Meet Sam! In this picture, he's looking a little woozy. It had been a day of huge changes for him: A couple strangers came along and took him away from everything he had ever known. Earlier that day he had gotten his second round of shots. And he was having his first car ride, fighting sleep the entire way.
Sleep finally won.
Sam is from Nebraska, the state immediately to our south. I don't know about you, but when I think of Nebraska, I think of homesteading, the Oregon Trail, and prairies. We had been through southern Nebraska on I-80 a few times, and we were familiar with the Omaha area, but to pick up Sam, our route took us through the Sand Hills.
We followed Nebraska State Highway 2 from Alliance to Sam's home near Grand Island. The road follows the railroad (originally laid out in the 1860's) through the Middle Loup River valley. The rolling hills and the winding river were beautiful and we saw huge flocks of Canada Geese. It was early in their migration, and I can just imagine what this area will look like in a few weeks...
Because that's when the Sandhill Crane migration starts!
Or watch this video for a quicker look:
I'd love to visit the Sand Hills during March to watch this spectacular sight!
The biggest thing about our drive through Nebraska, though, was the variety of the scenery!
Most of us expect the prairies to look like this:
And there is a lot of this flat land there, but the majority is rolling hills. Then in the northwest corner of the state, you have the Nebraska National Forest.
A National Forest in Nebraska? Definitely!
Beautiful, isn't it?
But back to Sam. The biggest question we faced was: how will Jack take to this newcomer?
Well, after a day together they were down to this:
And a little of this:
And poor Maggie is hiding in the closet.
But things will change. Sam will grow and get bolder. Jack will learn that playing tug-of-war with another dog is great fun. And Maggie will set her boundaries.
Until then, it's "Oops! Another puddle!" LOL!
Jan Drexler lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and growing family. When she isn't writing, she loves hiking in the Hills or satisfying her cross stitch addiction.
You can find Jan on Facebook, Jan Drexler, author, or her website, Jan Drexler.com
Welcome, Sam! And good luck with the adjustments. It's so funny to see Jack look SO big in comparison.
ReplyDeletePoor Maggie.
Things are better for Maggie this morning. She discovered that Sam is a bit wary of her, so she feels safer.
DeleteAnd yes! Jack is so big and grown up! He thinks we brought home a new toy just for him. :-)
I love the first picture 😍 puppy love! Now you make me want to go to Nebraska. Who knows we might end up living there one day! We will see where this railroad journey takes us lol
ReplyDeleteWe thought about you and Jacob as we drove through Alliance and past the rail yard, and then east along the railroad tracks. We saw a lot of trains!
DeleteOh, congratulations! I saw this precious baby on facebook and he's adorable!!!!! Welcome home, #samoftheblackhills! You've got the best family ever!!!!!
ReplyDeleteHe is SUCH a baby! And so much fun.
DeleteAnd I didn't know that there was a Nebraska National Forest... Say what??????
ReplyDeleteWe drove through two parts of the National Forest, one in the northwest corner and one more toward the central part of the state. The one in the northwest is between Chadron and Alliance, east of where we went to Toadstool State Park a couple years ago. One thing about the prairie is that you always find surprising spots in it!
DeleteSquueeeeee!!!! That pink nose! And the soft pink pads on his feet! And I bet he still has that sweet puppy smell! Poor Miss Maggie...Hope you doesn't harbor a grudge for too long...and that Sam is a fast learner on all things feline. And I'm kinda feeling sorry for Jack too. Poor baby has to learn to share his hoomans with another furball.
ReplyDeleteYes, that pink nose! It will turn completely black over the next few weeks.
DeleteAnd Jack - don't feel too sorry for him. He's ignoring us and spending all his time playing with Sam. LOL!
We missed this YOUNG puppy stage with Jack. He was 14 weeks old when we brought him home. But Sam came complete with that puppy smell!
Awwww. He's so cute!! I can't wait to hear more about the escapades of Jack, Sam and Maggie! No more quiet days in the Drexler home! haha
ReplyDeleteSam is so cute, Jan. You're getting quite a full house again. Love the pictures of the scenery, too. Gorgeous.
ReplyDelete