Manatees

I've been in Florida this past week cleaning out my mom's house. After working hard for five days straight, my friend and I finished with enough time to stop at Blue Spring State Park on the way back to Orlando. It's been really cold down here for Florida, so the manatees are up in the rivers. The spring maintains a temperature of 72 deg F, so the manatees go up in there to keep warm. When it's time to feed, they go out into the river to eat the vegetation.

And one armadillo

I was able to get my Cavalier fix while in Florida. Two cute Cavaliers named Cinnamon (a blenheim) and Jasmine (a tri-color) came by on their walks a couple of times a day.

Keeping it Fun

The winter rains have set in to the Pacific Northwest, and getting out with the dog is getting harder and harder. She really doesn't like to wear her raincoat nor does she like to get her feet wet. Some might call her a little princess. I looked on the local dog event calendar but there was nothing but a Puppy Romp going on.

I remembered reading about an indoor dog park that opened not too far from here, so Kendall and I put on our raincoats and headed out with paperwork and vaccination records in hand. When we arrived at InBark there was only one car in the parking lot. I didn't want it to be crowded, but it's nice if there's a least another dog or two to play with. After the formalities and a temperament test, we went in the back. There were no other small dogs, but there was a woman there with her 4 mo. old pit bull puppy that was playing with a balanced big dog in the small dog area. We went in and Kendall did ok. She goes to doggie daycare every Tuesday at A Dog Gone Good Place but she's always with small dogs. The big dog knew how to play with small dogs, and it was cute to watch as she laid down next to Kendall and eventually crawled under the bench with her. Their play styles were definitely different but Kendall seemed to be having a good time. It doesn't seem like the place we'd go all the time, but it's nice to have somewhere for her to run around when it's pouring down rain outside. They have a great video of the place.




I've also gone back to the games and puzzles that we've tried during other rainy seasons. One of Kendall's favorite games is the Nina Ottosson's Dog Fighter. I wrote about it here. She starts dancing around when I pull it off the shelf.

Another of Kendall's favorite things to play with is an empty Talking Rain bottle with a few morsels of food in the bottom. I often look for samples of good quality dog food that makes for a good treat without really being a treat. The shape of the 16.9 oz bottle makes it such that it's more of a challenge to get the food out.

What do you like to do with your dogs when it's too cold or too wet to get out regularly?

I almost forgot. Today is Saturday, so that means that it's time for the Saturday Pet Blogger Hop. We're participating, are you?

To Scoop or not to Scoop?

I was faced with a moral dilemma today and wondered what you would've done. I had Kendall out at the local park today that has trash cans and poop bags readily available throughout the park. There are also numerous signs asking you to clean up after your pet. A woman walking her dog stood there on the path and watched as her large dog pooped right in the middle of the path. Rather than picking it up, she turned and walked away. My jaw just dropped, and I decided not to say anything. Would you have said something to her? Should I have picked up her dog's poop?

My Little Experiment

There's a little evergreen tree that has sprouted up right next to the road by a light pole near where I work. I've watched the little tree grow from a sprig to about 3' or so over the last couple of years. I'm surprised the lawn service that takes care of the grounds around there hasn't cut it down yet.

I decided to try a little social experiment to see how much people were into the holiday spirit. A few weeks before Christmas I put a red and a green Christmas ornament on the tree and sat back and waited. Nothing happened for a week or so, and I started to get discouraged. Maybe my little experiment wouldn't work. Then, driving home from work I saw it...four more balls on the tree AND a silver star! Someone had helped decorate my little tree. It snowballed from there. The garland with the silver bells appeared a day later. Then, some green bows, a chili pepper, and two snowflakes. What fun!

Thanks to everyone who added decorations for making the experiment a success! Let's hope the little tree is around next year.

Oregon Coast in December

With all that's been going on, I decided that it would be fun to get away to the Oregon coast for a few days between Christmas and New Year's. I rented a place in Manzanita. Unfortunately, when we arrived, we found that the place had inadequate heat to deal with the winds and cold weather at the coast in December. Rather than drive back home in the dark across the Coast Range, we decided to spend the night in a kitschy motel in Manzanita. The place was clean, but definitely not the relaxing place I had hoped to spend time. We woke up Thursday morning to some gorgeous blue skies - a rarity at the Oregon coast in December.

I got on the internet and found us a place to stay in Cannon Beach for Thursday night. After a walk on the beach we headed north to Cannon Beach. The place was amazing! We stayed at The Ocean Lodge right on the beach. The view from our room was great. That's Haystack Rock.

We went for a long walk on the beach. Here's Haystack Rock looking south into the sun.

 The sunset was also very nice.

Our room came equipped with a gas fireplace, a kitchenette, and a complete array of doggie stuff, including dog bowls to use, dog treats, poopie bags, a towel and a bed sheet. Kendall made herself right at home.

We will definitely be back to the Ocean Lodge!

Pet Blogger Blog Hop

Does one of your New Year's resolutions include finding more great pet blogs to follow? Today is the Saturday Pet Blogger Blog Hop. What a great way to start off the new year.