Putting on the Dog

McGraw-Hill online dictionary defines this expression:  "To make things extra special or dress formally for a special event."  I learned this expression years ago from Herb's parents and thought it was funny that his citified parents used such a countrified expression for "putting on the ritz."



We've spent the past couple weeks "putting on the dog" to get ready for Saturday night's all-school cookout for Richmont Graduate University where Herb is full-time in the counseling program.  The upcoming shindig gave us the perfect excuse to finally do a lot of sprucing up that's been needed.

Even the round pen got bush-hogged.

The barnyard was looking its best, too.

After I mowed the picnic area between the two barns, I went back and made it nice and stripey.  (That's pretty hard to do without a zero turn mower!)  All the extra work almost shows up in this photo!

Saturday dawned with pouring rain--2 inches of it!  Fortunately, it stopped by 2 p.m. so we were able to host our almost 50 guests outside as planned.  Right before everyone came I drove around to record these shots of the farm while it was looking nice.

Herb "put on the dog," too.  Well, actually, I put it on him--the snazzy American Dexter Cattle Association apron we got at the national convention in June.

The sheep were just as curious about our guests as the guests were about them.  Most of them had never seen lamb chops on the hoof!

The puppies were thrilled for all the attention after being shut out in the rain all day to keep them out of the nice, clean house!  (I'm not posting any photos of the sliding glass door with the bottom half covered in muddy paw prints.)

The parking area that we bush-hogged AND mowed worked great.  I ferried guests back and forth with their lawn chairs and food in the Doodad to keep them from walking through the puddles in the road.

From the amount of food and beverages that were consumed and the laughter all around, I'd say a good time was had by all.

Poor Hero was shut up in the barnyard in the interest of food safety, but he got some special loving.

Misty was shut up, too, but she, too, had admirers.

In lieu of fireworks, we ordered a beautiful sunset for our guests, and we got a truly stupendous one to end the evening.  It looked like Someone Else was "putting on the dog," too!