Birthday Week: Kadi and Chase

We continue the Wildflower Birthday Celebration with Kadi (Mariposa) and Chase (Larkspur)…

Baby Kadi

Eden sends us this report about Kadi…

“What did Kadi do to top off her first year of life? How about an epic road trip to the National Specialty in Colorado; 4500 miles, 10 states,  8 hotels of a road trip.  It turns out Kadi is a very good traveler. Elevators made her nervous at first but she was a pro at the last hotel. She was very curious for all the new creatures she saw cows, elks, deer and little furry things.

 Things did not go as planned for the specialty as Kadi decided to come into heat before leaving. That meant no Rally, no group pictures with Dad and brothers, no watching working events, etc. but she did get to spend a lot of time with Chuck taking walks all over Estes Park. I don’t want to forget to mention the weather during the specialty, typical spring time in the Rockies and the most snow Kadi has ever seen.

After the specialty we drove down to Colorado Springs to visit old friends and do some hiking.

Kadi and Jannu hiking in the Garden of the Gods by the Siamese Twin formation. Note Kadi did not seem to inherit the extra-long tongue of Aunt Jannu.

Summer heat is fast approach here in NC so outdoor training starts to become limited.  Not a lot of plans for agility and tracking until the fall.  I have started introducing her to the cart in the house and will see if we can get her to like to swim at the nearby lake.  Other than that it will be early morning walks and enjoying the air conditioning in the house.”

It was wonderful to see Kadi and Eden at the Specialty…

I am sorry we would not get more family photos due to Specialty hormones but it was still wonderful to see them. Thank you so much, Eden.

I am struck by how certain areas — like North Carolina — shut down in the summer while here in Montana, summer means life is opened up again. Wildflower Chase lives in Great Falls, Montana with the Duncans and his dad, Major. I know Chase will be having some serious adventures this summer!

Baby Chase

Chase also went to the Specialty and competed in the Scentwork trial where he did quite well. Here are some photos of Chase at home in Montana on the occasion of his first birthday…

Thank you, Lawrence and Bea!

Birthday Week: Lupine and Buttercup

Wildflower Birthday Week continues with Lupine and Buttercup.

We start with Lupine…

Baby Lupine

Alex shares (and likely we can all agree): "It’s hard to believe the Wildflowers are already a year old, time has flown by!

A little bit about Lupine’s personality: she is so full of energy and genuinely one of the most athletic Berners I’ve ever known.

She is constantly flying through things, over things, around things etc. (usually being chased by one of our other dogs, who can’t catch her).

She is so full of life and always happy, bouncy and wiggly.

Lupine may also be one of the most intelligent dogs we’ve raised. She picks up on things so naturally and you always get the impression that she just “knows” what is going on no matter what in a very fluid, dynamic way — her mind is always working.

Anyways, I don’t want to ramble too much, there is so much more praise I could give her.

She has made a perfect best friend and companion. Happy birthday to all of the Wildflowers!”

Thank you so much to Alex and all of the Graffunders for giving Lupine such a happy and interesting life.

And now we get to find out what is up with Birthday Buttercup!

Baby Buttercup

Georgia (and Patty) send us this update…

“When I think of adjectives to describe Buttercup, the words that come to mind are clever, bright, loving,quick-witted and smart. She is also cute as a button, always cheerful and happy but overall I think her defining attribute is her intelligence, and secondly is her sweet disposition.

I've had dogs my whole life (well, not quite my whole life...I grew up in a family of nine children and my mom always said that if we got a dog we'd have to name it "Mother" because that's who it would replace :-) but as for the rest of my life with dogs, Buttercup is la crème de la crème.

We've been doing a little of everything with Buttercup; scent work, tracking, agility and obedience and going forward, who knows? We may add rally, barn hunt, dock diving and/or FAST Cat. She loves going to scent work classes with her brother Zeus. They are so excited to see each other every week that we have to arrange a romp through the hay field before class so they can concentrate.

It's been difficult for us not being able to go to shows. I think Buttercup would be ready to compete in scent work if there were any trials. (sigh!) She doesn't mind though, she's more than happy to play the "Find it!" game around the farm.

In a celebratory show for the wildflower birthday, the pasture is awash right now with buttercups and daisies. How perfect!

Here's to many more years with this little firecracker. She puts the wild in wildflower. Cheers!!”

I knew that Buttercup needed an extra enriched life and she sure has it — much gratitude to her Georgia and Patty for being exactly what Buttercup deserved.

It is so fun to see these young dogs — still puppies but big ones!

Have a wonderful day.

The First Birthday

Our Wildflowers are ONE!

Wildflowers at 20 days

What a year of puppies it has been. Lest anyone think that is normal for us, please consider the following:

• The litter prior to the Wildflowers was born in 2016.

• Between the Wildflowers, Bright Stars, and Moonshadows there are 29 puppies. In the 12+ years prior to the Year of Pandemic Puppies, we had a total of 24 puppies in just three litters.

Puppies are what we do occasionally, which is why we call them Limited Edition Puppies. The past year has been an aberration, prompted primarily by the pandemic.

Today we celebrate the first birthday of the first of three litters born during the strange year, grateful to them for their lives and the love they are spreading in a time when “community” is in short supply and sorely needed. The next few days will include updates from (hopefully — hint, hint) all of the Wildflowers.

We begin with Lucy Clover King…

Baby Lucy Clover King

Nearly one-year Lucy Clover King

Kevin writes:

“I can’t believe she’s only one, it feels like she’s been a part of our family forever. I stand by my statement (no offense to our prior Bernese Mountain Dog Aspen and multiple Black Labrador Retrievers that have been part of our family) that Lucy Clover King is the most intelligent dog that we have had the pleasure to raise. She is also quite possibly the sweetest, happiest and best dog we’ve had.

“She loves snow and can plow through it like crazy! This was on a hike near Grand Targhee, our local ski resort.”

We always joked with Aspen (our first Berner) that every day is “The Best Day Ever!” because every day starts out with so much excitement! Lucy does sleep in now, typically until the kids get up for school or 7:30, whichever is later. But once she’s up, it is all excitement for the brand new day!

“Sledding with the girls is a wonderful thing!”
”

With Covid, we have had a lot of solo, close to home adventures over the last year. She’s been on many hikes, walks along our canal (our lab Sadie taught her how to swim!), local camping trips and even accompanies me on my shorter runs.

“One of the many recent dress up sessions at our home! She is incredibly patient with the girls and loves the attention.”

She has been very kind to allow the girls to dress her up, she loves hugs, and she loves to play with other dogs. At last week’s weigh in, she was 81.2 pounds.”

Kevin goes on to share that Lucy is rarely alone and when she is, she happily hangs out in her x-pen. They sent a video of Lucy swimming and retrieving a stick — she definitely did not get that from her mom, Water Averse Daisy, but I know her dad, Major, is a great swimmer.

I have visited Lucy and her family recently and can attest that she is a wonderful girl living her best life with a terrific family. Thank you to the King Family for everything, including the update.

A Very Happy Birthday to the Wildflowers — and a Happy Day to all of us.