Follow-up Friday: Senior Dogs, Book Giveaway, Rooting Puppy

I'm happy to be joining Heart Like a Dog in the follow-up Friday blog hop this week.  This is the blog hop that lets you wrap up your week and leads you right into the weekend.  Hosted by FUF creator, Jodi at Heart Like a Dog and co-hosted this week by Flea from Jones Natural Chews. 

First of all, I have a confession to make about the Apple Cheddar Cheese Scone recipe:  the dogs love them.  In fact, they pretty much go crazy with much excited panting and a bit of high pitched keening (that would be Jeffie), begging for these scones.  Since none are allergic to any of the ingredients and none have a weight problem, we indulge them.

Thank you to everyone who left such lovely comments about Jeffie this past Wednesday.  He actually answers to "my beautiful boy."   And though he still adores Rita, he was thrilled with the flirtatious comment from Harper Lee.

All the charts and calculations to determine when a dog is a senior kind of amuse me.  A few years ago I wrote a blog post about Tucker and Lucy and their ages.  According to one chart that factored in breed and size, they both should have been dead.  Instead, they were approaching their 14th and 13th birthdays.

I don't need a chart to know how much joy my beautiful, soulful boy brings to my life! 

A reminder about  Crazy Bitch: Living with Canine Compulsive Disorder Book Review - If you haven't already read my review of this nonfiction book about canine mental illness and bullying, you should.  Plus, author Peggy Tibbetts has graciously offered to giveaway one copy to a lucky Talking Dogs blog reader.  Enter now!

Remember all the puppy photos of Rosie with dirt on her nose and when I shared the video of Rosie vole hunting with Rudy's assistance?  Well, my little black piglet continues to root around in the dirt, hunting for voles.  Not a good thing with the monsoons of rain and flash flooding we had last week.  The vet confirmed a spot of fungal infection on her snoot yesterday.  It will be pretty interesting to see if we can keep the salve on enough of the time to ditch the cooties!

And, finally, if I can get it together to scan some old photos, next week I'm hoping to share another farm story.  In honor of Flea's first FUF co-hosting gig, I'm thinking I'll tell you why it's not a good idea to turn your windshield wipers on when you're taking geese to the pond for a swim.  Good idea?

Tasty Tuesday: Apple Cheddar Cheese Scones

Apple Cheddar Cheese Scones are a favorite at our house.  

Though the dogs just get little bits to taste, the dog daddy and I scarf these down!  

Best of all for me, the dog daddy loves to bake these.

Yummy scones + no time in the kitchen = LOVE!

Apple Cheddar Cheese Scones

2 1/4 cups flour (Gary uses all-purpose)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into pieces

1/2 cup lightly packed, grated, sharp cheddar cheese

1 large peeled, shredded apple (Gary likes Fuji)

1/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl, combine first three ingredients with a pastry blender. Add butter and continue to cut in with pastry blender. Stir in cheese and apple. Add buttermilk and stir just until ingredients are combined. (Don't over-stir) If the dough is still very crumbly, stir in more buttermilk 1 tablespoon at a time. Just enough to bring the dough together.

Knead the dough very gently several times on a floured surface. Pat dough into a round, about 8 inches in diameter and 1/2" thick. Cut into 8 triangles and placed on a lightly greased baking sheet.

Bake at 400 degrees for 24 minutes or until golden brown. Cool a bit before serving with your favorite coffee or tea

 

Note:  Substitute Havarti or Parmesan cheese for the cheddar and pear for the apples for a different taste treat! 

Rudy, Rosie, and Jeffie begging for just a taste!

We're joining the Tasty Tuesday blog hop today.  This is a blog hop that celebrates good food, sponsored by Sugar the Golden Retriever and Kols Notes.