DJ the German Shepherd is a whole year old now - hit the milestone last week. We need to take him to the vet's to get his rabies shot and we'd also like him to have a well-dog one year check up. 

The problem: we don't have a vet. And I don't know what we're looking for. Obviously someone who can handle a German Shepherd who doesn't like strangers, but beyond that, what do I need to ask the receptionist beyond "how much do you charge for a rabies shot and a well-dog checkup?" 

All advice appreciated.

This week, my knee has been simply too bunged up to take the dog out for more than a walk down the street a couple of times a day. However, as it's been rainy, and we had frost one morning, and it's not been seeming pleasant weather at all, I haven't been feeling as guilty as I ordinarily would. I can tell that DJ is restless, but he's going to need to wait a little longer. 

Last week we took some absolutely glorious walks, some of them up to the fields north of our village, where there is a fallow cornfield for DJ to run around in, off-leash. I honestly don't know where the farmer lives who owns the fallow field - there are three farms in the area that the field might belong to. Last year the field was obviously used for corn, as there are corn stalks all over the ground, and DJ sees it as an endless supply of sticks to carry in his mouth, which he runs around and around the field in, in ever-narrowing circles, until he is running wildly with me in the middle, wondering how soon I am going to be knocked down! It's a delight to watch him so happy, and always leaves me laughing. 

After a good time in TFOS, we generally head over to the St. George Cemetary - the municipal one. I have a real love of cemetaries, especially old headstones, and always manage to find something of interest in every cemetary I visit [and I try to visit a lot of them - a nice drive the other day gave me lots of possibilities for the summer....]

When we entered the cemetary, the first interesting headstone I saw was 

So many graveyards. So little time.