Sunday, August 29, 2010

Straight Out of the Camera Sunday


It's Murrieta 365's Straight Out of the Camera Sunday time.  There are two rules:  1) photo must be taken by you; and 2) no tweaking.

To set these photos up, I mounted a wildlife camera in my garden to discover what kind of critter was eating just about every near-ripe and unripe cantaloupe in my garden; watermelons remain untouched.  I woke up at 3 AM this morning and was too excited to go back to sleep in anticipation of what the camera captured during the night.  The first photo was taken just after everything was set yesterday afternoon - - - I thought.  Unfortunately, I did not notice that a piece of black plastic that is being used to solarize the back row of the garden was not weighted down.  So, the camera took over 230 pictures of the plastic waving in the wind.  :D  The wind stopped, apparently, and the next shot is when I went out this morning to get the card.  The critter must not have feasted on cantaloupe during the night.


The camera is cool, though, takes pretty good photos and does what it is suppose to do, i.e., snap photos when there is movement.  It stamps the date, time, moon phase, and temperature.  I'll be making adjustments today to make sure the plastic is weighted down and/or not in the camera's sensor zone.  I am patient and will catch the little varmint in my garden yet!

Go here for more SOOC photos.

Until next time, God bless.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Critter Watch


The wildlife camera arrived yesterday before noon! Needless to say, I am quite excited.





The camera runs on 12 AA batteries which take at least 10 hours to charge.  The first 8 were in the charger by 1 PM and the last batch were in by 11 PM last night.  The software was installed this morning. 



And, finally all the batteries were charged up, camera mounted in the garden, and ready to see what comes tonight.  If the night visitor is caught on camera tonight, it'll be posted on the Straight Out of the Camera Sunday.  Stay tuned.

Until next time, God bless.

Friday, August 27, 2010

The "Little" Garden's Produce

The "little" garden has produced quite a bit for its size.  Here are a few examples:


The onions did well and will plant more next year.



I've 7 tomato bushes, but the Roma are the biggest producers.  The stands are falling over because I can just push the legs down about a foot or 16 inches before the ends hit rock.  :D  Nevertheless, it hasn't stopping the Romas from producing like crazy.  I've canned salsa, dried tomatoes, eaten and given tomatoes away.   


The size of these sweet green peppers are nothing to write home about but at least I've been able to pick a few.   I did not get one last year.  lol The peppers taste great; chopped them up to saute with onions and fresh tomatoes for scrambled eggs. 



These are dried on-the-vine black-eyed peas, a/k/a cow peas.  I did not plant enough this spring to get more than one small pot of fresh peas.  I let the rest of the pods dry so I can do a fall planting in the "big" garden.  

 

This a rescued cantaloupe from the "big" garden.  As mentioned before, something has eaten and/or ruined every cantaloupe in the "big" garden.  I snatched this one before the critter ruin it and am hoping it will ripen out for eating.  Speaking of the unknown critter, I've been tracking on Fed Ex the wildlife camera that was ordered Tuesday night.  The camera arrived in Austin last night and I just may have it this afternoon.  I can promise that the camera will be positioned in the garden within 24 hours of its arrival.  This morning I found two more green cantaloupes with chunks out of them!  Whatever critter is raiding my garden is going to have to tangle with me.  I've had to stop putting up the chicken wire along the bottom of the fence for a few days because my hands have been "eaten" up by the wire.  Gloves are too bulky to wear; fine motor skills are needed to tie the wire to the fence.  If the chicken wire effort does not do the trick, the only thing left to secure the garden is a solar-powered, electric wire around the perimeter.  :D  I don't want to do that. 

This year's gardening has been more of an experiment in what and which varieties will or will not grow in our calichie/limestone soil even though the soil has been amended with good compost.  The soil needs more amending; we've plenty of old hay that the cows have left on the ground along with some cow patties.  I'm going to work some of the hay into both gardens, the "big" and the "little," but can't decide whether or not to order more compost and when, i.e., late fall or early spring.

Until next time, God bless.
 


Skywatch Friday





This dark cloud moving across our sky was not a tease but brought some welcomed rain.  Not much rain, mind you, but 2/10's of an inch.  Every drop counts in a Texas August.

Go here for skies around the world.

Until next time, God bless.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Therapy Dog Training, Part III

Today was our first field trip to the Stonebridge Health Center.  One of the  Stay N Play ladies' mother is at Stonebridge and a willing trouper in the therapy dog training.


We are getting the dogs use to the new smells, sounds, and activity before going into the health center.  Betty in purple is a dog lover, willing trouper, and is petting Zimi Run. 


Luc and me after about a 30 minute calm down phase.  He gets so excited that it takes about 20-30 minutes for him to not be in overdrive.  I used his ball to wear him down a bit and discovered that I need to pack handiwipes on the next field trip.   In addition, I'm going to try a "gentle leader" to see if it will aid in his remaining calm and sensible when we first arrive someplace.  If the "gentle leader" works,  I'll go back to the regular leash.   


 We are inside Stonebridge!  I was very nervous about what Luc might do; however, he did pretty well.  He wants to kiss any and everyone.  So, this week's homework is to teach him to kiss on invitation only and to not kiss indiscriminately.  Melany, the Golden Retriever, gets excited too but seems to be more predictable than Luc. 




This is Darla, Zimi Run, and Betty.  Zimi is an old hand at this sort of outing.  She has been visiting Betty regularly for some time and has all the therapy dog behaviors down pat.  But, in order to become a certified therapy dog, Zimi must pass the Canine Good Citizen test.  Greyhounds do not like to sit; they stand or lay down.  As mentioned last week, the American Kennel Club does not make any special exceptions for breeds or handicaps.  Darla is working with Zimi to get her to sit; and once accomplished, Zimi will pass the CGC test and then go on to become a certified therapy dog.   Each therapy dog organization has its own rules and tests.  This training is a prep course so the dogs can pass the organization's criteria --- hopefully.  :D

Until next time, God bless.




Pets & Their Allergies

I've got to write about this company because its products have helped Luc tremendously.  When I run across something that solves a worrisome problem, I like to share it with the world.  :D

A little background:  Luc has had stomach problems ever since I got him at 6 weeks old.  He threw up quite a bit no matter what dog food he was on.  His coat was very dull and tarter collected on his teeth at an alarming rate when compared to Maggie.  One of his litter mates died before he was a year old of a twisted stomach.  After several rounds to the vet and mucho dollars, I did a net search and found Nzymes.   While whatever the vet prescribed seemed to help for a time, Luc would start throwing up again and I kept noticing how dull his coat was.  I kept a pretty close watch on him and knew he was not getting into something that would upset his stomach.  I thought what the heck, these products couldn't do any worse than the prescribed ones from the vet. 

First I read the testimonials.  Then, I called Nzymes to discuss what products I should order and ordered what they recommended.  It cost less than a trip to the vet.  As long as Luc stays on the Ox-e-drops, the Antioxidant treats, and the probotics, Luc throws up rarely and his coat shines. Probotics alone does not do the trick -- I've tried.  When I don't stay with the Nzymes, he throws up regularly and his coat gets dull.  The sheen in his coat was a real surprise.  I hadn't expected it.

He was off the treats and Ox-e-drops for about 6 months when I reordered a month or six weeks ago.  It is amazing -- he is back to rarely throwing up and the shine in his coat is really coming back.  I'd forgotten just how glistening his coat becomes when on this Nzymes regimen.


Look how his face and ears shine.



You can see how healthy his coat is.  No doubt Luc's coat health is an indication of his overall health and he very rarely throws up.  Now I do have him on a prescription dog food, but he started throwing up again after about 6 months of being on the food which is why I reordered from Nzymes.

Now why am I writing about this?  Because most of us have pets and many pets have some kind of allergy or allergies.  Thought you might wants to investigate a product that might help.  In addition, I can vouch that the testimonies are real because the company called to ask for before and after pictures along with whatever my experience was with their product.  Since Luc's problem was his stomach, I didn't think there could be much for a before and after; however, I probably should have taken them up on it except I do not have a before photo targeting his coat. 

Anyway, if your pet has health problems, check out Nzymes.  Read the testimonies.  Call them to explain the problems.  They really want to help. 

Until next time, God bless.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Securing the Garden

If you've been following the garden entries, you know that I've been increasing the security of the big garden.  First to go up was the initial fence on two sides since on one side of the garden was a standing shed and on the other side a hay pen with 6' iron panels lined with 4" x 4" x 5' goat and barbed wire fencing.  When 5 or 6 cantaloupes were eaten or nibbled on, I added a more secure fencing over the hay pen side.  When 3, 4, 5 more cantaloupes were ruined, I added lumber to the side gap on the gates and plugged the bottoms with old landscaping timbers and rocks.  When more cantaloupes were ruined, I strung ropes across the 4' gates to increase that gap to 6 feet just in case deer were the culprits.  When more cantaloupes were ruined I plugged a hole in the shed with chicken wire -- someone (hubby) got too close to the shed while mowing with the tractor.  Oops!



This is a picture of only one ruined cantaloupe, taken this morning, but have had at least 3 more ruined since the last security measure.


Do you know that I have yet to get one thing out of this garden?  Not one thing!  All the corn was ruined by caterpillars and aphids. I am desperate.  I bought 150 feet of a 24 inch wide chicken wire to cover the bottom 2 feet of the 20' x 6', 4x4, welded wire panels.  As of this moment, I've covered 32' with close to 80'+ to go. 

The watermelons are untouched but not yet ready to be picked.  I've counted about 8 cantaloupes in various stages of size development which remain untouched.  The question is:  Do you think I'll ever get something out of this garden for the table?  lol  With each passing day, my admiration for those pioneers settling this country grows when thinking what I've had to do to get something from garden to table.  If I were a pioneer, I'd be starving.  Thank you, Lord, for grocery stores. 

For the record, I've been surfing the web for wildlife cameras.  I am soooooo close to ordering one, maybe two. Of course, the garden raids are pushing to urgency; however, I've wanted one for a long time.  I'll probably be surprised at just what roams around here at night besides the deer, rabbits, foxes, and skunks.   After using the camera to discover what is raiding the garden, I could move the camera(s) to the more secluded areas of our property which is where one might find/see something unusual.  No doubt we have raccoons, opossums, and coyotes. It would be thrilling to find bobcats and possibly a cougar.  Errrr, finding a cougar might be alarming. :D Cougars are known to travel long distances in their territory, like 600 miles.  There have been sightings but not recently as far as I know. 

Until next time, God bless.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Straight Out Of The Camera Sunday


It is Straight Out of the Camera Sunday again, a meme of Murrieta 365.  There are two rules:  1) photo must be taken by you and 2) no tweaking.


This sunflower bloomed on the wrong side of the fence:  a few hours after taking the photo, it was gone.  I noticed a couple of deer 20 or 30 feet from the fence as I walked out to the garden.  A snack, maybe? Next year, sunflowers will be planted a foot or two away from the fence.  lol  If you look close, you'll see a bumblebee hard at work and some kind of yucky bug near the center. 

For more SOOC, click here.

Until next time, God bless.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Eureka! Luc Passed

Eureka!  Luc passed the Canine Good Citizen test.  It was a bit iffy; but, thankfully, we first did a practice test  which gave me more time to work on the two items on which he did not do so well.  He would not stay seated when the "friendly" stranger came up and when he was being petted.  While one of the other dogs was going through the test, another classmate and I worked on it.  Luc passed on the "real" test.  The object of the Canine Good Citizen program is to have mannerly dogs in public, at home, and be a citizen-in-good standing in the community.






This is Laura, our trainer.  Laura put her heart into it and really went the extra mile to work with us and the dogs.  Our classes went longer than an hour and Laura even scheduled an extra class to prepare us and the dogs for the Canine Good Citizen's test. 





Betty, left, is one of the co-owners of Stay N Play Pet Ranch, and Lynn, right, was the "friendly" stranger. The orange cones in the background mark the stations for the ten test items.





Lynn, left, and Charlotte, co-owner of Stay N Play Pet Ranch.  Charlotte participated in Item 8, Reaction to Another Dog.  This is where two handlers meet, shake hands, and the dogs should show no more than a casual interest in each other.  It was no easy feat for Luc to accomplish but he did.





This is Darla and Zimi Run, a greyhound rescue.  Zimi Run ran in Orlando, FL, and is presently staying at Stay N Play until she is adopted out.  She did not pass because it is extremely difficult for greyhounds to sit.  Greyhounds either stand or lay down.  AKA gives no special considerations for breeds or handicaps.  All ten items must be passed before the CGC certification is given.  If interested in getting a Canine Good Citizen's certificate, check out the American Kennel Club website.





Nicole, left, and Melany, right, were also classmates.  Melany passed her test too!  Congratulations to both of you.  Melany is a real sweetheart and quite vocal if you do not give her attention.  She will scrunch up her mouth and bark a time or two to show her displeasure if ignored.  However, fortunately she did not do it during the test. lol  I did not think to ask but that might have prevented her from becoming certified.  Luc had his own behaviors to resist during the testing that would have prevented him from being certified.







Instant visible proof that Luc is certified.  There is some paperwork from the AKC that needs to be filled out and filed certifying that he passed the CGC test. 

The last three classes are field trips to various places, a senior citizens home for instance.  I'll find out more next week.  But, I must say that Luc is very tired when we come home from training.  Maggie wants to play, but Luc lets her know with a couple of barks that he wants to be left alone.  He either crashes onto the tile floor and/or heads for our bed.  We don't hear much from him the rest of the evening. 

I also want to take this opportunity to sing the praises of Stay N Play Pet Ranch.  Both Betty and Charlotte have created a wonderful kennel.  In addition to the training fields, there are some walking trails on the grounds.  Lynn, our "friendly stranger" manages the kennels.  You can tell she is very caring and knowledgeable; in fact, all the people working at Stay N Play are.  

More next week on the second phase of the Therapy Dog training; but until then, God bless.  





Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Getting Ready for the Big Test

Luc and I went to Stay N Play Pet Ranch to hang out for an hour or so yesterday.  The purpose was to aid in getting Luc to sit quietly when someone approaches, to be calm when a dog enters the room, and to leave him with someone for 3 minutes while I disappear from his sight.  The object is that he remains calm and doesn't whine or act up when I leave.  He passed that one with flying colors! 


He did not do so well on a person approaching; he can barely sit still he is so excited.  And, he did not do very well when a dog entered the room. He is beside himself to investigate; although if there is 10 to 15 feet between them, he will remain in a seated position with much prompting.    All I can say is that Luc is definitely a people and dog dog which upon seeing either stirs him into an almost uncontrollable desire to greet and investigate.  I walked him around the grounds for about 20 minutes prior to going into the office but he could hardly contain himself.

In preparation for tomorrow's test by a Canine Good Citizen certified trainer from another kennel, Luc got a bath today (and Maggie too).  I want Luc to look his best and over the past several days I've used a Dremel with a sander bit to trim his nails.  You no doubt have seen Pedi Paws advertised on TV, but a Dremel works just as well, if not better -- you can change the sander and recharge it instead of replacing batteries.  Pedi Paws runs on batteries, at least the model I saw.  I do not use the nail clippers for fear of cutting too close.  If you haven't used a Pedi Paws or a Dremel with a sander bit, here is a little tip:  Don't leave the sander on the nail but for just a second, pause, then repeat 4 or 5 times.  If the sander is left on the nail too long, the nail heats up for sanding creates heat.     

 I'm considering going back to the kennel in the morning to see if we can get his over exuberance for any and all things under control because I'm not sure he'll pass the test.   However, if he doesn't, there is more training to be done, and he can take it again and again until he does pass. lol   If we have to do another 6-week session, then we'll do it.  Again, wish me luck tomorrow evening.

Until next time, God bless.


Monday, August 16, 2010

Therapy Dog Training, Part II

Our Therapy Dog Training class has had two official Wednesday sessions plus one supplemental Friday evening session to get the dogs ready to take the Canine Good Citizen's test this coming Wednesday.  Luc is doing pretty well with a few minor weaknesses; but today we are going to the kennel to work on those two problems, hmm, maybe I should say three, four (?) problems.  lol  The goal is to get the dogs to be consistent in their behavior and actions. 



Happy Luc 

There are ten items listed to qualify for a Canine Good Citizen certificate.  Luc is "iffy" on two of those items:  1) calmly receiving a brushing, and 2) waiting patiently for me to return from out of sight for 3 minutes without whining.  I've been brushing him every day and getting hubby to hold the leash while I walk away for 3 minutes.  He has been doing very well at home on these two test items.  Until now, brushing Luc has not been a priority since he would twist, wiggle and be generally uncooperative.  The walking out of sight has never really been a problem, but apparently he whined a couple of times when we tried it last Friday.  His other two problems which could affect his passing is it takes about 20-30 minutes for Luc to calm down whenever we go someplace and is next to impossible when he sees another dog.  I've remembered another command the other day that I haven't been using which is "leave it."  I've been working on that one over the weekend and hope that will help with other dogs and new smells.  lol  Just remember, Luc is 85 pounds of white-lightening energy; but the good news is that he is improving.  I think.  :D 

I'm off to the kennel today to see if we can get all this under control.  And, if he needs more work, we'll go back tomorrow.  The kennel is most interested in getting a therapy dog training program started; this 6-week course is their first session.  We are welcomed to come to the facilities to aid in the training.  In fact, the welcome mat is out to all of those in various obedience training sessions at their facility, Stay N Play Pet Ranch






Our Therapy Dog classes are held in their agility field.  It is very, very nice.  If I can ever find the time, Maggie would no doubt do very well in agility training; however, that's for another day, maybe.  :D  Getting this down with Luc is time consuming. 

As an aside, hubby has always taken Luc on field trips when he does errands but leaves Luc in the truck with either the a/c running or windows rolled down somewhat.  Since I've been taking Luc out just about every day, we cannot pick up car keys without his jumping up ready to go.  He hears the tingle of the keys.  He thinks he is supposed to go and is totally crestfallen if left behind.

Wish us luck today and Wednesday night. 

Until next time, God bless. 

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Garden Solutions, Hopefully

As mentioned previously, gardening in Central Texas presents a challenge.  The soil is thin and full of rocks; and, then, of course, there are jack rabbits, cottontails, opossums, raccoons, foxes, and deer -- all of which are attracted to growing veggies and melons.  Last year I made a tiny garden in a corner of my yard and had success with a few things such a few zuchhinis, some broccoli and cabbage.  No luck with tomatoes last year, but then no one had very much luck with tomatoes.  We were in an 18 month drought that did not break until last September.

Nevertheless, I was undaughted and decided to make a much bigger garden this year some distance from the house.  We fenced an area of approximately 40' x 60' with 20' x 6' welded, wire panels, tilled up about 40' x 20-25', brought in 6 yards of compost, spread the compost over the garden area, retilled, made 9 rows, and installed a drip irrigation system.  The rains came and even though I had pulled weeds from the entire tilled area, the weeds flourished.  Time to plant was growing short and reweeded only 5 rows so corn, watermelons and cantaloupe would be in the ground before it was too late.  

I anxiously watched the growing corn and melons.  I was thrilled when I saw little ears of corn appearing on the stalks and tiny melons forming on the vines.  I noticed that one or two of the corn ears looked kind of funny.  I peeled back the leaves and what do I find:  Worms and aphids!  I checked all the corn stalks and all of the ears had worms, etc.  Well, that was that!  The corn was chopped down and thrown over the fence for the cows. I've since found out that sunflowers should be planted in and around corn since sunflowers act as a trap for worms and aphids that are attracted to corn.  Next year sunflowers will be amongst the corn.    


I did plant sunflowers next to the fence.   Not very many reached this maturity because something slipped in to eat the young plants. 


In addition, something either jumped into the garden or ate the flowerheads through the fence and something has eaten the bottom out of just about every cantaloupe that was close to picking!  The watermelons are untouched for the moment. 
  

I've added extra fencing and blocked gaps between the gates and the posts with old lumber and rocks. However, this is my latest line of defense:  ropes above the 4' high gates. 


So far, nothing has taken chunks out of the remaining 5 or 6 cantaloupes or the last two sunflower heads, but it appears critters are very crafty and find ways to terrorize the garden. 



One more item of concern:  grass burs.  We in Central Texas are having a bumper crop.  Somehow these little stickers jump on to your shorts, your shoes, your t-shirt bottoms and wreck havoc on the dog's feet.  In fact, the dogs nor I cannot walk more than 6' from the house or to the garden without stopping to dislodge a grass bur or two, three, err four.  We've pretty much cancelled the dogs' daily walk because they spend more time stopping to get the burs out of their paws than walking.  However, I am in the process of doing what I can in the yard.  It is so dry that I dare not use a weed torch -- I might catch the entire yard on fire.  So, this is my latest idea:  get an old blanket and drag it behind me to get a many stickers as possible.  Actually, I'm beginning use the blanket as if I'm pulling weeds.  Once I tried tying a towel behind the riding mower, backed it up -- oops, there is a towel attached and it got tangled in the mower.  lol  So, bur removal is being done manually.

I do love a challenge and this garden business is keeping me busy.  Just how hard can it be to put a seed in the ground and have it grow its fruit for my table?  I AM SMARTER THAN PLANTS AND CRITTERS.  I WILL CONQUOR. lol 

Until next time, God bless.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Therapy Dog Training, Part I


Luc has two speeds: on and off. 

Luc and I had our first Therapy Dog training class.  There was a change of instructors and class time because the original instructor had a family emergency and returned to Dallas.  Originally, I was told Luc would need to pass the Canine Good Citizen test in the first class or drop out if he failed.  However, the new instructor has changed the test requirement until the third class.  She is taking the first three classes of the six-week course to bring all the dogs up to passing the Canine Good Citizen test.  We'll spend the last three weeks of the course prepping for a dog therapy certification. 

There are several dog therapy accreditation associations which have their own standards and tests.  One such association is Therapy Dogs International. Another organization is the Penny's from Heaven Foundation which centers on wounded soldiers but also works with abused children, hospice patients, court houses, and etc.  I'll probably seek accreditation from these two.  There is at least one more association around the Austin area but I did not catch the name. 

Luc did pretty good overall for Luc.  The other dogs would not have passed a Canine Good Citizens test either. We all have a lot of work to do before next week's class.  His worst fault is his curiosity's about other dogs.  I was pulled several times towards one dog in particular.  However, the trainer told me how to get him under control.  It is going to take a lot of work.  lol  Luc is a very social dog in every way, be it dogs or people. 

I'm pretty excited about the prospect of Luc becoming certified as a therapy dog.  I am very interested in the Penny's from Heaven group; but, no doubt, Therapy Dogs International is equally interesting.  I'll get more literature on the various association as the class progresses.  My schedule is cleared for the next 6 weeks so I can concentrate on his training.  I'll keep you updated on how the training, Luc, and the class goes.  While I took my camera, I did not take any photos because I needed to pay attention but plan to get some class photos.   

Until next time, God bless.


Tuesday, August 3, 2010

More Texas Sculpture II

Here are three artist interpretations of our famous Texas Longhorn.


While I cannot say for sure, this artist may have used barbed wire then torched the "barb."  Whether barbed wire was used or not, think of the hours it took to lay one strand of wire at a time.


You are greeted by this sculpture when you drive into The Old Oaks Ranch Fiber Arts Center, located on Old Oaks Ranch Road off RR 12 between Dripping Springs and Wimberley, TX.  Last November, I did a series on the Fiber Arts Center when I wove scarves as Christmas presents for my son and daughter-in-law.  If interested, go here, here, here, or here.




Again, I'm guessing but it looks as if the artist used automobile and/or motorcycle parts for this Longhorn.  The sculpture is located on Highway 290 W between Johnson City and Fredericksburg, Texas.  Its pretty impressive when the sun bounces off the chrome. 


The artist used locks, wrenches, bells, gears, and all kinds of objects for this Longhorn which is located at the Lady Bird Jophnson Wildflower Center in Austin, TX.

I'm fascinated with sculpture where artists use a collage of materials in their creations.  My fascination is probably because when I see an object, I see an object, but the artist sees a sculpture.  :D

Until next time, God bless.

More Texas Sculpture


Here's a companion piece to the blue horse in this week's SOOC Sunday.  I wish now that I had included the title on the base of the sculpture. 

Monday, August 2, 2010

New Friends

My dearest friend from the 7th grade came to visit for an all girls weekend.  Hubby took a trip to Portland, Oregon to visit with his sister.  We had a great time doing exactly what we wanted without thought of anyone but ourselves.  It was delightful.



She brought her dog, Clansy Clyde, who weighs all of 6 pounds.  This city dog thinks he is now a farm dog.  Grass burs are as bad this year as I've ever seen; Clansy's hair is somewhat shorter when he left than when he arrived.  lol  Grass burs seemed to leap off the stem to land on poor Clansy. 




He fit right in with both Maggie and Luc.  When they went out, he went out; when they came in, he came in.  When he went out, they went out.  So you might say my dear friend and I got a lot of exercise which compensated for those bowls of Blue Bell vanilla ice cream, the low fat kind, and chocolate syrup .


Luc knew Clansy was a dog but was very curious as to how a dog can be small.  lol  A good time was had by all. 

Until next time, God bless.