Progress

All our free time lately has been going into working on the new house to bring it up to a livable state. Fortunately, the fence is secure and I've been able to bring Cyrus and Mya with me pretty much everytime I go out there to work (Emily loves to have the house to herself...it's nice to nap without the smaller/younger dogs bouncing around all over the place). Most of the painting is done, which makes the place look 100% better right away. Dad's laid the tile in one of the spare bedrooms and is almost done with the tile in the master. In the above picture, Cyrus is supervising our work. He's also contemplating the camoflage opportunities presented by our color choice.

This week, of course, we have mostly been concentrating on the new house. We have most of the interior painted and are well on the way to starting the tile (that will be tomorrow). Of course, I'm trying to shoe-horn in some time to work with Cyrus, who has his debut show in Lompoc at the end of July. Hopefully, we will be in the new house by then. Luckily, he looks just as cute there as anywhere else. As you can see.

Housework just wears those dogs out...

Although, you can see Mya is too dedicated to take her eyes off of Mom, even when she's resting. I think she would rule in agility. Even if she never gets the chance, she is a wonderful dog.

Cyrus earns his keep by helping us dig trenches. Just in case we wanted to lay PVC for sprinklers right here, diagonally across the yard... He makes a perfectly straight trench, about three inches wide. Just wide enough to fit his nose in it. Or a sprinkler line.

New House, New Pictures, New etc.

The new house is an exciting and inspiring thing. Not just to us, but also to our dogs. With Mya's help, Cyrus was willing to settle down and ride sensibly in the car for the very first time, on the way to work at the house. (Working done by me...cuteness and running around was handled by the dogs.)

Cyrus surveys the backyard and is unimpressed. "Hey, where's the grass and stuff?"

I had my first hint of my future wildflower garden when we first looked at the house, thanks to an adventurous California poppy growing in the desert of the front yard. Now I see that I am well on my way to the wildlife garden I had hoped for...sorry for the poor quality shot from my camera phone. However, if you look closely and heed the enlarged corner, you will spot the Swallowtail butterfly, alighting briefly on the gravel.

Just for fun, this is a slightly younger Cyrus, exploring the bathtub at our current house. I love it that he's not hydrophobic.

Finally, what could be better about a new house than chasing Mya? With no furniture, she has nowhere to hide. Also, the empty house has a lovely echo which transforms play growls into the Voice of the Hell Hound! Exciting stuff. Almost as exciting as whatever sounds keep coming through that open window...

Random Images

Cyrus has finally been getting into the car by himself. Well, twice. He doesn't really like the car, and even now he's not willing to get into it every time by himself. We still have to lift him up and put him in. Even so, the last time I took him to visit Jim and Linda, he rode in the passenger seat by himself (as opposed to draped over my lap) and didn't fuss or mess. Progress. He's the first dog I've ever had who didn't like the car. Mya, as you see below, loves the car.

I think someone is either coursing rabbits or running Jumpers and Weaves in his sleep...

This is my first official wildflower at our new house. It was growing all by itself in the desolation that is the front yard after more than a month of no watering. Way to go, poppy! Soon your brethren will surround you.

Bonus video 1: Cyrus and Mya playing a few weeks ago. If you notice, he is actually quite gentle with her. Toward the end, she spots me taping them, and Cyrus flips her ear with his nose to get her going again. Too cute.

Bonus video 2: These are grizzlies my grandma and I saw in Alaska September of last year. Too cool! It's a bit jumpy because I was filming in 8x zoom from a school bus.