5 Days of Photo Challenge - Day 2

This is day 2 of our photo challenge and today comes from our own back yard where miniature dinosaurs seem to be everywhere. Mom says they are called Anole Lizards - but we just call them pests - these little critters are constantly running up and down our fence, hanging off the fly screen in the sun room and chasing  each other every chance they get. Most of the ones we have seen to date are the brown but on two occasions Mom has spotted green ones. The males have these funny little orange beards and try to out do each other - "mine is bigger - no mine is bigger dude - no mine is bigger - it is a typical guy thing :)" One average they tend to be about 3-4 long but this morning we saw a teeny tiny baby one that was only about an inch and half. Now before you all start panicking - NO we don't chase them and NO we don't try eating them - YUK - we just look them with total disinterest and let them do their own thing :)
 

5 Days of Photo's Challenge - Day 1

Ms Dawn from the "Change is Hard" blog and who is also MY sweetheart Katie's Mom is doing a 5 days of photos challenge and she challenged us to join in to. The rules, loosely speaking she says are to post a photo and a story, fiction or non, or maybe even a poem, one a day for five days and each day nominate someone to play along. Now you know we NEVER play the rules so we are not going to nominate anyone BUT if any one would like to join in - please do.

One of the things that has impressed us the most .....is how quiet the beaches are where we go - we are often the only ones walking there and it is so easy to let your mind drift and imagine you were in a different time when there was a lot less hustle and bustle. The other day as we were walking along an elderly gentleman (of around 80 we would say) - came riding along the beach on a bike  wearing little more than a pair of tiny speedos and a big smile. Mom politely waited until he had passed before having a little chuckle and she suddenly thought what the people of the early 1900's (who wore bathing suits that covered the whole body) would think of such a sight. How time's have changed :)

Can you see me?

We took Dad over to see the Spanish Ponds this morning - he hadn't been there before. We ended up having a very long walk as somehow we took a wrong path and basically got lost - but we enjoyed it anyway. Denny wasn't so sure and figured if he hid behind the bushes none of the strange noises we kept hearing could get him. He was pretty sure there were lions and tigers hiding behind every tree. It was a wonderful trail we followed - parts of it was a boardwalk and parts of it just a path. We didn't see anyone else and Mom said is was like walking through  a long forgotten jungle with all the different palm trees and ferns. Sometimes it is fun to get lost :)

2,4,6 - Our Goose Families

We have three Canada Goose families living at our pond and they must be 'even' geese cause one family has two babies, one has four babies and the last one has six babies. I - the Reilly dog enjoy telling them to stay on their side of fence. Mom thinks it is funny that they hiss at me and not her and of coarse the Dweeb is too scared to go any where near them!!!!

MY New Vet and Toofer Problems

We went to see MY new vet yesterday - Dr Wilson - and I must say - I like him A LOT and of coarse he LOVES  ME us. We both got a thorough checkup, ears, eyes, hearts, blood tests, checked for any lumps or bumps, heart worms and parasite tests (which of coarse were all negative). He says were are both very healthy although Dweeb needs to lose a couple of winter pounds - ME - I am at the perfect weight.

He did find one thing though - Mom asked about getting my teeth cleaned and he found I have two cracked toofers in the back. He thinks my allergy medication (prednisone) has caused them to become a little brittle so no more hard foods for me. I will be going in two weeks to have them removed and have my teeth cleaned. (I had two teeth in the back on the other side removed last year with the same problem). The rest of my teeth are very good though.  Dweebs teeny tiny teeth are very white and clean so he gets out of the torture this time - he can thank Mom for taking good care of our toofers.

And as a funny co-incidence - Dr Wilson was telling Mom that his wife is from Walnut Creek - a little town that is 15 minutes from Jonesboro - where we use to live - and a place we have visited a number of times. We did a post about it last year - Walnut Creek was the place the Beatles stopped at many years ago to pee :) :)

Finding Scotland

One of the awesome benefits of living where we are in Jacksonville is the Mayport Navy Base is only 10 minutes away and for us this means being able to shop at the Commissary - that is a military grocery store that all active and retired military can use (our Dad was in the Navy for 20 years and is a retired Commander) Shopping at the Commissary is tax free and is one of the few perks that our Military get and well deserve. Anyhoo - the other great thing is that because our military often serve all over the world the Commissaries always have an 'international' aisle where they can find food they might have developed a taste for while overseas. So imagine the happy dance Mom did when she found real Scottish Tea Cakes (we thought of Bertie straight away). These are made in Glasgow, Scotland and Mom LOVES LOVES LOVES them. The are like a soft biscuit base with fluffy marshmallow on top coated in some of the best chocolate ever! Mom also found us something - have you seen the new 'Milkbone - Soft and Chewy Treats' - Denny LOVES these as he is is not at all fond of hard cookies. They come in Chicken Flavor and Beef Flavor.

Natural Balance Lamb Lung Bites Review - Chewy.com

12 May 2015

Today thanks to Chewy.com - the best and most well known online pet food, treats and goodies store we are reviewing Natural Balance Wild Pursuit Lamb Lung Bites Grain-Free Dog Treats

Here's the Basics

• Natural Balance Wild Pursuit Lamb Lung Bites are designed to satisfy your dog's ancestral cravings. A grain-free snack made from New Zealand-sourced lamb, Wild Pursuit Bites deliver the taste and nutrients dogs have evolved to crave. Feed the Pursuit. It's nutrition they'll claw into!

• 2.5 oz bag is normally$9.99 but it is currently on Sale at Chewy.com for $7.49 

Key Benefits

• Grain and gluten-free treats
• 100% New Zealand dehydrated lamb lungs
• High protein
• Less than 8 calories per piece
• Recommended for adult dogs
• Easily break into small pieces for small dogs
• No artificial colors, flavors or preservatives

 












Taste Test

• The treats are dehydrated which gives them a nice crunchy texture but it is an easy crunch that even little teeth (like Dweeb has) can manage. Most the pieces are about an inch square and make for a nice tasty treat - we TOTALLY loved them.

Ingredients

• 100% New Zealand Dehydrated Lamb Lung

Negatives - Kind of - Sort of - Maybe - Not Really

• Not a one - we totally loved them - we just wish Mom would of given us more than two!

Rating

• Definitely a 8 paw rating (that is 4 paws from each of us)

Disclaimer 
Chewy.com sent us a tub of  Natural Balance Wild Pursuit Lamb Lung Bites Grain-Free Dog Treats in return for an honest review. We were not paid or compensated for our review in any other way and our opinion is purely our own.

Exploring MY park

We went off to explore some of the hidden trails in MY Hanna Cowspotdog Park and had so much fun. It was  nice and cool in the shade and Mom got to listen to all kinds of birds singing. We got to chase squirrels and lizards and go places we hadn't been before. Mom says she still can't believe how beautiful it is here and that she feels like every day she is on vacation. We just know we are loving having so many new places to visit and sniff.

Sunday Sunrise and Happy Mothers Day

Whether you are the mom of the human kind or the furbaby kind - we wish all the Mom's a very Happy Mother's Day.

Just a watchin' the sun rise on MY beach and spending time with Mom on Mother's Day

Sojos New Wild Food and Giveway !

May 8 - 2015

Review of Sojos Wild™
Ms Kira from Sojos asked if we would be interested in reviewing their new line of exotic protein dog food called Sojos Wild™  that they have recently released - well of coarse we said YES. And best of all - one lucky buddy will also get to try it free too. Details on the giveaway are at the bottom of the post.

Here Are The Basics

Sojos Wild™  is a new line of  fresh, forager food made lean and healthy. It contains different wild game (venison and boar) and fish combined with a forager’s blend of human-grade veggies and fruits it makes for a food that is delicious and well balanced.

Free-Range Venison - 43% Protein Venison, Whole Egg, Cranberries, Celery Root, Green Peas, Purple Sweet Potatoes, Flax Seeds, Parsnip, Green Beans, Almond Bran, Coconut, Tricalcium Phosphate, Dried Kelp, Chard, Dried Alfalfa, Ginger Root, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Sulfate

Wild Boar Recipe - 38% Protein Wild Boar, Whole Egg, Cranberries, Celery Root, Green Peas, Purple Sweet Potatoes, Flax Seeds, Parsnip, Green Beans, Almond Bran, Coconut, Tricalcium Phosphate, Dried Kelp, Chard, Dried Alfalfa, Ginger Root, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Sulfate

Wild Caught Salmon Recipe - 40% Protein Salmon, Whole Egg, Cranberries, Celery Root, Green Peas, Purple Sweet Potatoes, Flax Seeds, Parsnip, Green Beans, Almond Bran, Coconut, Tricalcium Phosphate, Dried Kelp, Chard, Dried Alfalfa, Ginger Root, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, Reduced Iron, Copper Sulfate, Riboflavin
 
Key Benefits
Sojos Wild™  is made field-fresh in Minnesota with no grains or glutens, no genetically engineered ingredients, no added sugar or salt—nothing but natural goodness. Just add water, soak, and serve a forager’s banquet of raw meat, veggies and fruit.

Taste Test
Well needless to say we LOVED it. Sojos is such an easy meal to make for us doggies. For us in particular we love that there is no poultry in any of these new foods which means we got to sample all 3 !

Positives and Negatives
One of the things we love about Sojos is that it is the perfect food. It has everything you need in one small serving and it is also easy to take when traveling. We get a perfect meal that doesn't take up a lot of room and we can have a variety of flavors too. The only negative to us is just the waiting time - our noses are twitching in anticipation and we drove Mom crazy woofing and telling her to hurry up but it well worth the wait.

Rating
We definately give this an 8 paw rating - it is so good we kept going back to lick out our bowls for 15 minutes after we finished our dinner!

Giveaway
Ms Kira from Sojos also says one lucky blog buddy will get to try new Sojos Wild™  for free - how cool is that!  Just leave us a message telling us which flavor you would like to try. We will use random.org to pick a lucky winner on Wednesday the 13th of May 2015 and Ms Kira will send you a packet of the food of your choice. Sorry but the giveaway is only available to residents of the USA this time.

Disclaimer
Sojos sent us samples of Sojos Wild™  in return for an honest review. We were not paid or compensated for our review in any other way and our opinion is purely our own.

How dare they !!!!

Can you believe it - Mom and Dad ABANDONED us and went to lunch at a nearby outdoor mall - how dare they - this is serious dog abuse. They were gone a whole 2 hours and MY park went unattended .......it is disgraceful. And if that wasn't bad enough Mom came home gushing about how beautiful the outdoor mall was. Between all the stores was wonderful gardens and ponds with giant koi in them - Mom says it is not a place she would probably ever go shopping unless she won lotto as it was very expensive high end stores but it was still fun to window shop. Now some months back Dad won a gift card to a restaurant (one they didn't have where we lived before) but there was one here at this mall which is why they decided to go to lunch there. It was a Maggino's Italian Restaurant - the outdoor eating area on the front was covered with Jasmine which smelled absolutely wonderful. The food was also amazing - Dad even got a an extra meal to bring home (which he didn't get to eat because he forgot he left it in the car). And did they bring us a doggie bag or anything - NNNNNOOOOOOOOOO - more abuse we say and then she had the nerve to tell us the mall is pet friendly !!!!!!!!!!  Mom apologizes for the quality of the photo's she took them on her phone.

Gardens Galore

The koi in the ponds

See the little trains that gives kids rides

Maggino's Restaurant - the front of was covered in Jasmine and smelled divine!

The inside of the restaurant.

Coversation with Reilly

Reilly  : Mom - now I am an official Bark Ranger I need to go to one of my parks EVERY day
              I have to check on them and make sure MY staff are keeping them looking good.
Mom   : Bubbee - we can't go EVERY day.
Reilly  : WHY NOT?
Mom   : Well some days it will be too hot
Reilly  : Well that is why we have the early bird pass so we can go when it's cool
Mom   : Well some times I will have other things to do
Reilly  : Like what Mom?
Mom   : Well you know, cleaning, shopping, washing and so on
Reilly  : You are kidding me right - NO WAY are those important things - My job
              is IMPORTANT the parks need MY protection!
Mom   : But if I don't go shopping you wont have any food
Reilly  : Hmmmm think for a few moments - OKAY you can do cleaning and shopping on the days it 
              rains  - but EVERY other day we go to the park.
Mom   : But Reilly it might not rain in weeks
Reilly  : Well you know Chewy.Com delivers right to our door - so no need to go out right?
Mom   : But Reilly Dad and I need to eat too
Reilly  : One word Mom - DIET
Mom   : That isn't nice Reilly
Reilly  : Well you were the one complaining about winter pounds - and this is the perfect time to
               lose them - if you leave them on the beach maybe some beachcombers can find them?
Mom   : Very funny Reilly!
Reilly  : Come on MOM - Today is NOT one of those rainy days so get your butt in gear -  
               because we are going to one my parks.
Mom  :  Sigh - Okay Reilly

Win Scores   : Reilly 900,781 - Mom 3

Baawaaah - I don't know why she tries arguing with me!

I always win :)

Some things we have learned

We thought we would answer some question we have seen popping up in our comments today.

GATORS - no we haven't seen any and we are hoping we never do. Mom is super vigilant and won't let us within 20 feet of any lake edge.  Mom did some research and in an average year only two people are killed by gators and between 4 - 12 are injured by them. There really isn't any count kept on dogs being chomped up but from the research Mom did it look like there are 10-20 each year that are reported (there are probably more that aren't). That may seem a lot but to keep it in perspective many more dogs are euthanized in shelters each day! People tend to fear the gruesomeness of the attack which makes our fear of them seem worse then it really is - a bit like shark attacks too.

THE NON-PEEING DWEEB - Yes it is true - the Dweeb (and now you now why I call him that) will not pee or poop at any park. He will barely even sniff while we are at the park. He has always been that way and will only go in his own backyard.

DOG FRIENDLY - Yes - the area we chose to live in is very dog friendly (which is why we chose it ) - now admittedly they are pretty strict on the whole leash thing and Mom says we probably won't be using our invisible leashes much any more but the parks are all dog friendly and we are super happy to see that they all have "poop" stations (free poop bags and waste bins) placed at regular intervals. The big farmers market is pet friendly and there are many restaurants that have outdoor patios that are also pet friendly.  There are LOTS and lots of dog parks around Jacksonville too and many of them use to be golf courses - they are all fenced so there is lots of room to run and lakes to swim in but Mom says we won't be visiting them very often as they very expensive to use  and cost between $11 - $16 per visit or yearly passes for around $350. The parks we have been going to around where live are free (we did buy a yearly pass for Hanna Cowspotdog Park but that was only $90 and for access to the beach and park well worth it)

Other things we have discovered - Mom and Dad nearly fainted when they saw how much it will cost to register MY cars and changes over their licenses - over $800 for the two of them (it only cost about $280 for both cars and licenses in Arkansas). We doggies also have to be licensed here in Florida $20 each (we didn't have to be in Arkansas) Gas of coarse is a lot more expensive here - 30 cents more than in Arkansas and Dad says he is considering trading in MY mini van for something more fuel efficient. MY hybrid car that Mom drives is doing great around here and she averages 40 miles to the gallon. One of the REALLY REALLY good things that Mom totally loves - is that there are sidewalks everywhere and you can actually walk or ride a bike to any the places we want to go - how cool is that? Sadly Mom had to give up her bike as her old knees can not handle peddling anymore but she loves to walk and so do we - so win win we say :)

Fort Caroline "Cowspotdog" Park - National Bark Rangers

We got up nice and early to go check out the Fort Caroline Park which of coarse I have renamed the Fort Caroline "Cowspotdog" Park - I have peed there - therefore it is mine - those are the Reilly Rules :)  And if you are wondering why they don't apply to Denny it is because the weird little Dweeb won't pee at the park - he will only pee in his own backyard!  The other amazing thing is this park is like a half  mile around the corner from our house! Fort Caroline was settled by the French in the 1500's.  It was originally named La Caroline (land of Charles) after King Charles IX. In 1565 the Spanish attacked and massacred all but 60 women and a few children out of the 600 hundred people that were living at the fort. Also living near the Fort were the Timucuan Indians who sadly died off due to the introduction of European diseases.

Here we are at the beginning of the park where we went to check out the visitors center and pick up a map. Now we must tell you - this is one the shadiest parks with huge big trees draped in Spanish Moss - Mom said it gave the whole park a magical feel - yeah what ever Mom!













 Having picked up our map we head down the trail marked 'fort' and along the way came across one of the kennels houses the Timucuan's lived in. We sure hope they only had little families as this thing was barely big enough for us ! The next thing we came across was SUPER cool. It was a display of dog pictures - yes dog pictures!!! These are all doggies who have become Nation Bark Rangers - and guess what - when we went back to the visitors center they took pictures of us too, put our names in the book and we are now officially National Bark Rangers too! Our next stop was the actual fort - which is really small and an odd triangle shape - it sits right on the waters edge.







































From Fort Caroline "Cowspotdog" we went across the road to the Spanish Ponds. From here you can take a walking trail to Timucuan Preserve which is another area of natural bush land. Now something else we learned was all this park land was once owned by an old guy by name of Willie Brown. He was offered millions of dollar for the land as it is in a super prime location but in his own immortal words he said "Pretty soon there will come a day when there will be nothing but concrete jungle from New York City to Jacksonville - that is why I want this place saved - so you can come and see some of God's handwork" In 1969 he donated all the land for free to the National Parks Service - way to go Willie - we thank you from the bottom of our paws to the tips of our tails!

Barking at the beach

This morning Mom, Dad and we boys headed to MY new Hanna Cowspotdog Park to pick up our yearly pass. Now we can access the park at the early bird time of 6.00 am which for us long hairs is the best time to go because that is when it is the coolest. Today we checked out the boardwalk at the farthest end of the park - it is the closest to the Mayport Naval Base so tends to be very quiet. We only saw one other person with his doggie - a big old Great Dane who was bouncing around having so much. We sniffed each other and made friends and I hope to see him again and I really liked him. Then I found the bestest and most smelliest thing ever - I even got to rub my face all over before Mom dragged me away. Mom said it was called a Horse Shoe Crab - I just called it wonderful! When we came home we had to wait at the entrance to our community for these guys to finish crossing the road. I told Mom to honk at them but she said that wouldn't be polite - so I woofed at them instead - (gotta love being able to drive around with the windows down :)

And Check out the video of me doing my happy woofin at the beach - yeah I think I am going to like this after all :)

The tree covered boardwalk

Doing some beach strutting

Horseshoe Crab Shell

Honk at the Goose Crossing

Backyard Visitors

Enjoying the shade

Who knew a backyard pond could be so interesting - at least to the Mom. So far we have seen Canada Geese (with babies), Mallard Ducks, a Big of Grey Heron, smaller White Herons, a Cormorant, Turtles, Frogs and Toads. Silly Mom loves feeding the geese and even the turtles have been coming over to munch on some yummies  (they even  snap at the geese to shoo them away :)

The froggies sing their hearts out between 6 and 10 o'clock in the evening when for some reason they suddenly stop - much to Mom and Dads relief as they really loud. You don't really hear them inside the house but if we are sitting in the sun room they can be deafening. We also get to watch the cats that live on the other side of the pond - there are three of them and all is well providing they stay on their side of the pond - if I catch them on my side - well let's just say the fur will fly!

One of MANY turtles

Ducks and Geese

The view down MY pond

Turtle Vs Geese for the food - Turtle won !