Christmas present from OFA

I received Hazel's OFA results on December 23rd.
Elbows - Normal
Hips - Excellent
WHOO HOO!!!!!

Hazel's "excellent" rated hips!

Last Titles of 2009

The show year has come to an end, and the last shows we competed in were in Syracuse, NY and Springfield, MA. Between those two shows, Hazel earned her Rally Advanced and Rally Excellent titles. Whoo Hoo!!
The Springfield, MA show was a tough one for me to attend as it was on opening day of our Southern zone deer season in NY. But I left my hubby at home to sit in the woods and like Hazel, he too was successful!
A nice 8 point buck!

Way to go honey!

ACC National Specialty Show

At the tail end of September, we headed off to Wilmington, Ohio for the American Chesapeake Clubs National Show Specialty. The weather was decent, seeing old friends and meeting new ones was fun, the food was great and the dogs were wonderful!! Hazel was entered in a few different competitions and overall did very well. Thursday, Oct.1st was Obedience day. Hazel competed for the first time in the Open A class and decided (among other things) that she was not going to allow me out of her sight for the stay exercises! Non-qualifying score for that one.
Next was Rally Advanced B where she was much happier to have me by her side and we qualified with a 94.
Our last endeavor for the day (and certainly the most fun) was the team obedience. We had an awesome team comprised of Jess Seebohm with Hazard, myself and Hazel, Jill Conroy with Abby and Chris Beste with Brin. Decked out in snow flake covered shirts and bandanna's (for the dogs) and labeled as the Nor'easters, we strutted our stuff and, despite a few "opps" moments, did quite well taking second place out of the six teams competing!

Oh, what fun this was!!!
I can't wait until 2011 in Gettysburg, PA!

On Friday, Oct. 2nd Hazel competed in the Hunting dog class and amongst the stiff competition came out with a 2nd place! I was thrilled! She didn't seem to care!

C'mon........
Stop taking pictures and THROW this bumper!!!

The rest of the weekend was spent enjoying the show, watching the other dogs that were competing, shopping, and chowing down at the dinners! Unfortunatly we won't be going to next years national as it will be in California, but we're looking forward to 2011 when it will be back east in Gettysburg, PA!

After our busy spring, summer and early fall, it was nice to be back home and do a little duck hunting. The season wasn't very productive, but we had fun anyway!

You watch that way Dad, and I'll watch this way!

Waiting is the hardest part,
and we seem to do an awful lot of it when duck hunting!
I think I like the hunt tests better!

Update from Sept.

Mid-September we headed off to Maine for the American Chesapeake clubs national field trial specialty.
Although Hazel was not competing, as it's way above her level of training, the plan was to see new places, meet new people and have lots of fun. And that we did!
We started our trip with our usual stop in Salem, MA for a night, then headed north to Gloucester, MA before heading to our Maine destination.

While reading our adventure, you can learn more about some of our stops if you'd like, by clicking on the places printed in bold white lettering, to visit informative links about them.

First stop, Gloucester, MA

Hmmm......
I remember watching a movie about this with mom and dad.
"The Perfect Storm"

Making a new friend.... smile Hazel and Laine!

After reading the history and meeting new friends, it was time to go down to the beach and play!

Now this is fun!

Just me and my shadow.....

Mmmm.....salty water!

Hazel believes in keeping our beaches clean of pollution!

Look what I found mom!
A whole roll of plastic wrap!

Then it was onto Maine where we would spend the next three days watching wonderful dogs, enjoying great food and sharing stories with old and new friends alike at
The ACC National Field Trial Specialty in Pittsfield/Burnham Maine

September 14 - 17, 2009



Watching a dog run a mark

While there, I was observing and taking notes on dogs of extreme natural talent, trainabilty and looks, because it's never too soon to start the search for future potential boyfriends for Hazel! Here's a few that caught my eye!

Johnson's Kidd Crackshot MH

And another potential boyfriend....

WW Button's "Sly" MacGregor

Mac flyin'

And yet another.....

CH Sugartree's Moose Pond Gunner MH

Gunner flyin'

But it wasn't all about the boys,

Mine and Hazel's heroines,
and the winners of the Open class and Best Bitch in Trial,
Linda Harger and Yakity

Seeing an old friend from The Netherlands was great,
as well as meeting new friends from England

and new friends from Denmark

What beautiful trophies,
maybe someday.........

After leaving the field trial on Wednesday, we headed off to spend Thursday touring around Acadia National Park. The weather was overcast and cool with a little drizzle now and then. But we still had a GREAT time!

Yipee!!
Another National Park visit!

First stop, Sand Beach

This looks like a fun place!!
Let's go!

Water for as far as I can see!

Look at me, catching a wave!

Then it was off to Wildwood stables for a scenic carriage ride!

A carriage ride?
I don't know about this one Mom!

Hmmmmmm.....
Don't you think the horse should be keeping his eyes on the road?

Well that was cool!
I felt like the Budweiser dog!

Then the climb to Cadillac Mountain

My goodness,
it's WINDY up here!

Our last stop in the park was to see Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse in Tremont.

Checking out the view
on the way to the lighthouse

OOOOO..... there it is!!
How pretty.... I could live there!

Then it was time to start back to NY, but first, one last stop in Maine at a fresh water lake to rinse off the salt water and sand from the ocean.

Whoooooo-Hoooooo
A bumper and fresh water!!

AHHHHHH...............
Perfect end to a perfect day!