The Great Dane who was not Hamlet was at our little VanceFest this past week. First of all, she is a she and, second, she is one year old and comes to between my elbow and shoulder when she is just standing on her four feet – forget about jumping up height. She doesn’t jump up, though; she is very gentle . . . and very curious. She rode down from North Dakota (one hour from the Canadian border) to North Liberty, Iowa and stayed awake the entire time, scoping out the passing landscape. Great Danes, I am told, sleep 16+ hours a day and I guess most of the days she does do that. The passed few were anomalies. Everyone kept seeing “signs” and saying, “She’s going to fall over asleep now.” They were wrong. Actually, she was somewhat like a huge Westie fo a couple of days: I’m here; I’m here; Pay attention to me. (Sounds a bit like AmeliaJake, come to think about it.)

She has such a kind face but Great Danes have sensitive stomachs and people food is not good for them at all. It was hard not to slip her a bit of specially grilled hamburger. That was quite a difference from out cast iron stomach Cocker Spaniel, Little Ann, who looked very, very cute . . . but if you knew her, you were aware her message was, “Your hamburger or your sanity.” She didn’t threaten your life – I mean, she knew she’d need you for lots of tomorrows.

But, back to the Great Dane. Her companions are Der Bingle’s nephew Joe and his wife. Joe is with drones at Grand Forks AFB – well, out of three years there, he’s spent most of three winters in the Mideastern desert and in Guam. His wife is with a bank in Grand Forks; she’s very smart and often promoted and during the winter, she gave him her official two-cents worth: “It’s MINUS 68 degrees chill factor.”

Oh, I was supposed to talk about the second state of the trip back, Illinois. I’m easily distracted, Maybe tomorrow. On the other hand, tomorrow may be tales of good time in Camp Nature Boy, LZP’s backyard gathering spot.