The Many Faces Of Denny

Mom says I have such a pretty face but that I drive here crazy because I won't look at the camera like Reilly does and when I do look her way I make all these funny faces :) What Mom doesn't understand is that I am constantly scanning all around me, looking over my shoulder, looking far away and close because you just never know when a monster might appear to try and eat us. So far it has worked and I have kept us all safe which is far more important than any silly old photo - right?

Calm before the storms

The tropics are a swirling and twirling with storms at the moment and we are expecting one of these to come  up through the Gulf of Mexico and then take a turn and come right over us starting tomorrow with the worst of it hitting Thursday. So far it is looking like just a Tropical  Depression but could become a Category 1 Hurricane if it builds up some more steam. Either way we told Mom we had to get out and about before it arrives as heavens forbid we get our feet wet going out in the rain :) When we arrived at the beach we found the wind was already blustering and the waves were all choppy (Mom was happy to see it as she says it should be blowing up some shells in a few days). We also got to watch ship after ship coming into the St Johns River and guess they are heading into the safety of the docks before the worse of it arrives. The two we saw close up were the Monte Aconcagua which is a container ship built in 2009 and currently sailing under the flag of Germany. The other ship was the Mol Magnificence which is a container ship built in 2010 and currently sailing under the flag of Marshall Islands.

Evening Walkies

We have been visiting the beach in the evening lately usually around 6.30 as there have been some nice north easterly winds coming in off the sea which makes it feel cooler near the water - we told Mom we don't mind what time of day we go - so long as we GO ! Luckily here in Florida it doesn't start getting dark until around 8.30 so evenings are great time to be out and about and if we stay near the beach - there are no bugs!

My NEW Park

We went out for a drive yesterday and discovered a new park which I promptly peed on - thus making it mine :) It was originally named Reedy Point Preserve but is now called "The Cowspotdog Reedy Point Preserve" (We will take more pics next time we go - it started to rain while we there so we had to make a mad dash for car :) It isn't a very big park but it does have a mile long walking trail and a really long fishing dock and from that dock you can see where all the BIG ships park when they are loading and unloading. It also has a very tiny and very rocky beach. Originally Mom said we were just going for a drive and not for a walkies (cause I didn't have my boots on) but I told her I had official Bark Rangers duties to perform so she let me have just a tiny walk around so I could leave pee mail and stake my claim :)

Going Batty

This morning on Mom's walk - she saw something totally unexpected - what she thought was large butterflies turned out to be little bats. There were about 10 of them flitting around grabbing bugs out of the air and this one guy who landed on the post of a letter box Mom was standing next too. She checked on line to see what species they were and found there are 13 known Florida bats all of which seem to be quite large (wing spans of 10" or more) while these little guys were only about 5". Florida does get 'visitor bats' from other states so maybe they are here enjoying the summer - or perhaps there are just babies.

The road less travelled

Today we headed over to my Hanna Abbey Cowspotdog Park but instead of visiting the beach or big lake we decided to take the road less travelled (by us at least) and see where it took us. We walked on and on for hours minutes along the barren sandy road, forged bridges across raging rivers dried up creeks and pushed our way through overgrown forest cleared paths until we finally came across a little lake - ahhhhhhh - just us, the swarms of mosquitos and lots of chirpy birds. We did also see a big old turtle sunning itself on the end of the water and can you believe it hissed at me when I went over to say hello. I had to warn it with some very stern woofs that this was MY park and hissing isn't allowed!

Spanish Ponds

It has been awhile since we last visited MY Spanish Cowspotdog Ponds - mainly because Mom always gets attacked by swarms of mosquitos when we go there - but today she was already lathered up with bug spray from her morning walk so off we went. Sadly it has been so hot here that the actual Spanish Pond has dried up and it is now just a mud patch - which in a way is a good thing as last time we visited there was a sign up warning about an alligator in the lake! Even Mom had to admit it was so nice to be able to walk in the shade see all the ferns, palm trees and Spanish moss again - silly woman - the smells is what we really go there for :)

Wordless Wednesday

Camping in Style

We know there are a few of our buddies who love camping and we couldn't help but imagine our little buddy Oz in one of these - now this is what we call camping in style - and check out the food and water bowls on the front !

The Truth and Bob

Mom is such a spoil sport - she says I HAVE to tell the truth about not going for walkies with her - SIGH. You see - ever since I had that foot surgery a few months ago - I haven't been able to walk very far - my limit is to the end of our street (about 6 houses) and on the beach - I can walk to the breakwater and back which is about the same distance. My mind is willing and I will try and keep going but I also start limping badly so Mom won't allow me to go any further now. We do go on lots of short walks but my days of big long adventures are sadly a thing of the past.

For those that don't remember I had a tumor removed from my foot and that meant removing half my big pad and with the arthritis I have in my toes they kind of point in all different directions - it is even hard for Mom to get my boots on these days! So as much as Mom would LOVE to take me walkies with her - it just isn't possible and of coarse the Dweeb can't go because he is terrified of the traffic and basically anything he thinks is dangerous like trash cans, fire hydrants, bushes, letter boxes - you get the idea :)

Talking of walkies though - look who Mom saw yesterday morning - she is calling him Bob - (how original Mom considering he is a Bobcat!!!!) On the next street over from ours there are two blocks of empty land side by side (almost like a mini park) and this is where she saw him. Mom says she is amazed how many creatures there are living all around our neighborhood.

Sookie, Dillo & Furry Thing

The month of July was the hottest recorded here in Florida and August seems to be heading the same way - it has not only been hot but VERY humid and Mom refuses to take us out in it - she says she worries us over heating - bah humbug we say!  Now to make things worse - Mom herself has started walking again - she is already doing 3-5 miles a day and goes out very early in the morning to miss the worse of the heat. At this time of morning she has also come across some interesting creatures - the first one is "Sookie Cat" - Mom says every morning this little cat comes running over to her to have its head scratched - she says it is the friendliest cat she has ever come across. She also sees "Dillo" most mornings - he or she is an Armadillo and is often scratching around in peoples lawns looking for bugs to chomp -  Mom often walks within feet of it and it doesn't seem to take any notice of her. The last critter Mom calls "Furry Thing" - this critter is a little more elusive and Mom hasn't been able to get a good picture of it yet as she usually sees it right at dusk. The weird thing is - it looks just like an armadillo, same size and shape and moves like an armadillo but it is furry and has a slightly bushy tail. Dad thinks maybe it is a muskrat as there are lots of lakes around where we live. Mom has seen it close up and it says it definitely isn't a possum or raccoon.  Now don't you think if she took us with her on these walks that we would be able to scare check out these creatures for her???

Watching the ships go by

There we were just sitting on our favorite breakwater rocks when we were lucky to see not one - but two ships go by. The first one was the HON HENRY JACKMAN which is a self discharging bulk carrier built in 1981 and currently sailing under the flag of Bahamas. HON HENRY JACKMAN has 213m (698 feet) length overall and beam of 32m (104 feet). Her gross tonnage is 46191 tons. 

The second ship was the LAWRENCE H. GIANELLA which is an oil products tanker built in 1986 and currently sailing under the flag of USA. It is also a US Naval Ship. LAWRENCE H. GIANELLA has 179m (587 feet) length overall and beam of 27m (88 feet). Her gross tonnage is 21471 tons

Meeting Flossie

We headed over to MY  Ed Austin Cowspotdog Park today - it is a huge fenced dog park where we can run free and sniff to our hearts content. We had it all to ourselves to begin with and then Flossie arrived - she is 8 months old and just bounces and runs everywhere - she exhausted us just watching her !!!! As you can see - it is a nice shady park which we really enjoyed - Mom not so much - she got attacked by mosquitos! By time we left 8 other doggies had arrived and they were running around chasing each other and having so much fun. Can you believe everyone was eeeewwwing and aaarring over the Dweeb - they said he was sooooo cute simply because every time Mom stopped walking he would squeeze himself between her feet and try to make himself invisible.

Smiles for Sugar's 15th Birthday

Today is a very special day for Miss Sugar who is turning 15 - she loves to smile and we are sending her our best smiles and birthday wishes on this very special occasion.

The Last To Know

Do you ever feel like you are the last one to know things?????  Mom says she does - she overheard some ladies talking recently about Cotton Candy Grapes - she had never heard of them before and after much searching  she found some and OMD - watching her eating them was like watching someone fill up a gumball machine! Now for the few of you who haven't heard of these (probably our overseas readers) these grapes REALLY do taste like Cotton Candy (or Fairy Floss as it is called in other parts of the world) and the best thing for Mom is they are extremely low in acidity. Mom doesn't eat a lot of grapes as the acidity in them burns her mouths and causes painful ulcers (so do strawberries and citrus fruits) but she had no problems with these at all. Sadly after talking to guy in the fruit and veggie section Mom also learned they are only available for about 3-4 weeks out of each year - so Mom bought extra and is going to freeze them! Of coarse it is TOTALLY unfair that we are not allowed to try them as grapes are extremely toxic to dogs - but Mom did buy us some doggie treats while she was shopping so all is forgiven :)

Bark Ranger Duties

We told Mom it was time to get back to our Bark Ranger duties and check our MY parks - (Mom has been reluctant to visit them lately because it is peak mosquito season) but they don't bother us at all so we sprayed her up with bug spray and off we went to MY Hanna Abby Cowspotdog Park. Mom had to admit it was nice to see all the green again around the lake and to sit and watch the Kestrels dive bombing the water as they were catching fish. We just enjoyed checking out all the smells and leaving pee mail :)

Sunday Selfies

Flower Friday

This was Mom's most favorite plant - it was a huge gardenia and smelled wonderful - sadly we couldn't bring with us when we moved to Florida. Mom keeps checking the garden centers here but so far hasn't seen any for sale - maybe they don't like Florida weather :)

Cloudy Morning

Usually cloudy mornings mean cool temps - but no such luck here - it was still 89 degrees at 7.00 this morning - we had a very quick walk and were very happy to jump back in my air conditioned Sheltie Mobile.

Wordless Wednesday

Just Rockin it Today :)