Batten Down the Hatches

Update:  Seems we were very smart to protect the shrubs.  This morning (4/21)  I watched Georgia repeatedly circle one of the protected azaleas.  When she couldn't find a weak spot in the cage, she decided to try digging under it.  Brat!

You may have heard there was some wild weather is this part of the world yesterday.  Fortunately, we escaped with high winds and a ridiculous amount of rain.  The rain did wash a lot of the mulch and gravel down the hill in the back yard but that is fixable.  However, we are still preparing for some wild times here at The Ranch.

Georgia returns home on Tuesday.  She's had a great time at her first National Specialty.  She's not bringing home any ribbons but she got to see her mom do really well at the show and she got to spend time with her Aunties Liz, Marla, Diana and Mac.  Apparently a few people even offered to buy the Princess!  Not that we would ever sell but I think if Liz had ended up having to replace a cell phone on this trip she might have been tempted :)

In preparation for the return of Georgia, UHM and I did some yard work today.  The young, tender shrubs in the back yard are now wearing crinolines of wire to protect them from the predations of the baby dogs.  And to think we used to worry about deer eating the plants.

Azaleas along the left side of the yard.

Azaleas directly off the deck.

A row of Hydrangeas along the back.

Video of the National!

Domino Video, the professional video company that is shooting the National this year, was kind enough to share some clips with the CWCCA website.  You can see Lucy (Georgia & Jon's mom) in the Megan at Show Results.  Scroll down to see video of Puppy Sweeps, Veteran Sweeps and the Megan.  Lucy is the second red dog to come in the ring.

National Update - Day 1, Sweeps

Marla called this morning to give me her assessment of Miss G.  She stands by her original opinion of a year ago but does say that we are going to have to be patient while the girl grows up.  See Miss G comes from lines that mature slowly but that's actually a good thing.  It means that, while it will take longer for her to reach her full potential, there's a good chance that once she reaches it she will be really competitive in the breed ring for a longer period of time.

So, the results from this morning's 15-18 month sweepstakes class are that our girl wasn't in the ribbons.  It's ok with me though, I know that in a couple of years she will be just as successful as her mom and grandma (who's won the National TWICE!).

Tomorrow Georgia and her mom, Lucy, will be shown in the brace class.  Brace is where two dogs from the same breeder are shown together to demonstrate the consistency in the breeder's line.  Georgia and her mother are nearly carbon copies of each other so this should be fun.  Hoping someone at the National will get pictures.

Houston, We Have a Winner

I'm thrilled to report that last night Georgia's mom, Lucy (Ch Aberdovey's Infatuation), was awarded Best Red Bitch, Best of Opposite Sex to Best Cardigan, and Runner Up to Best Cardigan in the Megan Competition at the national Specialty.

The Megan is a champions-only match held each year in honor of the first breed champion Cardigan.  It's the only time Cardigans are separated and judged by color with the best dog and bitch of each of 4 colors going back in to compete for Best Cardigan (the final class is an 8 dog lineup).  It's incredibly prestigious to win any of the color classes not to mention the big prizes.  It's especially exciting for a red to do so well.

Today is the start of regular showing with both puppy and veteran sweeps.  Those begin at 9am standard time.  I will be anxiously awaiting news of how Miss Georgia does.  She's got some awful big paw prints to follow in!