Our yard, too

Spring is in full bloom.

Happy Easter

I heard Otis growling around 2:00 AM. I assumed there was probably a raccoon in the yard and didn’t give it much thought.

When I walked into the kitchen this morning and saw these beautiful flowers, I realized that Otis must have heard the Easter bunny stopping by! I think it is amazing how this rabbit knew my love of tulips. Unfortunately, trying to grow them outdoors is impossible with all the deer.

I have never had a gardenia before. I am hoping that it will thrive or at least survive long enough to flower.

The Easter bunny even left new chew toys for Cooper and Otis.

We hope that everyone has a wonderful Easter filled with chocolate bunnies and Peeps.

Our yard

Scenes from our yard.

Fate

For my birthday in June, we usually go to a Broadway show and then have dinner in NYC. Jeff had not yet ordered tickets. I really didn't know what play I wanted to see.

It seems that fate had something else in mind. I was listening to the radio when I heard an advertisement that the Eagles would be in concert. The Eagles are another concert on my bucket list. When I was growing up my older brothers would play the Eagles records constantly.

The Eagles broke up as a band in 1980 and reunited in 1994. I remember their reunion tour tickets as being extremely pricey and impossible to get.

I mentioned to Jeff that the Eagles would be in concert and he said."That's interesting". (Note: This is the same response I received when I suggested going to Alaska in December!). I took that as "Full speed ahead"!

It turns out the the Eagles are playing in Gillette Stadium (near Boston), too far for a one day trip. Oh well, I thought, it would have been fun.

I then noticed the concert date - on my birthday weekend! Surely, we were destined to attend this concert. Since I couldn't think of a better gift, I said how about we get a hotel for the night and celebrate my birthday in Massachusetts ? Getting into the spirit of things, Jeff said why not take off on Fri and have a long weekend ?

I went to book seats and saw that general tickets were not on sale, only American Express members could reserve seats in advance. Not having an AmEx, I was momentarily stumped. A quick call to LI (and a promise of a check in the mail) provided the AmEx information I needed.

I purchased the tickets and when I went to print them, received a message that tickets would not be released for 24 hours. 48 hours later, I could still not print my tickets.

I called TicketMaster and spoke to a very nice representative who explained that this concert was going to be a BIG event (68,000 seats) and that ticket scalpers and ticket resellers were trying to purchase too many seats. Until the general public could purchase seats, all tickets were being held and credit card numbers checked to make sure that no one person was buying up blocks of seats.

In a few days, I should have my tickets!

What ?

It was a sunny day, Cooper and Otis were on the deck while Jeff and I ate lunch in the kitchen. Coop was starring at a shadow and barking and pawing at it.

Oti raced over to see what all the excitement was about. Oti stared at the floor for a minute and then looked at Coop with a quizzical expression. Oti seemed to be saying, "What ? What am I missing ?" You could tell that Oti did not see why a shadow would be exciting.

Oti wandered to the door and waited to be let inside. Coop's tail was wagging a mile a minute and he was blissfully happy to be with his shadow friends.

Bon Jovi

We went to the Bon Jovi concert at Mohegan Sun Arena this weekend. When I was a teenager Bon Jovi had their first radio hit. Twenty six years later, I decided it was finally time to see this band.

I thought Bon Jovi would be good - how else can they consistently sell out major stadiums ? However, I was surprised at how EXCELLENT the concert was. For two and a half hours, Bon Jovi played new songs and old favorites.

The crowd was on their feet and the arena rocked. The energy in the 10,000 seat arena was palpable. I wondered what must a concert at the Meadowlands be like ?

Jon Bon Jovi is an fantastic performer. You can tell that he loves to sing and the audience is happy to get swept up in the moment.

As with most concerts there are a lot of video screens to show close ups of the band performing. Bon Jovi also had extensive video clips and graphics displaying during songs.

I thought we would be some of the older fans, but as Bon Jovi said, there were a lot of "cougars" out on Saturday evening. The people sitting near us had traveled from Maine and many had been to multiple concerts.

I am very glad we went to the concert. As we left, I said to Jeff, I would like to see them again someday ;)

Toyota

Maybe, just maybe, it's not always Toyota's fault...

Fan Club

Carol, the dog walker, stopped by the other day with another client Laurie. It seems that Laurie loves big red Goldens and wanted to meet Otis.

Laurie's red Golden, Jake, had passed away. I thought Laurie was now dogless, but she owns 3 yellow Goldens.

Laurie cooks liver for breakfast and salmon for dinner DAILY for her pups. I told Otis not to listen, otherwise he will not eat his IAMS.

Otis loved all the attention, especially the belly rubs. Oti was ready to pack up his toys and race into Laurie's car, until he heard that she also owns 2 cats.

Maybe the grass isn't always greener....

Frogs for Breakfast

When I looked out the window this morning, I saw a hawk sitting on a rock at the pond's edge. The hawk sat unmoving for several minutes and then took off, his wingtips brushing the water.

The hawk landed on another rock and began to eat. I realized that the hawk was having frogs for breakfast!

The hawk must sit close to the water, because the frogs only appear for the briefest instant. They could never be caught if the hawk perched in a tree over the pond.

I am fascinated by these beautiful birds. The hawks are smart, swift, strong, deadly and yet at only 2 pounds surprising fragile. Hawks mate for life. Our pair seem devoted to each other.

One website said hawks are rarely seen in back yards. I smiled, because the hawks spend large portions of the day at our pond. I realize we are lucky to have these unique guests sharing our home.

When I arrived home in the evening, the hawk was again perched at the edge of the pond. I guess frogs make a good dinner too!

Englehardt on Wealthshare Healthcare

Signs of Spring VI

Easter lilies are on sale at Costco.

Signs of Spring V

The frogs are back - the croaking is long and LOUD!

Good luck trying to sleep at night.

Signs of Spring IV

Otis and Cooper's coats are at their fluffiest.

This means that soon they will start to "blow their coats" and I will be vacuuming every day

Signs of Spring III

Love is in the air! A pair of red tailed hawks have been showing their affection while perched over our pond.

No pictures of that, since this is a G rated site!

Signs of Spring II

Daffodils bring sunshine to gloomy days

Signs of Spring I

The crocus cheerfully announce that Spring is here!

Your Iditarod 2010 Winner!

Congratulations to Rev and Maple as the lead dogs of Lance Mackey's winning Iditarod team. These strapping dogs raced the 1100 +/- miles from Anchorage to Nome Alaska in 51 seconds short of 9 days.

The Iditarod is quite a fascinating competition. There's rules, strategies, and lots of personal stories that make the whole thing very interesting.  Some animal activists think the Iditarod is dog abuse, but does this picture suggest dog abuse? 

Our Bettles favorite musher, Sven Haltmann, was running  in the top 10 until he dropped from 13 dogs to 9.  He finished today in 17th place overtaking Sonny Lindner in the last two checkpoints and coming in less than 10 minutes ahead.

Cooper and Otis have been on pins and needles everyday awaiting the results.  Cooper thinks he could be a "lead dog" next year...

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Cooper's green collar proudly tells the world that he is Irish. His smiling eyes and wagging tail say "Kiss Me and I will kiss you back!".

With Oti's dark red coloring, no one can doubt there is Irish in his blood.

This is truly a day for celebration. Last year, Cooper spent St. Patrick's Day at Norwalk Vet Hospital undergoing cancer surgery. One year later, Cooper is looking more beautiful than ever.

As you get dressed this morning, don't forget to wear something green!

Storm

On Friday, it started raining in Wilton. On Saturday, the rain became extremely heavy and there were wind gusts of 60+ miles per hour.

On Sat afternoon, we were sitting in the kitchen when there was a loud snap and our neighbors 50 foot pine cracked in half. Luckily, the tree did not fall in our direction.

The wind howled all night long and the rain poured down. When we walked the dogs on Sunday morning, we saw that several of our neighbors had lost trees. When we drove in Wilton and Norwalk, we found that many of the streets were closed due to downed power lines and trees.

We were lucky and had very little damage. We did not lose power and our phone was working.

Fast forward to tonight. I got home from work and noticed that our phone was not working. I called AT&T to report the problem. They estimate we will get phone service back on Thursday night!

Maddy & Paddy ?

When we first bought our home, we had a pair of mallard ducks visit us for several weeks. We named them Maddy and Paddy. Last year, Maddy and Paddy did not appear. I feared the worst.

We now have two mallards visit us every few days. I was sure that these were new ducks, but now I am not so sure.

This morning, we went out to walk the dogs and noticed the mallards on the pond. I went back into the garage to get some corn. By the time I made it out of the garage, the female was off the water and running in my direction!

Coop and Oti barking did not phase her at all.

So, I wonder if this might be Maddy and Paddy ?