Ronan and Thistle here.   On Saturday, we got to go meet two new friends, Arson and Xeon.   We already met their “mom” Diane during our bird testing.  She’s the really cool bird lady who shows us how to do all sorts of neat things.

Thistle: Here I am in the boat with Arson.  Bye Momma Sporty!  That’s her watching us carefully from the shore– guess she thought I might fall out, but I CAN SWIM so it really is okay!

Thistle: See, here is a video of me swimming at Croft Lake a couple weeks ago!

Ronan: And there’s our new pal Xeon in the boat, to the left of Arson and brother Thistle.   Xeon is cute and fun, and best of all she’s a puppy too!    I got out of the boat before my human mom could take a picture of me, because there weren’t any plants or cow poop to chow on in there!  (That’s Momma Sport swimming by the boat, not me.)

Ronan: We got to run like the wind, do some wading and swimming, meet weird fake ducks in the water, hear a shotgun, and the bird lady brought birds for us!  That was the best part of all.  Momma Sporty went bonkers over that, as did I.

Afterward, just for fun, our human folks decided it would be fun to do our own illustratation of the spectrum of golden colors for Golden Retrievers.  Momma Sporty is in the middle.

It was really hot out, and we were all tired, but we were good sports and let our humans take a group shot of us.  I guess I should mention we were bribed with smoked pheasant from the bird lady’s refrigerator.  Ha ha ha.  Yummy.  No way were we looking into the bright sunlight though!

We had a wonderful visit with Jamie and his people (Laurie, Bob, Kevin) yesterday!   The boys had a great time playing.   It was a bit hot out, but the pool kept the puppies and (by virtue of the splashing) the humans a bit cooler. 

Here’s Jamie at 3 months old

and lots of smiling faces (Thistle, Ronan, Jamie – sitting forward of the other two)

Some pretty good fierce faces, too (Jamie and Thistle)

Jamie Jameson is a lean, lean, running machine

This is a really cute video about how mother otters teach their babies to swim.

The boys got to visit with their sister Chelsea today, and had a grand time playing!  Here’s a posed picture of their happy reunion.

(l to r): Ronan, Thistle, Chelsea

The first part of our trip was fun though we had weather challenges!   Jennifer (with Rockie) and Corina (with Jackson) both came up to spend some time at the lake with us.  Our first afternoon there was overcast, but the dogs still got to do some bumper retrieving off the dock.

We expected our normal varied weather- some sun, some rain, etc. but instead got mostly storms!   Starting that night we had two storms hit — the second storm bringing gale force winds along with it.  The lake and all the trails flooded- the dock sections all floated off.

We still managed to get out for shorter walks around the lake, lots of swimming for the dogs, trips into town, and cooked lots of good meals.   We didn’t get the usual “lounging on the deck swing in the sun” time, though.

Rockie loved playing with the puppies, and also discovered his inner field dog, especially after doing a field double perfectly on his first try.

Jackson and Rockie love each other

Here’s Jackson looking doubly handsome with his reflection in the water…  click on the image to see it in a larger size.

We took a day trip out to Charleston, Oregon, where we visited Sunset Bay State Beach, and Cape Arago.

Here’s Jackson in a typical beach pose.

Rockie, Sport, and Jackson at Cape Arago.

Saw a bunch of seals at Cape Arago…

Back at the lake, the dogs did lots of shore diving (since we had no dock!)…

Here’s Rockie:

Jackson…

Sport…

My favorite swimming head picture (L to R- Jackson, Sport, K’Ehleyr, Lola)

We went for a boat ride to the sand dunes on a relatively clear afternoon toward the end of the week.  (I’m taking the photo, and all the dogs are being held because they were upset I was in the other boat!)

More pics will be posted in a separate album– but that’s the flavor of the first week of the trip.  Until later!

How time flies!  We are back home.   While it’s nice to be home, it’s sad to leave the lake and all the wonderful times we have there.

Ronan and Thistle (L to R below) wish their brothers and sisters a happy 12 weeks!

Posting to the blog has suffered because we have had a very slow and intermittent internet connection.   Today we have fantastic weather, and right now I’ve got connectivity so here’s a quick post before we lose it!

Thistle swam for the first time a couple days ago, and is doing short retrieves of bumpers and his little duck dokken!   Thistle is:   Tigana Cairngorm Blessed Thistle [beer link]

Here he is swimming:

Just lost connectivity for a couple hours in the middle of this post, so must hurry!

Here are Thistle and Ronan watching the big dogs swim

Yesterday, we went for a hike and Sporty, feeling clever, swam to a tree and climbed on.

Lola thought that was pretty cool.  Not to be outdone, here’s what she did:

All that swimming and hiking is tiring for everyone…  here’s K’Ehleyr and Thistle snoozing together while K’Ehleyr was waiting her turn to be dried.

This post took all day to do since I kept losing my internet connection (sigh).   We have many photos, most of which will need to be posted after we return.   I’ve got some cute Jingles puppies pictures to post, as Corina/Jackson and Jennifer/Rockie joined us for the first part of the trip.   Watch for them on the next post!

We’re at Croft Lake in Oregon again!   Lots of pictures coming up in the next few days, but here are a few to start.

Ronan (Purple boy from the Artisan Beer litter) is with us, and here are his table and head shots from prior to 8 weeks:

Here he is from yesterday:

Our dear little Yellow girl (formerly known as “Bravo”) went to her new home this afternoon.  She is now “Chelsea”, and her registered name is:

Tigana Great Newsome Harvest’s Gold [beer link]

Chelsea is living in Los Gatos with her loving owners Lynne and Francis, Lindsay and Joe.   She’ll be living the active life, with lots to keep her happy, busy, and entertained.

Chelsea’s table and head shot (head shot from 7.5 weeks)

Yesterday we had 3 of the puppies going home.   We were sad to see them leave, but at the same time excited for them as they start their new lives with some wonderful families.   First green boy left, then pink girl, then blue boy.   Just for fun, I’ve linked to their beer page in case anyone wants to try it out!

Green Boy is now “Levi”, and his registered name is:

Tigana’s Pure Hoppiness [beer link]

Levi is now living in Davis with his new best friend, Kristen.   Besides lots of hiking and swimming, they plan to train in fieldwork, agility, and try their hand at tracking later this year.

Levi’s table and head shot

Pink Girl is now “Avalon”, and her registered name is:

Tigana’s Glastonbury Golden Chalice [beer link]

Avalon is now living in Marin, with Miche and Bill and their wonderful rescue Golden, Samantha.  Visit Sammie’s blog.   Besides all their wonderful hikes and visits with doggy friends, they will be doing competitive obedience, dock diving, and tracking!

Avalon’s table and head shots:

Blue Boy is now “Jamie”, and his registered name is:

Tigana Blackwatch Cream Porter [beer link]

Jamie is now living in Davis, with his loving owners Laurie and Bob.  He is now their very own “giggle machine”, as he was the one whose antics always kept us laughing.   Besides his job spreading joy, he will be doing tracking, field, obedience– basically anything Laurie wants to ask of him!

Jamie’s table and head shots