My family has always been a cocker spaniel family. When I was born, we had two cockers named Spanky and Snuffy, and I’m pretty sure my grandparents had one named Barney. Below, that’s me in the garden below with one of our pups. Then around high school, we had Mervin Wexford Dancrodile III (yes that was his name), and when Abby was born, we had Charlie.

Not wanting to break tradition, we recently added the cutest little cocker spaniel to our family. Her name is Pearl and she is adapting to her new home well. The girls love her and her energetic playfulness. Her teeth are sharp, but she is starting to learn the words ‘Leave It’.

Pearl especially loves playing in the yard. There is lots of room for her to run around and explore, and each day she notices something new. This week it was the chicken coop. It’s funny to watch her head perk up and cock to the side as she tries to decide what the strange two-legged critters running around inside the fence are. Hilary, the quiet ruler of the roost, is the only chicken that doesn’t flee when Pearl approaches the chicken yard, so chicken and dog have had a couple of staring contests.

This morning, the chickens were squawking that they were hungry, so Pearl and I went out to feed them. I wasn’t brave enough to let her in the chicken yard with me. We’ll save a face-to-face meeting for another time, but she nosed all around the perimeter fence. I think she was mostly interested in getting in on the feeding. She didn’t bark at them, just sort of sniffed and investigated. Hopefully, her temperament won’t change too much, and we can teach her to be friends with the chickens.

Well, while we’ve been busy with the new puppy, the holiday season just kind of crept up on us. Can you believe Thanksgiving is next week? To get you in the holiday spirit, this weekend, our Merry and Bright Holiday Wall will open up. Come on in to check out the beautiful holiday plants, including poinsettias, reindeer philodendron and Norfolk Island pines. Plus, you can take a festive family picture and just enjoy being outside in the fresh air. Speaking of fresh air, it’s time to take the puppy out again. I think she just wants to go say hello to her chickens.