Somewhere along the line this summer, Jenny misplaced her dog tags. (I say that like she's a kid who has left her lunch box somewhere. Or something.) Anyway, Tom noticed they were missing a couple of weeks ago, and they haven't turned up anywhere either up north or here at home.
So I ordered new and updated dog tags for both pups.
At 11 1/2 years, Jenny finally gets to wear her formal title for all to see!
(Tell it like it is, I say.)
It's HOT out there!
My dogs know how to keep cool, though. They look for the shady spots!
(Although you can't see her in the photos, Jenny is hunkered down under the hostas. Since she was a puppy, she has sought the coolest spots in the garden . . . usually under my hostas!)
They also look at me longingly and scream with their eyes . . . for Doggie Ice Cream Treats.
I whipped up a batch this weekend. Here's how I did it, in case you want to make some for your own pups.
First, I got out my cute little dog treat molds. (I used to use small Dixie cups - which work just great - but theses are so much cuter.)
Then, I gathered my ingredients (32 oz. plain yogurt, 2 bananas, a few blobs of natural peanut butter, and a squirt or two of honey) (you can see that it is a very scientific process) . . .
and mix it together with my immersion blender (this amount of mix fits together perfectly in my 4-cup measure).
Then come the hardest parts . . . carefully pouring the mix into the molds (made slightly easier because I mixed it in a measuring cup with a pour spout), then clearing space in the freezer to create a flat surface (it helps to have this ready before beginning actually, but I never seem to remember that), and then carefully placing the full molds into the freezer without spilling (HA!) (I stack them on cookie sheets first).
This amount of mix fits nearly perfectly into the molds. (There was a bit leftover, so the dogs got to lick the bowl. . . BONUS! )
It doesn't take long for the treats to freeze -- and then they pop right out of the molds. (So cute.) (Of course the dogs don't care at all. The Dixie cups were just fine thankyouverymuch.)
Ready to serve!
And what do they think?
De - doggie - licious!
Resting and recuperating at home.
Good news from the vet.
And having your bestie nearby again!
I thank you for all the good juju yesterday. It helped! Jenny did well with a very nasty surgery. She got to come home last night, which no one really expected. And so far (keep your fingers crossed) we are having an easy time with her recovery here at home. (Her surgery comes with some potentially . . . messy . . . side effects. So far, so good.)
I think no one is happier to have Jenny home than JoJo! She moped all day yesterday, and was just not quite herself. She even slacked off with perimeter control, which she sees as her Most Important Role in our pack. (Trust me, this is BIG.)
Happiness is . . . hanging around with your pack!
As I write this blog post this morning, my dogs are looking at me with the mournful eyes.
For they are very hungry.
S-t-a-r-v-i-n-g, in fact.
And I am not feeding them.
Why?
Because this diva . . .
is scheduled for some rather serious surgery in a couple of hours. (Please send the good juju. She is 11, and we'd like to keep her around a while longer.)
My hungry dogs remind me of this perfect Mary Oliver poem, from her Dog Songs book.
The Wicked Smile
by Mary Oliver
"Please, please, I think I haven't eaten
for days."
What? Ricky, you had a huge supper.
"I did? My stomach doesn't remember.
Oh, I think I'm fading away. Please
make me breakfast and I'll tell you
something you don't know."
He ate rapidly.
Okay, I said What were you going to
tell me?
He smiled the wicked smile. "Before we
came over, Anne already gave me my breakfast,"
he said.
Be prepared. A dog is adorable and noble.
A dog is true and loving friend. A dog
is also a hedonist.
Last month I told you about Jen Tulson's Sacred Invitation Deck -- a set of beautiful cards I won in a random drawing -- that I'm using as a tool in creating an "area of refuge" for myself.
The first card I chose was . . . savor. And the card did its magical work! Every time I glanced at it, I found myself thinking about simple things that I savored in my life (looking out the window at the snow, being able to throw a hand knit shawl over my legs when I was chilly, the smell of food cooking in the kitchen . . . that kind of thing).
I liked the savor card! It brought me comfort and a daily gentle reminder to notice the little things. I was in no hurry to switch it out with another. And so it remained, sitting on my desk (in a little stand-up card holder I had stashed away in my junk drawer) for nearly a month.
Until it wasn't.
Over the weekend, it must have fallen to the floor under my desk. And this pup . . .
normally so well-behaved - but with a strange penchant for cardstock (and only cardstock) that she finds lying on the floor - decided to, well . . . savor it herself!
I decided, then, that the time had come for me to choose another card!
But I'm gonna be honest here. When I saw my new card - adventure - I was disappointed.
Adventure?
In the middle of February?
I mean, seriously? Adventure . . . conjures excitement and new and plans and going somewhere. Not . . . exactly what my life looks like right now, y'know?
But I stuck the card in the little holder on my desk anyway. I'm going to live with it for awhile and see where it takes me.
Because hmmmm.
You never know.
We had our first snow yesterday. Not much. But enough to cause some roadway havoc.
I always love the first few snows of the season . . . but the dogs? Oh, they REVEL in it! They race around the yard, frolicking. They rub their faces in the snow and dig and roll and chase each other. It is Pure Dog Joy!
Watching them play in the snow always makes me think of this perfect poem by Mary Oliver, from her book Dog Songs.
The Storm (Bear)
--- by Mary Oliver
Now through the white orchard my little dog
romps, breaking the new snow
with wild feet.
Running here running there, excited,
hardly able to stop, he leaps, he spins,
until the white snow is written upon
in large, exuberant letters,
a long sentence, expressing
the pleasures of the body in this world.
Oh, I could not have said it better
myself.
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Have a wonderful weekend!
I have two Special Edition Halloween Beanie Babies here with a special message:
Trick or Treat!!!
Although our dogs come up north to our cottage with us all the time, they usually have to stay at home with a dog-sitter when we go on vacations to other places. It was a Grand Adventure, then, for all of us, when we brought the dogs along to Beaver Island for our vacation.
Beaver Island is completely dog-friendly - beginning with the island ferry, where the dogs got their own tickets!
Both dogs did just great on the 2-hour ferry ride out to the island (which is in the middle of northern Lake Michigan). They were well-behaved and pretty relaxed. (It was tougher on our way home because the water was really rough that day, and they were somewhat uncomfortable about that. But still good dogs!)
On the island, we stayed in a cottage right on the lakeshore for the week. It was pretty much dog-heaven -- with the water and the woods and the turkeys and the snakes. So very much to check out!
One day, the lake was super calm -- barely even a ripple on the surface. A perfect day for swimming!
We had hoped for a dog-swimming-day and planned accordingly, packing water toys -- including one of Jenny's favorite blue floatation cushions. The dogs LOVED swimming in the "big lake!"
The shoreline of the island is mostly rocky, so it's challenging to "walk the beach" -- but there are a few bays with sandy beaches. They are very dog-friendly (unlike most of the Lake Michigan beaches nearer to home, where dogs are not allowed - even on leash) and the dogs were welcome. We were able to let them off-leash where they could walk along with us, free to explore and roam a little.
They LOVED it!
And we did our part to keep the beaches walk-able for everyone. . .
It truly was a Grand Adventure for all of us -- J-pups included.
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And, as an update, Jenny is feeling much better. (She got into the trash at our cabin on the last night of our vacation. . . ) We're still waiting for her to pass whatever "interesting thing" she ate -- but she's eating again, and acting like her usual cantankerous self!
Saturday we celebrated Jenny's 10th birthday . . .
with a long walk on the trail at Asylum Lake
and special dog treats -- dog-hamburgers on the grill and special doggy-cones at our neighborhood ice cream parlor.
Jenny enjoyed all the special attention (and JoJo loved tagging along for the fun).
But it go me thinking . . .
Ten years . . . they go by in the blink of an eye.
(But in dog years??? Even faster!)
The summer we got Jenny - as an 8-week-old pup - Erin had just graduated from high school,
and Brian was a gawky high school freshman!
We had recently lost our 14-year-old German Shepherd, Jake, and were all still grieving when Jenny came along to fill the hole in our lives (and hearts).
She fit right in to our family, and quickly became a beloved member of our "pack."
She's been very healthy and low-maintenance -- except for her two "knee replacement" surgeries, of course. But those surgeries were totally worth it -- as she now has "bionic knees" and shows no signs of arthritis. (She's in for the long haul.)
It took awhile, but she's (pretty much) forgiven us for bringing JoJo into her life 4 years ago.
Even though Jenny is quite a diva about the whole thing, she and JoJo get along well and seem to enjoy sharing the same space.
There's some healthy rivalry there, sure. JoJo's youthful exuberance drives Jenny crazy sometimes . . . but there is no doubt, really, about who is boss.
Happy birthday, Jenny . . . our Decade Dog!
Last Friday, we had the first day that's really felt like spring (well . . . since February . . . ), so I decided to take the dogs for a trail walk.
Let's just say . . .
BIG HIT!
Although I take them out for a neighborhood walk nearly every day (which they love), our routes are completely "old hat" by now. There just aren't very many surprises or curiousities on our walks in the neighborhood, y'know?
So they loved getting out in the woods. On a trail. With millions of fresh smells! (Oh, happy day.)
It was great to be out, enjoying a beautiful spring day in the sunshine.
We went to Asylum Lake,* which is only about a 10 minute drive from my house. There is a trail that loops about 2.6 miles, past the lake, beside a little stream, and through a meadow.
It's very nice -- and especially with the dogs. They really do love getting out and exploring -- although it was hard to keep them out of the water. (Jenny plunged right into the creek, pulling JoJo -- and almost me, too -- with her.)
Best of all? Lovely weather -- with sunshine and warm temperatures.
There really wasn't any evidence of "spring" quite yet in the woods, but soon. Very soon, I'm sure.
For now, it was great to just be . . . out and about . . . with my very happy dogs!
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* Asylum Lake is located on the former grounds of the Michigan State Asylum (yeah . . . ), now part of the Western Michigan University campus.