Woofapalooza!

I've been looking forward to Woofapalooza which took place this weekend. It was scheduled for yesterday, but due to bad weather it was rescheduled for today. Below are some of the photos I took which reinforce my belief that life is simply not long enough to adopt all the different breeds of dog I love.


King Leo! I can't remember the entire proper name of this tiny Pomeranian, but I assure you it was much bigger than him. He's fully grown and the most adorable little Pom I've ever seen.


What sweethearts these two were, sweetness and light. Doncha just want to hug 'em both!


An elegant profile on this lovely Great Dane. Oh how I'd love to take him home with me. If you are interested in one of these gentle giants (and I have been privileged to belong to one in the past), please check out the website of Northwest Florida Great Dane Rescue.


How did they color coordinate those ears to your tongue, sweetie?!


Simply super! It's Supergirl and her companion Superdog!


Uh oh, give it up mister, you're fixin' to be herded!


Tie-dyed and proud of it!


"I'm all about 'Bama, m'am."


Oh my! Is this a hang-dog look or just a hangover?


This Brussels Griffon looked slightly like an old English teacher of mine, but its disposition seemed much sweeter.


Ahhhhh...look at those soft brown eyes.


Time for a drink.


A little pug, quite a picture in her pretty pink attire.


"I can touch my nose with my tongue. Wanna see?"


"Scruffy"! Now please do not get upset if you're the owner. This little fellow looks like the shaved-down version of an abandoned little dog we once rescued and gave that name.

"I love you, mom...so can we please go home now?"

Big ears and bigger heart,

all the rest are tiny parts.

"I only wear pink cashmere, dahling. Keep those animals away from me!"

Ooooh, another great profile on this chocolate lab. What a beauty. And don't you love a guy who color-coordinates with his dog? How did he find a shirt the exact same color?

Yikes! Yellow fever!

I love doggie Doggles! It's even cuter when their Doggles match their feather boas.

Oh look, it's a bird dog. {{{hee, hee...rim shot!}}}

"Holy kibble, Rosco, what have we stumbled into! Have you ever seen so many dogs in costume?"

Bad dog! (Not really. His mom just dressed him that way.)

Ahhhh...do they give out an award for sweetest expression? Just look at that adorable face.

Stand back. These are trained terriers. They can make you 'ooh' and 'ahh' in five seconds flat.

"The poem says, 'When I am old, I shall wear purple...' it doesn't say dye me purple!"

Stroller babies.

A couple of English (?) Mastiffs. Now I realize they are smaller than some mastiffs, but if you don't think they are very big, look at the size of the paw that's stepping on the lady's foot.


The Pensacola Junior Humane Society is a great group and can always use your support. You may visit their site by clicking HERE.


Another great group is the NW Florida Great Dane Rescue. You may visit their site (and their available dogs) by clicking HERE. Great Danes are frequently referred to as gentle giants, but can be difficult to place due to their size. You can help them by donating money or supplies, volunteering, or providing a foster home if qualified.


A pile of pups in the park.


The parade proceeds down Government Street to Seville Square where a music festival was going on.

And finally, bringing up the rear, is the little red fire truck from Rosie O'Grady's.

Everyone seemed to have a good time and hopefully this will become an annual event for Pensacola.

Clearing

After another round of severe thunderstorms this week which rolled through before dawn, I was so happy to see clear, blue skies in the afternoon. The wind, however, did not die down and it created beautiful patterns in the sand, removing traces of footprints among the dunes.


Several days of southerly winds had whipped the waves into a beautiful froth.


It always makes me smile to see people walking the shore and enjoying some quiet, reflective time alone.

"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water."

~~ Loren Eiseley, (1907-1977)

Another view

The rain just doesn't want to let up, so I decided to show you another, drier view of the island. They say the 3-bedroom units at Portofino have a 270 degree view -- and I believe them!


If you have followed my blog for long you know my favorite area to hike is Range Point and beyond. This photo looks east from Tower IV at Portofino, down on Range Point and eastward to Big Sabine, the next point in the distance.

Looking east from the 19th floor balcony...

Then west across Santa Rosa Sound.

The west view looks straight down the island and I can imagine some beautiful sunsets.

How cool is this view!

Surfers are out enjoying the high surf while the rest of us are staying under cover.

Ahhhh...do I have to go?? I could look at this view all day...maybe someday.

Rainy Thursday

A day of thunderstorms and periods of heavy rain, but the view from a friend's condo was dramatic and beautiful.

Reflection

"My eyes are an ocean in which my dreams are reflected."

~~Anna M. Uhlich

Flat Stanley project

Am I the last person in the world to hear about the Flat Stanley project! My little niece from Texas, who you may remember from an earlier post in "Gidget goes to Pensacola Beach," visited me as 'Flat Samantha' to share Pensacola Beach with her second grade classmates in Mansfield, Texas.


The first place Flat Samantha and I visited was the Visitors Information Center. They were so nice to us! They gave us really cool Blue Angels' posters, a map of the island upon which we marked the location of Aunt DJ's house, a tiny bag of sugar-white Pensacola Beach sand, and other brochures and goodies to share with her class when Flat Sami goes back home to Texas!


Next we drove a couple of miles down the island and stopped by the Pensacola Beach Elementary School, even though it was closed for Spring Break. Flat Samantha looked so cute balancing on the PBES school sign, just like in her gymnastics class.

In the report we explained that Pensacola Beach celebrates Mardi Gras and that our Elementary School has their own special krewe called the Krewe of Kids who elect a new King, Queen, Prince and Princess every year. We even included a cover of the island newspaper, Island Times, with the Krewe's royal court on the cover!

The Krewe of Kids also have a yummy annual Royal Donut Breakfast and their very own parade around Casino Beach, throwing beads to people who attend, so we packed lots of beads to send back to Flat Samantha's class in Texas!


It is was a beautiful, sunny and warm weekend, so Flat Samantha and I went to the beach to take photos and enjoy our sugar white sand. We picked up a bag of small shells to send back to Samantha's class. I bet they'll want to visit here when they see what a great time we had!

Since it is Spring Break time, there are many families visiting and Flat Samantha made friends with Sam and Cody who were playing on the beach that afternoon. Aren't they the cutest!!! And so sweet to take time to play with Flat Sami!

I was sad to send Flat Samantha back home to Texas. We had a wonderful time exploring Pensacola Beach and I hope Mrs. Hull's second grade class at Willie Brown Elementary School in Mansfield, Texas has half as much fun reading about our adventures as I did on this project.

Bye-bye, Flat Samantha!

Sweet Home (Farm), Alabama

This is one of the most delicious secrets I've ever told you, but don't spread the word too far...


We opted to come back from our trip to the Fairhope Art & Crafts Festival yesterday afternoon via Highway 98. The timing was perfect to stop at Sweet Home Farm, a small farmstead cheese operation which I had heard about and always wanted to visit, just 8 miles west of the Florida state line (and approximately 35 miles from home).

We turned off Highway 98 and followed the signs about half a mile, yet a world away from the well-traveled road.

Small groups of Guernseys here and there were contentedly munching on hay or resting in the shade as we drove in, paying us nary a bit of attention.

An old authentic Divco milk truck, sat in a pasture next to the store.

Inside the store a lovely antique Gibbon & Saxton wood and gas combo cooking stove now serves as a stocking shelf amid other shelves stocked with local items such as jams, jellies, honey, and bread

The owners, Doug Wolbert (right) and his wife, Alyce Birchenough (middle) tended to to a steady stream customers. Their small store which is only open from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday was packed as we patiently waited our turn in line. As one group left, another quickly took their place. The pace never slowed while we were there.

A board listed all their farmstead cheese. We made our first purchase of Elberta cheese, a creamy semi-soft cheese made from Alyce's own recipe and named for the town, but by the time we left we also carried with us 'Bama Jack, some local honey and a loaf of their freshly made raisin bread.


What a lovely place to stop and enjoy this unique little farm before heading back home. We'll be back time and time again, for sure.

For more information on Sweet Home Farm, you may click on any of the links above or HERE for an older -and very interesting - article.

Fairhope Arts Festival

I'm excited about the Fairhope Annual Arts & Crafts Festival this weekend in Fairhope, Alabama. Much as I enjoy walking around and seeing all the vendors, I don't get to take a lot of photos. Artists are a bit finicky about it (unless you work for a newspaper) due to concerns of people stealing their creative ideas.

BUT, one of the most exciting reasons for me to visit the festival is SUZY TORONTO! I love her Wonderfully Wacky Women, Gathering of the Goddesses, and Divas of the Deep...oh, okay, I just love all her fun artwork.

My Suzy Toronto shopping list (which includes some early Christmas shopping) for the weekend is probably as follows:

Memo pads or other Memo pads

Luggage tags

Christmas cards?

And maybe some note cards?

Now don't despair if you can't attend the the Fairhope event. There are a couple of other options if you like Suzy's work as much as I do. If you are local, you can find some of her items at The Emerald Turtle in Gulf Breeze, near Publix in the Seashell Shopping Center. Or, you may go online to Suzy's website and shop there.

Have a fun weekend!

Sand Blackberry

It took me a couple of days to identify this 'wild flower', but at last I discovered the small white blooms I saw in patches around Range Point were Sand Blackberries.


I'd be willing to try the fruit when it ripens, but I doubt that will be an option. All the night critters in the area will scarf them down long before I have a chance. Still, it was fun to finally identify the lovely, delicate flowers.

Great Blue Heron

What a surprise to find this Great Blue Heron waiting for me on the dock when I returned from a walk today! Isn't it beautiful?

Many cultures consider the Blue Heron a symbol of good luck...unless, of course, he's fishing in your pond.

Spring has sprung!

A late afternoon walk around my yard made it obvious that spring has sprung even though we're officially a couple of days away.


The Knockout roses in my yard are profuse every year, though their foliage still suffers right now from the one-two punch of cold temps and salt-laden high winds earlier in the month.


And look at the delicate blooms opening on my Meyer lemon tree. The fragrance is beyond my writing ability to describe.


Dune sunflowers are everywhere, making Mourning Doves very happy. They love to snack on these as individual blooms die and seeds release. In return, they happily serenade me through out the day with their soft coohing song.

And my Bottlebrush tree is loaded with blooms! I love this time of year