Fair Weather, Fur Friends, Frisky Felines, and Fire

 

A couple of weeks ago my daughter sent Mr. Franklin to the doggie daycare for a few hours. She needed time without his rambunctious self to clean the house and do a few chores. But no need to feel sorry for Frankie! He had his birthday celebration at the daycare. This festive day meant doggie cakes for everyone, birthday hats, all of his friends in attendance, and yes, photo shoots with his birthday hat in place. He was king for the day! Happy little man! Well, happy large man. There is nothing "little" about Frankie. He was born large. 

Marina and John took him to the coast over the weekend to help him complete his birthday celebration. He loved every minute of it!

Frankie is a St. Berdoodle, meaning a cross between a St. Bernard and a poodle. This expanding new breed means a very intelligent, gentle, loving baby, all packed into a very large body. Now the "baby" is a year old! Hard to think a year has rushed by since Marina brought him home. Of course, the dog was half grown when she got him. His size was massive, even as a pup. 

Since Frankie's birthday, Marina and John planned a country western music weekend in camping style. There is an annual gathering of fans to enjoy several bands playing during the weekend. So, off they went, along with my granddaughter who just completed five years of college. Attached to my granddaughter coming home were her two fur babies. Guess who is lucky enough to be asked to watch them during the music festival? Yep. You guessed it. Grandma to the rescue! I adore my grand dogs and love coming to the ranch. It's a win-win all the way around. 

Anyone who knows me understands my passion for fur babies. Well, I do tend to go overboard at times, so I'm not sure if "understands" is the correct word to be used here. But I love that I'm here, watching all four dogs, two cats, and the beautiful chickens. It's a gorgeous day up at Wolf Tree Ranch! 

I arrived Thursday afternoon and began the process of meeting the two new dogs Kaylie brought with her. Frankie knows me as does Charley girl, Marina and John's other doodle. Charley is a mix between a poodle, obviously, and a lab. She is known as a labradoodle, as most of you would know. Adorable, sweet tempered, cute baby. 

Now, Kaylie's dogs are pit-bull and pit bull mix. The female, Nova, is a pittie. Bruce is a cross between a boxer and a pittie, as far as we can tell, although Marina and Kaylie are guessing a bit of bulldog in there as well. He is very old and with the aging process, is deaf and somewhat blind. He is a big, beautiful bundle of sweetness. Loves to cuddle. Nova is also very sweet tempered. They are all good babies!

All four babies sitting to get their treats. 

Nova, waiting patiently for her treat. I love her face!

This is Bruce, the old guy. He places his chin on my lap for comfort. I told Kaylie I was bringing him home with me and that spurred a conversation about a fight. Bruce is awesome. He was found walking the streets, homeless when Kaylie decided to bring him home. A trip to the vet revealed he is an old dog. His ears seem to be a bundle of scar tissue and the dog does have marks on his body where he has been injured. I cannot imagine the life the poor guy has lived. I fell in love with him and Nova immediately. 

Frankie, overseeing the project of letting all four dogs out at one time. 

Charley Girl, walking the perimeter. 

Nova and Frankie, sniffing out any trouble, or getting into trouble, as the case may be. 

Brucie stands and watches intently. Without a strong eyesight, he sticks around the yard more than the others.  

On top of the four dogs, there are two cats. One is a kitten named Buttercup. The other an adult black cat who has lived on the ranch for a year or two. 

Bruce is living his best life. He loves being outside in the green grass. It's an overcast morning on the ranch. Not cold at all, but there are clouds hovering above. 

The cloud cover is large. It is slowly disappearing, but I am rather enjoying the coolness it provides after the hot summer days. 

As the clouds begin to separate, the sun peers through the openings. It will be another hot day on the hill, but for now, I'm enjoying the cloud cover. 

Still a great view though! This shot was taken from the pergola John built for Terry and I to stand under during our wedding. The view is spectacular from here!

The views don't suck.

Meanwhile, I was checking out the flowers Marina had planted around the yard. She had them planted before the gender reveal and the wedding, but they are in full bloom now. Absolutely beautiful!

Lilies in the planters. The scent is amazing!

Another color option in the lilies. 

Quite a few containers of petunias in a multitude of colors. 

Potted plants all the way down the deck. 

My favorite petunias!

I forget the name of these flowers, but I love them. The hanging planters along the deck are white versions of these. I believe these are mandevilla or at least that's what my guess would be. They are gorgeous and come in many colors. 

Anyway, my husband will be driving up on Saturday to join me on the ranch for a couple of days. I also have my best friend coming today and I haven't seen her in about a year or so because of covid-19 and then she had spinal meningitis. Not a good year for her. But she's better now and is coming to visit! Trisha will be heading home when Terry is coming up here. They will have a window to meet finally though and that makes me happy!

Since today is Friday, I still have things to do before Terry arrives. I can't wait for him to join me. He stayed home with the animals so he could take care of them. Mallory, his daughter, will arrive on Saturday to take over the duties of pet parent and then my sweet man can come. It's always so much fun at the ranch. Peaceful, beautiful. Worth the trip for sure. This is our first trip back since the wedding. Sweet memories. 

Saturday, August 5, 2023

I woke around 5:25 and took all the dogs out. The still dark skies were filled with smoke. Most of the smoke stemmed from a wildfire in an area known as Bedrock had remained out of our nose reach here. That is up until now. This morning, it was bad. The air is thick with the smell of campfire and the skies are murky. Smoky skies offer one advantage and that is the sun is a gorgeous orange-pink color. Other than that, the smoke dulls the senses and wreaks havoc on lungs. 

The Bedrock fire is only 11.3 miles from here. Although the wind has cooperated throughout most of the fire, today it is blowing quite a bit of smoke our way. It's a day where the animals and I will remain in the house, at least for the most part. 

Even out front, the amazing views are dull from the smoke. 

Although the animals don't seem to care. Buttercup has been fed, watered, and given fresh potty services. She is happy. Marina ensures she has plenty to do in the room as well. The camera makes her look bigger than she is. She is a tiny kitten, with plenty of growing to do. Typically, she could go outside and romp with the other cat, but she is far too little. There has been an owl hanging out around the hill that is taking tiny cats. Buttercup will remain safe in the house until she is large enough to deal with the harsh outdoor conditions. The owl doesn't touch larger cats.

She is so sweet! I love her dearly!

Meanwhile, Buttercup has plenty to do inside the house, keeping her safe from harm. 

And then there's this ...

Frankie took it upon himself to climb on top of me to be a part of the group. I slept with a 110-pound dog on my legs and stomach, his legs and hindquarters still on the floor. Gotta love him!

Life is good on the ranch! I always enjoy coming up here so much, spending time with the pets and just enjoying the days. The views are absolutely breathtaking and typically the air is fresh and clean up above the smog, fog, and other environmental issues. This weekend however, the smoke is keeping me indoors more than usual. The air was not too bad until today. 

I made myself a pork chop and some sweet potato tater tots for dinner last night, watched a movie cuddling with the fur babies, and texting my sweet man. I can't wait for him to come up here today! Until then, I will bid you all adieu, and call it a post. Take care of yourselves and if you can, get out and enjoy your day! See you all next post!