Nutty Bee gets a Hair Cut!

After we returned from Canada I realized that the Florida weather was very hot for my Nutter Butter, aka, Nutty Bee. After wrestling with myself for several days over the idea of having his coat trimmed, I called my friend and local Animal Everything Expert, Caroline and made an appointment to trim Nutty's coat.

You must agree, his coat was a bit more than simply fluffy.  Caroline and I went to work. She with clippers and me holding Nutty. What we thought would be a quick trim went on for well over an hour. Half way through I felt faint and needed a break. At this point Caroline started apologizing for the delay and also for how the trim was turning out. Shall we say he did not look at all like we had intended? 

He went directly from Fluffy Nutty directly to Squirrel Nut! 

Yes, I think the Squirrely look had something to do with his tail, but by the end of the trim session neither Caroline nor I wanted to risk trying to trim his tail. Although Nutter Butter was none the worse for the wear, we were exhausted!

When I returned home with Nutty, all Peter could say was, "Oh My!" We had a good laugh. I think when I took Nutty out for a walk, the neighbors laughed, too!  Fortunately, like all good things, all bad things come to an end.  Nutty Bee is now getting his fluffy back!

Post Script:  Caroline is still my friend and Animal Everthing Expert!  She promised that should I have a memory lapse, and call on her next year to trim Nutty Bee, she plans to  just say, NO!

Caroline and Nutter Butter

Moon over Mars

The weather has turned cool. Evening walks are back on my daily schedule. This was the sunset earlier in the week:

The photo below is of the rising moon as the fiery sunset lights up the evening sky.

Looking West the sun melts through the trees as the end of a good day.

Moon Rise

I have been fortunate to catch several beautiful moon rises in September and October.

In September, while visiting Nantucket, I took the above moon rise photographs.  I was also lucky to catch the following sunsets:

This is simply a beautiful blue sky day with clouds slowly rolling in from the East.

Nantucket Harbor with Fast Ferry heading out:

Main Street

My favorite Thrift! 

Atlantic Ocean view

Sarasota Weekend

We drove over to Sarasota to see Dan and Jaclyn Friday night.  They came for pizza dinner.  I woke early Saturday and took the dogs for a walk.  This is a photo of Sarasota Bay at about 7:30 a.m.

Sarasota Bay

On Saturday afternoon Peter and I drove to Nokomis, just South of Sarasota.  We drove around the area and then had dinner under the Tiki Hut  at Spanish Point Restaurant and Pub.  It rained on and off during dinner, but there was a nice breeze and we watched a lot of jumping fish action.  Then, just before the check arrived at the table, a pod of Dolphin swam though Blackburn Bay in front of the restaurant. I ran out onto the dock to see them up close and try for a photo.  Of course, no luck with the photo, but I did see the dolphin and then up in the sky a Pink Flamingo flew by!  That was the  first time I have ever spotted a Flamingo in the wild.  Very cool to witness a wild Pink Flamingo! Unbelievable! 

Blackburn Bay, Nokomis, FL

Morning Moon

Yesterday morning at the pool I was looking at the full moon with Coach Gordon.  He said it was a Blue Moon.  There it hung, amazingly beautiful in the  dark morning sky.  This event was the silver lining to waking up at 4:45 a.m. to swim. 

I looked up the definition of a Blue Moon on Wikipedia:

A blue moon is an extra full moon that appears in a subdivision of a year, either the third of four full moons in a season or, recently, a second full moon in a month of the common calendar. Metaphorically, a "blue moon" is a rare event, as in the expression "Once in a blue moon."
The phrase has nothing to do with the actual color of the moon, although a literal "blue moon" (the moon appearing with a tinge of blue) may occur in certain atmospheric conditions; e.g., when volcanic eruptions or exceptionally large fires leave particles in the atmosphere.

When I stepped out the front door this a.m. to take the Puppas on their walk, this is what I saw:

Morning Moon

We had thunderstorms last night which made the morning air heavy and hot.  Lucky for us, there was a cool ocean breeze blowing which made walking at 6:45 a.m. tolerable, if not pleasant. 

With the usual tangle of three leashes and a few barks, we struck out and around the neighborhood in time to see the sun reflected off of one of my favorite trees:

Favorite Banyan Tree

As we rounded Juno Crescent, we once again, came upon the morning moon, still clearly visible in the Western sky.

Morning Moon, August 22, 2013

Florida

Finally, I can bring everyone up to date as we arrived back home in Hobe Sound, late Saturday night. 

We woke Sunday morning to no internet service and no coffee.  I could not do much about the internet as Comcast said it was a billing issue to be resolved Monday at 8 a.m.  But, I could do something about the lack of coffee.  I took off for Starbucks, and on my way, I was greeted by a beautiful rainbow!

Rainbow photo taken at Red Light

Vacation is definitely over now.  We are back in Hobe Sound,  and there lots to do, to clean, to unpack, and to fix before we are completely settled.   Still, it's kinda nice that when you least expect it, one good rainbow can turn your day around and brighten any chore, no matter how big or how small!  

It's good to be home! 

 

Still seeing the Rainbow at Starbucks!

Queensbury

Gas Station Garden en route to Queensbury

After a good nights sleep in White River Junction, we took off for Queensbury, NY to visit Peter's family.   Three hours later we arrived, parked the car and walked up to the back yard. 

Backyard view

Mom and Dad were home with Nellie their beautiful black Lab.  Peter's brother, Brian was at work.  His sister and brother in law, Karen and Andy were driving in from Buffalo that evening for dinner.  So we had lunch and caught up with Mom and Dad.  Then Mom and I went and looked at her quilts.  She is a very talented quilt maker and her collection of quilts is extensive.  I enjoyed seeing all of them, but my favorites are the 1930's style quilts.  

1930's Fabric Style Quilt!

After looking at the quilts, we decided to take the dogs for a short walk around the neighborhood.

Nellie

We found the brook, and saw all the beautiful gardens.  The dogs loved exploring the neighborhood. Shortly after our walk, Bri arrived home early from work. 

Kar and Andy arrived in time for dinner and a nice visit.  After dinner, they took off to visit Andy's daughter and son in-law, before returning the next morning with their adorable, grandson, Lucus.

Lucus, Andy, and Karen

After a big, delicious breakfast of homemade blueberry pancakes, made by Peter's dad, we were back on the road headed to Florida.  Although short, it had been a lovely visit.  We were happy that we were able to stop and see everyone and we are already planning our return, next summer!  

Oh, and of course, I almost forgot to mention it was a perfect visit, except that Nutty Bee turned into Mr. Bossy Pants with Nellie.  We all know Labrador Retrievers, are kind hearted dogs.  Nellie, however, is extremely kind, plus she is sweet and very gentle, too!   Bossy Pants, Nutty took advantage of Nellie and screeched and barked at her on every encounter.  I so wished she would bark or smack him  like Cooper does to Nutty,  from time to time.  Other than Bad Dog Nutty Bee, both Chewie and Cooper were very good and I think they are welcome to return, next summer.  Nutty remains a question mark, as he is currently on the Very Bad Dog List!

Mr. Bossy Pants with Sweet Nellie!