Camp....Last Two Days

Wednesday at Camp is Purple Day. Everyone wears purple and plans for the festivities after lunch that involve contests and parades and general silliness out on the soccer field.

It all starts with awards to dogs who are rescued, to the senior dogs, to owners who have rescued. Then there's the Costume Parade, with some of the craziest dog get-ups you have seen. I didn't participate in the Hot Dog Retrieve Contest this year. Even tho we did try to practice for it earlier in the spring.....My boyz ALWAYS promise that they will go get the hotdog and bring it Right Back, but they always lie. Always. And the Whole Hog Contest...where dogs are offered many different kinds of food---James will eat ANYthing that I hand to him. If I want it, then HE will want it. Kissing Contest...My guys don't do PDA, so I don't enter That contest, either. But it is always fun to watch others participate! Especially those who have never done it before! By Wednesday, everyone has gotten rid of any hang-ups or apprehensions they might have had if their dogs do not behave "perfectly," and join in with complete abandon.

 For some FUN Camp pictures you can go to Facebook page of 

Leah Porfido Caracino

She is an AMAZING photographer, and seems to get right to the Heart of what is in each subject. Her stuff makes me cry, it is so poignant.

Evenings brought some wonderful activities as well.  Great lectures on The Origin of the Dog and Comparative Anatomy, Saying Goodbye to our Animal Friends, Dog Park Etiquette, Dog Body Language, to name just a few. There are also games to play, guided walks in the evening, dog dance group practice, and Drill Team and Lure Coursing, and, of course, a little bit of wine and cheese in the individual dorms.....

Drum Night is Thursday at Happy Valley (the dorm that has all the Crazies in it), and we bang on anything from empty Coke bottles to expensive bongos to plastic buckets we use for Canine Freestyle.

So, passes the week, and we come to Thursday. Prosper and I had a Freestyle lesson in the morning with Linda Blanchard. Linda just seems to take whatever it is that I present to her and make it into Gold. Currently, I am looking for a Royal Blue cowboy hat to complete our ensemble...so if you happen to see one...toss it my way!


Lunch on Thursday was taken al fresco, because it was Vendor Day, and Baden and I were selling leashes outside the Dining Hall. 

I sold a lot of my handmade leashes and the dog toys that I made earlier this spring. Sold completely out of the toys, and quite a bit of the leashes. It almost paid for my gasoline for the trip! Thanks to Roger Woodward who helped me make the dog toys in his incredible workshop.

That Baden exudes Proprietorship, don't ya think?

Brenda (in the pink shirt) brought things to sell for the Collie Health Foundation. Here she is with Amee and Amee's beautiful white Collie, Loki. 

Friday is the last "full" day of Camp. And even tho the schedule is full of the same activities we've had all week, I find myself winding down and drawing in.....Someone told me it is the Slowest and the Fastest week in the year.....

And so we walk.  All four of us. We take a walk in the Vermont Woods one more time before we have to leave.

We walk and we breathe in the cool air, and we forget that tomorrow....tomorrow we leave this Heaven on Earth for a few months.....until next Spring brings us running back.