All Kinds of Fun

What fun to have the Heintzbergers living so close to Galen and Bethany!

Not only are Cindy and Vic now Idaho residents, but so are daughter Kira and her family — this is her youngest, Aubrey, with Berkeley.

And John and his family also just moved there!!!!

Sparkle being edged out by a possessive Heidi.

And that means so did Heidi from the H Moon Litter!

Named for the original Almighty Heidi, Heidi is glorious and wonderful in all ways.

These are two photos Galen took of Sparkle at Lucky Peak State Park near Boise — you can follow Galen’s photos at instagram.com/galen_henseler

Congratulations to Team Jordan (Sparkler) on a great show weekend, including a really nice Best of Breed win! And her Uncle Tristan (iPups) earned yet another QQ (agility) — we certainly have a versatile family ❤️

Progesterone testing begins on Thursday.

A Big Birthday

Birthdays of older litters are always bittersweet. Of course we celebrate our older dogs but the day also prompts fresh grief for those we wish could still be celebrated here on earth.

These kind of days remind me of the need to acknowledge the impermanence of all things life and therefore, to treasure and appreciate what I have right now.

The people, the time, the dogs, the places, the abilities — all will change.

And so every moment is like this day, if we consider it — bittersweet.

But if sorrow is the price we pay for being alive on a spinning and changing earth with all the marvelous joys and daily miracles — well, I think we just trust that human beings were made with the capacity to feel the complicated feels and to somehow be okay with it all.

And so I grieve for that piece of my heart and soul that is Zoey because today is her birthday, and I celebrate that on that day 11 years ago an amazing litter of Berners was born. Feeling all of that is what makes me (US) human.

We begin by resting our hearts and minds — with gratitude and love — on Maya, Zed, Purna, Peaches, Homer, Faith, and Zoey. Happy Birthday at the Rainbow Bridge — I hope Terri Z has arranged for a big party.

And we celebrate that Miss Maddie means that the F Litter is so much more than a memory — she is ELEVEN today.

Barb shares: “Maddie continues to enjoy Life! Yes, she breathes like a steam engine, and her stamina isn’t what it used to be—we walk slowly now, but we’re still walking! She still dances when we go out for our daily adventures, even if it’s just sitting in the front yard and barking at the passersby. She still marches out each morning to fetch the daily paper…even if she now gets distracted halfway back and drops it for me to retrieve, while still demanding her cookie reward. And she’s still the center of our hearts and home.”

“Her new favorite activity—hanging out in the front yard and rolling in the green grass".”

“On a walk at Fort Townsend with Ken.”

“Maddie at Pippa’s Tea Shoppe. She loves going out to restaurants, particularly if she can snack under the table.”

A recent track for Maddie — just for fun!

HAPPIEST OF BIRTHDAYS TO MISS MADDIE!!!!

The Plan & Boise Fun

I decided to check Claire when I got home on Friday because I got this message from Suzanne, who is now living about 12 miles north (that is a close neighbor in Montana):

“Lol, are you sure Claire is not in heat? Sundance has been howling a lot with his nose facing south 😉🤣”

I texted back:

“HOLY CRAP! I just checked her and Sundance is right! She IS in season!!!!!”

Isn’t that funny?!

GOOD JOB SUNDANCE!

Someday I hope we have Sundance babies because he is a wonderful dog — and has a great nose apparently 😉but not this time. We love Sundance so much but the goals for this breeding pointed in a different direction (south and west — not north).

So what’s The Plan?

We will begin progesterone testing later this week and will check daily or every other day, depending on the value. It will start off under 1.0 and if it is way under, we can skip a day.

When the value is between 1 and 2 we will know it is time to start making plans to get the show on the road, so to speak. My best guess is that we are about 12 - 14 days from the breeding dates.

In the meantime, I made my planned trip to Boise. Sparkle and I stopped on the way to do a short mountain bike ride in Stanley.

The weather could not have been more perfect and it was a nice way to break up the drive.

Even though I see them at least once each month, the changes in children in a matter of weeks is really incredible. Lincoln is nine months now and look at this…

Pulling himself to stand! He is a cozy, thoughtful, and active little human.

Berkeley got her first haircut! She is charming, chatty, and clever. She is talking in complete — mostly intelligible — sentences.

Berkeley remains easily hypoglycemic, but they manage her well with diet. There is still no known explanation for this.

Today’s adventures involve Sparkle and photos that Galen wants to do, Trader Joe’s (we do not have one in Montana), fun with small humans, and an evening with our friends-like-family.

I hope your day also includes fun adventures, no matter where you are.