Summertime

Summer is a busy time for Mike and me as we own and operate a small organic produce operation and I head to Farmer's Markets every couple of days to sell the produce plus my homemade breads and baked goods.  Mike grows a wide variety of produce and we enjoy providing healthy, organic foods to families in our area.  Of course, we get to eat it daily ourselves, too!

Countless hours go into the produce: prepping, planting, watering, weeding, and picking. The growing season starts early here in Kansas with potatoes and onions.  This is one of the early season gardens just getting planted on March 7th.

                   

Strawberries in May/June are our biggest crop.  They are a sweet reward for all of the hard work it takes to keep the plants productive and to get the berries out to families fast and fresh.

This year a good quantity of our berries were purchased by a microbrewery, Kansas Territory Brewing Co., in Washington, KS.   They were pleased to find our locally grown, organic fruit and used the berries to make an outstanding strawberry-rhubarb beer .   We imbibed in some of the end product - quality control and being friendly, you know - and these folks make great beer.  Delicious!

At the end of June the puppies from Dixie's litter all went to their hunting-companion homes. It is always such a pleasure to see the care and enthusiasm of the new owners and I love the many photos and notes I get on their progress afterward.  Many of these pups go on to travel and have adventurous lives that many people can only wish for.

  







During July Mike and I had the rare treat of taking off for a few days together and we headed to northern Minnesota with the dogs and the OR in tow.  We enjoyed the cool temps and scenery but especially the opportunity to run the dogs in the shaded coolness of the grouse woods.   They loved ending the runs in beautiful lakes.  We made new acquaintances who live up that way and I'm thinking that we will be back again for sure.

For now it is back to work with the produce and baking.  But we are counting down the weeks until the day in September when we load everyone up and head to Montana.  That's the real payoff for us.

Cheers

Lynn Dee

Dixie x Heath puppies: 8 weeks

This will be the last photo update for this litter because next weekend they will all be joining their families!  These puppies are all headed to companion-hunting homes, mostly grouse hunting in the Great Lakes, New England, Pennsylvania and the Appalachian Mountains.  As much as I enjoy puppies and their antics, I have to say that the most rewarding aspect of breeding for me is when I receive field reports and photos of the pups/dogs making their owners happy.  Proud photos and stories of them on point or tailgate shots with well earned birds always bring a smile to my face and encourages me to begin planning the next litter.

Folks seem to love seeing photos of the puppies as they grow and it is a great way for families who live far away to follow their growth.  I try hard to get photos that show each puppy as I see them every day but I have to tell you that it isn't easy!  I am not a photographer and I'm afraid that my photos simply do not accurately convey how cute the pups really are.  I try to capture cute poses like this:

But I'm afraid the the majority of shots end up more like this:

Enjoy a potpourri of photos of the pups from this morning and thanks for looking!

Dixie x Heath puppies 7 weeks

The gang is really rockin' and rollin' now.  It is so much fun to watch them romping and playing.  In just 2 more weeks and our home will be mighty empty without these guys!

They did not have their color collars on for the romp during which I snapped these photos so I have titled each one.  Can you recognize your favorites?