Hi Everyone!!! How have you all been enjoying your Summer so far? I can't believe it's almost September already. The Summer season sure does fly by quickly!!! It's been kind of a rainy one this year, especially during our weekends unfortunately. It's been great weather for our local produce though. My Mom has been super excited about the local squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, watermelon, peaches, blueberries...the list goes on. We buy most of our local produce at Windy Brow Farms in Fredon. My parents have been very much enjoying the peaches from the farm this year, as they do every year. We treat ourselves weekly to the homemade ice cream made at Windy Brow too and what a treat it is!!! Mom and Dad get me my own little dish now and I enjoy it immensely!!!!
You may have noticed with all of the rain that we've had that there are a lot of mushrooms growing everywhere. There was a recent article in the New Jersey Record that mushroom-related illnesses have been on the rise this year so definitely be careful of yourself, your kids and your furbabies when it comes to ingesting mushrooms. Some mushrooms are obviously safe and quite tasty but if you don't know exactly what's safe to eat, which most of us don't, err on the side of caution and steer clear of eating wild mushrooms. Dogs are especially vulnerable to eating dangerous mushrooms as we often think only with our stomachs. Here's an article with some information on the importance of prudence regarding mushrooms as well as what to do if someone you know ingests a mushroom.
Aside from eating local produce and ice cream, we've been keeping ourselves active in our usual ways. We hit the Sussex Branch Trail regularly for runs and have been hiking some too although with the humidity we've had this summer, especially in the last month, my parents haven't been as keen on hiking this summer in the deeper woods. The mosquitos make an absolute feast of all of us when we're walking because we move more slowly than we do while running. The flies were super bad about a month ago as well; thankfully they do not seem as bad at this point in the summer. Mom is not a big fan of conventional sprays. To keep bugs, especially ticks, away from me, she rubs me down with a few drops of rose geranium oil. I absolutely hate it because it really has quite a flowery smell and I don't think any self-respecting dog should smell so flowery. Mom pays no mind to my flops and huffs of protest though and she does think it has worked relatively well to keep ticks off of me this summer. My parents spray themselves with a natural spray from Repel. The times they've hiked after spraying themselves (quite liberally, I am almost embarrassed by the lemony smell of them) they have thought that the mosquitoes were not quite so fond of them as they were when they've hiked without the spray.
I've also done some swimming this year. A few weekends ago, my parents took me to the Ramapo Valley Reservation which is super, super dog friendly if you've up for the ride with your pup. There are several nice lakes/ponds within the reserve that have beach-like areas that are great for dogs that like to gallop into the water as I'm so fond of doing. My parents also take me to Kittatinny Valley State Park to swim in Lake Aeroflex. There are also some nice places for me to get into the water there and I really love to splash out into the water and retrieve my water toys.
Well that's all I have to report for the past several weeks of my summer. It's kind of sad that it's almost over but I know we're all looking at a great Fall season ahead of us too. Until I catch up with you next time, please stay safe and have lots of fun and love-filled times with your family and friends!!!!
With lots of love and puppy kisses,
Piper the Rescue Mutt
P.S. If you want to see what I'm up to in between my reports, my social media manager (Mom) posts some of my day-to-day antics on Facebook and Instagram! XO
