A new ride or it is all about fitting in.

As usual, we went to the property for some running time. Since our last visit, I traded in the Toyota Sienna (a vehicle that I NEVER liked during the 87,000 miles that I clocked on it; however, it was good for the dogs) for a Toyota Tacoma. The Sienna just wasn't cutting it for driving across the pasture.
There is just something nice about going to the property. I think it is the smiling dogs. I will never tire taking pictures of smiling dogs.
We had a good time running around, although the grass was quite tall. I have got to get a trailer so that I can take my mower up and mow an area for tennis ball chucking.

The dogs seem to like the truck, although Hudi seems to think that I should have gotten the running boards. Thank goodness I didn't get a Toyota Tundra! Yup -- I'm thinking about getting a hat and boots, next. It's all about fitting in! (I noticed that when I was out on the land with the van parked, people would slow down and look. We didn't drawn any attention today!)

Whippets can kill

This afternoon, I was doing the random internet wander. While looking for cool whippet sites, I ran into a blog with the heading "Death by suffocation: How whippets can kill you." I clicked, imagining a nice satire on the potential death by whippet (you know, how whippets defy gravity and weigh 100 lbs when in bed with you while only being 32 lbs with all four feet on the ground, etc.)
Instead, it was a blog about the noxious effects of inhaled substances. Now, I agree that inhaling things out of a can, whether it be paint or Cool Whip isn't good, I was really disappointed. After all, whippets can kill. Ask Charlie (the dog who always seem to get the bottom layer in the pile).

We have survived....

Ike came through our neighborhood, and we have survived. My heart goes to those who did not do so well.

In the beginning, they were predicting tropical storm type winds, possibly hurricane force when it hit my 'hood. Well, I think Ike was still a TS, but it's punch was not very hard at all. There certainly was concern in the beginning.

I called a friend from high school Friday evening. We grew up in Baytown -- a town much closer to the major action. Her parents, who still reside in Baytown had finally decided to evacuate. The reports that they were receiving were not good.

On other notes, I have had a visitor for the past week. Peanut, who is Mati's littermate brother. Can you see the family resemblance in the photos below? (I would have had to crop them differently to make them show up the same size....feeling lazy on this Sunday).

I hope that thosewere or who had family in the direct path of Ike are doing OK...

I have joined the digital age, kind of....

A couple of weeks ago, I trekked into the Big City. When I first moved to Smalltown, I traveled to the Big City at least once a week....I don't know when I stopped, or when I began to DETEST the process. I hate going there, but occasionally, it is a necessary evil.

My new car was scheduled to arrive in a couple of weeks (she is here now...), and so I wanted to check out portable MP3 devices. I went to Best Buy.....my, I am OUT of the loop. So many cool, cool gadgets. I finally settled on an I-Pod and got a FM transmitter so that I could play it in my van.

How did I miss this fad? I know that my niece has gone through 4 of these things. How did I think that these were only for the young? This is one of the best devices that I have EVER acquired -- ranks right up there with my first PC and my first lap top! Right now, I am converting all of my CD's to MP'3 (or whatever format IPod uses). Ahhhh. I have sort of caught up. For the moment.

The next in our reach for success series

We went out to the property yesterday. The dogs had a great time. We have received 3.5 very welcome inches of rain in the past week, and more is predicted this weekend (hasn't come, yet) and coming week. The ground was soft. The predicted high was only 84. As, I wrote....the dogs had a great time.
Mati added to her REACH for Success series. The picture is a little out of focus, but I couldn't resist:Yup, the girl is a tennis ball FIEND.

When we arrived, the bovine unit was at the south end of the property. However, they couldn't stand not knowing what was happening, so after about half an hour, they lumbered to our end. You know, despite the fact that they still kind of scare me, I am beginning to think that they are really cute.
Gabi, of course, was still called to her Herding Dog side, and several discussions with the cows about their location on the fence line. Apparently, she does not like being watched when she plays tennis ball retrieve.
Hudi, not to be out-done by Gabi, also tried a little policing. I don't know if you can tell, but this cow was not really listening to her at all. Hudi rapidly succumbed to fear and well, kind of gave up with her tail between her legs.
I don't know what it is, but I really like seeing cows living on land that I own. And, yeah, they are BIG animals, but really cute.....

Fun Monday: a prized photo or pocession

This week's Fun Monday challenge is hosted by The Lurchers and she has asked us to do the following:

Show me your favourite photograph and tell me why it's your favourite. It can be one you've taken yourself or one someone else has taken, a snapshot or a more professional image. Is there a story behind it? Do you love it for the memories it gives or just because it's pleasing to the eye? Show me and tell me!

I haven't participated in FM for a while, but this one seemed easy and fun (a few of the more recent ones have been HARD :D).

Certainly, as the years have gone by, my favorite photo has changed. Most recently, this has been my favorite: The photo is a picture of Gabi, the Girl Goober. She is about a year old at the time that I shot this, and we had been having a ball chasing fest out in the backyard. She was happy, having been running around, doing her thing, and I think that the photo captures that. Whenever I see this picture, I feel a nice little smile inside.

Now, for much the same reasons, the following two photos will likely also hit that same "This Pictures Just Makes Me Smile Inside Gallery" soon:

Both pictures have some technical faults but who cares! What can I say? I am just a sucker for a smiling dog!

Hug your hounds! Visit the other participants in this Monday's FM at The Lurchers.

Happy Birthday, Dubby-Dawg

Yesterday was Darby's birthday. He turned NINE YEARS OLD. He's doing well. Four years ago, we went into liver failure. The vet told me it was likely cancer, but given his young age, recommended a biopsy. Sure enough, it wasn't liver failure. He had significant liver scarring ( source unknown) and a bacterial infection in the portal system. He recovered -- his liver functions have been stable, but whenever we do labs, each time, his platelet count it lower, which tells me that probably, the liver scarring is worsening. After the episode of liver failure, he never quite recovered, but with time, he has slowly gotten better....he's just slow.

Every time I take Darby to the vet, some other problem is diagnosed. He has a very bad back-- probably some sort of disc issue, but because of that his back legs are slowly atrophying -- one worse than the other. He also has a severe heart murmur. Occasionally, the back pain flairs. A few months ago, I was concerned because it became so severe that he couldn't get up, and was obviously miserable. I believe that it is our role as guardian of these animals to make certain that they don't suffer unnecessarily. However, even though I was picking him up to take him outside (causing pain), his eyes were always bright. Today, he is doing well on his dose of Rimadyl. He runs slow zoomies. He even gets up on the couch to sit beside me, something he doesn't do when he is feeling poorly. He occasionally finds a nearly spent toy and wacks the tar out of it (Darby always liked to take rope toys and shake them so that they bang HIM in the head). He was the gentle alpha of the pack. With time, Gabi has taken over that role. However, when Darby is feeling good and wants in on a little Fun Police action, Gabi lets him.

Darby, you have been the best! Sorry I didn't realize that the name "Darby" was unisex applied primarily to the female side these days. May you have many more happy, pain free days!