Monday Mutts…whadda you gonna do other than smile? Oh well, at least there’s an extra day this month so there’s something else to enjoy. Happy Monday.
Live, love, bark! 🐾
Month: February 2024
Nature Friday ~ February 23, 2024
Hey there sports fans…welcome to this week’s edition of Yippee-Ki-Yay, Mother Nature…
ELSA!!!!
Elsa: What?!
The Mom: Today is Nature Friday and you well know it.
Elsa: Umm, erm…sorry. {Spoken in a dull monotone voice} Welcome to this week’s edition of Nature Friday where my little Pony of a brother and I share slices of nature and join our friends from over at Adventures of the LLB Gang. Click on the highlighted link to see what other posts were shared. There, you happy now?
The Mom: That’s better. Now get on with it and stop with going off the reservation. This is a G-rated blog.
Elsa: But Mom…I was just adding a bit of color commentary to start the post off…no harm, no foul.
The Mom: I said, there will not be colorful language like that before and I meant it!
Elsa: Ok, I get it. Why are you so grumpy today, I thought you were feeling better after last week’s reaction to the shingles vaccine.
The Mom: I feel fine, thank you very much. Boy that was some kind of reaction, wasn’t it? {Sarcastically} Can’t wait for the second round. I’m just glad you guys nursed me back to health. Anyway, like I’ve said before, this is a family friendly blog and you can’t talk like that here. You wanna talk like that, go to Twitter.
Elsa: Yo, Mom, it’s “X” not Twitter.
The Mom: Nonetheless…this blog is off limits to colloquialisms like that. Got it?
Elsa: Yes, I got it. Sheesh…
Wilson: Hey sorry, I’m late. I was eating breakfast. What did I miss?
Elsa: Mom is having a meltdown about my opening sentence. FYI, we have to dull it down for her tender sensibilities.
Wilson: Hmmm, ok…don’t see why that’s a problem but I’m the new guy so what do I know…don’t answer that.
Elsa: Oh never mind…let’s just get on with it. I got stuff to do today.
Wilson: Stuff? What are you doing later? Can I come, huh, can I?
Elsa: Ugh…little…or in your case, gigantic brothers…are such a pain.
The Mom: Be nice, Elsa. Wils is trying to fit in and you’re making it tough with an attitude like that. Why not show us what we saw this week, without the editorializing, okay?
Elsa: {Sigh} Fine. Now that she’s feeling better, Mom had to make a quick trip to visit my Grandpa’s. She says she never tires of the early morning sunrises. I myself am a bit fonder of sleeping in but whatever floats your boat, right?
Wilson: I didn’t mind, one whit. I mean, the early morning may appeal to humans visually but there are lots of wonderful sniffs a bloke can enjoy while they’re oohing and ahhing at the sunrise. I mean, who doesn’t love a bunny scent??
Elsa: Dude, you need to get a life. Bunny smells at Grandpa’s house is old news.
Wilson: Well it’s still interesting to me. The early morning dew brings out some great smells. Remember, I’m still learning about the flora and fauna in Colorado which is quite different from Missouri.
Elsa: We’re not holding the Missouri thing against you. But after you’ve visited as often as I have, you’ll get used to bunny smells. Maybe even the donkeys that live across the street from Grandpa’s house?
Wilson: Meh…those guys didn’t impress me…I am after all, used to seeing hoofed livestock. We had horses so seeing those guys was no big deal. The traffic however, I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to that.
Elsa: You’re getting better. Just remember to stay next to Mom and she’ll protect you.
Wilson: I’ll try, but blimey, the traffic is so noisy. I get frightened by vehicles.
Elsa: Stick with me kid, you’ll get used to them.
Wilson: I sure hope so.
Elsa: Trust me, you’ll be fine, it just may take a while. But I can promise you this with 100% certainty. Mom will never let anything hurt you. Got it?
Wilson: Thanks, that’s somewhat reassuring. I’ll try to remember that.
Elsa: You got this. The other sight that Mom never gets tired of seeing is the back side of Pikes Peak, particularly when it’s covered in snow on a clear day. You can find out more about this iconic Colorado view here.
Wilson: I’ve begun to notice small signs that Spring is impending. Looks like yellow is the color of the day. I think both of these yellow beauties are varieties of crocuses which are now beginning to bloom.
Elsa: Yeah, you’ll want to not get too close to this tree cholla cactus. It bites back. It’s starting to bloom as well. Mom thought this variety was Cylindropuntia imbricata ssp. imbricata.
Wilson: Stay away…right, got it.
Elsa: Well so much for the flora this week, but we do have a couple of pics of fauna. Mom attended the annual Rocky Mountain Old English Sheepdog Rescue board meeting and saw these guys at the placement director’s home. The rescue is getting closer to being certified with the state. Hurrah! Finally, something that’s your size.
Wilson: I know I’m supposed to do something around those guys but not sure just what exactly that is. Someone said something about herding. I just hope that involves food.
Elsa: Oh for heaven’s sake. Dip into your genetic pool, dude. Yes, you’re a herder (well technically you’re a drover but herding’s close enough). Jeez, do I have to teach you EVERYTHING?
Wilson: Well I’ve led a rather sheltered life but promise I’ll get up to speed soon. {gulp} I hope.
Elsa: Egad, you’re such a mental light-weight. Well, that’s it for this week. Got anything exciting going on? Mom said something about working on taxes but I’m not sure what means and frankly, Scarlet, I don’t really care.
Wilson: Umm, for the record my name is Wilson.
Elsa: I can see this socialization thing is gonna take time. Anyway, whatever you do, we hope you enjoy getting outside and checking out what Nature shares. Have a great weekend!
Wilson: Yes, right-o…a good weekend.
Elsa: Argh…there appears to be an echo these days around the Ranch. It may or may not get amusing. I wonder just how far I can push the envelope.
The Mom: Elsa…be nice.
Elsa: Drat…she wasn’t supposed to hear that last part. Anyway, we sincerely hope the last weekend of February is downright wagnificent! Come on down, Spring…we’re waiting with bated breath on your arrival.
Live, love, bark! 🐾
Monday Musings ~ February 19, 2024
Happy Monday, troops. We hope you had a wonderful weekend and are ready to cast your sights on a fresh new week. And what better way to start the week out than by a smile from Gary Larson. This one gave us a chuckle and we hope it does the same for you.
May this week provide loads of smiles (and perhaps some tasty treats). No doubt ‘Carl’ would approve.
Live, love, bark! 🐾
Monday Musings ~ February 12, 2024
It’s Monday. Again. How did this happen to us?
We hope you all survived the weekend and enjoyed an exciting Super Bowl. No doubt many were disappointed by yesterday’s outcome but if it was an exciting game you wanted, I think you will admit, it was a full serving. Can anyone explain to me how in the world Patrick Mahomes managed to pull off that win? Maybe another ‘conspiracy’ I’ve heard over the years that suggests he’s a witch, is true? I dunno. I think that’s the longest I’ve held my breath watching a game. On another note, were there any notable commercials that tickled your fancy? Was it just me or were there LOTS of them? What did you think about the half-time show. If you didn’t watch the Super Bowl, did you manage to catch Puppy Bowl XX? It definitely had a great outcome with more pups and kitties finding their fur-ever homes. Whether you were rooting for Team Ruff (with its own exciting last second win) or Team Fluff, you couldn’t help but enjoy the all the canine and feline fun. For highlights of the game, you can click here and to see who won the MVP, click here.
Today is also International Epilepsy Day where there is a concerted and worldwide effort to bring awareness to this terrible health condition for both people and pets. As the parent of an epileptic pet, it’s a topic near and dear to my heart. If epilepsy has touched your life there are organizations who can help by provide awareness, info and resources. You can read more about it and our story here. And don’t forget to wear purple today. Stay safe and strong epi-warriors and have a great week.
Live, love, bark! 🐾
Nature Friday ~ February 9, 2024
We survived last week’s snowstorm and are waiting for the arrival of the next one sometime this weekend, or so they say. Hiya, Elsa here. As always we’re joining our friends from Adventures of the LLB Gang. Click on the link to see what other posts have been shared.
I’m still recovering from surgery but am doing well actually. Thank you all for your kind get well and recovery wishes.They mean the world to me and Mom.
Lots of you said I should let the foster dog pony get in on the action with posting so without further adieu, here’s the newest Ranch Hand and I’ll judge let him give you his perspective from around the ‘Hood. Hope I haven’t made a mistake by letting him in on today’s post. This whole foster biz seems to have made him a bit anxious and I don’t wanna spin him into a tizzy. And now, live from the corral…I present…the Pony!
Wilson: Umm, don’t mean to get off on the wrong paw with you or your readers, but my name is now Wilson.
Elsa: You say tomato, I say tomahto. Anywho…you need to show them you’re a real live Ranch Hand before your introduction is official.
Wilson: Oh, you mean the one with the hat?
Elsa: {Gasp} Look, you big galute…that’s not a just hat-that’s a Stetson and it’s legendary in the West. You need to forget everything you knew about Missouri…you’re a Colorado doggie these days.
Wilson: {in a snooty British voice} I. beg. your. pardon. You must understand, I’m new to this blogging thing but will do my utter best to try and contribute in a meaningful manner.
Elsa: Oh puleez…what’s with you British guys and your high falutin talk? Save it for another time, dog breath.
Wilson: Well blimey…so sorry. I’ll share a pic of me out in the snow after getting groomed last week. How’s that?
Elsa: Save it, bucko. I can see this is going take some time and energy getting you familiar with how things work around here.
Wilson: {somewhat miffed} Right-o. Well, like you mentioned before, we received some snow. It was heavy and wet after an entire night of rain. It was quite crunchy trying to walk on it-I kept falling through.
Elsa: Well, if you weren’t such a chonker, you might not have fallen through. Now you know why Mom has you on a diet.
Wilson: Are you saying I’m overweight? I’d say all the grooming and removing of mats took a lot of excess weight off. See how trim I am now.
Elsa: {eyes rolling} Trust me, Mom will continue to keep the portions small for a while. Sure, she’ll say something like “it’s good for your joints” or some other ridiculous thing. Get used to it and be prepared to be hungry for a while.
Wilson: {frowning} Oh dear…I’m not sure I’ll be able to survive here. I do like my meals.
Elsa: Forget crumpets and tea, dude. You’ll get two small squares a day and Mom will walk your fat tush off right before she takes me out on my rehab walks. It’s going to be interesting between the two of you, as to who loses the most weight. {snicker}
Wilson: Oh dear…this IS going to be quite the adjustment. How in the world am I going to survive?
Elsa: Relax, you’ll never go completely hungry, Mom just wants to get your weight a bit more under control. She’s already had to resize your collar because it was getting too loose. And trust me, there will always be a treat (or two) around the Ranch. I’ll make sure you get a snack.
Wilson: Bravo! That’s right proper of you helping me adjust to this new lifestyle. I still miss my old family and packmates. You do know my old Mum unexpectedly passed away. I loved her so much but do love my new Mum now. Still it’s been quite the adjustment over this past month but I’m really trying hard to learn how to fit in.
Elsa: For the record, she’s MY MOM. But you’re doing ok so far (even if you caused my injury). Mom says you’re pretty smart and I promised her I wouldn’t hold a grudge. I realize you have a lot to learn. Mom explained to me that you grew up in a tiny little town and the city can be a rather intimidating reality. I mean, come on…you’re doing so much better on walks now from when you first arrived and you’re improving a bit each day. Before you know it, garbage trucks won’t even register in that big, fat head. Got any other pics of the snow? My readers want to see nature at her finest.
Wilson: {clearing throat} Right…it started out like most snowstorms but then it just kept snowing and snowing and snowing. It was pretty though and I found it bracing to run around outside in it.
Wilson: Here’s a view from the sofa that made my mind spin on the day after. It looks unlike any snow I’d ever seen before with that melting/freezing thing going on and with the sculpting wind. Looks like a lunar landscape a bit.
Elsa: Like you’d know about the lunar landscape, although it is the Chinese New Year this week. It was a weird storm, dumping 6-15 inches over the metro area after a night of rain-something we never get this time of year. But you know, things don’t seem any worse for wear for the bulbs, do they?
Wilson: They seem to be fine and most of the snow has gone now but we’re waiting for the next storm which may start later today and be a repeat of last weekend.
Elsa: Don’t hold your breath. One of the things you’ll learn about Colorado weather around here, it’s changes on a dime-and weather forecasters simply cannot be trusted to be accurate. As long as I still get to enjoy some snow cones, I’ll be happy. This was right after my staples came out. I felt like I earned it and Mom seemed to agree.
Wilson: I’ll keep that in mind. So can I share this little guy who I encountered on a walk? Mum’s eagle eyes spotted him, I totally missed him. I’m just learning about other critters; Mum refers to them as tree rats. I’m not a fan of them and have tried hard to run them down catch them. Not sure what to do if I’m able to catch one but Mum still won’t let me go after them.
Elsa: Yeah, Mom is like that…she wants to protect you from potential problems with face to face meetings with wild animals. She also is extremely adverse to being turned into a human kite and since I’ve noticed you possess lightning quick reflexes, but will learn she’s not as easy as you think she’d be when she’s been lifted off her feet.
Wilson: I did surmise that. But I’m a crafty lad, you never know what I can do.
Elsa: Shush you big oaf, you don’t want to give up the element of surprise. Best that you keep your big trap shut. Moms of all stripes aren’t amused by the element of surprise so don’t wreck it by blabbing any moves in advance.
Wilson: {in a hushed voice} Oh right…will keep that in mind.
Elsa: Well that looks like we made it through without killing each other. Guess it wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be. Bravo me.
Wilson: Ahem…I did mention that I could be a sport here and hope you’ll give me another chance in the future.
Elsa: Let’s not get carried away. A lot depends on how I feel and whether or not my readers like your by-line. How about we just say…we’ll see.
Wilson: Roger that. So do I get to ask what everyone’s going to do this weekend. I heard something about some big football game. While we had them in Missouri, in Britain, we call it ‘soccer.’
Elsa: Trust me dude, around here the only sport that matters is hockey. You’ll learn that soon enough. Finally, we would be remiss if we didn’t wish everyone a safe and prosperous Chinese New Year. Have a great weekend everyone.
Wilson: Oh yes, please do have a splendid weekend.
Elsa: Give it a rest, Pony.
Live, love, bark! 🐾
Monday Musings ~ February 5, 2024
Winter returned to the Mile High City over the past weekend yet our celebration was a bit muted compared to some of the animals at the Portland zoo in that video. Can’t help but smile at seeing their apparent joyful glee. Our storm dumped anywhere from 6-15 inches of super heavy, wet stuff throughout the metro area with some neighborhoods experiencing power outages. Wilson was frisky in the snow but equally excited to come back inside after an extended potty break. Elsa found walking on the crusty snow more than a bit challenging and not entirely to her majesty’s liking as she walked gingerly on it, sinking in with each step which was likely most startling to her sense of equilibrium, given her somewhat wobbly state. Hopefully she’ll receive the all clear to resume to short leash walks after today’s scheduled staple removal and can begin the process of building back her muscles. Please keep your paws crossed for us.
Some local residents experienced power outages might have felt a little like this water buffalo which reminds me that cattle egrets can be stinkers and just don’t care (maybe that’s the price of tick removal?). This pic begs the question at least from golfers if they are related to Canadian Geese in the give-a-hoot category? Courses throughout the metro area have become landing strips for enormous flocks of the pesky birds.
Never fear for us, the forecast is expected to reach back into the 40’s & 50’sF (4-10ºC) throughout the week (before the next storm arrives), which should melt most of the welcomed moisture.
In the “eek, I neglected to acknowledge our double win for last week’s Teaser” category, here’s a pic of the badge we won. It was exciting and quite unexpected to be a firstie, let alone accurately guessing where the Teaser pic was taken-talk about a-m-a-z-i-n-g! Many thanks to our friend Teddy and his mom for the super cute badge. We’re very grateful and thrilled that we won. Maybe all those middle of the night ‘chirps’ by a certain princess aren’t all bad though I’m looking forward to when I can sleep an entire night uninterrupted in my bed.
Best wishes for a pawsome Monday.
Live, love, bark! 🐾
Nature Friday ~ February 2, 2024
Happy Groundhog Day. Elsa here. If you believe in the predictions of some chubby Pennsylvanian rodent, looks like that Gobbler Knob resident, Punxsutawney Phil, predicted an early spring this year. While I’m not convinced a groundhog can accurately predict Spring’s arrival, apparently this phenomena has been celebrated for ages. How did this custom originate, you ask? Well, I’m here to give you a bit of background on this silliness annual tradition. Diary records from as early as 1841 entry showed weather forecasts had been celebrated among families of German descent in Pennsylvania though most historians agree the custom began in the late 1800’s. According to Don Yoder, former professor from University of Pennsylvania, he noted a Celtic connection and surmised this annual celebration had its roots in “ancient, undoubtedly prehistoric, weather lore.”
Guess it appears that Celtic people across Europe marked a 4-day period in early February, which is the midpoint between the Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. Celts observed that Christians celebrated Candlemas (known as Imbolc), which coincided with Joseph and Mary’s presentation of Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem. As ancient folk observed sun, stars and animal behavior and those observations influenced their farming practices. They came to the conclusion that the emergence of hibernating animals, coincided with seasonal weather forecasts. Similarly, German traditions observed that badgers or bears emerging from hibernation came around the same time as the arrival of spring. Pennsylvania German settlers apparently substituted the groundhog, which was endemic to the eastern and midwestern United States. Guess you use what you got to keep the myth going, eh? Now that you know the background, let’s move on and see what slices of nature arrived in the 303, shall we?
Welcome to the first Friday of February where we join our friends Rosy and Sunny for their Nature Friday blog hop. Be sure to click on the link to see what others have shared.
I dunno about you, but January seemed to go on forever, and makes you wonder why they do Dry January during such a long month? Sorry, I’ve been out of commission lately, I’m recuperating from an injury that required surgery. Normally Mom keeps me buttoned up with a horrid satellite dish (aka cone) but she took that pic after I had eaten breakfast to make it easier on me and removes the cone so I don’t bang on walls while trying to locate my bowl. Man…I can’t wait to burn that thing! I’m not even getting Showtime.
Anyway…this week the weather has been almost spring-like with temps nearly 20F degrees warmer than average for this time of year (hmm, maybe that stupid rodent is on to something). The hyacinths in our garden began to wake up which actually surprised Mom. With the subzero temps in January, she didn’t think they’d wake up yet, but lo and behold…warmer temps seemed to coax these little squirts upward.
Mom also noticed some daffodils were farther along than we thought they should be. Now don’t go crazy…this isn’t some kind of atmospheric miracle, mind you. When you’re at a Mile High elevation-wise, you’re that much closer to the sun and that makes a huge difference over those near sea level.
We’re noticing it’s getting lighter earlier in the morning and some of the recent sunrises have been pretty spectacular. There’s something about winter sunrises that always captivates Mom’s interest. She’s lucky I’m not supposed to walk very fast so she was able to capture this view before the red sky disappeared while waiting on me.
So the integration of the ‘pink-eyed pony’ who’s probably going to be my brother, has been slow going. We still get somewhat bent out of shape especially when I’m too close to my Mom [yo doofus…she was my Mom long before you arrived…so back #@%$ off] but we’re trying our best. Well that’s not 100% accurate…it’s more like Mom is hyper focused on our proximity to avoid any more collisions or unpleasantness.
Last week Wilson went to the groomer after Mom spent 187 hours dematting his fur (trust me, that’s not much of an exaggeration either-that gallon bag was just from his ears and took almost 5 hours). The groomer said Mom made the job easier for her and Wilson was good getting spiffed up. I’ll admit, that boy does clean up nicely.
Sure his fur is shorter than Mom would like, but it will grow out quickly. The groomer only needed to blend the length from where the mats were cut out. I’m just glad I didn’t have to lose any more fur than what the vet shaved off but Mom mentioned something about trimming up my paws. {Gasp} I hope that was just a rhetorical observation and not real. I’m slow moving right now and wouldn’t be able to escape quickly enough. I hate for my feet to be groomed.
So far, I haven’t decided if I’m going to let Wilson appear as a co-host on my Friday posts. The jury is still out on that one. What do you guys think? Should I let him or just keep this gig to myself? Let me know in your comments.
Got anything exciting on your dance card this weekend? We are planning to enjoy the NHL All-Star Game and then prepare for next weekend’s Super Bowl. Can anyone tell me what the dog is all the hubbub about on this whole Taylor Swift/Travis Kelce thing. I mean, why are people so bent out of shape that a very successful musical star supports her boyfriend at his games? I just don’t get it.
Do you believe Punxsutawney Phil’s forecast will bear out? Whatever you do, we hope you are able to enjoy whatever Mother Nature dishes up.
Live, love, bark! 🐾