Lilac, We Will Miss You

An Old Lady Wears Purple

The folks over at Tales and Tails have suffered a terrible blow last Monday. They lost their beloved Grand Dame, Lilac.  Though I am late in learning the news and offering my condolences it is as heart-felt and sincere as any I have ever offered.  The hardest part of loving a Greyhound is having to say that final good-bye.  Many hugs for having given a senior a home and allowing to be taught to love the way that only seniors can teach you.  They are wonderful and it is a rewarding, fulfilling experience to adopt a senior Greyhound.  God speed Lilac, God Bless her family that misses her so much.  We miss her too.

This from Tales and Tails in regard to Lilac:

“Since she’s lived with us, the poem Warning: When I Am An Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple by Jenny Joseph has always reminded me of Lilac.

When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple

with a red hat that doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.

And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves

and satin candles, and say we’ve no money for butter.

I shall sit down on the pavement when I am tired

and gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells

and run my stick along the public railings

and make up for the sobriety of my youth.

I shall go out in my slippers in the rain

and pick the flowers in other people’s gardens

and learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat

and eat three pounds of sausages at a go

or only bread and pickles for a week

and hoard pens and pencils and beer nuts and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry

and pay our rent and not swear in the street

and set a good example for the children.

We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?

So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised

When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.”

*******************************************************************************

Lilac…I love the color purple.  When I look at the stars at night I will know you are there running with the rest of my loves who have gone before you.  They will greet you and invite you to run through the open meadows of soft grass and flowers, the sun always on your back to warm you. The rainbow bridge is a beautiful place where I someday hope to sit and watch all of my beautiful greyhound loves run and play. I hope to see you there with them when the time comes.

Last Weekend: Camping at William O’Brian

 

 

 

It’s Ruby’s shedding season!

 

 

 

Frosty dew reflecting the morning sun.

 

Our fearless Viking leader shares his snack with his ever faithful followers Mandy and Renner.

 

Renner: Yum.

 

Mandy: Can we go back to the campsite now?

 

After a tough day of hiking….

 

 

For more ‘Wordless Wednesday’ please click here!  (or in this case Semi-wordless!)  Winking smile

We are participating in this Saturday’s Pet Blog Hop, hosted by Life With Dogs, Two Little Cavaliers and Confessions of the Plume. If you’d like to participate, please follow the rules and follow your three hosts, add your blog to the Linky and copy and paste the html code into your html editor. Thanks again to our hosts for putting on the hop!

Please Vote To Help The Hounds!

Hi there!

Renner here, yup I’m the guy on the right! For those who are unsure of our breed, Mandy and I are retired racing greyhounds!  Living the good life now!  Little Sis Mandy can be kind of a pain sometimes, like when she wants to share my bed as we ride back from camping trips, but all in all she is good to have around.

Both of us are so very happy to have been lucky enough to have a ‘forever home’ where people love us as much as they do. We would like to see other hounds, like us, have long happy lives with people that love them too! 

Please, please, please take a look at the short video below and then go to the other link to vote for Dennis Tyler to help win Greyhound Pets of America – Florida win $10,000.00.  It only takes a moment of a life that, as a person, there are *so many* of, but as a retired racing greyhound there is often *so* few.  The moments are just ticking away as you are reading this, counting down the end of yet another Retired Racer’s life. Please take just a moment to vote for them. Such a small gesture can help save the lives of so many.

The first link is the video.  The second link is the place to vote!  Enter the site and click on Dennis Tyler’s picture to vote for him.  Your vote for Dennis may be the vote that saved the life of the next Retired Racing Greyhound you see!  Thank you so very, very much! OH, Mandy sends her thanks too! (Kisses to you all ‘slurp’! )Smile

http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2011/09/25/dnt-couple-rescues-greyhounds.central-florida-news-13?iref=allsearch

Please continue to vote as OFTEN as you can at:

https://styleentertainment.timeinc.net/people/readerhero/

GPA C FL can win $10000 from People Magazine if they receive the most votes! Ends Oct. 13!

 

We are participating in this Saturday’s Pet Blog Hop, hosted by Life With Dogs, Two Little Cavaliers and Confessions of the Plume. If you’d like to participate, please follow the rules and follow your three hosts, add your blog to the Linky and copy and paste the html code into your html editor. Thanks again to our hosts for putting on the hop!

Eyes Are the Mirror of the Soul

 

 

 

 

When we went Raspberry picking a couple of weekends ago there was also a small area of animals, not many, but a few.  I fell in love with this handsome guy, he was just *so* sweet I found him totally irresistible.   We became buddies pretty quickly.

Then there was this guy too….

Though we did not become as good of friends as the other guy, for some reason his expression struck me as pretty happy-go-lucky when I saw this photo.

For more Weekend Reflections please click here!

Cat

Cat….

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Annoyed cat…

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Tipsy cat…

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Directional cat…

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Multi-directional cat…

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Not a cat…

 

 

Haha…still not a cat…

 

 

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Half a cat….???

 

 

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Fidget: “No cats  or ‘not a cats’ were harmed in the making of this blog post…the humans are another story.”

 

We are participating in this Saturday’s Pet Blog Hop, hosted by Life With Dogs, Two Little Cavaliers and Confessions of the Plume.  If you’d like to participate, please follow the rules and follow your three hosts, add your blog to the Linky and copy and paste the html code into your html editor.  Thanks again to our hosts for putting on the hop!


Last Weekend: Minnesota Renaissance Festival

Perhaps a little hard to see in this photo, but Dragon Boogers are highly reflective. Smile

A blacksmith practicing his craft.

 

Sir Knight, let the games begin!

 

Could this excellent bowman be William Tell?

 

Hummmm?

 

Wait…I *do* believe it is Sir Little Guy, Knight of the Realm.

 

Do not rile him as he is wielding a new dagger!

 

The good knight is sheathing his weapon, a good sign. All must be well.

 

Even the hardiest of knights must replenish. What is his choice of refreshment?

 

OH, I hope not!

 

Further growth will be required to fit into this suit of armor.

 

This beast required the lightest of petting in order to tame it.

 

What is this? Our brave knight is striking a deal with Captain Jack?

 

Beware when dealing with such a pirate! It nearly cost this brave knight his churro!

For more Weekend Reflections please click here!

Last Weekend: North Shore (Minnesota)

For more Weekend Reflections please click here!

For more ‘Wordless Wednesday’ please click here!

For more ‘Outdoor Wednesday’ please click here!

This week’s pet blog hop hosted by Life With Dogs, Two Little Cavaliers and Confessions of the Plume. If you’d like to participate, please follow the rules and follow your three hosts, add your blog to the Linky and copy and paste the html code into your html editor (found at Life With Dogs, Two Little Cavaliers and Confessions of the Plume). Thanks again to our hosts for putting on the hop!

http://www.linkytools.com/thumbnail_linky_include.aspx?id=103283

Hip Action

During our last camping trip we attended a Luau. Dancing (sort of) and laughter (in this case) were high on the list during this gathering.  You see featured in this clip Little Guy and his Dad trying to figure out their mangos from their kiwis.  It is a little longer than the usual videos I post, so my apologies for that, but I want to make sure my folks get to watch the smooth moves in their entirety.

And no….the laughter is not all mine, though I was laughing so hard my stomach was sore the next day.

Hope you enjoyed the show! Please just drop your donations in the hat by the door as you leave so we will be able to continue buying gas for the camper. Winking smile

For more ‘That’s My World Tuesdays’ please click here!

Camping Wisconsin Dells

There is a lot to do when camping at the Dells.  This time we really didn’t go the ‘nature’ route but more of the tourist route.  Did a bit of hanging out at the campsite as Renner, Ruby and Mandy will attest.

Drove past this…attraction.  Look closely. A bit peculiar. I ‘think’ it is a mystery place…fun house kind of thing. Not sure what it is but it looked interesting so I snapped a photo or two of it.

 

There was a bit of swimming and water slides.

The weather was very hot and Renner, Ruby and Mandy wanted to stay inside the air conditioned camper.

 

There was a Luau along with a DJ and later dancers. The finale was a fire dancer. 

We were only there for the weekend but there is a lot to see and do so we will have to go back when we can stay longer.

For more ‘That’s My World Tuesdays’ please click here!

The Crowded Kitchen (Part Three)

The Crowded Kitchen (Part One)

The Crowded Kitchen (Part Two)

Wally

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Wally (Loop Hole Wally): January 2000 – July 2007. (Osteosarcoma).

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Wally was a big, bouncy boy who loved everyone – such a doll. What a sweet guy.

Renner

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Renner (Tin Pan Man) Shown here with Grand Greyhound Ruby and Little Guy.:

Born April 2001 – March 2, 2012. We miss his cute speckled ear and his constant cock-roaching. What a total love. 😦

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His favorite sleeping position.

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Renner’s cute ears!

Scooter

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Scooter (Tyville Scoop): March 2004 – July 2010. (Osteosarcoma).

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Hiking with Renner and GGh Ruby.

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Scooter was a ‘leaner’.

Mandy

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Mandy (Hot Stuff Amanda): January 2008. Mandy is still with us and is such a wonderful girl! Everyone thinks she is so sweet, at the age of 9 she is still bouncing around with her toys, spinning in circles and demanding her treats.

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Mandy and Renner sharing.

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See you next time! Thanks so much for stopping by!

The Crowded Kitchen (Part One)

The Crowded Kitchen (Part Two)

For more ‘That’s My World Tuesday’ please click here!

The Crowded Kitchen (Part 2)

(Continued from part 1)

Bonnie

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Bonnie (racing name?): July 1987 – January 2002. (breathing problems and lymphoma).

Shasta

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Shasta (Mister Shasta): July 1992 – December 2004. (Brain tumor).

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Cosy and Shasta – photo shoot for stock company.

Blew

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Blew (Blue N Gold): January 1998 – June 2009. (Cushings and intestinal cancer).

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Blew with Grand Greyhound Ruby keeping cool on a hot summer day.

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Geterbug

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Geterbug (Kiowa Bel Geter): December 1995 – March 2006. (Blind when we adopted her. Numerous issues due to her illness at the track before we adopted her. Unsure.)

(The Crowded Kitchen Part Three)

The Crowded Kitchen

 

 

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Long ago, in a kitchen not so far away, there was a family that suddenly fell into running a Retired Racing Greyhound rescue organization….  WAIT – now hold on for just a minute! This is not a fairytale, it happened right here at my house!  Look at the photo above and you will see me doing pill duty or treat duty. It all seems so long ago now that I cannot really recall what all of the clamor was about in my kitchen.  However, it happened quite often.

None the less, the hounds are all a permanent fixture in my memories and my heart.  All had/have different personalities and were wonderful to be able to share my life with.  To this day I miss all of them and don’t regret any of them being part of our family.  Yes there were numerous hounds here and these photos don’t even count the vast amount of retired racing greyhounds we have fostered and worked to adopt out over the years.

These days there is still clamor but on a lesser scale. Though we do not have near as many hounds as we used to we love them as completely as we always have. I’m sharing with you today brief glimpses into some of the loves of my life.  All have taken a piece of my heart and given even *more* back to me in return.

I have tried to list them in the order of ‘adoption’ into our family. Some photos old and before digital photos were ‘big time’, so the quality of them will be of lesser quality. Eventually I would like to do a post on each of the hounds individually so you can get to know them a little better. However, this is pretty long as it is and I *do* hope you will stick with me through the end. There you will see some familiar faces if you have been a regular at the ‘Spacial Peepol’ blog site. So lets start at the beginning, shall we?

 

Blaze

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Blaze  (Speculatedledlegend): January 1987 – March 16th. 1997.  (Hemangiosarcoma).

(So it begins…Blaze and Tex were my first Retired Racing Greyhounds.  Both over the age of 7 when we brought them in. They were bounce backs from previous failed adoptions. After Blaze and Tex there was no looking back and the organization of a new GPA-MN was in the works at our house!)

Tex

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Tex (Ramrod Rule): July 1986 – May-1999. (Degenerative Myelopathy).

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Cosy

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‘Cosy’ Cosette (Remain Royal): Oct. 93 – August, 2005. (Osteosarcoma).

 

Sister

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Sister (Sister R): June 1988 – December 1998. (Hemangiosarcoma).

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Toni

Toni (Hit N Run): April 1990 – September 2002) No digital photos; need to scan them into computer. (Osteosarcoma).

 

Tyler

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Tyler (no racing name): September 1995 – June 2005.  (Heart complications during routine dental).

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Tyler laying with Vinni.

 

Beebe

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Beebe (P’s Beebe): March 1988 – August 2001. (Leukemia).

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Cyber

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Cyber (Cyber Space): June 1993 – February 2003. (Hemangiosarcoma).

 

Roni

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Roni (Rosy Crucifixtion): March 1992 – April 2006. (Hemangiosarcoma).

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Roni in front with (left to right) Tyler, Trixi, Cosy, and Wally in doorway.

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Trixi

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Trixi ‘was Belle’ (racing name?): October 1992 – May 2006. (Hemangiosarcoma).

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(The Crowded Kitchen Part 2)

I Can’t See!

This is how it looks when looking out the window for the last few days….SONY DSC

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The heat and humidity are so bad these days that the windows fog on the ‘outside’ (not on the inside). We are a hot, wet Minnesota. At least I *think* I am still in Minnesota and haven’t suddenly transported to a Rainforest in Latin America. The mosquitoes sure are loving it but, whew…I can’t wait for Fall! I also try to remember that if this were snow….the house would be 6 feet under by now. Winking smile

For more ‘That’s My World Tuesday’ photos please click here!