His name is …………………

... GRYPHON!!!!!!! Heart (and body) of a lion, wings of and eagle and is the protector. Here’s his photo at 8 weeks!

We are feverishly busy getting ready for his arrival – in between thunderstorms that seem to be threatening our sanity. Since the acreage here isn’t completely fenced yet (a work in progress that has only been completed around the pasture) we needed to provide a safe place for Gryphon to be during the day. So, we are building a huge kennel that abuts the shop and there’ll be a dog door to the interior that is air conditioned. The shop has been puppy-proofed with latches on all the cabinets and coverings on all the shelves – basically removing access to things that look chewable. Since he’s 11 months that is still an issue and it’s going to take a while to figure out his little canine interest. When we are home he’ll be with us, but during the day while we are working he’ll have his puppy palace – out of sight from the road.

Here is the site that I’m clearing for the kennel and the dog door will be through the wall of the shop beneath the window. What a lot of rock to dig out and what you are seeing is only a third of what’s been removed already! Sod will go down tomorrow and the kennel will go up tomorrow afternoon.

Meanwhile it is round after round of vet visits for the cats for their annuals, servicing the Explorer for the trip, getting the house ready for the new Buffledog! We are remembering about the infamous “tail sweep”, fur bunnies everywhere and simply space for him to move easily about. He probably won’t be quite as large as Taylor was; Taylor was 135+, but I don’t think Gryphon will be much more than 110-115.

So, I’ve stocked up on book tapes for the 3400 mile trip and I’m really looking forward to being away from the office for a few days. Fortunately it looks like great weather for the 5 or 6 days that I’m going to be on the road.

Soon there will be our own photos of the boy!

NOW…………..

You also get to meet Felix, our now frequent ring tailed cat. The shot is a little out of focus since the auto-focus was ineffective in the dark and I just had to guess at the distance – ‘twas a few feet short, but you get the idea. These little guys are just off-the-chart cute.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!