They do love their toys

I have a question. After trying so hard to find Bess someone to play with why do they still need a third person to make up a game? I'm sitting here reading the news and two Rottweilers keep shoving a ball into my hand.

I already know the answer to my question. We are a family. We live together, eat together, sleep together and play together. Sometimes they make me feel I am as much a part of their family as they are a part of mine. But sometimes I just feel like a referee tossing out a basketball or a hockey puck.

 

 

A few of last night's photos were taken in burst mode, less than a second apart. These two pictures show a big smile growing on Griff's face in less than one second.

We had an exciting evening last night. My crew came in the den and decided to entertain mee. Taking pictures of them is more fun than watching television.

 He's sneaking up on me, isn't he?

 

 

 

The many faces of Griffin

Tonight my crew came into my den and decided to entertain me. Taking pictures of them is more fun than watching television so just being themselves was funny to watch. When they finished what they were doing and I finished taking the pictures I realized I had captured a sizable variety of different expressions on Griffin's face. I just love this new boy and so very glad he loves me back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just like the old days

Bess and Griff came in the den again. As usual they brought some of their games with them. The tugger games seem to move through the house but when they get into this small room I make them stop. If you saw the living room furniture shoved around you would understand. 

Adopting Griffin has been the best thing I have ever done for Bessie. She loves him so much and really enjoys having him play with her. And I love having Griff around, too. He is very affectionate and I love having him snuggle against me while we're sleeping.

 

We all enjoyed another movie night tonight. We have had four of them in the past week. Just like the old days. Griffin has claimed the spot on the couch next to me and Bessie has taken over the other couch. It seems like a quiet time when everyone just takes a nap in spite of the loud movies.

 

 

More fun and games

Bessie and Griffin spend most of their day playing whether indoors or outside. They play so hard that they have to take breaks once in awhile to catch their breath. Got a few more pictures of some of their horseplay and a cool shot of an intense tugging match.

 

 

 

From this angle it sure looks more like a starring match. First one who blinks loses the toy.

The last three nights we have watched movies and my big buddy Griff has been keeping me company on the couch.

To my dear friend in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Flee, if you read this please know I have never stopped thinking about you. Please write if you can. Since I have joined Facebook I have become aware of the horrible problems facing white people in South Africa. Now I see that your government wants to take away your ability to defend yourself.

GOSA : Gun Owners of South Africa

http://gosaonline.co.za/

In spite of the weather we had lots of fun.

In the last few days I gave Griffin some dance lessons. Yeah, sounds silly but in reality Griff loves to greet everyone he meets face to face and he is very quick to jump up and put his front paws over someone's shoulders. He is also a little klutzy and when he jumps he almost knocks people over. So my true effort was to teach him a better way and be more gentle. 

 

 

 

 

 

I caught Griffin by surprise with the camera and managed to get a very sweet portrait photo. He has such a lovable look on his face all the time.

His appetite is back to normal after that scare we had when he stopped eating when we first got him. That boy really started to look skinny and his ribs were showing, too. All because he has a bad case of Kennel Cough that went into Upper Respiratory Infection. Bottom line is what I always suspected, if they can't smell their food they won't eat it. I haven't taken him to the Vet's office in 4 weeks so I can only guess his weight but I am sure it is back over 125 lbs like it was when he was surrendered to the rescue group.

 

A busy week filled with lots of work and play

Thursday was a busy night and Friday a busy morning cooking up 10 gallons of Navy Bean Soup for a friend who runs a street ministry and feeds homeless people at a shelter. This was the first time I volunteered to provide the food. The sight of all the food plus the smells coming from the kitchen have given my crew dreams of sugar plums or whatever makes Rottweilers hungry. After breakfast they didn't go too far away to take their morning nap.

 

 

A little back story to the 10 gallons of Navy Bean Soup.
During my years in the U.S. Coast Guard I was a cook on a small Lifeboat Station with a crew of 20 men. This was between 1958 and 1962 and much of this station was a leftover from the 2nd World War and in the galley I found an old Navy Cook Book. The recipes and quantities were written to prepare meals for 100-500 people and I had to scale down the quantities for the much smaller meals I was cooking.

When I took on this project a few days ago I found it necessary to go in the opposite direction since cook books didn't have recipes for large crowds. I knew what all the ingredients were for Navy Bean Soup but the quantities for a very large batch needed some thought. In my research I found an interesting source in a most unexpected place. The official web site of the United States Senate. And lo and behold they had a recipe for making 5 gallons. https://www.senate.gov/reference/reference_item/bean_soup.htm The web site actually has two recipes and even though their appears to be an error in the batch quantities its still a useful source.

Playtime.
When is it ever not playtime? The frequently on-again off-again tug of war just drifted into the den. Not only does Griff love to try and take the ball from Bessie, but I think Bess enjoys having him try to take it and sometimes even offers it to him.

 

If only this was a video.
The first time I spotted Griffin digging a hole he was slinging large chunks of dirt and Bessie was standing behind him trying to catch them. These two did it again tonight and all I had was a still camera. The last three pictures they were playing with a Frisbee.

 

 

 

 

 

Griffin having fun in our back yard

Back yard adventures.

Griffin loves exploring and based upon his new penchant for digging, maybe even archeology. If I can train him to dig where I want I won't have to bring out my rototiller. 

The funniest thing I saw was Bessie standing behind Griffin trying to catch the chunks of dirt he was tossing back with his paws.

And he loves leaping off the stone wall. It must add to his adventure.