Hello August!

~Sheba after rolling in the wet grass~

A very happy August to you!  The days have flown and July is finished whether I was prepared to be done with it or not.  I'm surprised how much too quickly summer seems to be fading.  

It seems like my flowers were just beginning to bloom and now I'm noticing petals on the ground and the butterflies are combing the Joe-Pye-Weed.

But what I love about August is that there is still time--Still time to work on the projects that need to be done before cooler weather and winter sets in, and there is still plenty of time to enjoy being outside in the sun!

I hope you've had a good week!  In my next post I'll have to tell you about the little bit of trouble new-boy-Sunny had with our dog-walker this week. Thankfully no one was hurt...seriously....

~Annie~

Feeding Cissy

I thought I would give a little update on Cissy.  She does seem to be in pretty good spirits.  She and I continue with our daily 'conversations' and she enjoys going for walks with us and rolling in the grass.

However with Cissy we are faced with her being a very picky eater. Getting her to eat can be a roller coaster ride. Some days she loves what you feed her, other days, not so much. She will turn her nose up at kibble, hamburger, chicken, turkey, liver and white or brown rice.

But Cissy does like fish.  So last week after she'd eaten very little for a couple of days, more out of desperation than anything, I cooked pasta added half of a can of salmon and a cup of regular kibble, topped with parmesan cheese, which she happily ate. This became the meal of choice for the entire week; she ate practically everything each time she was fed.

~Cissy's meals last week~

I was feeling really good about what Cissy was eating until I discussed it with the vet who has been caring for her.  She urged me to remember to try and make her meals more "nutritionally-balanced." There's no question that I totally agree with her.  But I have to admit that there is a part of me that just wants to stick with the meal that's a 'sure thing.'  Those of you who have had dogs that won't eat, know that feeling when you give them a bowl of food that you have specially prepared, and as you set it down you say a silent prayer that they'll eat...Then when they refuse it, your heart sinks.  I worry about that happening if I change Cissy's meals.  But then, Cissy has surprised me before and this may not be any different.  We'll see.

Low and High Notes

~Charlie~

To start, I have really missed not visiting your blogs this week.  It has been a week that started out low, but is ending on a high note.  The low notes were that myself and four of the dogs, Charlie, Josh, Wendy, and Annie were really not feeling well. By Wednesday evening we were all somewhat better, but I was totally exhausted from three nights of getting up more than once in the early morning hours to let someone outside and of course having to work as well.

However we end the week with everyone finally feeling better. Our newest arrival, Sunny, has settled in nicely. As we get to know him, I'm finding him to be a nice dog that is affectionate and wants to please.  On the flip-side he's a pretty good counter-surfer who has a real taste for cat food, and who doesn't like us to grab him by the collar.  The counter-surfing is pretty minor and isn't really a concern.  But grabbing Sunny by the collar could be, so we are making sure he listens to us when he's asked to do something, in particular when he needs to move.

~Sunny~

Another thing Sunny doesn't like at all is having his picture taken. Even just seeing the camera causes him to want to run away and hide, which is what he's doing in the photo below.  I have to wonder what happened in his former home that has made him so camera shy?  

And as a final note, I'll end with a little update on Comet, (the dog who over-nighted with us last week and had lived confined to a 6x9 pen for all of her nearly 13 years).  My good friend who is now fostering Comet and spoiling her rotten, told me that she's a bit of a picky eater, but she is really enjoying going for daily walks to explore the neighborhood, her very big yard, and soft bed in one of the coolest spots in the house.  

~Comet~

Everyone feeling pretty good and the news about Comet is a good note to end the week.  I hope your week is ending on the same kind of note too!  I look forward to catching up on your news!

~Sheba and CarrieAnne (front)~

Sunflowers and The Bucket List

Do any of you have a "bucket list?" For those of you unfamiliar with what that is, it's a term made popular by the 2007 movie with the same name. Basically it's a list of things you'd like to do before you "kick the bucket," as the saying goes. One of the things I have on my list is to see the sunflower fields in France. This all came about because of a sequence of blogs that I have been following that each year posts pictures of the amazing sunflowers under the warm sunny skies of southern France. This year the photos are posted on the blog, Bob and Sophie's French Adventure.

This past week I mentioned wanting to see them and a friend of mine told me about sunflower fields planted by the State of Maryland near Poolesville, which is not that far from us.

I looked it up and read that the sunflowers were in peak bloom.  And not wanting to miss the chance to see them, this morning Annie and I did a little road trip.  

It's a nice drive that includes a trip across the Potomac River on a ferry.  

At one time there used to be 100 ferries operating on the Potomac, and Whites Ferry just outside Leesburg, is now the very last one.

It was just after 8 o'clock in the morning and I wasn't the only one with the idea to arrive early to photograph the sunflowers.  Many of the photographers had fancy set-ups and reflectors and other equipment that I have no idea how to use--I believe in keeping it simple.

So, while Annie wandered around taking in the smells, I took photos.  

After several minutes I started to wonder, just how do you get really unique shots of sunflowers? 

 I really have no idea...

But I do know that I went a little crazy taking photos. 

Okay, maybe more than a little...

And I was okay with that and I think Annie was too.     

In the end, I decided that even though the sunflowers were not in the beautiful countryside in the south of France, they were amazing nonetheless. But I'm still keeping seeing them in France on my bucket list. 

Care to share something that YOU have on your bucket list?