THANK YOU HONEY!

mmmWOOOOOF!

GREETINGS FROM SOUTH AFRICA!
MAXDOG here.....

You might be asking...

WHY DO YOU HAVE A KIWI BIRD ON YOUR SOUTH AFRICAN BLOG?

Well, today we are celebrating NEW ZEALAND!

This is our way of saying a very special and big "THANK YOU" to HONEY!

Yes, last night the NEW ZEALAND Cricketers won their game against England at our Wanderers stadium!!!.

To say it was a walkover is an understatement.

CONGRATULATIONS NEW ZEALAND!!!
---xXx---

Ok, let's get on with why our hearts are so happy today!

We have read, on many occasions, from blogger's posts, of your delight in receiving packages from furfriends. We have watched in awe and envy. Unfortunately we have such a bad postage system here in South Africa that we thought we would never be able to receive such a package from across the big ocean. Indeed, we are hesitant to even enter such competitions (or host them) because of the poor and expensive postage service.

Anyway, yesterday we discovered what it is REALLY like to receive a package from one of our special furfriends!

I can tell you, without restraint, that it's totally exciting!

It brings unimaginable pleasure!

It converts our 'cyber-friend' to someone totally REAL!

We are absolutely thrilled!

THANK YOU SO MUCH, HONEY!

Ok Mom....what IS this???

It is addressed to MAXDOG, but is it REALLY for me?


Eish Mom....this is THRILLING!!! What is INSIDE???


Look at all the goodies: CHEWY TREATS, A SPECIAL TOY

and a note from HONEY!



OOOOOOO....YES....I remember...I won the Amateur Drooler in Honey's slobber competition!
Did I really get a prize Mom?



OK, I will contain my excitement and sit nice and still, so that I can share my bounty from Honey, with ALL my furry friends!
Aren't I lucky!

Mom said I could choose which one first....those chewy treats smelled really yummy!

Mom opened them up for me nicely...she said I'd eat the lot without her managing me!

(Yep, I probably would!)



By way of thanks, I will even let that KIWI sit on my forehead....for HONEY!

...and I will let Mom tie bows in my ears....for HONEY!

OK, Formalities over...it's time to TUG!!!!!!

Me in my spot...with MY new TOY!!!

Oooooo...it's soooo nice to chew on!!!!!!

(HONEY says that this is one the the top-selling dog toys in Auckland! It is the rubber udder attachment for milking cows on dairy farms!)

I just love it!!!

Mom played "Fetch" with me too last night

(She got one of her accomplices to give the other doggies some of MY treats while we played!)

TOFFEE really enjoying his treat!

Well, I would NOT let my new TUG toy out of my sight. When the excitement started to die down, I settled in between the chairs in the TV room.

THANK YOU, SO MUCH AGAIN, DEAR HONEY,

for going to all the trouble to send the parcel all the way to me in

SOUTH AFRICA!!

You have put the REALITY back into ALL my cyber-friends and I am very grateful!

Lots and lots of licks to ALL of my friends in cyber-space

MAXDOG IN SOUTH AFRICA

LIGHTNING FLASHES & THUNDER ROARING!

mmmWOOF!

GREETINGS FROM SOUTH AFRICA!

MAXDOG here...

The lightning flashed!

The thunder roared

We were all quite shaken!....

Yes, last night we experienced our first of many summer thunderstorms. Here in Johannesburg, our thunderstorms can be very scary. There is usually lots and lots of lightning and cloudbursts of water. TOFFEE ends up wanting to chase anything that moves. The thunder seems to fuel his desire to protect us all.

But it was our first storm of the season and Mom and I went out onto the patio to watch the flashes, hear the crashes and listen to the rain pelting onto the tinned patio roof. Everytime it rains we always remember our exchange student from Germany, who spent a year with us and who also marvelled at the majesty of our thunderstorms.

Last night's storm was just as marvellous as always!

This morning our sky is grey and everything feels wet and smells clean!

I did my rounds, as usual.




The garden is starting to look nice. Our red "bottlebrush" bush is in full bloom. This means that the bees will be here soon and we need to watch out for their swarms. Mom is nervous about bees and always calls us dogs inside when they are swarming. But they are not around yet. Thank goodness.

Look at how beautifully shiny the leaves of the wild rhubard are
(after having such a big wash)!

I just love looking at it all with Mom and revelling in all the new life!

Up above my head, the weaver bird has not given up!!! Remember I told you that the female had pulled all his nests down? Well, he is now more determined than ever to produce this season's little nestlings, so he has resumed his natural duty of building profusely!

Yes, seasons come and seasons go!

We are looking forward to a great summer with lots of rain and lots of thunderstorms.

But today its a little on the chilly side, so I will lie low and catch up on my beauty sleep.

Lots of licks

MAXDOG IN SOUTH AFRICA

JUST SNIFFING OUT THINGS AND THINKING.

mmmWOOF!

GREETINGS FROM A SUNNY SOUTH AFRICA!

...and Hello to all my furry friends!

MAXDOG here...

It is a typical Monday. Mom is busy doing all her Mom-tasks around the household. She's emptying out cupboards and throwing things away. The place is chaos, so it's best not to disturb her.

Tammy and I went sniffing in the garden. It really is beautiful outside...although the weaver bird is having some domestic problems! The poor bird built a whole lot of nests (just above where Tammy & I are standing), just to have them ALL stripped by his fussy wife!....WOMEN!!!

Anyway, during Mom's cleaning frenzy, this interesting eight-legged little chap popped out from under her washing machine!.....

(Now guys, don't shriek...look at him carefully and rather allow me to tell you about him!)

He's called a SCORPION spider...and REALLY...quite beautiful!
But what is he REALLY?

Is he a scorpion, or a spider???

Actually, he is a SPIDER!...who pretends to be a scorpion!
He holds his front legs in such a way that it looks like the pinchers of a scorpion.
I find this really facinating! Why does he do that? Can't he just be who he is meant to be?

It's kinda similar to us dogs. Some of us are involved in all sorts of activities, but are we allowed to just be dogs? You know, parents of human childen sometimes say...
CHILDREN DON'T HAVE TIME TO BE CHILDREN ANY MORE!
Is this the case too with some of us dogs?

Anyway, while Mom gets on with her cleaning stuff, I will just have a snooze and ponder that thought!

With all my training over the years,
have I been allowed to simply be a dog?

Lots of licks
MAXDOG IN SOUTH AFRICA

WALKING AND CHATTING

mmmWOOF!

GREETINGS FROM SOUTH AFRICA!
MAXDOG here...

Hey there all my buddies! I have lots to share with you today, but first our walk...!

Our street.


Hey Mom....HURRY UP!

Checking for cars!


Oooooh, isn't the sunshine beautiful!!!

Mom thought she' show you a picture of this flower...our

SOUTH AFRICAN STRELITZIA

....one of our national flowers!

Growing on someone's pavement!

---xXx---

In the evening, Mom & the Boss went to movies at

MONTECASINO!

Most international visitors visit there...the architecture is quite amazing! If you don't like gambling there are many other forms of entertainment!...

The designers have created a little 'ITALIAN' village,

ALL UNDER A ROOF!!!

They have thought of everything and it's quite surreal walking along the little pavements and seeing the shops - all the while knowing that the sky is NOT REAL!!!
(if you look carefully, you can see little black dots on the roof...we think those are cameras?)

Check out the 'nesting' stork on the roof below...

Remember - that sky is NOT REAL.

This is ALL INDOORS!

Well, us dogs could obviously not go with Mom & Dad, but I thought I'd show you the pictures anyway.

---XxX---

SCHNAPPS, our 3week old hamster is doing well. He's still scared of me, but after your comments, I am beginning to understand that my size might be an issue.

Anyway, I like him a lot! He's very cute and I sometimes sleep by his cage...

just to make sure that TOFFEE doesn't worry him too much!

See how gentle we are with him...!

Anyway, that's all for now!

One last thing...I am so touched by you guys trying out my MELKTERT recipe. I must compliment RUMER & KALI, in particular, for their excellent job...go and check out

KALI & RUMER'S(25th September post!) . Their effort with my recipe is most impressive!

Lots of licks

MAXDOG IN SOUTH AFRICA
---xXx---

Heart breaking news:

We are so sad to hear of the news of DOMI THE THERAPY DOG's trip to the Rainbow bridge.

She was a real inspiration to us and we are going to miss her immensely.

Please go and support her family with your wishes.

AN INITIATED HAMSTER

mmmWOOF!

Greetings from SOUTH AFRICA!

Hey there all my furfriends! MAXDOG here!

Hope your weekend is going well and that you are all having lots of fun!

Our little Russian dwarf hamster, SCHNAPPS, is settling down well.

(we don't yet know its boy/girl status yet)
The girls and Mom were checking "it" out on the bed this morning.

(Mom thinks this little creature is the cutest thing imaginable!!! )

Mom invited me up onto the bed to say hello.

Well, little SCHNAPPS took one horrified look at me and took off!

Relative to his 12 grams, he reckons I'm BIG!!!

I have never seen any creature that lightning fast!!!

(Mom and the girls were faster however and SCHNAPPS was soon safe in their hands!)

I would NEVER hurt him though!!!...I just wanted to introduce myself!

Lots of licks

MAXDOG IN SOUTH AFRICA

AM I A BABYSITTER...OR WHAT!?

mmmWOOF!

GREETINGS FROM SOUTH AFRICA!

MAXDOG here.....

Hey there all my furry friends!

Yesterday's HERITAGE DAY celebrations brought a whole variety of new dynamics for me in this household. But I suppose that is what a pack leader has to do.

...manage CHANGE!

Firstly, Robyn decided that she needed a pet to take back to her university residence with her. I was wondering why she can't take one of us?Apparently we are TOO BIG!!!

Well, I am NOT big! Big is like MANGO! But it seems she disagrees!

So, we now have another resident (part-time) in this household.

Meet...."SCHNAPPS"

(all 12 grams of Russian Dwarf Hamster! ...nearly as big as COCORUE or RUMER!)

Well after the dramatic entrance and introduction of SCHNAPPS,

I had to manage yet another change...

Remember JEANIE?

Yep...she came visiting again!

JEANIE decided to really make herself at home yesterday!


Smelling all our stuff!


Climbing into our rockery!

I had to go and check on things!
Seems like she is only a puppy (Mom tells me about 5 months old), so

NO WORRIES!!!
Tammy was also chilled with JEANIE's presence!

TOFFEE however was not impressed at all!!!

He barked, growled and put on his real miserable face until Mom isolated him in the bedroom. He was adamant that all hell would break loose if JEANIE became permanent!

(between you and me, I think TOFFEE's social skills are shot!!!

Why can't he be like TESSA?)

Well all that barking made JEANIE seek reassurance!

NOT for long though!

...she soon became all "bitey face" again!

Now I ask you...

WHAT IS MAXDOG SUPPOSED TO THINK?

AM I A BABYSITTER...OR WHAT!?

---xXx---

All this confusion made me go and help Mom in the kitchen!
Mom says cooking always sorts out confusion!

(Apparently she was also dealing with some sort of guilt?? She had put up a recipe for MELKTERT on my blog yesterday and suggested that my furfriends make it. Mom says that if you suggest things to friends, you should do them yourself!

So she made the MELKTERT too and we reaped the reward.)

It was

YUMMYLICIOUS!

Did you guys make it?

(The recipe is in the blogpost below!)

mmm....NOM...NOM...NOM!

Lots of licks

MAXDOG IN SOUTH AFRICA