It Was a Good Day!

Hello everybody! This is The Daily Bone and I'm your optimistic doggie reporter 

Chester L. W. Spaniel. 

As you know,  we're still dealing with that virus thing. We are all staying home as much as possible, and staying away from other humans. But you can't keep WNY people from enjoying some actual Spring-like weather when we finally get it. So today it seemed like the whole neighborhood was out walking: sometimes just one person, sometimes couples, and sometimes whole families. They smiled and waved at each other when they passed (keeping six feet apart, of course.) Oh, and I've never seen so many doggies either! And kids on bikes, roller skates, skateboards, and scooters too!

Hi pups! Bark bark!

Speaking of six feet apart, our friend Barf at the Wild Wings Bird Sanctuary was glad to demonstrate how far six feet is:

My Joanna human used to volunteer there and says Barf is actually a very nice, polite turkey vulture. If you tell him he's handsome, he'll open his wings and preen his beautiful feathers. If you'd like to know more about Barf and his birdie friends, go to WildWingsInc. Be sure to scroll down a ways to see the video of Barf. 

We looked around the garden and spotted the very first grape hyacinths blooming. These ones are kind of early because they're growing right under the dryer vent where they stay nice and warm. 

And look how green the grass is getting!

The grackles are still here. They spend the whole day haggling over real estate, and squabbling over mates. My ghostwriter says the devil himself must have taught one of them how to scream like a human, and then sent him to wake her up every morning.

Screech Poobomber and his girlfriend Ditzy Waddlesquirt

Crummy rotten grackles!

The sky was constantly changing today, with the high winds moving the clouds really fast. In the picture below, a bank of clouds is moving in. The dark spot in the middle is a bumblebee flying by.

A cloud bank (and a bumblebee) approaching from the south west.

After ten minutes: Wow! Those are thunder storm clouds! *

Twenty minutes later,it  suddenly got really dark! 

It began to rain and thunder!

15 minutes later,  things were clearing up nicely!

Dinner time! Beef stew and mashed potatoes. Yum!

Later in the evening we saw a spectacular sunset!

It's time to relax now, isn't it? Nope!

We checked our computer and found some beautiful illustrations from our friend Sunny.

We love the big, jolly characters she creates!

This one looks a bit like me!

On top of that, we got pictures of the grand kids Lily and Ryan!

Going for a walk.

Reading a funny book.

Looks like they're doing OK! Anything else?

No, don't turn the TV on! Let's not ruin this great day with all that bad news! It's NOT the end of the world (again) no matter how dire the News media makes it seem!

Good night to a good day!

* We wanted to show you this picture again. After we looked at it some more, we were able to see at least four little doggie faces in those thunder clouds. Can you find them?

What to Do, What to Do!

Greetings friends and fans. This is The Daily Bone and I'm your undaunted doggie reporter 

Chester L. W. Spaniel.

I've been watching the news about that horrible, very bad, no good virus thing that's terrorizing the humans right now. There is very little we doggies can do about it. But we can keep our peeps from getting too down in the dumps. So I decided to tell everyone my secret to all the funny and serious expressions I make for The Daily Bone. 

And the secret is … 

… yummy doggie treats! Yes indeed! My ghostwriter and I have a routine for our photo sessions. She shows me the camera phone, and I know she has doggie treats in her pocket. In response to that I get ready to pose. Upon receiving a treat, several pictures will be taken while I'm chewing it. 

Whoops! I dropped that one.

Hey, where did it go? 

OK, got it. Crunch, crunch, crunch …

Now I'm waiting for the next one. According to my esteemed and late associate Joseph (Joey dog*) Spaniel, author of the Yum Yum Coalition Guide to Doggie Employment, the standard pay for a photo session is precisely two yum yum doggie treats. 

There is another treat coming, right?

OK. Got it. Yum!

Well, I hope this took your mind off the rotten news for a little while. 

Please stay safe and healthy.



*Here's a picture of Joey dog from March 2016:

Windy Day (again)

Hello everyone! This is The Daily Bone and I'm your steadfast doggie reporter 

Chester L. W. Spaniel. 

Today we have high winds, gusting to 60mph! 

Whew! It blew my ears back! The sky was changing rapidly. One minute it's sunny …

… and the next minute it's raining.

This is really quite typical weather in our area in March. The cold northern air is fighting to stay put, while the warmer southern air wants to move in. This is what makes the high winds, and we've had them on and off for the last few weeks.

Nevertheless, I did some exploring for signs of Spring. Long time readers are familiar with my method of finding amazing things in my yard: look up, look down. There are lots of things growing up from the ground now:

Crocus

Miniature daffodils

Sweet Woodruff

Hyacinth

Looking up, the trees don't have any leaves on them yet.

But look look look lookie look! The puppy willows are blooming!

In other news, my ghostwriter went to work at the nursing home yesterday for the first time since her knee surgery. She survived! She said her knee was doing great, but her feet and legs hurt. She has to get back in shape now, and it won't be easy. Everyone was glad to see her, and she was very happy to see them. But she was sad to find out that several little old people had died while she was gone. She says, these things happen in geriatrics.

Oh, but guess what? When she got out of work later in the evening, and walked to her car, she heard spring peepers for the first time this year! That's a very good sign of Spring! Here's what they sound like:

peepers

As I post this report, the wind continues to blow, but is calming a bit. It's supposed to get colder tonight. It'll be a good time for staying indoors with your family. Turn off the TV news and watch a nice movie instead. We hope everyone stays healthy and safe.

Signs of Spring

Hello everyone. This is The Daily Bone and I'm your doggie reporter Chester L. W. Spaniel.

Sometimes it seems like winter is endless here in WNY. Just when it warms up a bit, we get hit with another cold front! In these pictures, I was standing and squinting in the sun a couple days ago. 

But …

… there was a halo around the sun. That means bad weather is on it's way. 

Pffft! 

However, we finally saw our very first flower!

As you probably know, there is a big crisis going on in the world lately. I'm sure you're tired of hearing about it, so I'm going to try to keep things positive. 

I have a few news items from my kitty cat cousins. Tibie (aka Tiberius) and Hani (aka Hannibal) were doing a good job keeping their eyes on the squirrel activity in their area.

Good  job, kitties! 

Their kitty cat sister Maddie (aka Medusa aka The Kitten Overlord) kept busy with food watching. 

Food watching is very serious business!

This evening there was a nice sunset. 

My ghostwriter went outside at one point to check on this sunset, and she was surprised to see an entire flock of turkey vultures swooping and wheeling overhead! 

Ghostwriter remembers a time when seeing big birds like this was practically a miracle. 

In case you didn't know, turkey vultures are nature's garbage disposals. They eat dead things.

Blah!

Oh, but I almost forgot! Today is St. Patrick's Day! My favorite mini humans Lily and Ryan were home from school, and got home made shamrock shakes! Hooray!

I hope all my friends and family stay happy and healthy!