Monday-May Day 2023

Well…will you looky here. Time to turn the page on the ole paper calendar or for those who aren’t as old-fashioned as me, you can just swipe your digital device from April to May. Today is May Day, and is also known as International Workers Day around the world, which is a celebration of labourers and the working classes around the world and promoted by the international labour movement and occurs every May 1st, or in France, a big day to gather and protest the recently revamped pension system. I’d hate to be in Macron’s shoes these days.

In the U.S. May Day is a celebration of all things Spring and has its roots in astronomy with a touch of agriculture on the side. Being the halfway point between the spring equinox and the summer solstice, it’s an unofficial holiday, marked with springtime festivities filled with song and dance celebrating the sown fields that are starting to sprout. Cattle were driven to pasture, special bonfires were lit, with doors of houses as well as livestock adorned with yellow May flowers. In the Middle Ages, the Gaelic people celebrated the festival of Beltane, the “Day of Fire.” People created large bonfires and danced at night to celebrate. May Day was a big celebration in England and ultimately migrated to the U.S. with the new colonists. Children would dance around the maypole, holding colorful ribbons. People would ”bring in the May” by gathering wildflowers and green branches, weaving floral hoops and hair garlands, and crowning a May king and queen. As a wee lass, I remember decorating May baskets in school, by making little paper cones, colored with crayons and filled with dandelion flowers or lilacs if they were blooming to give to  Mom when I got home from school. Being resourceful kids, we also decorated the tether pole ropes with colored paper flowers, and giving our best  imitation of dancing around the ‘maypole.’ Ah, now those were the days.

Fast forward and my ‘celebration’ of this annual date began by pulling weeds that I swear sprouted overnight from last week’s rain showers, otherwise known as fertilizer for weeds that germinate between the flagstone paths. Being a kid on May Day was a lot more fun.

But it’s still Monday, which means we need to start the week out with a smile, right? No point starting out the week with a grumble. So let’s see what the Ranch Hands came up with today to celebrate springtime.

Monday Musings

Don’t know about you, I think there might be a subtle message here indicating ‘somebody’ apparently isn’t keen on costumes for photo shoots, Luckily I’m not completely oblivious which means I should be visiting the Dollar Store to check out what junk inexpensive decor I can use for the next photo session.

Norman & Cinco de Mayo

Wishing you and yours a very Happy May Day.

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Monday Musings ~ April 17, 2023

Quick…call 911! We blinked and the weekend flew by. What’s up with that?! Not to be wishing life away, but doesn’t Friday sure seems like a very long way off?

Monday

We hope your weekend was full of joyful fun and this week treats you kindly.

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Monday Musings ~ April 10, 2023

Norman & ElsaGood morning, peeps and welcome to Monday.  Did you know today is National Hug Your Dog Day?

Elsa: As if we need a reason around the Ranch.

Norman: Spot on, ninja. Do you know the history behind this wonderful day? Apparently it was the brainchild of Ami Moore,, a professional dog trainer and behavior expert, and created for dog owners to appreciate all the joy their dogs bring them and to shower them with love.

Elsa: Well, I for one didn’t need someone to create a special day to be appreciated but will enjoy the extra attention that no doubt will be showered on both us following an attention showering over the Easter weekend.

Norman: You’re so right, little one. Our Mum showers us with attention all the time. Let’s give her and all uprights a special day for attention. Course, you know not all dogs appreciate hugs but there are other ways you can give them the special attention they so deserve.

Elsa: Good point, fur face. You could take them on a nice walk and let them sniff to their heart’s content. Or…how about a special doggie date? With extra wonderful treats?

Norman: Treats?? Ooh yes, count me in!

Elsa:  Now, now, big guy, don’t get carried away. Just because treats are involved, it’s not good to overdo it.

Norman: {sad face} You’re probably right, sister. Today’s the day where you can celebrate some key moments in dog history. (1) Scientists believe dogs have been domesticated for about 15,000 years. (2) In the 1700’s, Dalmatian dogs were used to assist firefighters. (3) One of the most beloved dogs in America galloped into human’s hearts when Eric Knight published “Lassie” in 1940. (4) In 1954 the Humane Society was founded. Today it’s believed they save approximately 1.6 million dog lives each year.

Elsa: You probably know about this little factoid. In 1973 federal law allowed “emotional support and guidance dogs” to bypass the “no pet” restrictions in public housing.

Norman: Us dogs make life easier for humans in so many ways. It’s good to know that humans are focused on our well-being. In 2017 Thundershirts were created to hug dogs who struggle with when they get stressed during thunderstorms and similar situations.

Elsa: We like it when humans do those kinds of nice things for us. Hey, how about we can get Mom to tune into a special dog-themed movie tonight while she’s hugging us.

Norman: Oooh, count me in. However you celebrate today, we hope you get your fair share of hugs and/or attention and have a super Monday.

Elsa: And don’t forget to smile today but especially don’t forget to hug your dog.

Smiles

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Monday Musings ~ April 3, 2023

Welcome to the first Monday of April. The high winds over the past few days reminded me of the things that can go wrong in a modern world. The weather was too nasty to try to go for a good walk, so I decided to check out what’s on TV after a lull in the hurricane force winds  and after chasing trash bins down the alley a few times. Upon settling down with a cozy warm beverage and a couple of furry lap blankets, I discovered the router lost all memory of me and the dogs. No Netflix, no cable. Does anyone know what makes technology decide to not play ball? During March Madness! What the…? And yet I’m supposed to trust AI? Ummm, likely not at this point.

After 87 attempts to get the bloody router to play nice and recognize the hardware and the password, I realized I missed one of the best college basketball games ever. Way to go LSU Lady Tigers-congratulations on your win.

But things could have been worse, I suppose. At least I wasn’t swearing at a stranger (only CenturyLink).

Smiles

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Monday Musings ~ January 30, 2023

It’s Monday so that means it’s time to start out the week with a smile. Stay warm; we plan to huddle up together a lot today (it’s -3ºF /-19.44ºC at publication time).

Monday Smile

Hopefully your hindsight is crisp and clear for a pawsome Monday.

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Monday Musings ~ December 12, 2022

It’s a two-fer today for smiles. We figured everyone could use a double chuckle, I know I needed it after yesterday’s holiday preparations. Nothing like trying to get a bunch of baking done and a full berry smoothie gets knocked over spraying the entire kitchen with reddish blue goop everywhere. I’m still finding splooges on surfaces. Sigh.

So…are your stockings hung and the tree all trimmed? Have you finished making your cookies for Santa?

Smiles

I always wondered if Santa conformed to social norms or if he did his own thing?

In an age where more and more vehicles are heading toward being electrical, this one seemed pretty in line with current trends. Snorf.

Smiles

We hope you have a super-duper, two-fer Monday. Yikes…just realized there are only thirteen days until the big day. We tried to finish up and complete the shopping over the weekend since a large storm is expected to arrive tonight and I am not a fan of being on icy streets with all the crazy drivers around here. They’re bad enough on dry streets, add snow and ice…well…no thank you. We’ll see if the hype matches the reality on the weather forecast. Happy Monday.

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Monday Musings ~ December 5, 2022

Hiya, remember us? Today is the first day I’ve actually felt well enough to post. Man, oh man…that COVID bug sure leveled me and once I got over it, I had no creative juices. Enter Dogtor Norman to provide relief to me as well as others.

Norman

We didn’t get a chance to visit at the hospital in November so when we were asked to provide a bit of stress relief, e.g. a spot of pet therapy for shoppers at our favorite store, Orvis, well we jumped at the chance. Since I’m über sensitive about all the assorted bugs/viruses floating around these days just waiting  to muck up the holidays, I masked up like crazy, used plenty of hand sanitizer and brought a nice batch of treats for Dogtor Norman for our visit with customers and staff. The manager had specifically requested that Norman be one of the canine attendees and…well I mean, who are we to not want to make that happen, especially when we totally love the store? This lady was particularly taken with Norman and after she and her husband shopped, she returned multiple times to spend a few moments with the big guy. It’s always inspiring to see folks with physical limitations make special efforts to administer a few tender ear rubs particularly in jammed retail spaces. Making the effort to navigate around store’s that are filled with merchandise and customers, her attention was especially touching.

Norman

With COVID, RSV, flu cases and inflation putting a damper on holiday festivities, folks are beginning to realize there are less than three weeks until Santa makes his midnight run to houses all over the world. Shopping for the holidays can be stressful for some folks but ever the professional, Norman knows just how to fix holiday stress for young and old alike.

Norman

When taking pics of kids with Norman, I’m extra sensitive about posting them online without obscuring their faces. Alas, with the latest update to Apple’s OS, I’ve been  experiencing some issues with the photo editing process. This was the best I could do for this sweet little girl’s face. She told me they had two mastiffs at home and totally loved big dogs. Norman was equally smitten with her-giving her a nice hug while she laid on the floor next to him while her Dad shopped. He kept checking on her to make sure she wasn’t a problem. I love it when parents are attentive to their children’s well being as well as Norman’s. We don’t mind being an unofficial ‘kid wrangler,’ but feel like too many folks are more than happy to simply dump their kids on complete strangers. This kind of thoughtful parent ranks right at the top of the “good’ list and I genuinely hope their holidays are very merry and bright.

What’s a Monday around the Ranch without a smile to start out a busy week during the holidays? I’ve always enjoyed the Marmaduke cartoons and hope this one makes you smile like it did me. Smile

We may not have been to the North Pole lately, but finally feel well enough to get cracking with holiday preparations. With time being of the essence, it’s time to get cracking. While I no longer put up a tree, a few holiday embellishments will come out of storage to brighten things up. And I did manage to even knock out the Christmas cards. Yay.

Here’s hoping life has been treating you well and your stress levels are low as you head toward the big day. Make it a ‘pawsome’ week.

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Monday Mo(a)nings ~ November 7, 2022

We’re now back on standard time but there’s nothing standard about the overabundance of political ads currently being broadcast. I don’t know about you but the midterm elections can not be over soon enough. The endlessly redundant ads have had me screaming whenever the TV is turned on. It’s gotten so bad I haven’t been able to enjoy any sports; in fact while trying to watch a hockey game over the weekend, there were so many consecutive ads for nearly every state candidate running back to back to back, for one brief moment I thought one of the dogs may have inadvertently changed the channel. I was beginning to think maybe those &#@% gambling app ads (that I absolutely hate and which are played far too often), aren’t all that bad. The worst one that sends me into orbit shows a particular athlete smiling while on the ‘can’ as he’s placing his bets. Seriously. Argh!!!

When looking for a smile for today, this one seemed timely and made an accurate statement about the current state of politics these days in the US. Whichever way you lean politically, we hope you exercise the fundamental right to vote. In Colorado voting is done through mail-in ballots; the system is simple, convenient with no excuse not to vote, but honestly I still think pets would choose far better candidates. Where in the world do they find some of these candidates…under rocks?!

Smile

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Wish I Were There ~ September 21, 2022

Germany
Aachen, Germany

After dreaming of being back in Aachen, I’m smiling because it’s Happy Earth, Wind & Fire Day. Do you Remember the 21st day of September? Groove on, peeps.

Live, love, bark! 🐾