So HOT The SKY Was On FIRE!

The original picture lacks the intensity of the
real sunset. This was taken at 8:20pm.
 IPhone Photo

Mommy took this photo of the sunset the other night - the night it was still over 100 degrees at 6pm. She said this photo does not do it justice because the colors should be MORE intense. So I am gonna try and FIX that using my handy dandy photo editing SOFTWARE.

This is adding 11200 k to the color. It is closer
to real life because the underside of the cloud cluster
is richer, brighter

I struggled a bit to get the right color concentration to imitate the intense colors in the sunsetty sky. My software is just not precise enough. But I did manage to get one corrected photo that captured the FEEL of that 90 PLUS degree sunset.

Are your cheeks burning? Can you just feel
the heat coming at you?

This photo brings out major FEELS for me - and makes me want to

In a COOL place

It's Spring in the Stores . . . It's Spring on TV . . . So, Where is SPRING for ME?

What???

It is raining AGAIN here is NorCal. It seems like lately we get 1-2 days of really awesome weather followed by RAIN. . . Rain . . . and more rain.

I admit. I like a little RAIN. But my patience is wearing thin because this is too much. I know, I know. Those of you who LIVE in the rainy parts of the world are scoffing at me about now. "What a lightweight that Noodles is!" or "She thinks THAT'S RAIN? I'll show her our daily BUCKETS of rain! Now THAT is something to whine about!" And so on.

Rain on the windshield and an incredibly
green hill

If you THINK about it, though; you will realize that I have spent 7 of my 9 years in a DROUGHT situation. It hardly rained at all! And if it did, it lasted AT MOST one month and then disappeared altogether. But this has been going on since NOVEMBER of 2018. I have had about my limit.

I have to admit, it does make MY FOOTHILLS look so lovely and green, don't you think?

And the smells outside are unbelievably rich and not at all DUSTY smelling.

And the everything in the yard looks so happy.

But I am still ready for SUNSHINE AND SPRINGTIME!!!

Can't it start NOW?

PLEASE?

Three Days Have Flown By . . . Melting Snow Adventures

This is how the front yard at the CHALET looked when we first arrived. There was close to 3 feet along the roadways (with a lot of bare patches, though) and the whole yard was covered with snow. It has been 3 warm days (close to 60 degrees) and the snow has been steadily melting. This is how that same area of the yard looks today

The first day here the kids made an awesome snowman as you can see here. The dug up the snow and made a huge ball. Then they piled more snow on top and a small ball on top of that. Pretty soon they had a pretty respectable looking snowman complete with HAT and SCARF.

Jax was the main architect. Note the snowball
hands with fingers

Well, Mr. Snowman is no more. His hands were the first to go and by yesterday his upper torso was history. This is what he looked like this morning when we went on our walk.

Mr. Snowman is the blob to the left of the tree

Kinda of shocking, huh? I suspect the yard will be largely free of snow by the time we leave tomorrow. The brown patches somehow makes the snow more inviting to me - somehow less COLD. I found this NOT to be true early this morning when I took a potty walk while it was 26 degrees.

This seemed like a good idea at the time. BUT my
tootsies are freezing!

I guess even though we are in snow country, there really are signs of Spring arriving. Not a lot of flowers yet. And the only green grass is the pretend grass

But I can smell the change in the air and I am pretty certain that the next time I travel this was it will look all green and flowery.

Gotta SPRING In My Step And Spring In My Sights

Hi you all! HOPPY SPRING to everypuggy. I am especially happy today because the clouds are dispersing and there is a sweet smell of flowers in the air. It is still cool, but the day has SO MUCH PROMISE!

Just yesterday there were rain clouds in the sky and rain puddles on the ground. It was so gloomy. I spent a lot of the day just doing THIS

It was just the RIGHT thing to do for such a gloomy day. But it was fine - it was Sunday and the whole family was home including MOMMY #1 from college! She is on SPRING BREAK which is perfect since MOTHER NATURE is BREAKING in SPRING, so to SPEAK.

Around here there are clear markers that winter has bid farewell and SPRING is taking over. The temperatures are warming up and Mommy #2 says her BONES are not so cold now. The flowers Aunt T planted are all starting to bloom and when you walk into the backyard your NOSE is greeted by their sweet perfume. I sometimes ask to go outside JUST to SIT in the sun and take deep breaths.

The hills around us are a lovely PANOPLY of greens with SPLASHES of yellows. The yellow is from our native grass - the mustard plant (Sahara mustard (Brassica tournefortii). Oh how I love to see and smell this harbinger of warmer days.

It makes me want to whip out my dancing shoes and GO FOR IT!

HOPPY SPRING!

March 20 Marks the First Day of Spring and. . . Hay Fever. . . and Spring Fever

Nothing to do with the blog - we just loves Chewy.com AND
this picture of us

So OFFICIALLY as of today - Spring has Sprung. It sure looks it in our yard. Look at all that green! Last year at this time there was a little green and the year before there was NO GREEN. We've got another rainy week on hand but despite a little grumbling, most people are really glad we have had a lot of rain. We can look forward to a little less water conservation (we should ALWAYS be mindful of how much water we use).

I don't know about you, but I get hay fever. You can't tell in most pictures because Mommy usually PRETTIES me up before she shoots. Once in a while a runny nose or goopy eye appears - but not often. This is one that "got away" and shows a little nost wetness.

Most of the time the grasses of SPRING, which is what I am really sensitive to, just makes me a little itchy and my tummy a bit spotty. Nothing major. NOT LIKE MOMMY. She gets all RUDOLPH the red nose reindeer NOSED and teary eyed like she was watching telenovelas. She sometimes takes allergy meds but normally she doesn't like to. She loves the grass and flowers. She loves the leafy trees. Me too. A sneeze or a runny nose is a small price to pay for such beauty.

Mostly though, I suffer from SPRING FEVER. All I want to do it sit in the sun and ponder the meaning of life. What IS the meaning of life, after all? I believe it is about enjoyment which leads to happiness. But not just any enjoyment. No, I mean the enjoyment of your surroundings and the people and pets within those surroundings. That is all you can really count on day to day - AMIRITE?

Make the first day of SPRING a day of AFFIRMATIONS. I am. 

Hey, I got a thought! I am gonna do another ONE HUNDRED for 2017. How about 100 AFFIRMATIONS? Yes. . . that is what I am gonna do. Look for it APRIL 1. . . and I am NOT FOOLING.

Enjoying the SUNLIGHT. Please ignore Mommy's
NAKED foot

What Spring Means To ME

Springtime means a lot to me

To all the birds and all the bees

The warming sun gives me a smile

And nowadays it stays for a while

I love to sit in Springtime's day

Breezes blow the clouds away

Not too hot, not too muggy

The weather's just right for this puggy

Intoxicatingly the perfume wafts

from within the flower tops

So many different smells to blend

And send adrift upon the wind

Making all the valley sigh

Contentedly 'til Summer's nigh

Tomorrow's the FIRST DAY of Spring

How will you celebrate?

Spring Time . . . Swing Time!

SPRINGTIME, and the nicer weather that accompanies it, means more time at the Dog Park and the People Park. It really doesn't matter which one we go to since we end up in the Little Persons playground. I really love to go there, ride the merry-go-round, and take an exciting ride down the slide. One of my most favorite things to do, though, is to ride the SWINGS.

I am not sure what is so beguiling about the swing. Maybe it is the subtle feeling of weightlessness that you get? Or maybe it is just the cooling breeze that wafts by you as you go back and forth. I am simply not sure and not about to analyze it more than that. I simply LOVE TO SWING.

Have a grrrrrrrrrrrrrreat weekend EveryPUGGY! And keep swinging.

HAPPY THING #33: The Swing, To Swing, Swinging!!!

It Smells Like SPRING

What wonderful weather we have had this week. It was a pleasure to step outside and do my bidness - no matter what time of day. I even lollygagged a but more than usual just to enjoy the sunshine and the sweet smells of the trees, grass, flowers, and so on.

It looks like it will change a bit next week - a little cooler and cloudier. 

April is so fickle.

Around our house there is also a lot of sneezing and snuffling going on as Spring allergies kick in. Me too. My eyes have been so itchy lately; and I admit I rub them whenever I get the chance. Mom has threatened to put my cone on my head - but that won't help. I have figured out how to rub my eyes WITH the stupid cone of Shame. HAH!!!

Nonetheless, this is the time of year I feel more hopeful and energetic. I see a lot of dog parks and extra walkies in my future.

HAPPY THOUGHT OF THE DAY: The sweet smell of grass is like a SMILE for your nose