One Point, One New Friend and One Pretty Day

"JJ" (Ebbtide Careful What You Wish) and I supported our almost-local AKC show, Wine Country KC in Napa, CA. But I hate that it takes me an hour and a half to get to Napa...how can that be??? Answer: The Coast Range slithers in between Cloverdale and Napa... Good news: It was gorgeous weather both days and with fall colors in the vineyards and hills, one of the prettiest drives I've had recently. Take a look:

Saturday's show was attended without any Ebbtide groupies...which made JJ sad. Especially since we ended up grooming surrounded by Irish Setters and German Shepherds. Nice dogs, don't get me wrong: But have you noticed how Aussies LOVE being with their own? Saturday's show ended up with JJ 2nd out of 2. I always wonder in these situations: Were we Second Best or Last Place?? hmm. Sad to say: I think " last place"...

Sunday improved with the attendance of brother Beau (Ebbtide Wish On A Rainbeau) and a first time visit with the Stephens Family's new puppy, Luci, from our good friend Tina Beck. JJ was thrilled to meet Luci - his first red tri friend - I'm proud of JJ expanding his color palette of friends ;-) Here is photo of Luci with the toy JJ picked out and bought just for her:

Goldcrest "Luci Stephens" - honorary Ebbtide dog ;-)
Wow - those Goldcrest dogs are beauties! Thanks again to Tina for helping find a wonderful dog for Jim, Susie, Scott, Lindsey and Matt!

Back at the dog show...Jim, Susie and Cathy Baird and Beau fawned over JJ and made him much happier. Since we were one person short a handler (Judi was home with a sick kid), we abducted, I mean, borrowed a Jr Handler (Thanks, Alex the Corgi handler!) to help show Beau. Beau was a trooper and, true to Ebbtide form, went about his assigned tasks with aplomb and acceptance AND WON FIRST PLACE in OPEN BLUE MERLE dogs! JJ, being a happy camper, now that his admiring fans were in attendance (!), managed to place FIRST, and WINNERS DOG for one point! Don't poo-poo that One Point: Over the years I've been in a position of needing that dreaded One-Point-To-Finish-Your-Championship situation. Not a terribly fun place, for some reason.

So there it is: JJ has both his majors and 12 POINTS towards his AKC Championship. Brother Beau will be next in line to go forward and conquer. He's looking good and showing well.

Here is an action shot Jim took of JJ and I in the Best of Breed competition:

JJ and me in the center spot. Winners Dog, Wine Country KC, 11-8-09
He DOES have a neck!!

Happy Halloween photo

I'm guessing my dogs are thankful I don't dress them up much. Not that I don't appreciate extremely cute dogs in clever outfits. I guess I use my talents elsewhere. Or maybe I don't have costume talents...
Be that as it may, I received these wonderful photos from Ariela Karasov (Ebbtide East ;-)) our good friend in Madison, Wisconsin. She owns two Ebbtide dogs: "Naya" Ebbtide Glamour Girl CD RA JS-N (Baron x Maddie - the "G" Litter) and, along with her mother, Corliss and myself, "Capri" Ebbtide Wish You Were Here (Biggie x Fern - the "Wish" Litter).
ENJOY!

"Naya" The Bee and "Capri" The Butterfly
I like how Naya is peaking through Capri's wings


And these would be the two young handlers of the dogs: Daniel and Ariela.

I'm hoping Ariela can squeeze some time in for dog shows from her busy medical school schedule. Oh. wait. Perhaps there are some better priorities there?!

Thanks for the great photos, Ariela!

CH. Ebbtide Fern

Above, Fern winning BEST OPPOSITE SEX PUPPY

2004 ASCA NATIONAL SPECIALTY,

Paso Robles, CA

Photos above, were candid shots taken from outside the ring, when Fern was about 22 months old. Kenneth Reed gets the photo credit.

BEST OF WINNERS, a major, July 2006, 2 yrs old.

September 2009, 5 years of age

Winners Dog, Best of Winners AND 5 POINTS!!

That would be for "JJ", EBBTIDE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH, Sacramento Valley DFA AKC show (47 class dogs & bitches entered). I entered him on Saturday only this past weekend at the Sierra View ASC Specialty and Supported Shows in Dixon, CA. Since I was the human in charge of "Specialty Arrangements" and Hospitality, it was prudent not to enter too many dogs.

Here's me and JJ, 2nd dog from the right, in the Best of Breed class on his way to BEST OF WINNERS - and 5 POINTS!. This photo taken by my sister, Nancy Moore. It was great fun to have her and niece Stephie come watch and help. And better yet that my dog actually won something nice when I had family members there. I don't know about you, but I can probably count on one hand all the times I've had family watch me at dog shows (no, that's not whining). So thanks, JJ, for coming through for me ;-)

WIN PHOTO ARRIVES! 2009 ASCA NATIONALS...

EBBTIDE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH aka "JJ" wins the BRED BY EXHIBITOR DOG CLASS and RESERVE WINNERS DOG in Greeley, CO. Ann, of course, handling JJ. That's Senior Breeder Judge Laura Shivers on the left. Thanks to my #1 Assistant, Judi Scherrer, for helping me wash and groom JJ, and assisting ringside. Thanks, too, for buddies Nancy Pantusa, Cathy Franklin and her good-natured husband, Mark, for cheering us on in Winners Dog. We all know it takes a village ;-) Thanks, too, to all the Aussie people who appeciated JJ and were kind enough to tell me.

Sissinghurst Castle Gardens, England, September 2009

Since none of my Nationals dog photos have arrived, I decided to treat you to some of the beauty of Sissinghurst Castle and Gardens, in Kent, England. I took these photos in mid-September 2009, the week before judging the ASCA show in Belgium. It was in the heat of the day with a high sun, so some detail and color contrast is lost in the bright conditions. But, off we go...


No, this is not the Castle, above. It's just "the Priest's House".

BELOW is part of the old castle ruins, originally built in the 1530s , which was restored by famed poet, writer and garden designer,(and interesting lifestyle trend-setter) Vita Sackville-West and her husband, writer and diplomat Harold Nicholson. The two famously collaborated to create the incredible gardens known throughout the gardening world, as Sissinghurst. This life-work began in 1930 and ended with Vita's death in 1962. Harold "survived her by six years, sad and lonely. Visitors would see him sitting in the garden with tears running down his cheeks." The estate was left to their son, Nigel, who couldn't afford the large death taxes nor upkeep of the huge grounds and buildings. In 1967 The National Trust (akin to our National Parks) received Sissinghurst from Nigel. There is much, more history to be learned by the curious.




A small garden by an entrance. Perhaps the Queen came through this very door in August 1573?



The climbing rose, 'Mermaid':


And perpendicular to the wall above, the lovely Purple Border:

A closeup in the Purple Border:



And then the Tower, built in the 1560s. It had 4 rooms on the left as you climbed the 78 stairs to the viewing roof. One of the rooms was Vita Sackville-West's workroom. Yes, I think I could design great gardens, too, in such inspiring digs...sigh...




The view from the Tower was invigorating. I can still remember the warm breeze that smelled of farmland, flowers, and, perhaps, the sea. These are the barns and oasthouses (funny funnel shaped guys). Oasthouses were used to store grain for ale. The long roof in the foreground is part the old castle, which became their library:


Moving to the right of the oasthouses, was this view over the Kent Weald (hills):



Below, the view of the potager (kitchen) garden. And behind it, some un-named, un-important accessory buildings (!). Servant's house, perhaps? Another wing of the castle in the foreground.


Below: The famous White Garden is adjacent to the Tower. I must return in Spring to see this in full bloom. Not much white to see in September. The small building in the upper right of the photo is the Boathouse. It straddles the moat there:



Down the Tower stairs and out into the White Garden. This is under a simple square tubing arbor. (Yes.Yes I did say "I could make that!!"). Nigel Nicholson designed the arbor using paperclips in his model. You can see their arched ends here:



Since Pam had the sense to buy us a picnic lunch earlier, we sat here at an old wooden picnic table in the Boathouse over the moat. We were refreshed by the cool air and relaxing view. Lunch grew a little long...


We ended up a bit later in the Sunken Garden - another cool spot. Originally the Lion Pond was here, but, in true gardener fashion, it was redesigned into a sunken garden by Vita:


Here's a close-up. Note the embossed detail on the ancient galvanized trough. And I love the Baby Tears creeping along the wall. The salmon Fuchsia really brightens this spot.


My last photo: The Red Summer Border that lines a long flagstone path back towards the "house". I must return to Sissinghurst again in Spring, to see these incredible gardens in their full glory. "I simply must!" she wailed, as she ran off into the Nuttery, with her ever-faithful and beautiful companion, JJ the Dog, following her... (from my novel).

2009 ASCA NATIONALS - Part 4 : CONFORMATION

If you're getting tired reading about the 2009 ASCA Nationals, just think how it was to BE THERE!?!
Not that it wasn't enjoyable....
Which brings us to the actual Nationals Conformation competition. First shown was EBBTIDE FENNEL HILL CD in ALTERED OPEN BLACK DOGS - FIRST PLACE and WINNERS DOG!! Again. That's right - it's been almost a year since I had the pleasure of showing him at the Las Vegas ASCA Nationals (where he won the same award). It took us 3 tries in Greeley to get back on our game, but, happily, it came together on Wednesday ;-) By the way, he is now called ALTERED CHAMPION EBBTIDE FENNEL HILL CD ! Nice way to finish a championship!
Next up on Wednesday (after Spencer's awesome Novice B win), was the BROOD BITCH class. EBBTIDE MADAM PRESIDENT CD "Maddie" at 11 years young, WON THIRD PLACE with those over-achieving offspring of hers: CH. SPENCER CD, A-CH FENNEL CD and A-CH GOTCHA CD! It was icing on the cake to look down at those pretty faces and realize all 3 had made a significant win in the Obedience ring the past 2 days!
That was Wednesdays Nationals results...let me catch my breath....
Thursday, EBBTIDE AS YOU WISH "Cali" made a beautiful showing in the BRED BY EXHIBITOR BITCH class, but failed to make a placement. We're not calling it a failure, thanks to our many long-time breeder peers who complimented us on her showing that day. Thank very much to all of you for taking time to give us a thumbs up. It was appreciated.
Friday: EBBTIDE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH "JJ" and I got our game on and were thrilled to win the BRED BY EXHIBITOR DOG class! We missed some of our old cronies in there (but wait: maybe we wouldn't have won...!). What an honor to win that class at Nationals! Later that day we returned to the Winners Dog class and got sooo close, ahhh, oh well - we're happy, too, with RESERVE WINNERS DOG! Yes, the old handler, surrounded by the young, quick and wrinkle-free (I'm not talking dogs here) dug deep and trotted soundly (again: not talking dogs) with that amazingly huggable JJ to the bridesmaid (best man? I need oxygen to think) spot. Yes - oxygen: Did you know Greeley, CO elevation is 4, 860 feet? Did you know Cloverdale, CA is 800? Yes. Yes, I should win an award for not dying. Thank you. But, enough about me...
There was more Friday: JJ's cute cute CUTE (and sound) little sister, EBBTIDE YOUR WISH'S MY COMMAND "Panda" (you know: from Texas) made the final cut and unofficially won 6th place in OPEN BLACK BITCH. There were, like, 20 in that class. Nice job, Nancy & Panda! And just 20 months old and still growing hair ;-)
Which now brings us (thank God) to the very last day, Saturday, and Best of Breed. 193 Special Dogs?!?! We were pleased that CH EBBTIDE FINE FELLOW CD "Spencer"made the first cut. It was brutal out there ;-) Congrats to our fellow Northern California buddies, Maddie Ruble and her crew, AND longtime friends Cathy & Alan McCorkle for their BEST OF BREED win with CH Heatherhill Dazzle Park Laine.
Time to go home. Believe me, there are many more stories to tell...but I'm beat!