Pupdate

Not quite two months ago, Karen and I drove to Carr, Colorado to pick her new puppy, Eli.

He was ten pounds of baby cuteness.

Not anymore!

Mr. Eli is now a lanky, twenty six pound adolescent.

Still cute as can be.

The rest of the post is a wordless Wednesday style blast of Eli pictures, as well as some with his sisters, Chelsea and Tilly (and Luna, too!). Enjoy!

Hot diggity dog, part two

One year ago today, I wrote a post about a pair of PetsMart hot dog costumes.

I'd bought both of them in 2024. The plan was to use one of them on model Olive for the Halloween class at Candyland Live. Unfortunately, I lost the first one almost as soon as I got it home. I tore apart my studio looking for it, decided it was a lost cause, went back to the store, bought another, came home, found the first and then realized that neither one of them was going to work with that particular model.

Sometimes tack making is like that.

I stuck both hot dogs in a drawer, and there they stayed until 2025, when I decided I was going to finish one of them for myself and give the other away.

I cut the original, velcro straps off hot dog number one.

I let the random number generator choose the winner of the hot dog number two.

After that, nothing happened. And when I say nothing, I mean nothing. I made no further progress on my hot dog, and the winner of the other hot dog never contacted me to claim her prize. Eventually, they both ended up back in the drawer.

Sometimes blog giveaways are like that.

This month, I've been cleaning my studio, and in doing so, I found both those hotdogs. I signed when I saw them. Then I sighed again when this post come up in my memories today. Even though I wasn't feeling it, I knew what I needed to do.

It took two years, but this hot dog costume is finally done.

Technically, I guess, it still needs a halter.

But really, it's done.

Now I'm ready to deal with Dani's hot dog, too.

If she contacts me - braymere@comcast.net - within the next twenty four hours, I will ship it to her free of charge. Otherwise it's going in the next bag of stuff!

Not this year

There is a tree on the way to our trail that turns a deep, vibrant red for just a few days each October.  

Olive's ears, 2022

One of my favorite October traditions is to take pictures of...

Stealth's ears, 2021

and with that tree.

Jennifer on Stealth, Karen on Thunder, Mary Jo on Scarlett, 2021

I love the Red Tree...

Lucy, 2020

and I love these Red Tree pictures.

Olive, 2022

Last year, I adopted a four year old Mustang mare. 

May 2025

She was gentled, but had not been ridden. Accordingly, last year's Red Tree photos were unmounted.

"This is fine," I told myself. "Next year, we'll do it with me on her back."

That has been the goal for an entire year.

first sit, November 2025

We have worked slowly but steadily to make it happen.

June 2026

When we needed help, we got help.

August 2026

We are so close...

October 2026

but the leaves on that tree have already started turning...

and I know we're not quite there.

I have ridden Sage outside the ring...

and Rain has ridden her off the property.

She's walked by that tree a million times, but not with a person on her back.

I'm pretty sure I could get her there if I was really determined. 

I know Rain could.

Honestly, though, I don't think that would be pleasant for anyone.

We're close, but we're not quite there.

It's okay.

I know we'll get there - later rather than sooner - when the time is right.