"Cheer up"

"Cheer up!" Mother said "Things could be worse". So I cheered up. Sure enough, mom was right. Things got worse. Today was a very dark day on the farm. Let me recount the day.
I was up very early in order to be at church by 6:30 (I was on the audio team today). As usual I let the dogs out to bark at the garage door as I was putting it up. Once the door was up, I called the dogs back in. Morgan came running and I let her back in. I called Eli two or three more times. Since he didn't come back through the garage I supposed he went out into the yard so I got into my truck and started it up. As I was pulling out of the garage I felt a bump and heard Eli yelp. I knew right then we were having a bad day. He got up and ran back into the garage and hid behind the car so I figured I must have run over a foot or something. Sensing that I was going to be late I went in to get Julie to take a look at him. We moved the car and Eli got up and followed Julie back inside. I figured that was a good sign so i took off for church. Well, Julie noticed that Eli didn't seem to be doing vey well, so she enlisted the help of my mom and dad to get him in to the Vet. After checking him out the vet told Julie that Eli was more banged up than we first believed and should be taken to Columbus for further evaluation/treatment. So Julie called me at church and I made a flying run home to pick her up and then another flying run to the vet to get Eli. We were part way to Columbus when Eli succumbed to his injuries in the back seat of the truck with his head on "moms" leg. We take solace in the fact that he did not have to endure prolonged suffering and that now he is free to run and play in a far better place than the here on the farm. We were privileged to have Eli with us for about three years and I can truly say I've never known a dog who was better at expressing his personality. We will always remember his "cheesy grin" and laugh. He brought us much happiness and we will miss him terribly.


Check back soon (and often)
Dave and (the extremely sorrowful Princess) Julie

How Now Brown Cow?

The title has no real significance to today's blog. I just wanted to say something silly that might catch someone's attention who might otherwisw overlook it. I should be reading for class, but I thought I'd procrastinate by blogging. Today was a very trying day at work. I managed to get "chewed out" by two different doctors in two different practices. Neither of them were really nasty, but they are both mature gentlemen who really know how to make you feel seven years old and caught with hand in cookie jar. Oh well, tomorrow is another day. At least the weather here was beautiful today. This evening I put a leash on Morgan and she took me for a drag around the perimeter of the property. I wonder who is training whom. After the "walk" Morgan, Eli and I played fetch. I suspect we'll be doing a lot of that as the weather continues to get nicer. It was a real treat to sit out on the patio and listen to BIRDS! I actually heard some robins along with finches and sparrows. They are true harbingers of Spring. This past Winter was particularly long and brutal in a lot of ways. I'm glad it's just about over. Well, I think I'll head in to do some reading. Just so we all remember why we're so happy Spring is coming, I'll provide a reminder:

Check back soon (and often)
Dave (and the MIA Princess) Julie

New Life

We spent a good portion of today working outside. It certainly feels good to get back out in the sun. Andrew and I started trimming apple trees. Miriam’s friend Jacob came over and was helping Andrew while I headed out into the vineyard. I think I have most of the winter pruning done now. I'm really pleased that life is coming back.
This week has been very busy (as most are around here). Early this week I found that my love of food has finally caught up with me. According to (one of m many) physician(s), I am now borderline diabetic. So I need to loose weight and start exercising NOW (according to him). The Princess had a few physicians’ appointments this week too. Now we find that we both have new dietary requirements. I guess I'm going to have to start paying a whole lot more attention to that soon. I survived a German midterm and wrote my portion of a paper for our Business Ethics group project. I'll be SOOOO happy when this semester is over.


Saturday we welcomed a new addition to the family. Her name is Morgan and she's 5 years old. She's a chocolate Lab with a WHLOE LOT of energy. We are all working to get used to each other. Morgan was a (primarily) indoor dog before. She's having to make the adjustment to living (primarily) outdoors and getting along with Eli. Yesterday she met Tigg'r the Tabby Tomcat. She's never seen a cat before. It did not go well. Hopefully they'll get along in the future.
The upcoming week promises to hold many exciting possibilities too. Tuesday I'm headed back to the eye surgeon to see how things are "progressing". Since my last procedure on my left eye I've now started noticing distorted "spots" (due to histo) in my right eye as well. Hopefully they won't "bloom" very quickly and I'll have enough time to finish my BA while I can still get around independently.
Well, I'm going back outside to see what kind of trouble I can get into out there. Hopefully now that life seems to be returning to the farm I'll actually spend more time blogging. Until then.....

Check back soon (and often),
Dave and (the incredible shrinking Princess) Julie