~Cliff, Shela, and the Weimaraners

June 20, 2020

After weeks of Western Oregon like rain, we have had some beautiful sunshine. It is not flooding our window this morning, but it is a lovely morning, nonetheless. The crops are drinking up the liquid gold much as they did the rainfall. We love watching the corn grow–but it may be a push for it to reach head-high by the 4th of July. Like our garden, some crops are a bit behind.

We are especially happy about the recent sunshine and the lack of rain because our hay is drying–it was raked a couple of days ago. It should be baled soon. If you have an eagle eye, you can see the fox in the bottom photo–running away once he spotted me.

AT OWYHEESTAR

We have a short reprieve–a little time to catch up on various things. The puppy yards (the grass areas) can take a breathe, too. Our focus is on updating the records and taking care of any loose ends. It has been quite the spring. Inquiries are at an all-time high. This scenario is not unique to us as AKC records the highest puppy search numbers ever. People have the time and opportunity to add a puppy to their household. We understand, but it is going to take some patience to get a puppy from us. Of course, a few lucky folks will get one between now and the end of the year; otherwise–we cannot guess how soon we will have pups ready. That is a truth that envelopes everything we do.

To manage this situation, I created a note to send in response. Here is a portion of what I try to explain to this desperate folks–wanting a puppy sooner rather than later.

We are happy to accept applications for a future puppy. The expected wait should be somewhere between six months to a year–there are many unknowns as well as variables. Keep in mind breeding females come into season every six to eight months–a mating doesn’t ensure pups. So, there are no guarantees. And keep in mind, once mated if they carry to term, it will be about four months until the puppy joins their ‘forever home.’

No one can guess the number of pups, the sex of the pups in the litter, and in some instances, you cannot predict the coat color or the coat length. For the litter with the potential to produce both Longhairs and the traditional smooth coats, typically, we send off DNA to be tested. So–it gets involved.

People ask who we plan to mate–but we prefer to decline to make these and other predictions. We have been breeding for more than fifty years and the Weimaraner exclusively for about twenty-five years. If you are interested in getting one of our pups, you should expect to complete the application and, once approved, to give them a non-refundable deposit. Then plan to wait–and we understand it requires a lot of patience and trust, but that is how it typically works.

This Week On the Blog…

As always, thanks to our faithful OwyheeStar contributors–they make this all possible. We sincerely hope our readers enjoyed these updates as much as we did, too. This week we find our supply of material running lower than it has for some time. Who can guess what might come in our inbox?

If you have a story that you will let me share–I need at least three sentences and a decent photo. I prefer to receive it via email. (FYI–we only use stories that feature the OwyheeStar Weimaraner).

Sunday— June 14 — Saluting Christina

Monday–- June 15 — Raein

Tuesday – June 16— Saying Goodbye

Wednesday — June 17  Pepper

Thursday –- June 18 — Thor

Friday — June 19 — Freya

On a very personal note

I mentioned the garden earlier, the lateness. I suppose I need to give it some fertilizer and an extra dose of love. I have some lovely daisies that wintered over–I love the daisy. I am anxiously hoping that the Hibiscus I started from seed might produce a few blooms this year.

Cliff and I ordered a new sectional–nothing fancy, but it and a cocktail table will be an excellent addition once they arrive. Now, we wait. Once again, I have gone through the living room and began eliminating a few items here and there–books, miscellaneous small furniture, and a couple of cabinets. One of these is slated to become our master bath vanity–I cannot wait.

We had a scare this week. Cliff was hospitalized last December–you might remember. He has been doing reasonably well until the last few days. We are trying to stay out of medical facilities, etc.–exposure to COVID-19 is more likely there in our way of thinking, but there was no escape. He was feeling so poorly and having trouble breathing, so he drove over to Fruitland to St. Luke’s Clinic. After the necessary exam and tests were completed, we learned he has pneumonia in both lungs. It was good he went in when he did, or it could have gotten a lot worse. Thankfully, he was sent home with medication.