Is it June or January??????

I spent the day today in Blackfoot & at one point this morning, I very seriously considered turning myself into Blackfoot South, because I decided I had to be nuts! This is the weekend of the annual Blackfoot dog shows. For those of you who know me, you know that I LOVE dog shows!! I love it more when I'm showing my own dogs, but that was not to be this year. We simply didn't have anyone ready & the costs were a bit prohibitive at this point. So we figured that the next best thing would be to go & work at the dog shows! We still get to go every day. We still get to see all of our friends & the beautiful dogs. And the best part is...we get paid to do it! So, we all volunteered to work in the rings all four days.

And then we woke up this morning. Now, you have to understand that Idaho has apparently decided not to have summer this year. The weather thus far this week has been much more appropriate for January than June. It has been cold. It has been rainy. It has even snowed. This morning was no exception. It was about 38 degrees when I got out of bed this morning. But, freezing or no, we had promised to go work. By the way, did I mention that the Blackfoot shows are outside? You know, because it's June, and in Idaho, June is very warm! So, I bundled up in my warmest pants, a sweater, a sweatshirt, thick socks, warm sneakers, and with a blanket in tow.

Let me tell you...I was completely and totally unprepared for just how cold it was!!! The way the ring was set up, I was facing the 30 mile an hour wind all morning. It was miserably cold & I forgot my gloves at home. Within an hour, I could no longer feel my face. My fingers were not moveable & I was pretty sure that if I tried to move my toes in my shoes, they would fall right off! We saw some rain, we saw a little bit of snow, and then miraculously, after lunch, we saw the sun! The wind died down, the air warmed up, and the sun came out! By the time we were almost finished & Groups started, it was actually pretty decent outside. It was probably in the high 50's, low 60's, and I even got brave enough to take off my sweatshirt. I was still glad that I had a sweater on underneath though.

However, crazy girl that I am, I am already looking forward to going back tomorrow! The weatherman is promising it will be better weather tomorrow, so let's hope he's right!

Please note the people in their winter coats in this photo! How crazy is it that just about everyone I saw was in their winter coats in June! And that poor lady that was wearing her blanket around her like a skirt! It was insane.

Josh gave me this line about how he didn't need a blanket because he was a man & mean didn't get cold. I did, however, notice that he was awfully quick to steal my blanket when I wasn't using it. Believe me, I gave him a hard time about being seen in public wrapped up in a pink blanket.

Dog show people totally pamper their dogs! These are a few of my friends, Larry, Beep & Lorie, with the star of the show...the dog, of course.

This is more like a dog show on a June afternoon should look like. The sun is out, people are sitting with friends, enjoying watching the dogs. This was taken this afternoon, after it warmed up.

One of the things that I love the most about the dog shows are the terrific friends I have in that world. For the most part, these are people I have known half my life. Unless, of course, we get into the collie people that have known me since I was about 6! But I love going to shows, because I know I'm going to see great friends that I only get to see at dog shows! In alot of cases, these people are more like extended family & the dog shows are like our family reunions. Above is a wonderful family friend, Andy with his Doberman Pincher. In addition to being one of the top handlers in the country, And is about one of the best people I have ever been privileged to know. He is always willing to help someone when they are in need & both he & his wife are just terrific people. Below is another good family friend, Beep, with his gorgeous Akita.