Willow & Zed’s Exhausting Day of Play
Zed and Willow are relaxing this afternoon after a day long inside play session. We are still with snow and waiting very patiently to get outside and have some fun!
April 2019
May 2018
Willow’s Leroy Cup!
Willow’s First Leroy Cup!
The Harbor Centre Marina revealed a new delicacy in the form of an ice cream cone with a dog biscuit as a garnish and it has been a huge hit with many of the marina residents of the four-legged sort… It’s named after an iconic Samoyed mix-breed named Leroy who has been a local resident at the marina for many years. His boat is located a few down from ours and we see him every day as we walk back and forth to the mainland. Willow adores him and even more so now that she can enjoy his namesake dessert!
This family LOVES ice cream!
The sign outside the marina advertising the Leroy cups
Leroy, the friendly Samoyed, guards the dock.
Willow walks by Leroy all the time and expects to see him every day! He lives at the marina too!
Willow’s First Marina Weekend (and her first day of school!)
Spent the weekend in the miserable cold getting the boat ready for the season. It was COLD! WINDY! and COLD!!! We had temps dip down in to the low 40s. Willow had a great weekend and learned that being inside the boat is much nicer than being outside and there was no swimming in the pool for the adults. She did well despite not having the boarding stairs up for the weekend. We had to lift her up and down the side of the boat on the boarding ladder. It worked fairly well since we have her in a very sturdy harness. We can practically lift her up by the harness and lower her down to the the dock, despite her 27 pounds already at only 12 weeks of age. Finally, today was her first day of “school”. She is currently spending the day at doggy daycare and her parents were a little teary-eyed after they dropped her off. Willow looked to be very happy to be there despite her parent’s concerns….
Willow’s first day at the marina!
Getting some work done at the galley table..
The long walk down the dock to the boat….
Willow meets some new human friends and gets to go on a cart ride!
After a rough night in the crate, she wakes us up at 4:30 AM to sleep in the “people bed” and gets very comfortable…. Too comfortable!
Her first day of “school”!
April 2018
Willow’s First Road Trip
Yesterday, Willow and I took a brief trip to Platteville, Wisconsin to see Lukas play in the University jazz band. He is the pianist for the band and this was my first opportunity to see him finally show off his talent. Since Willow had nothing better to do that evening, she asked if she could join me for the trip. It was a four hour drive to Platteville from Steinthal thanks to the Madison rush-hour traffic, but we were able to get there in time to see the concert which started at 7:30 PM.
Luke’s friends watched Willow for the 2 hour concert and I was blown away by the talent I heard! It was certainly worth the trip, even though my stay had to be brief. The drive home was only three hours, but we didn’t get home until 12:30 this morning. Needless to say, Willow and I are a little tired.Luckily my work starts from 3 PM to 11 PM so I have a little time to get caught up on sleep. Regardless, she did fantastic on the trip and we were even able to stop over in Madison and get a few more pet supplies while in route.
Below you can listen to the entire unedited concert I recorded.
Willow is ready to go! Took about 10 minutes for her to realize I was not going to let her sit in my lap the entire trip..
This is what I looked at most of the time during the drive..
Luke meeting Willow for the first time on campus.
Luke’s friends were VERY gracious to watch her during the concert!
A quick shot I took after the end of the concert! It was truly FANTASTIC! Luke is on the far left..
Willow and the Dreaded 334 Pound Batteries
Today, Willow and I spent our afternoon fixing a few items in the tower shed. After a long winter storm and no sunlight for days, the batteries providing electricity to the internet media converters and the amateur radio repeater died. Originally I figured all I needed to do was power off the load and wait for the solar panels to provide charging current to the batteries and then in about a week I could go back, restart the converters and repeater and everything would work fine. Unfortunately, there was one small factoid that I neglected to understand. The charge converter (the piece that converts the solar energy into electrical energy) does not get it’s power from the solar panels so it won’t run at all on it’s own. Instead, it requires a small amount of current to be provided by the batteries which in my case were dead. I have two 12-volt batteries that are hooked in series powering a 24 volt system. So all I needed to do was to charge the batteries with the battery charger I have in the garage. Unfortunately, each battery weighs a whopping 167 pounds and it’s not easy moving them on your own (even with an 8 week old Great Dane puppy along for the help). Willow and I finally managed to unhook the batteries and load them onto the lawn mower and haul them back to the residence where we can charge them overnight. I plan to reinstall everything on Thursday morning before heading out to see my son Luke’s jazz band concert in Platteville, Wisconsin.
Willow, in the driver’s seat of the mower that was used to haul 334 pounds of batteries back to the residence for a fresh charge in the garage. She was quite proud of herself, as you can probably tell..
Willow, relaxing her aching back in the sweet sun after a hard days work…
New Explorations and a Vet Visit Too!
Willow enjoying the “people bed” after spending her first night in the crate
Day two with Willow went VERY well, if you don’t count the two hours of howling in the middle of the night while in her crate. Her first overnight with us was much better than the second. Ultimately she survived without incident and was ecstatic to be out this morning and back in the “people bed.” Yesterday she was able to explore more of the property and residence and even went for a stroll through the woods with Dan. She loves the snow and really seems to have a fondness for dirt!
Spent much of her waking moments with the kids outside and has been a lot of fun to watch her experience so many things for the first time. She is already ringing a bell to be let outside (which I personally find amazing) and has done very well with her potty training.
Today was her first vet visit for a check up and vaccinations. She received her bordetella pertussis (kennel cough) vaccine as well as Lyme’s disease vaccine and the vet gave her all passing grades! They loved her markings and she even decided to introduce herself to the residence vet cats who were completely disinterested with her… As I write this, she is napping and I am feeling as though I could do the same…..
The outdoors is an amazing place!
She especially likes what little snow we still have on the ground!
Getting ready to go see the vet!
The board on the wall at the vet welcoming all the lucky patients of the day!
Awaiting the arrival of Dr. Anderson.
At home after the vet and discovering muddy paw prints for the first time. She preferred licking them more than admiring them for their visual uniqueness..
First Night a Success!
Willow was perfect last night in her crate. She slept through the night until 530 this morning, went outside and decided to hang out in the people bed for her morning nap.
Willow Is Home!
Natalie and Willow during the drive home.
Willow finally came home today! We woke up early this morning and prepared for the two hour drive to Lake Mills, Wisconsin where she was waiting for us. The kids were completely surprised as we kept this a secret from them for many months! It was a great drive home after a quick stop at a pet store for some last minute supplies! The rest of the day has been spent playing outside, exploring her new home and watching the Air Buddies movie with the kids. The hardest part of the day was trying to figure out how to put together the kennel which came complete without instructions. Only a few fingers were pinched and one was cut, but the two adults we were able to get it together after 30 minutes without getting too irritated with each other. Next time, we will have it up in 5 minutes or less! Tonight we are hoping to have a quiet night, but not completely sure what to expect. Regardless, we are embracing this time and looking forward to share many future stories about her life with us!
February 2018
Great Dane Puppies are Born!
We received news from Full House Danes that 9 puppies were born over the weekend! Six male and three female. Of the three females, only two were merle. We will have first pick of one of the merle (grey with black spots) females.
It has been years since I have had a dog in the house. The last one was our cherished Mastiff named Chelsea. She was a part of the family from start to finish. I have always been a fan of the larger breeds and have had a long time dream of owning a Great Dane. That dream is finally being realized. Plus we need to have a place on our ABOUT US page where the guard dog goes…
I find the color options and genetics of coat color fascinating and have spent a lot of time researching. There are 6 colors recognized by the AKC (black, blue, fawn, brindle, harlequin and mantle). While merle is not recognized by the AKC, these puppies can still be registered, just not shown in competition. I’ll spare you the details, but suffice it to say, there are several colors that shouldn’t be bred due to the high chance of having puppies with blindness, deafness or both. This puppy will be a pet only. No shows at The Westminster Dog Show for us.
The puppies will be available for adoption during the end of April so we are now starting to plan the house and get all the necessary “big breed” supplies.
Here are a few pictures provided by Full House Danes. You can click on the link to see all the puppies that they have. Go ahead and add one to your home!
Mohave, one of the two merle puppies. This will become our Willow in the end..
McKinley, the other merle female. We will have a difficult decision to make….
Mother, Eden, looking exhausted and proud
UPDATE: One week old!!!