Well the Little Rascals are growing steadily, this is an especially  fun time to watch them as they are developing into little dogs. It starts as they open their eyes, and find their little voices. Coordination improves quickly each day until the toddling fur balls become mobile and agile, able to escape the confines of the living-room puppy pen and explore the world. And just over the past few days they have made a noticeable shift from squirmy newborn fumbling around; they are showing Intent.

Websters defines Intent (as a noun) : the act or fact of intending : purpose; especially : the design or purpose to commit a wrongful or criminal act (in their defense the puppies are not evil in a criminal way, although it will not be long before they start getting into mischief).
Intent (as an adjective): having the mind, attention, or will concentrated on something or some end or purpose <intent on their work>

Either way you work the grammar, intent is what keeps coming to mind as I watch the wonderful entertainment that is the Rascals. It is like you can see the thought process in their cute little eyes; I see, I want, I get. Waking up, looking around, seeing mom, & going for her. They are acting on purpose. They are become self aware and aware of the world around them. They look right at you when you talk to them now, it’s too cute. They are learning to overcome obstacles, branch out into unexplored terrain, socializing with each other & the humans at Dew Claw, and experiencing new sights and sounds. And with each new situation they respond to they are learning, gaining confidence, and getting stronger.

This intent, focused now on mom, food, and fun, will serve them well as they grow into their role as racing distance dogs. That same intent will manifest itself in an almost unstoppable love of running.

But for now they are still adorable Little Rascals, always entertaining as they grow. For your enjoyment there are a whole slew of new puppy photos in the Sweet Pea Puppy Album, all the little faces & expressions, too much cuteness!

Update on “Dan and the Art of John Deere Skid Steer Loader Maintenance“

The pups are not the only one displaying Intent as new challenges are faced. Dan has been working with great intent on the mechanical challenge of making the loader run again, to ultimately accomplish our goal of re-modeling the dog yard this fall.

It was not easy or pretty, and took longer then expected (as is often the case with these kinds of projects) becuase it turned out that once Dan got started he found more things that needed fixing (ditto last comment). Finding parts required some internet searching, cause lets face it, most equipment that runs on leaded gas is not actually still running.  But when Dan is intent on something there is really no point in doing anything but stay out of his way. Unless of course he is working in a tight place and needs someone to stand there and hand him tools so he can keep working without stopping to go get them, which it turns out I am pretty good at.

Well today the John Deere ran, and ran well. Not that there are not other things that could be done, and I am sure some of them will ultimately have to be done. But today it ran, earth was moved, and intent was rewarded. With the loader running we are one step closer to remodeling the dog yard.