Fall Festival Daisy!

We took Daisy to her first fall festival a couple of weekends ago, and she had a blast!

One happy pup at our lakeside break, sitting on her daddy’s lap.

Well, it’s actually the second fall festival we took her to, but after driving over an hour to one last year and then searching for parking on small streets for another 15 minutes, then walking a quarter of a mile to the festival, they wouldn’t let us go down the street with the festival because dogs weren’t allowed! RUDE!!

We were pretty angry, and I did get in touch with the organizers afterwards and told them that nowhere on their website does it say “no pets” and I gave them an earful. Now they finally have that notice on their site. (Still RUDE, though!)

AAAnyway…this was a pet-friendly festival – as it should be since it’s all outdoors – and Daisy was thrilled with all the new smells and new places and, of course, all the people who couldn’t resist petting her and gushing over her. 🙂

It was perfect weather – 70 degrees and sunny. This is a small, historic New Jersey town that we’ve been going to for many years now. I just love the charm and ambiance of small old towns.

The old Farmers’ Bank building, built on a narrow corner. The building is shaped like a triangle.

One of my favorites of the smaller homes in town. You know how much I love cozy cottage-type homes!

One of the large old homes in town (most of it isn’t in the picture). I had to take this pic because whenever we go there, there are always people sitting on the porch with a couple bottles of wine! Always!

As usual, my photo focus is always on the charm and serenity of areas I visit, and I realized I didn’t even take any pics of the festival itself! I enjoy the live music and all the tents with artists displaying their beautiful creations, but I never think to take pics of the crowded street scene.

So you’ll have to bear with me as I show you some of my favorite spots in town, like the peaceful lake that I always visit…

…and the bamboo forest I always hike through (VERY dense, but there is a trail!), I’m like a kid in forested areas…

…and the colors of fall starting their glorious display…

…and these little remnants of summer, quietly standing their ground so beautifully…

We walked and strolled and enjoyed ourselves for a good three hours, and I’m happy to report that Daisy did very well, both physically and without displaying any reactive leash issues. Although she wasn’t as relaxed as this little guy…

…Daisy had some cheat time, when her daddy carried her through the more congested crowds so she wouldn’t accidentally get stepped on…

Hello! Nice to meet you! Please feel free to shake my paw! 🙂

And of course, there was the happy ride home, where Daisy saw scenes like this

Pumpkins pumpkins everywhere!

…and I saw scenes like this…

One happy, pooped pup as seen through the car’s vanity mirror. 🙂

Wow! That was fun!! 😀

We’re part of the Thursday Barks and Bytes blog hop!

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Happy Havachon Halloween!

Fall and Halloween go hand-in-hand around here. It’s my favorite season and it’s tied with Christmas as my favorite holiday. And since my birthday is October 30 – yes, Mischief Night! Bwahaha! – there’s lots of extra celebrating going on. 🙂 So I enjoy every precious second of it.

From our vet’s highly decorated office (notice the fireplace – it used to be a house, and he kept it warm and homey):

To walks in my favorite park:

This tree is actually quite red, but my smartphone isn’t smart enough to get the color right!

To visits to those wonderful family-owned garden centers:

CASHIER!!!!!

And last but certainly not least, Daisy’s attempt at striking fear into our hearts with her definitive Mark of the Vampire:

See Mom? I told you I turn into a vampire at night! ::heeheehee!::

I look innocent when I’m cuddling with my pumpkin, Jack. But I’m really hiding vampire fangs…

We’re part of the Thursday Barks and Bytes blog hop!

Monday Mischief: Unexpected Dinner Guests

Hi friends! Daisy here.

We had some unexpected guests visit us for dinner the other day. If you ask me, I think it’s rude to just pop in on someone for dinner. Shouldn’t they let us know they were coming so we could make sure we had enough for them to eat?

Well it turns out we had plenty for them. Just one came at first….

Proud as a peacock…er, I mean turkey…. Staking a claim on his dinner plate.

Walking to and fro, surveying his buffet while nibbling.

Apparently Daddy had put a lot of grass seed down in the dirt patch where we had the tree removed, and Mr. Turkey discovered it. But he’s a generous old dude and shared it with his clan:

Everyone came to the table for their own pre-Thanksgiving “paleo” dinner.

He must be the grandpappy of them all, because he was the biggest and his tail feathers were a gorgeous variety of patterns and colors. The white one was also incredible. Even after the rest of the team left, Grandpa stayed and ate for the better part of an hour.

Fortunately Daddy put a LOT of seed down and we still have a nice velvety covering of green on the patch. But it was fun to watch and a good excuse to bark LOUD!!!! 😉

We’re part of the Monday Mischief blog hop!

 

Faceless Puppy – The Chill of Fall!

We’re celebrating the passing of our humid, miserable summer and the start of a beautiful fall with crisp air and gorgeous leaves that energize puppies and humans alike! LOL – you can’t tell that I love fall and cooler temps, can you? 😉

On these lovely fall mornings, I have to drink my coffee quicker than usual because it cools off pretty quickly. Mornings in the house are quite cool, but I refuse to turn the heat on until October. Mid-October, hopefully! Besides, the sun and low 70 degree afternoon temps warm us up enough a little later in the day – that’s what layers are for! 🙂

Daisy’s thick double coat keeps her warm, but today it seemed she wanted the help of her favorite fuzzy blanket to take the chill off her nose….and face….

Hey, it’s chilly in here!

I know my nose is supposed to be cold, but this is too much!

Hope you’re all having a beautiful fall too!

Removing the Threat

Well it’s done. The dreaded deed of removing four beautiful old trees from our property that were threatening our house during storms is over.

Not really something you want to see in your backyard….

I loved those trees. I’m more of a cabin-in-the-woods kind of gal than a toes-in-the-sand beach person, so these huge trees were things of beauty to me.

They brought wonderful songbirds right up to my back windows.

They gave us a lot of shade to cool the house and sit under during the summer.

They dropped vibrant yellow leaves in the fall that floated to the ground like lightweight snowflakes.

They formed a gorgeous white canopy during snowfalls.

But over the past few years, I noticed peeling bark and more bare branches appearing. The arborist said their type only lives for a certain number of decades, then they start dying and pose a real threat to anything around them. So it was time.

But it still wasn’t easy. Although there was a certain amount of entertainment in the process….

Look at this crazy guy! He stretched himself out into a full inverted cross shape while being pulled to the top of the tree!

Daisy, however, had a field day with all the activity out there. Though I must say, she wasn’t half as noisy as she used to be just a year ago! She was actually a very good girl.

Oh, she was curious….

What’s going on out there? Who are all those men? And what are all those noisy metal monsters doing in my backyard??

But she got used to the noise pretty quickly and only barked, bfff’d, and growled occasionally. I think keeping the back blinds closed helped because she couldn’t see all the constant movement.

So now the front half of our yard is wide open. No more birdies chirping by the house, but the trade-off is that during a harsh rain/wind storm yesterday, I had no reason to fear anymore. 🙂 But it did come at a dear cost. At least the back half still has some nice trees, and I’m hanging on to them as long as possible.

 

Monday Mischief – One Busy, Frizzy Puppy

There’s always one way to know without stepping outside that dry, cool weather has returned – puppy ear frizz.

Daisy loves to play “mummy” – we throw her blanket over her, and she gets herself all wrapped up in it. She even walks around with it completely covering her until she bumps into things….maybe she’s secretly training to go into the Special Forces Night Ops Division? 😉

Shhh, don't tell anyone I'm in training....

Heehee they can't find me hidden in here!

Until she finally emerges with ears twice their size!

Bet you can't guess the adventure I just had! Umm, why are you laughing at me??

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Wordless Wednesday: Snug as….a Havachon in Fleece :)

'Nuf said....

It’s the Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop! Check out all the cute pets whose pictures speak louder than words! 🙂

Wordless Wednesday – Winter Warmth

This new sweater fits MUCH better!

 

I'm still not crazy about clothes, but at least I don't look silly in this!

We’re part of the Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop! Take a break from your Thanksgiving preparations and meet some new pet pals! 🙂   Happy Thanksgiving to all my American blog buddies!

Wordless Wednesday: Leaf? What Leaf??

Shock and horror – Havachon style – at our discovery of her autumn treasure:

Unhand me! I don't know anything about an autumn leaf in the house!

It’s Wordless Wednesday! Hop around and meet new friends! 🙂

October Snowstorm!

Wow, no one was ready for this! A weekend that started out like this:

….suddenly turned into this:

Yes, that’s a crazy snow/sleet mixture coming down in October!  Even the pumpkins didn’t look too happy….

And 4 inches later, ice took over:

Whoever heard of fall leaves frozen in ice?!

And before we knew it, our governor declared a state of emergency. But the last of our tomatoes already had their own emergency:

Snow-topped tomatoes weren't on the menu....

So we all snuggled up inside with cocoa, warm apple cider, games, movies, books, and everything else our hearts desired, especially our little Daisy, who really knows how to make the best out of a freakishly frigid October day: