Brodie's Bad Mood - Almost Wordless Wednesday

Read My Lips.....I said.......b a c o n!

Pffft - I gives up - not lookin at yous again till yous puts da camera down!

The Big Chill in Houston

Extreme Snow Cover

Nothing unusual here in our yard.

Do I see snow across the street?

Hey, this might be it.

Yes, this is it!   I found it!

Logan and I set out this afternoon to find some winter white stuff, the prediction of which has been the big story here for several days ahead of the first flake.

First, let me say we understand that winter storms are extremely unpredictable. And, one of our local meteorologists got it almost right, attempting to tone down the hysteria late last night before the big freeze arrived.  But, we don't get much cold weather in Houston so when there's a forecast of a real winter storm, the media takes it an runs with it. They run really, really fast with it. Sometimes a little too fast. While we are hovering just below the freezing point, the weather never really lived up to it's hype, and once again, the expectation has run well ahead of the event. Schools and businesses closed, shoppers raided the grocers' shelves and reporters donned their parkas and gloves as they departed for neighborhoods near and far. Local TV stations covered the event non-stop. Non-stop, that is, until it became apparent that the big event was going to be little more than a blip on the radar. I wonder what would happen if we actually had a major ice storm, or God forbid, a major snowstorm. One reporter searching for her non-blizzard story, wandered into several eateries. In the donut shop, she referred to a tray of donuts and pastries as "sweedbreads". No, dear, those are not sweetbreads*, but the winter storm of 2014 was a lot of bull.

* For you city slickers, sweetbreads are not pastries, but they are a part of a bull's anatomy :-)

Brodie's Cinnamon Crescents

Good Morning! Here's our Tasty Tuesday postie for you. Dis is a gweat wecipe fur a warm snackie on a cold day. Here's what yous need:

• 1 Can Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
• Butter
• Brown Sugar
• Cinnamon

Pweheat oven to 375, and spway yous cookie sheet wif non-stick Pam, or cover wif foil.  Separate da crescent dough and lay out da twiagles on yous cookie sheet.  Swread butter on yous dough.

We likie more cinnamon and less bwown sugar, but make yous filling mixture to suite yous taste.

Now yous weady to spwead the bwown sugar cinnamon mixture on yous dough.  Wemember yous goin to woll this up, so da flavor will be double what it looks like at dis point.

Do da same fing wif all da dough twiangles (8).  Woll da dough up when yous done spwinklin.  Start wif da long end (not da pointie end) and woll loosly.  Den spwinkle wif da wemaining goodie mixture.  If yous use foil on da cookie sheet, yous can be weal messy n still have da cwean cookie sheet when yous done!

 Bake in yous oven fur 20 minutes till golden bwown, or da color of yous twuly, sable collie.

Enjoy and don't furget to share wif yous furry fwends!

Love,

Brodie

Dog Park or Beach Day?

Moira here, and we are so excited to share our plans with you! After lunch, we get to go for a ride in the car! Because it's so pretty and sunny, mommy said we might go to the beach (our favorite)! But daddy is in favor of going to the dog park. Either way is fine with us, we just like to GO! If we go to the beach, there's a very good possibility that the day will end with baths! We're not too keen on that, but we do love the smell of the salt air and feel of the cold sand between our toes! Brodie likes to play in the surf, but not so much Logan and me. Well, I'm off to find my shades and sunscreen!  Catch you later! Be sure you have some fun today too, doggone it!

Our Busy Day

Wees spent most of dis day doing exacwee what wees was doin in da firse postie of da day. Sweepien! Wees did help put da pine twee in da cwoset (fankie dogness!) an wees supervised da movin of da big piano back to its pwoper pwace in fwont of da garden window. Mommy likies dem twinkly lites on da firepwace, so wees let her keepie doze up fur awhile. Udder dan dat, deres been lots of Zzzzzz heres today. Gonna help wiff dinner, watchie some TV n turn unner dem covers early tonite! Hopies you had da happy day too! Sweet collie dweams n pwayers fur da sick n da homeless doggies. Wees ruff yous! L, B (dats me) n M
PS: If yous wants to see all ours posties, come on over to FB and see us - Logan,Brodie & Moira - Rescue Tails

Wordless Winter Wednesday

Cold Winter Morning

Cold Winter Afternoon

Cold Winter Evening

Shiny Coat Treats - Bees-the Key

We have very shiny coats.  But that wasn't always the case!  Our mommy met a lady who lives in Santa Fe, TX and that turned out to be the key to our beautiful coats we wear now.  The nice lady is a beekeeper and harvests honey about 20 miles from our house.  It is wonderful honey too, and tastes a little like honeysuckle because there lots of honeysuckle vines for the bees to use to make their honey.  (This honey has also helped with Brodie's allergies.)

Flaxseed is a great source of omega-3 fatty acids, which can also be beneficial to our skin and cost health. But, it's extremely perishable and we pretty much use it as soon as we get it.  If any is left over, mommy stores it in the fridge.  If you use flaxseed oil, don't heat it - just add it directly to the food.  This recipe uses flaxseed meal, so you don't have to worry about it, baking in the dough is fine for the meal.

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 C whole wheat flour
• 1/8 t salt
• 5 T flaxseed meal
• 1 egg (if you know of a local farm - those are the best eggs)
• 1 T locally harvested honey (In our area, check out Warren's in Santa Fe)
• 1/2 C organic chicken stock

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Line your baking sheet with baker's parchment paper, or use a little butter to grease if you don't have parchment paper.  Combine flour, salt and the flaxseed meal in one bowl.  In a second bowl combine the egg and honey.  Slowly stir the flour mixture into the egg mixture.  Add just enough stock until the dough is a little sticky, but can be dropped.  Drop big tablespoons of the dough onto your cookie sheet, not too close together.  Bake for about 15 minutes, depending on your oven.  Remove to wire rack and cool before serving.  Store in airtight container.  These last about a week, but you can also freeze for about 3 months.

Close of Da Pawfect Day

Fur da weason dat Imma tell yous, wees sharin a picture of da free of us wif da mommy n brudder at ours collie picinic in Nobember. 

So, tonites, wees did not get da burgers dat is ours usual Satfurday dinner. But, wees did get quite da tweat at bedtime! Wees got da waffle fwies n da homemade 4 cheeze zitis. OMD, wees in da carbs heaben now! Wees ate it up so fast yous can't beweives it n mommy gottie no pictures of da feast, at all! (Mostwee weally on accounts of hers phone runned down.) Den, wees got to gofurawalk!! What a gweat yappy nite. Now, wees settlin in fur da long, cozy nap in da big bed.

Wees noticed in dis picture how much Moira's fur coat has gwone back since den.  Also, mees alwergee eye is so muchie better now dan it was den.

Sweet collie dweams n wees sees yous in da mornin! Wees pwayin fur all doggies dat needs new homes, n da sick ones too.
Wees ruffs yous!
Brodie, Logan & Moira (l to r in da pic)

Chicken Saturday?

Now wait just a doggone minutes! Dis is not da Chicken Satfurday! As yous well knows, Satfurdays is burger days! But mommy has da chicken bag in da hand! Dis is cwueltee to doggies! Wees demands da burgers! .... Uhh, holds on a sec, is dere .. waffle fwies in dat bag??? I might haves to get back to yous all later, alwegators. Dis needies further inbestigashun.

A Twee is Still a Twee

OMD wees apawentwee installed da permanent pine twee in ours fambly woom! Dis embarrasin, so don't judge us pwease! Deres a lot of workies dat goes into gettin wid of dis fing n gettin it back in da cwoset. At least dats what daddy says. Wees finkies he just doos not want to move da big piano so he's twyin to stall fur time. Anyways wees still enjoying da lights, but dis is gettin wediculous. Mommy said she's gonna go buy a bunch of wed valentine hearts n some white feathers (!!!??) n decowate it if he don't hurwee up! Daddy said, knock yous self out! Oh boy! BOL!

Wednesday Patrol

Post by Logan, Brodie & Moira - Rescue Tails.

Brodie's Collie Cheese Biskits

Here's one of our favorite biscuit recipes.  Enjoy!

Brodie's Collie Cheese Biskits

• 1 C steel cut oats
• 1 C water
• 1 T natural honey
• 1/2 C milk
• 1 egg, whisked
• 1/3 C unsalted butter
• 3/4 C wheat germ
• 1 t beef bouillon (optional, use water instead)
• 4 oz cheddar cheese, shredded
• 3 C whole wheat flour

Bring the water to a rolling boil. Turn off the burner. Put the oats and the butter into the water and wait 15 minutes.  Now, add the wheat germ, honey, bouillon, milk, cheese and egg. Mix. Add the flour about 1 cup at a time.  Mix, mix, mix. Keep adding flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Pour out onto floured surface and kneed in all the remaining flour. Roll out to about 1/2" thickness and cut with collie shaped cookie cutter. Bake for 45-50 minutes at 325 degrees, on non-stick cookie sheet (or spray cookie sheet with Pam.)

Blogging On

After almost a year of posting on our Facebook fan page, Brodie, Moira, Logan and I are feeling a bit frustrated with this blogging business.  The blog and the act of being a blogger (which we certainly haven't mastered yet) seem daunting to us.  Our whimsical posts on FB seem inadequate for this venue and we're quite intimidated by the wonderful prose we've read on here.  I know I don't need to tell you that none of the 4 of us are writers!

A few genuine bloggers (as opposed to whatever we are at this point) have been very helpful, and we appreciate that.  We will continue to fall forward with the intentions of nothing more than being entertaining.

In the meantime, I thought perhaps we should post some of the adventures of the past year, so as to give readers a better feel for the life of the collies. While they don't romp in the open fields, manes flowing in the wind, they do have a comfortable, if not idyllic lifestyle for 3 rescued dogs.  They really are family members with fur.

Brodie posts most frequently on the FB page, as he has the largest vocabulary, however odd it may sound when you first encounter it.  He's showing some improvement in his grammar, but a few words will likely aways be beyond his grasp.  R's and L's are 2 of his more challenging sounds to master, and the ing ending is not to his likin.  A fan once asked why Brodie talks the way he does, and commented that it was very difficult to read. Brodie responded by telling her that this is just the way he talks, and explaining that most dogs talk the same way.  I expected to see her exit the page, but thankfully, she's still with us!

But, I've strayed from the original thought I have when this post started, though at this point, I can't tell you what point I was trying to make.  I guess just to say, bear with us and forgive our newbie mistakes.

Kudos to my dear friend and photographer, Beth Weigel who has the patience of Job.  We leave you with a picture that sums us up!  When everybody dissolves into silly, the photo shoot may be over, but the party has just begun.  

(l to r) Logan, Daddy, Brodie, Drew, Mommy & Moira

Monday Morning Perimeter Check

Good Monday! Well, mees perwimiter check dis mornin is givin evidence of mees old nemisis, Mr Possum. Dat stinker has been mosien awound dis yard fur sure!

Did yous know dat January is National Be On Purpose Month, and National Train Your Dog Month? Iz finkin hard bouts both of dese today. 

Doos Mr Possum tempt yous twuly On Purpose, to eats him, On Purpose?!

What would yous be, if yous was not bein On Purpose? I don't knows, but all dis finkin makies mees wittle brain tired. So, gonna take da wittle nap now, On Purpose. 

Wees have to talk about Twainin Yous Doggie Month later, alwegators.

Ruffs,

Brodie

Bad Day at da Barknmore House

OMD!! Wees needs fur fings to settle down awound here. Yous not gonna bewieve what happened today. Yous needs to know dat mommy don't carry any house keys cause deyes always somebody at home, so da door neber gets locked. (Dems da famous last words of da mommy.) Da lady dat wuz helpin mommy wif some work, wuz here today. Mommy had to goes out n left us here wif her. So anyways, da nice lady finished her work an left, but hers closed the door to mommy's office. Guess who was asleepin unner da desk in dere! Yous twuly! 
Anyways, mommy comes back home n da fwont door was locked, so she goes to da back door and da back door was locked. Mommy said 'who da @#$$ locked da doors?' Moira and Logan, they lookin at her fru da door. Why yous bangin on da door, n standin in da waindwops mommy??
Mommy gettien all upset, on accounts of nobody home, doors locked, no keys, n onwee 2 dogs at da door!! Where's #3 (dat wood be mees)? 
So finalwee, mommy texted to daddy, who does have da key, and wees was all happwiwee weunited, but not afore Moira runned out in the wain and got soakin wet in da 25 dwops dat fell today! 

Wees goin to beddie bye now.
Nitey Nites, n sweet collie dweams! Wees ruffs yous!
Yous twuly,
Brodie

Homemade Frozen Dogurt - Collie Style

One of our favorite year-round treats is homemade frozen yogurt or "dogurt" as we call it.  We make many varieties to keep it interesting for Logan, Brodie and Moira, but this one is the favorite.  This recipe makes enough to last about 3 months around here, but depending on the size of your dog, you might want to adjust the portions or cut the recipe in half.

Frozen Peanut Butter Banana Dogurt

• 1 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter (organic is best - but Jif is OK too)
• 2 Bananas - still slightly firm - not mushy
• 1 Quart Vanilla Yogurt
• 3 T Honey
• 4 Old fashioned ice trays, or candy molds or mini muffin pans

Place all ingredients in mixer bowl and mix on medium speed until smooth. Spoon into molds and freeze overnight.  Then, remove from molds and store in gallon-size ziplock bag.  Very easy to dispense any time, as they do not stick together when you move them to the ziplock already frozen.  Take out only what you need.  Probably not a good idea to allow these to be eaten on the carpet - could get a little messy.  Makes about 48 ice cube size treats. 

Moira wants you to know that licking the bowl and the spoon is mandatory. 

Bone appetit!

Collie Mom & Logan

 

Gwavy Twain

Wees headed fur da bed n not a seconds too soon. OMD. Da cwazies has landed wite in da middle of dis house! Mommy has cooked da woast beef, n da taters n da carrots n wees always gets to share, but tonite wees got da JUICE. Dats da end of da stowee! Wees got nuttin but gwavy on da kibbles! I don't knows how much more wees can take of dis abuse. Gwavy! No beef, no taters, no carrots, just gwavy. I happens to see da leftobers go in dat fwidge - I was watchien! Doos dis seem like a good way to start da new years?? I has on mees huffy face tonights. Sees you on da morrow fur a update on dis disturbin situashun. Moira n Logan was not happy too.

Nitey nites. Pwease pway fur da homeless n da sick doggies. Wees feels so bad fur dems. Wees ruffs you! L., B.(dats mees) n M.

Dancer in the Snow

We love these 'old' collie pictures. So sweet the way she's hiding behind her collie.  When we lived in Lake Arrowhead, CA we had a wonderful collie girl who had experienced a bumpy start in life, having been returned to the pet store that sold her as a puppy.  Back then, we knew nothing of puppy mills and horrors of irresponsible breeding.  She had been returned because she was 'excitable'.  She was just doing what collie puppies do!  We had no other information on our girl who was about 4 months at the time we first brought her home.  

This picture reminded me of how much Dancer loved the snow.  She would roll in it making collie snow angels.  She would run with her long snout to the snow and scoop up as much as she could hold in her mouth, looking like a little furry snow plow.  But, most of all she loved to play with her boys in the snow.  

Dancer lived to be almost 11, but breast cancer got the best of her in the end. I still miss her and love her.  

  

Cookie Butt?

OMD I will admits dat da angle on dis picture of Logan could be to blame, but doos he lookie like maybe he had a few too many Christmas cookies to yous??? BOL!
 
Yes, dat iz da twee still lit up, wees embarwissed to tells yous. But da balls n stuffs is all gone. Daddy just needies to wap it in da pwastic n stick it in da cwoset n wees be all done. Mommy sez she likes it cause when yous frows enuf colored lights at sumfin it lookies weal pwetty! I don't know abouts dat mommy. 

Wees abouts to get da cold, wet, wain heres I finks. Hope yous all havin a gweat day!

Maybe the Snowplow Makes a Better Story

I just read a terribly disturbing post by a friend about a dog many of us are familiar with through Facebook.  Actually, this post was better than the previous post about the same dog, a little Yorkie, I believe she is. The first story was that this little doggie was missing in the polar vortex and her momma was terrified about the many possibilities of her poor baby's demise.  So everyone including yours truly went to bed just sick with worry about this precious little one lost in the dark, frigid night, in the storm of storms.  Fast forward to the next afternoon, when the creative momma announced that her ill-fated fur child had been hit by a snowplow and died instantly, have been separated from her entire face!  Horrors!  But, as liars tend to do, the fabricating owner just kept it going, and growing, and going.  Until, that is, someone spotted the sweet girl's picture on the Canadian version of Craigslist!  Complete with a detailed description of the still-intact precious face, and - get this - a price reduction to $800!

When we read about the cruel things people do to animals, my react phrase is always the same:  "They're taking reservations in Hell, and it's filling up fast." But this is different.  Why not just tell the truth?  Was the elaborate hoax really worth the time and effort it took to come up with it?  Why did so many people have to agonize over the disappearance and then suffer the mental image of the mostly snowplow decapitated poochie. How dreadful, or how desperate, or just duplicitous and plain sick, take your pick, must this individual be, to put so many through so much anguish, for $800?  The point being, what?  Meanwhile, the erstwhile humans controlling this poor soul's life continue to breed their remaining baby "for a living".  The makings of apartment sized puppy mill? 

They're taking reservations, and it's filling up fast!

Collie Mom with Miss Moira

Baby Cake Treats

This is a personal favorite recipe from Logan, Brodie and Moira.  Is is so easy to make and the taste is yummy!  I discovered this several years ago when time was at a premium and finding the hours to cook for the collies was very difficult.  After consulting our vet, I came away with an extensive list of "preferred" ingredients and a few great ideas on how to streamline the process of making dog treats.  

One of the best ingredients, and one of the most popular, as it turned out, was wheat germ.  Not only is it an abundant source of vitamin E, its nutty flavor makes it irresistible to your furry family.  When we first started making these miniature cakes, jars of organic baby food were a challenge to find. Now, it's as easy as going to your mainstream market or local grocer.  We use everything from apricots to junior meal varieties to make these easy treat cakes.

This recipe uses only two ingredients, but has endless variations!

Baby Cakes

• 1 Cup organic wheat germ
• 2 small jars organic baby food

Preheat over to 350 degrees.  Spray baking sheet with olive oil, or use precut parchment liner. Mix all the ingredients and roll into 1-inch balls.  Place on baking sheet and press each ball with a fork.  Bake about 30 minutes until golden brown.  Cool.

Bone appetit!

January 3

Whoa doggies, it's cold enuf to fweeze da horns offa da billy goats dis mornin! 2014 iz giving us a wakie up dats not bery nice! At lease wees don't have to deal wiff da snow like so many of yous. Butt, mommy sez she wishes it wood snow here!! She misses it n wemembers ours sissy, Dancer (18 years at da bwidge) playin in da snowdwifts wiff ours big furless brudders when dey wuz wittle boys. Mommy still gets dem leaky eyes bouts dis.

Anyway, da best fing fur us doggies to do on a day likie dis iz to tuck yous feet unner yous n snuggle yous nose down in yous fwuffy tail! If yous can't do dat, yous pwobably not a doggie anyways! BOL! Wees ruffs yous!!

Brodie

January 2

Here's mees first post on da blog!  I have pwomised to twy to use better spelling n grammar, but I tells yous, dats a tall order fur yous twuly!

Wees been talkien here abouts "resolutions".  Personally, I don't fink dis is a good idea at all!  Some suggestions have been staying off da furniture, no sleepin on da bed, and eeekkk - no beggin fur bites!  WUT??? 

I don't knows how yous feel, but wees collies is in no way open to dis kind of wadical change!  So, I told mommy that wees are in favor of some "suggestions" but wees not makien any pwomises involvin beds, furniture n yummy bites!

Hope yous have a wonnerful 2nd day of 2014!   

Happy New Year & Happy New Blog

Happy 2014 from us, the collie trio of Logan 7, Brodie 5, and Moira 4. We’re rough collies and we were all rescued by Houston Collie Rescue and adopted by our mommy and daddy.  As the elder dog, I will not be posting, but will turn those duties over to Brodie, who also writes our Facebook fan page.  Brodie thinks a little differently, is very creative, is a bad speller, and has no regard for grammar!  But, once you get used to it, he makes perfect sense.

This is me, Logan!  Nice to meet you!