JOY!

It's May...


And...

It's the most wonderful time...

Of the YEAR!  


Time to hang the laundry on the line!

What better reason to go outside and drink up sunshine, feel those soft breezes, hear the birdsong, and watch pups playing happily in the green, green grass:  jumping running, rolling, being all silly and giddy for the nice weather and no snow or ice or rain to contend with.

All the things I would do if I were this tiny and I didn't mind getting grass clippings all over me! 


Such JOY!

Have a great day, and thanks for stopping by!

In the Interest of Equal Time...Our Own Dogs.

On the long trip home from Alabama with Duke. Luke was so small then! He slept on Luke for a great part of the trip, and only had one accident! Not bad for only being away from his mama for about 24 hours!

Our outdoor dog, a young dog who found us, the only name he would answer to was Buddy. He came here one day in 2003 and Jamie just loved him so we kept him. He lives outdoors in a kennel, he will not step foot into the house. He's a strange mix of a dog, but his looks grow on you; I actually think he's pretty now. Our vet told us on our first visit that he was part husky, and we are not surprised that he LOVES winter and he loves to play in the snow, and is a powerful puller. He has had some scrapes in his life and one time he got caught in a live trap for coyotes, and ran all the way home with the trap in a vice-lock around his CHEST (this was in pre-PetFence days!). He barely made a sound when Lem got the bolt cutters to free him. He's an awesome dog. And his face is so expressive that you just have to love him. Right now he has his electric water dish and a house packed full of fresh straw. He gets out a couple times a day to run, we have PetFence and he enjoys being able to run free.

Duke

Luke loves his dog, we brought Duke home from Alabama one summer, and he slept on top of Luke most of the long journey. I love the look of pride Luke has here and how Duke is "posing" so perfectly. He was just a pup at this point, maybe eight or nine months.

Duke as a shy pup playing with a ball he got for Christmas.

All cozy in the sunshine!

Little E all snuggled up on the couch.

Duke as a pup, Mark named him after John Wayne, a much-loved man (by this family anway!).



This man is happiest with multiple animals, and his daughter is just like him!




Check out the size of those ears!

We have a doggie gate: the dogs are only allowed in certain rooms of the house or it would be total mayhem. Duke makes us laugh a lot with his "get me out of jail" look.

Our dogs demand equal time...sometimes there is so much cuteness you can't stand it: we like red dogs, as you can see. The BIG red dog is Duke, the best Redbone in the land, imported from the great state of Alabama. The little red dog is Little E, a miniature daschund we bought up near Frankenmuth in 2004 after Jamie moved away. We've always teased her that Little E was our replacement for her.

He's four years old now and weighs under ten pounds, but he still manages to keep Duke in line! He can fool Duke faster than anything by diverting his attention to a favorite toy, then Little E sweeps in and takes whatever he wants: Mom or Dad's attention, or a coveted rawhide. It works EVERY time! Maybe little dogs have to be smarter because it takes brains to survive with an animal that weighs 10 times your own weight!

Little E performing his magic: hanging from a tug rope, he demonstrates he doesn't give up!




"HELLO! Do you happen to know what time it is? Is it dinnertime yet? And why is that camera always in my face?"





Licking the beaters after I made homemade whipped cream for Thanksgiving dinner.



Awww! Who can resist this face?