Monday, May 28, 2012

Finish Line

May 26, 2012
Lavonia, GA

Tessa and I spent two days showing our North Carolina friends around Franklin and Clarke Counties. We met up in Lavonia, GA, and after exploring the town we proceeded to the abandoned Lavonia Speedway. It was a very hot day with a heat index in the upper 90's,  so Tessa spent most of the time tethered to a post in the shade, but I let her run some on the race track, which she always enjoys. I think she senses its speed. 

The Bold And The Old

May 26, 2012
Lavonia, GA

Cat Watch

May 25, 2012
[at home]

Tessa, don't you know that ears folded back is the doggy version of hair curlers? Just pray that the cat didn't see that!

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

The Mimosa

May 23, 2012
Athens, GA


Seize The Sunday

May 20, 2012
Sandy Creek Park, GA

Doing what she does.

Training Day

 May 19, 2012
Jersey, GA

Today's training day with the folks from NAVHDA was not well attended, due to the Vizsla Club's fun day in Milner, which drew away half of our group. Tessa and I almost went to Milner to mingle with the red dogs, but it's a long drive and I didn't feel like spending half the day driving, so we went to good old Jersey instead.

We focused on obedience and some backing, but it was mostly water "work" today, as it got quite hot around noon. 

Lift-off.


Tessa and Smoke returning to shore. Smoke tried to beat her to the bumper and although he had a late start, he almost did. 

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Rainy Day In Georgia

May 13, 2012
Sandy Creek Park, GA

Mother's Day, and it is a grey one with a steady rain falling all day long. As much as I adore the sunshine, I didn't mind the rain today, because the land needs it and I need it too. It gives me a chance to catch up on sleep, reading and this blog. 

Of course, with a German Shorthaired Pointer, rain is never an excuse to skip the morning walk, much less the weekend outing to the park. After an hour of chasing tennis balls - me balancing the umbrella and the Chuck-It - we took a little talk through the woods down to the fishing dock. To be surrounded by water and rained on at the same time,  must have felt like heaven to Tessa. It certainly didn't bother her. 

Up On The Roof

May 9, 2012
Athens, GA

In the viewfinder of the Carlton Street parking deck.

Eye To Eye

May 6, 2012 
Sandy Creek Park, GA

Prime Time

May 1, 2012
[at home]

The nightly view from my laptop. 

On Assignment

 April 28, 2012
Jersey, GA

Back at the plantation for the second time in one week, for an extensive photo shoot of Bart, my friend's Vizsla. Tessa got to run a little and swim some but for a change, today was not about her, and she spent most of the time watching from the sidelines.

Spring In The Air

April 24, 2012
Sandy Creek Park, GA

Beautiful evening hour at the park. I don't understand why NOBODY came out today - all three dog parks were available. It was the first cooler day in a while, and probably the last cooler day in a very long while. 

Don't Be Afraid To Stop And Smell The Flowers

 April 22, 2012
Athens, GA

The magnolia trees are releasing their flowers, a sure sign of spring into summer! There are many magnolia trees on campus, and Tessa has walked past hundreds, but for some reason, this little yet-to-unfold flower spooked her. She danced and pranced around it from a safe distance, and it took her about 15 minutes to work up enough courage to approach it. Here she is cautiously examining it. I really want to know what goes on in her mind sometimes!


Duck Drag

April 22, 2012
Sandy Creek Park, GA

I guess the fact that we went to a NAVHDA training day without doing much did kind of gnaw on me, so we did a little (fake) duck drag at the park today. It went well.

Training Day, Minus The Training

 April 21, 2012
Jersey, GA

Today was the second training day of the 2012 NAVHDA season, and I must admit, we didn't do much this time. We practiced some backing, following Smoke in the field, before we proceeded to various ponds where Tessa swam and I relaxed with my friends - we had a lot of catching up to do. Next time, back to work.

Tessa on the loose teasing GG and Tip who are tied up.

My Shadow

April 18, 2012
[at home]

Tessa was especially clingy today. This is what followed me around all day.

Bringing It Home

April 15, 2012
Sandy Creek Park, GA

Keeping up the bumper training. She used to only paw at it, not wanting to pick it up, but Pacesetter Kennel worked with her during boarding and got her to pick it up and retrieve it, and to hold it in her mouth if asked to do so. I am delighted to see that she retrieves it now with much enthusiasm, even if the cord draped over her nose creates a fashion faux-pas.

Home Is Where The Fun Is

April 14, 2012
Sandy Creek Park, GA

Back in our routine after five days on the road. I miss the ocean, but Tessa doesn't really care where she is, because she can find fun anywhere especially in the great outdoors where she can bounce around at her heart's content.

Home Stretch

April 11, 2012
Augusta, GA

Almost home - we had left Charleston at 8 a.m. this morning, and arrive in Augusta, GA at around 3 p.m. With two more hours to go, we decide to take a little stroll along the canal that looks so inviting. 

Beam Me Up, Jody!

April 11, 2012
Bowman, SC

Tessa is posing in front of the UFO Welcome Center, built in 1994 by Jody Pendarvis. It's made of wood, plastic, and fiberglass, and rumor has it that it's held together by only eight screws. It used to feature a powered ramp, and inside had a bed, shower and toilet. Pendarvis considered himself an  ambassador to aliens and wanted to provide a facility where they could rest after their long journeys. Pendarvis himself started living in the Welcome Center during the summers, because it was cooler than his trailer which is located right behind this structure.

There used to be a fence around the Center, and one could tour the inside for an admission fee of $ 1 initially, said to have risen to $ 20 in 2005. The fence is now gone,  the Center is in very sad disrepair, and the whole property looked quite abandoned, although I was not sure. 

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Love Your Pointer!

April 11, 2012
Bamberg, SC

Because I sure love mine!

Folly Beach, SC

April 10, 2012
Folly Beach, SC

We spent four hours on Folly Beach today. My German friends, severely sun deprived after the typically long German winter, were enjoying the warmth of a SC beach, and Tessa had fun in the water which was still quite cold.  

 Tethered.

Saving the Wubba from drowning for the hundredth time that day.

Bay Watch II

April 10, 2012
Charleston, SC

Taken with the iPhone Hipstamatic app. 


Bay Watch


April 10, 2012
Charleston, SC

We spontaneously decided to stay an extra day so we have more time for the beach and with my German friends who we met here in Charleston; so instead of heading towards Athens, we went for an early morning walk along East Bay Street - perfect weather - not too crowded. Tessa was fascinated by the sail boats, speed boats and she even spotted a dolphin and pointed it out to me.

Monday, May 7, 2012

Of Riptides and Riptones

April 9, 2012
Sullivan's Island, SC

On day 3 of our spring trip, we headed to Charleston, SC. Our first stop was Sullivan's Island where we walked around Fort Moultrie (dogs are not allowed inside the fort, but permitted on the outside grounds). Behind the Fort is a tiny little beach and a rocky shoreline and I thought this would make a nice backdrop for a few photos of Tessa. Lo and behold, we had been beaten to it. We came upon somebody else's photo shoot - 4 guys that looked like musicians. I inquired and learned that indeed, this was a band from Nashville - The Riptones. They loved Tessa and we had a brief talk - these guys were so nice! 

As we continued our walk, we met a guy with a Jack Russell Terrier, who was off-leash, and were told that dogs were allowed off-leash around the Fort, as it is public land. I thought that was really odd - I was pretty sure that dogs were supposed to be on a leash and not to roam around freely (at this point I want to re-iterate that in such places, Tessa is only off the leash when posing for photos). And next thing I knew that little Jack Russell attacked my dog! He tore into her ear and shoulder but luckily didn't do any damage. Poor Tessa always seems shocked that any dog can treat her like this - she is so non-confrontational. She started defending herself a little bit, but it was more like shoving the Jack Russell as if to say, "hey, that's not nice", The guy said Tessa was attacked because she was on the leash - "that's what usually happens". Uh-huh. 

Georgetown, SC

 April 8, 2012
Georgetown, SC

After a few hours spent at Huntington Beach, we drove back to Georgetown and checked into the Jameson Inn, then headed to historic downtown and the beautiful river front for a relaxing evening stroll, on this Easter Sunday. Tessa was a little riled up for some reason, but we managed.