Gryphon’s home!!!!

…and he’s worth every bit of the 3400 miles, 4 travel days and 58 hours of driving. Gryphon traveled great! He seems happy, although the cats don’t - more on that and the trip in another post. Here are his 1st pics at his new casa and a view of and from his daytime air conditioned palace. NO! He's not spoiled ;)~

Gryphon's door!

Kennel is to the right in the above pic and I've partitioned off a third of the shop space for him

Gryphon's view

His name is …………………

... GRYPHON!!!!!!! Heart (and body) of a lion, wings of and eagle and is the protector. Here’s his photo at 8 weeks!

We are feverishly busy getting ready for his arrival – in between thunderstorms that seem to be threatening our sanity. Since the acreage here isn’t completely fenced yet (a work in progress that has only been completed around the pasture) we needed to provide a safe place for Gryphon to be during the day. So, we are building a huge kennel that abuts the shop and there’ll be a dog door to the interior that is air conditioned. The shop has been puppy-proofed with latches on all the cabinets and coverings on all the shelves – basically removing access to things that look chewable. Since he’s 11 months that is still an issue and it’s going to take a while to figure out his little canine interest. When we are home he’ll be with us, but during the day while we are working he’ll have his puppy palace – out of sight from the road.

Here is the site that I’m clearing for the kennel and the dog door will be through the wall of the shop beneath the window. What a lot of rock to dig out and what you are seeing is only a third of what’s been removed already! Sod will go down tomorrow and the kennel will go up tomorrow afternoon.

Meanwhile it is round after round of vet visits for the cats for their annuals, servicing the Explorer for the trip, getting the house ready for the new Buffledog! We are remembering about the infamous “tail sweep”, fur bunnies everywhere and simply space for him to move easily about. He probably won’t be quite as large as Taylor was; Taylor was 135+, but I don’t think Gryphon will be much more than 110-115.

So, I’ve stocked up on book tapes for the 3400 mile trip and I’m really looking forward to being away from the office for a few days. Fortunately it looks like great weather for the 5 or 6 days that I’m going to be on the road.

Soon there will be our own photos of the boy!

NOW…………..

You also get to meet Felix, our now frequent ring tailed cat. The shot is a little out of focus since the auto-focus was ineffective in the dark and I just had to guess at the distance – ‘twas a few feet short, but you get the idea. These little guys are just off-the-chart cute.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Waiting

bellman banter

"May I be of service, sir?"
"No, I'm waiting."
"On what, sir?"
"On who."
"Who, sir?"
"I'm not sure."
"I'm sorry, sir?"
"I'm not."

Seamus

It’s been two years today. I’ve been waiting.

I frankly have had little heart to be here. Perhaps it’s that I’ve been waiting.

I sit silently on the porch in the early morning hours; my hands warm around the coffee mug and watch our menagerie venture out into the wee first light. I often talk to the Buffledog in these lone moments – these were our times in the pre-dawn and we only missed our walks when one or the other of us was down with injury or sickness. These walks were magical, mysterious, sometimes guarded, sometimes filled with discovery and always full of greetings for our fellow early risers. I sometimes hear my neighbor walk his old Lab, but cannot see them on the road. I sit silently on the porch and wait.

The chores here are endless and often solitary. More than once I’ve turned, hoping to catch a glimpse of my friend and companion. I feel his presence. I wish I could feel his fur. Still I wait.

On what, sir?

On who.

April Fool’s Day. The phone rings and a familiar name pops up on the screen. I smile and answer, stepping outside to the building front and sit on the steps. We catch up as old friends do after a long absence. Then I listen for 10 minutes.

“Talk it over” she says, “and call me later this evening.” I already knew the answer.

His AKC name is Giorgio.

We haven’t named him yet – soon - he's all Buffledog though!!!

He’s 11 months old.

He’s gorgeous.

He’s a goofball … purrrrrrrrrfect!

He’s Taylor’s nephew.

I’m driving to Idaho on April 21st to pick him up.

I’m waiting, but I’m smiling.

Here’s his pic from 2 weeks ago.