Holiday Preview Review

Over the river and thru the woods.....

 Hi everybody, don't you all love Thanksgiving? We do around here because Mom and Dad cook lots of great foodables and we get to taste and enjoy. It's the start of a whole season of delicious eats and we're ready.

This time we got to have a yummy preview of things to come, thanks to our pals at Chewy. At no cost to the peeps, which always makes Dad smile, Chewy sent us a case of Merrick Thanksgiving Day Dinner so that we could test it and let you and your peeps know about it in time to order some for the big day.

This stuff is wonderful! It's made with deboned turkey, sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans and Granny Smith apples, along with vitamins and minerals that make Mom happy. 

 Those are all things that we love to eat and combined, they are especially yummy.

 Mom stirred big scoops full into our kibble and told us to give it a taste. 

We boys went first and she didn't have to ask us twice. This stuff is GREAT.

 The girls gobbled theirs too fast for pictures. Then is was time to try Miss Fussy Eater, AKA Mackey. Usually she doesn't like to try anything new and after a sniff, she walks away. Mom set her bowl down, Mackey looked at it, sniffed it and started eating. Her bowl was shining when she was finished.

If you want a special, almost human, treat for Thanksgiving dinner, tell your person to order some Merrick Thanksgiving Day Dinner from Chewy. Remember, Chewy delivers your order in just a day or two, right to the door. How great is that?
Your pal, Fudge

We're TEN !!

Look what Dad had waiting in the fridge today. 

You all know what that means. A Party!! Today's the tenth birthday for my pups.

Even though it's raining, we all ran into the back yard to celebrate. Mom says that inside parties get out of control.

We're ready Dad. Let's get the cupcakes flowing.

There are only five pups left to celebrate today but we know that Gracie, Sky, Gib and Ocho are all celebrating with us at the bridge.

Here are some then and now shots. 
Tess then and today. Tess was actually born the night before the rest, so she got some extra treats last night at bedtime.

Lola then and today.

 Bailey then and today.

 Noah then and today.

 Norma Jean then and today.

 The fun isn't over. For dinner the birthday kids will get this salmon food on their kibble.

 And for dessert, they'll each get a couple of these yummy salmon treats, thanks to Runtley and Zoe.

Happy birthday to my kids. They can be a pain at times, but I'm proud to be their Dad.
Fudge

Missing Miss Morgan

It was a year ago today that our sweet little old lady left us.

When I mentioned it to Rob this morning, he said it felt like much longer, but for me it's still very fresh.

I still look around for her at times, such as when the others are all outside playing. That's when we would have our alone time together and she would follow my every step.

I miss her surprisingly deep voice when we have our sing-alongs.

I miss her competitive spirit in our games.

I miss that sweet but naughty little face looking up at me.

And I miss seeing her snuggled into her bed a night.

We miss you Miss Morgan, more than you could ever know.

My Experiment Was a Bust

When I was a kid, I used to plant flowers on the first day of school vacation. It was just a habit I got into and I enjoyed seeing them burst into bloom during the summer. One of my favorites was nasturtiums.

Then when we lived in Maryland, we had a deck built on our townhouse and I planted window boxes for the deck. Again one of my choices was nasturtiums. Bentley, my first Portie developed a taste for the flowers and each morning would check the boxes for new blooms. I didn't get to enjoy much color from the nasturtiums, but I continued to plant them for Bentley's pleasure.

Then we moved here and I tried them, but it's just too hot here for nasturtiums. I tried a couple times, then gave up.

This year I was determined to try again. I planted them in two pots on the deck.

 The packet says they like full sun, but it's just too hot here and even watering them twice a day, the little plants cooked.

 I moved them out of the direct sun to a spot where they would only get morning sun, but they continued to die off.

 Then I moved them to a spot on the porch behind the hedge, so they got no direct sun at all. They were in shade all day. I continued to water twice a day and the leaves started growing back. But one morning I glanced out the window and saw a squirrel sitting in the pot. I ran outside to chase him away, but he had already eaten 90% of the leaves and all I had left were bare stalks.

I decided the experiment was over and gave up. But then the temps cooled off and we got some nice gentle rains and the leaves started growing back. I had a few small flowers, too, but only one at a time.

 Now a couple weeks later the plants don't look too bad, if you don't look closely. There are even several flowers in bloom at the same time. I offered one to Fudge a couple days ago and he agreed that they are indeed tasty.

 It wasn't my most successful experiment, but at least I saw a few pretty nasturtiums this year.