Summer's Last Gasp

Today is the first day of Fall and we're so pleased about it. Once the cooler temps arrive, the dogs will be happier about playing outside. Now they run out, pee and run back in again. Today it's 88 degrees but we're supposed to start having cooler days this weekend.

Last winter was very mild and we've had lots of rain this summer, so the flowers have been doing exceptionally well.

  I'll be sorry to see them go and the leaves all drop to the ground, but then there's always next Spring to look forward to.

 I thought I'd share the flowers in our yard before they're gone.

Tomorrow we'll share our nasturtium experiment with you.

Some Really Tasty New Food

I've heard for years that Wellness Core was good dog food. I only knew about the kibble, but many of the Portuguese Water Dog people that I hear from feed it and like it. It's always been in the back of my mind that we should try it sometime. I was really pleased to find that the canned version was available as a Chewy review item this month and didn't hesitate to order it.

I chose the turkey sampler which includes two flavors. First is turkey, chicken liver and turkey liver formula. It's grain and gluten free, contains greens and botanicals for health benefits and fish and flax omegas for skin and coat. Some of the good things in this formula are sweet potatoes, carrots, apples, spinach, blueberries, broccoli and kale as well as salmon oil, all things my dogs love to eat and are good for them.

The second formula is turkey, pork liver and duck formula. This one is grain and gluten free and is also fish free. It has the same veggies and fruits as the other but also has lots of vitamins.

My pack isn't easy to feed. The girls can eat most anything with no bad results, but my boys are all on different diets for their various intestinal issues. Then there is Sydney, who doesn't like much of anything. We have to coax her to eat each meal.

Sebastian eats turkey based home cooked food along with a little duck kibble and some pork added in, so the turkey, pork and duck formula seemed perfect for him. Mackey eats whatever Sebastian eats.  When Rob opened the food he remarked that it actually smelled good, like cooked meat. We're so used to strong fishy smelling food that this was obvious. He mixed some of the Wellness in with their regular dinner and they loved it.

 Then it was my turn. I agree, this food does smell better than most canned dog food. It also stays somewhat soft after refrigeration making it easier to mix into kibble. For the two boys, Fudge and Noah I used the turkey, duck, pork formula because they're both eating those already. The girls got the turkey and chicken formula mixed into their kibble.

My pack of experts agreed that this was excellent tasting food.

 They left their bowls shining.

 But what about the tough critic, Sydney? She came over to sniff it. She usually them walks away.

But this time she started eating and finished her meal with not a word from me. This doesn't happen often, so I guess this food must really be good.

Chewy sent us a case of Wellness CORE at no cost to us in exchange for our honest review.

B. L. A. P. Day

Ahoy, me Hearties! Today is B.L.A.P. Day, also known as Bark Like A Pirate Day.

Let's face it, folks, we dogs, and kitties, too, are all pretty good at languages. We're totally better than you peeps. We speak and understand Dog and Cat and also understand peep language, whatever it may be. In our house the peeps speak mostly English and we know what they're saying a lot more often than they think we do. We also speak body language really well. Think about it, we can tell you when we need to go outside or when we're hungry without even making a sound.

One language that I don't speak very well is Pirate.  But then, who do you know who does speak pirate well?

This year Mom asked me if I wanted to dress as a pirate for this day. I told her no. It's not that I don't enjoy getting dressed up now and then, but I'm eleven years old now and pretending to be a pirate isn't one of my favorite things.

Mom wanted to celebrate the day in some way, I don't know why, so she brought out this guy. This is Captain Jack Rabbit. Mom made him a couple years ago and now he lives in the guestroom.

She thought he needed a pal, so last week she knitted up this guy, Jolly Roger Rabbit. 

They look pretty good together, don't they?

 

 Even though Captain Jack has a tiny parrot on his shoulder, Mom thought they needed another parrot, so she knitted up Pretty Polly Pirate Parrot. She even made a little pirate hat for her.

So everybody enjoy Talk or Bark or Meow Like A Pirate Day.
Your pal, Fudge

September 11

Remembering.......

Goodbye Summer

Mom told us that today is Labor Day and that it marks the unofficial end of summer. The last few days have felt like Fall, they've been cool and sunny and wonderful for furry dogs. Today is a little too hot, but we know that cool weather is coming.

 After breakfast we overheard Mom and Dad talking about an end of summer party. Now, we LOVE parties. What would we have, cupcakes, maybe?


Nope, we all got sent outside to wait while Mom and Dad were doing something in the garage. When they finally came out, this is what they had, Frosty Paws. Wow, we haven't had Frosty Paws all summer.

Dad cut one in half for the little girls but the rest of us each got a whole cup, though Mom had to remind us that we're not supposed to eat the cup. Morgan used to do that.

Dad handed them out and we got started licking.

It was a mistake to cut the one in half for the little girls because Sydney ate hers in one big gulp, then she roamed around checking to see if any of us wanted to share. We didn't.

We started out standing, but Frosty Paws take a long time to lick, so most of us settled down in the grass to enjoy.

Mackey didn't think she wanted hers at first, but decided that it was really good.

 We took our time and enjoyed every last drop.

 Norma Jean was the first big dog finished and forgot about not eating the cup. She only ate a little.

Finally, everyone was done. Noah was the last one, as usual.

 Sebastian thanked Dad and asked if we could do this again soon.

 Goodbye Summer, we're ready for Fall.

 Your pal, Fudge

Electile Dysfunction

Is anybody else sick of this election season with still two months to go?

Today I need to rant about the never ending polls. Every day and sometimes several times a day, we're all treated to the newest, latest, most important ever polls, even if they're exactly the same as the ones that came before. Here in Missouri, we're apparently considered a swing state at the moment, so my phone rings at least once a day, and often two or three times a day, with someone doing a poll.

Usually the voice on the other end is automated and I'm asked to respond by touching my keypad, but occasionally there is a live person on the other end of the line. In the case of an automated call, I may or may not respond. When a person is attached to the phone, I often wait to hear what they'll ask.

I've learned that the questions asked can be framed to get whatever response the polling party is looking for. Usually by the third question I know where they're trying to lead me and I may or may not hang up at that point. I have learned from this that the poll results that are served up to us daily are anything but an accurate picture of the electorate.

Two days ago I answered my last poll of this season. It was so ridiculous that I wished I had a cradle phone so that I could have slammed it when I hung up. Here's how it went.

I answered on the second ring. The live person on the other end told me what group she represented, which I paid no attention to at the time. She asked if I had time to do a short poll and I agreed.

The first question was, " How likely are you to vote in the November election?"
The choices were:  1 very likely
                              2 somewhat likely
                              3 somewhat unlikey
                              4 very unlikely
                              5 not going to  vote
My response was "very likely"

The second question was, " How enthusiastic are you about voting for Donald Trump?"
The choices were:  1 extremely enthusiastic
                               2 very enthusiastic
                               3 haven't heard of Donald Trump

I waited for more options, but the woman said nothing else.
I replied " none of the above".
She then repeated the question and the three acceptable choices.
Again I waited, but there was silence.
I responded " I will not vote for Donald Trump"  
She then repeated the question and the three choices.
At that point I lost it completely and screamed into the phone that I loathe Donald Trump, I despise Donald Trump.
She then repeated the question and the three choices.
I hit the disconnect button and wished I had been able to slam the phone on her.

The minute I hung up, the phone rang again and when I stupidly answered, I heard that awful voice saying, "This is Donald Trump.." I couldn't disconnect fast enough.

I walked upstairs talking to myself and waving my arms around. The dogs got all excited and started barking. Rob asked what had happened and when I told him, he started to laugh. Once I calmed down, I laughed, too.

I am done with polls and campaign calls.  Obviously polls can't be relied on for any sort of accuracy. Just let's get this awful mess over with and vote and get on with our lives. Enough is enough.