JD demonstrates how he outwits FH!!

Our secret beach!

Max - We have something to show you! Come on, come on - hurry up, it's this way!

JD - Are you sure Max? I thought it was THIS way?

Max - It's not up HERE JD....
JD - Hmmm, well, perhaps it's down here......

Max - This is what we want to show you! It's our secret beach! Most of the time it looks like the photo above - you wouldn't know there was anything there!

JD - But when the tide goes out - way, way out! - this little beach is revealed! Not many people or pups know about it - it's only there for about 2 hours each day, at different times, depending on the tides!

Max - We LOVE this little beach! Because it's usually covered by the sea when it IS revealed there are the most delightful sniffs to be had! Wonderfully fishy - ooh, you've got to smell it to believe it!!

JD - There's a particularly good sniff here Max - I do believe that a crab scuttled across this very spot not two seconds ago!!

Max - We love playing zoomies on this beach - both on the sandy bit as you can see above....

JD - ....and also on the seaweedy bit, as we demonstrate here!

Max - Playing zoomies or bitey face on seaweed adds a whole new dimension! It's very slippery you see - FH calls it 'eXtreme zoomies!' whenever we're running on the seaweed!

JD - A pup really has to keep his wits about him when he's running on seaweed! You can see the look of concentration on Max's face!

Max - eXtreme bitey face is SUCH good fun too!!

JD - Wheeeee! If I run down on the sand I can cut Max off and beat him to the slope, he he he!

Max - This little beach is sheltered so it's always calm, with interesting rocks scattered around. We like to explore the shallow water - there's always something interesting to look at!

JD - There are these weird floaty things that mark the shoreline to stop boats getting too close to the rocks. Max is a little scared of the way they bob around so he usually sends me in to investigate!

Max - My big brother IS very brave - not only does he not flinch when these strange round things bob about in a most alarming way, he also doesn't mind getting his paws wet as he wades right up to it!!

JD - Max doesn't mind paddling but he draws the line at swimming! I LOVE swimming and plan to show a video of my athletic prowess very soon! In the meantime here is a snap of me doing my 'loch ness monster' impression with my tail, he he he!

Max - We hope you enjoyed visiting our secret beach with us! It's one of our favourite places to walk and we're alway very disappointed when it's covered by the sea!


JD - I'm going to leave you with a photo of me and my amazing eyebrows! I've been cultivating them recently - what do you think?!!

Wordless Wednesday

Spot the Schnauzer!

JD - Hi everyone! We'll be back with our regular 'chalk and cheese' post next weekend...

Max - ...but as FH is still rather busy we decided to do a quick 'spot the schnauzer' post today, as it's one of our favourite games!

A beach, some rocks - but where's the schnauzer?!

JD - We hope you've all had a great weekend!

Max - But gosh, don't they whizz past quick?!!

Chalk and cheese - Post 2, our outlook on life!

FH - Hi everyone! Firstly, apologies for not getting round to visit your blogs much this week - we've had a bit of trouble with our Internet connection, probably due to the volume of users on-line locally because we've had a general election. As I type this our country has no one in charge!! It's a hung Parliament - the next few weeks should be rather interesting! Anyway, things are slowly getting back to normal broadband-wise so we'll be visiting again soon!

Secondly, when I set this little 'chalk and cheese' project up for the boys I had no idea that this was such a British phrase! I love what I learn from the blogsphere - we've experienced this before when the boys did a post entitled 'elevensses' about their mid-morning snack!

Right, today's 'chalk and cheese' is about my boys' outlook on life. I thought it would be fun to ask them to both write a short account of the same day, entitled 'What I Did Last Saturday'! JD - over to you!

JD - Thanks FH! Okay everyone, here is my essay....

What I Did Last Saturday - by JD Schnauzer

Last Saturday Max woke me up at 5.30 am when he decided he wanted to play with squeaky chicken. Don't get me wrong, I love squeaky chicken as much as the next dog, but I suggested to Max that as it was the weekend our humans might appreciate a lie-in. He just laughed and started woofing loudly about FH loving mornings. I did try to shush him, but when my brother gets something into his head it's pretty hard to distract him.

Some cute photos of us will be dotted throughout our essays to keep you entertained! Here's JD showing that his legs are about twice as long as Max's!

FH appeared about 5.40 and let us into the garden for our morning wee - I wait patiently for my morning cuddle which we always get just before she lets us out. She always cuddles me first - I'm not sure if Max has noticed this but it makes me feel very happy and waggy!

FH always takes us out for our morning walk really early, so after she's put our leads on us she straps us into the backseat of the car and we set off to the nature reserve. Mind you, it took us about 5 minutes to get out of the front door on this particular morning because Max kept on wanting to go out before FH, so she had to keep on telling him to sit and wait for the release word. I waited patiently until he got it and then we both trotted to the car together.

Our morning walk was great! A bit wet as it was drizzling but we had some great rounds of zoomies round the fields and then we had a great exploring session on the beach. Because of the weather we didn't meet anyone else on our walk even though we were out for nearly 2 hours, which was a shame as I love meeting new people and new doggies.

JD smiles for the camera!

When we got back home we had a rub down with the towel monster followed by a yummy breakfast and a lovely nap. As it was a bit chilly FH tucked us up with some blankies - ooooh, it was comfy!

We woke up briefly when MH came down - he'd slept in a bit later as he'd been working late the night before. He played tug with us and gave us a biscuit each - we've got the best MH in the whole World! MH then needed to do a bit of work in his office so I kept him company for a few hours, supervising him and making sure he was okay by doing things like keeping his lap warm by snuggling into it every time he sat down! Max popped in a few times but didn't stay.

At about 3.00 pm FH gave us a bowl of natural yoghurt with a spot of local honey stirred in - I suffer from hayfever you see and I find local honey really helps this. Plus it's super-yummy!

At about 4.00 pm FH asked if we fancied another romp at the nature reserve - we sure did! It had stopped raining when we got there but it was still cold and windy. To our delight Abby was there - she's a great pal of ours, a gorgeous golden retriever and - I'm not sure if Max knows this - I'm totally in love with her! I knew she was at the reserve when she was about 3 fields away because of my amazing nose so I just ran and ran and RAN to meet her! Max tends to hang back when we meet people and dogs so I figure it's down to me to be the sociable one. Abby is SUCH great fun, we played and wrestled and romped - oooh, it was great!

Let the wrestling begin!!

When we got home, after another session with the towel monster both me and Max settled down on the sofa for another snooze - we were both very tired. I dreamt about running around with Abby!

I was woken up by Max barking - MH's brother had come round and Max didn't seem to want him to come into the house. I really hoped he would as I was sure he would make a lovely fuss of me. Sadly, MH and his brother both went straight into MH's office and I wasn't allowed in this time which was a shame. Max was still barking and getting himself rather stressed so I brought him over to the sofa, sat him down and started to groom his ears as I know this really relaxes him. After about ten minutes he fell asleep so I snuggled up next to him and before long was snoring myself!

We snoozed through most of the evening and when it was time for bed I settled down straight away in the corner of the sofa, ready for a wonderful sleep. FH tucked me in, told me I was her 'good boy' and her 'handsome boy' and gave me a goodnight smooch. It had been a great day!!

Max - Is it my turn, is it my turn, is it my turn? Gosh, you took SO long JD! Right, here's my essay about last Saturday....

What I Did Last Saturday - How I Saved The World! - by Max Schnauzer

Last Saturday I awoke, as I usually do, around 5.00 am. I did a quick security check of the the lounge perimeter to ensure everything was in order. I then did a toy roll-call and realised that squeaky chicken was challenging me to a fight! Well, as everypup knows a challenge like this can not be ignored, I needed to teach squeaky chicken who was boss! I'm aware that JD tried speaking to me at some point but I was so engrossed with squeaky chicken that I'm not really sure what he was wittering on about!

Max and JD enjoy the plumpness of their favourite pillow - it's big enough for both of them!

FH appeared about 5.40 - I was SO excited to see her that I kept on jumping and squealing and jumping some more. I was trying to tell FH that, once again, I had saved her from oversleeping and being late for work by selflessly barking her awake. She muttered some such nonsense about not working on weekends but I think she was simply didn't want me to get embarrassed by admitting what a huge hero I am! I notice that whenever I'm leaping around in the mornings, reminding FH how amazing I am, she'll always make an immediate fuss of JD, who's just sitting about doing nothing, and only fusses ne when I've stoped bouncing! I reckon she does this so he doesn't feel bad that he's too dopey to wake her up!

A spot of rock-climbing!

After trying (but sadly failing) to train FH on the correct way to leave the house we set off for the nature reserve. It was wet and I'm not a fan of wet things - I ask FH to turn the rain off but she pretends she doesn't understand what I'm on about. I therefore decide to carry out some security checks. I ensure all the seagulls are cleared away, I check the hedgerows for dangerous looking bunnies and I stay close to FH for the duration of the walk in case anything I disapprove of gets too close to her.

Can you spot the schnauzers?!!

When we get back home we are both attacked by the towel monster - I valiantly fought back to ensure everyone was safe. I then carry out a quick security check of the premises to make sure nothing untoward has happened in my absence and then I settle down for a nap.

When MH appears I get so excited I leap straight at him. He is so delighted to see me that he gives me a biscuit and then plays tug with both me and JD - I suppose he doesn't want JD to feel left out so has to include him in our game too. MH then goes into his office to work for a bit. JD scampers in after him leaving it to me (as per usual) to ensure the house is safe. I carry out frequent security checks, popping in to see MH at regular intervals to give him a status update, I know he really appreciates my diligence!

Around mid-afternoon FH gives us a delightful snack of natural yoghurt with a touch of local honey - my brother has allergies you see but I find this particular allergy rather rewarding, he he he! An hour later FH took us for our afternoon walk - I was pleased to note that she had remembered to turn the rain off for this one!

Max smiles for the camera!

Abby was at the nature reserve with her humans - JD went running straight over to her leaving the security detail to me, as usual. Even though I know Abby and I know her humans you can never be too sure - I hung back and double checked that they all were who they appeared to be before I felt comfortable enough to join in. We had a great time although I had to pause briefly in the middle of a particularly good wrestle to woof at a passing cyclist who looked extremely dodgy - it's a good job the humans have me around to keep an eye on everything!

Max and JD wrestle with a gorgeous blonde!

When we got back home I tried to warn JD about the towel monster but he was too slow and whilst I was trying to defend him the towel monster got me too!

After carrying out my security detail I settled down with JD on the sofa for a snooze - he was obviously having a dream as he kept on kicking me! If that wasn't enough I was disturbed further by MH's brother turning up - he looked a bit iffy to me so I woofed at him to let him know that I was in charge! Amazingly, he took absolutely no notice of me whatsoever and went into MH's office - the NERVE! I strutted around outside woofing and snuffling in disgust until JD came over and persuaded me to come back to the sofa for an ear chew. Now, if there's one thing I'm rather partial to it's an ear chew, so I reluctantly relented.

We snoozed for most of the evening before being let out for our night time wee. I was still patrolling the garden to ensure danger was not lurking behind our rose bushes when FH started calling me in. I insisted on finishing my patrol before I returned to the house - JD was already tucked up and half asleep when I got there! FH snuggled me into a blanket, told me I was her 'brave little boy' and her 'cute boy' and gave me a goodnight smooch. I believe that my continued vigilance successfully averted any possible disaster - for another day at least!

JD - Well, that's a summary of our outlook on life - we hope you liked our stories!

Max - Ooooh, before we go, we'd like to share with you our Pawdance Festival entry! We're so excited about it that we can't keep it a secret! Please CLICK HERE to view our action packed video and let us know what you think - we're very nervous!

JD - We hope you like it - please let us know what you think of our short film and we hope you vote for us if you get a chance!!

Our favourite beach!

JD - FH is trying to get used to using our new-ish video camera to enter a short film into Norwood's Pawdance Film Festival!

Max - If you haven't entered yet you should do so - it's gonna be great fun! Click the piccie below to find out more - closing date is 9th May.


JD - But in the meantime FH is suddenly pointing this new, non-flashy box at s and demanding we perform for her - well, the NERVE of the woman!!

Max - So, whilst she frets over being completely useless with the software we chose a very short clip to post on our blog as we wanted to show you our favourite beach! This was filmed at 6.30 am on Saturday morning, it starts with JD, pans out to show you our super cool wind-farm and then - saving the best for last - finishes with yours truly!

JD - *Rolls eyes!* Ahem - please excuse my little brother - ever since he started comparing himself to George Clooney he's been almost impossible to live with.....!



Max - We hope you liked our film debut! Okay, we don't actually DO much, but we hope you like our favourite beach as much as we do!

JD - You see, we're saving our action-shots and amazing acting performances for Norwood's competition!

Max - ARE we JD?

JD - *Rolls eyes again!* YES Max - sheesh!!

Mirror Image Monday

Amon Ra - ancient Egyptian Sun God

Amon 'Ruff' - modern Clactonian Sun doG

Wordless Wednesday - treasures from the deep! (Er - or not!)

Wordless Wednesday (a westerly wind!)

2010 - so far so good!

JD - Hello everyone - happy new year!

Max - 2010 has been GREAT so far - we've been to the beach!

Max - "Woo-hoo - the tide's out! Can't beat the feeling of sand between your paws....!"

JD - And we went with our Labrador pals - Pudding and Thunder! We had SO much fun playing chase together - even though they're MUCH faster than us, he he!

Pudding and Thunder - "Ha ha - can't catch us!!"
JD and Max "Puff, pant! S'not fair - you girls have MUCH longer legs.....!"

Max - We can't wait to carry on sharing our adventures with all our wonderful blogging pals during 2010!

JD - Thank you all your great friendship!! The wonders of blogging made the World our playground during 2009 and - as we did with Pudding and Thunder in pup-son today - we also play and romp with you all in our dreams....

Max - .....it's FUN! We hope you've all had a good start to the year too!