Blessings

Peacock Feather Canvas on Amazon

Those who know me intimately will do a double-take at the title. Blessings. A word that is too close to traditional religious-speak for me.  I am not traditionally religious. But I am spiritual. I always have been. Lately,  I have been working hard at trying to live a more contented and "in the moment" life.  Too many years have gone by with me embracing the bah-humbug philosophy. There have been times that I put Scrooge to shame.

I am reading a book about being present and having faith in the moment. Being open to the little signs from God. Again, too "traditionally religious" for me. But I do believe in synchronicity, that all humans are somehow connected to each other in some way, and signs.  I truly believe there are signs in our lives. We just need to watch for them.I have been trying to be more aware. It is not easy for me to have faith. But today I felt it come a little more easily.

Sugar was our little foster dog. We began our goodbyes a couple of days ago and today I drove her home. I will miss her but it was a happy thing to do. She was lovingly greeted by her family members - both two and four-legged.  It was good to reunite her. It was good to have contact with decent people.

As I began the trek home, in flooding rain, I felt content. 

With the wind rocking the Jeep as I drove, visibility nearly zero at times, and the downpours causing the roadways to turn into rushing creeks, I found myself enjoying the drive. There is something awesome about the massive amounts of spray that comes from the wheels. The flapping and tapping of the raindrops on the soft-top. Jeep lovers know exactly what I mean.

The drive was a great adventure as it was. Then I noticed something moving in the edge of a field.  I watched, and slowed to a crawl.  The shadows moved slowly and confidently into the middle of the road. And stopped. They looked at me. And waited.

I watched as the windshield wipers cleared the blur.

At first I thought they were turkeys. Then I realized they were peacocks. I love peacocks! I know little about them but I have a few good childhood memories of peacocks. I am always so excited when I see peacocks.

And there they were. Calmly watching me.

They stepped into the road, in front of me. In the middle of this storm.  I swear, they turned and looked at me, as if to say "well?" More than once they looked over their shoulders at me.  They moseyed ahead of me and I enjoyed their presence. They continued to walk ahead of me, very slowly moving down the center of the road before finally moving to the edge of the road.  I watched for a few more moments, before slowly beginning to accelerate around them. I had followed them slowly enough and long enough that I was concerned the farmer would think I was doing something questionable. So I sped up a bit. As I passed and began to draw ahead, they began to run. And I swear, they were trying to keep up and still watching me.

Maybe their owner drives an orange Jeep too. Maybe they were looking for their dinner. I don't know. But I know that traveling with peacocks during a pause in a powerful storm was a gift. A blessing. Truly a blessed day.

There are blessings all around us. We just need to watch for them.

Goodbyes

Our little Sugar baby is heading home very soon.  I could not have asked for a better guest and first time foster dog experience. I am a bit sad to see her go but thrilled that a dog will soon be reunited with her human mom and her pack.

I have a ton of photographs of this sweet and elegant girl but when I saw her and Willy laying quietly on the edge of the bed, I just had to snap a few more.  It's so rare that Willy holds still or is in lighting that I can take his photo. And there they were relaxing together in the late afternoon light.

Just as I began to think my photo-taking was becoming excessive, I felt a horrible pulling of my hair. I was reminded of my childhood and my mom struggling to get the snarls out. I have forgotten how tender-headed I am!

For those of you who have wondered how Mittens the Maleficent has settled it... well... she's the Queen.  I don't believe I've ever met a more naughty kitten. But I adore her. She and Willy play together, chasing each other through the apartment.  Sugar isn't afraid of her but is far too dignified to be bothered with the kitty shenanigans.

The photo session ended with Mittens combing my hair to get my attention.

My little family will soon number three again. Willy the dog, Mittens the kitten, and me... her grey twin!

Thank you so much to the owner of Sugar, for allowing her to come visit and to add to our lives. I will not forget her adorable dances to get treats, finding her burrowed inside of my pillowcase, and the way she sits watching everything that's going on.

Dogs Begging for Bones

There is excitement at my place after work each day. A sort of doggie drama.  If you are a dog lover, there's a good chance you know what I'm referring too. That period of time when you arrive home and there is frantic doggie walking, kissing, hugging, and begging for those before-dinner treats. Recently, Willy and Sugar have been extra ecstatic, performing all sorts of attention-seeking maneuvers for their bones. Even my picky eating Willy dances and begs for the newest flavor of Milk Bones I brought home. However, he can't hold a candle to Sugar's adorable dance moves.

 Oh, look Willy! I think she's reaching for the yummies. Can you see?

Ah, yup.  It looks like it.

If I look pretty, maybe she'll hurry.

Geez Sugar. Like she hasn't seen that a billion times. Even I can do that.

But you can't do this!  Special dance, special dance, super fast special dance.

Here she comes!

Sorry, I didn't snap a photograph of them devouring the gravy bones. I used that opportunity to check my emails. It is just about the only time I have without them on my lap or doing the special dance for treats.

Gravy Bones 

Wordless Wednesday: Fostering Love

Willy, Sugar (our house guest) and I were enjoying a lazy day and a warm sun puddle.  We will miss her when she goes.


Join us on Wordless Wednesday Blog hop with all of our four-legged friends in the BlogPaws community.

A Foster Dog and Her Sporn Harness

The Adorable Sugar 

Sugar, a wonderful dog I am fostering, is visiting us and getting settled in nicely. Her thoughtful owner sent her with a Sporn Harness. The harness has been amazingly easy to use and works so well that I'm considering getting one for my dog, Willy. If you are shopping for a harness for your dog, I highly recommend the Sporn by Yuppie Puppy.

Sporn Non Pull Mesh Harness Review

I've walked dogs with harnesses on occasion before. For example, my daughter-in-law used a harness for her small dog.  I don't know why, but I had a mental block with that particular harness and had trouble getting it on and off the dog. It was very frustrating to me and furthered my belief that dog harnesses are unnecessary.  But I don't have that problem with the Sporn harness at all. For some reason - perhaps the fleece covered straps - it is extremely easy to put on and take off the dog. The harness slips right on and the cord pulls tight to secure it.

Sporn Harness by Yuppie Puppy

It seems very well made and very comfortable for the dog. Two or three times Sugar suddenly decided she didn't like being attached to me and she fought against the harness very briefly. It stayed put and I was immediately relieved that she was not going to slip out and run away.

Why Use a Dog Harness?

I have never been a fan of the dog harness.  But now I see the benefit of using a harness. Especially with dogs like Willy (Treeing Feist) and Sugar (Rat Terrier).  With Feists, my concern has always been that their heads are very small. That makes backing out of a collar or slipping out and running away very easy.  I have used "choker chains" in the past, but they definitely aren't my preference.  

I currently use a PetSafe webbed collar that pulls tight on Willy without being a choker. It works very well for him most of the time. It tightens when he pulls so there's no chance of him slipping out of if if he were to fight against the collar. And when he's not pulling, it hangs loosely.  It has been an extremely good collar for him.

PetSafe Premiere Quick Snap Collar

The only time I have had seconds thoughts about using a collar with him is when we are in the woods when squirrels are running around.  He's a squirrel dog. He wants to chase squirrels. I'd love to let him every time. But I cannot let him off-leash at the local wooded areas.  Now that I've had experience with the Sporn Non Pull Harness, I think I'll get one for him for our walks in the woods to protect his poor neck.

I'll leave it to the experts to demonstrate the Sporn Harness. If you have a dog that pulls, or want an easy and reliable harness, check out what Yuppie Puppy has to offer.