Gulls

Some gull and cloud shots from the other evening when I went to see the turtles released...

Best Toy Ever! (part the second)

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: the Kong Extreme Flyer is the *best* (outside) toy ever! At least in Gwyn's not-so-humble opinion! And, no, I'm not receiving anything from Kong..they don't even know I said this. I've mentioned that Gwyn's first Kong Flyer was given to her when I took her for her first photo shoot with the wonderful Joe Frazz. It lasted over a year, but I had bought a back-up knowing the day would come...

This is what they look like out of the box:

This is what they look like after a year + of heavy-duty workout. To be fair to Kong, there were times I left it out in the elements...and when it did finally start cracking and tearing away I got the rubber bits that pulled off and took it away so we wouldn't have Gwyn swallowing rubber!

 It leads to great interactive fun, like this:

I've got this, Mom, let 'er rip!

This last one was caught using a super-fast shutter speed...while there's only brief periods of time her view is completely obstructed like this, I sincerely hope she doesn't plow face first into something one of these days!!!

Then...and Now

Remember this shot? It was taken last September. It was a bit of struggle for the little guy to clamber to the top!

 This shot? It was taken last week. What can I say? I suppose it would be a struggle for the not-so-little guy to get the scratching strip to support him if he tried to hang on the top of it!

Zoomed in to show you the pink tongue sticking out!

Further evidence of growth: he no longer fits so well inside the cube when napping.

I Like Turtles!

Yesterday evening I got the chance to see a turtle release!

Our local aquarium had three sea turtles that had been rehabilitated and were ready to be released.

I wasn't the only one who came to watch...one ranger estimated 1500 people came to see.

It was nicely done...aquarium staff (with special assistance from a few lucky kids) carried the turtles around for everyone to get a look at before their release.

The first to be released was a youngster that had been at the aquarium since hatching...despite concerns that he (or she? I never heard) wouldn't know what to do...it didn't take long...

The other two had only been at the aquarium since April. They had gotten "cold-shocked" when the water temperature dropped too abruptly causing them disorientation and inability to take care of themselves. After a few months of pampering they were ready to go!

 

Well, actually, one of them wasn't quite ready to go...but after a bit of prompting dove under the breakers and was gone.

Shhhhhh....he's sleeping!

Garden Update

Some pix of the garden as it progresses....these are not up-to-date, but from a few weeks ago...

You can almost hide in the corn "field"...the gazing ball is a new one that LoML got for us; the cherub pedestal we already had.

Above is a feast we had including the first harvest of the sugar-snap peas :D We've had many more servings since and have frozen some. Yummy!

More Close-ups

Goats

How cute are these little dairy goats that belong to a friend nearby? :D

Sammy's Haircut

Gwyn's neighborhood friend Sammy (a/k/a the Brad Pitt of the neighborhood) got a summer haircut!

I almost didn't recognize him...he looks about half as big as he does when he has his full winter coat :D

In true golden retriever fashion he conned me into throwing his tennis ball for him. He almost always greets me with his tennis ball in his mouth. On this particular day he dropped it onto the driveway which slopes ever so slightly. I stopped the ball from rolling into the ditch and threw it up into the grass close to the house....and the game was afoot! He's no dummy. And he doesn't act his age (I'm not sure how old he is, but he's a graying-muzzle older statesman kind of guy) when he's after his ball!