What a Difference!

  The tree work was done in the kennel on Tuesday.  We had planned on having the four trees inside the runs taken down, but once the guys were in the tree tops, they could see some damage in a tree in one of the play yards.  That one needed some limbs removed, although it really needs to come down completely soon.  I had the men look at two trees at the front of the big play yard, and yep, those needed to come down, too.  One actually made a cracking noise just from them pushing on it!  In the fall and winter, we get  very strong winds from the west.  If those trees went down, it would take the fence with it.  Almost all the wood is burnable, so we have a huge pile for the woodstove!
  The dogs were very good during all the work.  Noisy chain saws and falling limbs didn't bother them at all.  Jackson was not as brave by the end of the day.  The pile of debris and the cutting of the tree closest to his yard must have unnerved him as I found him standing on his gym, frozen, when I went to get him out of harm's way so the tree top could be trimmed.  When I picked him up, he started shaking so I carried him into the house.  When the work was finished, I took him back outside and at first he wasn't sure about navigating through all the logs and limbs, then decided everything was o.k.  One of the workers described Jackson as "the puppy with the mohawk".  With his ears glued over and his fuzzy puppy head, it does look like a mohawk!
  When I let the adult dogs into the kennel for their dinner, they had a great time sniffing out the new smells the cut up logs must have released.  Sadie and Phoebe had a great time snuffling through the sawdust.  Along with the new view, it's much quieter in the kennel now that the squirrels aren't running through the trees aggravating the dogs.
  We still have a lot to clean up, but here's the new look: