The World According to Bella

I've yet to miss a ride from the lake to the cities.  I am smart enough to know the signs when they are leaving and this day was no exception. As I watched Mr. C make trip after trip to the van I decided I’d better plant myself right next to the van door. I did not want to be left behind.

I take my job of watching over Mrs. S‘s flowers and protecting the yard from intruders seriously. But as an intruder ran across the yard I was forced to make a quick decision. Either leave my spot next to the van and possibly miss my ride or scare it off.  The choice was made with one whiff of that scent. I was off in hot pursuit. I chased that critter round and round the van. Suddenly it vanished.  About that time Mr. C came out with the cooler. He was puzzled and confused that I had moved from sitting in the driveway to staring at the grill of the van.

Mr. C and I both heard the squeaking coming from underneath the hood.  As he slowly raised the hood I heard him gasp and yell “Bella get into the van!” He slammed the hood down and we both quickly hopped inside to be safe.

Mr. C started up the engine and honked the horn. Now I was really confused. There was no one in the house.  Mrs. S. had already left. Maybe he wanted to scare off the intruder that was under the hood behind the engine. When Mr. C didn't smell any burning fur or hear any squeaking he thought it safe to get out and recheck under the hood.

I watched carefully to see what his next move would be.  He slowly raised the hood up. He must have been worried the intruder would leap out and bite him in the face. But satisfied the intruder had escaped, he got back into the van.  

Mr. C complimented me on a job well done to scare off that baby raccoon. He knew Mrs. S would be happy I had been on high alert just doing my yard job. I was rewarded with a milkbone. But as you can guess there are many other intruders lurking out in the woods waiting for us to leave the yard, Why do I know this? When we returned 3 days later it was quite noticeable that many intruders had invaded the yard while we were gone.

Mrs. S was quite upset with all that she saw that had gone missing. Mr. C tried to cheer her up with a favorite peach smoothie. Maybe you want to try one.

Love, Bella

Peach Smoothie

Cook's notes: The great thing about making smoothies is "anything goes." It is a way to add nutritional supplements to your diet. Good sources can include:fruit, protein powder, milk or yogurt, greens, liquid vitamins and flax seed oil. 

The following are several recipes for your consideration. A blender works the best and using frozen fruit.

#1 recipe was adapted from allhealthyrecipes.net 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 cup frozen strawberries
• 1/2 cup banana
• 1 fresh peach sliced
• 1/4 cup low fat milk
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. honey

Directions:

• Add milk to blender along with yogurt and banana-blend add in rest of ingredients
• a dash on cinnamon on top with fresh blueberries,raspberries or blackberries
• Blend till smooth 

#2 recipe. Ingredients:

• 1 cup fresh peaches
• 1 cup plain yogurt low-fat or peach or vanilla
• 1 cup skim milk or 2%
• 1 TB honey
• ice cubes

Directions:

Use a blender and add in a few ice cubes at a time,blend till smooth