Skylight Wonders….

Look Lad, they can’t catch me I am the Rutherford man!!!

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Wheeeeeeeee!!!!!!

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Kicking up my heels now!!!

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Charge!!!!!!!!!!

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You guys are tired already?  Wow……..what a bunch of slow pokes…

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I am Rutherford… hear me roar!!!!!

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Thats right…. I have something to say… you bunch of sissies!!!!  I can outrun any of you anyday…… well… except you Lad.. but everyone else you stink!!!!

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Time for my Tarzan yell…. *ah ah ahhhhhh ahhh aaahhhhhhhhh!*

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Eee gads…… to think I am his father… he is the poster child for why I should practice abstinence……

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Experience It!!!!

The old guy likes to read and then apply or see the things he reads about.  ONe of his first favorites was was a book about Daniel Boone.  Recently on the Internet archive, where they have tons of old books he found that exact book for his kindle and read it with much joy.  When he grew up the Old Guy visited the rebuilt Boonesborough ….

Another early book he enjoyed was about Buffalo Bill Cody… a few years ago he found the book and bought it…. this book was his favorite for years and he regularly checked it out of the library.  Now he has his own copy and keeps its in a glass door bookshelf…. someday he plans on visiting Buffalo Bill’s grave…. just as he did Daniel Boone’s.

-This is the book.. it is nothing special but the memories…

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-The old guy loved Terhune’s books when he was a kid and has collies now and wants to visit Sunnybank.  He studied lots of Presidents, visited their homes…  he loved Fords, tractors and had other hobbies he read about then either visited the sites, graves or used the items he studied.

What we collies are trying to say is it is great for ppl to read about things, but what really brings it to life is seeing, visiting, using, making a hobby of or whatever of the things you read about.  Don’t just live through other ppl’s experiences or lives, visit those places, see those things or bring those items into your lives and use them.  It gives you hands on experience and fullfills your wisdom in ways you can’t even imagine.

Dad loved collies when he was a kid, Lassie and Terhune made him want collies.  When he grew up he made us part of his life.  Through this he came to realize that the things written about collies by Terhune and others were true and that like those who wrote about collies, his life was heavily impacted by our presence.  The triumphs, love, life and finally tragedies were more than he could have ever imagined and it made the books of Terhune come even more alive for he experienced those things.

What we are trying to say is dont just observe, study or read about things.  That is great and dad loves it himself. But, bring it into your life, experience it, do it.  Why?  Because then you experience life and it makes the things you read about come to life!  You gain insights and wisdom and breath and live what you have read about enriching your life.  When you read it again you will see the books through different eyes and enjoy them even more… but most of all your life will be richer also.

Dad read about and loved collies. Then he had us and we changed his life in many ways and he has come to treasure Terhune even more.  He never dreamed that would happen…. while he has lost many a collie he loved he would never give up one moment to take away the pain for the pleasures, love, joy and life experiences far outweighs the pain he has felt.  So, do read and enjoy things… but live it!  Only then will you get the fullness of what life can be…. most of all love and be loved….  and whent he time comes…. you will be mourned more deeply than any mere collie or human should be mourned…. live…. love and live while you can….

 

-Reading about collies is one thing… living your life with them  brings your readings to life and brings your life much joy, love and fullfillment.  Whatever you enjoy reading, watching or seeing, make it part of your life…  you won;t regret it…. 🙂  Imagine how boring the old guy’s life would be without us…. especially Ginger! Muwahahahaha  Okay, we wrestled the computer from Ginger but are leaving her comment there for you… for how boring would his life be without her?  How empty would his life had been without Trevor? Niamh? Both Hallies?

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Ginger’s Theory

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Wow!  18 degrees here yesterday!!!   What is this the North Pole?

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North Pole? Isn’t that where Santa Claus lives?

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Wait, if there is Santa Claus…. that means its Christmas and that means….

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Collie Indoor Plumbings so we don’t have to go out in 18!!!!

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We WANT!! WE WANT!! WE WANT!! WE WANT!!!! We demand Collie Indoor Plumbing!!  18 is too cold to have to go outside!  We want collie indoor plumbing…. What? No!!!  We will  organize and strike… this is it WE WANT COLLIE INDOOR PLUMBING!!! NOW!!

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Wow! A Spontaneous Revolution!!!  Now to harness it and ride to to my world domination!!!!  Let me see…. all that reading has to help me with this….Beer Hall Putsh… nope, that was a failure plus I dont want to wear some funny little moustache… hmmm….. could try the sit-down strikes like in France… wait that was a failure.. let me see… all that reading…. ah.. yes… Lenin with Peace, Land and Bread… wait.. collies dont like bread and who wants peace?  Hmmm… oh.. Trotsky and the theory of Permanent Revolution with all power to the soviets… but lets make that .. “All Power to the Collie Councils” which of course will be run by me.. muwahahahahah!!!      Look Out Old Guy, first indoor collie plumbing then the world!!!   “ALL POWER TO THE COLLIE COUNCILS!!!!  COLLIES OF THE WORLD UNITE!!!!”

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With Hammock Season Over…..

The Collies are dreaming of the time when the Hammock comes out again and here is their dream…..

Hi!  We are looking at you!!!!

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It is rainy and very humid today and with our winter coats yet we are taking it a bit easy.

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everybody ready?  Plot time!!!

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Everybody get into position…

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WARNING! You may not want to keep going for this is going to … well….. if you have a weak stomach… run away!

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This is gonna hurt in the morning….. hehehe

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CHARGE!!!!!!!!

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ROWWWR!!!!  We are holding him down… time to pull the hammock everyone!!!!!

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Wow!  He is a long ways up there on the roof of the house….  told you it would work.  However, I didnt think he would land so hard… um……

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um.. is his arm supposed to be twisted like that?  Will he be able to still throw my ball?  ball… ball… ball…

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What is that  mom?  Dad? What Dad?  Um, we want to come in for a nap now….. don’t anyone look up we dont want her to see this….

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-leave?  We aren;t leaving, we just wanted to say thank you to those who read us…. your visits and comments and likes mean a lot to us. We know we don;t always respond, but we see them all and deeply appreciate it.  Please keep coming back for much more is coming up…. 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Collies, Reds and Tractors…

The collies continue to move forward and appear to be a more tightly united group the past few days.

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-In other news I have been quiet about the Liverpool Reds lately not because they have been mediocre but just to see what the team looks like. I have not been happy…. I think they have been playing way under their potential…. the rough start has made me wonder about it all… but I didn;t want to complain to early… give it time I kept saying…. It takes time for a bunch of new players to come together and today a lackluster first half made me begin to doubt this team would ever amount to anything. Then lightning in a bottle was unleashed when Lallana booted in a fantastically played goal. Anfield came to life and so did I and the collies.  The second half began and before we knew it the Baggie had answered and it was 1-1 and I really began to believe this team was done for the year.  But, never fear…. down came the Reds in a furious attack and Henderson answered with the go ahead and Anfield erupted as the collies and I danced with joy. As the game wore on Liverpool played some tough defense and the offense seemed to be getting a bit of rhythm going.  The Reds won and now are in 6th place.  I believe the worst is behind them now but this team has a  lot more work to do before they can become a contender.  But, at least they are heading in the right direction and Anfield at least sounded like it has its voice back now…… meanwhile I loved that the bitter sick and twisted had another loss across the park today… hehehehe  GO REDS!!!!

YNWA!!!

 

In tractor news I finally have the starter fixed and put back in the WC and the gas leak appears stopped… hopefully.  The WC has given me fits the past year and everytime I want to take her to a show, parade or what have you she pukes something minor and finds a way for me to have to repaint after she stubbornly fights with me as I repair her.  A more stubborn machine I have never seen….  She still has a light miss but when this cold , rainy weather stops I will fix that too… but over the winter, I will be weighing whether to sell my WC to buy something else or to keep her… I have a love/hate relationship with the tractor for I love her when she runs and she can pull wonderfully, but she always has a Ginger like stunt up her manifold and I am tiredof fighting with this tractor.   We shall see….

ball, ball, ball…..

 

 

 

 

 

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Contemplating…..

Tomorrow we will post pics of the birthday bash.  In the meantime on a long, cold, rainy weekend I had plenty of time to contemplate and remember collies of the past.  The generation that has left us left big pawprints to fill.  They were collies of a giant stature that had led early lives in kennels and were moved into a home setting.  Those collies knew cold, rain, lonely and hard times.  They thrived in their new setting and became characters that kept the meadow rocking by the minute.  They lived life to the fullest and were super smart and very, very thankful to live in their new conditions.

The only one who lived under those conditions and is still with us is Ellie, but she was not of that generation for they were her parents.  She, like the other collies here are dynamic and wonderful collies but they have never known those conditions and sometimes… well it shows.  They tend to take for granted things the previous generation were so surprised and thankful to have.  Yes, they are spoiled rotten….

But, they have big pawprints to fill….. and the problem is as they discover and explore and conquer things knew to them… well.. we have seen it before.  Like always the closeness of the collie family temporarily recedes after the loss of one of them and this weekend as I watched the collies it seems so different…… so much is missing.  We’ve experienced it before through all our losses, but for some reason this time it is different…..  and it is. But, some of it just may be me… for the ones knitting th family back together now are Lad, Branwen and lil Hallie……  collies who were children of the greatest generation and a grandchild of them.  The greatest generation came as leaders…. this one has had to grow into it….. I’ve known all the collies since they were born and one even was born here… the other I was there when she was made…

So much is gone now and missing and my heart aches at the loss. But, as I contemplated more I realize that a lot of this perspective is my own…. this generation now is coming into its time of leading and running the meadow.  How will they do?  Probably just as well as their ancestors did….  and in time we shall see.   As I watched and thought about it all I realize that part of the problem is myself for I am stuck in the “golden age” here at the meadow.  As I look back I remember those collies coming here and establishing relationships with them and building this from scratch… now we are rebuilding with their descendants….  and I am comparing them to their ancestors which isn;t fair to them.  They will become a great generation of collies themselves…. but it will be different…. it will be what they make to be.  It will take me a while to get used to it….  but I will.

 

While losing my collies has always been tough…. I think as I get older I perhaps handle the loss better but I like it less than ever….  change is constant and in 5 years this generation will be exiting  the meadow due to old age….

There is nothing one can do about it, but it doesn’t make it any easier. All I can do is make the most of it… but right now I find that hard to do……and that is my fault.  I don;t go on because I am strong, or brave or any of that bullcrap ppl say. I go on because I have no choice….  it is part of life and here at the Meadow we will continue forward and time will continue to pass and things will change.  That is the only constant…..

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More about Smoke…..

Another Smoke memory….

For years, Smoke and Lad have had a sort of rivalry that has had its humorous and not so humorous moments.  They competed in everything. Laddie was the faster more acrobatic collie and Smoke was the bigger more powerful collie.  They had a one upmanship going for years and here is one fo the scarier moments of that rivalry.

They used to run around the yard at full speed…. I mean as fast as a collie can run and it was at time scary as they would run very close to things and with all the other collies trying to keep up it would sound like a herd of buffalo running around.

One day as I watched them running full speed side-by-side I saw Laddie bump Smoke and my heart quit beating as SMoke flipped forward and flipped over and over again! The dust flew, all I could see were his feet flopping in and out of view as he flopped like a ragdoll!!!  I ran towards them and all of a sudden up went Smoke’s head and he was grinning from ear to ear….. sigh….  Laddie caught the what for for the move and he knew it was a no-no!

A few minutes later off they went again and this time I swear they ran even harder than ever.  As they raced side by side I saw Smoke make the same move and as I screamed NO I saw Laddie begin flipping…… This time I was furious!  Smoke caught his what for scolding and I am thrilled to say I have never saw this ever done again.

Later that day I talked with my friends who have collies and mentioned it to them and they laughed and told me that their daddy Marcus and his brother Wyatt used to do the same thing too.  However, they would do it along a washout and when they flipped they would roll down into it and would come crawling out of it grinning from ear to ear.  Sigh… so it runs in the family…..

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Would I do such a thing?  Hey Smoke, want to go for a run?  Muwahahahahahahah

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Would I do that?  Sure Laddie, lets go for a run… it will be fun (seeing your body print in the fence) muwahahaahah

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Generation Three at Sunnybank

Here is a shot of Albert Payson Terhune with Squire on your left, Jean on your right and in front the crazy, loveable Gray Dawn.   Squire was the son of Treve and a Champion in his own right.

Squire’s father Treve died at 5 and a half  Squire lived till he was 9.  Squire also played a role in bringing Bellhaven Collies to the forefront of not only the collie world but the whole dog world with more champions in Bellhaven than any other breeder in not only the collie realm but the whole dog universe.

Jean was one of the most lovable of the collies at Sunnybank and her life was over 13 years from the time of Lad till 1930 when the old girl was run over by a tourist and killed in the driveway.  By all accounts Jean was one of the favorites of not only the Terhunes but everyone who visited there.

Gray Dawn is perhaps one of the most famous collies at Sunnybank famous for his crazy antics like when Terhune was standing by the Lake in a Tux waiting for his wife to go to a party when he was blindsided by Gray Dawn and pushed into the lake head first.  Gray Dawn was very loyal to Terhune for when Albert was hit by a car and hurt badly Gray Dawn would not leave his side and became as Terhuen put it viscious in keeping all ppl away from him including the doctor. Gray Dawn was a character full of fun, innocent mischief and crazy!  Gray Dawn died less than a month after Thane passed away.

These collies were from the heyday of Sunnybank and with the passing of these and other cast of collies in this era the curtain came down on the championships not because the quality of collies went down but because Terhune lost heart in the matter. The losses were too great and I can understand how Terhune felt for it is tough and no fun losing collies you love so much for it does break your heart and shatter your soul… I know… I have been there… several times.

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Happy Resurrection Day!!!!

We wish you all a very Happy Easter or as some call it Resurrection Day!!!  Here at the Meadow we will be beginning our day, after taking care of the collies of course, by going to 6:30 am divine service. With the rising sun we will celebrate the risen Son of God.  This, to us, is the most important day of the year for this is when our salvation through Jesus happened.  To me this is very important for I KNOW I am unworthy and need all the help I can get to get to heaven.  So, we wish you a very HAPPY EASTER!!!

To our Jewish friends, we belatedly wish you a happy Passover.  To our Atheist friends we wish you a happy day with your family and to any other religion we may have overlooked we wish you a happy holy day also.

One thing that I believe is that Jesus did not die just for us humans.  Let me explain.  When God created humans he created animals first to be with us. They are tied to us in that we are to care for them and they are to do jobs for us, like pull plows, feed us, watch our sheep and other things like being faithful companions and to be predators to keep things in balance on the earth and more.  If you did not notice, they shared Eden, the earthly paradise with us and when we fell they fell too.  I firmly believe that when Jesus died he died for us, but the side effect is that our furry friends are saved too for they are tied to us.  It says after the end times that there will be a new heaven and earth and to me if God created Eden with animals he will create the new earth with them too. 🙂  But, who am I but a lowly sinner who tomorrow will get on my knees and thank God for granting me salvation even though I KNOW I deserve a lot worse….

from you tube posted by peres010492

Here is what I will see as the sun rises (Son rises) tomorrow;

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except there will be candles, ribbons and flowers…. and yes this is where I usually sit at church…

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Then, we will spend time with family and with the collies and I will reflect, that even though I complain about things, I am so blessed to have a home, our collies, our children, my wife, a job and tractors and you friends out there and that I need to be grateful for it all that most of all I am blessed to have found Jesus in my life.

By the way, the collies do celebrate with a small plate of little bites of doggie treats and some other meat treats (in small quantities as so not to upset their tummies) for although they dont know it, in my thoughts they were saved by this too!

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I often wonder how Mary Magdalene thought about this moment as the years passed….. to be the first person to have Jesus appear to…. what a honor, what a life changing moment…

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HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!!

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The old guy doesnt know everything.  I happen to know that on a hillside nearby a collie was watching sheep and that before Mary Magdalene showed up that Jesus gave it a pat on the head… so there old guy. Now lets play ball to celebrate Jesus’ petting the collie and for saving our souls! 🙂

 

By the Way… GO REDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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