Spring Walk In Three Colors, Birds and a Wagging Tail

Best way to experience the new season? By going out for a walk and enjoying Mother Nature’s colorful new clothes.

The color spectrum goes from green, to yellow, to red, to purple, from one plant to the other. What can be more beautiful than this?

Another wonderful aspect of warmer weather is the presence of more and more creatures, coming out to celebrate the return to life of nature.

I love birds, and it’s a great feeling to hear them sing, in early spring. It feels like the entire nature comes back to live, mesmerized by their lovely song.

I was lucky enough to come very close to a few House Wrens, which were making a nest in the area. Extremely rapid, bubbling and full of live, just like the sounds they make, it was pure joy to see them build.

A few interesting facts about House Wrens:

When establishing a territory, a male fills all available cavities or nesting boxes in its domain with sticks, which seems to protect the nest sites from encroachment by other Wrens.

When it arrives, the female selects a nest site, throws out much of the material deposited by the male and builds another nest.

A male often attracts two mates. Males sometimes puncture other birds’ eggs, possibility in defense of their nesting territory.

~ Special thanks to my dear friend, Frances,

for the information provided ~

birdmakingnest1

Gorgeous little creatures, aren’t they?

However, the best part of going out for a walk, is sharing it with a walk enthusiast. Who better for this job, than Lisa? 🙂

If you ever wondered how a graphic representation of ‘being happy’ looks like, in the left picture you can see it clearly (that’s also what I call the ‘There’s Mommy!’ face).

Lisawalk1

Spring is known for a very moody weather, and from time to time (most of the time), it decides to display all seasons in one day. When you get beautiful white ‘pearls’ racing down from the sky, followed shortly by snow, you tend to reconsider your walking plan of the day, or at least make it shorter 🙂

All in all, flowers in the sun, birds singing and a wagging tale. A perfect combination for a perfect spring day!


If you enjoyed this post, you should Follow Me On Twitter twitter-follow-button and Like My Page on Facebook Like_Me_Facebook_buttonfor more updates.

Well, wasn’t that a very short spring?

Spring is not here, not even close. Don’t ever trust a snowdrop in January! 🙂

Today we had a fairytale-like snowfall, and I don’t think I ever saw Mother Nature transform this beautiful before. Either this, or I really missed the snow!

Lisa most definitely had a great time checking out Mother Nature’s winter clothing.

And when it’s this cold outside, I never forget about my outside buddies, so the birdhouse provided shelter and food, during the storm, for this gorgeous bird. image_3

On our way back, we must stop to smell the roses (as it’s too cold for roses, we have to work with snowdrops and we don’t mind, at all 🙂 ).

image_2

Happy winter-spring everyone!

Doggy’s Birthday Party – Happy 12th Birthday, Lisa!

DSC_3606The day I’ve been looking forward to, for quite a while, has finally arrived:

Lisa’s Birthday Party!!!

Everything started with making the birthday cake, of course. I didn’t had to hide, because she had no idea it’s for her. I guess this is the advantage of planning a birthday party for the furry kid 🙂

Choosing a cake was very hard, but I’ve decided to go for her favorites (outside the meat department): carrots, bananas, peanut butter and the never-missing treats.

Birthday Cake Recipe 

Sponge Ingredients (I used the blender to mix them) :

  • half a large banana
  • 1 egg
  • 5 gr baking powder
  • honey (optional)

Filling:

  • peanut butter
  • apple sauce
  • 1 boiled carrot
  • small size doggy treats

making the cake

The cake had 4 tiers, the size of a small coffee plate, all cooked in a no-stick frying pan. For the filling, I’ve used the boiled carrot, cut into thin slices, and the peanut butter / apple sauce, as glazing.

I’ve used the remainder carrot to write her name on the top tier, being very grateful her name isn’t Marmaduke or Scooby Doo, or something even longer.

Next on the list, bringing the cake to the birthday girl. Blowing out the candles – thank you Violeta for your help – and making a wish, followed shortly by her favorite part: eating the yummy cake, what else?

DSC_3630

My wish for her was to live for many many years and be as healthy as a dog can be.

DSC_3631

Opening the birthday gift box – exciting!

DSC_3552
Last, but not least, giving the birthday cuddles and kisses.

image_1By the looks of it, she absolutely loved the cake, the treats, the extra attention, so I’ll call this a total win! 🙂

Happy Birthday to our sweet Lisa, and to many more to come! xo

Santa’s Reindeer – Lisa’s Job Application

The holiday season is finally here, and Lisa has decided to become one of Santa’s Reindeer. She’s very excited and nervous, and is looking forward to the reply from the North Pole.

Here is her job application:

Name: Lisa

Specie: Dog Reindeer (shhht)

Q: Are you naughty or nice?

A: Mommy says I’m the nicest dog she’s ever seen.

Q: Do you like cold weather?

A: Yes

Q: What skills of yours would be helpful for Santa? 

A: I can help Santa carry all the cookies from the children, to the sleigh, because I’m a good dog reindeer.

Q: The cookies are for Santa. Are you fine with eating the carrots left by the children?

A: No cookie?! 

We need to see how you look like. Please submit your photos below: 

What do you guys think? Does she stand a chance? 🙂

Planting Tulips

Only a few days of colder weather and I’m already thinking about spring. By thinking about spring, I mean thinking about the beautiful flowers which will bloom when it gets warmer. I just can’t wait for that moment! Don’t we all?

I love all spring flowers, but tulips are definitely my favorite. 

After some research on how it’s done, I’ve decided to plant today a few white and purple tulip bulbs, in the garden. Lisa, my trustful bodyguard, made sure it all goes smoothly. 

As I’ve never planted tulips before, I hope I got it right (with Lisa’s precious help, I’m pretty sure I did) and we’ll see some pretty flowers blooming, in the spring. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Ultimate Control – Level Expert Unlocked

We all teach our dogs different tricks, from the most important ones (sit, stay, wait), to the funniest ones. And our pups love to listen to us. Anything to make the human happy, right?And Lisa totally loves to make her pack members smile.

DSC_1855Keeping this in mind, I’ve decided to take a challenge, and see if I succeed.  With a bit of practice, the results are fantastic!

I present to you what I believe is the hardest trick for a dog.

I take the treat, ask her to sit nicely, then place the cookie on her head, and give her the command to wait. After a few seconds, I tell her to go for it, and before you can blink or ask yourself ‘where did it go?’, the treat is gone. I tell you for sure, the word ‘go’ is the most desired command of the day, especially when you have a yummy cookie placed gently between your eyes!

She learned the trick in only one week, so I think it’s not bad at all. Who said you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? 🙂

Driving with the dog

20141108_143133Road trips can be hard on our pets. Some hate it, others bare with it, Lisa loves it. I guess it depends on the dog.

She’s a very well behaved pup, so it’s easy to take her along everywhere we go. To make sure she’s comfortable in the car, I always take her blanky along, feed her plenty of treats, and stop often for water and short walks.

Here are a few pictures from our latest trip. When the car is running, she’s either sleeping or looking out the window. When the car stops, she loves to check out what’s going on in the front of the car. Always puts a smile on my face.

Has anyone seen the rest of my dog? I am missing the wagging tail! 🙂

‘Bring your dog to the office’ day

That’s it, after counting the votes, Lisa lost. She was ‘offered volunteer‘ to work 🙂

Here are some pictures from her time in the office.

1. Lunch time

Lisa: If I make this crazy adorable face, will mommy give me her chocolate?

20141105_182130

Answer: Nope. 

Lisa: Ok…how about now? (look at my face, look at it!)

20141105_182305

Answer: No, chocolate is bad for you.

Lisa: But mommy…

20141105_175135

2. Working hard or the “Stepping on your shoes until you pet me” technique 

Lisa: Is she looking now? … Yes, yes, I did it!

20141105_174731

3. The CEO

She got promoted on her first day at work. Pretty neat I would say!

105151

P.S. In case you wonder, the answer was still no, but she got a treat. How can you refuse such a face? 🙂

Doggy’s Favorite Spot

As winter is just around the corner, and most leaves are already on the ground, it’s the ‘intensive raking season’. This means my little helper was with me in the garden today, watching my every move. It’s nothing Lisa likes more than a lazy day outside, while I do some gardening. Ok, ok, maybe some treats (make that a lot of treats) 🙂 20141115_135238 Under all those leaves, can you believe the flowers are still blooming? Here are a few gorgeous ones:

And what a beautiful end, to a beautiful day… 🙂

I wish you all a lovely weekend!