Almost easter!

Just a few more days and it's already easter again.
I wonder if we'll see the easter bunny this year, with the basket on it's back...
Anyways, he'll have to dress warm because...


:))


It's still kinda cold here, the wind comes from a different direction every day and only when the sun breaks through the clouds, is it pleasant to be outside.
Otherwise we are still packed into a thick coat and wear a woolen hat to keep the ears warm!
I was walking Cleo earlier this evening and I regretted not having my gloves on!

But the weather forecast is good, they say we'll have a sunny and warm easter weekend.
We'll see about that, I'll believe it when I see it!



We went on a little trip to Åhus today and Aaron and Cleo were coming along - of course!
Unfortunately Aaron is getting car sick every time, but he still likes to come.
We are trying to plan our trips with him either before lunch or supper.
That way he doesn't "loose" too much of it again.

He isn't too fond of traveling in the cage, but  we did explain to him that this is part of the deal.
It's either the cage or staying home...
No seriously, it's a perfect way of training him to travel by car.
Not only does he learn to be locked in, he will also learn to be alone in the car that way, without chewing on the interior.
In a couple of weeks we'll try driving without Aaron in the cage. He'll have the entire trunk for himself.
We started by "abandoning" the car for only a few minutes at a time, he seems to be okay with it, especially when Cleo is sitting next to him.

In Åhus we went for a little walk in the woods, following a riding trail.
The horse apples were very interesting but not fresh enough to taste them. ;-)
The highlight of the day was his first encounter with REAL horses!
Two very curious yearlings were playing on a big pasture and came running to see who we were...

At first he was very standoffish, almost afraid. He wanted to run away, but he couldn't. So he had to face the "danger", deal with it. We gave him time, forcing nothing.
After a few minutes curiosity prevailed and he started to approach them bit by bit.
His insecurity made him growl a bit, his tail was low but he showed interest and bravery.

Cleo is a big help in situations like that, she knows it all, is experienced and her relaxed body language gives him security.



Sunday we'll look at a house we might rent.
We've been looking for a home for months now, but we had no luck so far.
Maybe this time!
The properties we have been looking at so far were not what we were looking for, so instead of buying we'll just keep on renting for the time being.
So lets hope for a good ending in all of this, we are really sick and tired of looking and looking and looking...


Now I need to go and check on the cats, clean their bathrooms and see if they ate all their food...

Good night you all!


:))

Daylight saving time - Sommerzeit

Spring has just begun and last night we turned the clock forward.
Only one hour.
But that one hour makes a big difference.
Not that it helps humans safe energy - that was the original idea when it was first introduced.
Studies have shown that it doesn't help us save energy at all,  to the contrary.
I wonder why we still use it then! ??

All it really does is messing up our inner clock. It is confusing our body and many people  (and animals) have problems adjusting to it.
Luckily I am not one of them, I adjust quite quickly I have to say.
I still don't get it why we still use it...


AARON is now 11 weeks old. He's a funny little guy and slowly but surely he gets the idea of going outside when he needs to do some business.
We had a couple of very good days and only minor "accidents" inside.
Good work honey!!! ♥

I bought a new toy for him the other day...

He loves the duck, and he quickly learned how to make it speak!
Quaak Quaak Quaak!


He's so smart! And funny!
Yesterday he discovered a new, fun place to lay down!
Remember the cute side table we bought a couple of months back?
Well, look for yourself...

It won't be long till he's too big to get up there.
His energy level is going up by the day, playing, running and barking...
he's still very clumsy and all - just like a puppy.
So cute!
Remember his ears in the beginning? They were touching each other at the top - that has gotten much better, they are much straighter up now.

One thing that hasn't got better yet is the exaggerated affection between him and Mika.
If Mika comes down, he wants to play with Aaron all the time, is doing everything to get Aarons attention.
We have to guide them constantly so that they don't get carried away.
We were hoping they would get along well, but that well??
How do you train a cat and a dog not to play?

Have a fantastic week you all!

♥

More photos!

Best friends in just 2 weeks!

Cleo "adopted" the little scamp and that has good consequences and bad ones...

well, mostly good ones. :)

She teaches him a lot of things, gives him security only a grown up dog can give him. 

When I take Cleo for a walk through the nature reserve, he stays at the door mat and waits for our return.

He cannot come with us yet for two reasons, one is that he doesn't have all his shots yet and it would be too risky to expose him to things his little body is not able to resist yet.

The second reason is that we don't want Cleo to teach him that life is all about chasing rabbits...

That will come probably sooner then we want and unavoidably, that's for sure!

We want to give Aaron the chance to make his experiences on his own, with human guidance, at least most of them.

Jack Russel energy is wonderful energy to have in one's life, but for a young German Shepherd's development it can be quite disagreeable at times. 

Sometimes we "pack" the doggies into the car and go for a short drive, (Aaron gets car sick on longer drives) and go for a little walk on places where only a few other dogs come. 

Cleo takes her responsibilities very serious, she shows him how to walk on a leash! :)

And how to have fun by running through high (winter-) grass or by sitting in puddles! 

It's good that a little Shepherd puppy has a fur like a baby sheep! *lol*
It stays quite dry and cleans itself ;-)

Those little walks are so enjoyable, especially since winter has packed it's/his bags.

It's nice that most of the snow is gone. 

On the next photo you see the last snow between the rocks and in the background our farm. What a sight! It makes me so happy to walk up the hill and hear how the birds welcome spring with their beautiful voices. 

Being outside a lot is exactly what one needs after a long, cold winter. 

I hope we'll be able to start cleaning up the back yard soon, remove all the leaves that fell off the birches back in fall. We just have to wait a couple more days till the soil dries up a bit more.

The first snow drops found their way into the sunlight and believe it or not, today when the sun was shining on them they were the first to attract very hungry bees.

It's evening and the animals are all tired and asleep.

Thank goodness! *lol*

Since Aaron is a early-morning "person" meaning he get's up way before 6am sometimes 5 am - our days are quite long. 

So I'll be jumping into bed soon since the TV program is unappealing and there is nothing else to do today.

Good that we are heading towards the weekend again, isn't it! 

:))

House training and cat-moves!

We say good buy to this long winter, slowly but surely.

The weather is still not the best, it's foggy and rainy, but temperatures are climbing. 

Also slowly but surely.

Our week has been characterized by our new family member's needs and his daily schedule. 

Meaning we had to get up earlier then normal cause Aaron is very HUNGRY by 6 am AND he needs to go out too. 

Well, he would still be going (pee) inside if it would be his choice (I guess it's just more convenient for the little man!), BUT that is not our idea.

Hasi had quite a few young dogs during the years and I asked her today what was the shortest time ever that she had a puppy house-trained...

she said 2 days! 

Aaron doesn't want to break that record, he doesn't want to break any record it seems...

We are trying so hard, but he just doesn't recognize the benefit of letting us know when he has to go. He is very quick to find a carpet (he is very sure about where IN THE HOUSE he wants to do it) and lets nature take it's course, almost with a smile on his face! *lol*

We take him out after meals, after naps, after playing sessions and in between...

We do what we can, and he does too. :)

I am really not complaining! He is such a sweetie and he's already doing so well. 

He's gained 1,5 kilos in one week and is developing nicely.

Cleo is not only teaching him the art of sniffing all around the garden, she's trying to teach him the basics of digging too. Yeeha!

Cleo loves him to peaces. She plays with him every day...

Aaron and Mika are best friends now. 

:)

The two boys are playing with each other and believe it or not, Mika has thought Aaron a "cat - move". 

It was so funny to see that, you know the move when two cats meet and try to impress one another by sticking their buds up in the air and moving kinda sideways, that's exactly what Aaron did! *lol*

So funny! Awesome!

Hasi is also playing with Aaron, and she's teaching him important stuff too. Stuff like how to handle a person wearing a huge red tube! *lol*

That's it for today.

Good night world!

:))

Spring 2010 is really starting to show!

The weekend has ben wonderful.

We enjoy having Aaron with us now, he's such a funny and gentle little guy!

:)

AARON loves to be outside and discover the big wide world with his own eyes, his nose and his paws.

He loves to feel the snow and warmth of the sun.

He loves to sniff everything and...

New Kid In The House!

I can't believe how fast those almost 9 weeks went by!

Yesterday was another big day for us, we have a new family member!

We went to get "Tarriq's Aaron" after lunch.

The drive home was quite okay, Hasi sat in the back seat with him and gave him some guidance.

He was only "singing" for about 10 - 15 minutes, then he was sleeping the rest of the drive (little over one hour).

Cleo was also in the car, traveling right next to me in the passenger seat.

From the beginning she tried to ignore him as much as she could, throwing asking glances at us...

"What the heck does that mean? Is he really going home with us??? Does he HAVE TO make all this noise?"

Here's a collage I made for Hasi's desktop PC.

It shows Aaron from only 2 days old up to 7 weeks.

When we got Aaron in the house Missy and Mika were both downstairs sleeping. Missy on the sofa and Mika on his tower.

The introduction did NOT go too well, Missy ended up almost trowing the printer from it's table right next to the PC, together with Mika who was sitting on it! Missy's exaggerated reaction gave Mika an extra scare that would not have been necessary, especially since Aaron got all scared too and...

Asleep

We love to go to the beach, and there are many nice beaches along "our" coast.

This time we drove through the woods out to "Fårabäck", a bit north of Åhus.

We discovered a little "village" of cottages, called "stugas" in swedish.

Part of the coastline there is rocks and part is sandy beach.

All the colorful little boats are laying safe on land. Just the tips of the rocks stick out of ice and snow.

Part of the snow and ice has already melted and turned into those beautiful blue "pools".

Everything around seems asleep.

The cottages are beautiful and inviting.

For me this time of the year would be perfect to take a vacation right there, renting one of the "stuga's".

You know why?

First of all because spring is in the air and second...

it's all quiet there, we didn't see a soul.

I can only imagine how crowded this place will be in the summer.

Nothing for me! I like it quiet.

In the background you can see the harbor of Åhus, where middle sized ships are unloading and loading their containers. It's really a small harbor compared to the big ones in Sweden like Trelleborg, Gothenburg and Helsingborg etc.

More Stugas...

Only a few cottages serve as permanent residence. But not this one... Although! I could really imagine living in such a nice one as below!

I'd only wish for more privacy. :)

Our house hunt hasn't been successful yet. We did look at a couple of places, but they were all right next or near a more or less busy road.

And that is exactly what we don't want. And because we are so "picky" we'll have to keep looking.

It's been more or less sunny the last few days, only today it was cloudy and kinda cold. We even started a fire in the afternoon because we were freezing. That happens when your body gets to enjoy some spring sun for a day or two. Then, when it's gone again the body has immediate withdrawal symptoms.

The first snowdrops are sticking out of the snow and maybe I'll have time tomorrow to take my camera for a little tour through our backyard. :)

Hasi is watching soccer - champions league. She loves to watch a good match. I don't really care for soccer, so it's about bedtime for me.

I really appreciate a long and good night sleep.

With this in mind...

♥♥♥♥♥♥

Just 5 more days...

...and then Aaron will come and live with us!

We went there today for a last visit. His ears look very funny and his nose is getting longer and longer.

We brought him a Teddy Bear to play with and when we go and get him on Friday, we'll take the bear back home with him. The trick is that the bear will smell a lot like his brother and sisters and he won't feel so lonely during his first night here in his new home. ;-)

Getting to know his new teddy:

Aaron and his brother in the background:

We keep telling Cleo and Mika (and Missy too) about Aaron, try to prepare them for the big day when things are going to change. I mean, in reality they don't really care about me telling them about him, I think the preparation talk is more for me and not for them. ;-)

Animals take life by the day, by the moment.

We know that the first few nights will be different, challenging and without much sleep maybe.

But let's just hope for the best, hope for a quick and easy transition.

I am sure the animals will adjust to the new situation faster then me! *lol*

One thing is for sure, our family will "kinda" be complete again when Aaron is here.

It will be nice to have "shepherd - energy" in the house again.

:))