the addition on the back. I managed to get the walls done, but the soffits and fascia were too high and too deep for me to reach from my 24 foot ladder, so I quit for the winter.

This spring I began on the south east wall... the difference is obvious!

Next came the front of the garage...a full day's work.

 

 

 

I had put off attempting the east wall due to the height involved, but once the garage was done, I got out the long ladder, fought my way through the Spirea, and attacked it. I was able to get almost all the way to the peak, but due to the angle of the ladder against the eaves, I had to extend it fully. It was quite wobbly in the middle, and I just did not feel safe going up more than 14 rungs. So I quit, and called our daughter-in-law Charlene to see if she was able to come and steady the ladder for me.

 

 

 

 

 

With Charlene steadying the ladder for me, I was able to finish the east fascia!

 

Next came the west end, which was even more of a challenge as the ground is much lower on that side. Charlene was a great help with the very awkward long ladder, and steadied it enough that I was able to get up to the 17th rung!

 

 

 

 

 

We had to quit when the fence interfered with my ability to reach the end fascia boards - I was just too tired to move the ladders outside the fence. It was a hot day and very humid by 2:00 p.m., which is when we quit for the day...

The next day, I finished the fascia boards and attacked the log ends and the south wall off our bedroom.  Then I called Roger and said "HELP!"

 

 

Saturday June 29th Roger came and did the really difficult areas -  the gable end over the garage (I refused to get on the roof!) and the soffits and fascia on the south end, which required scaffolding. And now, the job is done! :-)

(But I noticed the roof on the grandchildren's play structure is now looking a bit shabby...)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Skyehaven Audacious 9 Months old

The sun came out so I grabbed the camera and got these casual snaps of Audrey - she is now 9 months old. Audrey came to us from Adair Shelties in Missouri - of course, she is a Player  (Am Multi BISS Bronze GCh Can Ch Laureate Cold Play) daughter! vbg

Linda Moore has the repeat of this litter on the ground at Adair - several look promising at 2 weeks of age! Do I foresee a blue Player son in our future? Time will tell!

Champion Skyehaven Toscana (Islay), owned by Doreen Fleisher of Winnipeg, came for a photo session June 23rd. Islay is now 17 months old and as pretty as ever! Sired by AM GrCh Can Ch Grandgables The Frat Boy ROMC ex Can Ch Skyehaven Painted Lady, Islay was the second from this litter to finish her championship.

A head shot of Islay laughing at us!

Mourning Dove on the Gate

I went out onto the deck to start the BBQ just before six this evening, and saw a pair of Mourning Doves sitting on the railing. By the time I ran and got the camera the male had of course flown away, but the female sat (with her back to me most of the time) and posed. Despite the poor lighting I was able to snap these two pictures.

New Champion Skyehaven Toscana

"Islay"

Sire: AM BIS CH CAN CH GRANDGABLES THE FRAT BOY

DAM: CH SKYEHAVEN PAINTED LADY

Islay is owned by our friend Doreen, and co-owned by Skyehaven. Doreen is new to Shelties, and trained and showed Islay to all her points! Islay's litter sister Ch Skyehaven Verona - aka Bethany -  finished last month. These two girls are from Ellie's first litter!

Despite the wind at the show this past weekend, I grabbed the opportunity to take some pictures of a Player daughter owned by Amberlyn Shelties. This lovely girl is on her way to her championship! Luna (Pattoo's Once In A Blue Moon) was co-bred by Patricia Ristau and Sherrie and Cam Sparling. Her two litter brothers Striker and Twister finished their championships at 7 months and15 months of age. Luna was slower to mature, and is just now ready to take on the world!

Such a pretty girl!

Luna's sire Player -  AM BISS GCH CAN CH LAUREATE COLD PLAY - will be returning to Canada later this year - watch for updates!

This is Skyehaven Dancing In The Dark - aka Gypsy - sired by Ch Skyehaven Catch Me If You Can ex Ch Skyehaven Something About Mary. Gypsy is owned by her co-breeder, and lives in Winnipeg Manitoba Canada.

Gypsy picked up 6 points as a youngster, then took time off for a litter sired by Ch Skyehaven Limited Edition HIC.  She will be out again this year to go after her final points (we hope!).

The sun came out today, it was above freezing, and the wind was not howling - bonus! Young Finn needed a bath, and I had no recent pictures of Bethany, who finished 3 weeks ago, so decided today was the day! A couple of friends were her to help me out by getting the dogs' attention while I played shutterbug.

Bethany was NOT groomed for her photos - just straight out of the kennel runs and into the camera.  Despite this, you can see her pretty expression, and lovely head detail. She is sired by BISS Am GCH Can Ch Grandgables The Frat Boy ROMC ex our Ch Skyehaven Painted Lady. Bethany is 15 months old.

Apple Acres Skyehaven High Finance - aka Finn - (above) is 14 months of age We have taken him out a couple of times, but he is just not mature enough in body to be strongly competitive. The photo above shows his beautiful head detail.

Despite needing to fill out some more in body, this shot shows his elegance and outline...

Another head shot of the lovely young Finn.

This body shot of Bethany does not do her justice, but she was not happy about having to stay put for the photo! Even so, her elegance and nice outline are apparent , despite the rather scruffy appearance!

We are 3 weeks old!

Here are Ellie and Simon's babies at 3 weeks of age. Too cute!

The sable merle boy appears to have 2 dark eyes - bonus!

Look at that gorgeous finish of underjaw!

Here is his sister, the blue girl.

Such a pudgy little face she has, and again, beautiful underjaw. Can't wait to see how they continue to develop!

Destiny and Simon's babies are now 3 weeks old. Below are some pictues taken today!

This is the smaller sable girl...

and her sister, slightly larger...all three have the same lovely underjaw.

And the sable boy!

Here are all three together.

We are very pleased with how these five Simon babies are developing!

Ellie and Simon's Babies at 2 weeks

Ellie and Simon's babies are now 2 weeks old, and eyes are just starting to open. Although there were only 2 babies in this litter, we are very excited about their potential!

This is the sable merle boy - very elegant, gorgeous neck and outline!

This is the blue girl - look at that gorgeous, short blocky head!

We will continue to post new photos weekly so you can watch them grow and develop.

Eight Days Old

Across the hall from Destiny is Ellie, with her two babies, also sired by Simon (Ch Apple Acres Skyehaven Spendthrift). Ellie is a tri-factored sable merle, so there were all sorts of possibilities for colour - we should have held a lottery! Ellie donated the merle gene to both babies, giving us a blue girl and a sable merle boy. We are very impressed with this litter - elegance is already evident in the length and arch of neck on both puppies.

What a cute little face this is!