Thursday, May 30

A Little bit of this and a lot of ......RAIN!!!

We're trying something new today and joining our friends at 2browndawgs for This and That Thursday.  Thanks for hosting this blog hop guys and I hope we do this correctly.

This 'N That 3


We haven't posted much this week for 2 reasons
1. Mom was busy completing all of the necessary paperwork to get me and Schatzie legally entered into the State of Hawaii.
Mission Accomplished... documentation (the flat package, the other stuff is for poppy :)  was mailed on tuesday, now we just have to wait to be approved, they cash the check and we are  issued our Kauai island permit.

reason #2

Rain and lots of it....for the past 5 days we've had lots of wonderful rain, but with the rain comes internet issues. We have satellite service, so when the cloud ceiling is high we don't have reception.  So mom tried to do a few posts she was  ready to push the Publish button and wham the connection was lost...



 Along with the rain came some hail...fortunately it wasn't the
 softball sized hail they had in other parts of Nebraska. 

Mom hasn't made us wear our boots, cuz frankly with all this moisture it wouldn't help.
**note mom has her boots on though, not nearly as cute as our purple paws!!


Remember our swing shot from a few weeks back??
Same swing, same pond just full of water now!!

This is another one of our ponds. Until the rains began Schatzie was able to wade across this wade across, now she has to SWIM...this makes for a happy German Shepherd.

 This shot has nothing to do with the rain, 
but this guy is one of 6 orioles that are eating us out of oranges and grape jelly.

 Just a little something to make you giggle....
This is a sign outside a near by vet clinic (not Dr. Julie's) ...in June they have a 
"Neuter Special" for Father's Day!! 
Cracks me up.

 Finally with a break in the rain, Schatzie enjoyed breakfast 
on her lounger and proceeded to conk out.
 Mom said something about taking us to K9kamp tomorrow...wonder what that means.
Love, Gracie

Monday, May 27

and so it begins....

 We have begun the arduous task of deciding what personal items we will REALLY need to take to Hawaii.
We have found a cute little cottage to rent that will allow Schatzie and me to live there. It's been a real challenge finding housing, so we are glad we can finally cross that one off our list.
Since we now have a roof over our head, mom was able to make our flight arrangements. We are driving to the west coast, so that way we will only have a 5 hour trip in our kennels.Tomorrow mom has to submit all of our necessary paper work and green papers to the State of Hawaii allowing us to be able to enter the state. It's a crazy  amount of extra work to get furkids into the state but rest assured it's going to be well worth it.

Mom went shopping the other day for a couple of harnesses for me and Schatzie to use for the road portion of the trip. When she got home she had a bag of goodies and I love to snoop and guess what I found? Four, yes, I said four packages of these crazy purple boots or PAWZ--their official name!!  Mom found them at Target on clearance and they were less than HALF the price that she finds at the local *petdumb* store!!
She said we got lots of boots, cuz in Hawaii they have lots of RED dirt and when that dirt gets wet it makes really messy red mud and on Kauai it RAINS a lot, so I am figuring that we will be wearing our boots frequently!! OH JOY!!
Four packs, really mom!! 

see the box on the left....well it has most of our dog necessities in there, I personally checked to make sure mom got all the right stuff in there (ya even the boots:)
All this packing is exhausting...let me know if you need me okay mom!!

Gracie

Saturday, May 25

Friday, May 24

Follow up visit with Dr. Julie...

We're looking and feeling GOOD!!
The Girlz had a follow up visit with Dr. Julie the week before last. Dr. Julie wanted to check on their knee and hip issues and update them on all their vaccinations and kennel cough application (so they could go to daycare while I went to Florida.

The Scale---
Gracie (yellow lab mix) has lost 1 lb. current weight is 62 lbs
I really thought Gracie had lost more since I noticed a definite change in her waistline, she now looks really "lean and mean" :) I have also noticed more bounce in her step and well she is just back to her sassy self.
I changed her food a free months ago, she now eats a high quality GRAIN-FREE kibble topped with a tablespoon of salmon oil. Dr. Julie was pleased with her progress and encouraged us to keep up the current regiment.  So, Gracie gets an A and of course a cookie!!

Schatzie (the German Shepherd) has lost 3 pounds and now is 89lbs.
Her weight loss was a shock to me as I really didn't think she'd lost anything--but then again it's difficult to see change with her fluffy coat. I had decreased her kibble a bit and now with the weather being much nicer we are enjoying more activities outside. We are not seeing much change in her hip issues, she limps a bit, but that doesn't keep her from loving her dog life. Schatzie also got a A, and her cookie was snatched by none other than Gracie!!

Me---well,l I won't be telling my weight but do know that I need to drop a couple pounds or at least tone up, winter was much too long.  After watching a friend run the Lincoln Half Marathon last week I was inspired, so I decided to dig out the running shoes again. Running was part of my day for years but, I have been unable to run for a couple years due to a back issue and a foot injury. So this past tuesday I gave it a go---opened the back door and started to run. I think the girlz thought I was crazy and needless to say they were EXCITED!! We only ran about a mile and even though we walk everyday the girlz seemed thrilled to be really moving--the pack was moving again. I am keeping a close eye on the girlz knees and hips and my issues and we will increase or decrease our activity as needed.  I have no desire to run road races again, but I gotta say I love how it feels to RUN again.

The Girlz will have one more health checkup before our move to Kauai....so we gotta RUN!!!

Have a great holiday weekend.
we're joining FITDOG Friday y   


Thursday, May 23

Florida...more to it than just a MOUSE!!

Last week while Schatzie and I were in jail, oh, I mean Doggie Day Care mom was in Florida with our grammy exploring. One of grammy's favorite places is Homosassa Springs State Wildlife Park, located in Homosassa, Florida. It's a park that is well worth the drive. Take it away mom....

There were 8-10 large gators in the pool area---

There are several ways to reach the main entrance in the park, we chose the pontoon boat ride.
During the ride we observed wood duck, heron, gators, turtles and various other birds.

 Check out the osprey nest high in this tree,
 there's even a chick or two in the nest

Before this became a State Park it was a refuge and holding area/exhibit for many wildlife movie and tv stars.
Once the park was controlled by the State Parks Dept. all of the non-Florida native animals were relocated to other zoos or sanctuaries, with one exception....Lou, the hippo!!

Seems no place wanted a huge hungry, out of work, African hippo weighing some 5000+ lbs. Lou was a favorite of many in the area and a "Keep Lou Here" campaign began.  Lou is now an official Floridian with paper work an inch thick to prove it, he probably could even vote!!
If you ever have a chance to visit Lou--beware if he swims off to a corner of the pool and his tail starts spinning, stand clear cuz he's going to blow...... and hippo poo, well, let's just say it's not pretty!!
Don't worry we were in the safe zone and I knew about that tail spinning warning sign. 

 Let's get to back to the tour...

 Pink flamingos
There were falcons, eagles and all sorts of birds of prey

 I love the expression on this guy

 yep, even this cute little squirrel

 During the cooler winter days in Florida you would see dozens of the endangered Florida manatee in this area seeking the warmth of the 72 degree warmth of the spring head waters.

 an underwater observation area where you will see hundreds of fish and even the manatees up close!!

 the Florida Panther

 Bobcat

 What's for dinner?? fresh fish for this river otter

 This was one of the 8 captive manatee in the park at the present time. 
They are recovering from injury or illness. Such gentle giants cruising thru the water.

Mom and I spent 3-4 hours at this park. In fact, I made my mom go 
thru it twice so I could take more pictures.
 This shot has to be one of my favorites....
Momma and pappa swan and their 5 little ones, still in their fuzz.

I took a couple hundred photos and could bore you to tears. I just wanted to give you a taste of Florida Wildlife and encourage you to visit this park if you ever visit Florida.

Remember there's more to Florida than just a mouse!!

 Okay, back to you Gracie....
Mom,MoM, MOM, we thought you were NEVER coming back!!!



Have a great day.

Wednesday, May 22

Wordless Wednesday...(almost)

 Digital postcards from our poppy...



(top photo)one of the many beautiful beaches on Kauai 
(bottom photo) Momma Monk Seal and her 1 week old pup--
the pup is the black figure in the middle of the shot, momma is to the right.

Gracie


Tuesday, May 21

What...NO Swimming?????


Wonder why???


Oh, I get it.....


No SWIMMING,
 No PROBLEM!!


Photo taken @ Homosassa Wildlife Park
Homosassa, Florida

More about this park in a future post.

Friday, May 10

Spring is Here...{See Beautiful}

It's been a busy week around the farm. Since poppy left, momma has a lot more chores to do and less time to hang out in Blogville :(   Hard to believe a week ago we had snow on the ground and mom was wearing her winter coat. It seems that spring has finally arrived and we are enjoying the beauty that is all around us.
Here are a few photos of spring in the Heartland...
Hmm...wonder who lives in this high rise condo??
Found this little critter some 30+ feet up in this cottonwood tree
Just before this photo was taken he was just a snoozing away on the limb.
The finch feeder is a hopping place.
Love their yellow plumage.
The orioles have just returned. The feeder went up on monday a.m. and we
 had guests  devouring the grape jelly that afternoon.
Finally, a heartland sunset through the peach blossoms.

Have a wonderful weekend --
be sure to look around, there's beautiful EVERYWHERE!!

Thursday, May 2

Postcard from Poppy and a package...

 If you recall from yesterday's post I told you my poppy was leaving me for a short time. 
 Poppy packed his 2 large suitcases and headed down the road. 

You see, Poppy is headed  to his new job. With today's technology he sent us this postcard.
This is from somewhere in New Mexico.  He is going to visit my grandpeeps before putting the car on the "car cruise ship" in California.
On the road in New Mexico

Now I'm going to change things up just a bit, but believe me it will make sense in the end
Schatzie and I received this package a few days ago from our friends at Go Pet Friendly.com .In the package we found this really cool calendar featuring Ty and Buster. They are famous for all their travels and have this awesome website helping peeps traveling with pets. This is going to be very helpful when we make our move in July. The website will help you determine the best places to stay, visit and routes to take when traveling with you special four legged friends. It also lists great places for TREATS--I love treats!
(So go check out this website...your pet will love you for it.)


 Look here's a photo of Ty and Buster...

 So how did we win this wonderful calendar??? Some of you know our friend SUGAR. She used to live on Maui and Go Pet Friendly had a contest. The contest wanted us to identify the place where SUGAR was hanging loose.We knew it was a beach near Black Rock on the west end of Maui---and we won!!

Now back to our move....


Have you guessed where we're going to move??

Here's a hint....

 Yes, we're  moving back to Hawaii....Mom's been working on all the necessary paperwork and vet visits. Schatzie and I are now half way through our 120 day at home quarantine. Last time we went to Hawaii we flew from Denver and it took FOREVER.  Mom and Poppy decided instead of us all flying from the middle of the country, we are going to drive to the coast and get on the big flying machine there. By doing that we won't have such a long time in our traveling kennels--plus we'll get to see more of the country  and you can bet we're going to be using the GO Pet Friendly.com website.

 Guess what island we're going to be living on????
Schatzie and I are thinking of becoming  island tour guides like SUGAR was for MAUI!!
hmmm....there's another hint (it's NOT Maui)

Do you think we'd make good tour guides??


***Special Note***
I'm guessing our friend Ron at Shutterbugs capturing the world just fell on the floor.
 Yes Ron, you're welcome to visit and don't forget your camera :)

Wednesday, May 1

Happy May Day and Lei Day

Happy May Day

Happy Lei Day 


Sad Day...
as we say Aloha to poppy until July

More about that tomorrow.


Gracie :)