03.17.2025 Happy Saint Patrick's Day.

 An Irish Blessing for all of you. 

And may you enjoy the fun and light heartedness that comes with this special holiday. 

I did put a green scarf on each of my pups. While they didn't mind that, they were a little less than enthused for an early morning picture! But I managed to get them all on a couch for a group picture since it was pouring down rain outside. I don't think any of us would be too happy for pictures!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Soon our atrium will be done and there will be some new pictures to share. Stay tuned!

Until next time....................

See Shorty's blog for more pictures of the boys - Is that your dog? on blogger.com

04.30.2023 April showers.....

 ....... bring May flowers. Or so we are hoping! 

What a month this has been for our family (human and canine). We have had some incredible sadness with the loss of a special family member as well as a dear friend of 25 years and a favorite neighbor's teenage daughter was seriously injured in a car accident. We are all praying for her recovery. And all three of my pups have had one health challenge after another. When it rains it pours. We went well beyond things happening in threes. 

My dear little Gunnarr has been ill all week, including having to go outside every hour during the night for the last few days. He was seen by the vet and is on medication for an infection and crystal bladder stones and with luck he will get better sooner. If not, then back to the vet for more tests. And my dear Fionnegan now has bladder stones too and lots of bleeding and will be having an operation just like Gunnarr did last year. Shorty has new gi issues but he seems to be recovering. I suspect it is because they eat the sorel weeds in the yard along the fence causing them gi distress. And I am back to doing multiple loads of laundry per day! Let's hope the washing machine keeps working. And I need new brakes on the car. Maybe May flowers will bring better luck!

But we are still having fun. The boys went to the spa (Petco - where the pets go!) for their haircut and look really cute when they came home. No new pictures of the haircut as they were not interested in going outside in the rain and I was not interested in white clean paws getting muddy! Maybe new pictures tomorrow if the sun shines. Shorty and I had a few hours alone and he just looks at me and wags his tail. And I do give him some special treats. He has been left alone twice this week and he seems to just roll with it. He does initially get excited when he thinks he is going too and is disappointed when his harness is not readied for him, but of course he does get a special treat when I have to take the twins to the vets or spa. I normally like to take him out for a special walk while the twins are at the spa but it was raining again today, and he had no interest in going outside for any reason! I also did not feel like trying to wash his paws even though he does not get as dirty as Finn and Gunnarr. So we just had treats and watched television and read a book (me not Shorty).

Some of our azaleas are in bloom. We had very few daffodils and no tulips.  Maybe I should plant some bulbs this fall. I say that every Spring but when Fall arrives I am generally too busy. But maybe this year I will make it a priority.

    

Every year I but a few hyacinths for their beauty and fragrance. Then I plant the bulbs in the garden. We had a lot of hyacinths blooming this year. 

  

  

    

The boys posing for the camera - as happy as can be. Photo taken before their haircut earlier this week.

How have you all been? How is your Spring? Do you have a garden with flowers? Have the flowers been in bloom? Our bunnies are back and I suspect they will enjoy a few of our flowers. Just hope I can keep the pups away from the bunnies, but there are signs of them all over the front yard. No more carnage, I hope.

With such a big smile, it is hard to believe Gunnarr is also sick.

Same for Fionnegan. He is mostly running and playing and doesn't seem to have any pain from the bladder stones. And I can say this, they both are tired of my watching them empty out their bladders. I have to observe them for blood and other signs of distress. So now they go right next to the lily plants, and it is hard for me to watch them!

Shorty.

Until next time................. Stay well.

07.24.2022 Summertime Gardens

 Summer gardens are in full bloom and the variety of lilies makes the view really special. The beebalm (bergamot) has spread along the garden down the driveway and it is really a pretty site.

It is very hot and humid, just like when Shorty and I lived in Yap. It hasn't rained in a long time and the gardens do look a little sad and dry. And let's not forget the bunnies that ate all of my daisies, black-eyed Susans and purple coneflowers. And then there are the trampled paths from my boys chasing the bunnies and froggies. I have not watered the gardens as we have a well and I do not want to risk depleting my only water supply. So brown plant leaves it is! But the lilies still bloom and I do enjoy them very much.

We still go for our early Sunday morning walks. The dogs love the walks through the woods. You should see how excited they get when the sense we are going for a walk. This morning as I was changing my shirt Gunnarr sensed that we were walking so he lets out one excited bark. Then Fionnegan comes running into the room all excited and jumping up and down only to be followed by Shorty. Three excited dogs, how could I not take them on a walk?

Last week we watched two trees crash to the ground just behind us (see Shorty's blog, mydogShorty.blogspot.com). We went back to see if the trail was cleared and the two trees were cleared but a third tree had fallen in the exact same place. I could actually walk under it so there was no obstruction to our path. We took a different route home, partly along the road and I don't think we will do that again.  I have to keep them on a very short leash and there is no time for sniffing or marking, so probably not much fun for them. There is a sidewalk that we can follow once we got that far, but it wasn't shaded, so we all were hot by the time we finished. Good thing we made an early start. I do keep water and a bowl in the car and Fionn wasn't much for sharing! He drank almost the whole bowl and then reclined right next to it. Fortunately for Shorty and Gunnarr it is a two minute drive to home and lots of cool water. After a cook-out (we ate inside) they all took a much needed nap.

Here are a few photographs of the lilies. Hope you enjoy them. The colors range from white, yellow, orange, pinks, apricot, purple and reds. They are early bloomers and late bloomers. With luck, there were still be a few lilies blooming for another two weeks. 

This stargazer lily is very fragrant. I planted a few in flowerpots as the gophers like to eat the bulbs. As it turns out, the bunnies like to eat the stems. They are close to the doors so we can also enjoy the fragrance inside the house.

The white lilies were very prolific, and also spread to new areas of the garden.

Pretty pink lilies, one of my favorites.

The ruffled edges make this one very attractive lily.

The pistils remind me of ballerina slippers!

    

Grasshoppers seem to like the lilies, too!

A little speckled but the deep purple is still beautiful. 

The bees and the hummingbirds have been buzzy around the gardens all summer.

Maybe that is enough of flower pictures for now. It took a long time to restore the blog. Somehow it went missing and I thought I lost all of my Yap blogs from 2014 - 2016. Then all of a sudden, after about an hour of clicking and searching, it retuned!

I do hope you all are well and not too hot and uncomfortable.  Until next time......

Three happy doggies - Fionnegan, Shorty and Gunnarr.