Ben – Page 2 – This Old House 2

The Village assembles again…

But first…

My barometer head has been telling me

with this lovely headache for two days now

that we will be getting a good storm.

We took the dogs for a walk around the property last night

while temps were still comfortable.

I love these dogs, I do.

Breaks my heart in a million pieces to know that there are so many who suffer

cruelty, neglect, starvation, ignorance.

Frasier on the left here knew that life for a while.

We will never know his full story… but he was filthy and covered in matted hair

when he was found in a kill shelter.

The SHELTER didn’t even clean him up.

Life is good for Frasier now, thanks to many people who step up for these dogs.

But so many others fall through the cracks.

Last week Dog Days was called with an SOS… an elderly woman down south is about to

undergo heart surgery. Although she is poor, she has been feeding 20 strays

on her property in rural SC for about five years now. She can no longer

take on the task and there is no local animal control or shelter willing to help her

place the dogs. So, Dog Days is stepping in. We need to raise money to do this..

as vetting and transport and fostering of 20 dogs is going to be a monumental task.

A go-fund-me account has been set up and in just one day we have raised a few hundred

dollars to aid this woman and the stray dogs.

Many of my blog friends are just trying to make ends meet and this call for donations

is not for you. Every one of you has a heart of gold.

I put this out there anyway, because you never know who is reading, who believes in the cause,

is able to make a donation comfortably. No post is wasted in my opinion.

Even $5. gets us closer to taking in those dogs and doing what her community cannot

do for her. HELP. CARE. SUPPORT.

CLick Here if you are interested in making a donation, no matter how small.

Put “SC dogs” in your comment with your donation –

ALL proceeds go to the dogs. Every Single Penny.

Now back to that storm…

You know what they say about red sky at night.. sailors delight..

red sky in the morning.. sailors warning.

True, that.

Fire in the Sky

Last night before the evening darkness decended

I took Ben and Frasier for a walk around the property..

The sky looked like it was about to do something special…

..and it didn’t disappoint.

People often ask me what it’s like to have such a big dog in the house. Funny thing…. recently Mike made the observation that Ben doesn’t even seem BIG anymore, we’re so used to his size. Dogs like labs and rottis and shepperds actually seem small.

Now that we’ve lived with one for more than four years I’m convinced Danes think they are just another person in the house. They are sensitive, intelligent, gentle giants – unless you try to mess with their family. Ben sits on chairs just like we do, has respect for the fact that there is food on the table and he can reach it, but can’t take it unless it’s given to him…and when we go for our walks he does not pull. He walks along side me as another person would. He “talks” when you ask him a question with a series of moans and grumbles I have yet to decipher…except to know it’s his way of answering.

I know why there are Dane rescues. They look awesome as puppies and the thought of a REALLY BIG DOG is appealing to some. The truth is, it’s expensive to feed them and they take up ALOT of room. Because they are so big… (Ben weighs 190 lbs) they require support for their big bodies in the form of a good bed. Some use the family couch, some use really big orthopedic dog beds. Ben has my son’s old queen size mattress on my office floor. They are a fragile flower, meaning they can’t live outside because their coats are pretty thin. And lastly, because they are protectors too, they can be dangerous in the wrong situation. This is a truth about any breed. All these facts become daunting to some Dane owners, and often the dog is eventually dumped. Sad truth.

So m answer to the question always ends with… consider the meaning of owning a Dane IN your home before you take the plunge.

Sampling the coffee cake on the manchild’s plate.

He was invited 🙂

Beach roses & Ben

I’m trying to figure out how to steal a few beach roses from the State Park Beach we are lucky enough to have just down the road a piece. How much trouble would you get in if you were caught in the act?.. hmm…

I took Ben for a walk yesterday as the clouds starting rolling in due to Tropical Storm Andrea way down in Florida.

If I could bottle that smell of Rosa Rugosa, a species of rose native to Asia, I would send you all a little…it’s the most heavenly scent if you’re not familiar with it. As we walked down the sandy lane, the smell lifted and swirled with the sea breeze and I thought.. even a troubled soul would feel tranquility here.

The roses come in several shades from white to deep fuchsia..

and I noticed they were vibrant and abundant this year.

Hurricane Sandy sandblasted them and

I figured they were decimated.. but it turns out they were rejuvenated.

Nature has its ways and means, you know.

Unfortunately for us, dogs aren’t allowed on the beach from May through September.

We took a peek anyway…

…sat on this beautiful piece of driftwood..wish I could lug it home

to my seaside real estate garden.

…and I thought of how I could do the stealing… of just one plant or two.

Ben took a drink at the dog spicket ( I just love that.)

There is a spicket for people and dogs on a road to Gay Head (Aquinnah)

on Marthas Vineyard .. a warm extension to people passing by.

This gesture always warms my heart when I see it in a public place.

Ben is now five years old… mid-middle age for a Great Dane.

Due to their size, their life span is relatively short.

Eight years is old for a Dane.

This makes me very sad.

I see him beginning to slow down and I rue the day…..

not even going there.

This is my buddy right here…

If I could give every person the comfort and companionship of a good dog,

the world would be a better place for sure.

Let’s go home, Ben. We’ve got some leftover steak in the fridge

and it has your name on it.

Lemonade from lemons

We’re all a bit weary of the snow and mud around here…

my guys are out plowing and I’ve been told I-95 is a parking lot.

Someone abandoned a tractor trailer along our main road into town. …

but it sure is beautiful.

Nemo ain’t no clown fish

…more like a shark.

We haven’t gotten hit with the worst of it yet,

might as well have a little fun.

My southern rescue dog absolutely loves the snow

Big Ben.. not so much….

We’re trying to convince him he really does need to go NOW

before the snow gets too deep.

Chicken cacciatore on the stove,

boys should be home from plowing soon for the night…

Tomorrow, we’ll see what we’ve got.

Randomocity

Because truly, that’s what I do best. Is that a word? I’m not sure.. but you know what I’m referring to. So here goes… (I might have had some high octane chocolate a few minutes ago.. just hush)

I’m plagerizing today by posting a healthy gluten-free pancake recipe my fitness friend Joey put on FB .. if she says it’s good, it’s probably good because she’s picky. Let’s see if she’s paying attention….

Joey’s pancake recipe:

½ cup almond flour
… ½ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. baking powder
½ cup egg whites
1 egg

Combine almond flour, cinnamon, and baking powder in a medium sized bowl. Mix in egg whites and egg.

Heat a non-stick sauté pan over a medium heat and melt 1 tsp. of coconut oil. Pour ¼-cup pancake mix into the pan (do this for as many pancakes fit in the pan without over crowding). Once you see the edges begin to bubble, flip the pancake and cook another 40 seconds or so. Remove from the pan and continue this process until you have finished all the batter.

Pancakes make 2 servings (each serving is about 4-5 pancakes).

This cartoon below is hilarious…. because some of us horse people go just a little nutz with all the blanketing of horses we do during cold weather months. Truth be told, if horses are left to their own devices, they grow a decent coat and as long as they have plenty of food, good body weight and shelter to get out of the bad weather, they don’t really need blankets. I blanket Opie because he was bred to be a show horse and has never grown a really thick coat. So to make me feel better, he has a winter blanket. Our show horse Max is blanketed because he also doesn’t grow a thick coat, and we don’t WANT him to because he is worked almost daily and the sweating and drying would be a real nuisance and not good for him if he had thick winter coat hair.

(pulled this off FB on iphone, pardon the weird graphics… )

Look at this guy sporting a tartan hood.

We’re about to get some crumby winter weather again… more snow, sleet, freezing rain, general yuck. So while the sun was shining today I took Ben out for the exercise we both need.

His mom was cold.

A walk in the woods

I am determined to stick with my walking/yoga routine atleast four times a week. There is no doubt I feel so much better about just about every.single.thing when I am taking decent care of myself. When I slack off, I feel like I’m slogging through my days. Something I have found useful – A mantra I use when I’m about to eat something…. “Is this nourishing my body? .. or polluting it.”

Yesterday, despite the dreary misty grey day that was supposed to be sunshiney and warm, I took Ben for a walk at my favorite State park. I am asked at least once on every public walk with this dog… How much does he WEIGH??… when I say 190 lbs… some folks back up a few feet, which is kinda funny. Yesterday a man said.. “but you don’t weight 190 lbs.” Since this fellow wasn’t the friendly looking sort… I replied… “… I know, right?…” as if I wasn’t any more sure of controlling the beast than he was sure that I actually could.

Enough said.