Petey meets the Royal Family...on Greenwich Avenue, NYC?

Hello there Ladies and Lords! Petey here. No, I'm not outside the gardens at Buckingham Palace, I'm right across the street! But you may think I'm in Jolly Old Englande for the Royal Wedding!

First off, I've been wearing an Elizabethan collar after a dog bit me on the ear at the run. We both went after my tennis ball and I got there first. Wish I could say "you should see the other guy" but she outweighs me by about 60 lbs. No permanent damage done!

Am I outside Clarence house? No, just a townhouse on West 12th Street.

Here's our favorite tea shop — Tea & Sympathy—and next door is A Salt & Battery, a proper fish and chips shop. The whole block was decorated with Union Jacks and royal bunting for the occasion.

Now that's a flag!

Why look! It's Prince William and Princess Catherine, with the Queen (Nicky, truly the ruling monarch of Greenwich Avenue.)

They look much younger than their photo in the window.

Lots of people got up to watch the wedding over a proper English breakfast at 6:00 am.

Here's Nicky's husband Sean, the Pearly King, chatting with a commoner over a nice cuppa.

Sean confessed he grew this big handlebar mustache "just to bother the wife!"

Don't worry little bridesmaid, Prince Harry's still available! Actually, she was more interested in me - maybe my name should be Prince Hairy?

A fun day for all!

A final shot of the happy couple, getting into their royal carriage!

A Wonderfully Tacky Day

The Sunday before we left Hilton Head for New York, I went to the annual Marsh Tacky Races on the beach, as a part of the Gullah Festival. The Marsh Tacky is a plucky pony and the State Heritage Horse of South Carolina. Marsh Tackies' lineage is attributed the horses the Spanish conquistadors brought to the islands in the Low Country in the 1500's. They lived in herds and were rounded up when horses were needed for riding, plowing, etc. They are naturally adept to maneuvering in the swampy environment of the Low Country.

As automobiles became more available, the Marsh Tackies dwindled and by the 1980's, they were thought to possible be extinct. Today, they are an endangered breed, with an estimated 150 purebred Marsh Tackies in existence.

A tradition that used to be held on Christmas day has recently been revived as a conclusion to the Gullah Festival—the Marsh Tacky Races on the beach. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, with the sea sparkling, dolphin peeking up at the crowds from the waves and over 5,000 bystanders on hand to cheer on the 22 ponies in the races.

The event began with a parade of the horses competing in the races. There were several heats one for stallions, and several for the mares and for the geldings.

You can learn more about marsh tackies at www.marshtacky.org.

One of the favorites of the day was a feisty mare named Molly. She was also the oldest horse in the race at 22—two years older than her rider Brittany!

There were several duns and buckskins - very common Marsh Tacky colors.

And the races are on!

This young girl was one of the youngest riders (and the only one to wear a helmet! I was shocked that helmets weren't required as the sand is as hard as cement if you fall off.)

Three beautiful chestnut-colored fillies on their way back to the starting line.

Giddyup!
These two little girls were cheering on Molly. She won her heats and captured the Mares category.

Just a few more heats. Good thing as the tide was quickly coming in!

Several ladies were wearing rather unusual hats - when asked they told me that they had designed "tacky" hats for the occasion! That explained the fly-swatters, plastic flowers, toilet paper and even a garter belt festooning hats!

And the clear winner (against a 2-year old stallion and an 8-year old gelding) is MOLLY!!!

Girl power! As the announcer said with his wonderful Gullah-accent "That Molly beat those boys fair and square. Just shows you don't want to mess with those old ladies!"

Many of the horses and riders posed for photos (and for the horses to get their noses rubbed) after the race, including Brittany and Molly.

When Molly's not racing, she is used in Civil War reenactments and was wearing the authentic tack from the 1860's.

It was an all-around fantastic day - we followed up the races with a long barefoot walk down the beach to visit my friend Pool Bar Jim for a refreshing "Roseanna Banana Kabana" - a perfect frozen concoction of kahlua, coco lopez and bananas - it's a very adult milkshake!

Now we're back in New York - cccccold! - but Petey's only complaint is that his favorite stores all seem to be out of cookies. Off to Italy next week, may not post until I get back but guarantee lots of photos then!

Happy 8th Birthday Petey! (And other stuff, too.)

No time to write much today as we're busy getting ready to head to New York tomorrow.(And Blogger is not cooperating with uploads!) I'll just leave you with these photos of the charming town of Bluffton and of course, Petey at the beach!









Petey doesn't look a day over 3! Happy 8th Birthday to my sweetest Petey boy...



For Murray....

Ties, Tricks, and Tide-ings!

Let me begin by wishing each of you a very Happy Valentine's Day (weekend)! Hope you've been able to spend some time with the ones you love this weekend.

For the ladies out there, Petey insisted that this handsome photo of him be included with the title "How about a kiss?"

While we haven't posted in several weeks, we have been very busy. On Monday, we finished our Agility Classes. And while Emily the Jack Russell Terrier has graduated to the Intermediate level of classes, I'm afraid that Petey and probably his love-sotted lab gal pal Isabelle will be repeating the Beginner level.

Here are the students with their marvelous and infinitely patient instructor Allison. It took four tries to get them all in the same shot - what does that say for their obedience? I love that Isabelle is giving Allison a kiss -- what a black-noser! All-in-all, despite Petey barking at me to "go ahead and give me the damn treat/toy" and sometimes lying down when I told him to come, we had a terrific time and will certainly do it again. Even if you never intend on trying agility trials, it's lots of fun and a great way to spend time with your dog.

Petey and I were also invited over to Beaufort for a dinner party and to spend the night at the home of Lulu's friends Nancy and Jeffrey. Petey didn't know what the dress code would be, only that he and the host dogs would be wearing tails. Then we spotted this snappy necktie at Lulu's and decided it was the perfect thing to wear to a party when you're meeting new lady dogs.

(By the way, Lulu has these canine collars and ties in all sorts of patterns and sizes - Petey took a medium- and she's happy to ship! Call 843-524-LULU.) Petey also wore his tie to the Animal Shelter's Valentine's benefit last Saturday to much attention and admiration. He looked like he was posing for a Match.com photo!

Nancy is a wonderful mosaic artist and her home is fabulous, including a gallery and her studio. I loved her work and wanted to share a few pieces with you.

This is actually the back of a piece untitled "My Mother, Myself" which is a lifesize dress form, covered in mostly mirrored tiles. The "head" is an antique vanity mirror and as you can see, on the back is an apple with a serpent that coils around the neck like a necklace. It's fabulous and the centerpiece of her front hallway.

Here is a beautiful, fully-functional garden bench. I've got just the spot for this under my pine trees in the backyard...(don't I wish!)
This third piece is called "Formal Dining." Many of Nancy's mosaics have witty names. You can see more of her work and find out more about her on her website.
It's always so inspiring to be around brilliantly creative people. It makes you look at your own world through refreshed eyes.

Speaking of inspiration, I've found a wonderful blog called Advanced Style, that celebrates the personal style of women "of a certain age." With so much hype that women need to disguise their age or dress age-appropriate (ie: "youthfully but not too young") I found it gratifying to find a site that salutes the individual. These women are firecrackers! Three wonderful quotes..."Life is short, but very very wide."..."the only romantic thing left in life is a hat!"...and finally, "You will always have a great time if you make up your mind, 'I'm going to have a great time!'" That last quote came from a spunky 90-year old! God bless her!

Have to leave you with some more photos of my boy enjoying the beach. This particular afternoon he dropped his orange ball on the towel of a woman who remarked plaintively "I'm frightened of dogs." I tried to call Petey away but every time I got closer, he just move the ball closer to the woman, finally nudging it with his nose until it was practically in her lap. "He's a very nice dog" she remarked, laughing at his persistence. "I think he may be able to cure me of my fears of dogs. I just assume they are going to bite me."


As if he understood her every word, Petey picked up his ball, wagged his tail and trotted off to see some young ladies he'd beguiled earlier. Mission accomplished.

Didn't catch the name of this cute little Cairn girl, but she came scampering up and gave me a kiss. Petey ignored her completely. Typical.

So we leave you with this image once again - of a rather small dog with a very large heart, living life in the sunshine rather than in the shadows.

Happy Valentine's Day!