Blaze Now, He's a Blog Star!

I said it was coming... Blaze's day to be the Blog Star. He's my roly-poly, sweet and snuggly, biggest-of-the-bunch, Blazer-Boy!

Journey with me down memory lane of the past 17 months:




This is my newborn Blaze. Literally just moments old.




Blazey, far left, about 30 minutes old. We're still waiting for Sara to arrive. See the mark on his forehead? It's how he got his name... unfortunately that started to disappear after only a few weeks.




I used to like to bounce him to sleep. They all loved this.

Roly-poly... his little pink nose is almost all black already! (Though, his eyes still haven't opened.)




My sleepy, full-bellied puppies! Not hard to pick out Blaze!

Why the long face?

Pampered Zeila having a special bonding moment with her boys. The girls are in the pen waiting their turn.





Dad with the sweet puppy, back when he was small enough to hold in your arms.




With his brother and sisters... how they wished they could have climbed out of that pen! Now Blaze (actually, all of them) can leap the sofa in a single bound!

Oh my! Look at that adorable, wrinkly forehead!

Back when he used to fit under the furniture. And the blaze on his forehead is barely a pinstripe now.

This is his baby walrus phase. He had so much loose skin and rolls. He'd lay down on his side and the skin would just puddle around him. We knew he was going to be big (had to be to fill all that out!).





Alert and playful!

Holy moly. They were weaned and fully on puppy food by this time, but between 8 and 10 weeks, they still managed to rope Mama in to this at least once a day. It was like trying to get a baby to give up a bottle! There was too much comfort in it for them to give it up without a fight.

Just enjoying a little fresh air... 10 weeks old and still saggy-baggy.

Picking him up was starting to get a little challenging at this point. We knew by now he'd be our biggest!

Rough-housing with his little sister, Sara.

Curious puppy, exploring outdoors. I love the way his ears fell forward.

Oh boy! He was the one that Mama always seemed to choose to play with... as if he was the one she needed to teach how things are done. Looks like she taught him well... he's using her own moves on her!

"Yup, Mama... I'll climb on your back and take you down, just like you showed me!" So far, he's still a compatible size for her.

"Sara, we're over here... come play."

His face is so expressive! He still has those forehead wrinkles and emotion-filled eyebrows, and they still melt me.




Oh! Just 6 months old. He's starting to look like a dog rather than a puppy.

And Mama Zeila is after him again. "Come here, Son, do you remember what I taught you?"




"Where is it? I know I stashed it in here..."

"Ah, found it."

"Now, what can I find over here..." (this was -ahem- before the "procedure")

Uh... Zeila, you're lucky your boy is gentle with you...since he's now triple your size!



My Blazer-Boy...

He's so handsome. I'm smitten with this one! (okay, okay, you're right. not just this one.)

You've got to go here to see more pics of the puppies birth through 1st year. So cute!

I'm Not Jealous

That Joe's here and I'm not.



Or that he's doing this there... and I'm not.

Really, I'm not. I'm truly happy that he gets to play Pinehurst. I imagine that's on every golfer's wish list.



However, there is this...



It's leaf season up there and I'm missing it!!

(envision me exasperatingly crossing arms over my chest... eyebrows furled... exclaiming, "Mm" just like my Biinaboo used to do when she was utterly perturbed and not quite sure how to voice it...or perhaps that was the only way to safely voice it... ??)


I'm also pining for this...


The 5-day forecast for Joe's location throughout the tournament:

Sat Oct 18
(Mostly Sunny)
High 59° Low 44°

Sun Oct 19
(Sunny)
High 64° Low 38°

Mon Oct 20
(Sunny)
High 70° Low 43°

Tue Oct 21
(Mostly Sunny)
High 73° Low 42°

Wed Oct 22
(Sunny)
High 70° Low 41°

...check out those highs and lows! Wouldn't that be refreshing to a SW Floridian?! Yes, it would!


Then look at this:




You feel for me, right???

Okay, it's actually been a beautiful morning. Perfect... clear, sunny sky; pleasant "3/4 sleeve" weather with a slight breeze. The breeze even has a cool edge, rather than a warm one. It's very refreshing. I have nothing to complain about, really. It's a gorgeous day here today.

Besides...

I've got this. ..

The Rompin, Stompin, Rowdy Seven... and they give me joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart!

Joe will start his practice round in about 15 minutes. I'll let you know what he thought of the course when I hear from him.

Dragonflies

Do they bite or sting? I always thought they did but needed to know for sure. Why? We’ve had them hanging around the house for sometime now, and the dogs (puppies in particular) have decided it’s riotously fun to catch them, hold them in their mouths for a while, and play with them, taunting them shamelessly.

These dragonflies are the size of small birds. I’m not kidding… they have a six-inch wing span.

Okay, maybe I exaggerate a bit. But they’re at least 4 inches… and that’s no lie! Joe said he recently saw 3 of the 4 puppies (when I say puppies, I mean our 50-70 lb., 16-month old dogs) simultaneously, and very proudly, hiding dragonflies in their mouths. These things are so big, that their wings were poking out both sides of the puppies' closed mouths!

BTW, they're mouths must be cavernous...Blaze can put a tennis ball in his mouth and close it like he has nothing in there!

I did a little google research. Here’s what I found:

A). "Can you tell me if dragonflies bite?" The answer to this question has three parts:

(i) "Do dragonflies bite?" YES, dragonflies bite, because that's how they capture their food. They have impressive, sharply pointed mandibles that chomp down on the smaller insects they catch.

(ii) "Do dragonflies bite people?" YES, if you catch one and hold it in your hand and carelessly allow its mandibles to reach your skin, it will bite as hard as it can in self defense. Very few dragonflies can even break the skin, but some of the big ones can do so and may induce an "ouch". They're certainly no danger to you, as the biggest dragonfly has a relatively small bite. A word of warning though: if, for some educational reason, you plan to let a dragonfly bite you, make sure you don't suddenly pull back, as you'll probably pull its head off and this is not a good example to present your audience!

(iii) "Do dragonflies bite people spontaneously?" A big resounding NO. A dragonfly would never land on someone and bite.

B. There is a second question: "Do dragonflies sting?" The simple answer to this is NO - they have no 'sting' as such. BUT there have been a number of accounts of egg-laying dragonflies that, when interrupted, continued the operation into the flesh or clothing of examining odonatists. Such actions could well be the origins of the many "old wives tales" pertaining to stinging dragonflies, and could also provide the answer as to why odonates have the names of 'Horse- stingers' and 'Devil's Darning Needles'. These names, and others like them, are part of dragonfly folk-lore in many parts of the world.


It appears the puppies are reasonably safe. They may get a that-will-teach-you-a-lesson OUCH! from a dragonfly, but nothing too serious.

While I was doing my research, I also deemed it necessary to find a few images, since I've none of my own.




This one is pretty (as insects go). Ours look nothing like this. Ours are ugly brown, and could eat this one whole.



Ooh. This one is pretty, too. Why aren't these lovely creatures coming to visit? (Okay, I'd still shoo it away.)



No, ours more closely resemble this... just double it's size and remove the pretty blue stripes.

Any clue as to what we're doing that's attracting the dragonflies... and how we can stop it?

What pests are you dealing with currently?

The Culprit

Yesterday Joe and I did the grocery shopping together. I like it best when we do the shopping together. It's more fun to decide with him what to have for dinners for the week. And it's more fun to come home and put the groceries away together. Together, together, together...

When we're away from the house for any length of time, we make sure the dogs have toys to play with... something to keep them occupied. And when I say "make sure they have toys..." I mean that Joe or I have to go on a toy-hunt out in the yard because that's where they all end up.

Well, yesterday I made sure they had rubber kong toys and balls... a softball; some tennis balls.

Apparently, those were boring because I came home to find my bible destroyed. Shredded. Strewn about the bedroom. Parts of it in tiny little bits of pieces... and parts of it clumped in hearty sections, still bound. They had a field day!

Lucky for them, it was just a $10 paperback version of the NIV Study Bible that I picked up on my way to a WOF event years ago.

I have a pretty, leather-bound bible with my name engraved on the front that my parents gave me a couple of decades back. That one, read from time to time, is in a safe place. The ones I study from, however.... the ones I use up and wear out.... and leave on my night stand for puppies to be tempted by.... are typically paperback versions.

I've been meaning to retire that old, worn bible, and have had one on standby for a couple of months. I ordered it recently through Amazon after attending a UCG Women's Conference with Kay Arthur and Alicia Williamson-Garcia. I usually study from an NIV, but Kay made me want to take a look at the NASB, so that's what I got.

The thing is... I've been putting it off for two reasons. I'm used to studying from the NIV... I'm afraid the NASB is gonna seem weird. Plus, new bibles are so naked. No underlines... notes... highlights... reminders. It's just all so new, like starting over. Is that ridiculous?

Anyway, that's why I put it off.

Now, I was very curious last night, and eager to determine, who the culprit is that has forced me to break out of my comfort zone and dig into that new bible...



Emma: "Uh... I'll just lay here next to you, while you crack the binding on your new bible, Mom. Cuzzzzz ... I'm a good girl. ...and I love you..."





Blaze, able to rest easy, doesn't appear to be guilt-ridden.





But, back to Emma. There's something about this good girl... she's always eager to have something in her mouth.



Oh, sure. Now that my bible is destroyed, you find the ball desirable... a little late!



Whether it fits comfortably in her mouth, or not. She just wants to carry things.

But, come to think of it, she never destroys her obsessions.

She has an empty trailmix bag that she's been picking up, carrying around, setting down, and picking back up again for weeks. No, it's not her MO to shred.

(See my hand on her neck? I was just trying to keep her at bay long enough to snap a picture. She kept getting in my face with the ball... all happy and wiggly, as if she wanted me to take it from her with my mouth! Sometimes I think she thinks I'm just one of the pack!)




Ah ha, this little one is sure eyeing that ball suspiciously! She seems to want it badly!






But Riley's laying low.
Riley: "Nope, not me. I'm a good boy. And cute, too. Just look at me."






Emma: "Nah, nah, I've got it and you can't have it!"
(Sorry, I know it's blurry, but I couldn't resist the tongue.)





Emma: "I'm sorry. No, you're right. That wasn't very nice."





Meanwhile, Riley and Sara both want the ball. Riley seems to have the advantage.






Doh! Sara gets it from him. Notice the "little something" on the floor next to Riley's paw, that's a piece of my bible cover...






Sara gets to work. This is serious business. Riley, staying close by, is intent on her hurrying up!






Tenacity - she's moved to the bed! She worked it and worked it. I'm not sure what she thought she was going to accomplish, but she seemed to want to undo the laces.






Emma: "Not me, Mom. I'm the good girl. See? Just precious... you always say so."
(Notice her pink nostrils? How funny. )






Meanwhile, Riley (who has become bored with waiting for his turn with that ball) has decided to shred a tissue. Riley!






Riley: "Aw, Mom! I couldn't help it; she wouldn't let me have the ball."






Hmmm... Sara leaves the ball long enough to see what her naughty brother is up to.
Sara: "Whatcha doin?"






Riley: "Never mind, Sara. Go away. I got in trouble."






The ball... seemingly forgotten, has rolled under the bed.



This is where I say goodnight.




Zzzzzz.


Zzzzzz.


Zzzzzz.






Good morning...!!





Oh! Riley!!







Emma begins to investigate. "Mom, I think I know who your shredder is!"

It appears my bible fell into the paws of one, still-precious-as-they-come...Riley, and I suspect the little princess, Sara, may have been his accomplice!

And to think I just washed these sheets on Saturday. I do enough laundry to make you believe I have seven children!






That's the end of that!




(Dumb camera focused on the background instead of the foreground... grrrr... couldn't be operator error! And the flash shadows in all of these shots drive me nuts, but the manual settings weren't cooperating... groan.)


I'm sorry, Mom, but Luci Swindoll's Alchemy of the Heart met it's tragic end alongside my bible. I'll replace it.