How to beat the heat!!

With temps in the triple digits there was only one place to go...



On our way down the beach we saw dolphins playing in the breakers. Then on our way back we saw an otter on it's back feasting on some seafood delight.  It was overcast and grey and a beautiful change from the scorching heat of the last couple days.  

As I post this, once again, the temps our tripling our discomfort.  If you are suffering as well in this last burst of summer may these pictures cool you off as best as they virtually can.

Cheers,

"Sunshine"

P.S. Sorry for the poor picture quality. I was so eager to be at the beach all I had with me was my iPhone - truly not known for it's camera! :~(

An afternoon at the beach... what we live for!

With my niece here for the past two weeks I remembered to bring my Canon PowerShot with me to the beach. Here's some of the best pictures from our afternoon walk. We had some unexpected friends join us just past the breakers. It was a lucky capture with my camera.

"The Diva"

In case your wondering why I fondly refer to her as "The Diva". Here she is at 8 months making sure Shelby knows who's boss.  Don't let that sweet face and demure personality fool you, she is 100% B ! ^ @ # (aka Diva) when it suits her.

Spring Break...

It was Spring Break for my fabulous niece. Fabulous because she loves just walking the beach with the dogs as much as I do. Here are some of the best pics from our day at the beach.

The fabulous day!

A fabulous wave!

One of her fabulous pictures!

New Moon vs. Full Moon - Who cares?

As some of you may know, "new moon" and "full moon" phases often have the same effect on the tide. Which means that yesterday was a perfect day to take advantage of some beautiful warm March weather by heading to the beach.

Who cares? I didn't as "new moon" & "full moon" both = "low tide"!!

It was a -0.5 tide and the dogs had a blast!! It was a winter beach, not because it was cold, it's just the way the beach is different this time of year. Some of you may know what I'm talking about, so sorry I'm not finding the ability to describe it better than that.

Here's a picture that may help. When it's low tide in the winter it's more common for pools of ocean water to be left behind along this part of the coast. This isn't as common other times of the year here. I'm sure there is someone out there that can explain why. Me, I'm happy just calling it "winter beach".
The black lab in the front is Moses' dad, "Doizer" and the yellow lab in the center back in "Moto" his brother. They belong to friends that live near the beach and both were out taking themselves for a walk when we arrived. The four of them had a blast chasing balls down the beach.

It was a beautiful day!! It was definitely worth the drive in the middle of the week. I suppose it helped inspire the recent changes to the blog. Hope you like them.

Taking a LEAP ...

As many of you, who have been faithful visitors in the past, have noticed it's been a very long while since I've posted.

Having been caught in my own "time warp space continuum" recently (over booked, over committed) I felt it was appropriate to make every effort to post on a special day like today, "Leap Day". However, I promise to post more than once every four years from now on.

I know I'm cheating a bit but since a picture is worth a thousand words I hope that the pictures make up for the lack of new words on the blog recently.

Morning Companion

Fun at the Lake

Because Winter low tides are the best and this last month offered a beautiful day as well here's a collection from our last trip to the beach.  "Moses" is our good friends dog, and "lucky dog" that he is he actually lives steps from the beach.

"Moses"

Perfect Reflection

Foot prints in the sand may quickly disappear,

but the footprints on our hearts will last a lifetime.

Can't a girl get a little privacy ...?

Even the bathroom is not sacred in our house. I'm sure many of you with "fur children" will be able to relate to these photos. At the very least, you'll be able to laugh with me.

"A little privacy would be nice!"

"What did you expect, roses?"

Happy Thanks Giving!!

With two things on my list to take to Thanks Giving dinner tomorrow, I'm cooking most of the day.  The pumpkin pie is in the oven and I have a few minutes to share a photo from this morning.

With a busy day around the house I decided to take the dogs out for a run around 10 am this morning.  Ends up others probably had the day off and were out later then the usual 7 am group with the same idea.  Within 10 minutes a group of 6 dogs were having loads of fun.  It was a beautiful morning with a great group of friendly dogs that we've gotten to know over the last two years.  It was so nice to be able to  relax knowing that the dogs were fine and that it was not as critical to keep them under close watch to avoid any unnecessary squabbles.

Here's a picture of "Shelby" and "Mia" taking a break in the shade of the summer baseball scoreboard.  

Here's wishing you all a Happy Thanks Giving!!

A Perfect Low Tide

Friday was one of those special days you remember for a long time. Not only was it a full moon week, which of course means low tide for me and the dogs, but it was a beautiful day all around. The best low tide this month was -1' just around sunset. As an extra special treat it was sunny, beautiful, and warm. The last whisper of Indian Summer was saying a very sweet "good-bye", and boy was I glad I had my camera.

I had some fun with my favorite photos of the day.
Hope you enjoy!!

Click on the image to enjoy the large view.

Red Dingo Dog ID Tags - They are beyond gorgeous!!!

The "proof is always in the pudding" and boy is this pudding sweet!!!

I just ordered these new engraved dog tags made by Red Dingo at DogGoneGood. Boy are they beautiful!! This is the "large" size ID tag and the color selection is the "dark blue".

There are 9 beautiful colors to choose from and 8 different graphic patterns to select as well. They have cat collar size tags and special cat only graphics as well!!

I got the "bone" for Shelby and the "flower" from Nutmeg. You can engrave up to 5 lines of text. I obviously edited out our personal information on the back of Nutmegs but I wanted you to see how nice the engraving is. These are no cheap-os either when it comes to durability. They are thicker then just about three quarters and are beautifully polished and smooth rounded at the edge. You just want to hold them in your hand. I may pick up another one to use on my key ring they are so nice.

This is a "go out and get it right away," especially if you are as tired as I was of the virtually disposable ones you can get at Petsmart or Petco.

And the best part is that they are just $12 each. I'd have probably paid way more than that for something this nice!!

For my faithful few fellow bloggers:
Please share this with your other blog readers.
Trust me they are that good!!!

The "naked walk"

The first perfect morning walk ...
two beautiful Yellow Labradors;
leash free, collar free naked dogs;
a beautiful sunny Monday morning.

I hope you enjoy the recent collection of pictures!!
With the my iPhone always at my side I have been able to capture more pictures of the dogs.

Sunday morning with Mom

Because every Yellow Labrador looks better in purple!!


Sunday morning sleeping in with Mom.

Now that's one happy girl!

At the lake ...

Yes, that's Nutmeg out in the lead, at least in this picture.

The perfect reflection.

Final tug of war.

"Come on Dad, throw it alright already!"

Just for fun!

Click the picture for a larger image.

All good things come to those who wait

I knew this day would come.

I knew this day was possible.

I knew I couldn't give up hope.

Looking into his eyes, despite the fact they were adolescent eyes, I knew one day I would be writing this blog post. And today's the day!

Tonight for the first time Shelby and I walked all the way around the block with no leash. I was so proud of him!! Yes, he still pushes the limits on how far away from me he wants to jog ahead, but he was able to be checked with voice commands. We had two encounters with three others dogs out for walks, granted they were across the street on the opposite sidewalk, but still ... !

In the past there would have been no holding him, or shutting him up for that matter. (See previous post "Surviving Puppy Adolescence")

Yet there he was this evening prancing at my side with a yip and whine or two, (maybe it was three - anything is better than the incessant barking fits he'd go into) and he was quick to check in with me with those loving attentive eyes turned up to me as if to say, "look, look, look mom - other dogs!!" I couldn't help but smile in admiration!!


So here he is now in the evening shadows of my office - 13 months later. And I couldn't be more proud of him. That's my boy!!