The Longdogs

The Longdogs
Harley takes his role as navigator seriously!

2026-01-12 Adoption is in the air.

 There is a new baby in our house. Her name is currently Tina but Dave thinks he would like Diva better but "Diva" has both positive and negative descriptions. Scratch that.....her new name is XENA (the Warrior Princess). It sounds the same as Tina to her and it makes her ours.

She needed a new home and we weren't hard to convince that we needed another dachsund. She was posted on Adopt-a-Pet as a rehome from another family. It was posted a week before I even saw it and I wasn't even sure I should be looking. I hesitantly showed Dave and he said he was sure she would already be gone but I should apply just in case. I did the paperwork Saturday morning and sent it in. They forwarded it right away and her other mom texted me Sunday morning and asked when we could talk. Well, right away! So we talked and asked lots of questions and set up a meeting at a park that afternoon. Her mom chose us out of a number of other respondees. We all agreed to make the transfer later the same day.our 
This is my husband Dave holding our new baby while we filled out some transfer paperwork. It was chilly, well chilly for Texas and dachsies never turn down a blanket.

Now, you may wonder why her family wanted to rehome such a beautiful baby (okay, she's 2 1/2 years old). They got her five months ago from a coworker who wasn't able to keep her but it turned out that their older dog didn't like her. The white spot on her upper muzzle is where their older dog bit her. Hopefully the fur will grow back. They loved her enough to know she would have a better life in another home. We have had 6 dachshunds since we got married and every one of them needed a new home for one reason or another so this was a perfect fit for us.

She was unhappy to leave but the car ride home was uneventful. She loves riding in the car.

She loved her big new fenced in yard. Lots of room to roam and dachshund tested for escape artists. All was quiet as she explored the first day. Night time went well. She went in her crate upstairs about 10:15 and slept until 8:30 the next morning. Going outside potty was not so great as all the dogs behind our house were having a barkfest so she was afraid. Later in the day, it was quiet again so she had a good time. 
Doggy blankets are plentiful in our house so we can meet all her blankie needs. We even still had a couple toys as well as a collection of doggy bowls. 

She is giving us both plenty of lap time.

She loves a good time of pull the rope and did I mention she is a parkour expert? We are going to have to work on that as she zooms from floor to furniture before you can blink an eye and zipping up stairs is also a game to her. Not so good for dachsies.

She also loves to chase balls, toys, ropes, etc. and brings them right back to you. We are working on walking on a leash without pulling. She is very strong. I discovered that she knows "sit" so we stop and "sit" when she starts to pull. She also responds very well to "come" and know what "no" means. She is very smart so we will really need to work with her. She has figured out that the dogs on the other side of the fence aren't going to get her. They barked this morning and she ran to the fence and barked twice then ran back to the porch. She gave some guys putting up a canopy next door a couple warning woofs then went on her way. Dachsies can be determined barkers and they have big dog voices but I think she is going to be a good girl about it.

Let me end this first post by say she got the zoomies at bedtime last night and raced around the bedroom for 19 minutes. Then she didn't want to go in her crate for bed. I let her stay on the bed where she settled right down. After I finished reading my book, I picked her up and put her in her crate where she went right back to sleep. I don't mind if she sleeps on the bed but I was afraid she might wake up every time I got up to go to the bathroom which is several times a night and I didn't want her leaping on and off that high bed.

All in all, I think her transition is going great. 
 

2025-12-11 Birds and More Birds

 Elaine and I set out to see the Sandhill and Whooping Cranes. Rita told us to head for the famous Big Tree near Goose Island State Park and then head towards the water and turn right. There was supposed to be a feeder than went off at 8 and 3. We were not up for an 8AM arrival so we tried for 3. We never did see the feeder or the birds and deer running towards it.


Using the 30 power on my cell phone camera was the only way we could see the birds.





Next we went to the area near the fish cleaning station which pretty much assures seeing birds waiting for a snack from people cleaning fish.



We saw this pelican catch a big fish. Here he is with it in his mouth.




All in all, it was a worthwhile excursion.


2025-12-9 Lots of Holiday Partying

 We all met at Paradise Key Dockside Bar and Grill for a delicious late lunch and party game.


There were three tables full of Texas Ramblin' Roses and a couple of guests.



A drive through downtown Rockport provided another great light display.



We also checked out the Rockport Beach light displays. They were set up by different organizations.

I was driving so I didn't get a lot of pictures but it was a great display with voting for the best displays and the opportunity to make donations.


2025-12-8 Polar Bear Plunge at the Texas Ramblin' Roses Rally

Every Texas Ramblin' Roses is different and our hostesses, Anne Moursand and Teri Daughtry, came up with a unique twist for this one.......a polar bear plunge. 

It was very chilly, at least for south Texas. I volunteered to take the photos. Yes, I was a chicken in the cold. They set up a small inflatable pool next to the heated outdoor pool. The plan was to put in a bag of ice and some plastic bubbles that looked like ice. Well, our very helpful RV park manager, Bill, showed up with about 6 big bags of ice cubes. Water was added and the whole bunch froze together. Vicki is trying to break it up enough to wade in, lol.


Success.......Anne, Teri, and Mary take the plunge!

Vicki is next up!

Not to be outdone, Rita takes the plunge.

Anne and Teri hit the big pool next. The pool water may have been 85 degrees but the air temp was about 50 degrees. It was cold.

Rita confirms that it doesn't feel warm at all.

Mary is up next. Notice that Anne and Teri are the only two brave enough to sport bathing suits and full immersion.
Our shivering plungers are all smiles after it was over!

Jimmie and Barb separate the bubbles from the ice as part of the clean up. It all melted by the next day so that the little pool could be drained.
 

2025-12-7 And the TRR Rockport Rally Begins

Breakfast served by Wilderness Oaks RV Resort on Saturday morning. It was very good. They have lots of stuff going on because the Winter Texans are here and we got to join in.


Then on to watch a wreath making class in the activity center.  Olivia, Anne, and Teri were into the craft!


And then it was time for the Texas Ramblin' Roses Meet and Greet to get the rally started.




Fun is in the air!

 

2025-12-5 Rockport Holiday Parade and Fireworks

 Elaine and I left Schertz and headed down to Rockport TX on Thursday. We had reservations at Wilderness Oaks RV Park, our favorite place to stay in Rockport. The rally we were going to didn't start until Sunday night but we always like to arrive early and stay longer. Friday night the city put on a holiday parade that started down at the beach and headed along the bay. We thought we would miss it because we couldn't get to the beach because of the traffic but we really went for the fireworks over the bay. After we parked, we discovered we were actually near the end of the parade route.



It was actually a pretty long parade. Small towns put a lot of effort into their parades.







It was the coldest day we were in Rockport but we stuck it out.

The fireworks were shot out over the bay.







It was a great way to start our time in Rockport!