Portly Puzzle Princess- This Sh*t Never Gets Old

I know you've seen this here before, but I just can't not take a picture when our dear old girl decides she wants to "help" us.  Cleo's mom and I just started a new 2000 piece puzzle, and Her Highness, ever needing to be the center of attention (literally), came in to offer her assistance.  Here, she decided that once mom finished laying all the pieces out, the most comfortable spot was, well, you can see. 

And as if that wasn't close enough, she needed to be just a little more in on the action, putting a "pawse" in the production.  

As annoying as it can be when she flicks the pieces that stick to her paws as she walks away, we just cannot get mad at her.  We've already found pieces in other rooms, and there's a very good chance that a few will be missing once we complete the puzzle.  

Health Update II

 Well, all in all I'm not doing too bad for a 17 year old gal.  Bloodwork looks good, got my teeth cleaned, kidneys are doing okay and ears just needed a little housekeeping.  I do have some arthritis, but hey, at my age, you know?  About the worst thing was having to have 3 chompers extracted.  This, of course, besides the one canine I lost a while ago. One of the two pain meds they prescribed tasted like butt, and I just couldn't stomach it.  The other is much more tolerable, but makes me a little spacey.  The good thing about all this is that I get canned stinky goodness ALL the time now, though I know it won't last.  I received a sweet package from the Tooth Fairy aka Ellen Pilch, and I now have a new favorite lounging place. 

I've always enjoyed our welcome mat by the front door,

but among the treats was a fabulous 'nip-filled blanket, and I spend countless hours on that, rubbing my face, bunching it up in my paws and, well, sleeping. 

Thank you, Ellen Tooth Fairy from the bottom of my, mom's and dad's hearts for your thoughtfulness. 

A big shout out as well to Dr. Wagner and all the wonderful ladies at Cedar Ridge Animal Hospital right down the road in Asheville.  I couldn't have been in better hands, and they let mom and dad know how I did just as soon as I woke up.  They kept me til the end of the day, just to make sure all was good before letting me go home.

Dad's Girls

Oh, and so y'all know, I didn't get to chew on those toys but for a second before mom and dad put them out of reach until my mouth heals.

An Interesting Find

Dad takes care of a large private property, and one part of his job he finds most enjoyable is clearing walking trails through the woods that surround us.

The trail where dad found the tag

One day, while digging some steps on part of a trail he'd recently cleared, a glint of sunlight caught his attention, and he pulled this veterinarian tag from the dirt. 

Okay, so it's not like he discovered gold or anything, but he thought this was pretty cool considering it was out in the middle of the woods.  I'm bored now.

I'm trying here, folks, honestly.  Cleo doesn't like it when a post isn't about her, but as you can see, even though this had nothing to do with her righteous self she made her way into it.

Butterflies

 So I was going to add one of these to our Meet the Neighbors post, but dad took so many I couldn't decide which to add, so we made an entire post about them. 

We have a 10 foot tall butterfly bush right on the side of the house, and the blossoms are exquisitely splendiferous. 

The really beautiful thing, however, is the number of butterflies that we see day after day hovering and flitting here and there.  At any one time we can see no less than a dozen or more colorful winged critters, chief among them spicebush, tiger and black swallowtails. 

 Mom's favorite is the black swallowtail that has blue bits on its wings. Someone taught mom and dad way back in the colder months to trim the bush down to about waist-high, saying the results would be rewarding. 

Dad did this, and he and mom waited and waited and waited, mom questioning whether it would ever blossom. 

Well, before we knew it the thing just took off and began sprouting like crazy, and now it's big and bushy and purple like you've never seen.  The photos don't do it justice as many of the butterflies cannot be seen, but here's a sampling nonetheless.

Look closely on the right and you'll notice the Southeastern Tortie Swalloweverything Species

When I first spotted them while soaking up some rays out on the front steps I chittered and chattered like I've never done, but now I'm like, yeah, whatever.  That's cool, now let me get back to sleep.

Meet the Neighbors & a Brief Health Update

 Here's a random sampling of some of my closest neighbors.  Apologies for the poor focus in a few of them.  In at least one case (betcha can't guess) dad just wasn't comfortable getting too close.

Out on our front steps

This little guy was trekking across the rough terrain of a nearby driveway.

Yep, you guessed it.  This neighbor was literally in the lot next door.

This 3+ footer was on a neighbor's front porch

We're surrounded by these guys.  Literally.

Not a bad job blending in with the light fixture pattern, wouldn't you say?

Dad says he doesn't remember the last time he saw a brown Praying Mantis

Note: The berries are mostly in mom and dad's bellies by now.

Mom brought me in this past week to check up on a few things, and overall I'm doing okay, especially for a 17 year old.  I lost a tooth a while ago, the Vet thinks I may have an upper respiratory issue, and I've been limping a bit lately.  My bloodwork came back okay so we don't have to worry extra about my kidneys for now, and the vet thinks there may be a link between the broken tooth and the respiratory stuff.  They sent me and mom home with some antibiotics and pain medicine.  I'm sure you can imaging how THAT'S going...

Monday Morning Laugh

Seen in front of Smoky Mountain Dog Bakery in downtown Waynesville, NC during a break from all the hiking last week.  Said "break" meant about 4 miles of walking around this quaint little town if I heard mom and dad correctly.