Happy Birthday Storm.... I miss you....

Back on February 24th was a year since Storm died.  I wanted to make a post... a really good post with a compilation video and all of my favorite pictures, but it hurt too much... every time I sat down to work on it I started crying so hard I couldn't see the computer screen (I'm crying even now, but not like I was then), so I gave up and didn't make the post.  Today however would have been Storm's fourteenth birthday so I can't not say something.  I am amazed that it still hurts this much and that I still miss her.  Most days I don't think about her anymore, but when I do it's still waterworks city.  I guess when you spend almost thirteen years with a dog... some of the most turbulent years (teenager and early twenties) it really leaves a hole when they are gone.  I sometimes feel like it can't be real that she's gone.  There are so many things that still remind me of her.  If I close my eyes I can still remember how her fur felt, the shape of her ears, the slope of her forehead between her eyes (she loved to be rubbed there), the longer, coarser fur of her tail, etc.  I still think she was the absolute most beautiful dog I have ever met in my entire life.  I never could believe she was mine.  She was so gorgeous.  So smart.  So sweet.  I miss her so much.  Anyway, I have to go to bed, so I'll just share some of my favorite pictures.  Maybe someday I'll be able to make that video...

This is still my favorite photo of the two of them together.

I love this one too from when Jackal was little!

 How cute is that???

 She was the cutest puppy!

 I miss that smile!

 So good at her wave trick.  Her half mast ears are so typical Stormy!

 I'm so glad I took so many photos of her.

 Another favorite of the two of them.

 The only photo taking fail was I didn't get many of me and her.

 Happy Birthday sweet girl.

Happy Birthday Storm...

Today would have been Storm's thirteenth birthday... it's been four months since she died and I still think about her and cry over her all the time.  I can sometimes think about her and smile at the memories, but sometimes I still feel guilty and miserable!  I know one thing for sure... the first day of summer will never be the same without her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A to Z - F is for Flowers!

 Blooms on my cherry tree!

I LOVE spring!  During the winter I miss the sun, everything being green, flowers, warm temperatures, etc.  So today for F I'm sharing pictures I took of flowers!!  Sadly the daffodils bloomed early and are withering, but I got everything else.

My yard is covered in flowers (especially dandelions)!  

I love how there are three different kinds here.

 Apple tree is covered in blooms!

 Closeup of the purple ones. 

Any idea what these are?

 Pretty dandelion!

 Some are even going to seed already.

 Jackal (my shadow) shows how many dandelions there are in the yard!

There are hundreds!!

 Pretty purple blooms on the Redbud tree.

Here are two pictures of the blooms on my peach tree that I took a couple of weeks ago.  They are withered now too.

Now I'm just waiting for the Irises to bloom!  Can't wait!  Also I have a question for you.  Has anyone ever grown Morning Glories?  I got some seeds of the blue variety.

I want to plant them in tribute for my Siberian Husky that died five weeks ago because her name was Storm Glory and her eyes were so blue.  Here are a few pictures of her gorgeous blue eyes.

So I've read up on Morning Glory vines and they need full sun and grow like crazy.  What I've read says they can grow twenty feet in one year!  One place recommended making a teepee out of bamboo poles and growing them up it which I think would be really cool, but I have no idea where to put it.  I may still do that, but my dad also wants me to grow them up the side of one of his buildings because it's plain and needs some decorating.  My question is, does the wall get enough sun?  How much sun do they really need?  Here is a picture of the wall.

And another angle.

That is my apple tree next to it.  I'm afraid it will shade the wall too much.  Also these pictures were taken at noon and you can see how the roof shades the ground where they would be planted.  So what do you think?  Will it work?  I really want to plant these for Stormy, but I don't want them to die.  Everything I've read says they are vigorous growers and even reseed themselves each year, but knowing my luck I can kill them lol.  I would love to hear from someone with some first hand experience.  Anyway thanks for reading!

A to Z - D is for Dogs, Duh! (picture intensive again)

 This is my current dog, but I'll tell you more about him in a minute.

I love dogs!  I also forgot to mention I love photography as well, so I hope you don't mind a million pictures.  :D  My family had a lot of dogs when I was growing up.  We had a Bullmastiff, German Shepherds, Shetland Sheepdogs, a  Labrador Retriever, a Pointer, a Redbone Coonhound and lots of mutts.  I don't have pictures of most of them and it would take me days to tell you about all of them.  I always considered those dogs family dogs though.  My favorite breed of dog is the Siberian Husky (with German Shepherds a very close second) and I wanted one, so when I was sixteen I got one as a birthday present to myself.  Storm was the first dog that was all MINE and not a family dog.  I chose her, trained her, raised her, etc.

She was an adorable puppy!

She won that bandanna in a raffle.  :D

She was great at posing!  I set up the shavings and hay specifically for a photo shoot.

Waving was the first trick she learned (well besides sit, down, stay, etc.).

She was the most gorgeous dog on the whole planet.

We had an amazing twelve years together, but sadly a month ago I had to put her to sleep because of kidney failure.  My heart is still broken from losing her.  She was the best first dog a girl could ever have.

I don't want this to be a sad post though, so I'll tell you about my current dog Jackal.  I got Jackal in 2008 as a puppy because Storm was on her own and I thought she needed a companion.  Jackal is a Beagle/Mountain Cur cross.  I've trained him using clicker training and he knows over 40 tricks!  :D  Here are some pictures.

Jackal with Storm in 2008 when he was a puppy.

He was such an adorable puppy!!!!

This was his very first day home.  He missed his mom and my hubby was giving him cuddles.

He's good at posing too!

Is he not the cutest??

And because I miss my Stormy girl and they are so cute together, here are some of my favorite of the two of them together.

 Posing the two of them together can be difficult!

I LOVE having a solid trained Sit/Down/Stay on my dogs. :D

 I also don't want to leave my mom's dog out. Mac is a Yorkshire Terrier.

 

 

 

 He is a fetching machine!

I hope you enjoyed learning more about my dogs (past and present) and I hope you enjoyed the pictures!  This whole blog has been about my dogs, so if you want to learn more have fun browsing around.  :)