Awwww moment for the day

This link came to me courtesy of my pug list (APP link in the blog links section). It features a little pug (in a lifejacket!) swimming across a pool. The lifejacket is yellow and the little dog looks like a little bumblebee paddling through the water.

Pug swimming video - youtube

So the baby birds are nearly ready to leave the nest. Check out the one sitting on the nest, debating whether to take the plunge. I think he must not know how to fly, otherwise he would've flown off as the mama bird did, because I had to get pretty close to get the picture.

We had a busy day today; Matt spent the day fighting the vines in the trees around the edge of our yard. He cut down a lot of that growth and piled it all in the firepit. We'll leave it there for a week or so, allowing the deer to eat the greenery, then we'll burn it one weekend when they're calling for some light rain. Then he cut the grass. Our yard looks awesome!

I pulled out a bunch of my lettuce from the garden - it was just too close together for good leaf development. However, I did salvage enough for each of us to have a salad. And it was good, not bitter at all. Matt seemed a little suprised when he asked "did any of this come from the garden?" and I replied that all of the lettuce had. Now I'll have to hit the nursery to find something else to plant in its place - maybe some kind of nice perennial. My lemon balm plant is simply taking over. I brought it home in a 4-inch pot last year and it has to be 24" wide by 18" tall at least!

Tomorrow we will be visiting Matt's family to celebrate his younger sister's 18th birthday (which was actually yesterday). So I guess I'd better get back to laundry and cleaning today!

Sheldon Comics

Every now & then, the Sheldon comic strip features the adventures of Oso, a pug. It's quite clear from some of the comics that the author has at least spent some time around pugs. Today's strip included OSO, and I'm including the link for those who may share my amusement :)

http://www.sheldoncomics.com/archive/090529.html

Winston Giving 5

I almost forgot - a short video clip of the pug doing one of his tricks :)

Memorial Day 2009

Today I'm thanking the living veterans for their service to our country and remembering those who didn't make it home.

We didn't do much around here today. We went to the store this morning, then I did some laundry and some cleaning. Matt helped one of the neighbors finish up a planting bed for his wife. I brushed the pug and spent some time sitting outside on the porch. I did get some new pics of the bird family. Here's one of the adult birds on the nest:


And apparently there are at least two babies in the nest:


I also got some good pics of my furkids in natural light:





And a couple of my "garden...."

Just for reference, the poles are 3 feet tall. I have to deer-proof it otherwise I won't have any plants left!

Hope everyone had a safe holiday weekend....back to the grind tomorrow.

Mama Bird

I finally got a picture of Mama bird - though she's not on her nest. She was in a nearby tree (10-15 feet away - her usual retreat when we go out onto our porch) and vehemently singing her displeasure at my presence. I waited outside to see if perhaps she would return, but she flew off to a neighboring yard, so I gave up and went inside to start dinner.

Feeding Time

We got to see the baby robin being fed today! Unfortunately, we didn't have the camera with us. We saw a robin carrying a worm land on the rail at the bottom of our porch. Speculating that this was the parent of the baby in the nest, we moved to the far end of the porch. Sure enough, the bird flew up to the nest, and we saw the open beak of the little chick pop up and the parent bird deliver the worm. It was magical - I'd never seen that live. I only wish we'd have had the camera.

Baby Bird

Well, look what we have on the edge of our roof! A robin's nest, complete with baby robin. Our house has a covered front porch that connects with the house roof about a foot or so above the edge - providing cover for mama bird to build a rather substantial nest and be out of the elements. I won't go into how far up I had to climb to get these pictures - let's just say it would've easily broken my neck if I'd fallen backward. You can hear the little chick crying for food (mama departs as soon as someone comes outside).

Slow Cookers Absolutely Rock!

Whoever thought of the concept for slow cookers/crockpots should really be nominated for sainthood. It's so nice to make an easy meal and have it ready the INSTANT you walk in the door. I have two - the one I use most often is a Rival 4 qt model I picked up at Target on sale for $15 last fall. Since I try to eat healthier than I did in my younger days, I also try to avoid the "dump a can of condensed soup over a chunk of meat" recipes for crockpots. Those recipes do taste good, but I'm trying to keep our weight, fat, cholesterol, and sodium levels in the non-lethal range since we're only in our thirties. Here's the reason for my admiration of this little electric appliance today.

Ingredients:
2-3 lb pork loin roast, trimmed of fat and frozen solid (I buy this stuff at Costco or on sale)
15.5 oz jar of Smucker's Low Sugar Red Raspberry Preserves (used half the jar)

*Note* Frozen is not a requirement, but you should probably reduce cooking time a few hours for a "fresh" roast. I always buy this stuff on sale and freeze it, but I'm perpetually forgetting to get it out a day or two before I want to use it - so it's a great benefit to me that this works with a frozen solid roast.

Last night before bed, I put the frozen pork roast in the lift-out part of the crockpot and smeared about half of the jar of preserves on it. I put the lid on the crockpot and put it in the fridge overnight. This morning, at about 7 am, I pulled it out and plopped it in the crockpot and set it on low. Went to work (hour long commute each way) and arrived home around 6 pm. It was fall apart tender and oh so good. I used the 'sauce' (cooked down preserves) to pour over the meat, threw together a salad, and Voila! Dinner done. And only the plates and crockpot to wash, and enough leftovers for the husband to take to work for lunch tomorrow.

Introduction

The Furkids

These are my 2 dogs. The one on the left is Isabelle, a hound/beagle mix (best guess) that we adopted from the Culpeper Humane Society in February of 2002. She was found as a stray, so we don't know much about her. We think she might've been abused by her original humans, as she's skittish and easily frightened. But she's gained a lot of confidence over the years and I think she's finally convinced that she's a permanent resident here.

The dog on the right is my pug, Winston. He was the original dog in our household - a present on my 24th birthday from my husband. We got him in June of 2001 from a breeder in Maryland. He lives the good life and rules the roost here. He lives to snuggle with humans and is very similar to my shadow - except that he's solid and I can trip over him.

My Other Half

This is my husband. He's a really sweet guy, though he looks a little perturbed in this photo. I like the picture because I think it's cute when Winston hops up on his knee after Matt has started a fire during the winter. Matt builds the best fires! We've been married since October 1999 and together since April 1994, so we've grown up together (somewhat at least).