Glad He Picked Us

3 years ago today we said goodbye to Caesar.
He was K.C. & my first dog; he made us somewhat newlyweds a family instead of a couple.
He picked us from a lot of rescue dogs a few years before Lilly was around.

He wasn't a hunting dog, he wasn't a fishing dog, he snorted, he shed everywhere.
He was awesome.

Thinking of you today buddy.

All Hail Caesar

Our family lost our pug Caesar today.

He started showing outwards signs of being ill over the long July 4th weekend.  He couldn't urinate, wouldn't eat or drink, and simply wasn't himself.  I took him to the vet on Saturday morning and they thought it was an infection, prescribed some antibiotics, and sent a sample out for tests.  He didn't improve.

Still acting erraticly, K.C. & Lilly took Caesar to the vet today while I was at work.  I received the news around 3PM that he was gone.  Rather than an infection, an x-ray confirmed a large tumor blocking his urinary tract.  Too large to be removed, it was also too invasive for the vet to be able to provide him with any level of comfort in the short term.  

This is where today remains really hard, and still stings quite a bit.  Not getting to give my final goodbyes is eating at me.  My wife did the right thing, not allowing him suffer any longer, but I am honestly heartbroken about not being there to hold his paw and stroke his belly, look him in the eyes and reassure him everything was going to be okay one last time.  It may be selfish to want, no, need that sort of closure, but he was not only my dog, he was my first dog, and loyal friend for the last 9 years.

I've read several posts over the last few years where bloggers have written about the untimely passing of their pets...be it dog, cat, whatever.  I'm usually taken aback by how well those pieces are written, including flowing prose, wonderful adjectives, humorous recollections, enough to bring a smile to the face of anyone that reads them.  

Unfortunately, I'm not a very gifted writer, rather one that at best converses on an middle school level and with a certain degree of potty mouth.  I'm more of a pictures & video kind of blogger, so that's what I'll do here...because the words aren't coming easily.  It's too hard to type while wiping aside all these damn tears.

Caesar & his favorite "tug of war" toy - the purple Teletubby

The Teletubby in action...he even put up with toddler Lilly.

This was Caesar's chair at our first house.  People didn't sit in this chair, only Caesar.
It was also a prime spot to look out the window and wait for us to get home.

Caesar didn't like to get groomed.  When you brushed him, he'd playfully try to gnaw your hand off...

...or your foot

Tortillas were his favorite food.  He went nuts for them.

What's a true Caesar without his toga and crown?

Wanna play?

Maybe it's better that I didn't get to say goodbye.
Goodbyes are so final, and I know I'll see you again someday Caesar.
And when I do I'll bring the tortillas, I promise.
You always were my good boy.

Love ya bud.

Lilly's Bug

I read a wonderful post yesterday over at Kiwi's The North River Blog.  Please go over there and read it, but the quick synopsis is that his 4-1/2 year old daughter was intrigued by his fly tying, and wanted to help her Dad tie a bug.  She picked out all of the colors and Dad tied her one heck of a bug.  The "Isabella" is an instant classic sure to catch fish for years to come.

The post really hit home with me as my 4-1/2 year old daughter Lilly took a similar interest in my tying a few weekends ago - the weekend I was tying up the orange woolly bugger for Halloween.  Lilly came over to my little fishing nook in our basement and said "Daddy, I want you to tie me a fly."  I love the fact that she calls pretty much anything we put on the end of her Barbie rod a fly.

Of course I said OK, how could I not, and I asked her what she wanted it to look like.  She was adamant that she wanted it to have "a pink tail and be furry like Caesar (our dog)."  I gently pushed a few bags of materials in front of her to choose from and she quickly picked out the tinsel and plastic ribbing.

Is it the tightest tie I've ever done?  No.  Lilly literally sat on my lap (fidgeting like a 4 year old does) while I tied this up, so neatness wasn't a top priority.  The priority was a pink tail, and if you hold it in the light just right...you know that tinsel does in fact shine a pretty shade of pink.

Lilly's Bug

Anybody else tie flies (or make lures) for/with their kids?

Would love to hear about it either in the comments below; or heck even better, if you've got a blog write & share your own post about it.

Coolest.Dog.Ever.

Besides my dog Caesar (of course).

If you haven't seen this yet, check it out.  I'll let the video do the talking.

Weekend with Lilly

My wife has been out of town this entire 4th of July weekend. In fact, she doesn't get back from St. Louis (where she's visiting some old friends) until late tonight (Monday), so it's been Lilly & I as a tag team all weekend. I have to give it to Lilly, she's been really well behaved the entire time. Heck, she even put up with the hour and a half drive to Bass Pro on Saturday morning with very few complaints.

Before we went on vacation a few weeks ago to South Florida, K.C. & I told Lilly that when we got back, she could get her first pet of her very own, a fish. (No, I'm not slighting the family dog Caesar, he predates Lilly). She had been eying up the fish at PETCO for a while, so on Saturday after Bass Pro, she was finally going to pick one out.

So with no further ado, let me introduce the world to Cinderella, the fantail calico goldfish - perhaps the one fish I will not subject to a barrage of flies.

Lilly was obviously pretty thrilled, especially about accessorizing the tank. Of course every princess needs a castle of her own.

Last night was going to be a special treat for Lilly as well.  She normally goes to be around 7:30 PM, but this year she was allowed to stay up and watch the 4th of July fireworks (from our back deck) for the very first time.  She was really excited, not to mention we had a full day planned as a prelude up to the big event.

In the morning, a visit to Linvilla Orchards and a stop over at Grandmom's house.

In the afternoon, moving Cinderella into her new home.

In the early evening, helping Daddy make dinner.  (Consider this my homage to Brk Trt).

And at night the fireworks!

Unfortunately, the whole fireworks "experience" lasted about 5 minutes.  Lilly didn't like the loud noises and wanted to go back inside (look at this unhappy face).  It's a good thing we didn't have to go anywhere far to see them.

Once back inside, Lilly sat down on the sofa to watch TV and was quickly back to her happy self, I think Dora & Boots were on a mission to save the Snow Princess or something...  Keeping one eye on her and another to the sky, I did get to see most of the fireworks.  Here's a brief video of some.

So after that full day of excitement on the 4th, there's only one more day of the Lilly & Daddy tag team left - now what to do today???

Home Again / Day at the Dry Tortugas

I'm finally home from Florida.  Vacation was about 10 days, but feels like I've been away forever.  As fun as it was in South Florida, it's comforting to be home.  It's good to see my dog Caesar, sort through the mountain of mail, catch up on all of the missed blog posts from my friends, and mentally prepare myself to go back to work once again tomorrow.  However - before I do, here's one last post I actually started in Florida, but never got around to posting...

Last Thursday (the 17th), K.C. & I took the Sunny Days Fast Cat (great crew, highly recommend) from Key West to the Dry Tortugas National Park.  The Dry Tortugas are a series of islands about 70 miles from Key West.  They are also home to Fort Jefferson, a fort established by the US in the mid 1800s, and which served as a prison following the Civil War.  The Lincoln assination conspirators were actually the most famous "residents."

The Dry Tortugas are pretty remote in the scheme of things...while there's a National Park office located there, there's really no running water, rest rooms, cell phone service, etc...a lot of the stuff we all take for granted.  It's simply an old abandoned military fort and some small beaches with great snorkeling.  You can camp on the beaches overnight (and many people were), it just wasn't for me - although I'd imagine would be an incredible experience being all alone in the middle of nowhere under the stars at night.

Since we were there to go snorkeling, we took the quick tour of Fort Jefferson, then donned the fins and hopped in the water.  The guides told us the best snorkeling was along the base of the wall, but there was also some good snorkeling near some old pylons.  Evidently, it was nurse shark mating season near the pylons, something we skipped because K.C. didn't want to bother them.

Here's some pics of the islands, Fort Jefferson, and some snorkeling video.  By the way, all of the pics and video was shot with my Kodak Playsport Waterproof video camera...this little gadget performed like a champ - would recommend to anyone looking into an HD capable pocket-sized videocamera.

2008 Philadelphia Sportsmen's Show

Lilly & Daddy got out of the house today (so Mommy could clean it for her Open House this weekend!) and went to the Philadelphia Sportsmen's Show in Valley Forge.There was all kinds of stuff to look at - Live (& stuffed) animals, fly fishing exhibitions, charter boat and hunting guides, tackle manufacturers, Toyota trucks, a Trout Pool, and did I mention LIVE ANIMALS!

Lilly had a blast looking at the giant Red Deer from Rolling Hills Deer Farm. She was a little unsure about all of the taxidermy, but I think thought some of the ducks were neat. There was also a "Wild World of Animals" show, and Lilly got up close and personal with Toads, Turtles, Foxes, & Skunks. She especially liked the Alligator, and thought the Snake was funny.

Daddy had a good time too. He came away with some fishing lures from Weaver Lure Co. in Allentown, as well as some Doggie Treats for Caesar from Annie's Pooch Pops.