my children and i loved the pics!!..it reminded me of when i was a child (we lived on a lake).we called them by saying here duckie duckie duckie (loud and repeatidly)they came from everywhere(on wing and on foot) to eat the bread we had for them...atleast 30 of them! we had alot of babies around but i dont ever remember seeing a black one..how lucky you are to have these precious little ones!! thanks for sharin the pics kathy

Your narrative of Campbell's return, and the photos of JT with her friends had me in tears laughing. He has been a hoot on his trip and I'm so glad I got to 'meet' him (and get a load of goodies from the Junk Train). I am WAY behind in updating his album, but I do have all the photos saved and will get them in there sooner or later. His adventures came close to rivaling JT's, I wasn't sure he could do that but he's a determined little orange frog. Thank you for a GREAT ride on the junk train. hugs, Karen

Golddust, sounds like Belle is so lucky to have such a caring owner. I give my dogs fresh raw green tripe on occasion, which is essentially a non dairy, food sourced version of a probiotic for them. Smells unpleasant lol, but my dogs go crazy for it. I feed a Prey model raw diet, which is simply a diet of a variety of raw meat (certain bone in meats and boneless) and raw organs. http://preymodelraw.com/page/articles.html I do give them a little bit of veggies, or fruit on occasion, but it's usually just as a treat. As long as a PMR diet is fed with enough variety in meats and organs, it can actually meet the NRC nutritional numbers for dogs without the need to feed vegetables/fruits, or any carbohydrates etc. I have two small chest freezers in my garage and buy meat (sometimes in bulk during sales, or from a raw feeding coop, or I get meat donated from local hunters). Their usual weekly variety includes fish, chicken, beef, pork, eggs, and turkey, other meats they also get include lamb, venison, quail, buffalo, and duck. Each meal is usually just one single protein source. I just cut up the meats and organs into meal sized portions for them, freeze, defrost in the fridge, and feed. Feeding raw is just easier for me because it's far less calculating and less supplementing nutrient wise than most cooked diets. The natural enzymes still present in the food aids in digestion, making food intolerances and allergies less likely. I know some dogs who are allergic to a cooked protein, like chicken or beef, but can still have the raw version of it and be fine. Lola had chronic colitis for 3 years with episodes occurring 1-2 times a week, they cleared up within a few months on the raw diet. I don't usually feed much ground meat, my dogs get more satisfaction and dental/gum cleaning when I feed the bone in meats with the raw bones as a natural source of fiber, and calcium. My dogs are 8 and 12, and haven't needed Vet dentals due to eating and chewing raw bones (properly). Raw bones, fed properly to dogs can be a great teeth/gum cleaner. I've been feeding PMR for over 3 years now, and have had fantastic results according to regular blood work etc. done on them. The difference in health is interesting and my vet is very supportive of it. However, I don't think raw diets are for every dog or owner, and they certainly have their controversy. This post was edited by roobear on Fri, Feb 21, 14 at 15:26

Update.... They are at our house today installing the decorative door panels on the ends of the peninsulas (& patching the hole behind the PR mirror they made taking the old medicine cabinet out). Another step toward the end! My DH (at home today) says they look great. [These are 2 of the panels that I had originally eliminated due to budget but am now getting for free...the granite folks irreparably damaged one of my peninsula cabs and when the replacement came it had two "blobs" of glaze on the end (the only issues we've had w/finish, btw. Our KD said that rather than reorder the cabinet they would purchase & install the end panels on both peninsulas so they could move the Project forward! We may eventually put them on the back of the peninsula as well, but not now.] Still a few "minor" things like the final plumbing inspection and getting our granite properly caulked (not caulking b/w counter & wall on one side!) [Sheesh...I would definitely not recommend these guys....our counters are still so uneven at the seam on the sink wall that a glass rocks on it!] Here is a link that might be useful: Passed Final Elec Insp...Mocketts & All!