Dawg Days!

This year I actually got a Mother's Day text from a dog. It thanked me for being 'the best mother to furry things' which is good as I'm not the mother of anything human!! It came from a Great Dane, by the name of Terra -- whom, I think, borrowed her Mom's phone. (That would be my friend Geneve.) I love dogs... always have, and before I moved to the USA, owned a dog walking agency in London called 'Dog Ventures!' But as much as I love them, I don't have one, but if I did, it would look like Terra here. She's the Architectural Digest of dogs. The reason I don't have a dog (mostly) is that dogs are not allowed in my current places in Aspen or New York. But when I can next have one, if I get one, it will be hard to decide on the primary function it should have. Should it be a dog that can run ahead of the horses to alert wildlife and be a ranch-type dog? Er yes, well then a Great Dane is no good, they don't even walk far enough to get to the mail box. Would I want a dog that can lay on the floor in an outdoor restaurant unrestrained and be patient and not yappy while I eat? (er yes it sometimes is allowed in Colorado). Then the big slinky is dog is just great. And when our snow comes? Well, what better than a dog designed to lie by the fire guarding the room in a castle! Its perfect for a Rocky Mountain-style home -- (with a little contemporary art styling in the mix, Terra's gray and white is sooo unutterably chic.) I understand all the small bouncy doggie things -- cute cuddly, take it to the groomers, bathe it, sleep with it, travel with it in the baggie and pop under the seat in front of you on the plane, stick it under your arm and smoosh it with kisses. I do know some top dogs whom regard me as aunty, and I've done all these things with them! And I do love a good Black Lab for their sheer enthusiasm, unadulterated loyalty, intelligence and willingness to go get you the paper etc. But for now, a super-leggy supermodel-y dawgy is my pick. So here, in the following posts, tributes to some of my favorite dawgs. But who won't agree, Terra takes pageant title.

Hairy!

It occurred to me as I was bandaging my poor horse Jessie's legs, that I spend more time thinking about human and equine dermatology and trichology than anything else. In other words, Im just about always fiddling with either her hair (the horse) or mine, or her skin (or skin conditions) or mine! She has the Vet, I have the dermatologist and Elizabeth Arden Red Door Salon as well as Salon Tulio. The pretty blue bandages in the photo are covering up the wreck that her 'white' socks have become due to a fungal infection, the likes of which the vet and everyone around tells me is due to the organisms living in the soil. Ugh! Its like daiper rash/athletes foot/excema all at the same time. Poor girl! Its owwweeee every time I walk her to the wash stall to pick off the scabs and scrub with anti-fungal shampoo. She really hates this and does a dance that makes it even more difficult, so Ive learned to bribe her with a feed bucket to distract. (Well, a little sugar always makes the medicine go down better, doesnt it?) But seriously, by the time we're done with that procedure and Im done feeding her vitamins to make her coat shine, and grooming her, bathing her, clipping her, its time to get me to the beauty shop all over again. The roots, the highlights, the color needed for the month 'in between', the waxing, the cutting, the blowout and so on. And that's without even a mention of my skincare, dermatology and manicure stuff or hers for that matter -- the shoeing, the trimming, the hoof oil. Just two very high maintenance girls!! One blond and one brunette....

Yawn...zzzzzzzz!

Yaaaawn! I am so so tired today and for Colorado, we have an unusually muggy feel to the weather. I am working in an Ella Moss sundress that I picked up from Neimans Last Call whenI was in Dallas last trip and its as comfy as pajamas and cooler. Maybe the best thing is to give in and take a nap. This reminds me of the day that I went to check on the horses at The Marlborough Man's ranch, and, strolling over the paddock I panicked and thought they had all gotten sick as almost everyone was lying down. Turns out they were all just taking a snoozy 40 winks! And so I snapped the photo.

Xtreme Makeover!

Yesterday was an "Extreme Makeover" day! It took three people (plus the carpet installers) almost twelve hours to give the Original Curve hovel a funky rustic vintage overhaul. I have to admit, I was not a pretty sight at the end of the day's dirty work (sigh!) I was covered in paint, my (poor skin hates paint chemicals) and my hands and nails? Fuggedaboud it. But the end results are very cute. And now it's rented through next June 2011. Yaaayy. Someone call HGTV and tell them I should get my own remodelling show. We'll call it 'DONE IN A DAY'!!! Spa anyone? I'm thinking Remede at The St Regis.....

Remembering Baldy.......

Time to remember Baldy I think. It was about this time two years ago when that epic snow season melted off and the bears started to come out. There was a shortage of berries and sadly Baldy got eaten by a big brown bear. It was very sad. The Malborough Man had rescued this helpless little calf as his Momma had abandoned him due to his 'scours' tummy upset. I started to learn my 'Cattle 101' by nursing him back to health and he was doing great when he was poached from the Tractor barn. Baldy was such a thankful and cheerful little thing and responded so well to all the babying, pepto bismol, antibiotics and TLC. Here he is sitting outside with his blankey on (there was a big hail storm earlier that day!) RIP Baldy. I love you and miss you and your nasally moooing.