Thanks IAMS

Bev, an IAMS representative, left a response to the blog entry about Danny not eating his IAMS food. Bev said there was a satisfaction guarantee and to call IAMS for a refund.

I called and Bev was right. IAMS will refund the cost of the food and also send some coupons for dog biscuits.

I was pleasantly surprised by their willingness to refund my purchase. Sandy,the IAMS customer representative, was very pleasant. We have used IAMS for a long time and it is great to see such excellent customer service.

Thanks IAMS!

Dog Food

Danny decided that he no longer likes his chicken based IAMS dog food and stopped eating it. I thought Danny was sick, but Jeff pointed out that he eats everything else.

Before going to the vet, we decided to try a new dog food. We went to the pet super-store and asked for samples. Unfortunately, they don't carry samples, so we headed down to the dog food section.

I was amazed at all the choices. I first spotted duck with long grain rice. It sounded interesting, but I wondered what if Danny acquires a taste for duck ? Would he attack Maddy and Paddy ? On to the next option....

Salmon and wild rice - I am not a fish eater, so I could not subject poor Danny to that.

Next was turkey and barley. Turkey has upset our previous dog's digestive system, so we immediately passed on that.

Beef with vegetables was a possibility, but we kept looking.

We eventually found lamb and rice. Not just any lamb, but New Zealand lamb. We decided to give this a try.

We threw out the IAMS and put some lamb and rice in Danny's bowl. Danny gave it a sniff and started to wander away. I coaxed him to take a bite. He ended up eating the entire bowl.

We are keeping our fingers crossed that he continues to like this food.

Hummer Feeders

I received two new hummingbird feeders as an early birthday gift.

I put this one out last night and wondered how long it would take before hummer discovered it.

This morning, 12 hours later, I saw hummer going to each "flower", taking a sip and then trying the next one.

It looks like this feeder is a big success!

Tennesse Gold

We spent Memorial Day weekend with family in upstate NY. While we were there we met two Golden Retrievers who were visiting from Tennessee.

Miss Lily and Sean Patrick were both larger then Danny, with beautiful red coats and sweet faces. Sean Patrick seemed to be a little concerned when Miss Lily and Daniel said hello, but he quickly settled down and all three enjoyed lots of pats and hugs.

It turns out that Lily and Sean were both rescued in TN. Danny is an Alabama rescue and you could tell that all 3 dogs were full of Southern charm.

Lily and Sean's Mom and Dad not only adopt rescued Goldens, they travel to disaster sites to rescue abandoned pets. When people are fleeing their homes and leaving their "best friends" behind, they are rushing in to save these defenseless animals.

I don't think Lily or Sean could have found a better forever home!

To all the wonderful rescue volunteers, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!

Bosch

Our Maytag dishwasher has major problems and needs to be replaced.

Those who regularly read the blog will know that this was the last remaining kitchen appliance. Who would think that in 2 years, you would need to replace a refrigerator, stove , oven and dishwasher? I don't think this is a very positive statement about the quality of today's manufacturing.

After looking at numerous dishwashers online I called our appliance industry expert and asked for suggestions. What dishwasher would you buy I ? The answer: Bosch - they are the best.

I didn't know much about Bosch, so I did a little research. It turns out they are the highly rated, known for superior quality and super quiet operation. I never doubt our expert, so we decided to check this dishwasher out.

Luckily, Lowes carries Bosch. Even better they are running a holiday special - 10% discount and free delivery and installation.

The new dishwasher should be installed at the end of next week.

Hummer

Hummer was at the feeder early this morning!

I was surprised that he spent about a minute drinking at the feeder. After a long cold night, he was probably glad for the sweet meal.

Fetch

More than anything else in this world, Danny loves to play fetch.

When I get home and grab the chuck-it he immediately races down the driveway and waits for the ball to be thrown. Danny will chase the ball until he is exhausted.

However, it seems as if every day this week, it has either been raining or started to rain just as I get home.

Danny has had enough. I threw the ball twice today and that was it.

After the second retrieve he headed into the garage and sat by the door waiting to get in. I picked the ball up and said don't you want to play ?

Danny looked at the rain and tried to nudge the door open with his nose. Enough said!

It can only get better

You know it is a Monday when....

You are walking the dog at 6:45 am and you hear a loud BOOM.

There goes the power I said and I was right. We called the electric company and they estimated the time to fix the blown transformer was 2 hours.

Knowing we had to get to work, we threw some items into our gym bags, drove to the gym and took showers there.

Wouldn't you know when we got back home at 8:10 am, the power was on!

I figured the day could only get better from there.

Hummer is Here

Jeff spotted the first hummingbird at the feeder last night.

By the time I got to the window the bird was gone.

Now I know to keep an eye on the feeder and should see this little visitor soon!

Stargazer Lilies

Stargazer lilies are one of my favorite flowers. They were part of my wedding bouquet and I still love them.

With their wonderful scent and exotic beauty, they always make me stop and take a second look. I tried to grow Stargazers in NC, but had no success.

When we were at Home Depot, they were selling these lilies. I immediately grabbed a pot and put them into the cart.

Now they are sitting on the kitchen table and you can smell their sweet scent immediately upon entering the room.

Karma

Last weekend we gave Danny a bath outside and I mentioned how cold the water was. I thought Danny might be uncomfortable, but focused more on how cold my hands got in the water.

Then fate stepped in today when I went to the salon to have my hair done. After driving 45 minutes, I arrived and was told that the water heater was not working.

There were two options either cancel the appointment or have my hair washed in cold water. I thought how bad could it be, so I stayed. The water started out cold and then turned freezing.

When it was over, the stylist asked how bad it was. I said, I now know how my dog feels after getting a bath outside!

Waiting for Hummer

It has been a month since I put out the hummer feeder and we are still waiting for our first siting of these little birds.

Last weekend, I went to Stew Leonard's and bought some beautiful annuals. These are now in hanging pots near the feeder. I am hoping that the extra color will attract hummer.

TUMI

We had bought a Tumi laptop case a few years ago. Unfortunately, we never registered the bag with Tumi and did not save the receipt. All we knew was the bag was now 2+ years old.

The laptop case was used daily and received a lot of rough treatment. The case itself looked great, but the two plastic clips that held it closed both broke.

We thought it was time to throw out the bag and get a new one. However, the laptop case had been expensive and I thought it might be worth contacting Tumi to see if we could purchase replacement clips.

I was pleasantly surprised when the Tumi representative told me to send the bag to their service center. Tumi would determine the age of the bag and if it was still under warranty it would be fixed for free. If the warranty had expired, they would let me know the cost of the repair and I could decide what to do.

I packed up the bag and for $12 shipped it to Georgia.

Two weeks later there was a Tumi box at the front door. The laptop case had been repaired at no charge!

I am so impressed by this, that I would consider purchasing other Tumi pieces in the future.

1st Bath of the Season

Danny's playing in the compost pile lead to his first Spring bath.

It was sunny outside and fairly warm, so we decided to bathe him in the front yard.

We forgot just how cold the well water would be. After a few minutes, our hands were frozen.

Danny was great - he didn't cry or try to escape, but it was clear that he was not enjoying the process.

Mrs Fox

We had not seen the fox in a few weeks and I was starting to wonder if the fox had found new hunting grounds.

Then the other night during dinner the fox appeared, slowly strolling across the yard, stopping to sniff as he went.

I do not think this is the same fox we usually see. I think this fox may be a female. Her frame was much smaller and thinner but her tail was incredible. Without exaggeration, the tail was twice as wide as her body. She was gorgeous.

Compost

We have a compost pile in one corner of our yard. It has leaves and weeds that are slowly rotting and smell terrible.

Danny discovered the compost pile today. Danny leapt into the compost and happily rolled back and forth. He ignored my commands to stop and come here.

When Danny decided he was finished, he stood up, gave me a Golden smile and happily walked off.

Needless to say that a bath will be top on Saturday's chore list.

Relay for Life

St. Luke's youth group is raising money for the Relay for Life by selling these beautiful roses.

What a great way to raise money in the battle against cancer.

Tulip

A previous owner of our home must have enjoyed gardening.

We had a single tulip spring up along side the driveway.

I decided to bring the flower in, before the deer enjoyed it as a snack.

Attacked

When I looked out the window this morning, I saw that an animal had attacked our bluebird nesting box. The nest had been occupied by a pair of sparrows.

I do not know if a raccoon or opossum attacked the nest or if it was another bird.

I did see blue jay feathers mixed with the remains, but the feathers may just have been part of the materials to build the nest.

Hay

There are two areas in our yard that are more dirt than grass. One is on the side of the house and one is near the pond.

We raked the areas, seeded, and then put down shredded hay. Shredded hay is hay that has been cut into small pieces.

It turns out that the ducks and deer seem to enjoy eating the hay near the pond. That would be bad enough. However, Danny loves to roll in this.

I am not sure if he likes the smell or the feel of the hay as he rolls in it.

Trying to brush the hay out of Danny's hair takes a lot of patience.

To Linda

Hi Maine Mom -

It has been 18 months that I have been living in Connecticut and life is still good. Well, at least most of the time.

I don’t like ears, teeth and nails day. That is when Mom cleans my ears, brushes my teeth and Dad trims my nails. The only good part is that I always get a treat when we are finished.

Now that the weather is getting warmer, my coat has started growing even longer and thicker. Mom can’t figure it out – she says that should happen in winter. As you can guess, this leads to extra brushing and the vacuum always seems to be going.

Mom and Dad travel to see family a lot and I always get to go along. I love car rides, but when we are stuck in traffic (which happens a lot on I-95 to NY), I begin to pant. I even have my own Eukanuba tote bag filled with towels, bowls and a spare leash so I’m always ready to travel.

I love to chase the deer and woodchuck in the yard. Most of the time, I ignore the ducks. However, the other morning, I ran after them (at the edge of the pond) and ended up covered in mud. Mom was NOT happy, but she couldn’t help but laugh at how I looked.

I hope you are as happy as I am.

Love -
Danny

Corn - the Universal Food

I never thought much about corn. Sure, I like corn, especially Silver Queen corn on the cob, but it's just a vegetable.

However, the other morning, I fed Maddy and Paddy their corn and I noticed what they didn't eat, the squirrels and blue jays ate. A little while later, the deer were in the same spot, looking for leftovers.

That got me thinking about all the livestock that eat corn and I realized corn really is a universal food.

This is not a profound revelation, but it is more than I usually think about at 6:00 am while walking the dog.

Where's Hummer ?

The feeder is out and I am waiting for the first hummingbirds to arrive.

I read that hummers usually arrive in CT in mid-April, but I haven't spotted any yet.

Perhaps having some colorful flowers out would also help attract these tiny birds, but they also attract the woodchuck

Sunny Days

On these beautiful Spring afternoons, Danny likes to soak up the sunshine.

Danny seems to never tire of chasing the tennis ball. After a long day at work, I always look forward to some play time with my favorite pup.

Spring in our backyard

Here are some pictures of the spring flowers in our yard.

A lot of the bulbs are just starting to flower.

While driving to the grocery store early this morning, I saw a female mallard lying in the road near our home. She had been hit by a car and did not survive. I was worried that this might be Maddy.

Luckily, when I got back home and began to unload the car, there was Maddy - swimming as fast as she could across the pond and quacking for breakfast.

Look who we met at Union Station...

Giant Pandas

While in Washington DC, we visited the National Zoo.

I had wanted to see Tai Shan (panda cub) when he was first born in 2005. Unfortunately, we never got a chance to visit.

Tai Shan is now a big boy, weighing 170 pounds (top picture).

We were lucky enough to get great views of all 3 pandas.

Several of the zoo habitats are under renovation, but we did get to see some of the big cats.

Taking your ducks on vacation

Many of you know about our pet ducks, Maddy and Paddy. Well, we took them on vacation to Washington DC with us. Here they are at the Washington National Zoo, the Washington Monument, the Cherry Blossoms around the tidal basin, at the Korean Veterans Memorial, and of course, the Lincoln Memorial.

Danny's vacation

While we were in Washington, DC, Danny was with family on Long Island.

When we went to pick him up, I thought he looked very tired. My niece proudly announced that she had walked him 3 miles that day!

Other than the many walks, Danny used the time away to catch up on his reading.

Cherry Blossoms

We spent the weekend in Washington, DC.

I have always wanted to see the cherry trees in bloom and decided this was the year. I went to the National Park website and tracked the bud progression. Based upon the comments, I tried to pick a weekend close to the peak bloom time.

We actually missed the peak by 2 days, but the trees were magnificent.

We walked from the Washington Monument to the WWII Memorial, Lincoln Memorial and Korean War Memorial.

As we walked around the tidal basin, you could smell the sweet scent of cherry. When the wind blew, it was as if pink and white confetti was being sprinkled in the air.

The sun was shining and you couldn't help but smile at such a beautiful site.

As you wander the mall, there is also a sense of sadness. How can you visit the WWII Memorial which honors the 400,00 soldiers who died fighting or the Vietnam Wall with each name representing a son, husband, or father and not want to cry at the great loss of life?

In the evening, we went on a Monuments by Moonlight Tour. The tour was great. We learned a lot about Washington, DC.

In the evening, there are fewer people, and in the dark all your senses are sharper. The waterfall at the FDR Memorial was incredibly loud and the Lincoln Memorial was breathtaking.

Wood Ducks

In the early morning, there is a pair of wood ducks on the pond.

When you try to approach for a closer look, they immediately fly off.

The Final Four

The UNC men's basketball team is in the NCAA Final Four!

UNC will face Kansas on Saturday evening. I expect emotions to run high as UNC's coach Roy Williams faces the team he previously coached.

Go Heels!