Today's Flowers!

We had a very rainy week
yet this flower came out in our house Heaven.
A storm passed by my country but it did not pass Heaven.
It just rained all day which made me sleepy
and I can not translate my Popsy Sumo's post.
I translate my Popsy's Pilipino posts to English.
It is my job to translate barkings to human language.
I admit I get lazy sometimes
but I had time to check our plants.


This is one of our orchids which is a sturdy plant
and its buds would suddenly shoot out . . .


. . . until all the flowers are out.
The flowers would remain for about a week.
So that means we can enjoy looking at it longer.



And I won't have to watch it because it is pretty sturdy. Which gives me ample time to play with my little brother Sweepy . . . that is, when I am not sleeping!



There are more sturdy flowers that lasts for days in TodaysFlowers, so please go and visit them now.

Flowers Today!

This beautiful red flower has no smell and no sound. My human companion Lui said its name is "ginger something" . . . Lui is bad with names. When somebody calls her name while walking in the mall, Lui gets frantic trying to remember the name that goes with the face! Now, my other human companion Luchie, who does the planting around our house Heaven, told Lui the names of the plants, but Lui keep forgetting! And because of that, I can not tell you the name of this plant!

This sturdy plant is everywhere in Heaven but Luchie moved them and planted them in the plant box in front of our house. The flowers would spring up now and then and starts like a red folded leaf . . .




. . . and opens like thick, vivid red petals that always tempt the school children passing by our house to pick some up!



And since there are many of them, they easily attract passers-by, who always pick one up!



I can not guard them always because these flowers are in front of the house while I stay inside playing with my brother Sweepy who is the better flower guard. Sweepy would bark endlessly when he sensed people snatching our flowers. Sweepy barks even while we nap. Look! Sweepy can see clearly because he loves to nap in the red rocking chair . . .



I hope my friends at Today's Flowers have somebody like Sweepy to guard their flowers. Go and visit them now . . . but please do not pick the flowers!

Today's Flowers!

My flowers today are these white flowers that belongs to our neighbor. I do not know its name. I would like to dedicate these nameless flowers to the dogs around the world whose stories made me both happy and sad this weekend . . . .Please click on the links to read their stories.


Who can forget the Heroic dogs of 9/11? Eight years ago, more than a hundred dogs came to assist in the rescue and recovery operations at the World Trade Center in New York, USA. They came to sniff through the rubble to help rescue trapped people in the collapsed building. When dogs are properly trained, we can provide excellent assistance in rescue operation because our strong sense of smell can easily locate our subject . . . The heroic dogs of 9/11 worked on shifts for almost a month! These flowers are my tribute to them . . .



. . . but in Washington, a tragedy occurred when a group of dogs attacked some horses that were rescued and being rehabilitated in Maple Valley! The dogs belonged to a man who just moved into the neighborhood and ignored the warnings about a broken fence where his dogs escaped and eventually attacked the neighbor's horses! This sad story was echoed by some of our dog friends around the world especially in communities where people do not take responsibility for their animal friends! I offer these flowers for the horses and also for the dogs because instead of bringing comfort and help, they were provoked into a situation which can be avoided if only people were more responsible . . .



. . . and in Beijing, "dog beating squads" will roam the street to kill dogs that are not registered or vaccinated, to prevent the spread of rabies and reduce dog population in their area! Oh, what a sad, sad time for dogs like me!. . . My human companion Lui was so heartbroken since she felt powerless even if she has been signing petitions for us. I offer these flowers for all unwanted animals around the world . . .



So while other dogs were beaten, abused and not properly trained in other places, I am proud to say that in our house Heaven, we are doing our part in bringing animal care and protection issues to our community leaders. My playful little brother Sweepy is our community icon and he helped campaign for free anti-rabies shots for all dogs in our neighborhood! We may be scared of roaming our own streets because of stray dogs owned by irresponsible owners but in due time, our community will learn that we, people and animals, have to care for one another if we wanted happy stories around us . . .


Now these flowers have slowly fallen to the ground and Lui said that the flowers are not there anymore! I am glad we were able to take pictures before it happened . . .


I hope that with the fading of these flowers, the sad stories will also come to pass and all the pain and hurts will soon be greeted with new buds, new beginnings, and bitter lessons learned. . . so the next time I can only share happy stories with my happy flowers!


I am sure there are more happy flowers and happy stories at FlowersToday site. So go and visit them now . . .

Today's Flowers!

My flower for today came from one of the houses in our neighborhood. My human companion Lui picked this beautiful red flower in the ground when it fell from this huge bunch:



. . . and the owner of the house said it was Espada Espanola (Spanish Sword) which was timely because Lui was really looking for that particular flower. Lui has an 88-year-old student in painting who she fondly calls 'Mamita' (Little Mommy) who once told her about a beautiful flower by that name. But Lui is not sure if this was the real Espada Espanola so maybe somebody will tell us if it is.



Some of my human friends at Today's Flowers have given me the real names of some of the flowers I posted. Lui said she appreciates it so much when people tell us the names of the flowers. We just love and take care of plants and flowers without knowing their real or scientific names. But now our new friends have taught us a lot!



We saw this flower at the neighbor's house when we had our annual anti-rabies shots at the homeowners' multi-purpose hall which now provides free annual shots sponsored by our Mayor. Although we (the HoundsInHeaven family) promote and campaign for animal welfare and protection, it is my brother Sweepy who is the SuperDog icon. But look at him!



Lui put the flower on Sweepy's head to assure him it was all right. Sweepy got agitated by the activity and what you see is a scared dog. Bright, alert eyes and mouth that is ready to bark and bite. People must be wary when they see us like this. We need to be calmed down by people we love and respect by rubbing our neck, smoothening our furs and tails and with soothing words assure us until we sit down and understand that there is nothing to worry about.

The shots don't really hurt us but the sight and smell of other dogs walking down the streets to go to the center for their shots can get us confused and worried and may trigger unpleasant scenes unless people take the time to understand our behavior. Please take the time to do that, my friends!

Meanwhile, other flower-lovers have beautiful flowers and heartwarming stories, not necessarily about dogs, but flower stories in this site: Today's Flowers. I hope you will visit by clicking on it and enjoy their flowers like you did mine!


UpDated September 9: Keeper said the name of the flower is Bandera Espanola (Spanish Flag).