The Dog Beach

I've lived most of my life in a somewhat country/rural setting. I've had dogs for most of those times, too. I never went to a dog park before until the last time I visited home. Stephanie took me and Prince out to the dog park in Fayetteville and I must say it's an interesting experience. I suppose it's a lot like other dog parks across the country. You have a couple of big fenced in areas to separate the big dogs from the little dogs. You have a nice trail to leash walk them around. Usually water, doggy bags, and a trash can are provided. People are friendly and want the dogs to interact. Lots of butt sniffing, stealing of toys, and, of course, when you throw a ball for your dog, about 12 others join in.

There's a dog beach here in Fort Myer's off Lover's Key. It's your usual dog park but since it's on the beach there a few differences.

There are no fences so big dogs and little dogs all have to learn to fend for themselves. I guess the water could be considered a barrier but otherwise if your dog has a tendency to run off you'd better keep a good eye on him. Hence, there's lot of yelling and whistling and clapping by people trying to keep their dogs under voice control.

Since this is the beach you are also subject to tide levels. The bad part is if you go during high tide you will have to wade through a bit of mucky backwaters before you reach the beach itself and then you only have one small strip of sandy beach to share. The good part is that the main areas are always being kept washed off, so even if you get an owner who doesn't clean up, it will eventually get washed away.

You must bring fresh water with you and a lot of it. Because they end up inadvertently swallowing salt water, you have dogs all around that are literally frothing at the mouth.

Dusty is an only child so I worry about how she reacts with other dogs. The neighbors have several very large dogs next door and they spend a lot of time barking at each other trying to defend their territory. (Hey, guys, there's a fence between you!) She was a little snappish at first, especially when one of the bigger dogs would come running at her out of nowhere but she soon settled down and was very interested in everything that was going on around her.

And of course, there is a lot of butt sniffing going on.





I forgot to bring a ball for Dusty so I had to improvise! (How could I forget that!?)

Yes, and everybody wants to join in on the game.

I'd highly suggest that you bring chairs to sit on. I know it's the beach and throwing a towel or a blanket out should be enough but that stuff gets sandy and sopping wet fast. Remember you have 27 million dogs running free who don't always pay attention where they are headed. They will run you over.

The whole swimming factor is a lot of fun. Dusty doesn't swim too much. The water reaches her belly and she's pretty much done but this time she did swim with us a little. The big dogs just love the water, and romp through with joy. They'll swim way out there to get a ball shot from a slingshot. The little ones try really hard, but some just love to swim. It is so funny to see a tiny wiener dog out there in the water. They look like rats but their long skinny tails stick up out of the water and spin like a top. Too cute.

This German Shepherd was a sweetheart and she and Dusty had a good time.

This is a great place to take your dogs and spend some time at the beach but remember you must really like dogs, and I mean everybody's dog, not just yours!

I think Dusty has had a long day.....

Home-made Cement Planters

I decided to try a new project. I have way too many plants and I am always looking for a new spot to stick something. I really wanted something unique, and something that would last. So, we (meaning Mike and I) bought some good old fashioned Quik-Crete and made ourselves a few cement planters.

Mike's done some masonry work in his varied career so he didn't even read the directions on the bag. He just mixed us up a bucket load. 

Here's the form I bought at the Dollar General for $2. You need to coat the inner and outer forms with vegetable oil so they will slide out easier after the cement has set.

So I covered them up with some oil.

We poured in the concrete. We had to fill the bottles with water because they wanted to float to the top.

In fact we ended up winching them down!

We had a bit left over so I quickly improvised with some plastic bowls and cups I had sitting around.

Alright, very nice. Now to let them cure for 24 to 48 hours.

Interlude: a nice refreshing adult beverage.

Mike couldn't wait. Six hours later the concrete was hard enough to come out of the molds. And we had trouble... The indentations on the bottles made the insides almost impossible to slide out but, with the use of brute force and some pliers, we did it. The green bucket was destroyed! The yellow bucket slid right out.

A little paint for what I now call candle holders.

And the final product!

Nice!

Lessons learned:

Use more oil! (I know: TWSS)

Make sure your inner forms are smooth and flare outward.

Also, there is masonry Quik-Crete, which I understand is easier to work with. Although it costs twice as much I think we will try it next time.

Cleaning is over-rated - UPDATED!

As an example, Mike woke me up early the other morning. He couldn't find his keys. I hauled  myself out of bed and started to search; laundry, couch, refrigerator, all the usual places, nothing to be found. And then I remember! He was busy cleaning the other day, dusting away the cobwebs up high and in all the corners. He had managed to knock off this big pirates head we have on the wall.

Smash! Boom! Bang! It fell, hit the counter, bounced off the trash can, and hit the floor. On the counter is also where we keep a nice ceramic plate that holds all the keys, change, and whatever else stuff comes out of Mike's pockets at the end of the day. Amazingly, not a scratch on any of it.

Now back to the rude awakening and the missing keys. Sure enough, after digging a bit, there were his keys in the trash. I gave them to him, sent him on his way, and went back to bed.

And so about four days later, he casually mentions that he is missing his Harley Davidson ring. Now this is a nice ring that I bought for him years ago in Vegas after I had won a good chunk of moolah. Sentimental value, for sure. Back to the trash, and low and behold, after digging through all kinds of disgusting detritus, I find his ring!

The moral to the story is: Cleaning is HIGHLY over-rated. You never know where things will end up. Now, before trash day, we have to go through the whole trash can to see what else is missing.

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Sooooooo, about two weeks later Mike casually mentions to me that he is missing his HD ring again..... yes, the same exact highly sentimental ring that we just dug out of the trash a few weeks before..... (you know where this is headed...)

I'm on my way out to get the mail... and the trash can left out for pick up the night before. I notice that something got into the trash during the night and there is garbage all over. I dutifully start cleaning up the mess, coffee grinds, dead paper towels, stinky left over food and.....

there laying on the ground as pretty as you please is Mike's Harley Davidson ring. Unbelievable!

Mike is one lucky SOB!


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Otters in the Pond

About two months ago was when we first saw the otters in the pond. There were two of them, male and female. I know I posted it to FaceBook but I guess I never posted it here.

There's only one now. There are people in these parts who don't care for the otters because they can clear a pond of fish in no time. We heard rumor that one of our neighbors had shot one of them. I guess he was afraid they would eat his ducks. Whatever. I'm assuming it was the smaller female that he killed and that this is the male.

Dusty had got a hold of him once and the poor guy was just trying to get away. We figured that would be the last we ever saw of him. So, we hadn't seen him for a few weeks and thought he was long gone, until today.

He would pose for a while, and then shoot underwater to find a more private spot. We can follow where he goes underwater because he leaves a trail of bubbles in his wake.

Awwww, he makes a pretty kitty.

Also, here's a regular to our pond. His name is Red Ear.

Click on the pictures to get a better view.

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A Day in the Life

I realized I hadn't posted anything lately, so here are a few recent pictures.

May 5th, Full Moon

A beautiful sunrise the next morning.

What a view!

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Florida Snapping Turtle

Just minding my own business and suddenly Dusty starts growling and I hear this scuffling noise at the front door.  It's just a Florida Snapper come to visit, just trying to get out the hot sun for a while, I guess. He plopped himself right down in the middle of  the floor and hasn't moved since. I gave him some lettuce to munch. Gotta be a good hostess, you know. I wonder how long he'll stay.

And it's been one of those days. Next up? A cardinal got herself trapped in the lanai and was flopping around against the screens trying to find a way out. While I was snapping a few pictures, her mate actually came right up to the door trying to help her. Pretty neat.

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Fayetteville Ska Alliance

Attention everyone! 

This is a wonderful cause for anyone who likes puppies, kittens, and Christmas music. 




Listen to their first song here!
Deck The Halls
Fayetteville Ska Alliance

The Fayetteville Ska Alliance (FSA)  is made up of members of the Fayetteville Arkansas music scene.  They are less of a band than a conglomeration of ska fans who have come together to record music collectively. They are in the process of recording a ska CD full of Christmas cheer.  The full length album will include a mix of traditional Christmas carols along with a few new ones.  One hundred percent of CD sales will be donated directly to Spay Arkansas, which operates the NWA Spay and Neuter Clinic.

Why should you donate?

Let's look at all the perks. Here is what you get!

$10 Chihuahua - We will email you a link for the digital download of our album and we mail you the official Fayetteville Ska Alliance Christmas CD.

$25 Beagle – You’ll get the digital download and the physical CD, plus you will be listed in the “Special Thanks” area of the CD and the website.   You can be forever immortalized as a fan of good music and an advocate of animal welfare.

$50 Pitbull – Along with the CD, the digital downloads, and the special recognition we will hook you up with CD’s from two of Fayetteville’s finest ska bands: Six Hung Sprung and Hustles The Hall.  That’s the Fayetteville Ska two-pack!

$100 Great Dane - You will be listed in the “Special Thanks” area of the CD, get a digital download of the CD, get the official Fayetteville Ska Alliance Christmas CD, and we will send you the Fayetteville Ska two-pack.  To top it off, we will send you an official Spay Arkansas T-shirt.

$500 Irish Wolfhound - For a $500 contribution we will put your logo on our CD along with our other major contributors.  This is a great option for businesses to show that they love cute pets and good music.  We can include the logo for the organization of your choice if you aren’t officially representing them.  We will also include all of the other goodies.

$1,000 Alpha Dog - For $1,000 you get to gather all of the $500 donors in a room and laugh at them.  Alright, so we’re not going to do that, but you can get them all in a room together and we’ll play our music for them.  Consider it a personal show or we’ll book it at a music venue and make it public; it’s your call, so long as its in the Northwest Arkansas area.  Suffice it to say, it’s going to be a good time.  This is for those of you with nothing to prove, but the money and the desire to do so.

So, click on the Widget and donate today!!

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(And, yes, that is my son Chris in the video.)

Fantasy on Bass Clef

Digging out the Pond - Updated!

We've been needing to do this since we first moved here and finally had the chance (and the money). We have HUGE piles of muddy, sloppy, dirt and clay all over the back yard. 

See all the mud that's churned up? I hope my fish survive. For now it's just good clean dirty fun!

Who doesn't love to watch these big machines in action?! Here's some video:

I don't know how deep this guy was able to dig but it's made a big difference. I went along the edge trying to see how deep it was without falling in. I fell in.

I managed to save two fish that got pulled out with the big scoop. I hope we don't find more buried under all that dirt. We did find two realty signs and a lawn chair in pretty good shape.

 It'll have to dry for a few weeks before we can get it  moved around. No more flooding!

----- UPDATE -----

We got all the dirt moved around and it makes a big difference.

Take a look at how My Backyard has changed over the years.

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I caught a Wild Pig!

There I was just sitting at my desk, doing my normal clickety-click thing when out of the corner of my eye I see this black streak running through the yard. It was a wild pig, a little one, headed to the back of the property. Knowing that I'd most likely never get a chance to catch it, I gave chase anyway. 

This pig actually led me straight to another pig, a smaller one. This little guy had his head stuck in the hog wire fence. So, being very careful not to get bit, I managed to get him loose.

This pig was quite wiggly and I had no idea how to handle him. I tried to scruff him at the neck but there wasn't enough loose skin. I ended up grabbing him by the tail, like a rat.

I was excited and wanted to show Mike but he and Dusty were down the road taking a walk. The neighbor kids were out so I showed it to them and asked them to go get him. Meanwhile, the little fellar was squirming and wiggling around like a.... wild pig....and I was afraid he would get loose before Mike got back and had a chance to see him.

I ended up putting him in one of our big plastic trash cans to keep him from getting away until he and Dusty showed up.

In some of these pictures I know the pig looks dead but he was fine. We let him go out in the back of the field and you could see, he picked up the scent of the rest of his family and off he went. (Mike says it was a she.... whatever)

I love living in the country!

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