Poop Scooping Thankful

Percy:  I remember this picture from July, but why we are posting this today?

Buddy:  Because when Jan walked outside to take this picture, the sky was dark as the storm moved in around us, but there in the midst of the storm clouds the sun was shining.

Cyndi:  Oh, right, and Jan said this would be a good reminder that there is hope even in the midst of a storm.

Percy:  I get it now  This is Thankful Thursday, a perfect time to post an uplifting storm picture.

Buddy:  We are also thankful for a sweet neighbor who gave us her two old modems when she switched to cable.  Our modem died a few months ago and the neighbor's oldest modem was dead Monday morning when Jan turned on the computer.  We hope her newer one will last us a long time!

Cyndi:  And we're thankful for our friend who has helped us with so many things over the years, including the bright pink shoes Jan has been wearing on our walks for a while.

Percy:  And we can't forget the kind, generous blogger who surprised us with a shipment of dog and cat food.

Buddy:  Or the friend who gives Jan a ride to Walmart and church when she can.

Cyndi:  Mr. Doug gives her an occasional ride to Walmart too, but.Jan gets awfully bored stuck at home all the time.  I can't imagine why.  She has us to keep her company.

Marcus:  How could Jan be bored?  We keep her busy.

Percy:  I don't think poop scooping rates high on the thankful scale, Marcus.

Marcus:  It should!  If there was no poop to scoop, there would be no Funny Farm.

Buddy:  For once you're making sense, Marcus.

Marcus:  If she doubles our food, we could poop more often.  That should give us Funny Farm security.

Cyndi:  You should have stopped while you were still making sense!


We're joining Pepi Smart Dog for today's Thankful Thursday blog hop. 

Natural Balance LID

Taylor:  Hey, Rusty,  Jan just pushed this box in the spot where I was sleeping.  Help me shove it to the floor so I can finish my nap.

Rusty:  I don't think you want to shove those cans to the floor.  We're supposed to taste test the contents.

Taylor:  Oh, good.  What is it?

Rusty:  Let's see.  It's Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance LID, or Limited Ingredient Diets, canned cat food..  There are six formulas.  We received the chicken & green pea formula in 3 ounce cans.

Taylor:  You mean there are only two ingredients?

Rusty:  No.  It has chicken, chicken broth, chicken liver, ground peas, pea protein, chicken meal, natural flavor and numerous vitamins and minerals.  Click on the above Natural Balance link for a complete list of ingredients.  I guess it does have only two main ingredients.

Taylor:  I see Chewy lists the key benefits as:

    Grain-free recipe.
    Single source animal protein & limited carbohydrate sources.
    High-quality nutrition for skin & coat health.
    Contains nutrients, vitamins & minerals.
    No artificial flavors or colors.
    Complete & balanced for all life stages.

Rusty:  Let's try some.

Micah:  Tastes good to me.

Cyndi:  Jan always adds water to canned food to help us drink more.  She added just the right amount  today. 

Taylor:  What's the problem, Rusty?  You're not eating.

Rusty:  Jan knows I like my wet food served with a sprinkle of crunchies on top.  Hey, Jan, where are my crunchies!

Percy:  It's about time I get my share. I'm always served last any more.  Just because I want to dine on the desk doesn't mean my breakfast should be served late!

Taylor:  We are all enjoying the Natural Balance LID cat food.  Rusty and Percy prefer theirs served with a sprinkle of crunchies on top, but the rest of us eat it naked.

Micah:  Are you referring to us or to the food when you use the word "naked"?

Cyndi:  I think Taylor is referring to the food.  Are we supposed to say "naked" in a food review?

Percy:  Probably not, but I doubt Jan would put a hat on it before serving.


We were provided the cat food for review by Chewy.com.  We received no other compensation and any opinions expressed are entirely our own.

Great Eggshell Riot

Percy:  Sit still, Marcus!  I'm getting dizzy watching you. 

Marcus:  I can't sit still.  Too much to do.  I've got to snoopervise Jan.  She can't accomplish anything without me.

Percy:  That's odd.  I was under the impression she can't accomplish anything with you underfoot.

Marcus:  I've got to pick up poop in the yard, scoop the litter pans, get the coffee ready to brew  --

Percy:  You don't do any of those things.  Ripping the trash bag when Jan tries to take it out of the house is more your brand of help.  Remember the eggshell fiasco in the living room Saturday?  That was your idea of help.

Marcus:  Well, I made sure those eggs shells were dead!

Percy:  You mean you made sure they were spread. 

Marcus:  Spread.  Dead.  What's the difference?   Jan had nothing to fear from them after I showed them who's boss.

Percy:   She had nothing to fear from them before you ripped a hole in the trash bag as she walked by.

Marcus:   You don't know that.  Haven't you heard of the Great Eggshell Riot of 1923?

Percy:  No.  And neither have you!

Marcus:  Well, I could have -

Percy:  - if eggshells could riot.

Micah's Gotcha Birthday

Rusty:  We don't usually post on the weekend any more, but we can't let Micah's special day pass unnoticed.  This is Micah's 4th Gotcha Day, and since we don't know when he was born, we just celebrate this special day as his birthday too.  He is about 5 or 6 years of age now.

Cyndi:  Happy 4th Gotcha 5th/6th Birthday, Micah!

Taylor:  That's quite a mouthful, Cyndi.  Let's just celebrate!



We would like to add a note regarding yesterday's post, Headless and Wing Flapping.  From the comments and emails received, we are certain the headless bird is a hawk.  We're not positive what type.

Merci:  Even though they're not the greatest pictures, after what she had to do to get the shots, Jan is pretty pleased with the end results.

Buddy:  An obvious question is, if the hawk turned around, why didn't Jan just walk around the tree where she could  get a front shot of the bird - hopefully with a head?  The answer is that in order to walk around the tree, Jan would have had to climb an 8-foot high fence with barbed wire on top while carrying three dogs.  If she survived the climb - and the fall - she would have been arrested for trespassing on private property.  We couldn't afford to pay her bail, so we're content with a decapitated hawk and ruffled feathers.

Headless and Wing Flapping

Merci:  A couple of weeks ago we watched a big bird land high up in a tree.  Jan pulled out her camera as we hot-footed it toward the tree.

Marcus:  We stopped.  While holding tightly to our leashes with one hand, Jan raised the other arm high above her head -

Buddy:  And the bird popped up and spun around with its back to us.

Merci:  Jan has a problem finding a target with one arm in the air.  (Remember when she aimed for the sky between two trees and took a picture of the house instead?  An Aiming Problem.)

Marcus: When she downloaded the pictures, the bird was missing in the first few; however, she did manage to shoot the target in two ... sort of.

Buddy:  As you can see, here is most of a bird from the rear.  We're pretty sure it had a head when it landed, but Jan decapitated it.  

Merci:  With precision timing, it flapped its wings just as Jan took the second shot.

Buddy:  We're curious as to what type of bird it is and are hoping someone might recognize the markings.  It's a long shot, but worth asking.

Marcus:  Whatever it is, the next time we see it, I'm going to invite him for lunch.

UPDATE: We are posting close-ups of the bird.  Sorry for the poor photos, but if Jan can miss the sky to hit a house, she can certainly decapitate a bird.  We would suggest you not let her take your picture - just in case!

We are joining the Pet Parade hosted by Rascal and Rocco, Basil the Bionic Cat, and Barking from the Bayou.

Short and Thin

Taylor:   We are hoping Jan has learned her lesson about attacking - even accidentally - a stinging insect (Flat Black Flying Insect), but she's so absent-minded, she probably hasn't.

Buddy:  It was a fun eight days watching her carefully poke sticks and clippers into the bushes to figure out where its friends and family were hiding.

Taylor:  After church the next day, she did a little trimming in the rain. Clip, clip, here they come, move away.  Okay, it's safe.  Clip, clip, here they come, move away.   By day three she had made the mess in the photo above. 

Buddy:  This is a view of the side of the house.  Weeds and thistles were entangled in the bushes and some were already growing under the siding.

Taylor:  It took her eight days, but she worked her way through all the bushes and then went back to cut them a second, then a third time so they were all short and thinned.

Buddy:  This is the end result of the side of the house.

Taylor:  And this is the front.  Notice the one trimmed down to the stalks and thinned to half the original size. 

Buddy:  It took five days of careful trimming to find what was being built in that bush.  Can you see it?  (Click o the pic to enlarge it.)  This is a close-up from the only angle it's visible.

Taylor:  And this is what the wasp nest looked like the morning after Jan sprayed it and it fell down. 

Buddy:  We're thankful to be rid of those wasps.  Jan was afraid one of us dogs would be stung since we like to water those bushes as we begin our walks.

Taylor: Sorry we don't have any jokes for you today.  Jan can be crabby when she's in pain and that sometimes affects our sense of humor.   But we'll find it again if she didn't throw it out with the shrub trimmings.


We're joining Pepi Smart Dog for today's Thankful Thursday blog hop.

Micah has a Brand New Box

Micah - 

What a present.  A heavy duty cardboard box top.  Brand new.  Pristine.   And no one else knows it's here.  What shall I do with it?

I could sit it in and pretend it's a choo choo train.

I could nap in it in the sunshine.

I could chew on it.

I could pee in it.  No, that's not a good idea.  It's a box.  Boxes are valuable.  Of course, if Percy thinks it's my box, he'll pee in it.

I could push it off the cupboard to hide it behind the washing machine until Ifigure out what to do with it.

Wait!  I know what to do with this box.

Yes, I sharpened my claws in it to leave my scent so everyone knows it's mine.

Turkey Lovers Wellness Core

Marcus:  Yes, Jan, get my good side.  Wait!  Is this my good side, or should I turn around?

Marcus:  I'm sorry.  You're right.  Deep breath, smile.  And I'm ready.

Merci:  What do we have today?  It looks like the Turkey Lovers Variety Pack.

Buddy:  It has two flavors of Wellness Core Grain Free canned food for us to taste test. 

Marcus:  I can't wait!

Buddy:  Let's see, there's the Turkey, Chicken Liver & Turkey Liver Formula. 

Merci:  And the Turkey,  Pork Liver & Duck Formula.

Chewy says, "Wellness CORE provides a balanced profile of high-quality, natural ingredients appropriate for everyday feeding. These grain-free recipes contain absolutely no meat by-products, artificial colors, flavorings, preservatives, corn, wheat or soy."

And Chewy lists the Key Benefits as:

    18-can variety pack featuring two turkey-focused recipes.

    Made with real turkey, pork liver, duck, chicken, and turkey liver.

    Grain- and gluten-free for dogs with food-related allergies.

    Fortified with important vitamins and minerals for well-being.

    Complete & balanced for everyday feeding.

Marcus:  Jan thinks it sounds good for us. 

Buddy:  Micah, that's dog food.  Get your face out of the can. 

Marcus:  Here I am in my Private Dining Car waiting for the word ...

... to dive in and taste this. 

Merci:  I am starting to think we always get served last because Jan thinks we seniors take longer to find our food bowls.

Buddy:  Well, it doesn't take us longer to eat than Marcus.

Merci:  We all love the Wellness Core canned dog food.


We were provided the food by Chewy.com.  We received no other compensation and Chewy is not responsible for the content.

Talk Like A Pirate Day 2016

Percy & Marcus

Merci:  Shiver me timbers!  T'is familiar. Do we need to pillage another island for booty for a new graphic?

Cyndi: Visiting landlubbers can have a dreg o' rum on us today. Oh, wait, thee cork fell out of thee barrel and thee rum spilled in that big storm last week.

Merci:  Yarr! We don't really have anything to serve our visitors today, do we?

Cyndi:  Blimey! Nay. What grub didn't fall overboard in thee storm, we stashed away for today's party, but Marcus found it.

Merci:  Shiver me timbers! So thar's nothing left for thee party, is thar?

Cyndi:  Not a morsel.

Merci:  Alas! We'll just have to thank visitors for coming by and tell them thar's a party on thee 3rd pirate galleon to our right, although we're not sure if it's a frivolous party or a walk thee plank party.

Cyndi:  Perhaps we should skip that one and advise them to do thee same, but thar's a big party just a mile downriver.

Merci:  Wait, isn't that thee pirate galleon whar everyone got so three sheets to the wind last year thar was a huge fight and half thee participants fell overboard and drowned?

Cyndi:  Right. I'd forgotten about that. We can cross that off thee list too.

Merci:  Ahoy! How about if we forget about sending visitors to another galleon to party and just send out for pizza?

Cyndi:  Blimey! Fine. How many visitors be we expecting? Er ... how will we pay for the pizzas?

Merci:  We could plunder thee Pirates Nest Bar for loose swag. Drunken pirates be always dropping doubloons and trinkets.

Cyndi:  That's a tough bar. On second thought, let's just turn off thee poop deck light and hide thee welcome mat.

Merci:  Alas! Ye git thee light. I'll turn over thee mat.

Graphic by Ann of Zoolatry.

Thank you to this year's hosts for Talk Like A Pirate Day, Pirate Louisdog Armstrong and Matey Bear Cat.

Singing the Blues

Cyndi:  What are you doing in there moaning like a dying hound?

Marcus:  Jan said I belong in prison and I'm singing the blues.

Cyndi:  What are you in for this time?

Marcus:  I used my nose to smash Jan in the shin with the prison door when she was walking by.

Cyndi: That wasn't very bright.

Marcus:  I was bored.

Cyndi:  How long do you have to serve before you get out on parole?

Marcus:  I think Jan said I'm a lifer.

Cyndi:  I'd say we'll miss you but you'll still be here annoying us.

Marcus:  Do you think you could bake me a cake with a file in it so I can escape?

Cyndi:  No.  I don't want to end up sharing a cell with you.

Percy:  Can you guys please keep it down so I can take a nap!  And, Marcus, stop whining.  You know very well you went in your Private Dining Car of your own accord and the door is not latched.

Corner of Barmy and Batz

Micah:  Beep, beep, coming through. 

Buddy:  Excuse me, what did you say?

Micah:  I'm just wondering if this cable car stops at my corner.

Buddy:  What corner would that be -  Barmy and batz?

Micah:  I don't remember that corner on my route.  You must have me confused with another passenger.

Buddy:  I don't think so.  It would be hard to confuse you with anyone.



We're joining Pepi Smart Dog for today's Thankful Thursday blog hop.

Spur of the Moment

Rusty:  I love you!

Jan:  I love you, too!

Rusty:  You want to watch the spiders spin their webs in my cathouse today?

Jan:  Thanks, but I have to go in the house and ... you have to go in the house and  ... yes, I definitely have to go in the house and find some spider spray.

Rusty:  Humans!  They just can't live in the spur of the moment!

Marcus Two-Step

Micah:  Is it true what I heard about Marcus honking again?

Marcus.

Buddy:  It depends on what you heard.  If you heard he was communicating with geese again, that's sort of true.

Micah:  How can it be "sort of" true?

Buddy:  Well, Marcus sort of thinks he was communicating with geese again.   I couldn't attest that either species was on the same honking dialect.  In fact, I am pretty certain they weren't.

Micah: How can you be sure?

Buddy:  As we walked closer, the geese backed up and began to two-step to our left.

Micah:  So why did Marcus come home so proud of himself?

Buddy:  He thinks he taught them to dance.


PS:  Regarding yesterday's post - Flat Black Flying Insect -  where Jan was stung by the mystery insect.  (She only saw it squashed for a second.)  She tried to cut the same bushes in the rain yesterday, hoping things would be uneventful.  Before long, there were insects flying around, so she retreated.

She really wants to find out where they are hiding, so when it rained a little harder, she thought she would try again.  They came out again.  She came in the house to get her reading glasses.  Wearing them, she was able to stand on the porch and locate one upside down through an opening in the bush.  W- A - S - P!

We've had wasps flying around "on" our porch for years.  Never found where they came from and they never bothered us.  Wasps in the bushes is something new.  These didn't actually bother Jan either.  She researched over the weekend and found wasps can build a nest in a bush and be highly aggressive to someone just walking by.  But there is no nest in these bushes!

Wonder what kind of wasps these could be?  She accidentally "attacked" the wasp that stung her, not the other way around, and so far they haven't bothered her, but Jan is terrified they won't take kindly to repeated disturbances.   Those bushes have got to be trimmed!  Any safe advice?

Flat Black Flying Insect

Cyndi:  Do you remember the bushes around the house that have grown wild this summer?  (Click to read Seven Dollars and Change.)   Jan finally started on the three in the front Saturday.  She started cutting out the growth that doesn't belong.  One part was twisted among the bush, so she grabbed it and yanked hard to the left.  Then SCREAMED!  Yep, two snips, one yank and she was finished pruning.

Merci:  You have to tell the whole truth, Cyndi.  Jan stopped because she was stung.

Cyndi:  By what?

Merci:  That's what Jan would like to know.  There was what could have been a flattened black flying insect plastered against her arm.  And there were suddenly three or four black unknowns insects flying around the area she'd been working.  They didn't attack her and they might have had nothing to do with what happened.

Cyndi:  A wasp?

Merci:  That was Jan's first thought since we usually have wasps flying around the front, but it looked more black than brown or red and it was a bit hard to identify a flat bug with one terrified glance.  Not that she stopped to study it!  And she couldn't find a body when she went back to look.  But it gave her a good scare!.

Cyndi:  And a sore arm.  Ice took down the swelling and closed over the hole.  But now she's wondering if there's still a stinger in there.  On the other hand, she sure hopes it wasn't a spider!

Merci:  What's so funny, Cyndi?

Cyndi:  I'm just thinking about that poor bug minding it's own business and suddenly ... ouch!

Merci:  You'd better wipe the smile off your face before you go in to dinner.  That's what happened to Jan.
  
P. S. by Cyndi:  By the way, try saying the title of this post rapidly three times.

Marcus has a Crick

Marcus:  Go ahead.  It's okay to say it.  You ladies think I'm handsome.

Cyndi:  Actually, I think you need a chiropractor.  How long have you had that crick in your neck?

Calamity Jan

Marcus: Why have you been sitting there so long staring so intently out the door? 

Percy:  I'm looking for Jan's calamity.

Marcus:  When did she lose it?  Come to think of it, what is it?

Percy:  I'm not sure  and I'm quite confused as to whether she lost it or she's expecting it.

Marcus:  What brought it to your attention?

Percy:  I was just reading some old comments and I came across one from the last time Jan flew across the room and crashed.  It read, "Oh Jan, do we need to add an "e" to the end of your name and start calling you "Calamity Jane"? LOL! Furniture is evil. You can't fight furniture. Furniture always wins. Love & Biscuits, Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them"

Marcus:  Did you search the internet to see what a calamity is?

Percy:  Yes.  Evidently it can be anything from an inevitable accident to a hangnail.

Marcus:  You're waiting for a hangnail to walk through the door?

Percy:  Don't be silly!  I'm waiting for Jan to walk through the door so I can see if she is okay.

Marcus:  Well, I'd suggest we move the basket and box so she doesn't trip coming in the door.  I don't think we really need to worry about her.  She's already had her calamity quota for the rest of this week.

Percy:  She has?  How?

Marcus:  Remember when Jan was brushing Rusty Sunday morning and Rusty turned to give her a love nip like he always does and her forearm collided with his fangs?

Percy:  That was an accident, and fortunately, Rusty didn't lose his teeth in that accident.

Marcus:  Two holes in her arm count as a cat bite.  And the same day she sliced her finger open with the lid on a can of tomato sauce.

Percy:  Oh, that's right.  She's thankful both injuries are healing so quickly since she still hasn't been able to find the new box of bandages.

Marcus:  Now that you know Jan is okay, come with me.  I can use some help filching a dog biscuit from the open package.  That's it.  Just push the box off the cat tree and -

CRRRRAAAASH!

Percy:  Uh-oh, we forgot to move the basket and the box out of the doorway before Jan came in.

From all of us:  Don't worry, the story is true but the ending is sprinkled with fairy dust.


We're joining Pepi Smart Dog for today's Thankful Thursday blog hop.

One Word Micah

B-O-X!

Cyndi's Expo Report

Cyndi:  I'm all set for my solo post today.  I'll be whispering ... er, reporting from deep within my news studio so the other Funny Farmers won't hear me and interfere.  You know what busybodies they are.

Last Thursday Jan went to the Thomaston Business Expo and I'm going to share a few photos from it.  Jan stood on the stage to take photos of the floor.  Not the floor specifically.  Perhaps I should change that to a stage view of the room.  There were a lot of vendor tables and visitors.

Businesses handed out cards, pens, candy and smiles as visitors stopped to learn about them.

Three Rivers Workforce Development.

Fletcher-Day Funeral Home.

A few friends from Thomaston Toastmasters.

Our mayor J. D. Stallings and Matt Sharpe, editor of The Upson Beacon.

 

To the left is the Publisher of The Upson Beacon, Debbie Lord.

Local artist Fawne of Flint Rose Studio. 

Here is the Flint Rose table again.

The folks manning the local Rotary Club table.

Upson County BOC (Board of Commissioners).

This is Tim.  He founded A.C.T.S. (Always Choose To Serve) Outreach of Georgia.  He is a firefighter and was exhausted, since he had just come off a 48-hour shift.  Instead of going home to bed, he attended the Expo. He works hard to raise funds to assist people in need. 

This is just for fun. 

Riverside Health & Rehabilitation.

Jan finally broke down and had her first taste of cotton candy in many, many, many years.

(Oh, sorry, Jan, I didn't mean to imply you're old.)  

She wasn't very impressed with it.

Two very nice humans from Gordon State College.

This ends my Expo 2016 report.  If you enjoyed the brief tour, we accept tips.  Bags of fishy flakes will do.  We all love them.  Except Jan, but that's okay.  I'll eat her share.

Purrs,
Cyndi