You may recall last Spring that we planted a tiny little Mimosa tree that we grew from a seed. Well, look how that little tree has grown! The Mimosa tree made it through its first FL winter and is in bloom now. I simply love the blooms.
The tree is finally big enough that it is starting to provide some shade in the yard. This works out really well for the pugs as they love to lay around in the yard. Although, the cat seems to enjoy the tree the most.
Luna’s eye doctor is about an hour away from home so rather than just making the drive to go to the vet we decided to stop at a dog park in Sanford that was on the way. Luna’s appointment was for 10:45 am so we figured it would be best to stop at the park on the way there to beat the heat. We got up extra early and managed to get to the park at a little after 9:00 am which gave the pugs plenty of time to play.
A few years back Dog Fancy magazine featured Paw Park in an issue that named the best dog parks in the nation, so I was very excited to check out the park and see what it was all about. The park was very open and in the middle of the park was a huge tree that had fallen during hurricane Charlie. They decided to leave the tree to give the dogs something to climb on, which I thought was pretty cool. The pugs were immediately interested in checking out the tree.
And it wasn’t long before Benny was climbing all over it.
After they investigated the tree, the pugs made their rounds and introduced themselves to the other dogs at the park.
The park has a time out area for dogs that get overly excited and I just couldn’t resist taking this photo.
My favorite thing about the park was that there was a sidewalk that went around the perimeter of the park. We walked along the sidewalk and the pugs happily followed along. It was like being on a walk in a regular park only not having to use any leashes.
Yesterday, we went canoeing and we were feeling brave so we decided to bring the pugs along with us. Benjamin & Henry had been on a few row boat trips before with us in Maryland and always did a great job, but this was Luna’s first boating experience and our first boating experience when being outnumbered by pugs.
It was a very cloudy day and it was actually drizzling when we set sail. We scheduled an early morning trip in the best interest of the pugs and the clouds made for perfect weather for them.
Before we launched we got Henry & Luna suited up in their life vests and securely attached their leashes to their life vests. When we were putting on Benny’s life vest the zipper broke! There was a little bit of panic because we clearly did not have an extra life vest and we couldn’t really rig his vest to make it work. So needless to say, I was very paranoid about Benny not having his vest.
The pugs all hopped into the boat without hesitation and before I knew it we were floating down the creek. The creek was very calm so we took our time to get the pugs all setup. We laid out towels in the bottom of the boat so that they could be cozy and not have to rest only on the metal floor. We also filled up a water bowl for them so they had access to water. They rocked the boat a tad in the beginning when they were trying to figure out the best lookout points, but they settled fairly quickly. As we paddled, they gazed at the passing trees and watched the water passing them by.
After a while, they pretty much tied themselves together with their leashes. This was causing some problems so we took off their leashes. We were confident that they were not going to jump or fall off the boat at that point so we took the life jackets off Henry & Luna as they were making them very hot. This is the when the pugs truly settled down and relaxed. True to form, Benjamin propped himself up against the side of the boat.
It wasn’t long until, the pugs were sound asleep. As we were floating down the river all we heard was the sound of water flowing, birds chirping and Henry snoring. It was so serene.
Luna was the same height as the metal bars running across the canoe. When I first saw this picture, I thought, Luna must have joined the witness protection program.
All in all, I think the pugs had a great time. I know I sure did. I was very proud of them for doing such a great job. They didn’t hesitate to get on the boat and once on they settled down fairly quickly and kept their paws and heads inside the boat at all times. Too bad every morning doesn’t start with such a peaceful outing.
I got a very cool camera for my birthday that can take pictures underwater and I finally got a chance to put it to use on Friday night. I got some underwater video of Henry fetching his favorite toys from the pool.
Benjamin, Henry & Luna didn’t get to do anything fun this weekend because we got rain, rain and more rain. We got up early on Saturday morning to cut the grass and do some yard work. After we finished up the pugs played a bit in the yard, but then it started to rain and it rained for the rest of the weekend.
So, they caught up on their beauty rest and lounged about the house. They didn’t really mind that it was raining except when it was time to go potty. Then Benjamin and Luna were miserable. I tried to do my best and take them out when it was only sprinkling as opposed to when it was pouring down rain, but they didn’t get so lucky on Sunday night. There just was no break in the rain. I have never seen Benjamin & Luna poop so quick before.
Even though the weather sucked, I enjoyed the weekend. We really needed the rain and sometimes it is nice to have an excuse to spend the weekend lounging around the house.
I know it has been a long, rough winter for many of you, but hopefully signs of better weather are starting to show up here and there. My question for all you pug lovers out there is what are you most looking forward to doing with your pug this Spring?
Here are some of the things I am looking forward to doing with Benjamin, Henry & Luna:
Swimming: The pool water should be warm enough for swimming soon. Weekend afternoons splashing around in the pool are my favorite.
The Beach: It is warm enough to go to the beach now, but the ocean water is still too chilly for me. I love going to the beach with the pugs and floating with Henry, up and down over the waves, on the boogie board.
Long walks: Spring is good weather for the pugs because it is not too hot. As soon as summer comes along we have to cut our walks way short because it is just too hot for the puggies.
Playing in the yard: In good weather, after work, I like to grab an insane amount of toys and plop them in the backyard. Benny, Henry & Luna run around, chasing each other and picking up toys that are in their path. Plus, since none of the pugs are any good at fetch, it gives me lots of toys to throw to have them chase without me having to constantly fetch the toy myself.
The pine trees behind our house is home to many squirrels. The squirrels don’t really bother me and they provide great entertainment for the cat, but I think Benjamin, Henry & Luna enjoy the squirrels the most.
One of our neighbors keeps the squirrels well fed by providing shelled peanuts for them. The squirrels of course love this and they take a peanut up the tree and diligently chew on the shell until they can get the peanut out. After they eat the peanut, they drop the peanut shell from high up in the tree and it sails to the ground. Well, it seems that a lot of the peanut shells make their way into our backyard. Which to Benjamin, Henry & Luna is like treats falling from the sky.
They eagerly round up all the shells and they love to chew on them. I, however, don’t want them to have the peanut shells. So, I am constantly scanning the yard to make sure the squirrels haven’t left any presents for the pugs in the yard. Which is no easy task. Luckily, the squirrels seem to get fed in the early morning hours or in the evenings so those are the times that I really have to look out for.
I tell ya, I have some lucky pugs. Even the squirrels give them treats!
In yesterday’s First Day of Spring post, Christina left an interesting suggestion in the comments. She thought that Henry might enjoy his time poolside more if he had the mat from his bench. So, I gave it a try. In the afternoon, I put the mat down next to the pool and went back to work to see what the pugs might do. About 15 minutes later I saw this:
Little Luna, made herself comfortable on the mat.
It must have been Henry’s day off from life guard duty because he didn’t come around the pool yesterday afternoon. He was on bark out the front door duty all afternoon.
Well, today is the first day of Spring and I know a pug named Henry that is very happy about that. Henry thoroughly enjoys Spring. The weather is a touch on the warm side, yet not too hot for him. Which means he can spend his days doing one of his favorite things - sleeping way too close to the pool’s edge. Yesterday, he got a jump on Spring and resumed his normal position poolside.
Plus, in just a short time, it will be swimming season again and then he can break out the Pug Tug and drive his brother crazy by splashing around in the pool.
Outside, near the pool, we have a little hide-a-way bench / storage container for all the pool toys and things. On top of the bench is a thin little green mat that always gets soaked when it rains. It poured the other day and the mat was of course drenched so I took it out and put it on the bench in the yard so that it would dry out quicker.
Well, wouldn’t you know, as soon as the mat dried it was soon occupied by pugs. The pugs sit on the bench in the yard all the time, but now that there is a little cushion on the bench they have become permanent fixtures.
Which leads the pugs to their next questions, “Why didn’t you put this cushion on the bench a lot sooner, Mom? It certainly does make things more comfortable.”