Ivy Creek Park with the Pups

Took the pups to Ivy Creek Park tonight for a little stroll around.

It was a lovely warm evening. Perfect for a walk!

Thought I'd share the few pictures I took on the way :-)

This is how you walk with two hound breeds. Noses to the ground!

Crossing the bridge. 

Pretty wooded paths.

Focus, guys! Focus! They insisted on snorting every single smell of every single person, plant, and animal that has ever been through here.

I recently learned that this is jewelweed. It's small but pretty and has a lovely citrus smell if you walk by enough of it.

Momentary pause where they lifted their faces from the ground. Well, sort of for Jill, she's always at ground level. 

Poor old Jill needed a break so we sat down on a bench in front of the lake to rest.

"Hey guys...hey! Come here, sit pretty for a picture."

"Look cute and stuff."

"Both of you look at me!"

"Oh for crying out loud." 

I took probably a dozen more trying to get one where they were both looking at me. It never happened. 

Oh well.

It was a nice evening and now they are thoroughly tired...even though it wasn't a very long walk! They're just old!

How do you enjoy the outdoors when the weather is nice?

Till next time,
Catherine

Spontaneous Weekend Visits

Can you believe it's July 1st? How in the world did June slip by so fast? 

That's ok...bring on the fall weather!!

This past weekend my mother-in-law and brother-in-law decided to come down for a spontaneous trip! We love having friends and family visit so we were super excited that they decided to come over!

(via)

When we got official word they were on their way and after a trip to the grocery store, my husband and I went into a cleaning frenzy. He helped, though, really. Now I don't see this as a fault and I know my in-laws and friends won't think less of me if the house isn't spotless (who has time to keep a house 'spotless'?), but when people come over, it is a perfect excuse to clean the house in record time! Works like a charm. I'm a pretty organized and clean person, but the house always looks great seconds before guests arrive! 

They arrived late Friday evening and so we mostly talked and played games. I had to work Saturday morning so everyone else stayed up and hung out when I went to bed early like the old lady I am. Saturday afternoon we all went down to the Farmer's Market to sample and buy local, delicious goodies. We bought eggs and potatoes for a super late breakfast and even bought the most delicious goat cheese from Spring Mill Farm. Sun dried tomato goat cheese is my guilty pleasure...it is to die for!

After the Market and a delicious homemade breakfast (at 2pm?!) we relaxed for a bit but then decided we should go out and enjoy the day. The hot, hot day. We drove down to Peaks View Park and walked the trails and got some sun. It was really nice, but quite hot. We were ready for some AC after a few miles!

Even Kito got to come along! He had a blast!

Don't tell but we even stopped by DQ on the way back for smore's blizzards! 

Sunday we made poppyseed chicken (delicious...recipe post in the works!) and butter! Yes, we made our own butter! It's incredibly easy but I won't give it all away now. I'll try and have that in a post for you all this week! 

All in all in was a wonderful weekend. Can't wait to have them out again!

And to top it off, now that it's July...it's officially my birthday month! This is the first birthday in about 5 years now that the camp we always work isn't happening during my birthday! Not that we don't love working camp, but I'm so excited to actually get to celebrate my birthday this year! It's also my "quarter of a century" birthday as my husband likes to remind me, so we're thinking an awesome celebration is in order! I can hardly wait!

How was your weekend? Do anything fun or productive? What are some awesome birthday ideas? I'm up for cliche´ or unique ideas! 

Till next time,

Catherine

Wally - The beagle with an amazing story (who needs a home!)

This is Wally's story.

"My name is Wal-Mart. Most people call me Wally. I was given this name because I lived outside of the Wal-Mart in Appomattox, Virginia for about 5 years. No one could catch me or touch me but many people loved me and would buy food just for me to enjoy. 

About 6 months ago, animal control officers amped up their efforts to catch me because it was realized that I had an embedded collar. My previous owner put it on me when I wasn't done growing. They managed to catch me and brought me back to the animal shelter. Soon after I was taken to a nearby veterinarian who removed the collar and stitched me back together again. I wasn't sure of anything but I was slowly learning to trust humans. 

While I recovered, I stayed in the pound. It wasn't my favorite place to be but I kept learning to trust people more and more. I stayed for about two months before landing a spot in a foster home, only to be returned because I didn't know how to walk on a leash and my first foster mom was unable to carry my 35lb frame around. 

Next I was brought back to the nice veterinarian man where they took away my manhood and tested me for diseases I could have picked up while living free. Unfortunately I had contracted heartworms and another tick-borne disease called ehrlichia. 

As if having my manhood taken away wasn't bad enough! Not to mention I hated having stitches in my tummy so I kept trying to pull them out. They stapled me, wrapped me up in bandages and put a humiliating cone around my neck! 

I stayed at the vet for many weeks while getting my first round of heartworm treatment, ehrlichia medication and recovering from being neutered. 

During those weeks I really learned to trust people and learned that they provide me with more than just food, but also love and affection! I also house trained myself. I couldn't understand why other dogs would treat their kennel run as a bathroom! Gross! 

I love being petted and rubbed. People are so nice to me! It took time for me to trust them but now I love them! After several weeks, another wonderful lady decided to foster me. She has a securely fenced yard where I love to run and breathe in the fresh air! 

One family brought me to their house for a few days to see how I would fit in. I made myself right at home with their beagle. You'd think we were long-lost cousins!

 I even like hanging around other dogs! Although, I don't really know how to play. Cuddling is more my thing.

I really liked the home and the other dogs, but, I enjoyed chasing their cat too much for their liking and they didn't have a yard for me to run in. I want a home where I can lounge inside at night but run around outside during the day. So now I'm back with my foster mom enjoying the "dog days of summer."

 This sure isn't the end of my story but I can hardly wait for the next chapter in my "furrever" home! Until then, I'll enjoy my time with my foster mom and her dogs but be dreaming of what's next."


If you know someone who may be interested (or are interested yourself) in adopting Wally, please contact Barbe with Friends of Campbell County Animal Control. He has come so far in his journey but needs a loving, forever home.

• Wally is great with other dogs.
• He may be ok with certain cats.
• He is great with kids. 
• He is shy at first but warms up to both men and women with time.
• He is house-trained. 
• He needs a home where he can run in a securely fenced in yard. Nothing he can dig under or climb over. 
• On the same point, he loves to be cuddled on the couch, so being able to come indoors and cuddle is a must. 

If you haven't guessed, my husband and I are the ones who brought him into our home for a few days before realizing it wasn't the best fit. As much as we love him and wanted to have him, we were being selfish. He needs space to run and it also wasn't fair to our cat because he was always terrified. In all honesty, I think Wally chased the cat simply because the cat ran, I don't think it was a "prey drive" chase. He's the one who ripped the bottom of our cheap-o blinds that we had to fix. He just wanted to see outside the window!

Please share Wally's story so we can find his perfect home! I know it's out there. If we had land and a fenced yard, we would have kept him for sure. He's a super sweet, loving dog with an amazing story. He deserves the best home!

I'll update this page when he gets adopted.

Do you have a rescue pet? What's their story? Doesn't Wally have the sweetest face??

Till next time,
Catherine