Florida Mountains

I know, I know... you think I'm joking. Florida is an extremely flat state... I think the average elevation is 100 feet above sea level. When I lived in South Florida, I used to joke that this dinky little hill by my high school was the highest point in Florida.

I live west of Orlando now, surrounded by hills (which I didn't know existed in FL before moving here) and lakes... it's quite pretty. I'm about 180 feet above sea level where I live. Out of curiousity, I looked up the highest point in Florida... 312 feet about sea level, and apparently it's only a few minutes away from where I live. Who knew?

The funny part is... drum roll, please... they called it Sugarloaf Mountain.

Here are some pictures of this amazingly huge land mass...







Take a look at those views... it gives me vertigo just thinking about that elevation! I'll have to make sure my car is tuned up before I take a drive up that mountain.

Speaking of mountains, we're going to be spending Christmas again up in the Smokies. All of the dogs are coming with us, too, so the car ride up is bound to be interesting. Last year at that time we only had Rylie and Chloe.

The Babysitter

Hey, Rory, the babysitter is here... now we can sit on the couch and finish up watching season 3 of Dexter at ninja fast speeds:



Although the babysitter is smelly, slimy, and not something I'd particulary chose to chew on, it keeps Rory out of trouble for a little bit of time:

As you can see, Rory loves it when the babysitter comes out of the pantry to visit...

For the babysitter to really work its magic, Rory must well exercised/mentally stimulated beforehand...

"O BALL!"

"U'z throw ball, plz?"

"YAYZ BALL!"

Rory the Explorer

After being asea for so long, Rory caught site of what appeared to be an island...



"I will claim this as "Rory's Island:"



Rory decided that he would explore this strage new world...



Later, Rory met some of the island natives:

Rory decides that being an explorer is hard work, so he decides to go home with us.

Snake in My House

As I stolled up the walkway to my front door, I thought about how lucky I was. I've lived on my own in Florida for 6 years and haven't had a snake make its way into my home... I've lived in this house for a little over a month and had yet to see any legless reptile- not even in the yard.



As I put my key into the lock, I told myself that I was very fortunate for not having any snake encounters.

Of course, that is forever changed (thus the title of this post). I started slipping off my shoes, only to look down and see a black, slithering creature ooze its way underneath the door to the laundry room. It was about 15 inches long and skinny.

I did what any brave, snake hunter would do: I placed a towel underneath the door and planned on waiting until Ian would come home from work. He could deal with it.



This is what the little bastardo looked like... although I was screaming and flailing around too much to take a picture.

In order to keep a good eye on the snake (to make sure it wouldn't escape from the laundry room), I sat on my laptop at the table in the kitchen. Sure enough, a few minutes later I see a head and a loooooong neck (do snakes have necks?) poking out from under the towel. Like a runner on speed, Rory dashed over to his prey while I was begging him to go chew his bully stick instead.

Rory ended up scaring the 6 foot long snake up the wall, and I grabbed a big Rubbermaid cooler (+1 for me) and whacked it into the cooler with a mop handle. I prompty closed the cooler and put it on the back patio for Ian to come home and deal with my prize. The snake was like 10 feet long, so of course I was proud.

I waited inside the safetly of my home while this guy sat in the cooler:


When Ian came home, we both walked the cooler across the street and dumped it in someone's lawn (the house was empty, sheesh!).

And that, everyone, is how I spent my night.

Rory promises that he'll keep us safe from any 50ft snakes (like the one I caught) from now on.

Fragility of Life

Lately I've had regrets about my childhood dog, Lilly. I've tried not to think about her, because it's always really upsetting to think about. While making my blog rounds this morning, I came across this postcard from Postsecret.com which made me feel a bit better about the situation (although sad and having to choke back some tears):

A Case of the (Rashy) Weekend

A fun weekend was not had by all.

First of all, it rained for most of the time... but that wasn't the worst of it.



"Pwease don't tell dem, mom! U'z hertz mah pride!"

Chloe had a rash. Or hives. Or a mutated version of both a rash and hives, combined together to cause one itchy, splotchy pink skinned chihuahua. We believe the culprit was a patch of tall, wet grass in the back yard that a certain husband has neglected to mow this week (I know, I know, it's been raining).

After being loaded up with Benedryl and a couple of oatmeal baths, the rash has faded to a slightly darker pink hue on Chloe's chest and stomach.

For those who know Chloe, her entire underside is pink and barely covered with fur. The "fur" is more like a layer of peach fuzz. In the tub the pinkness really shows:



"Otayz, mom, now ur really embawising me!"



I know, Rory... hearing all about Chloe's rash is boring you and you'd like to share what you did over the weekend.

Which would you like to share first, Rory? The fact that you chewed a hole in the guest bedroom comforter? Or about you dissected one of the chihuahuas' toy squirrels?

No? You mean you didn't do any of that? You want to talk about the lake?



Because of the rain, we had to leave the lake prematurely on Saturday. Rory was not a happy puppeh.

No other weekend action was capured, as my camera battery had died and I was much too lazy to walk out to Ian's car to get the charger.

Serve and Protect

After hearing about the tradegy of 9/11, Rory has decided to take things into his own paws.

BORDER COLLIE: ACTIVATE!



"Tucker! Don't chew that stick! There may be a bomb in it!"



"Ur crazy! Iz only wood in mah stick!"



"Tucker, NOOOOO!"



"Rory, dere iz no bomb here... iz gunna keep chewing mah stik. K thnx BAI!"

After a thorough investigation, Rory realizes that there is nothing out of the ordinary about Tucker's stick.



"Whew... that was a close one! Good thing you have me around to protect you!"

We send our thanks to everyone out there who keeps us safe... especially you, Rory!

Rory Lurves Frisbees

Rory has much lurve for the frisbee... and often ponders if it's because his idol with the same name loves it too...







In the latest Rory news, we're hoping to start a foundations of agility class in the next month or so. I'd also like to get involved with stockdog training.

Squeak, squeak, squeak

While Rory is downstairs squeaking on a toy over and over again (and driving Ian to the point of insanity!), looking at this picture is keeping the noise from really getting to me:

The Stick

The Stick is such an underrated and fun toy for doggehs of all sizes (although the bigger the stick, the more fun can be had). Not only is it a blast to play with, it's ecologically friendly. Yes, you heard that correctly... The Stick is the original "green" toy for dogs.

Even at months old, ebil blue puppeh knew how fun The Stick is... *prepare to SQUEE at super puppeh cuteness*



Warning- chewing on The Stick can cause mouth splinters and cross-eyes, as shown in the above picture.

Tucker's love for The Stick has grown with every passing month...

"Stik of mah dreems!"

"NOMZ!"

Small and large alike, all dogs can partake in the nomming and playing with of The Stick...

For those who want to take their nomming to a whole new level, there are even "edible" versions of The Stick called Bully Sticks. Instead of wood, they are made out of *cough* bull extremities *cough*.

Although The Stick can be a ton of fun for both you and your dog, make sure you enjoy it responsibly. Discontinue use if your dog noms it to the point of getting splinters.

Over and out.

Happy Labor Day!

Today is the day we celebrate all of the great things about labor:



"No'z! Not dat kinda labor! Labor da DAY! Dis blog iz 'bout us puppies!"

We hope that everyone out there is having a grrrrr'eat Labor Day so far!

While you're outside grilling your burgers and hot dogs, don't forget about all the activities that make this such a fun day (like slipping your furry friends some meat off the grill!).

Play a game of ball:



Hang out with your friends:



Get relief from the heat:



Play:



Do some laundry:

"I'z nut doin' chorez on mah day OFF!"

Okay, never mind... make sure you kick back and forget about those day to day household chores!

Happy Labor Day!

Happy Birthday, Rylie!

*Cue the serious, sappy section which is my heart dog's birthday tribute*

I still can't believe that four years ago today Rylie was born. We picked her up as a 10 week old, 1.5lb puppy, and since then our lives have been forever changed.

What can I say about my Rylie? She loves sitting inside of my shirts while on the couch, bossing the others in her "pack" around, drinking margaritas... okay, okay... just a quick sip here and there (although she's technically 21 in dog years, right? Right?)

Happy Birthday, pretty girl.

This is just a tribute that I made for her second birthday, but includes a slew of puppy pictures:

YouTube - Rylie's Second Birthday


And just a couple of pictures of my 4 year old girl:

*Okay, there's my tribute... now back to the funneh*

We took Rory to the lake this morning and then to Petsupermarket to help pick out Rylie's birthday goodies... some woman asked if he was a "Boise." I had to bite my tongue instead of saying "No, he's a Floridian now, but thanks."

I'm still not sure which breed she meant... maybe Borzoi?



*Shakes head* I don't even know.

Anyhow, just a handful of pictures I took of the evil colleh puppeh at the lake this morning:

The first one is titled "WTF," as I can't even begin to decipher what is going on here. Smartest breed? You tell me...

This is how we shake off... while still in water. Seems counter productive to me at least...

"Show them my sexeh side, mom!"

And, he can look graceful when he wants to:

We're about to go make dinner, and relax on the couch with Rylie inside my shirt to celebrate her birthday. I'll leave you with a picture of my chihuahuas doing "graceful:"

See, Rory? That's how it's done, complete with a face plant.