This is a picture of Louise and Sofie almost immediately after eating breakfast. You would think they didn’t just have full bowls of the most nutritious high-quality dog food.
“Whatever Mommy is eating must be better and must be shared!!”
They crack me up.
Do your animals EVER stop begging? What you don’t see in this picture is Noel, the Christmas cat, on the kitchen table trying to steal my bagel while I am looking at the dogs.
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤ 
Sofie & Louise 2012
When it is cold outside, I like to remember warm sunny days to help me get through the frost. I can’t believe this picture was 7 years ago. In the end, if Louise really wants the toy, she will take it away from Sofie in one yank. But she is really kind to Sofie and lets her have things (like a good older sister should). The green carrot is long gone, but the memories are golden.
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
It is amazing how fast the years go. How a black dog’s muzzle starts to gray. How her eyes have that haze and can’t find cookies as easily. How she knows that if she gives me her paw that a treat may follow.
She sure has come a long way from that puppy we rescued in April 2010, covered with dry mange and with a collar embedded in her neck. Louise has always been a good girl with the family. I am so happy that she trusts me enough to enjoy her life. The last year or so, I have noticed that she is following me a little closer and has developed thunder anxiety; oh, the things that come with age. She gives me no trouble taking her medicine, she is always up for a walk, even if it is raining. And, she knows just when to come to bother me so that I get up and take a break (which I am sure she learned from Squash E. Bear before he left us).
Louise’s favorite thing is to go get a squeaky toy when she wants my attention and start to make as much noise as possible until she either gets a snack, a walk, or whatever she is wanting at the moment. She sure does have me trained. Her fav one right now is this large Jax like thing, which has sprung a stuffing leak but is still very squeakable (if you know what I mean).
Happy 10th Birthday, Big Girl! You are Mommy’s Special Princess.
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
Squash E Bear
Fall 2007
Lulu under Big Tree
(Original post from Feb. 27, 2012 with updates)
The dominating feature on one side of our back yard is a big maple tree. I call it ‘Big Tree.’ Last year we lost a companion big maple tree on the side yard (lightning hit and then bugs ate it from the inside). It used to mingle its leaves with Big Tree but now we only have the canopy of ‘Big Tree’ to shelter that area in summer. And of course, we have the pines, but, those are different.
Sofie under Big tree
The Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy, Northern Flicker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Cooper’s Hawk and all the yard birds love that tree. We keep the suet there (you can see in the picture), especially for the peckers. The feeders are in more protected areas because of the osprey and hawks. Every dog likes to lie and play around Big Tree and so did the children. We had a safety cable put in it several years ago to keep it from falling onto the house in a big storm. I did not realize until I went to look for pictures, how much Big Tree has been the background for our lives in this house. We actually bought this house because we felt like we are in a treehouse when looking out the living room window. The kid’s swing-set/treehouse used to live under it (now long gone donated to some deserving other kids). There used to be grass in that area but now there is only sand. The gardens have changed and paths have worn, but Big Tree still is there for us.
Squash & Lulu under Big Tree January 2011
My stepdaughter, K8, is an amazing photographer, and I thank her for the close-up shots of the hawk, spider, and yard birds. We are blessed with this amazing gathering of birds all year long. We have our common friends: Carolina Chickadees, American Goldfinch, House Finch, Carolina Wrens, Song Sparrow, White-breasted Nuthatch, Tufted Titmouse, Dark-eyed Junco, European Starling, Brown-headed Cowbird, American Robin, Northern Mockingbird, Blue Jay, Mourning Dove, American Crow & Raven, and Northern Cardinal. Oh yes, and our occasional: Baltimore Oriole, Eastern Bluebird, Barred Owl. We also have the ducks that lie under the tree: Teal, Mallard, American Black Duck, American Wigeon.
A spider on the window overlooking Big Tree
The water birds tend to visit but don’t stay long (except the ducks). The Osprey live less than a 1,000 feet away but don’t seem to land on the tree, they circle and watch the action always making their high-pitched squawk as they fly overhead.
Hawk in Big Tree
Locals in Big Tree
Trees are an amazing part of the landscape and really form the background of our lives. If you stay in one place for a certain amount of time or visit the same spot year after year, you get to know the trees. Over the years we have lost many trees to their age, and the bugs, and the weather. We had this incredible Tortured Willow that was half dead when we moved in and we nursed that beauty for several years before I was willing to let her go. When you lose a tree, so many things change; the garden pattern, the landscape flow, the shadows, and the sun. The environment changes all around you minute by minute. About 5 years ago (now 12), the people across the street took out over 40 large pines so they could build a second driveway and a shed (that I now have to look out my office window every day at, instead of the wonderful natural forest I loved). All the squirrels and rabbits had to find other homes (of course in my yard). I wish people would stop cutting away the landscape and start caring more what happens when they get rid of all the natural cover just so they could park an extra car. Hey, I just thought about the fact that maybe that is why the wind and runoff pattern has eroded my property around Big Tree much more in the last few years. I think I am going to call a tree expert to make sure the Big Tree is OK. I want it to be here for a really long time if possible because it is the background to my life.
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
