I support James…
See him with Stephen Colbert on YouTube …censored by CBS to appease #1.
17-Feb-2026
From James Talarico
James Talarico Censored
17-Feb-2026
Climate Change Accelerates
Washington Post
13-Feb-2026
Since the 1970s, the Earth — fueled by greenhouse gas emissions — has been warming at a fairly steady rate.
But 2023, 2024 and 2025 were far warmer than previous trends. A Post analysis shows the warming rate over the past decade increased by 42 percent. https://wapo.st/4qv6eHn
Competing to Stay on the Farm
Between 10 and 16 weeks, puppies start to show their temperamental and working aptitude distinctiveness. Mindi, Nova and Jac, now 14 weeks old, are finalists for retention on the farm. They are the pups with the combination of temperament and working aptitude I look for in breeding. While I focus on them, the remaining pups in the litter will be available for new homes.
Trump Legacy
Someday, those who voted for / supported Trump and his party will realize what Marjorie Taylor Greene has recently said, “MAGA was a big lie.“
This photo is symbolic of the Trump legacy: Chaos, Madness, Selfishness, Destruction. A mess left for others to clean up. It was the same with all his fail business ventures: creditors, little people left and the public at large holding the bag for Trump’s ego, greed, rashness and ineptitude.
This photo sums up MAGA: empty promises, destruction and corruption. Whether Mussolini’s Italy, Hitler’s Germany, Franco’s Spain, or Imperial Japan, fascist totalitarianism ends in failure and mass misery. It was never about ‘the people’, it was about the leader.
Band on the Run
Four 13-week-old puppies went trotting down my driveway on Groundhog Day, hoping to find Punxsutawney Phil or the like. Two were found late afternoon about a mile from my house by painters working at my house –who actually got their car stuck trying to find the puppies on snowy Vermont rural roads. Two pups stayed out all night in sub-zero degree temps. The town animal control officer and I spent until after midnight tracking the missing two to no avail. Social media and Listserve posts went up immediately. The animal control officer and I were ready to canvass and alert the town, knocking doors this morning …and then, about 7:30 a.m., up walked these two missing pups, looking not too much worse for having spent the night out in the cold.
And a bell was ringing in the village square
For the puppies on the run
Band on the run
Band on the run
A very happy ending!
Puppies being retrieved by Jacob and David.
The other two pups who returned the next morning may have spent part of the night indoors. Not clear just where they went or how they managed to find the driveway again.
Puppies understand better than humans the notion of ‘mutuality’.
Finn at His New Home
Lisa and Gregg wrote this morning with an update on 7 month-old Finn (Sue x Ormond Mirk) in ski country. When the right pup goes to the right home… this is what happens.
Jett in Training
An exceptional son of Peter and Jazz getting house time, part of the bonding process for this 7-month-old. McCloskey’s Nel and Clwyd Bob are his paternal grandparents. Caefelin Clem is his maternal grandsire.
As often happens, one happy day these intelligent creatures yield and give themselves over to us. There is no predicting just when it will happen. Suddenly –tout à coup!– they just trust and there is a basis for a lifetime relationship.
Jett doesn’t want to sit next to me; he prefers an opposite chair where he can watch me. Always watching me.
Jett is a pup I could only breed, not purchase. Purchasing the right combination of temperament and working ability is nearly impossible. My best dogs are bred, parents carefully selected and the pups that best fit me retained. One never knows what one has in a purchased dog until the dog arrives in a crate, then starts to do his work on the pitch. The competition winning dog may not work for me. I look for the ‘whole dog’ …the dog that fits me and my style. Peter is one of those. His son Jett is looking like one too.
The Horrifying Execution of Alex Pretti
Three shots in the back to a man on his knees, a total of 10 shots into his body: the horrifying execution of Alex Pretti at the hands of ICE thugs. This is America gone wrong. As are the lies by the Trump administration to countenance it. The Pretti execution photo is reminiscent of the grisly ISIS executions of Americans in Syria. This is the frightful state of America in January 2026.
Do not turn away.
Stop. Look at this photo.
Believe your eyes. This is not ‘fake’.
Demand accountability.
Stop the Trump / MAGA madness.
Take back Democracy and Civil Rights!
Three Little Maids (from School)
Three 12-week-old females from the litter of 10 in with me for a break from the cold kennel in -8℉ temps. The female pups cannot co-reside with the males any longer, because the males are so much bigger and dominant. Bad things happen…
From ‘The Mikado’
Three little maids from school are we
Pert as a school-girl well can be
Filled to the brim with girlish glee
Three little maids from school!
Troy Goes to Penn
7-month-old Troy leaves to join Zack and Ashley in Philadelphia. Zack is a surgery resident at Penn. In addition to being part of Zack & Ashley’s household, Troy is going to be a therapy dog at CHOP (Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania). Troy’s calm temperament –rare in a working collie– is exactly what Zack needed for his work with children. What a super life for Troy!
Zack and Ashley drove all the way from Philly today to pick Troy up. Conditions so bad that Zack didn’t even chance my drive way in an AWD and chains, so they walked the last 1/2 mile of my driveway in 0°f temps to get their new boy. ✓ Seriousness and commitment.
Addendum:
I had a message from Zack after Troy’s first full day:
