PARTING -- SUCH SWEET SORROW . . .

Nellie seemed to know there was something different about the day. Maybe she knows Hallie never stays long, maybe she noticed the different dress, for sure she knows about suitcases and coats. Maybe she even caught the "g" word -- go -- which undoubtedly entered conversation now and then. And somehow she seemed to know this change would not involve her. So, when Hallie said, "Well, I'd better go," Nellie got off her pillow and laid on the floor, paws outstretched, head resting down between her legs.

"Oh -- is she sulking?" asked Hallie. "Yes, but she'll get over it," I replied.

So, Hallie and Nellie shared a tender good-bye before Hallie left for the airport. Then Nellie climbed back on her pillow to continue her nap.

But -- Nellie just doesn't know that Hallie will be back next week. KW

PRETEND HUNTING

"I know! Let's pretend we're hunting," said Nellie as we began our walk. "I'll be your hunting dog, and you be the hunter. It's okay that you don't have a gun. We're just pretending anyway."

"Okay," I agreed, "but you'll have to tell me what to do."

"Don't I always?" she retorted.

Down the lane we went, Nellie quite a bit ahead of me. She checked for apples under the old apple trees, then hurried on her way, stopping once or twice to make sure I was coming along. When I finally caught up to her, she was on point at the Plank homestead. The house was torn down long ago, but the driveway, the big tree, the rose and lilac bushes clearly identify the site. Nellie has been standing on point for some minutes, waiting for me. She didn't move a muscle but rolled her eyes in my direction. "I've been waiting for you," she said quietly, barely above a whisper. "Come up by me." I complied.

As I cautiously approached her, Nellie suddenly moved into the bushes and began to sniff around. Round and round the bushes she went but nothing flushed. "This can't be," she muttered to herself. "I know I smelled something in here." Ignoring me, she dropped to her haunches and moved along the ground, sniffing fervently. "It just has to be here," she muttered again. Dropping closer to the ground, she crept along, nose to the ground, sniffing all the while she moved up the driveway.

Suddenly a lone hun (Hungarian partridge) got up and flew off. Nellie ran off after it, as if that would do any good. Mike would call her back, but today Nellie is "calling the shots."

We finished our "pretend hunt" without any other clear finds, but Nellie kept looking.

The barn is always a good place to hunt.

And that's the way it goes with the fall walks -- if you're Nellie and Kathy. KW

PRACTICE POINTS

Today was the opening of chukar season -- apparently all birds except pheasants. Mike and Ken took Nellie and Duke and left at 5:00 this morning for one of their favorite "by permission" hunting grounds. They were home about 11:00. Mike and Nellie had one small bird. Ken and Duke had none. There are ominous reports that the bird population is way down this year, but Mike and Ken will get the dogs out for some hunts anyway.

I think Nellie can tell by the change in the weather (and perhaps other signs known only to her) that hunting season is coming. These photos of her on practice point were taken at the farm last Sunday (9-13) morning above "Stove Creek," a draw that runs through the homestead. I was there to throw some clay pigeons for Mike and had the camera in my pocket. Nellie was a beauty to behold as she held that point, but frankly we didn't take her seriously -- although you can tell she is totally serious. Sure enough! A beautiful covey of huns got up and flew to the southeast. I was so surprised I failed to take a picture -- just stood there watching them fly away. Some hunter I would make!

We've been in town since last Monday evening. Town time has included a P.E.O. meeting for which I baked three batches of quick breads -- choclate zucchini, zucchini pear, and green tomato spice; setting up the Bernina and continuing to study about machine embroidery; and of course, shopping. KW

HOORAY FOR NELLIE!!!

This is Nellie's sixth birthday. She woke up happy and frisky and enjoyed her day. We came back to the farm this morning, and after lunch she caught a mouse in the yard. Hooray for Nellie!

Here's a picture of Nellie and Duke lying in the grove last week. Duke rather likes Nellie, but Nellie doesn't have much tolerance for Duke, so when I saw them side by side in the yard, it seemed like a perfect moment. "I'd like to get a picture of them," I told Mike, "but I'm afraid if I go out the back door they'll move."

"Go out the front door then and use the telephoto lens," Mike advised. So, I crept out the front door and got the picture from the porch. Since I had that picture, I opened the back door and took another. Since that worked, I crept closer to them, and they let me take another. My regret is that I didn't try to get a lot closer.

Here's another photo of Nellie that I took this evening as she watched for Mike to come back from his bike ride. KW

A DOG-GONE SHAME

An excited Grandpa Mike was up at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday (7-7) and ready to head for Spokane to pick up Jack. We were just loading up to head out about 7:30 when the phone rang. It was Jack's dad, Yancey. "I'm just putting Jack on the plane now. I just wanted to be sure you'll be there. You should be there early to get checked in." Hmmmm, I think to myself. He doesn't trust us.

Well, it didn't go like clockwork. We were at the airport in plenty of time, but I witnessed for myself that signage at the airport wasn't what it should have been. For instance, our paperwork said that Jack would arrive on a Frontier flight, but not a single Frontier flight was listed amongst the arrivals. The 10:43 flight from Denver was a United flight. We picked up his luggage at a gate marked "Horizon -- Seattle."

Nellie was a bit reserved toward us when we arrived home, unaccustomed as she is to spending daytime hours in her kennel. But she was excited this morning. She gave Jack a "good morning" hug. Something was afoot, she could tell, and she was just sure it would include her.

Ken was here to pick up Mike and Jack for the trip up the Snake to hike and geocache near Rogersburg. I watched as Jack and Ken put Nell in the back of the 4-Runner. I looked out again and saw Jack in the backseat and Mike and Ken discussing a map. Then I heard them leave. So, I sat down to enjoy the quietude of the house for a while before heading over to town.

About 10 minutes passed, I think. Then -- "Clickitty clickitty clickitty clickitty . . . . . . " -- that sounds like Nellie running up to the back door. That IS Nellie at the back door. Poor thing! Somehow she managed to get left behind. Now I have people heading off for an adventure who don't even know they are missing a dog, and a dog who knows she has been left behind. At first I was kind of upset, but then I realized it was just an ordinary day at home with the dog, albeit a pouting dog. I decided not to worry about it. I went shopping. KW

SPOILED!!!

Whaddya mean get down?
I was here first!

SOMETHING IN THE GRASS

I took these pictures of Nellie yesterday while we were on our walk. Usually she doesn't hold still for the process and the picture is a miss. But she discovered a bird's nest in this old fence post and was mesmerized by it.

Our overnight rest didn't go so well. Sometimes it doesn't you know, for whatever reason. I woke up at 4:10 with a vague memory of Mike having left the room, but I couldn't say if two minutes or two hours had passed. And then I realized I was hearing something – a rustling sound like when you unfold one of those flimsy plastic drop cloths. I came to the conclusion that something (remember last week's brown animal in the field?) was rustling around in the tall grass bordering the field to the north of the house. And it crossed my mind that Nellie was on the front porch instead of in her house as we retired for the night. And suddenly I was wide awake and worried. As I descended the stairs, I met Mike coming back to bed after an hour at the computer, and together we went outside. Nellie came out of the woodshed to greet us, and she, too, became aware of the something in the grass.

"Bark!" said Nellie. And she purposely crossed the yard and disappeared into the tall grass. But Mike and I began to think of porcupines and skunks (though we've never smelled a skunk here), and Mike called her back. Whatever it was, apparently Nellie's interference caused it to move on – at least temporarily.

Needless to say, we were up and around fairly early. We had intended to stay the morning at the farm but it commenced to rain, so we loaded up and headed back to the valley.

PERPETUAL FEEDING

Nellie is a sporadic eater. We usually give her a cup of chow in the morning and then two to three cups supper. Regardless, she likes to have some food in her dish most of the time, so we thought she was a good candidate for a perpetual feeder. A couple of months ago we bought one for her. Measuring her food into the tank, we counted enough food for about ten days. It seemed to work well initially, but as time went on, we noticed she was eating more often and the food in the tank was lasting barely a week. Naturally, she was also gaining weight. We had lost the ability to gauge her food and control her eating, so we returned to the old-fashioned dish method.

Nellie had a "procedure" last Tuesday. Last year the vet told Mike that for Nellie's health he should either breed her or have her spayed, so we thought hard about breeding her. She's a good pet as well as a decent hunter. You naturally want to perpetuate good traits. But, if all goes as expected, it's too soon to be thinking about our next dog and selling pups in this economy might be difficult. Also, we aren't dog breeders, aren't equipped for it, and we live in two places. So, we had Nellie spayed. This picture was taken Thursday when she was still convalescing. She's feeling her old self today, thank you.