It's August!

"Fairest of the months! Ripe summer's queen,
The hey-day of the year.
With robes that gleam with sunny sheen
Sweet August doth appear."
                                ~ R. Combe Miller


In my haste to write the previous blog, it seems I forgot some July information. That's okay; it gives me something to write about this month!

You might recall that the first weekend in July, I went to a show in WI. While I was away, there was some excitement in our part of town. We live only a few blocks from Western Illinois University and just a couple blocks "as the crow flies" from Higgins Hall, a high-rise residence hall. In the spring we learned that a decision had been made to demolish Higgins Hall because to remodel it to bring it up to safety standards would cost too much money. The building was to be imploded on July 1 at 9:00 AM. Those of us whose homes were in the "exclusion zone" were expected to shut down and cover all air conditioners and vents (unless we wanted a bunch of dust in our equipment and homes) and to either vacate our homes or stay inside during the implosion. So while I was at the dog show, my husband took care of covering things up and shutting things down, then off he went with his camera to watch the implosion. Here are pictures he took during the five seconds it took to bring down the high rise.

What is left of the building is a pile of rubble that large machines are slowly taking away. The area where the building once stood will become a green space on campus. The deer that already enjoy grazing all over campus will have even more room to roam once the mess is cleared away.

In the last post, I mentioned that Josh took Best Opposite Sex at the Saturday show in West Bend, WI on July 1. Here is the photo that arrived courtesy of the Greater Milwaukee Lhasa Apso Club.

GCh Ch Joyslyn MLS Dakota Wind Breaker

Unbeknownst to me, that win earned Josh enough points to finish his Grand Champion Bronze level. I was pleasantly surprised when a certificate and medallion from AKC arrived in the mail last week because I had not been tracking his points toward the Bronze status.

I also forgot to mention Ch. Mon Ami 'N Joyslyn's Shades of Summer (Misty) co-bred and co-owned by LaVonne Bennett and me earned her Grand Championship at the Burlington Kennel Club show on July 23rd. I don't have a copy yet of the photo taken that day.

Speaking of photos, it is our tradition to take "official portraits" of our dogs when they become champions. We have show photos but I like to get pictures that show close up of faces and expressions. Those of you who have been to our home have seen the gallery on the wall as you walked downstairs.

Greta finished her championship at the end of March, and when she came back home in mid-April, I mentioned to Lynn that we needed to get her photo taken. Then, every time I groomed her, I said, "We need to take your picture, Greta." So, we finally arranged her photo session. Here is the result.

Ch. Joyslyn's No Regrets

Barb sent a Facebook message about her Sadie: ""…Sadie is great and yes she is still a little stinker we call her "p and v" for piss and vinegar. She is very attached to me she won't let me leave the house or the backyard.she has gone as far as biting me to hold on to me. I really don't know how to get her to stop. I do the leave it and and the spray bottle with water but I never have it at the right time. I think I need one in a holster. She also likes to steal toys, bones, shoes from her brother and sister and me! Then she hides them somewhere. It's funny our cavalier maya follows her as she's hiding something then just as Sadie thinks she found the perfect place she sees Maya and has to find a new place. Her health is great. She won't let me trim her nails. We love her dearly."

Sadie

I also received a photo from Lynn showing how Amie celebrated her birthday. Amie and Sadie are litter sisters.

The Wait is Over!

I know many of you have been waiting to see photos of the puppies now that they are older, so here you go. As frequent readers of this blog know, at some point I give the puppies names so we can distinguish one from another. That has not happened yet.

The first three photos are of the litter born July 16. The sire is Josh. The dam is Shadow. The puppies are a day shy of being 3 weeks old.

Two males, both will be some shade of cream/gold eventually

Black male with white markings

Two black females

The next set of photos are of the litter born July 25. The sire is Rafe. The dam is Kimmi. The puppies are 10 days old in the photos.

Two females (yes, one of them is a chubby girl!)

Two males

 A male

 I hope to post pictures weekly or at least every 10 days as the puppies grow.

I hope you have enjoyed the photos and that you are enjoying this month of August, a favorite month of mine since it is my birthday month. 

Life is Better When You Have A Lhasa to Love You!

 

Joyce