Happy Grounddog Day

The hounds of Dolliver Kennels came out today, courtesy of wrangler NameMe, to celebrate Grounddog Day.  They insist that this is right, since every dog has his day and this is their day.  Elton consented to come out of hibernation to perform, after NameMe lent him her seasonal ski cap.

Accompanied by barking and howling, he banged out a nice rendition of Hound Dog, How much is that Doggie in the Window, Dog of my Heart, and Moon River, which, he explained, was to give the howling maximum opportunity.

 Clockwise, starting with Irish setter, is the shaggy puppy, Wirehaired Terrier, winner of Westminster last year, Whippet, Dalmatian and Big Shaggy Dog.

The patterns for the breed dogs came from Knit Your Own Dog, by Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne, a book of breed-specific patterns, great fun.  Especially when people ask you what you're knitting and you say, oh, an Irish setter..the two shaggy mixed breeds came from the brain of Boud, and resemble a couple of dogs in her own past. 

The Dalmatian is a bobblehead, mugging for the camera, put in in memory of the late great Dal K.C. Adams,who was the mascot of this development in her day.  Full name Katie Cherie Adams, but she answered to K.C.  The Herend Porcelain Afghan hound declined to take part in this vulgar brawl and continues to preside over the kitchen from a high perch, above it all.

As you see, maximum of snow and sleet, wintry mix, in fact, and minimum opportunity for seeing anyone's shadow today. Either way I think six more weeks of winter is a reasonable expectation, if winter can be said to be reasonable.

After this exhausting photo shoot, the dogs have retired to sleep, a policy long advocated for the month of February by the cats.