52 Snapshots of Life; Week 52: Peace

This is my last post for 2015, and my last regular post for a while, going forward.  I am furthering my education beginning in January and taking a break from social media and non-essential internet for a while.

Many thanks to our friends at The Lazy Pit Bull for hosting this photo challenge all year!

This week's theme is PEACE.  I was at the beach for the Christmas holiday, and took a lot of peaceful photos.  This one is my personal favorite of all the photos I snapped last weekend.  Peace on Earth.

Until next time.....  Happy New Year......

Happy holidays

The dogs made it onto the card this year.

Below are recent photos of the cats, taken this week.  Meow-y Christmas!

Tux

Newman

Cali

In spirit, forever in our hearts, always watching over us:

Hobie 

Filkin

Maggie

Mr. Kitty

Love Kitty

Hector

Samantha

Timba

[Timba and] the first Charlie (cat).

Last, but far from least, The Dogfather himself, Gil Markle (pictured here with his grandson, a year ago)

I love you more than words can say, & miss you more and more each day.

52 Snapshots of Life; Week 51: Friend

This is the next-to-the-last post for #52Snapshots, and I want to thank The Lazy Pit Bull for hosting this fun photo challenge blog hop all year.

This week's topic is FRIEND.  I could not have gotten through 2015 without my amazing friend, Cooper.  He is my "comfort dog".  My very own personal service dog, even though he isn't really a service dog.  I have thought about having him trained and certified to be a real service animal, but he is too reactive, so it would be a huge undertaking.  Maybe some day.  Who knows?  For now, he's my very own personal comfort, service dog.... and my very best FRIEND.  His brother, Charlie, is my friend and comfort dog too, but he still has trouble trusting me when I want to hug him or even just touch him.  For instance, he has just recently started putting his head on my lap when we sit near each other!   It's a work in progress.  One does well socially, the other does well privately.

Last weekend, I took a photo of Cooper at the beach.  He had laid down right at the foot of the dunes, on our way back to the house, and I thought to myself, "I remember taking a similar photo of Hobie many years ago."  I had thought they were facing in the same direction, but, in fact, I located the photo of Hobie, and he is facing in the OTHER direction.  Going by memory, I do recall that we had stopped walking in approximately the same place on the beach on both days.  After our walk last weekend, I told Cooper he had been "channeling" Hobie, because he was acting just like him!  Hobie used to refuse to go home, and would lie down in protest.  I'd have to often sit by the side of the road, and drivers would even pull over and ask if he was all right!!  "Yes," I'd say, "He's just refusing to go home."  I always thought they did not believe me.  Well, didn't Cooper pull the same game last weekend?!  Not only did he lie down on the beach in the same pose as Hobie, except facing the opposite way, he also laid down in the parking lot on the way back to the house, and refused to go home.  I had to sit on the pavement with him while people driving past were staring at us wondering WTH was going on!  To top it all off, with him only having three legs, people always think the worst.  No, he's just refusing to go home, because he's having a good time.  Just like Hobie used to do.  So, Cooper channeled Hobie last weekend, and it made me laugh and cry at the same time.

Here are the two matching photos.  The dogs were roughly the same age when these were taken. Cooper is now four years old, and Hobie was five years old in the photo of him taken at almost the exact same spot on the beach, at roughly the same time of year (between Thanksgiving and Christmas) ten years ago.

My friends.

Cooper, December 2015 - 4 years of age, at Nauset Light Beach at the foot of the dunes

Hobie, November 2005 - 5 years of age, at Nauset Light Beach at the foot of the dunes

RIP Hobie 1/6/2000 - 4/25/2015

Nutrition At Affordable Prices #NaturesRecipe

This post is sponsored by Nature's Recipe and the BlogPaws Professional Pet Blogger Network.  I am being compensated for helping spread the word about Nature's Recipe available at PetSmart, but k2k9.com only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers.  Nature's Recipe and PetSmart are not responsible for the content of this article. 


As I mentioned in a post last month, my pets really enjoy Nature's Recipe® natural dog food and natural cat food, and so do I.  Not only are Nature's Recipe products made with quality nutritionally-vibrant recipes with no artificial colors or preservatives, grain-free formulas, protein-packed and delicious, but their products are the way to go when it comes to the budget-conscious pet parent.  You can give your pet great nutritional benefits without breaking the bank, and you don't have to buy your pet food at the grocery store anymore.  Food purchased in pet stores really isn't too expensive, and will fit into most budgets.  Nature's Recipe is a starter-level food that can provide pets with better quality nutrition at approximately the same price as supermarket pet foods.

Mo-oooom, stop writing and feed me some Nature's Recipe!
(Notice kitty, Newman, on the back porch.)

It's hard to believe that I'm still telling other pet parents about Nature's Recipe, since the company has consistently been providing pets with ideal nutrition drawn from nature's inherent goodness for more than 30 years! They really do craft their recipes to make every ingredient count, thus giving pet owners a step up in pet food nutrition, without a steep step up in cost.  You truly can go natural on a budget.






As far as my dogs are concerned, they aren't senior yet (but wow, does that happen quickly, since apparently "senior" is now defined as above seven years of age).  Nevertheless, I know a lot of parents of senior pets follow my blog, and I am proud to say that all but one or two of my pets have lived well into their teens.  With seniors in mind, I wanted to tell my dog-parent readers that Nature's Recipe offers a line of Life Stages Recipes.  These are tailored specifically to your dog's life stage, from puppy to senior.  I recommend this food based on personal experience:  during the last two years of his life, my beloved Hobie had major food allergies, grain allergies, pancreatitis and tummy issues:  it was Nature's Recipe that kept him fed and healthy during those bad times.  But the best part?  I was able to also feed my other two dogs (who were puppies at the time) Nature's Recipe formula for younger dogs!  I love the limited, natural ingredient recipes.

I never noticed that my kitchen looks like a utility room.  Sigh.

Not to overlook the cat parents (I'm one, too!), the Life Stages Recipes for those of the feline persuasion contain the essential vitamins and minerals your cat needs.

I'm a real person who feeds quality Nature's Recipe food, with great results, to my pets every day (without breaking the bank!).  If that's not a true endorsement, I don't know what is!

So, what are you waiting for?  Next time you're at PetSmart, check out their large stock of Nature'sRecipe pet foods and treats!  You can't go wrong with PetSmart and Nature's Recipe. 

Nice Nature's Recipe display at my local PetSmart!

Follow Nature's Recipe on social media (I do!):

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

52 Snapshots of Life; Week 50: Neighbor

When the Nauset Light Preservation Society moved the iconic lighthouse in 1996, my house became Nauset's Neighbor.
This is my neighbor.  "She" keeps watch over us, and her calming and reassuring beacon is a symbol of hope and light.

Week 50!  Only two posts left for The 52 Snapshots of Life photo-theme challenge, hosted by our friends at The Lazy Pit Bull.

52 Snapshots of Life, Week 49: Bokeh (and a special announcement)

I had no idea what Bokeh was!  Well, it turns out I accidentally Bokeh'd (??) a couple of photos from last week.  I was going to look for an old picture, but I didn't have to!

Admittedly, this is not that great!

So, that's this week's 52 Snapshots challenge photo.  52 Snapshots of life is hosted by our friends at The Lazy Pit Bull.

Special Announcement:  Charlie and Cooper's sister, Tess, has some very talented human parents.  They've published some books, including one titled Tammy Does Boston about Tess's predecessor.   A couple days before Thanksgiving, my local shelter Sweetpea For Animals had a devastating fire that destroyed a building and killed over 40 animals that were awaiting adoption.  Our community is reeling from this loss, and today is a fundraiser (Photos with Santa) to raise money to re-build the shelter.  Tess's parents, Judith and Michael, have offered also to sell their book to raise funds for this important charity as well.

Here's how you can participate:

Go to the Tammy Does Boston website and purchase the book ($14.95).  Afterwards, send me an email at k2k9dogs@gmail.com and tell me that you purchased this book to help out the Sweetpea Fund.  For every book sold, Judith and Michael will donate HALF of the cost ($7.50 per book) to Sweetpea.  Please note that this offer is only for U.S. sales and is available now until December 25.

Super-huge thanks to Judith and Michael and Tess (and their other pooch, Tina!) for helping out.

Charlie (seated), sister Tess (standing on four paws); brother Cooper (tripawd!)