A Fall Foster

At this point, the leaves have changed and mostly fallen. Our trees gave us some great color this year.Fall didn't mean an end to the menacing squirrels..But we were able to take in a foster for a few days. Even though, we probably won't take long term fosters for a while, those short timers are easier. Security Fence (not lying) came to us for a few days. Such a good girl! She is smaller than Cali and loves to give kisses.
Henry immediately took to her..and became quite the dirty old man.But she is super cute..I hope she does well in her new home.who says greyhounds don't sit..
While outside, she decided the little bit of water in this thing would be tasty. Check our her tongue all the way to the bottom.
I did manage to get down to the river one weekend. Nerice and I did our photo shoot for some friends of ours. It had rained so much, there weren't any rocks to hang out on..but it made for a decent backdrop.Ernest T enjoys the view.Madison didn't cooperate this well during the actual photo session!
And some random shots of my fur kids..
Shiloh
Dante enjoys the warm rays..for just a few seconds.
DanaCali goes for a romp..and seems to enjoy herself quite a bit.


and an update on the ankle injury..I did consult a MD friend who said it was either severely sprained or fractured..but the treatment was the same either way. so 2 weeks post falling off the killer curb...still wear a brace and hobble a bit...and it is still a zombie foot.
Happy Thanksgiving! We are heading to the 'farm' and will see how Henry takes to the mini horses!

Exactly what you would expect...

I had a work related conference in Denver, Colorado this past week. Since I had to be there 4 days, I thought I should take a friend! Jason was unable to go due to work, so guess who went with me!!
And..knowing the two of us..you can pretty much guess what we did.
Pretty much..I attend seminars, meetings and vendors in the mornings..reserving the afternoons/evenings for play/touring.
We arrive on Sunday..this was our view from our room!and before you ask..this was the most snow we saw while there..it was actually warmer/sunnier in Denver then Virginia.We make our way to the top floor bar the first night to enjoy a Colorado brew while enjoying the viewOn Monday afternoon, we head to Denver's 16th street mall. It was a little chainy but entertained us for the afternoon. Now..you probably can't see that Denver has 'killer curbs'.. don't feel badly b/c I couldn't see them either. This was taken about 1 minute after 'missing' the curb completely..the swelling didn't stop with the goose egg.
But I managed to hobble, literally, to the state capital building before going to Walgreens for ice bags and an ankle brace.that night, we went to the infamous Buckhorn Exchange. The bar was awesome and quite cozy considering all the wondering eyes. Kristen is actually perusing the menu..cleverly disguised as a newspaper!The state mascot watched over usAfter seated..this was my view to the front..and the rear..Keep with tradition of eating anything possible..we dined on Rocky Mountain Oysters, ostrich, yak, buffalo and quail. It was Monday night and to our surprise, Monday Night Football was being played in Denver between the Broncos and the Steelers..I had to take a photo of the stadium from our hotel room during the game.On Tuesday afternoon, we headed to see the stadium up close. So we conquered the light rail and rode to Mile High Stadium
I like this angle..Then we decided to dive in to the Denver culture and hit the multiple microbreweries in the city. We managed to hit Great Divide brewery, Breckenridge, Falling Rock and Wynkoop. I was able to snap a photo in Breckenridge..they had some good beer.Before bed on Tuesday..I took another photo of the ankle to show the progress. The brace and alleve were saviors. Had I not been in another city..I would have been on the couch with my foot up.On Wednesday, I 'play hooky' and we rent a car and head to Boulder, CO. I am very glad we did. Denver..well it is a city and really beyond the breweries had nothing other cities don't offer (with reduced oxygen). But Boulder..was a cool town. They had an outdoor street market too which had some really cool stores. Kristen was the navigator throughout the trip.Then..once it turned noon..we started with the breweries in Boulder. Which apparently has more microbreweries per capita then any other city in the US.
Mountain Sun Ales 'taster' tray.
Boulder brewing companies 'taster' tray..this about killed us.
and now.. you are probably thinking..WHAT?? No Wine?? Rest assured dinner included wine most nights and on Monday we visited a few wine tastings in stores..but really had no luck with wineries. And we are the first to admit we much prefer wine over beer...s0 on Wednesday on our way back from Boulder, we stopped at Balistreri Winery. It was great! This is more like it!

We bought a case. ;-}
On Thursday morning, we boarded the plane to head back to the wet and windy Virginia. it was good to see the kids!
I will leave you with my foot right now..It is Friday and I injured in on Monday. It feels kind of like it looks today..puffy and bruised.

October fears

October is known for involving scary times, bloody backdrops and creepy situations. We have had quite a bit of that lately!
First..the obvious..Halloween!!
In years past, Jason has used his artistic abilities to carve some mean pumpkins. This year was no different!
the process..the final results!And yes..one was a GREAT replica of my calf tattoo
So on Halloween, Scott and Iva came over to enjoy the festivities and scare the kids!
Jason ..being the bruteWe had a smoke machine and the kids had to come to jason to get candy. Which was made more difficult by Scott who hung out in the driveway..he greeted the kiddies in style..

Iva and I..well we did what we do best.
i stayed behind the camera..but looked very similar to year's past.

The bad scares of the month came with Henry. He went in for a dental and to have 2 growths removed. They told me what I thought were 'old dog bumps' and moles..were potentially Mast Cell Cancer. So they removed 6 tumors that day, the biopsy results will be back in 3 days. One of the offenders was removed from his gum above his canine. He also has Erlichia which we were aware of but the downfall of this is low platelets. so the 24 hours post surgery, I spent putting fingers in the dam so to speak. the first night, he bled profusely from his gum incision for 4 hours. I should have photographed the aftermath. You would not have believed the towels and dog bed. however..he and I pulled through with no problem. he is now feeling MUCH better and is healing. he doesn't look so good..Erlichia leads to serious bruising. You can see 3 incisions on this photo. One more is on the inside of his back leg, another at his butt and the 6th in his mouth. The bad thing is that if it comes back positive, they will need to remove many more. the only cure to stage 1 skin cancer is complete removal. We won't talk about Stages 2 and 3 until we get a diagnosis. I should know by Wednesday.Have no fear, he is on pain meds and getting lots of loving. He is back to his old self again, wagging his tail and begging for ear rubs.
I will update when I know more!

Fall picnic

Fall is finally here. The leaves are starting to changeAnd the weather is cool and crisp! When the sun is out, everyone gets out to enjoy it! Cali, Dana and Henry stop (briefly) for a rare trio photo!Even though most nights are spent sacked out on the couch..We did have a foster for a few days, Rosie. She is already in a potential forever home. she was a sweet girl
We finally were able to have our picnic this past Sunday. It was scheduled for the Spring .. which really should have been called the Rainy Season as it rained constantly. So after postponing it 3 times, we pushed it off to the Fall. And then we had to postpone it from last weekend. but finally..our patience was rewarded! You can check out GPA's blog for more photos.
Henry shows off his new collar from Houndstown in true style.We had a radar run, which was quite entertaining.
Cali posted the fastest time of the trio at 29mph
Henry came in 2nd with 28mphAnd most of you know 'at home Dana' aka "comfortable Dana"... the Dana in strange places is much different..her Eeyore comes out a bit. So she followed up by basically trotting down the course..turning around and running back to Daddy at 27mph.I have to thank nerice for this next photo. i was holding everyone while Jason took them to the start. So the squawker was tempting everyone waiting!We also had a membership meeting to elect the new board of directors (we welcomed Scott of Beau and Belle fame to the board), go over financial stuff and give a general end of year report. Well..my hounds found the whole thing rather boring (again..thanks to nerice..Cali is laying on my shoe).
I think Henry is a full fledged member..don't you?
Pumpkin and Halloween photos to come..Happy Halloween!!

Welcome to Virginia!

One week ago, this was my view..It was 80 degrees, blue sky..just wonderful convertible weather!
This weekend..winter arrived! 40 degrees, windy, rainy..just gross! so this is my view..I usually hate using the flash on my camera..I think I may have actually used it once since buying it 1 1/2 years ago. But last night..I couldn't resist using the flash to capture these grainy photos. Dante loves the fireplace.

But oddly, it is supposed to be 70 degrees again next weekend. For now..we are just trying to stay warm.

Farewell, Tamale

It is amazing how close we become using only words and photos. IHateToast was one of the first blogs I followed and quite the inspiration to many of us. Even though she is on the other side of the globe, I feel as if I know her and her hounds well. Even though she no longers blogs, we all still maintain that link just in case.
And her hounds Tamale and Omo. To get the news today of Tamale's passing was hard.
Even though I've never met her, she will be missed.
Katy..there are lots of hugs heading your way from the US and your greyhound family is weeping. Find another memorial at GBD and read about Tamale's wonderful retired life..

Happy dogs make Happy People

So I guess it isn't anything unusual for me to say we had a lot of dogs these past few weeks. it will actually be noteworthy when we only have our dogs (in about 1 hour we will be boarder/foster free for the first time in 3 months).
But we have enjoyed the pack and the weather lately has been great for outdoor playtime!
We had Hemi, Bella, Amy, Blue, Ana, Cali, Dana and Henry playing one afternoon. They seemed to really enjoy themselves!
Jason gets the party started by throwing the beehive.
Amy launches..
Everyone seems to be doing something different in this oneSomeone heard the starting pistol..And They're OFF!!Cali does her best impression of a tigerIf you are wondering how Henry is faring these days as a full fledged Stumpf clan member..I would say he is doing pretty good..His vaccines are up to date, he is on all his preventatives/vitamins and just seems like a happy boy to me!
We went to the Metro Space Gallery for First Friday's Arts on the Sidewalk event this weekend. The gallery was featuring an artist who owns/paints greyhounds. so they invited us to attend the event. It was crazy crowded and quite the Friday night scene. It was pretty neat all in all. Before the action got started, we were able to peruse the gallery offerings. Chuck and Sharon try to culture Twister and Cleo a little.But Twister is better suited for this attire.Henry and Dana make great donation dogs for a while..Henry found himself a soft bed to lie on for most of the evening. Notice Henry's new martingale courtesy of Houndstown.
Then we added Beau and Belle to our pack for the weekend. Belle found the chaise lounger and has not left it since! She is very photogenic!