Birthing puppies

Dixie finally had her puppies. No amount of videos,  articles, books, or interviews prepared me. I know dogs have puppies for centuries , but they aren't mine and don't take up such a huge part of my heart. I love dogs, but Dixie is more than just a dog. She's family.  We went to the vet. Took her temperature,  and noticed she stopped eating and started panting. We rubbed her belly, took her for walks, and had numerous birthing baskets set up. She chose the laundry basket with nice, warm clean blankets and towels. She had contractions for a little more than an hour and then there he was. She opened the sac and cleaned him up and did everything she was supposed to do. The second one took longer and she wasn't breathing. We tried to get her to breathe and so did Dixie. She was cleaning and licking the puppy and we were rubbing her trying to get some kind of movement . We had to stop when another foot made an exit . This one took too long. He was much bigger than the other two and Dixie knew it was too late for him. At that point, I was terrified for Dixie. I don't know how she kept going. I was amazed at her composure.  Her knowledge of knowing what to do next. She's currently loving on her baby. She won't leave him for any reason. I don't blame her. He's pretty precious.

Going the distance

There's a song that has the lyrics "Going the distance" I can't remember much else of the song-not who sings it, or when, but I know it's got a good beat and I should look it up some time. I've had "the distance" on my mind a lot lately. Rocky 1 was on tv and even though he didn't beat Apollo Creed-he went the distance, further than any one else ever had.
And this ties into my life how?
Dixie
She's due any day. Today is actually her 63rd day. She's gone the distance. She's carried these pups full term. She's healthy and beautiful and she has a wonderfully comic pregnant waddle.
I know dogs have been having puppies for centuries. I know that 90% of the time there are no complications, but if I get any sleep tonight it will be medically induced.

Why I love Cherokee

There's a little Indian reservation in North Carolina  named Cherokee. It's got a small river running through it full of trout and people on tubes. The area is full of wild life.

Then the city has painted bears all throughout the town.

Eventually it got to dark to take pictures and we went to eat.

And this place has sweet tea, ribs, brisket, and biscuits that did the south proud.

Mingo Falls

One of our stops on our vacation was a waterfall. It's on an Indian reservation in Cherokee, North Carolina.  There are 170 steps up. The tourism video says 160, but I counted and there are 170. Really I don't think it matters once you go beyond 100. Then there is a nice, easy walk to the falls.
An amazing sight that pictures just can't capture.

He gets me

We're on vacation and most of the trip is scheduled around my father in law and planes which is really cool. I'm learning lots of scientific things and history on flying. Then, we checked into the motel near Kitty Hawk just a couple of feet from the beach on an evening with a full moon. My husband even woke me up early so we could watch the sun come up over the ocean.

I love that man. He gets me.

Blast from the past

Today I visited our Nation's capital.  The last visit was some 24 years ago. The Smithsonian still stands full of academic wonders. Even though I'm older, the Lincoln memorial still wows me. Once again the Washington Monument was under construction so I couldn't go up it.  The Vietnam Memorial still brings tears to my eyes.

Learning an adventure in gardening

Did you know that Sweet Potatoes have a flower?

It's purple and looks like this:

We planted ours in rocky soil and added lots of grass cuttings around them to keep down weeds down and the rain uncovered the first one. Not bad for the first one.

I should mention that Dwight started all of the plants from cuttings way back in January.