Jeff Jett – LinkedIn
Jeff Jett – LinkedIn
“Sally” – Niki Firmin – LinkedIn
It’s hard to believe that anyone can draw animals like this. Niki is a very talented lady who accepts commissions to make drawings you and your family will treasure. If you would like more information, her website is NikiFirmin.com
Filed under Amazing Animals, Niki Firmin - Pet Portraits
Jeff Jett – LinkedIn
Wim Beunderman – LinkedIn
Catherine Lee – LinkedIn
Catherine Lee – LinkedIn
Catherine Lee – LinkedIn
Filed under Amazing Animals, Awe-Inspiring Photography, Catherine Lee
Jeff Jett – LinkedIn
“Sky” – drawing by Niki Firmin, LinkedIn
Filed under Amazing Animals, Creativity, Niki Firmin - Pet Portraits
Jeff Jett
Hannah Kirk via Morning Coffee With Abba Ltd
We took Amber, our 93 pound lab ‘puppy’ with us in the truck as we did our errands yesterday.
Amber
She goes nuts when she hears the words, ‘go,’ or ‘car’, so she followed us out and jumped up into the back seat of the truck as soon as we opened the door for her. She doesn’t care where we’re going, she just wants to go with us.
We were almost home when FOUR does ran across the road in front of the truck. Three went across in a small parade and then one was hesitant. She followed soon after. We’ve passed deer beside the road before, but Amber didn’t notice them because they didn’t move. This time she got all excited, wanting to go out and play with them. She didn’t bark to scare them.
The deer got safely across the road and we continued on to our driveway, feeling lucky to have shared such a beautiful sight!
Filed under Amazing Animals, Mother Nature
We have five dog beds in the house: two small beds for Molly (our cocker spaniel/schnauzer cross) or the cats to use, a larger one for Amber (a 93 pound lab puppy) to use, and two really large beds (one in the living room and the other in the utility room) for several animals to use at once or Amber to spread out on.
As you can see from the picture above, the animals have a whole different take on the subject. Amber loves to curl up in one of the small beds.
Here is Molly on the larger bed in the office.
And here she is all by herself on the corner of this large bed in the living room.
One cat will spread out in the middle of this bed and dare all comers to encroach on her territory (though neither of them will allow us to even TRY to get a pic).
The best laid plans….
Filed under Amazing Animals, Family
Jeff Jett – LinkedIn
Jeff Jett – LinkedIn
Collin Bogle via Jeff Jett – LinkedIn
Jeff Jett – LinkedIn
Jeff Jett – LinkedIn
Jeff Jett – LinkedIn
Jeff Jett – LinkedIn
Filed under Amazing Animals, Jeff Jett Photography
Catherine Lee – Linked In
Catherine Lee – Linked In
Catherine Lee – Linked In
Filed under Amazing Animals, Catherine Lee
Photo by Morgane Schott ~ MorganeSchPhotography https://www.facebook.com/MorganeSchPhotography/
Jeff Jett – LinkedIn
Jeff Jett – LinkedIn
Filed under Amazing Animals, Jeff Jett Photography
Jeff Jett Photography – LinkedIn
Jeff Jett Photography – LinkedIn
Filed under Amazing Animals, Jeff Jett Photography
No one would believe, looking into Amber’s SWEET face and beautiful eyes that she can be so destructive. She won’t be two years old until March, but I’m beginning to think this is her natural personality, rather than merely ‘puppy-hood.’
We played a combination of ‘fetch,’ ‘tease-mom-with-the-ball-over-and-over,’ and ‘tug-of-war-with-a-spitty-ball’ yesterday in the front yard. She weighs about 95 lbs now, so playing with her, throwing the ball the few times she actually lets me have it, and then bracing for impact in case she actually runs into me on the return is quite tiring. After we finished the pretense of ‘fetch’ we went out to the greenhouse. I prop the door open and she runs inside and out checking on everything while I water plants.
And what is my ‘reward’ for being buddies with Amber? I got up from the computer to find shredded silk flowers all over the foyer carpet. For some reason she attacked a bottle of flowers that have been on the floor in the foyer the whole time she’s been a part of our family. She has never shown any interest in the flowers before, so I found it particularly annoying.
I refuse to move everything we own up high enough she MIGHT not be able to reach and destroy it. There is no way I can control her movements every waking minute. We have doggy toys that we rotate, so she has something ‘new’ to play with. We make a point of either letting her out or taking her out so many times a day I’m not sure what we did with ourselves before Amber.
I’m HOPING that she will grow out of this. It occurs to me that she has been companionable with a lot of my decluttering efforts. Maybe she is deciding what needs to go and making it so there can be no second thoughts….
Filed under Amazing Animals, Challenges, Family
Robert Falcon Scott via sayingimages.com
Filed under Amazing Animals, Attitude, Encouragement, Family
Amber loves to play with a ball, particularly one with a loud squeaky inside.
She comes to us, ball in mouth, showing us she wants to play. We ask for the ball. She puts her whole head in our hand with the ball in her mouth, or just the ball, still holding onto it. She tries to get us to play tug of war with the large, squeaky, spitty ball. Yuck. We do this over and over, with her taking the ball and running away, then coming back to tease us with it.
Then she finally lets us have it. We throw it, she runs like a maniac, gets the ball, and the game starts again. She doesn’t really want to play ‘fetch.’ She loves the whole idea of HER having the ball and OUR wanting it. For every time we throw it, she pretends she’s going to give it to us and then runs away, smiling around the ball as we wait for her to come again over and over … Anticipation is all.
Filed under Amazing Animals, Family
Molly really doesn’t like to have her picture taken, but here she is, fresh from the groomer’s. She is super-clean, smells wonderful (I don’t know what soap they’re using now, but it really smells nice.) Now I can see any varmints who try to hitch a ride on her (though things have slowed WAAAY down since the weather has cooled down some) and I can easily bathe her in the sink and get her dry if she and Amber slip off together again to roll in ‘whatever.’
The receptionist said she was a ‘good girl,’ so she got a cookie a minute ago and is now spreading out on the dog bed in the living room after drinking a ton of water.
We won’t have her groomed again until about March, so she’ll be ‘Fuzzy Molly’ again in about 3 months…
Filed under Amazing Animals, Family
dogster
dirtydogs.biz
These aren’t actual pictures of our dogs, but close enough.
By last night, I was having to remind myself why I thought it was such a great idea to have a houseful of pets….
Molly and Amber ran off yesterday afternoon. My husband and I weren’t communicating well (imagine THAT!) and he let Amber out without checking to see if Molly was already out.
They came back about an hour later, finally, covered in ‘stuff.’ It was cool outside, so I wet a micro cloth and used it on Amber, since she wasn’t as bad as the doggie above. I was able, after umpteen times of rinsing the cloth out and using it again, to get Amber to the point where she could stay inside with us.
Molly was a mess from head to toe, so I put her in the kitchen sink and scrubbed her. After using two bath towels to dry her, I was exhausted and decided she was dry enough to finish on her own. (My husband said she was still damp when we took them out for their final outing for the day last night).
Meanwhile, Amber showed us another result of letting the dogs out together by puking on the carpet. I found this out when my husband started cursing loudly and putting her out. We got things cleaned up and just settled down when Amber barked to come in. By mutual agreement, we put her behind the gate in the utility room where she sleeps. The rest of the afternoon and evening I cleaned up more – and more, but it was on the tiles of the utility room floor. We fed her only water the rest of the day.
This morning there was another spot, but it was from last night. We have fed her and put her back in the utility room until we learn if she’s keeping her food down or not today. We’re hoping she never finds whatever she found yesterday again!
Meanwhile, I called and scheduled Molly to be shorn as if she were a sheep Monday. It’s cool outside, but she usually doesn’t stay out long – particularly if her owners are smart enough not to let Amber out with her – and she’ll be much easier to clean for a while.
We love our pets. We just wish WE were smarter in dealing with them.
Filed under Amazing Animals, Challenges, Family
It’s a really good thing that she is so friendly and affectionate, melting me into a puddle several times a day with her antics….
Filed under Amazing Animals, Challenges, Family
These are the smaller iceberg head lettuce plants from several days ago. I lost one overnight, but these two still seem to be viable.
The are the larger, leggy plants I planted yesterday. I’m pleased to see these are still alive. I’ve decided to pour water in the bottom of the saucers and let the plants draw the water up, rather than watering from the top down.
This is one side of the greenhouse.
This is the opposite side.
The far end.
The door end.
The side from outside.
Amber, my greenhouse helper.
Later, I’ll try to find tomato sucker plants.
sayingimages.com
Yesterday was a very quiet day around here.
I’m starting a new round of cleaning out-cleaning up in my house, starting in our office, and made some good progress while my husband – whose computer is finally working again! – worked on a program to show prices on the stocks we hold. The only time we went out was when I went to get the mail – taking Amber, who will go anywhere, anytime in the car, with me.
I did fight with more fire ants who were ‘disturbed’ when the Fedex guy ran into the palette of bags of potting soil that lives at the far side of the driveway area. I really hosed down the whole pile of bags with EIGHT spray, then went back a couple of hours later and did it again. I also took some time to spray a few new ant areas that have popped up in the past few days. This is definitely ‘Year of the Fire Ants’ and I guess only a hard freeze will actually get rid of them significantly. (At least I HOPE)
We cooked out last night. The dogs and cats were with us on the deck. We had a nice breeze as the sun went down. We lit the LED rope lights that go around the deck just under the top, making everything quite festive. Soon the air was filled with the glorious smell of steak grilling on charcoal.
Quiet day. Full of love.
Filed under Amazing Animals, Family, quality of life
Jeff Jett
Filed under Amazing Animals, Awe-Inspiring Photography
Filed under Amazing Animals, Family, Favorite Quotes
Niki Firmin
Filed under Amazing Animals, Creativity, drawings
Ogden Nash – Grammarly
When I was visiting my husband’s cousin’s wife, Murray, in Thibodaux, LA this week, she gave me three pelicans to adopt and bring home. She looked up this wonderful limerick by Ogden Nash and read it to me. Ogden Nash was one of my favorites. Happily, I was able to find it just now so I can share it with YOU!
This is a tile mounted on a wooden background with a pull-out part that allows the pelican to stand. It has “Gerri” at the bottom – the artist who created it.
This is a second tile mounted in the same fashion. It doesn’t have Gerri’s name on it, so I don’t know if she created this one or not.
The final piece in my new collection is a painting by Delores Legendre of Lockport, Louisiana. It’s called, “Brown Pelican near Beach.” It’s an oil painting done in February of 1996.
I’m looking around my home to find a suitable place for these wonderful treasures! Thank you, again, Murray!
Filed under Amazing Animals, giving
Amber
Amber has been right with me since I came home.
I let her out for the second time this morning, along with our sweet, elderly Molly.
Molly
Molly barked at the door a short time after, wanting to come in. No Amber, but that isn’t unusual.
Half an hour later, I went to each door to call for her. Usually she comes in just a second. No Amber.
Some time later, I went out, calling. I walked out to the garden, then across the yard and over to the greenhouse, calling in all directions. No Amber.
I finally told my husband I was worried and was going to take the truck and look for her. He came with me and we drove all around, calling. No Amber.
We needed to leave for Lunch Bunch, so we left. We talked about the fact that Amber was probably stolen. She is very friendly and LOVES to ride in a car. She regularly tries to get in the UPS guy’s truck. My heart was in my throat. She has a collar with her name on it and our phone number. She also has a tag with the same information. She has a chip imbedded. I planned to call the vet when we got home to ask them to be on the lookout.
We had a good Lunch Bunch. One of the waitresses was having a birthday. I took her an “I Need a Vacation!” frame with glass on both sides, forming a bank for donations. She got a kick out of that – particularly when I took a dollar and left the first donation. :0) I encouraged her to put it on the counter at the restaurant…
We drove up the driveway when we got home and THERE WAS AMBER!
Neither Molly nor Amber can tell us where she was, but that doesn’t matter now. I checked her over and she seems to be fine.
I’M fine now, too. Whew!
Filed under Amazing Animals, Family
Quote Ambition
Since we currently have two dogs, two cats, and four fish, I guess it’s fair to describe us as animal people. We have a hard time picturing ourselves without our furry or wet friends. They make our lives so full and are a constant source of amazement, consternation, and laughter.
Amber is our 92 pound, 17-month old yellow lab ‘lap dog.’ She crawls right up into my husband’s lap while he sits in his recliner, making him laugh out loud. The look on her face when she gets settled is priceless.
Her newest thing is that when you rub her tummy, she puts her head down, going down farther and farther until she does a forward roll right in front of you, ending up upside-down, her feet waving in the air, chewing on one of her front paws. She loves for us to rub her stomach at that point, and would do it all again, over and over as long as we could stand it.
I’m almost afraid to type this, as it may cause the trend to stop, but she has stopped being quite so destructive. Shhhhhh!
She wants to go with us in the car – careful! that’s one of her words! – wanting to go anywhere, any time.
She wants to be with her people, except when she’s greeted the UPS guy, wanting to get up into his truck……
We are truly rich in animals.
Filed under Amazing Animals, Family
email from Bill Lites
Everyone on TV has a ‘brand,’ a title that describes in a nutshell who they are – like, “Chief Cook & Bottle Washer for the White House.”
My husband and I never realized that in trying to work from home, and later, when we both retired, our ‘brand’ would change from titles such as “Computer Analyst”, “Self-Employed EDI Specialist,” and “Installer and Fixer of all things Mechanical or Electronic,” for my husband; and “Public School Teacher,” “Owner/Teacher of my Reading Clinic,” “Administrative Assistant,” “Medical Transcriptionist/Bookkeeper,” and “Owner/Artist of Creative Artworks” website for me to “DOGGIE DOOR OPENERS.”
Sometimes the two doggies go outside together, sometimes separately. We humans get a good bit of exercise daily answering our dogs’ signals they want to go out, or barking at the door when they want to come in. There have been times when I’m interrupted so many times trying to write a blog post that I have to stop and read over the post again and again after losing my train of thought.
Amber’s signals that she wants to go out vary from
Molly comes over and quietly puts her head on my lap.
The doggies bark at the door to come back in, but they do not connect the barking and opening of the door with actions of humans. We have proved this because they will be outside with us while we’re working in the yard. They’ll go to the front door, across the yard from me, or into the garage and bark at the door. They KNOW I’m outside with them. If they connected the action to ME, they would come over to me and roust me. You can almost see the gears turning, aggravated because the door doesn’t open until I go in…
Filed under Amazing Animals, Family
creativeartworksblog 