Quack Quack Honk Honk

For some reason Mom loves the duck and geese at MY park. She is always taking them all our left over bread and loves when new ones arrive. She has her favorites of coarse Mr Tuffy is number 1. He is an adorable black duck with a tuff on his head. Mom looked him up online and found he is called "a domestic crested duck"   Mr Tuffy has a little white duck as his partner and they swim everywhere together. We also see them sitting side by side on the grass all the time and they look so cute. Wouldn't it be fun if they had a little white baby with a black tuff on its head!













Next there is Mr Tuxs - Mom says he looks like a penguin in his black and white colors and that he looks like he is wearing a tuxedo. The duck on the end is his partner and that one in the middle is a little male - their baby that they had last year - he just never wanted to leave and stayed with them all winter. Then there is Mr Speckles and his partner. He is a kind if pied Mallard - he has the mallards coloring on the head but brown speckles on the front and his back half is white - except for his tail.













 Lastly we have a greylag goose - this one is actually a young one from last year. Sadly the father goose got hit by a car over winter and had a broken wing that got infected and he died and we haven't seen the mother bird since then. The other babies (she had 3) left but this one stayed. Then the ones most peeps in the USA dislike the most (because they poop in abundance everywhere) - the Canada Geese.













Now you are probably wondering where we were the whole time - can you believe Mom made ME sit there watching - how cruel is that - she KNOWS I am the goose chaser extraordinaire ! The Dweeb of coarse was browsing on some grass - hey maybe he is silly goose - they like to eat grass too!

Tracking the Easter Bunny

Did you know you can actually track the Easter Bunny online !!! http://trackeasterbunny.com/  Yes my friends, no need to put your noses to the ground and try and sniff him out - no need to do any tracking and getting your paws muddy or laying out a trail of carrots in the hopes of capturing this elusive creature -  now  you can just track him online thus finding the most optimum time to pounce on him and grab his goodies!

You can even follow the furry critter on Facebook too https://www.facebook.com/trackeasterbunny There is no escaping now Mr Easter Bunny !

Life Support

Even though it turned cold yesterday Mom still took us for a walk  (she says Denny Dumpling needs lots of exercise) By time we reached the 'Life Support' sign Dweeb thought for sure it was snack station cause he was dying of hunger and needed some life support :)  Mom says don't worry - he is getting plenty to eat - she has just cut out all treats.

As you can see MY park is finally greening up which is making the Mom soooo happy - she kept mumbling about how fresh it all smells and how the dogwoods smell so pretty. Trust me Mom - dog pee is what is all about when we come to the park! And check me out - Mom thought I looked so funny when I spotted a squirrel and jumped on this stump to watch it. Can you believe she told ME I couldn't chase it - but two seconds later I did  and I nearly caught the little bugger too! I told Mom she has to get me some climbing boots - the kind with spikes on the bottom so I can follow the tree rats up a tree !

Denny Dumpling

Something terrible is happening..... Here I was thinking Mommy had come up with yet another cutie nic-name for me - she calls me Denny Whenny, Bubba-kins and Baby Face and now she has started calling me  Denny Dumpling BUT not in a nice way. Can you believe she says that over winter I have put on weight and that she is putting me on a STRICT diet. I keep telling her it is just my fur - I have a big thick and heavy winter coat but she won't believe me. She says no more treats AT ALL and just one bedtime cookie! She has even threatened to put me on the treadmill every day but that thing scares me even when it isn't turned on - I would surely faint if she turned it on with me on it!!!!! Mom says we HAVE to do this cause I am a little boned sheltie and carrying extra weight isn't good for my leggies or for my whole body. I can feel the weight falling off of me right NOW just from the worry of it all - I am pretty sure I should be slim again by tomorrow. What do you say Mom - "can I have just one cookie to see me through these hard times - pleeeeeease".  Mom says  "NO DENNY DUMPLING you can not have a cookie and those sad eyes are not going to work on me"  BUT MOM - I am starving.......it's been 5 minutes since breakfast!!!!

Chewy.Com & Natural Balance Belly Bites Review

13th April 2014

Today thanks to Chewy.com we are reviewing Natural Balance's newest treats - Belly Bites - doesn't that name just make you smile :)  Now if you haven't checked out Natural Balance you should - they have a huge variety of products to choose from and you can see them here at Chewy.com. These new Belly Bites come in 3 flavors and today we got to try the Salmon and Legume Flavor. They are all made with legumes which is great for us doggies with allergies.

Here's the Basics

• Grain-free formula perfect for dogs with sensitivities
• Semi-moist texture dogs love!
• Made with high-quality ingredients
• Made in the USA!
• Available from - Chewy.com
• Cost 6 oz bag - $6.99 0n sale this month - normally $7.99
• Chewy's Natural Balance Page

Taste Test

• We both REALLY loved these and Mom says the fish is so good for our coats
• They are soft and delicious
• They are a great size - and easily broken into smaller pieces too.
• Come on Mom sitting them on our feet is torture!

Ingredients

• Salmon, Peas, Vegetable Glycerin, Garbanzo Beans, Cane Molasses, Gelatin, Canola Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Natural Flavor, Citric Acid, Dried Cultured Skim Milk

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

• None at all - they are totally yummy
• Give me that bag Dweeb - I am going in for seconds!!!!

 Rating

• We are giving these our 8  paw rating - Why 8 paws you ask? - well because we have 4 paws each and I have decided Dweeb can have an equal vote!

Disclaimer : Chewy.com sent us a packet of the Natural Balance Belly Bites  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.

Sigh.....

We had a wonderful walk yesterday........ the weather was totally perfect and Mom was in her ultra slow walk mode instead of her normal slow mode so we got to double sniff everything. After our walk around the lake we found a bench in a shady spot and just sat and watched the world go by and listened to the geese honking at each other. Life is good when you're a pair of cowspotdogs :)

Snake !!!!!!!!!

We were off in MY little park today - exploring off the beaten track like we do - mom calls it "going bush". With all the rain we have had over the last couple of weeks there are little trickling creeks everywhere and some a bit more than trickles. We came across one that was about four foot wide and Mom was just pondering what was the best way to get across it when a big old frog suddenly jumped into the water and when Mom looked to see it she noticed a little snake sitting right there a few feet to our right. She snapped a couple of pics quickly and then because she knows snakes pick up vibrations she stomped her foot and Mr Snake just slid away. (Okay - we admit it - we doggies didn't even see it! - Mom says that is probably a good thing)













As you can see - the trees are finally starting to turn green - we figure in a couple of weeks we will have our shady glen back again. In the meantime we are enjoying the scent from all the native dogwoods which are flowering like crazy.

Mothers of Angels

Last summer they started building something near the entrance of MY park (after I gave them MY permission of coarse).  We don't often walk there because there is so much traffic and cars scare the Dweeb but it was quiet yesterday and we decided to see what it was they have been working on.  It is called the "Mother of Angels" Garden and has been constructed to all of those mothers who have lost children. The paving stones around the base have the names of children that have become angels. It is sad and beautiful at the same time. We will take some more pictures in a few weeks when the flowers are all blooming. Mom wondered if they going to make a 'Fathers of Angels' garden one day too?

Wordless Wednesday

Mmmmm grazing

One little cowspotdog lives up to his name - he is sooooo happy spring is here and the greenery is starting to appear because this little 'cow' boy' LOVES to graze. Mom always worry he is going to eat something that will be poisonous or make him sick but hes been grazing for two years now with no ill effects  and even though Mom tries to stop him he just has to taste everything as he going past it or any time we stop for a rest. And people wonder I why I call him the Dweeb!

Black and White Sunday

We are heading through a time warp today

A day late and a penny short

The Mom laments to us sometimes (which means ALL THE TIME) that some years back she was a techno nerd - always up to date on the latest computer stuffy, coding web pages with html and all the gobbly-gook -  and then....... well....... she got left behind. Now she has a 'smart' phone that makes her feel dumb cause she doesn't know more then the basic functions on it, an ipad she uses as a cup coaster and occasionally plays a game or checks the weather on and when she does finally discover something 'new' on one of these - she finds everyone else already knew about it months or years ago - sigh! Mom is all her craziness rationalizes this is actually her "being smart" - because by time she discovers something - all the bugs and problems have been worked out and the apps work better - yeah - nice try Mom! She also figures there are probably others out there who are  "app challenged" so she thought she would occasionally share things she has just 'found' and other have probably forgotten about :)

So our first offering is Photo Funia - a cool FREE app - it is available in all app formats, Ipad, IPhone, Android etc.  (It is available for your computer too but Mom says personally she WOULD  NOT recommend it - as it also installs "Sweetpacks" a toolbar that is added to your browsers and it is considered as malware - the apps are fine though) Photo Funia lets you add your photos to other photos to create cool pics. Here are an example of some Mom played around with - it even coverts your pics to look like drawings or paintings. Oh coarse it helps she has such handsome subjects to use when playing around with the app :)

Lake Frierson - revisited

I told Mom we needed to do the rounds of MY parks this week - to make sure all is in order after winter and for me to well ....ummmm leave my mark (pee on them) so everyone KNOWS they are MY parks.  We headed off yesterday to check on MY Lake Frierson State Park first. It was the most beautiful day, clear blue skies - 72 degrees, no wind - sigh ..... just perfect! I am happy to woof that MY park rangers have been very busy smoothing out the trails and cutting down broken branches (after the ice storm we had). The gardens around where we park MY car are full of daffodils - in fact the whole drive up through the Crowly's Ridge hills were just awash with bright yellow - the daffies are growing wild everywhere! Mom was so tempted to stop the car and pick bunches of them but then she said if she did that all the people driving by wouldn't be able to enjoy them.

As you can see - the lake is full to over flowing, it is so crystal clear and the turtles and baby fish are out and about now. The grass is starting to green up which made Mom happy. She starts craving greenery about two weeks after winter starts!













The trees are still bare but we could see lots of buds on then and on the way to the park (its about 15 miles from where we live) Mom noticed LOTS of Magnolias in flower. Mom loves the one with the purple on the bottom of the flowers - we have some really old trees around here and they get covered in flowers and smell heavenly.













We sat for a long time with the mom just watching the ducks and world go by, soaking in the warm sunshine and breathing in all the fresh air. As normal there was not another person or dog around and even the Dweeb seemed relaxed - well okay not really - but he wasn't quite his normal paranoid self. We even took a walk down MY Dogwood Lane and Mom was surprised when I stopped  and went into my ALERT mode and looked around in exactly the spot we startled some deer last year. I also remember every spot where I have seen a squirrel over the last 3 years too :) We had a pawsome morning - thanks MY park people for doing a such a good job keeping MY parks beautiful.

What constitutes a "pet"

Our blog buddy Bacon asked us if they would allow a little pot belly pig like him.... to go walking in the park. Well at MY little park there is the State Park Office so  after our walk Mom went in and asked what constitutes a 'pet' as all the signs say 'pets' must be leashed. Needless to say the staff thought Mom was crazy until she explained she was inquiring whether a pot belly pig  on a leash would be considered a 'pet' - well guess what - they said YES! Now every State has different rules but hey Bacon - they will probably allow you in your parks too - especially if the signs say "pets".