Playing at the playground

We went back to the park today - it was still bright and sunny but only 40 degrees today - 20 degrees colder then yesterday. Poor Mom had to double rug up with thermals and sweats plus a coat, mittens and a hat and even then she was still cold! We keep telling her she just needs to grow a furry coat all over like we have and she would be toasty warm.We followed the lake edge for awhile saying hello to the turtles and ducks and then  decided to check out the playground.













It was very quiet ....certainly no rug-rats (they were all in school) and no other people for that matter. I guess they had all decided to stay home in the warm. Mom was thinking that is where we should be but we told her we could get out of the chilly wind - if we went and checked out the castle. But NO Mom - we are NOT going to climb the mountain just so you can take silly flashy beast pictures. Sometimes you just have to brave the elements to enjoy them :)

Turtles don't lie

We think it is official - the turtles have come out of hibernation at the lake and are out sunning themselves - which means spring must be just around the corner. Maybe Punxsutawney Phil got it right this year!  With only a 34% accuracy the odds were not in his favor - but the turtles - now that is another story and we all know turtles don't lie - right! 

We guess the turtles are still a little cold though because this guy didn't move even when Mom got within 3 feet of him - normally they dive in the water if you so much as look at them from 30 feet away!

Yesterday was a wonderful 60 degrees and it was a bright and sunny - perfect for a wander in the park which is what we did - heck we even thought it was a little too warm for us - we worked up quite a pant!!!!   It still looks pretty bleak - all brown a dead looking but we did find this nice bed of green moss to rest on. Oh - moss also means spring !!!!

Happy Valentines Day

We want to wish every furbody and their peeps a Happy Valentines Day

We especially want to send special messages to our two favorite girls - Miss Katie (from Reilly) and Miss Eva (From Denny)

Wordless Wednesday

Do you see them?

My point has been made - The Dweeb and now totally WEIRD Denny was scratching at the bathroom tiles this morning and when Mom went to see what he was doing she noticed these....do you see them? Mom says they look like a medieval Nun and Monk.  Hey Mom - didn't you just have your eyes tested a few weeks back?  It was a bit weird why Denny was scratching at the floor though - maybe it is a spooky doggie six sense at work.



Click on the picture to see them better -Mom outlined one to make it easier to see.

Musing On Monday #8

Today I am pondering on the human need for hobbies - of which personally I think we dogs should be the ONLY thing that really interests them.

Never the less - humans seem to like doing 'other' things apart for patting us, taking us walkies, taking us to the pet stores, feeding us, playing with us and basically spoiling and pampering us - which could be a life time obsession I would think!  But alas no - they seem to have this 'need' for other 'things'.

Take for instance MY Mom - she is indeed one of those creative types - always doing something, sketching, painting, drawing, creating, sewing, making things, cooking (now cooking I don't mind her doing at all).

Of coarse her latest 'thing' is the model train - and hence the title of my new research paper - 'Life Under The Table - Dealing With Human Obsessions' to be published later next month in the Journal of Dog Psychology.  Here is what I have had to deal with over the last few weeks.

Friday Facts

Yes - it is me Dennnnnnnnny!!!!! I don't to get to blog as much as the BIG DOG - but sometimes (if he is snoozing) - he will let me.

Today I am going some answer questions we have been asked in the comments.

1. Why no swimming at the lake? - No - it's not because of gators :) It is a combination of things -

a. the Canadian geese poop in the water so much it causes high bacteria levels in the water - not safe for swimming
b. HUGE populations of turtles - including Snapping turtles that love wiggly toes!
c. No resident life guards - therefore it would be an insurance liability
d. Lots of old trees and roots in the water that are dangerous and could snag someone. We are amazed at the number of Christmas trees that end up in the lake after the holidays - people are so lazy - if they can drive to the lake to throw the Christmas tree away - why can't they drive to the trash depot?

2. How is it that Reilly and I walk so nicely next to each other and don't get tangled.
Well - I am a bit of scardy cat, nervous nelly, petrified pupster and cowardly critter (all names Reilly calls me) and when we go walkies I like to stay glued right by his side cause I know he will protect me. When we go to the park I don't sniff, explore, I don't even pee or poop. I just walk - right by Reilly's side - that is all I do.

3. Jaccccckkkkkeeeee - some of you have asked how the little guy is doing. I sure do miss my little buddy - sigh! Well things didn't work out in Nebraska for his Mom so after a week they moved to Wisconsin and are now living with his Mom's sister and Dweeb cousin Max - remember him - the Boxer Mix. We don't really know how they are getting on yet but I sure know Jackie won't be enjoying all that snow. You can see him playing with Max here

Oh - do you notice - I am getting my BIG DOG coat. Mom says it is so thick she can barely get the brush through it and that I have a super fine and fluffy undercoat. One thing I do know - it is very warm and even on the coldest days I am still to be found on the nice cold tiles keeping cool.  

Adventuring we will go

Mom suddenly decided this morning that it was good day to go adventuring, trust me - we didn't need any encouragement to go. We were out in MY car in the blink of an eye! We went somewhere new today - to a place called Lake Pointsette State Park. Now as parks go this is pretty small and Mom says she was a bit disappointed because this is actually a HUGE lake but the only access to it is right here at the boat ramp - the entire rest of the lake area has all private houses around it and you not allowed along the lakes edge. That is so unfair - how are we to find a nice dead fish to roll on???? It was also a very overcast day today - in fact it started raining just as we got back to the car - so the photos are a little dark.













After a quick look around at what tiny bit of the lake we could see we agreed with this sign 100% - NO swimming!!! Why any doggy would want to get wet is beyond us! Time to head up into the woods - but first we have to cross the balance beam bridge - I think we deserve a perfect 10 for our routine - side by side we go - you don't see many doubles on the balance beam do you!













Next we dragged helped Mom up the hill reminding her to be careful not to trip on any of the tree roots or to slip on the moss. Can you believe she was mumbling to herself about how pretty it looked - like natures steps....blah blah blah - we just wanted to get to the deer do-do we could smell nearby - now that stuff is pretty!













When we reached the end of the trail look what we found - more stuff for Mom to eeeewwww and aaaahhhhh over - we found daffodils in flowers - there were hundreds of them - just growing wild out in the middle of nowhere. And then finally we were back at the beginning of the Great Blue Heron Trail. Yes - we did the whole 1.2 miles - probably more considering we kept dragging Mom down little side trails as we followed our noses. Mom says that she was sad that she could see the lake between the trees but there was no way to get to it. For some reason Mom loves being near water and doesn't understand this concept of people 'owning' lake shores.













Oh we nearly forgot to mention - on the way home - we saw not 1 but 2 REAL LIVE deer - just around the corner from where we live !!! It's only the second time she has seen them in the wild like that. Luckily Mom saw it off to the side and stopped the car as it bounded right in front of us - quickly followed by the second one. We tried telling Mom to give it a nudge with the car (to just hurry it along a little) but she said no - hey you can't blame us for trying - we do love a good bit on venison.

Wednesday Walkies

It was a wonderful day for a walk - the sun was shining, the birds were singing and it was freezing cold - what more could any pair of furry furbabies want?  Mom of coarse had to wear her 'thermals' under her clothes to stave off the cold - and was more rugged up than a bald man wearing a toupee but at least she was warm.

We headed off down a trail we haven't been on a while, it was a nice soft dirt path so easy going on my old wonky foot. Dweeb hasn't been on this path before and seemed a bit confused as to which way he should be going. "Turn around dufuss - we are going this way!"














One thing we did notice, was a lot of broken of trees - now personally I have a theory about a marauding bunch of beavers wearing baseball caps that have infested MY park - but Mom said no - it was the last big storm we had that did it. Yeah yeah - what ever Mom - you know that sure looks like teeth marks to me and did you notice all the fallen trees are are in the perfect diamond !!!!














We finally made it to MY lookout - and Shock Horror! Someone has put a fence up! How can I possibly go racing over the edge and scare Mom half to death with a fence there - it just takes away from the whole drama of it. Can you see down below - that is MY other park - the one with the boardwalk through the trees. Isn't it silly - MY two parks are THAT close together but there isn't a path that goes from one to the other - only a genius human could of thought that one up!














Heading back down the path Mom took us on a detour through this whole patch of baby pine trees - she said they smelled so clean and fresh - barf - gag !!!! "yeah mom - just like that that yucky bathroom cleaner stuff you use - the one that just about singes our nose hairs off! PLEEEEEAAASE - Give my a pile of deer do-do or a dead animal to sniff anytime - now that is a heavenly scent!

Dog Blogger Mailing List

Just a reminder  that the Dog Blogger's Mailing List is still up and running - please remember to update your information if you lose or add a furbaby.

There is button you can grab and add to your own page if you want - its on the right hand side.  This is a members ONLY list (NO ADVERTISERS or BUSINESS SPAMMING ALLOWED )

Dog Bloggers Mailing List -

1. The list is currently being updated weekly.

2 . Every effort is being made to make sure advertisers and sponsors do not have access to this list (so far I have only had one try and they did not make it past the initial details email)- if you do receive any unsolicited advertising emails from someone on the list - please contact me and I will remove them immediately - they will not be able to access the list again.

4. You can delete or add to your information any time you want too - it is up to YOU to keep it updated.

5. Please remember this list is for personal use only - the list was created to allow our little community to send Birthday cards, Christmas cards, Sympathy cards, gifts etc - to fellow furbabies

6. New Dog Blogger Members are always welcome - see here for more information.

Musing on Monday # 7

Now you know we dogs "live in the moment" (apparently Dad's do too) because we didn't even think of getting Mom a birthday present until the day of her birthday. Now admittedly there was nothing she wanted or needed so it made it easier for us to forget not worry until the actual day. So there was Mom on her birthday - looking at some train videos on YouTube when she came across a particular train she just fell in love with. Within a flash we 'boys' (Dad included hunted and scoured the internet until we found it at the best price and ordered it right then and there (living in the moment!)

This is what we got our Mom for her birthday a Boston Maine Steam train with real sounds for "HER" model train setup. It chuffs, it whistles (3 different whistles) it makes steam releasing noises and the sounds increase or decrease depending on the speed of the train and it is no doubt - going to drive us CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!! You can check out the video to hear it. The one in the video is the New York Train but it is the same thing with just a different name on the sides - they do 8 different names but the Boston/Maine one was on special, so that is the one we got her. Life under the table just got a whole more more noisy!!!!!

Pip and Puddles Bucket Tour

Warning - some content may alarm readers!!!

Welcome to Arkansas Pip and Puddles

You do know you are NOT meant to stop on the Bridge like that don't you! Never ones to miss a photo op - those two just had a do a wheelie and block all the traffic going from Tennessee to Arkansas!!! Thankfully the police let them off with a warning!






We are sad to report that on the way to our town - Puddles who was driving at the time veered off the road and aimed for hit a squirrel. She quickly jumped out the car and tried to eat it - give it mouth to mouth  but alas it didn't make it. Puddles refused to let it go - mumbling something about 'waste not want not"





 
Of coarse it didn't bother us boys one bit when they turned up at the house and Puddles showed us her prize - it kind of freaked Mom out though and she said if you guys want to eat that you had better take Pip and Puddles to the "Road Kill Cafe" because there was NO WAY she was going to cook that thing!






 
We decided that the quickest way to get there was in our offroader and gave Pip the honor of driving - trust me - for such a little dude he sure knows how to handle the big wheels. I sure hope our insurance will cover that shed he ran over, the grain bins, the tractor and that stupid little prius car!!!!!






















We arrived at the Cafe and checked out the Menu - dog oh dog - there was so much good stuff to choose from! Of coarse Puddles had the Squashed Squirrel, Pip went for the Rack of Coon, I (Reilly) had the Armidillo in the Halfshell and Denny went for the Rigor Mortis Rabbit!

After lunch we decided to do little exploring and ended up taking  this monster water walker through the Bayou we discovered the other day Dog oh Dog - I was hanging on for grim death - especially as the Dweeb was driving with Puddles riding shotgun. I was on the front shouting out directions - TREEEEEE left......TREEEE Rright........LOGGGGGG - thump. Poor Pip was sitting in the back seat hanging on for grim death.







By time we got home Denny and I were pretty tired - but Mr Pip and Puddles said there was something they HAD to do - we were a bit worried about letting them go off their own - but they said they were going to check some "art work" so we figured they couldn't get into trouble doing that!!!! Yeah Right!!!




When they got back to our house they joined in the party for Mom's Birthday today and as we were all resting up and watching the News on TV there was a story came on about these weird crop circles that had appeared in the rice fields near us.  The story was over pretty fast but I am pretty sure I recognized those faces in the crop circles. Pip and Puddles mumbled something about "the aliens did it".

Thanks for visiting us guys - hope you had a great time here in Arkansas - and try staying out of trouble where ever you go next!

Blogville Sled Day

Needless to say the weather girl LIED - yet again. They promised we would get some flurries of snow today but we didn't!  It didn't stop us from joining in the Blogville Sled Day though. We headed off to the Blogville snow fields where Denny went into the freestyle acrobatics snowboarding try outs - look at him getting some air under that board!!! He executed a triple flip flop with tail twisting twirl perfectly but alas couldn't stick the landing and needless to say ended up in a snow drift with only his back feet and tail poking out!!!

Me - I took the more 'dignified' approach and headed down the mountain in a straight line - a wooooooshing I will go - a wooooooshing I will go -  the fur was really flying let me tell you and Mom waiting at the bottom acted as the perfect brake (when a crashed right into her - thanks Mom!!) Can you believe they disqualified me for that even though I had the fastest time!!!!

Thanks Sarge for the great photos and if you want see more competitors head on over to Sarges blog.

Please Note : No dogs or Moms were injured during the day :)

You are my sunshine - my only sunshine

After our trip to the Bayou yesterday Mom took us to MY lake to make up for the fact there was no good walkie and sniffing area. The sun was shining brightly, the sky was a brilliant blue and Mom started howling singing again !!!!!!!! At first we thought she was chorusing the tornado siren which was being tested - but no - she was attempting a tune! She even whistled a bit which really confused us and caused our ears even more pain!

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray
You'll never know dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away"

Thank dogness I spotted these geese and without warning suddenly took off to chase them (something I NEVER do!) It was only because of the dead weight on the other side of the lead that made me stop before I hit the water - (Dweeb of coarse was terrified of the geese) Gawoof gawoof at least it stopped Mom singing as I just about pulled her right off her feet! Next time you feel the urge to sing Mom - can you provide us with ear plugs first!