Giant Dawg Validates my Magnet

I <3 Big Mutts magnet + Giant Dawg in the back seat = entertainment watching the people in the cars behind me, especially at red lights.  :)

Laila Bug

Laila is growing up so fast! She just turned eight months old and is starting to try to crawl and has a couple of teeth coming in. She's very interested in everything, very talkative and trying very hard to be mobile! It won't be long before she's being chased around everywhere!

Golden Hour

Another beautiful Kentucky sunset!  I actually took this photo for my Flickr All New Scavenger Hunt group for "Golden Hour".  Pretty appropriate, eh? This beauty also was found in Flickr's Explore and has received over 10,000 views. That makes me feel special - especially since it was my second Explored photo this week.  :)

Peter Cottontail

I was out taking photos of birds on the feeder when I spied this guy hiding in the tall grass. I got as close as I could to him before he spooked and took off.  I was lucky and got him in mid jump going down the driveway. To my amazement, this photo made Flickr's Explore.  Last I checked it had 3,061 views and 56 favorites. Sometimes I just don't get what makes a photo make it to Explore!

New Rock Work

It's amazing the difference a little rock work makes!  We had some extra rock from our sidewalk area landscaping and decided to put some of it around the bird bath. Previously it was done in mulch with wildflowers, but they wildflowers fizzled out and grass was growing up through the mulch and it just looked blah.  So we put plastic down and rocked around the bird bath. It looks much better now!

L.B.'s Wings

This is a fantastic design by Dog-Gamuttt.com that I accidentally came across while trying to find ways to fix the holes at the bottom of our fence where L.B. was slipping out and making us run for our lives to catch him before he reached the highway.  We recently realized that the bottom of the wire that covers our four board horse fence that make up the dog yard was cut in many places allowing L.B. to easily slip out.  The only thing we can figure is that the wire was cut last fall while weed-eating around the fence area.  L.B. learned that those areas that were cut could easily be squeezed through...and squeeze through he did.

So during my futile attempts to locate an fast and simple temporary fix, I came across this brilliant dog harness design.  It's your everyday dog harness with a metal rod built into a nylon sleeve that adds several inches to his width, thus preventing him from squeezing through the small holes.

We lovingly call these his "wings" and until we get the fence permanently fixed, he wears these anytime he goes outside.  They don't seem to bother him any more than wearing a harness normal bothers him and I've seen him try to get out with it on - and failed miserably because he was too wide to fit through the hole.  Perfect!  Just for fun I plan on buying a cheap Batman kite and fixing the wings onto the harness bar for a fun photoshoot.  ;)

Puppy Pedicure

This is what it looks like to give Giant Dawg a pedicure. Jason on the floor with Buddy practically in his lap, on his back and content as a little lark. Meanwhile, Lois Lane waits for the nail clippings to drop, snatching them up and devouring them as quickly as possible.  L.B. just sits and watches in confusion wondering why everyone is on the floor.

Guard Dogs- Back to Back

Ahhh, my boys. Such ferocious beasts guarding their yard.  Back to back to cover all angles.  Ha - they wish! This just ensures they see and bark at every. single. thing. that moves be it leaf, plane, bird or cloud.  And bark they do.  Luckily our neighbors aren't too close.  But hey, we built a dog yard for a reason...stand guard and bark on!

Today's Hike

Today Christina and I went hiking at Creasy Mahan Nature Preserve in Goshen.  It is a 170 acre park with 8.5 miles of hiking trails throughout the woods where you will find wildlife, streams and even a waterfall.  At the beginning of the trails there is a frog and turtle pond and many shaded benches to take a rest and enjoy the view.  We like to hike back here for exercise, fresh air and the beautiful scenery.
and I hiked a couple of miles at

This is also a pet friendly park, leashed pets only, and they even provide waste pickup bags and a water fountain for Fido.

They have many activities year round for kids and adults such as family hikes, wildflower walks, fossil digs, family campouts and tons more depending on the season.  They also have rentals for family reunions, weddings and other receptions. If you are ever in the Louisville area and looking for some great nature to visit, I highly recommend a visit to Creasy!