Watson likes Christmas…  maybe it’s all the food…  maybe it’s all the guests…  maybe it’s the decorations… point is, he likes Christmas time.

Need proof, well, here’s the little fellow all decked out in his Santa hat as the decorations were going up.

Not much more needs to be said.

(yes – the title of this post is an homage to the Simpsons)

9 years
Originally uploaded by fishpickdiver

On October 16th – Kelli and I rolled over the calendar – starting on our 10th year together.
As she said – it still feels like we are playing house!

July 9th was Watson’s 6th Birthday… and for his enjoyment and yours (artistic license was taken with the use of the word “enjoyment”) – we have provided a slice of his celebration which also included some meat and ice cream. For anyone who knows Watson – those edible items coupled with several long distance throws of his “ball on a string” equate to near bliss for our furry companion.

So – Happy Birthday Watson!

Bad weather farm dog

Have you ever wondered what goes through a dogs mind? Well – if a picture is really worth 1000 words – the I’ll keep this post short. The weather here in upstate got cold and rainy – as in our Spring that was Summer is now Spring again… and the dog is none to happy with this recent development.
Cold – rainy – damp. That’s the description.
The plants left the cold frame today for shelter of the garage… the peas are still struggling to come up – even the second planting… it seems this year I have developed a propensity of planting peas right before the weather gets all wet and cold.
All in all – it’s nasty out there… and Watson’s none to happy about it either!

Got up this morning – had a cup of coffee – showered – and spent 45 minutes out on the tractor snow blowing the driveway!
Yup another snow storm this weekend… More coating ice… More nasty north winds that froze the wind speed on the weather station… The dog smells spring and is getting restless…

Someone once asked if Watson was happy out here with all this land, all these rooms and all the things going on… I’ll let you be the judge.
He likes to start the day with his ball on a sting – and actually spend most of the day with it…
As night time falls – he’s a big fan of helping me locate the monster deer out in the field…

Then it’s time for a bit to eat – naughty doggie…And then – it’s time to pick a bed somewhere in the house for a well deserved nights sleep… only to start over the next day.
Yes – I think he’s pretty happy on the farm…

Ever wonder what’s going through a dogs mind first thing in the morning?Well, for Watson now that we live out here on the 34+ acres – it’s usually “what am I gonna be doin’ today?” Although some mornings lately it has actually looked like – “ohh my God – is it morning already?”
So – today Watson greeted the painters this morning and watched and listened as they went to work on the family room, kitchen and back hallway. The completed the ceiling, patched all the holes and painted all the trim and doors. Tomorrow they crack the can of wall paint and then finish up with the baseboards. Watson enjoyed both their company and when required, his exile time in the kennel that runs between the garage and outside.
As for the barn – last night I pulled the hose in there and watered the snot out of the sandy soil I moved around to get the grade right… and I did this for a couple of reasons… one – it helps compact the soil. Since it was so dry, I knew watering it would give me a more accurate read on the actual grade with concrete applied – sure enough – some of my 4″ spots are really graded to 5″ – so more work to do there. Two – in the areas where i was adding lots of soil – like the back corner – I wanted to get the moisture down in there. Three – since concretes longevity and strength are based on how long it cures – having a wet ground under the concrete will only serve to lengthen the cure time – a good thing. Tomorrow night there will be more grading and pictures.

Tonight’s project – in the time between getting home from work and dinner – was to put in the downspout drains to get the water away from the house. When we first looked at the house, we noticed that the downspouts just dumped water right at the foundation and since the grade isn’t right – it resulted in big puddles that ultimately run down the blocks and make the basement damp… so – we knew one of the initial projects was to get in a french drain of sorts to get the water away from the foundation.
Tonight we got 2 of the 3 done. One was completely simple. The second one was difficult because across the trench at about 2.5″ deep was the Time Warner cable run… which we only use for Road Runner… Now, a few weeks back my dad and I marked it’s location creatively using a nail detector for lumber and a can of ground marking spray… so I dug up near it on both sides and let the cable bridge the trench after connecting the sides with gentle hand work. The last one left to do is the one that will be the most difficult to do because the lawn does not ever slope away from this location – this one will take some creative engineering.
Anyhow – after digging the trench with the backhoe – laying the 4″ pipe and filling it back in – it was time to seed… and how could I resist this picture snapped with the camera phone – of 2/3-rds of the work crew… With the straw and the seed in the bucket.