My Two Girls

Jackie was a rescue pound puppy, we think a border collie/lab mix. I called her my little pig and sometimes Patricia when I first got her, about 11 years ago. She was 6 months old and I got her as a companion for my other healer mix dog, Simon (who ended up being adopted by a physician friend on his farm, and even saved his life.) Jackie was very sick and I had to tend to her all night long for quite a while. I thought, "THIS must be what it would be like to have a newborn!" Well, no, after having three newborns, I can honestly say she was WAY harder. When I met my husband, he was able to tame that wild beast of a puppy and that is how I knew I loved him. Even though he momentarily lost her when he dog watched her as I traveled out of state for the birth of my first nephew....

I thought I had trained her to stay off the couches, only to discover she has now adopted this chair.

Being a dog owner/companion, I always thought I would NEVER allow my kids to put her in second place. When I became pregnant with my first, we had to start to train her to not sleep in our bed. She is an old gal now, cataracts and lumps and lots of allergies and smells and old lady quirks... and it is true, she does get the back burner of attention when so many kids are under foot. But, we still love to cuddle when we can find those moments of peace. She's my little noodle chup.
 

Sweet Animal Friends

Glamour Dogs Book by Catherine Ledner

I just love the innocence and free spirits of little animals. I truly believe they have developed, little souls inside those bodies. Just look at the eyes and you can see the love, fear, confusion, desperation, forgiveness pouring out of them.

Bunny in a Basket via Real Beauty

Swimming Piglets via Real Beauty

Bichon Puppy kicksy by Emilie (I miss my childhood bichon, Keiki!)

Jimmy the Guinea Pig by Samantha Warren Photography (I think I squealed in delight when I saw this!)

"Saimai is a two year old tiger and as a baby was suckled by a pig until she was 4 months old. This democratic start in life allowed her to form a loving relationship with other pigs and even a dog."

Homefront: Whittling Blooms 'n a Howlin' Dog

We have these blossoming "popcorn" trees, as my son would say and now that the white bradford pear flowers are turning to leaves, these purple trees are in bloom. Easily, the short branches came off for a pretty little display in a cleaned out jar. I didn't want to (force my husband) to take too many or be too stingy taking from the tree, of course, so we only took small specimens.

The flowers have been thrown on the ground by my youngest, stomped on, knocked around... and suprisingly, a few of the delicate buds still remain on one branch, the other two branches are almost naked. (Thanks Screwed Up Texan, these are Red Bud blooms!)

My two boys love picking dandelions. The stems are often too short to put in a tiny baby food jar vase, so my husband thought it would be a good idea to float them in this here jar. Cute, a touch of color!

Did you know that picked dandelions still turn white and fluffy to blow on when you let them dry out?

The real story here is this little dog. My grandfather, who primarily served guard duty in the US military during the Korean War, loves to whittle. He has made all types of figurines and has even made canes from trees he has chopped himself, waxed them and even sold a few. He's a magnificent man. A real, humble, Renaissance  man.

I once admired this little dog he made and he gave it to me, then and there. It is a treasured little creature in my home, and knowing the way the world works, I felt impressed to capture it's sweetness here on my blog before a boy tornado took it out somehow.

He carved his name and info on the belly of the dog. Jack Butler, Sheldon Missouri, 1998. You can read more about him here and here.