Hot, Windy Weather

We are having a long spell of hot, windy weather. For this location that means highs in the high 50s F with full sun and lows in the 20s F. The wind feels hot, too. My tree transplanting activities have continued, and I am up to a count of 49 newly planted trees. We are now past the recommended date for fall planting. Transplanted trees need time - perhaps as much as six weeks - to grow new roots before the ground freezes solid. However, I am considering planting a few more seedlings while this mild weather lasts. My reasoning is that if I dig up a really big root ball relative to the size of these tiny trees, they won't need to grow as many new roots as a bigger tree that would lose more of its roots in the digging process. Therefore, they should survive with fewer weeks before freezeup.

I have been training the dogs, but because of the heat, we go really slow and take lots of breaks. Robin and Meadowlark have been on two runs each, and they are absolute naturals. I have been thinking that Meadowlark is small, but she only looks small next to her huge brother Robin. She is actually quite average for her age. The next youngest pups are the Holly puppies who have now passed their first birthday. I am trying to be very consistent in running them every other day, weather permitting, and they are looking super and getting much stronger.

In other news, that Great Pyrenees puppy that was hanging around here last month has been adopted by one of the employees from the store across the street from us.