Picnic at the Palapa & New Pup!

Hi all, Dianne here.   We all know how dog-crazy I am.  Roger would say "emphasis on crazy."  Well, a couple of weeks ago I saw a photo of a red-heeler-mix up for adoption at Cinderella Pet Rescue (where we got Bandido last January).  I just couldn't get her out of my mind, and finally persuaded Roger to go take a look.  Well, you know how that goes....

Bright and early on adoption day we took Bandido to Cinderella to meet his new little sister.  The photo above shows Bandido as he first sees her coming toward the office.

When we got home, we ate a quick lunch and then took both dogs on a long hike at the state park next door, so they'd get used to being together in our new "pack."


Tequila is a little overweight, so we need to get her into an exercise routine to get in shape... 

 ...This became evident as we got into the state park and she staged a "protest"!

After a few stops for rest and drinks, we made it home.

Both dogs were hot and tired, and immediately stretched out on the cool tile floor.

We'll keep at it with our walks and play time at the dog park, and help her build up more endurance.  She is still an pup, 7 1/2 months old.

Speaking of the dog park, Tequila made her first debut at Doggie Play Date Sunday morning.  She was a little timid at first, but after about 30 minutes she was running and wrestling with the best of them!  The dog in the front is our whippet friend Klick.  I learned long ago that it is very difficult to photograph a whippet without catching just a blur.  

I did a bit better with Klick's brother Gabe running at full tilt.  Poetry in motion!


  

Here is a good shot of Tequila and Bandido wrestling in the motor home this morning.
This action will look familiar to our friends Chuck and Cindy and their dog Sophie, a/k/a "the luckiest dog in Fishers, Indiana."

They play hard, but then it's time for a nap.  










One other bit of excitement is that my wildlife cam finally caught an identifiable photo overnight:

  This is a black-tailed jackrabbit in the green space area just beyond the chain link fence in our back yard.


I'll turn this blog over to Roger now, so that he can write about our fun hot dog and ice cream picnic at the palapa on the Rio Grande.  I'm sure they could smell our hot dogs cooking in Mexico!

There were lots of hot dogs left over from the Retama Village walk-through a few days ago.  What to do with them????  One of our neighbors, Linda, thought it would be fun to have a hot dog roast down by the river.  Linda and a few friends organized the event and invited the Retama community.  


What do I mean when I say, down by the river?  Why, the Rio Grande River, of course.  Bentsen Palm Development, which owns Retama Village (among other properties) maintains a palapa right next to the river.  It is only about a mile from our park.   Getting there was simple.  You just drive out of our park onto a nicely paved road, head toward the National Butterfly Center, stay on the road when it becomes gravel, go up the rise onto the gravel-topped levy, wave to the border patrol agents, drive a quarter mile on the levy, exit the levy, stay on the gravel lane until it turns to dirt, avoid sliding into the boat dock, and you are there.  


For our Indiana friends....  What is a palapa?  It is a thatch-covered, open structure (similar to what we midwesterners call a shelter house - except the roof is made of grass.)  VERY tropical. 

Neighbor Jim arrived early to get the fire going underneath the grate in the giant fire kettle.  Jim also hung around to roast all the hot dogs.  He even dipped ice cream.


Everyone was asked to bring chips and dips (Dianne brought two dips: one with sour cream, the other was me.) People brought their own beverages and folding chairs.

Nothing brings out a crowd like free food!  We counted around 125 people who enjoyed the food while relaxing by the river.  There were swim noodles available for people who wanted to float in the river, just kidding.  (Dianne again:  Yes, that IS Mexico just across the river!)

Friendly border patrol agents drove through and flew over.  Often you can see them in boats on the river, but not this day.  They are ever-present.  These guys work very hard and do a great job ensuring that this is a safe area.  We would not have had such an enjoyable afternoon without their ongoing service.

(Dianne again:  If any of my friends up north watch Border Wars on the National Geographic Channel, this is the same helicopter that is often seen on the show.)


All of the beautiful Retama people were there.  Check out the cutie in the sun glasses.

To top everything off, there was left-over ice cream from a recent ice cream social.  The men took over the serving responsibilities.  Yep, that's me in the orange, with chocolate ice cream up to my elbow.  Lots of people.  Lots of fun.  A great afternoon.

Now for the pet picture of the day.  One of my duties here at Retama is to post an updated activity calendar on the bulletin board next to the mailboxes.  I do this every Sunday.  Since I knew we would be busy at the hot dog roast,  I printed the calendar before we left and put it on the counter for later posting.   Well......  It seems as if our new puppy is a counter surfer, and she is not particular -- food, treats, and apparently paper.  The picture below depicts Charlie the Cat letting us know that Tequila did it!

The Dog Ate Roger's Homework!!!!