When is a Limb A Twig? Or Is It Fruit?

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:

"Don't be afraid to go out on a limb. It's where all the fruit is."

Shirley MacLaine

tangelo fruit

  Not only has Maggie been collecting twigs, but she's now collecting the fruit from our miniature tangelo bush. It is a new way for Maggie to go out on a limb. At first I thought she was nipping the fruit off the branches. Alas, she was only picking up the fallen fruit. But, like she picks up the fallen twigs and tries to hide them in her mouth.... she was sitting silently looking at me with her expression of "nothing's wrong". After we did our "drop it" game the ball of fruit rolled out of her mouth. Maggie sticks to going out on a limb by sneaking nature's bounty indoors. I shudder to think if we had an orange tree. She might think it's a orange tennis ball and throw it at me for playtime. Juice anyone?

Maggie on a limb

Life Is A MaggieMoose Magnificent Moment

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:

"I wish that all of nature's magnificence, the emotion of the land, the living energy of place could be photographed."

Annie Leibovitz

bloom in front of fish taco eatery

  When Maggie and I walked this morning I reflected on the "magnificence of life". The other day I was going with a dear friend to get our Tuesday night fish taco specials. In front of this strip mall eatery was the most magnificent plant with incredible blooms. It beckoned me like a bright star on a dark night. Today our red robin friend saw us walking again. It's a daily ritual. We say hello to all of nature's creatures. Did this red robin fly away from my bird dog Maggie? No. The bird came closer as we said hello to it. It decided to perch closer on a tree limb so, we could see it better. The bird stayed on the limb just looking at us. We looked back and smiled. WOW. What a magnificent moment. Like Annie Leibovitz says...I wish all of nature's magnificence could be photographed. Maggie agrees. She willingly sits while I take her photos as her soulful eyes peer into mine. 

our red robin friend

Cat Named Rachel Ann

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:

I had been told that the training procedure with cats was difficult. It's not. Mine had me trained in two days. 

Bill Dana

Rachel Ann looking cat

photo credit

 Years ago I found a tiny black kitten wondering around a gas station crying in the night. This little kitten was about 5 weeks old. It was all alone so, I took it home. We named her Rachel Ann. She turned out to be a big boy with quite a personality. He also bonded strongly to my mom. "Rachel Ann" was the name my mom called him when he did his peculiar things. I remember my mom telling me the story about the "in the middle of the night" episode. The cat and my mom were living alone together. My father had long since passed on. One night in the middle of the night my mom hears someone going to the bathroom. She thinks this is impossible since she lives all alone. Slowly she creeps towards the bathroom and peeks around the door. Big, bad Rachel Ann is sitting on the toilet trying to flush the handle. True story. This cat was always up to human antics. Like eating my mom's left over popcorn without being seen...Who trained who? I think the cat had my mom trained to leave her leftover popcorn out for him. Also, to leave the toilet lid up so, he could use the facilities....Cats are like that. Their peculiarities steal your heart. Maggie thinks this is a funny story. She had me trained from the first hello lick.

Homespun Cuteness

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:

"I believe that love and laughter can only happen when one person takes the time to think about what would cause the other person to feel good."

Yakov Smirnoff

7 weeks old B&W English Springer Spaniel boy

  Sometimes I want to look at cute puppies filled with pawsabilities like my Maggie. It always brings a smile to my face looking at puppies, kitties, or babies. These puppies were born on May 9th. I have a friend born on this day. He's a great guy who's mom usually celebrated his birthday around Mother's Day each year. My friend Ray was a ton of fun. We lost track of each other over the years, but the memories remain. He always brought a smile to my face with his funny antics. It's ironic across the miles that my dog's breeder Sharon took these photos of her puppies in front of a tree. I took photos of Maggie in front of a tree on the same day, without knowing Sharon (Maggie's breeder) took these puppy photos in the same way.... Hum....

7 weeks old L&W English Springer Spaniel boy

7 weeks old L&W English Springer Spaniel boy

 Maggie's hair blowing in the wind with the sun on her face.... it's all about the loving pawsabilities!

BRAVE: Paper Free, Save A Tree

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:

"Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean."

John Muir

Maggie

  This past weekend we went to see the Disney PIXAR movie BRAVE. It's an incredibly beautiful movie that  had us in stitches we were laughing so hard. It also brought tears to our eyes. It's the kind of movie Maggie would love if they allowed a MaggieMoose in the theater. We anticipated a big crowd so we bought our tickets online. The tickets were sent via text to the iPhone. No paper. We were paper free to save a tree. We went to the theater, flashed the iPhone, and in we went. Popcorn in hand we were sitting in front of the big screen viewing an incredibly beautiful forest scene. Watching the spectacular nature animation on the screen brought us a little closer to Nature's heart. We sat knowing we saved a tree by being paper free. Woof Woof

Butterfly Leaf

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:

"An essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid to fail."

Edwin Land 

Butterfly Leaf

  Maggie and I took our walk this morning and we saw what looks like a "butterfly" leaf. Creativity is like that, you see something no one else does. We like these pawsabilities that appear out of nowhere.  We like not being afraid to fail when creativity strikes. One just has to fly like a butterfly....

Comet Flying Without A Parachute

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:

"I don't need a parachute

Baby, if I've got you

Baby, if I've got you

I don't need a parachute

You're gonna catch me

You're gonna catch if I fall

Down, down, down"

Cheryl Cole

Comet in Blake's arms 

(pre-grooming)

 Yesterday while I was dropping Maggie off at the groomer's I met a beautiful Maltese named Comet. He was the same size & looks as my former Maltese dog Scotty. It reminded me of when I'd drop Scotty off at the groomer's. He'd shake and shiver like Comet with nervousness pre-grooming. Afterwards, Scotty walked out like he was 10 ft tall. He'd be bursting with how striking he looked and felt. Seeing Comet brought back memories of how much my little Maltese dog saw me through in life. We went through some milestones while raising my girls. We had many fun times, sad times, and a lot of love oozed out of my 9 lb silky soft bundle of love. I didn't need a parachute when I had my dog Scotty. He somehow catch me when I'd fall. When Comet falls into Blake's arms, I imagine no parachute needed and vice versa.

Comet the Maltese and Blake

(pre-grooming)  

PLAY: Parachute by Cheryl Cole

MaggieMoose's 100 Blogs On The Wall...

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:

"We do not need to proselytise either by our speech or by our writing. We can only do so really with our lives. Let our lives be open books for all to study."

Mahatma Gandhi

Maggie's 100 pawsabilities

  Today marks MaggieMoose's 100th blog on the Wordpress wall. It's an exciting moment. We want to thank everyone for following us. Please tell others the good news we're trying to share! Maggie & I are delighted to have so many friends across the globe. Maggie wants to lick and hug everyone of you. It all started with a puppy named Maggie who had moose size paws. She was filled with so much love from day one of receiving her. I thank her breeder Sharon for socializing Maggie so well. Not only did Maggie look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside too! She's such a positive note in my life. I wanted to share her joy with others by blogging. So, this non-blogger started blogging. We agree with Mahatma Ghandhi about letting our lives be open books. It all started with a puppy for me. Much like this adorable pup.....who looks like another wonderful book for someone to read!

Cutest little boy book filled with adventures!

One of Sharon's puppies

Alces alces: Unpredictable Predictable MaggieMoose

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:

“It is our task, both in science and in society at large, to prove the conventional wisdom wrong and to make our unpredictable dreams come true”

Freeman Dyson

Maggie & 12" twig

  Maggie walked in this morning from outside carrying a 12" twig. Her usual fare is a 2" twig. I haven't had to negotiate with Maggie over a large twig for some time. I forgot how predictable Maggie is, because she's been unpredictable lately. Back to the twig, the drill is we exchange twig for treat. Maggie's been doing this since she was a little puppy. Her junkyard dog grip on the fragile looking twig is legendary around here. Why bother fighting over it? I give, she gives. 

12" twig

I know she dreams about these larger than life twigs. I think she dreams she's running in the forest with a smorgasbord of twig delights to chose from like her cousin the moose. Maggie's a wannabe herbivore. I'm glad she doesn't have a four-chambered stomach. She might eat me out of house and home. "Mooswa" is an Algonkian name for twig eater later changed into English as what we know today as "moose". I'll support Maggie's unpredictable dreams she's a real living moose with a bevy of greater than life size twigs. After all, we both believe in moose size pawsability living....

photo credit

Thinking MaggieMoose and Children

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:

My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am.

Author Unknown

Maggie

  My dog Maggie deserves the best, because she gives the best. So, my goal is to be what she already thinks I am. Maggie and I think a lot of children want to be thought of that way too. We think children are as as good as they really are. We see the goodness. We believe in their goodness. Maggie and I celebrate children today! 

A Surprise Visitor Dressed In Red

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:

"I once has a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a moment, while I was hoeing in a village garden, and I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance that I should have been by any epaulet I could have worn."

Henry David Thoreau

photo credit

House Finch

  Maggie and I had a surprise visitor yesterday after UJ (Uncle John) left. A beautiful bird dressed in red and brown appeared on our fence. He paused there while he looked into our house. Was he looking at Maggie sleeping on the floor? Our parakeets Tommy and Jerry were singing. Maybe this house finch stopped by to pay his respects to them? This was the first time this kind of bird has appeared near our house or in our neighborhood. There were a pair of sparrows flitting about in the trees near him. Maybe he was visiting them? Unsuccessfully I tried to take his photo. In a flash our visitor was gone! Maggie snoozed through his brief visit. It was a very special moment in time watching this house finch on our fence. Like Thoreau, I felt distinguished this bird paid us a visit. When Maggie woke up she felt distinguished too when I told her the story of our surprise visitor dressed in red. Reminds me of another visitor we once had, the blue jay who walked into our house, but that's another special story....for another time.

Happy Trails to You UJ

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:

"Folks will know how large your soul is by the way you treat a dog."

Unknown

Maggie and UJ

  Maggie has been singing a song while UJ was visiting. UJ is for Uncle John. UJ is always a ton of fun. His soul is too large to measure it's so full of goodness, kindness, and love. Maggie knows this by the way he treats her. Maggie feels very special indeed in his presence. She loves throwing herself into his lap for bunches of loving. Today the cowboy pulled up roots. He went home. Maggie's wondering around with her tennis ball looking for her UJ. Happy Trails to you UJ! Until we meet again....

PLAY: Happy Trails To You by Dale Evans & Roy Rogers

Maggie & UJ

"Happy trails to you, until we meet again.
Happy trails to you, keep smilin' until then.
Who cares about the clouds when we're together?
Just sing a song and bring the sunny weather.
Happy trails to you, 'till we meet again."

Dale Evans Rogers

Maggie's Kitty Friends

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:

There's no need for a piece of sculpture in a home that has a cat.

Wesley Bates

Maggie's kitty friends

Happy Father's Day for Fathers and Mothers

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:

"He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it."

Clarence Budington Kelland

My dad

  Today is Father's Day. Maggie and I celebrate all the fathers in the world. We also celebrate all the mothers who "are the fathers" as single parents. I raised my kids by myself. I saw it as having the bonus plan. I could celebrate Mother's Day and Father's Day. It reminds me of Father's Day with BBQ. BBQ'ing was my father's favorite thing to do. He was very good at it! I'd give anything to have some of my dad's BBQ ribs.... Maggie celebrates her dad too. His name is Zack. I see her "Zackness" now and then in her. I know I act like my dad sometimes. I talked about that on Memorial Day. My dad like Maggie's dad let us watch how they lived instead of telling us how to live. I hope my kids think that by watching me they too learned how to live their lives. Happy Father's Day to all parents, no matter what gender you are! We celebrate you!

Maggie's dad Zack

Moose You Don't Know You're Beautiful

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:

"Baby you light up my world like nobody else

The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed

But when you smile at the ground it aint hard to tell

You don't know

Oh Oh

You don't know you're beautiful"

One Direction

Beautiful Maggie

  I hear lots of comments from passersbys on our walks like ".... she's such a beautiful dog! I like those kind of dogs...." Maggie doesn't know she's beautiful. She doesn't stare in the mirror admiring her beautiful ears or shiny coat, or cute wiggle butt. She just is MaggieMoose. And that's what makes her beautiful to me! She just wants to give a lick, cuddle up or maybe throw a tennis ball my way. 

Maggie You Light Up My Life
PLAY: What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction

Handful of Chocolate Love

  Hershey is a chocolate kiss of a English Springer Spaniel pup waiting to go to a good home. Today Hershey is 8 weeks and 4 days old. I received my bundle of love Maggie from his breeder Sharon. When I looked in  Maggie's eyes for the first time I saw something very extraordinary about her. I feel the same way about this special pup. In his eyes I see incredible pawsabilities of devoted love with lots chocolaty kisses, a great intellect, and a keen nose for sensing things out. Like stated in the movie Forrest Gump "My momma always said, "Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." 

  In the racehorse Seabiscuit, at first glance this horse was without potential in the horse racing world. While I have no idea if Hershey will win any fantastic awards as Seabiscuit went on to do, I do believe Hershey will be the number one prize in some lucky person's life. Call it a hunch, an intuition, or just a feeling, this little boy Hershey has huge potential. I trusted my gut when I saw Maggie's photo. I trust my gut looking at Hershey's too.

  Maggie as a little pup.

Hershey   

  English Springer Spaniel dogs have the eyes most like a human's. One look in Hershey's eyes touches my soul. His eyes speaks volumes of love, inspiration, joy, and faithful companionship. Now that I have had my Maggie for ~6 months I can say to myself that I was right listening to my gut in choosing her. She has surpassed my expectations. Hershey will do the same with a huge dose of chocolate love included!

  Like a box of chocolates without a label you don't know what you're going to get. No guarantees, but that's the excitement of surprise when you take that first bite and its yummy goodness fills your mouth. Hershey pup will fill someone's face with lots of chocolaty kisses, faithful companionship, and joy! I am so glad I chose my Maggie. She's a ton of loving fun. Today Maggie sends her licks for Hershey's placement in a wonderful home with many pawsabilities for both Hershey and his new owner.

Maggie (~9 months) at the crossing light waiting for the green GO....

  

The Color of Orange Inside

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:

"When you squeeze an orange, orange juice comes out - because that's what's inside. When you are squeezed, what comes out is what is inside."

Wayne Dyer

a pair of sweet oranges

 Maggie and I like to think our insides are sweet when squeezed. We like to think others are like that too. Maggie says "WOOF WOOF, go out and make it a fruitful & juicy day filled with sweetness!" 

Maggie

Bathtime with Baby MaggieMoose

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:

"Everything is a miracle. It is a miracle that one does not dissolve in one's bath like a lump of sugar."

Pablo Picasso 

Maggie pupppy (left)

  I found my Kodak flip camera hidden away in the closet. I had forgotten about it this past year. What I recovered from this camera was some old videos of Maggie. They were of her first days here. Erroneously some of her first videos were erased in the process of learning how to operate this small video camera. The film of Maggie is shaky, off track, and amateurish. The treasure amongst all of the shaky videos is the cutest little 12 week old puppy Maggie. The first day she was home I bathed her after her flight here. I'm corny, she's cute, and our place is a mess. Newsworthy for MaggieMooseTracks is she's gone YouTube! She can be found at her YouTube channel called MaggieMooseTracks. I have posted 3 videos. I will start filming Maggie again and posting on YouTube. Like sugar melting in water, this sweetie pie is so adorable and lovable right out of the gate. Bath time with Maggie is kisses, kisses and more kisses. She's the little big miracle in my life. 

PLAY: MaggieMooseTracks: MaggieMoose's First Bath, Part 1

Dog Days Ridin' In My Car

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:

"And I can't find no true love, oh, baby, it's so hard
And I still think about you every time I'm ridin' in my car (Ridin' in my car)"

Alan G. Anderson

ridin' in my car....

I still think about you....

PLAY: Ridin' In My Car by NRBQ

A Cup of Hot Hello with Thou

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:

"Morning time a cup of hot hello, A plate of crispy wishes, A spoon of…"

Unknown

thou....

a knotty situation I adore!

John Wayne: Real Man, Fine Man, A Man I Could Love

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:

"Courage is being scared to death... and saddling up anyway."

John Wayne

photo credit

  Today Maggie and I pay homage to John Wayne. A real man, fine man, a man we could love. An American hero. It's the anniversary of John Wayne's death. He was a patriot that died on a patriotic day; D-Day. Besides Gary Cooper, John Wayne was my childhood movie star idol. I'd play like a cowgirl, and never act like a sissy. We called it "buck up" if someone was getting squeamish. I admired his toughness. When I was a child little girls we're suppose to be "girly" not gritty. If I wanted to run with the boys I had to have courage. Courage when I was scared to death as I climbed to the top of trees, or jumped off buildings. I never thought I could hurt myself if I kept that "can do" attitude exemplified by John Wayne. In college my roommate and I use to say "we want a real man, true man, fine man, a man we could love". The kind of guy we wanted had a spine like John Wayne. I know these traits are appealing to Maggie too. Maggie and I can be "girly", but we like to adventure. We want to surround ourselves with a man who saddles up anyway, even if being scared to death. Maybe one day he'll ride into town and say to us "Howdy Pilgrims."

PLAY: John Wayne winning Best Actor for "True Grit"  

Maggie ready to saddle up

MaggieMoose: A Marilyn Monroe Beauty

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:

"A person however learned and qualified in his life's work in whom gratitude is absent, is devoid of that beauty of character which makes personality fragrant."

Hazrat Inayat Khan

Maggie 7 weeks

  I am so grateful to have my sweet girl MaggieMoose. Sometimes in gratitude I stop and gaze at her puppy photos. I reflect back on the impact my Marilyn Monroe beauty marked girl has had on my life. This Sunday morning the moose is tuckered out after last night's festivities of tacos & twigs. She lays on her favorite towel (albeit a beat up towel) trying to get some zzzzzzzzz's. My heart skips some beats in appreciation she's here with me on this beautiful Sunday morning. The sun shines on her coat and around her. I can smell the sweet fragrance of her personality that captured my heart last year in her pretty on pink photo. The Marilyn Monroe beauty mark and her soulful eyes sold me. Thanks again Sharon (Maggie's breeder) for my beautiful English Springer Spaniel girl! I have the greatest treasure of love sitting pretty on pink or laying down on a ragged towel trying to get some sleep. 

Zzzzzzzzzzzz's please....

Ray of Beauties

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:

"Flowers... are a proud assertion that a ray of beauty out values all the utilities of the world."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Botanical Gardens

Washington, DC 

Maggie: Find Out Who Your Friends Are

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:

"You find out who your friends are
Somebody's gonna drop everything
Run out and crank up their car
Hit the gas, get there fast
Never stop to think 'what's in it for me?' or 'it's way too far'
They just show on up with their big old heart
You find out who your friends are"

Tracy Lawrence

Maggie & Me

  Last night I had a bad dream. I dreamed Maggie went running off with some dog friends that she really didn't know. I called her name twice as I saw her run up the mountain side way out of my vision. I had a sick feeling of "loss". It overcame me. I called her again on the verge of tears. When I thought all was loss, Maggie came bolting back to me down from the mountain. I was overjoyed with love as we rumbled and tumbled on the ground from the 49.2 lbs impact of her Maggie self. It's ironic that yesterday as Maggie and I were cruising around I heard the song: Find Out Who Your Friends Are by Tracy Lawrence. Like the boots on my feet, you find out who your friends are. The cowboy boots belonged to someone special, given to another special person, and then given to me. They fit like a glove. They show on up with their big old heart like interwoven roots of a tree trunk. 

our friendly tree

PLAY: Find Out Who Your Friends Are by Tracy Lawrence