Happy July 4th, uh, 5th!
Been on holiday, playing with kids and grand kids visiting from Oregon. Hope you had a lovely weekend, and for those of you in the U.S., a wonderful July 4th holiday.
Maggie and I spent a heavenly two days at a Scott Glen clinic, learned bunches, and the weather was perfect. The next day, Willie and Maggie got some play time with a good friend’s new dog, Colby.
The Day Lily garden is coming into its own, and the daisies, who I sprayed with a “vitamin mixture” are growing almost head high. Such a beautiful time of year for flower lovers!
I’m off to frost the carrot cake for grand kid’s birthdays (a few days apart). Wish me luck that I don’t make a mess of it! Never been a great cake-froster….
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Patricia B. McConnell, PhD, CAAB Emeritus is an applied animal behaviorist who has been working with, studying, and writing about dogs for over twenty-five years. She encourages your participation, believing that your voice adds greatly to its value. She enjoys reading every comment, and adds her own responses when she can.
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You had me at carrot cake! Enjoy those grand kiddos. ?
Your garden is lovely! Have a wonderful time with the grand kids!
For my 17th birthday, the cake my mom made sort of “fell” and was lumpy and lopsided. we called it the “rocky road to 17” cake. There’s always an out…
With kids, neatness doesn’t count, but deliciousness does (and with certain ages, having enough frosting flowers to go around). I’m sure you will be aces on the tastiness front!
Hope all your dogs and cats survived the Fourth thunderworks. New dog Bert did pretty well, a little anxious but not freaked out. We also went to our local parade for a bit, and he was also a little anxious but not freaked out by the crowds, the horses, and the noise. We left when we ran out of treats but counted it a success.
Your cake comment,brought back memories. As a very young girl,since my Mom worked as a pastry chef,my goal was to surprise my Dad,with a beautiful cake…being too eager,I found it impossible to wait till the oven timer rang…..hence,each layer had a valley in the center. I thought I could make it better,with mounds of frosting. My Dad always got the first and biggest piece. Next to tears,I’d ask him if he liked it. He’d smile and say,” now,”there’s no need to tell your Mother,but,I always liked my cake this way the best”. I did get better as time went by,but,at 81,I can still see his smile,as he’d say,”I think I’d enjoy another piece of that cake”!
My mom used to sort of patch the cake’s imperfections together with the frosting!
Trisha, I hope you had a wonderful holiday, including time to enjoy your lovely garden. Carrot cake with tangy (not sweet) cream cheese icing is my absolute favorite. We had carrot cake at our wedding, and we are still married despite me rounding a corner too fast while transporting the cake. Frosting heals all.
Oh, and thank you again for the excellent advice on Sammy and son. They interacted comfortably at the dog park, he stopped giving Sammy treats, and they seem to be making progress.
Rain postponed local fireworks, but we did walk the dogs around during festivities. Lots of “ooh, can I pet your dog” interactions, which is great practice.
The most exciting part of the 4th was when we inadvertently wandered through the petting zoo. Red Dog snorted pony trailer scent like it was cocaine, and then froze like a statue when she spotted the bleating baby goats. Baby goats quickly recognized that Red Dog was not there to pet them, we beat a hasty if dog-reluctant retreat, and no baby goats were traumatized.
Oh, and Red Dog passed her Canine Good Citizen test with flying colors (good thing baby goats were not part of the test). Now, whenever Red Dog behaves badly I can wave around her certificate . . .