The Leprechaun Ranch Hand sends his best Irish wishes to you. ☘️ Erin go bragh! ☘️
Meanwhile the Celtic Sluagh…aka The Ninja, seems to be [once again] preparing to hunt down my soul. If there’s anything to that adage, ‘luck of the Irish,’ now would be a good time for it. Then again, she could just as easily be channeling the Celtic goddess of evil magic, “Carman” who, as a destructive witch, roamed around with her three evil sons: Dub (“darkness” in Irish), Dother (“evil”) and Dain (“violence”), destroying anything or anyone in their path.
It was thought that Carman was responsible for cursing Ireland’s crops until the Tuatha De Danann (peoples of the goddess Danu) used their magic to fight and defeat her.
I am NOT amused, nor am I Irish
May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow, and may trouble avoid you wherever you go. Happy St. Patrick’s Day from everyone at the Ranch. Slainte!
Today is Ash Wednesday and marks the beginning of Lent; a time of sacrifice, self-discipline and reflection leading up to Easter. Christians across the world often decide to give up something they enjoy like chocolate or alcohol for instance or they agree to do special works of service/goodness. The Ranch Hands said “No dice!” on giving anything up but they assured me they would step up and be better doggos on their walks after kind of forgetting what a loose leash walk really means following the recent extended cold spell when walks were impossible. Apparently short term memory can be a problem with dogs.
In addition to Lent, today also marks a different kind of celebration. Today is “Read Across America Day,” created in 1998 by the National Education Association (NEA), as a way to encourage children to read. This annual day is typically held today on Theodor S. Geisel’s birthday, a longtime proponent of reading. You may know him as the estimable, Dr. Seuss. The NEA endorses and promotes the importance of reading and decided to combine their efforts every year on his birthdate.
Little known fact: did you know Dr. Seuss created the word nerd? The first documented use of the word was in his 1950 book, “If I Ran the Zoo” about a boy named Gerald McGrew who visits a zoo and wonders how it might look if he ran it.
We hope you’ll join ‘Thing One and Thing Two’ along with the cats and dogs of Blogville today by reading a book as we celebrate National Read Across America day.
Happy Valentine’s Day. We hope you had a fun, sports-filled weekend. Fans were treated to a plethora of events from the Olympics, NHL hockey and NBA basketball games, as well as the Super Bowl. Whichever team you supported in yesterday’s big sporting event (Super Bowl LVI), we’re ‘pawsitive’ yesterday’s Puppy Bowl XVIII hosted by Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart was the most fun of it all. Team Fluff came from behind (much like that other team did in the Super Bowl). Long-time ‘rufferee’ Dan Schachner (himself a former NFL referee), was the only human to take the field at Sunday’s Puppy Bowl game along with over 100 pups.
View from the ‘water cam’
Puppies from both teams gave it their all, but in the end it was Team Fluff that slid into the end zone with 7 seconds to go for the last-minute victory. A lineup with photos of the on-screen competitors can be found here.
More than 100 adoptable dogs from 67 shelters across 33 states dragged various toys around a miniature field in the event’s largest competition yet. Nine special needs dogs were featured during the game, led by one year-old Benny, a wheelchair-bound Labradoodle. Benny was born with an abnormal and inoperable spinal deformity and is paralyzed from the shoulder blades but was a zooming dynamo on the playing field. Moby, a French Bulldog with a cleft palate; and Rocket, a deaf Chihuahua/Dachshund, were also part of the event designed to raise awareness about shelter adoptions.
Benny Photo courtesy of Discovery+/Animal Planet/’The Dogist’ Elias Weiss FriedmanPhoto from Facebook
Kirby, a Labrador retriever and service dog in-training, was named Team Fluff’s MVP after helping his team win the coveted “Lombarky” Trophy.
It was a fun alternative to the Super Bowl and all the dogs and kitties were winners.
All best wishes from both the Ranch Hands for a ‘pawsome’ week as well as a love-filled day with your Valentine.
Welcome to February’s first Nature Friday edition, where we join our pals Rosy, Sunny and Jakey from LLB in Our Backyard. Rosy and gang recently relocated to the Land of enchantment so make you you click on the link to check out their adventures.
Originally I had planned on doing a post about the big storm that hit the Mile High City this week, bringing windchill temps down to sub-zero levels. And then I heard a most remarkable story on the radio this morning about a nature story of sorts from the Western Slope and decided to rewrite it.
It all started the day after Christmas. Returning to their Grand Junction home from Denver, Charles Reigies, girlfriend Hannah Poscente and their dog, Mia hit a spot of black ice near Gypsum, CO late at night and crashed. When Charles came to, Hannah was injured, Mia had disappeared and their Jeep was on its side. Hannah was rushed to the hospital by ambulance with a broken neck. Charles searched for Mia until the tow truck arrived. He wasn’t able to find Mia in the snow but that’s not where this story ends.
When Hannah was released from hospital the next day, she reactivated her Facebook page and joined various lost pet sites hoping for a miracle.
Photo Courtesy of Hannah Poscente’s Facebook page
At the time, this was one of the first snowstorms to hit the region and cold temps moved in. Hannah’s post were liked and shared and thus the ‘village’ began the implausible quest of Charles and Hannah finding their beloved pet.
Enter Janet Cross, who lived near the crash site, and heard about it. She set up a trail camera near the accident. When reviewing footage, she realized Mia (like many pets do when separated from their family) returned to the area twice a day. Mia was skinny, temps were freezing, but she was alive. There were other sightings among various people but living 2 hours away from the crash made it difficult for Charles and Hannah to follow up quickly on them. But Janet didn’t giving up. She obtained a trap from animal control and checked it every hour. She refused to give up on finding Mia and continued to help reunite the family.
The deer fence the vehicle crashed into was rebuilt making Mia’s reunion even more challenging. Mia was not seen for 8 days. Then a miracle happened. Janet received a call from someone who lived 10 miles from the crash site indicating that Mia had been spotted so Janet repositioned the trap near that area. Mia was initialled scared off but after receiving a message about being sighted, Hannah and a friend returned to the area to continue the search. Still in a neck brace, Hannah decided to go out and look again while the friend took a meeting on her phone. Snow and sagebrush camouflaged the surrounding landscape but Hannah continued walking along the train tracks. Mia was there! And she didn’t scare off, instead she came walking toward her person. Hannah recorded the reunion with her cell phone.
Photo courtesy of Hannah Poscente
Mia was so excited to see her mom, she began jumping all over her and the video cut off. The same scene was repeated when Hannah returned to her Grand Junction home with Mia with Charles being knocked down by his happy pup. This improbable rescue ended one month and one day after Mia was lost. “She’s still got a lot of weight to put back on,” said Charles, patting Mia, her ribs showing, “but the vet says she’s doing good, all things considered.” No one will know what Mia endured while lost and her story continues to be shared on Facebook, often with the title “Never Give Up Hope.” And what about Angel Janet, the caring soul who made it her mission to help out? “She fought traffic and predators and snow and wind,” Janet said, “and I mean, she made it.”
Courtesy of Stina Sieg, CPR News
{sniffle} I hope you can now see why this week’s nature post needed to be rewritten and how it really does take a village sometimes.
While today’s post was about a shy dog whose adventures in nature we’ll never know the details about, here are a few photos of the Ranch Hands who finally were able to take a brief walkabout yesterday afternoon when temps finally reached 25Fº. The snow was still deep enough to require boots (much to their chagrin) with warm jackets but the Vitamin D outing was much needed by all 3 of us. For those still in the grips of Mother Nature’s cruel hands, we hope you stay safe, warm and cozy.
How are we supposed to walk in these stupid boots?Ahhhhhhh! This is how you spell relief.Hurry up, bozo. I have snow drifts to enjoy.
Normally I don’t post in the Thankful Thursday blog hop but simply couldn’t NOT participate this week. If COVID and current events have taught me anything, it’s to embrace gratitude wholeheartedly and don’t procrastinate letting people know how much you care.
Earlier this week while I was reflecting about the Christmas holiday, the mailman delivered a small package. What’s this I wondered, since I knew I hadn’t ordered anything? Thinking it was simply some end of the year appeal for a donation from a group I’d supported before, I figured it was some mailing labels or greeting cards. To my surprise, it turned out to be far more.
Back when I began blogging, many bloggers I followed were influencers with various companies promoting their products. I had hoped to join those ranks but by the time I had any measurable number of followers, many of those companies changed their policies and stopped working with bloggers. Chewy was one of them. I was disappointed but then again, hadn’t really lost anything and just continued to do what I’d been doing-posting about the resident Knucklehead and his hospital adventures.
People seemed to enjoy the posts, the blog grew and readers fell in love with Sam whose legendary knuckle-headed adventures seemed to touch hearts on our little acre of the Internet. When Norman joined this merry band, his adorable face and sweet nature seemed to appeal to readers as well (for which I’m also grateful). Oh sure, there was a story or two about the Ninja, but Elsa’s presence here has been fairly minuscule. Her puppy mill background doesn’t exactly lend itself to sharing heartfelt stories beyond the numerous episodes of her inexplicably chewing up eyeglasses (I think she’s up to 6 or 7 pairs of reading glasses now) and assorted ‘stuffie’ assassinations. I adore this complicated girl but she’s not exactly the kind of dog people understand or favor. Coupled with her ongoing battle with epilepsy, her “still waters run deep” personality is tough to share in a post. Then this arrived.
The inside massage took my breath away and my emotions got the better of me. Around Thanksgiving I placed an autoship order for food and pet supplies. I received an email indicating an earlier-than-expected delivery date and couldn’t have been more thrilled, given supply chain issues these days. Now understand, I place orders about every 3 weeks for food for the Ranch’s ‘livestock.’ I live in an older, very well known neighborhood and rarely have problems with deliveries. Delivery companies know the area well. Amazon, FedEx and UPS trucks are plentiful, delivering packages all day long and yet for some reason, UPS managed to bungle delivering this one. After two emails indicating they had ‘tried’ to deliver said order (which they had not), the following Wednesday UPS sent a notice that “because delivery had not been made, they were returning the box to sender.” What the bloody heck?!?! We were down to the bottom of the food bag so I called Chewy’s explaining the online exchanges I had with UPS (all efforts to reach a live UPS representative were fruitless) and the kind, patient and very pleasant service rep at Chewy assured me a new order would be sent out with priority status. I was extremely grateful and assured both Ranch Hands no one would go hungry. The order arrived a day and half later and all was good at the Ranch. I softly said a prayer of thanks; the dogs had full bellies and all was well in Ranchland so my focus, like most people’s turned toward getting ready for the upcoming Christmas holiday. In other words, I moved on. Supply chain issues has become the new buzzword these days with delays being routinely expected especially during the holidays.
This 6″ x 6″ canvas was lovingly packed with the sweet card and brought tears to my eyes. I. Was. Simply. Stunned. The image from Elsa’s profile was a favorite of mine. As a black dog, she’s hard to capture photographically without looking like a dark blob. As she’s too reluctant to pose, when she does (or when I get lucky like here), it seemed like the obvious choice to use it as a profile pic but I never expected anything like this treasured gift.
Meaningful words of gratitude seem so inadequate. All I can offer is a heartfelt “THANK YOU” from the bottom of my heart. This little piece of art means so much and I’ll cherish this sweet gesture forever. Say what you will about large, unfeeling corporations, but this kind gesture shows not all companies treat their customers so cavalierly. Let me just say I think, Chewy is ‘picture perfect.’
While it may be Wordless Wednesday, we’re using this opportunity for sending out our ‘howliday’ greeting with apologies for its lateness. Thank you to everyone who has sent us their greetings; we loved them all. Both Norman and Elsa wish you a season that is merry and bright.
Hey everyone…it’s “Fri-Yay!” so that means we’re joining our ‘fur-iends’, Rosy, Sunny, Arty and Jakey from LLB in Our Backyardon their weekly blog hop. Be sure to click on the link to see what others have shared.
This week Norman and I went south to Pueblo West for a short visit with my Dad for a couple of days and to catch up with my sister from Maryland who was also visiting. While I love the Colorado mountains, I’m always struck by the beauty of seeing prairies around Pikes Peak to the north from the comfort of Dad’s home.
Pikes Peak in the distance
The view to the southwest is equally beautiful with the Greenhorn Mountains rising above ‘fruited plains.’ Whenever I walk the dogs, I just have to stop and stare at the beauty of golden prairies with the mountains as a stunning backdrop.
As we took our morning constitution we also passed by a horse property which often has several horses, donkeys and a few ponies in one of the pastures. On this morning they were in the front pasture and trotted over to check the ‘horse on the leash’ with the human (with apologies for the sun flare that refused to be edited out).
As I’ve come to expect with this boy, Norman draws a crowd. The black and white pony had been lying in the early morning sunshine but took one look at Norman and immediately got to his feet and trotted over to the fenceline to get a better look-see.
Howdy! Pony…meet pony
Everyone got their sniffs in and all species seemed to be bemused with one another.
While the daytime temps still continue to be toasty, over the past couple of days the weather seems to be engaged in a slow roll toward the autumnal transition. This morning’s temperature at 5:45 am was a crisp 48ºF (8C) with early morning walks requiring a hand torch since it’s still quite dark.
Yesterday was the Ninja’s 5th Gotcha Day. It was a quiet celebration, per the little lady herself. Elsa’s not really into being in the photographic spotlight as you can tell below. On the one hand it seems impossible that it’s been 5 years since this world wind fur pile came home with me. Her puppy mill personality quirks are still evident but her sweet loyalty toward me brings many smiles. And even with a couple of recent seizures, she’s doing well while continuing to vex her big brother. Oh Elsa…you’re such a pill but I love you just the same. On the other, it’s been quite the journey. Guestimated to have been between 3-4 at the time of her adoption, she’s reached her prime, despite ups and downs. Happy Gotcha Day, sweet girl! Party on…your way.
The arrival of autumn is typically marked with leaves changing color but while there isn’t much of that going on just yet in the city, there are signs beyond cooler morning temps. This maple tree is still 95% green with only one small area morphing into autumn splendor.
As squirrels and other critters begin preparing for winter, acorns have now begun to form with some dropping already. It won’t be long now even if daytime temps will stay warm. As a lover of 4 distinct seasons, I will welcome this annual change.
Enjoy your weekend and make sure you get out there to check out this amazing time of year.
Today is Labor Day in the U.S. and Canada where working people are honored and recognized for their contributions to the labor movement. The idea of celebrating a “workingmen’s holiday” on the first Monday in September caught on in the U.S. following a strike by employees of the Pullman Palace Car Company in Chicago on May 11, 1894 as well as the Haymarket Riot of 1886. Across the country, state legislatures (with Oregon being the first) began recognizing Labor Day in 1887. Federal recognition in 1894 became a watershed moment in American labor history by bringing workers’ rights and contributions into public view. The first Labor Day parade was held on September 5, 1882, when 10,000 workers took unpaid time off to march from City Hall to Union Square in New York City. Labor Day weekend is considered to be the symbolic end of summer.
The Ranch hands know exactly how to celebrate but theirs will be a somewhat low-key celebration. We hope your holiday is safe and enjoyable. Don’t do anything we wouldn’t do.
1 – The things that come to those that wait may be the things left by those who got there first.
2 – Flashlight: A case for holding dead batteries. 3 – The shin bone is a device for finding furniture. 4 – A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well. 5 – It was recently discovered that research causes cancer in rats. 6 – Everybody lies, but it doesn’t matter since nobody listens. 7 – I wished the buck stopped here, as I could use a few. 8 – I started out with nothing, and I still have most of it. 9 – You know things are bad when you dip into long ago drafts you forgot about so you don’t have to pull out what few hairs you have remaining from trying to craft a post from a cell phone.
We’re limping along without the laptop but hope it gets released from the ‘puter hospital soon. My patience is beginning to rival that number of remaining hair strands.
Welcome to the last Friday of August. As always, we’re joining those adorable hosts, Rosy, Sunny, Arty and Jakey from LLB in Our Backyardon their blog hop. Make sure you click on the link to see what others have shared. This edition is literally a wild one, with commentary from both Ranch Hands.
Norman: Mum, it was a wild week, wasn’t it? I mean…I’ve never seen as much wildlife since being rescued and immigrating here.
Mum: You’re right, Norman; it was a ‘wild’ week, critter-wise. Given our location a mere 3 miles from downtown, it’s always exciting for us when Nature in its wildest form crosses our paths.
Norman: Right-o, mum. I haven’t seen this many rabbits as I did this week. What’s up with that?
Elsa: (imitating her best Elmer Fudd voice) Wabbits??? Where?!?!?! You know how I “LOVE” hunting looking for wabbits.
Norman: You almost walked past this one, little sister and missed another one at Sprouts parking lot.
Elsa: Harrumph…wabbits are wily but I eventually picked up its scent. But I spotted the third one before you guys did. Just wish mom hadn’t spotted this one first, otherwise I’d have turned her into a kite. For the record, I don’t think that spot is reserved for bunny parking, so there.
Norman: Mum scans the landscape for wildlife for that exact reason. But seeing rabbits three times this week was a bit unusual and nothing compared to what else we encountered.
Elsa: I’m still blown away from that whole experience. The fact that we were running later than usual and had we be out at our usual time, well…we’d have missed them by several minutes. Sure we’ve seen one or two on a couple of occasions but nothing like that before.
Norman: [Head shaking] It was quite something. I mean to be a witness to a whole ‘family of criminals’…well, let’s just say that took us all by surprise. Seeing wildlife like this makes it even more remarkable.
Check out this morning neighborhood criminal family!
Elsa: No kidding! Seeing those masked bandits so close to me and posing no less…well I momentarily froze in my tracks. Luckily, it was just enough time for mum to realize what could have been a potential nightmare for all concerned so she instinctively shortened my leash. Doggone it anyway.
Norman: At first I thought it was a bunch of odd looking kitties but could tell from mum’s reaction it was something else. I’ve never seen six ‘cats’ like that at once.
Elsa: At least I managed to react a short distance away from the porch which took her shoulder by surprise. Heh, heh. It’s good keeping her on her toes.
Norman: Oh come on, sister, it’s not really her toes you want her to stay on…it’s more like you prefer her backside.
Elsa: Sshhh, don’t let her know that. Jeez, are you trying to get me in trouble?
Norman: You’re well enough equipped to do that on your own without any help from me.
Elsa: Not one, not two, not even three…but four on the front porch of that house at the same time. I distinctly remember mum rubbing her eyes in disbelief.
Norman: She sure did, though I think she might have been still half asleep. As we passed the front porch, we saw the others on the fence to the side though there were {only} six raccoons in total committing a burglary.
Elsa: I was so bummed they decided not to follow us in the opposite direction.
Norman: They probably had more houses to burglarize visit before breakfast was over. I did notice that one fella coming out from under the chair had munched on the tassels on the chair cushion.
Elsa: Not much of a breakfast by my mind’s thinking.
Norman: This coming from someone who considers wool socks a food group?
Elsa: That’s different, bro. Besides, it wasn’t me who ate a felted mini-OES figure that mom spent 8+ hours needle felting last week. Do I need to remind you of the day you spent at ER?
Norman: Ahem…not my finest moment I’ll agree, but all’s good now right mum?
Mum: {Eyes rolling} Yes, ‘dear‘ Norman. Just make sure you don’t countersurf anymore and we’ll be all good, ‘kay?
Norman: Right-o, mum. I love that you accept me for who I am. Just a big hunka-chunk who is apparently irresistible to nurses judging our visit to hospital yesterday. If feels good getting the first of two evaluations out of the way. One step closer to being a full therapy dog.
Mum: Yes, dear boy…you definitely know how to draw a crowd. Much like us gawking at those raccoons, people just couldn’t believe their eyes seeing you and began running down the hallway to say hello
Norman: Yes, it was somewhat overwhelming. Yawn. I’m still recovering from all that therapy work while trying to get over that whole riding the elevator experience.
Mum: You’ll be fine, sweet boy. You have the whole weekend to recover.
Elsa: We’re so proud of you, Big Brother! Let’s plot plan some extra special recovery plans for the weekend…you know just to give mum a run for her money on her toes.
Mum: Sigh. Whatever you do this weekend, we hope it’s relaxing and fun but you give yourself plenty of time to see all the amazing sights Mother Nature offers.
Hey everyone…it’s “Fri-Yay!” so that means we’re joining our ‘fur-iends’, 
