Jenn at Back Alley Soapbox was kind enough to nominate us to participate in the My 7 Links Blog Introspective, (here).  This was started by Tripbase Blog as a way “to unite bloggers (from all sectors) in a joint endeavor to share lessons learned and create a bank of long but not forgotten blog posts that deserve to see the light of day again”.

So here goes:

1.  My most beautiful post

There Are No Words—  I wrote this on very little sleep the day after Thunder had his surgery for bloat with torsion.  He was still in the vet hospital and at the time we were just thankful that he made it through the surgery and was recovering.  That was beautiful.  But what was more beautiful were all the kind messages of support we received on that post and all throughout his recovery from both long time and newer readers of this blog.  It really meant a lot to us during a time of great stress.

2.  My most popular post

Things I Learned Pheasant Hunting—  This post has received the most hits according to WordPress.  I wrote it last Fall about the first (and so far only), time I accompanied my husband on a pheasant hunt.  Well let’s just say had a lot to learn and I learned a lot that day.

3.  My most controversial post

The Legend of Team Duckbusters—  OK I will admit that I try not to be controversial in my blog because it is just a lighthearted way to share the adventures of 2 brown dawgs.  However, last October the MI Chesapeake Bay Retriever Club held it first ever duck hunting tournament.  It was really just a way to get members together for a day of hunting and trading hunting stories.  I just could not resist ribbing one of my fellow bloggers who had been working the trash talk the week before the tournament.  🙂

Team Duckbusters--Left to Right: Chris, Jim, Thunder, Smokey (Thunder's pup), John and Cindy...the winner!

4.  My most helpful post

The Proper Way To Play With A Kong Dog Toy (during a snow storm)—  During one particularly huge snowstorm last winter the 2 brown dawgs felt they would try to be helpful.  😉

5.  A post whose success surprised me

Wordless Wednesday–Day Dreamin’—  This post received a lot of response, (although since it was just a photo and no commentary on my part, I’m not quite sure how to take that.  :lol:).

6.   A post I feel didn’t get the attention it deserved

Harsens Island Hunt—  Poor little Storm stood all day long on that dog stand for two lousy ducks and it went largely unnoticed.  Well she had a blast anyway.

7.  The post that I am most proud of

Trip to the National Speciality Show–Part 2—  This is way back from 2009 when I first started my blog and really did not post regularly.  We attended the Chessie National Specialty Show that year mostly so we could run Storm in the Working Dog stake and Thunder in the Working Dog Excellent stake which took place the last day of the show.  These tests do not allow you to handle the dogs and are really a test of their marking and memory.  In fact back then our dogs did not know handling because this was before we were working with our trainer.  The tests were fairly straight forward, but as the day wore on conditions made it tough for the WDX dogs to find the birds.  We were proud of Storm because the WD test was a piece of cake for her.  But we were most proud of our Thunder-boy because out of 13 dogs that ran the WDX test, only two passed, and one was Thunder!  We had a really bad training session the day before we left for the show and then 3 days in a hotel room and we did not know what to expect, but Thunder pulled it off!  (I took the pictures and video on that post with my old pocket camera.  If you don’t enlarge the video, Thunder looks like an ant. :))

Thunder With His WDX Ribbon

My 7 links are not too deep, but I sure had fun going back and rereading some of the older posts.  Thanks again to Jenn for the nomination!

And now for my nominations, (I checked the list so hopefully I am not duplicating):

Browndogcbr aka Hawk.  Hawk and his people post some great pictures on their blog and discuss topics of interest to all dog owners.  Plus Hawk is a Chessie…so maybe we are a bit partial. 🙂  I can’t wait to see which 7 they choose.

Meanwhile Back at the Gusty Ridge Ranch  I hope LPK will be able to participate in this.  She and her family have recently suffered the loss of her grandfather.  She always writes wonderful posts–sometimes funny, sometimes thought-provoking.  Her post in tribute to her grandfather is particularly beautiful.  I know I have missed some great posts along the way, so I am anxious to read her picks.

NERO’S POST AND PATCH  Teje has a real gift for making beautiful quilts.  I am a newer follower to this blog which is celebrating its one year anniversary.  Can’t wait to see which posts Teje picks.

Just Ramblin’  This is another blog I recently started following so I am sure I have missed a thoughtful post or a beautiful picture.  Can’t wait to see which seven make the cut.