Sunday, May 31, 2009

Lazy Sunday

Today is a lazy Sunday cyber-paw pals. We have been taking it easy because it is hot and humid outside. It is 84 F (29 C) and very humid. Dad cut up some palm fronds this morning and looked like he jumped in the pool. So it has been slow most of the day. Hard to want to do anything, until it cools off and we take off to go to the dog park.


Dad talked to his brudder and grand paw (his pawther) today on the telephone. Now it is just time for him to sit down and scratch a collie behind the ear. Ahhh, a little to the left Dad. Ohhh, that feels good.

Hope all is going well in your world.

Dog Speed,

Essex & Deacon

Sunday, May 24, 2009

You Don't Know Collie

Are you up to challenge cyber paw pals?
Because we don't think you know collie.

The number 190 is significant today. So on this our 190th post, we decided to do something special. We decided to see how well every paw knew Collies. Keep track and let us know your score. If you graduated Some Dog Barks Loudly, you know Collie. We expect most of our readers will fall into watching Lassie reruns or studying. Just click and drag your mouse after the question and you will see the answers.

Dog Speed,

Essex & Deacon

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1) Author of the book Lad a Dog.
a Albert Payson Terhune ----------b Eric Mowbray Knight
c Jack London ----------------------d Dashiell Hammett
a – Terhune wrote lot of collie stories to include Lad a Dog, Hammet wrote The Thin Man

2) What was the coat color of Lad in the book?
a Blue Merle ---------------------- b Sable & White
c Tri-Color ------------------------ d White
b – Lad was sable & white just like Deacon.

3) Author of the book Lassie Come Home.
a Albert Payson Terhune -------- b Eric Mowbray Knight
c Jack London -------------------- d Frank Lloyd Wright
b – Eric Knight wrote the book Lassie Come Home in the 1940. The movie came out in 1943. Knight died in a plane crash in 1943 and never saw the finished movie.
4) In the book Lassie Come Home, what was the coat color of Lassie?
a Blue Merle --------------------- b Sable & White
c Tri-Color ----------------------- d White
c – Lassie was a tri-color in the book just like Essex. The illustrations are done as a sable & white, but the writing indicates a tri-color. In the movie and TV series Lassie is a sable & white.
5) In the movie Lassie Come Home, what was Lassie’s boy name
a Joe ---------------------------- b Rick
c Mark -------------------------- d Steve
a – Lassie’s boy in both the movie and the book is named Joe

6) The name of the actor that played Lassie’s Boy in the original 1943 movie Lassie Come Home.
a Jerry Mathers ---------------- b Jon Provost
c Roddy McDowall ------------- d Tommy Rettig
c – Roddy McDowall starred in the original movie. Jerry Mathers was the Beaver in “Leave it to Beaver.” Retting starred as 11 year old Jeff Miller in the TV series during 1954-57, while Provost was the adopted son of the Martin Family 57-64.
7) Actress that stared in the 1962 movie Lad a Dog.
a Angela Cartwright ------------ b Annette Funicello
c Brittany Spears --------------- d Elizabeth Taylor
a – Angela Cartwright starred in the movie Lad a Dog, who starred in the TV Series Lost in Space with June Lockheart. Elizabeth Taylor, co-starred with McDowall in Lassie Come Home.
8) The real name of the dog that played Lassie in the 1943 movie Lassie Come Home.
a Charlie ----------------------- b Laddie
c Lassie ------------------------ d Pal
d – Pal was the star in the early Lassie movie to include Lassie Come Home.

9 Which best describes the Lassie of movie and TV?
a A boy dog -------------------- b A boy dog, pretending to be a girl
c A girl dog --------------------- d A girl dog, pretending to be a boy
b - A boy dog, pretending to be a girl. Since the males were bigger and do not shed as frequently, that is what the producers went with.
10) Name the actors that played the original mom and dad in the TV Series Lassie.
a Barbara Billingsley and Hugh Beaumont
b Cloris Leachman and Jon Shepodd
c June Lockhart and Hugh Reilly
d Myrna Loy and William Powell
b – Leachman and Shepodd were the first Mom and Dad but starred in the role for only a year. Lockhart and Reilly made the role famous 58-64. Billingsley and Beaumont were the parents on Leave It to Beaver. Loy and Powell starred in the Thin Man movie series.
11) On TV Lassie’s boy, was named ________ Martin.
a Albert ----------------------- b Joe
c Marty ----------------------- d Timmy
d – Timmy Martin, played by Jon Provost, 1957-64

12) A Collie named “Reveille” is the mascot of what US college?
a Georgia --------------------- b Harvard
c Texas A & M ---------------- d Washington
c – Texas A & M is were Miss Reveille resides. We did a post on her in December 2008. Georgia and Harvard are the Bulldogs, while Washington is the Huskies.
13) In 1928 the Collie Laund Loyalty of Bellhaven, won “Best in Show” at Westminster. How old was he when he won?
a 9 Months ------------------- b 1 Year
c 3 Years --------------------- d 5 Years
a – 9 months, the only Collie to win and presently the youngest ever to finish "Best in Show" at Westminster.
14) President Johnson’s Collie Blanco was what type of Collie
a Blue Merle ----------------- b Sable & White
c Tri-Color ------------------- d White
d – Blanco, which means white in Spanish. He was given to the President and Mrs. Johnson in December 1963 by a little girl from Illinois. President Johnson used to shake paws with Blanco whenever he left or returned to the White House.
15) Number of Collies residing in the White House, while Calvin Coolidge was President of the United States.
a One ------------------------ b Two
c Three ---------------------- d Four
d – Four. The Coolidge White House was pet friendly. The four collies were: Rob Roy(white), Prudence Prim(white), Ruby Rough (brown), Bessie (yellow)
16) The name the two types of coats that collies have.
a Curly & Straight ------------ b Irish & Scottish
c Rough & Smooth ----------- d Ruff & Tuff
c – Rough & Smooth

17) Collies belong in which of these groups
a Herding -------------------- b Hounds
c Sporting ------------------- d Working
a - Herding

18) Collies may die if given heart worm medication that contains what?
a Invermectin --------------- b Monosodium Hyrdoxide Glutenate
c Sodium Chloride ---------- d Triglycerides
a – Invermectin. Many herding dogs are allergic to this heart worm medicine. From what we read about collies a third will die, a third will get extremely ill and a third will be fine. Dad don't like those odds.
19) Sunnybank is located in what State?
a California ----------------- b Florida
c New Jersey --------------- d Texas
c – New Jersey

20 Who was the English Royal made collies popular?
a Princess Dianne ---------- b Queen Elizabeth
c Queen Mary -------------- d Queen Victoria
d – Queen Victoria was born on 24 May 1819. She was the Queen of England for 63 years, 7 months. The first recorded collie classes occurred in 1859. In 1860 the Queen was visiting Scotland and fell in love with the Collie. Thus began the first collie fad. The Queens collies chose Balmoral Castle in Scotland for their residence. Today would have been Queen Victoria's 190th barkday and this is our 190th post. Wowsers, talk about stars in perfect alignment.
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Bonus:

In the early 70 the Holmhaven Collies and our breeder Mom Lil, were known for having:
a – An all collie drill team that performed to John Phillip Sousa music.
b – Saving a boy named Timmy, who had fallen down the well.
c – The Amazing Collies, a famed US agility team.
d – The singing collies, who barked “We wish you a Merry Christmas.
a - Lil and her Mom Inga had an all Collie Drill Team. They even performed at Sunnybank. We mentioned that in a November 2007 post.
= = = = = = =
You have your score good. See were you rate below.


19-20 You graduated Some Dog Barks Loudly. Trefoil is proud.





16-18 You have seen the light and have joined the Collie’s Inner Circle.

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11-15 We see you’ve been studying.





6-10 Honestly, you must be watching Lassie reruns on TV.



3- 5 Timmy is that you? Did you fall down in the well again?



1 - 2 You must be a cat. Cats are cool, but they don’t know dog.




0 We didn’t know fire hydrants could use a computer.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Project Done

Well, the master bathroom is done. Don't we look just pawsome in the new shower? We are happy they are done. We love the quiet and this looks so much better than the old master bath.
A Two Collie Shower

"Essex, come check out the new bathroom"

Dad told us that new herricane shutters are being installed this week. No more putting up plywood for Dog Dad. He is getting the accordion type shutters, we know that he will be happy with the saving of both time and space when we have to board up the house.
We got a Kreativ Blogger award from Kess. Kess we love your blog too.
Here are the rules for passing on this award:
1. Post it on your blog and link to the person who gave it to you.
2. List 7 things you love
3. List 7 blogs you love
4. Email or comment on those blogs to let them know you've given them an award

Things we love:
1) Fence patrol
2) Cheese
3) Hearing Dog Dad whistle the "Lassie Tune," that usually means some type of treat.
4) Early morning walks
5) Seeing cousin Clyde and our friends Hattie & Cassie on our Ohio trips
6) Ice cream and ice cubes
7) Sleeping on the couch

Blogs we love:

We could name a lot more, but the list named seven. We love quite a few blogs but we will restrict sending it to every paw. Half the fun of getting an award is sharing it with some other paw.

Dog Speed,

Essex & Deacon

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Almost Done

Are we done yet?

Well, construction continues. Dad has to go to work and so my amigos are coming in the evening to finish up. We are now getting are doggy naps but missed out on dog park time! Arrggg, the canine-amity of it all. Essex was worried about who is doing fence patrol. Deacon wondered who he wasn't playing and who was at Angel Paws.

Then we had to listen to Dog Dad go on about how the tiles on the shower wall and bathroom floors are slate. That slate is a metamorphic rock. Blah, blah, blah pressure and blah, blah temperatures turned shale to slate. Dad majored in Geology, so he likes rocks and very old dead stuff. It is sometime cryptic to us. I mean do any of you have critters in your home that have been dead for over 500 millions years? I mean they are so dead they are not even worth sniffing anymore. Seriously, our fore-pawthers were not even around.

One bright note is that Dad told us that they will be done tomorrow or Friday evening. By the Great Dane we are ready for this all to end.

The shower yesterday and today (below)

The walls have been painted and vanity put in.

Dog Speed,

Essex & Deacon

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Are They Done Yet?

Resting by Dad in the computer room

We keep asking "Dad are they done yet?" The computer room has the big bed in it, things are not in there proper place. We are loosing a lot of good nap time, and are a little cranky.

Dad told us, we still have several more days worth of work. The drainage pipe in the master bathroom was breaking up as they tried to cut it and put on a sleeve. They ended up making a hole in the masters bedroom, where Dog Dad sleeps at night. You can see things torn up and another big hole were a little frog was staying until Dad took him outside. The last two pictures are from yesterday. The hole is filled up and cemented up; and some black paper was put on the shower wall by the next day. We can't wait until it is done.

Essex & Deacon
Howl-low is any dog down there.

The drain pipe kept breaking up.
Nuts, they patched up the hole.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Ft. Meyers Cousins

We were so excited yesterday folks. We raised quite a ruckus after we spotted an e-bark from our cousins in Naples.

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Teddy here, the last time you saw me I was just a tiny puppy. I am now about five month old. Everyday is an adventure here with Cousin Howie. I just want to do and see everything; my motor is running almost all the time. I try to show my family how much I love them by jumping but they don’t seem to like that very much. I like to play, nip and try to bounce Howie to get him going, but he is a fuddy duddy. Dog mom loves this little white spot on my nose and I think it is pretty cool myself. I like my chosen family. I think that I look a lot like Deacon, especially with that dark spot on my tail, what do you think?
I gotta zoom, so I'll let Howie finish the letter.
Teddy - 25 JAN
Teddy - 2 MAR

Teddy, Howie & one of their boys - 12 MAR

Teddy - 10 APR

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Cousins,

That young whippersnapper Teddy is keeping me on my toes. Essex I don’t know how you kept Deacon in line. Sometime Dog Mom takes Teddy to another room, just so I can get some rest. If I were still a pup, I would show him a thing or two, but I turn ten in September. The arthritis flairs up sometimes and I can’t keep up with the pupster. I'll try to stay in touch more often.

Woofingly Yours,

Cousin Howie
= = = = = =
Dog, Oh Dog were we glad to hear from those two. We appreciate the pictures and Teddy has grown so much since the picture we got of him back in early January. He sure is a handsome lad and looks a lot like Deacon, except a lighter shade of sable. Essex sympathizes with Howie as she had her hands full teaching Deacon what to do.

The renovation continues and the second bathroom is going quicker. Here is what it looked like and here is what they torn all up. We are still hoping that they dig to China or even better India. It would be neat to have a tunnel going straight to Oorvi’s home.


Before


Today

Dog Speed.

Essex & Deacon

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Cinco de Mayo

When Dad said it was Cinco de Mayo, we thought he said the "sink done today." Whoops, we misunderstood Dad. Though our guest bathroom was completed today.

The Battle of Puebla
from Wikipedia

The Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican regional holiday celebrated in the state of Puebla and recognized as a day to celebrate in some other parts of the world, especially in the US as a part of Mexican heritage. The day commemorates the Mexican Army's defeat of French forces at the Battle of Puebla on 5 May 1862. The Mexican had 4,500 soldiers were led by Commander General Ignacio Zaragoza, while the French numbered 6,040 commanded by General Charles de Lorencez. The battle didn't stop the French forces from occupying Mexico, but it was a victory against a larger stronger force. It has been celebrated in California continuously since 1863. If you want to read more on Wikipedia about this, click this link to Cinco de Mayo.


As for the sink, the first bathroom is done and work has started on the second bathroom. Half the way there and we are ready to not have any more contractors around.


Renovated Hallway Bathroom

Happy Cinco de Mayo everypaw,

Essex & Deacon

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Reilly's Challange

The Collies decided to lift a leg and answer Reilly’s fire hydrant challenge. Typically Dad takes us for walks when it is dark out, but we let him sleep in today just so we could get pictures of our fire hydrants. We have to admit they sure like red. Fortunately, one fire hydrant got into the swing of things. It was a light blue with a picture of a sail boat on the ocean with the sun overhead.


This one matches the color of my leash.
Essex sitting purrty
We like this one with the sail boat and the sun.
Egad, another red one.

Work is almost done with our first bathroom. The tile is going up around the bathtub. The entire bathroom should be done Monday. Deacon loves having the workers around because he gets his ears scratched. Essex is still leery but is much more relaxed.
The bathroom is looking better.

Well, it is time to go. Remember to go lift a leg for your favorite fire hydrants and go visit Reilly the "Cowspot Dog" and show off your favorite hydrants. Ahh, that was a refreshing idea.

Dog Speed,

Essex & Deacon

Friday, May 1, 2009

1 MAY 2009

1948 - GrandMaw, GrandPaw and the Chaplain

Today would have been GrandPaw and GrandMaw, 61st wedding anniversary. They got married in St. Louis with the Chaplain GrandPaw served with during WW II in Europe. Dog Dad sure hopes that GrandPaw is thinking about all the good times the two of them had together. He knows GrandPaw thinks about her a lot. We will say that a lot of them went into making Dog Dad who he is and they did a pawsome job. Dad misses GrandMaw’s wise words and wish GrandPaw was doing better, but as Dad would say it is what it is.

The bath room is coming along. Thank dogness the loud noises are mostly gone. We were missing our doggy naps. We snuck in yesterday and took these pictures. There was a big hole (we wonder if China is down there) but it got filled up and concreted. They anticipate finishing this bathroom this weekend. Then work will start on the second bathroom.

The big hole. Howl-low anyone down there?
We wonder if Lassie does home improvement?
The hole is patched up.
We are looking forward to the virtual trip to Salzburg. Do you think that means Salty Burger? Now that would be pawtastic place to celebrate and party. We’ll bark at everyone more tomorrow.

Dog Speed,

Essex & Deacon