family reunion

Yesterday we drove up to High Littleton in Somerset to meet a bunch of other Lappy folk for a walk in Greyfield Wood. We've been there before and yet somehow I always manage to get a little lost when trying to find it. I was amazed when the other people who came - and who had not been there before - all found it quite readily. Especially as the directions were wrong. Who wrote the directions? Uh huh.

Don't ask me what the moral of that story is.

Anyway, we had a fantastic turnout of 12 Lapphunds, at least twice that number of people, and one honorary Lapphund in the form of Toby. Missing from this photo is said honorary Lapphund and one ornery little madam off to the right who didn't squidge in close in time for this particular shot.











Dogs, L-R: Marja, Keskiyo, Maija, Neka, Kaija, Usko, Taika, Minna, Ben, Seppo, Miika

What was particularly nice for us was that, in addition to our own 3 dogs, of the 12 Lappies were at least one member of every litter of puppies we've ever had. Later at the pub (which, needless to say, we had no trouble finding), We tried to get a few family shots but had to make do with just a couple.

You might remember Marja who was the Marilyn of the last litter. She's 5 months old now, still platinum blonde, very little and super sweet. She wasn't too sure about getting out of her car when she first arrived at the walk. I don't suppose she has seen so many dogs in one place at once time - let alone 11 Lapphunds all in one place. Then granny Neka spotted her and started to bark with excitement. When Marja heard her and recognised her, that was it - she was off and utterly fearless from that moment on.






Trying to keep up with the big dogs














Scrambling up the water fall


















Pause for a treat or two









It's pretty tiring stuff for puppies, but there was plenty of time for recovering at the pub later.

















Marja's sister Tippi is coming to stay next week and I can't wait to get the 2 girls together for a play date. Check back - there should be plenty of news over the next couple of weeks.

In the meantime, here is Taika and a selection of her kids.












L-R: Kesä, Taika, Minna, Usko