A Walk Through the Park

Hi Friends, hope everyone is enjoying their weekend! The weather here is fantastic, so we seized the opportunity to take a long walk through our favorite park.

Forest Hill Park is part of our neighborhood, and it's an absolutely gorgeous oasis. The park was established in the late 1880's, and at one time hosted a swimming area, an amusement park, dance hall, and other assorted entertainment venues. Trolleys carted park visitors to-and-from the city.

Over the last few decades the lower portion of the park has returned to its natural state, and resembles a tiny wetland refuge. It's a beautiful place to visit.

Here's the park in 1917.

And a couple of postcards from the 1920's. Notice the swimming area.


Here are a few photos from our walk. There are more photos in the slide show.








Slide Show:


And, a few gratuitous snapshots taken since our last post.

Here's Baxter. He was part of GPA Richmond's July haul. He stayed with us for a couple of days and was a complete love!



And lastly, Harvey and Jackson enjoying the cooler weather.


Have a great week Folks, see you soon!

South of the James Market

Just this year a new farmers' market opened in our little neighborhood. The South of the James Market is open every Saturday morning from 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM. You'll find it in the picnic shelter area of Forest Hill Park.

This morning we stopped by and were surprised by the number and variety of vendors! We had fun browsing the vendor stalls and saying hi to friends from the neighborhood. Unfortunately it was too hot for Harvey and Jackson, so we weren't able to stay long. We'll be back though, as the market will open through October 4th.



Look at these cute little hedgehogs!


This gentlemen was singing the blues.

Our wonderful neighbor purchased this beautiful flower bouquet.

And our purchases? Thai lemongrass soap and earrings!

Earlier this week we stopped by Robious Landing Park. The Virginia Boat Club has one of their boathouses there, and it was fun checking out the sculls.



And yesterday we attended a GPA Richmond Meet & Greet!



Enjoy your weekend!

Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer

4th of July - Children's Parade!

Happy Independence Day Everyone!

We started our celebration early by "marching" in our neighborhood's 8th annual Fourth of July Children's Parade. The parade is a great little slice of Americana, and the kids have fun preparing for the big day by decorating their trikes, bikes, and wagons! Of course, dogs are welcome too, so Harvey and Jackson were able to join in the fun!

Our best buddy Spencer was there, and we were amazed at his amazing cycling skills. Spencer spent the last couple of days practicing riding without training wheels, and we were mightily impressed by his abilities. Hey Spencer, better pack your bags, the Tour de France starts tomorrow!

At the start of the parade... check out the bike decorations!

Our buddy, Spencer!

Harvey & Jackson.


Let's get going!

There were lots of festive wagons.

And festive dogs too!

Here we go!






All the vehicles are parked while the kids enjoy lemonade. These wheels belong to the littlest kids.

The bigger kids' wheels.

And these belong to the biggest kids!

The end of the parade.

Heading back home.

Happy 4th... Hug your Hounds!

Thrifty Tips from Harvey & Jackson - Mealtime!

Hi friends, we're always looking for creative ways to save money (so we can buy more stuffies!), so we thought we'd share a couple of our mealtime tips.

Greyhounds do better with raised feeders, and there are lots of different types to choose from. Some are utilitarian, some fancy, but most are a little pricey. The raised feeder we use is a $4.98 wrought iron plant stand from WalMart. It works great, and with the right bowl, it's quite sturdy! We use an upside down pet food bowl with rubber skids with another plastic bowl set inside.



Now, if you have a food gulper (yes Jackson, that's you!), there are ways you can slow down your chow-hound. You can put rubber balls or unopened food cans in the bowl, but we found that to be messy. Or you can purchase a brake-fast bowl, which is a bowl with plastic nubby parts. Or, you can use our trick... A rubber jello mold (we found ours on sale at Target - $4.98).


So there you have it... a couple of mealtime tips from H&J!