To Each His Own

Ever since I was a puppy, I've always liked to snooze on the stairs. So here I was this morning, pawfectly comfortable, when some nosy person had to sneak up from below and capture me in the midst of a nap.


Admittedly, a few of my limbs seem to have gotten into a bit of a dangle -- but my mouth was closed and I was not snoring!!

On the other paw, the same nosy person found my brother sound asleep in one of his favorite spots -- the couch in the living room. No dangling limbs, no scrunched snout to make fun of...

This is not to say that I too don't like to curl up on the couch or some other cushiony place -- it's just that the very same nosy person thought she had captured an AHA! moment and took advantage of my somewhat peculiar pawsition.

Humans!!!

Jake

Grillin' 'n Chillin' (at 90 Degrees Fahrenheit?)

First of all, a moment of silence for all the brave men and women who have given their lives in so many battles over the years. We hope everyone has a meaningful Memorial Day.


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Yesterday, Mom and Dogdad decided to inaugurate our new backyard/garden with a lunch for our Grandad, who is 96 1/2. Our new furniture is in place and the planting is just about complete.Dogdad made the bench and painted the sides Mom's favorite shade of blue.Grandad served in World War II, as a physician with an Army hospital. Just Harry and I were eager to greet him -- you might say we were all over him before we even got a chance to go outside. But once outside, we kept a close eye on the table -- sure that some yummy things would come our way: knockwurst, cole slaw, corn, potato salad, baked beans. We had to keep everything covered, because -- even though we never see flies on an ordinary day -- whenever we grill, it's as though they get a separate secret invitation!!
As usual, I was at the table and JH was underneath... Does he know something I don't know? Maybe he's not such a goofball after all.
And he always finds a way to be on Mom's lap.

This is our gardener extraordinaire, chief griller, and all around pawsome Dogdad!!
And Granddad enjoying a sunny afternoon with us canines -- and humans too, I spose

We were so entranced by all the good smells coming from the grill that we almost forgot our usual mission: Escape!!!
Notice how our "stealth fence" is getting stealthier every day with those hard-working hibiscuses!

The flowers are doing their job -- helped no doubt by what Dogdad calls a "frog flusher" on Saturday afternoon: rain and high winds. Mom and Dogdad had been grocery shopping when the storm came and -- even though they got drenched on their way to the car and then into the house -- they rushed home knowing that we'd be scared of the thunder boomers. And yep, instead of our usual stoic greeting from the stairs, we poured out the door into their arms as soon as they opened it!!


This is Jatropha. The yellow vine is Mandeville -- she's doing her best to cover the arbor as quickly as possible. You can almost watch her grow, she is so speedy.

New Mussenda (seen over Granddad's shoulder above) is doing fine too.

So, it was a delicious -- if a bit warm -- day -- and we thought of all our doggie pals and their loved ones!!

Jake

Grillin

Japanese Name Game

Our buddies the Key West Collies -- Essex and Deacon -- , who live not far from us in Key West (of course, that's why they're called the Key West Collies, he, he, he) tagged us with the Japanese name game. Our human sister loves everything Japanese, so we decided to play.

This is how is the Japanese name game works. Use the following key to convert the letters of your name to sounds in Japanese: A - ka, B - tu, C - mi, D -te, E - ku, F - lu, G - ji, H - ri, I - ki, J - zu, K - me, L - ta, M - rin, N - to, O - mo, P - no, Q - ke, R - shi, S - ari, T - chi, U - do, V - ru, W - mei, X - na, Y - fu, Z - zi.

J = zu
A = ka
K = me
E = ku

E = ku
L = ta
I = ki
J = zu
A = ka
H = ri

Zukameku Kutakizukari

WOW!!!

And

J = zu
U = do
S = ari
T = chi

H = ri
A = ka
R = ari
R = ari
Y = fu

Zudoarichi Rikaariarifu

We can just hear Mom calling us for dinner; Zukameku!!! Zudoarichi!!! Dinner!!!

We think lots of our pals have already been tagged; so if this intrigues you, have a go at it.

ZUKAMEKU AND ZUDOARICHI

The Ant and the Grasshopper?

It's pretty hot here today -- going up to 90 degrees Fahrenheit -- but we've been outside in our new fenced garden helping Dogdad with the planting. That is, I, Just Harry, have been helping. Mr. I'm Too Prissy to Get My Paws Dirty, used the time to relax in the shade and show off his recently cleaned molars.

Whatcha' going to do with a guy like that? Remember that old tale about the ant and the grasshopper?

Just Harry

Two Girlie Girls

Hey Pals,

We have a new relative! Her name is Marcy. She's part beagle and part hound. And look at that tail -- the envy of Jakey for sure.

Our Tampa brother and sister-in-law just adopted Marcy from the Tampa Bay Beagle Rescue Organization. She's about two and a half and will be sharing her new digs with two cats, Holly and Mistletoe -- featured in an earlier post.

On another front, here's Gizmo, who's been living with our Orlando sister. She found Gizmo on the side of the road a while back and has been nursing her back to health. Since Gizmo still needs full-time attention, and our sister is working two jobs while getting her masters, Mom and Dogdad brought Gizmo to Hollywood on their return from Orlando last weekend to spend time with some nice friends who can do that. We can all go visit her whenever we want.

Mom held Gizmo on her lap the whole way back from Orlando -- and got very attached in those three hours. When we got home from camp, Gizmo was still here -- but she's a tiny, kind of fragile girl, so we didn't get to play with her.

OK, more later -- Dogdad is doing some planting outside and we have to go help!!!

We were at camp for the weekend...

While the folks went to a wedding in Orlando. But now we're back home and want to say hi to our pals. Or at least I, Just Harry, do.
My brother Jake is feeling out of sorts. He gets that way after a weekend of non-stop barking.

And his favorite evening spot lately is nose and most of furry body under the table, while Mom and Dogdad are having dinner. Just his tail is visible. And he thinks I'm a goofball???

Woof!!! (A very hoarse woof 'cause I did a lot of weekend barking too.)

Just Harry

Red, White, and Blue

...Or as the French say, Bleu, Blanc, Rouge.

Here are a few things that make our Mom and Dogdad happy, so we thought we'd share them.

First, the Blue: A local art museum has been showing an exhibit of George Rodrigue's paintings of his iconic Blue Dog. Yesterday, he was at the museum for a reception and book signing, and Mom and Dogdad met him and bought one of his books for children: "Why is the Blue Dog Blue?" For those who don't know much about him, here's a link to his site: http://www.georgerodrigue.com/

He's been very active in the work to restore his native Louisiana and New Orleans, post Katrina.

Then the White: One of Mom's favorite plants, mussenda -- seen in the photo of us on a bench a while back -- hasn't recovered as yet from her winter bare-limbed season. While Mom hasn't given up on her yet, she bought a younger version, yesterday.

And finally, the Red: We're a month into baseball season and hadn't seen a St. Louis Cardinals game until LAST NIGHT when the Cardinals played the Cubs and WGN, the TV Superstation from Chicago, carried the game here . The Cardinals won with a walk-off home run in the 11th inning. So Dogdad went to sleep happy -- all the happier because two more games will be televised this weekend.

So there you have it: Blue, White, Red -- some of the things our folks love best -- besides us.

Jake and Just Harry