Pixel the Weather Adventurer Extraordinaire Braves the Arctic Tundra Once More

I never would have guessed that even as a Weather Adventurer Extraordinaire, I'd have another wild grueling weather adventure quite so soon after winter. I'd been traveling for miles and miles, walking for what seemed like days, weeks even. Nothing around me but endless white. I wasn't even sure where I was, but based on how overwhelmingly blustery, cold and snowy it was, I was pretty sure I was close to the Arctic Circle. I had to rely on my senses, my survival skills and my keen intellect to get me through.

Surveying the landscape, desperate for any signs of life, I could see I was all alone. The travel was treacherous, the days were long, and the hours passed slowly. I fought fatigue, worried about the perils of the wilderness, and wondered when the next big blizzard would hit. I was in the mountains, so the risk of an avalanche was extremely high. One wrong howl and I could be a goner. What if I came across a glacier that blocked my path? Or fell down a huge ice crevasse? All I could do was make my way through the cold and snow as best I could. I was hoping for the best, but was prepared for the worst.
Oh how I missed the comforts of home, the warm fireplace, soft fuzzy blankets, the small yet delicious meals every 3-4 hours. I could just imagine my little duckies missing me, all lined up against the window pane wondering, "When is Mommy Pixel coming home? Will we ever see her again??" "Don't cry little Duckies, I'll survive somehow, I promise," I thought to myself.
As I trudged through the snow that was almost up to my neck, choking me, blinding me and making it almost impossible to make the next step, I thought about my Mommy...my beloved Mommy, and wondered how she would get along without me if I didn't get through this snowy tundra adventure. I pushed on as hard as I could, focusing on making it home.

But soon the freezing temperatures overtook my small delicate frame, and in spite of dressing for the weather, I became too weak to go on. All I could do was close my eyes and let fate overtake me. I stood there, frozen in the Arctic landscape, unable to move. What would happen to me now? Would I ever make it back home? It seemed like just the other day I was enjoying a warm Spring afternoon in my own front yard, watching the blooms of the beautiful Bradford pear trees wave in the gentle breeze. Hadn't I just sniffed my first tulips and sat in a garden filled with daffodils?
But suddenly, after being stuck in this frozen tundra for ages, the last wave of Arctic frost overtook my body, and I heard that final call of my name to "go home".
"Pixel. Pixel? PIXEL! Come on sweetie, we've been out in this blustery weather for about 5 minutes now and the snow flurries are getting a little stronger. We've got a light dusting on the ground now. Let's go home and get warm by the fire."

It was MOMMY!! She found me and I was saved!!! Thank goodness it turned out to all be just a daydream...because I'd forgotten to bring my compass and snow shoes!
REALITY CHECK FROM MOMMY: Here in the mountains of Virginia, we had warm beautiful weather up until Friday, then we suddenly nose dived into freezing cold temperatures with lows getting down to about 19 degrees Fahrenheit (-7 degrees Celsius) and snow flurries. We had lots of flurries, heavy winds gusting up to 40 miles per hour (34.75 knots) and cold temperatures, just not quite all the snow that Pixel imagined.
Did you have crazy weather this Spring? I'd love to hear about it friends!! Leave me a comment and tell me all about it.

Pixel's Adventures in Eating the Best Natural Food for #PinnacleHealthyPets

This post is sponsored by Pinnacle and the BlogPaws Professional Pet Blogger Network. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about Pinnacle’s reformulated Grain Free Dog Food but Pixel Blue Eyes: Her Tails of Adventure only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. Pinnacle is not responsible for the content of this article.

I am a kibble connoisseur. I seek out the best and pride myself in knowing what is good. Last month, I went searching for the pinnacle of kibble, the very finest of the finest, the best of the best. Since I seek adventure, nature's bounty and wholesome goodness, I need a dog food that will provide me with good, wholesome ingredients, a holistic dog food that delivers tasty good health but is also good for dogs with sensitive stomachs like mine.

I found the pinnacle of kibble in Pinnacle® Grain Free Holistic Pet Food. Pinnacle launched in 1998 as a breakthrough brand in natural holistic dog food. And while Pinnacle has always had holistic health ingredients like quinoa, pumpkin, kelp, flax seed, blueberries & sweet potatoes (two of my FAVORITE foods) and cottage cheese...in May 2015, they took all dog recipes Grain Free to facilitate easier digestion.

As mentioned in my Pinnacle article last month, I have been giving this food a try, and let me tell you, this limited ingredient diet, or LID, dog food is delicious! It's the perfect kibble size for chewing, no matter what size dog you are, and the crunch is superb! Now, I don't just try any old dog food, so you can trust that this is good kibble in my humble Pixel opinion. It makes me feel like a real #PinnacleHealthyPet. Mommy and I both give it two paws (and thumbs) up!

Mommy loves to make feeding time a big deal for me, a grand adventure, if you will. When we first started me on the Pinnacle, Mommy had me close my eyes, and she brought the bowl close. "Pixel, can you guess what's in the Pinnacle Holistic dog food?" As she brought it close, I closed my eyes and inhaled the fragrant aroma... Because it has limited natural ingredients, I could actually smell the individual items. "Chicken. Sweet potatoes picked at their peak. Pumpkin (my favorite!), peas, spinach, garbanzo beans, and sweet potatoes."

"Mommy, I can't take anymore sniffing all this yummy Pinnacle kibble goodness, I must eat it now!!" I just can't resist another bowl of Pinnacle Holistic Pet Food with their top quality ingredients.

Mommy loves the fact that Pinnacle Holistic Pet Food is Grain Free, gluten free, and filled with vegetables. Mommy says I have even more pep in my step since I've been eating it. She thinks it's cute that I actually lay beside the bag (it's a very big bag) when it's left out, like it's a toy or a birthday present to be protected. I obviously love my Pinnacle kibble!

One recent adventure took place just the other day. Mommy brought the big bag of Pinnacle Holistic Chicken and Vegetable Dog Food out to feed me, and the bag tipped over. Little bits of kibble went everywhere in the kitchen. I immediately scrambled into action and helped clean it all up. That's just who I am.

Mommy then went ahead and fed me, albeit a little lighter since I sort of fed myself during clean up. I still felt happy to eat a little out of my bowl.

After I was done though, I sensed something was amiss. I knew that I was needed for something special, that my skills should be used right away. I immediately went to Mommy. "Mommy, they are lost. They need my help!" I said to her with haste, as I put my paw in her hand to show I was serious.
"What is lost? Who?" She asked. "The kibble. We missed a couple of pieces of Pinnacle kibble. I can smell them here in the kitchen. I'm the finder of lost kibble Mommy and we can't let them stay lost!" I replied.
"Of course not." She said, "Go find them and get them right away Pixel!"

I searched the ground carefully, seeking the trail of my lost Pinnacle kibble pieces. It didn't take "the finder of lost kibble" long..."they're under the stove!" I barked with joy.

I used my special kibble extraction technique and got the two tiny kibble morsels out from under the stove so they would no longer be lost and alone. I know they felt better being with their own kind in my belly.

It made me feel good knowing I'd done a good deed.Mommy said I was a good girl, and I'm very proud to still be the master "finder of lost kibble" in this neck of the woods!
Here's What Pinnacle Holistic Food Offers Your Pet:
- Quality ingredients like Quinoa, Sweet Potato, Pumpkin, Sea Kelp, Cottage Cheese
- Natural, healthy recipes that use high quality proteins
- Antioxidants to support healthy immune system
- Fiber and Probiotics to encourage healthy digestion and small stool
- Promotes general joint health and overall muscle tone

So take it from me, the kibble connoisseur, for natural, ingredient conscious pet parents, Pinnacle pet food provides your pet with high quality ingredients and more, giving your dog the total nutrition he needs for holistic health. To learn more about Pinnacle Holistic Pet Food, visit their Pinnacle website, where they have a Pinnacle product locator tool to help you find a store that sells Pinnacle near you. You can also visit their Pinnacle Pet Facebook page or follow Pinnacle Pet Food on Twitter. And don't forget to sign up to get a $5.00 coupon off Pinnacle pet food products.
Tell me friends, what did you think of my Pinnacle kibble adventure? Would you want to try this food? What sounds good about it? I can't wait to hear your thoughts.

Pixel's Search to Find the Best Natural Food for #PinnacleHealthyPets

This post is sponsored by Pinnacle and the BlogPaws Professional Pet Blogger Network.
I am being compensated for helping create awareness about Pinnacle's Newly Formulated Grain Free Dog Food,
but Pixel Blue Eyes: "Her Tails of Adventure" only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers.
Pinnacle is not responsible for the content of this article.

I am an all natural dog. I seek adventure, nature's bounty and wholesome goodness for me and my body. The closer something comes to all-natural and pure, the better when it comes to foods I will eat. I often try to find these "all natural, wholesome" good things to eat when I go outside with Mommy. I've searched high and low, far and wide, to find the very best foods for a dog of my caliber to eat. I've traveled from horizon to horizon, but I'm not always the best judge of what I should or should not consume.

I recently sought out on my own to find what I thought would be the pinnacle of kibble, the very finest of the finest, the best of the best. There's lots of great foods out there, but I wanted quality ingredients that were natural and full of fiber. I ventured into the great outdoors to see what I could find. There was a lot of 'natural' things out there all right, but nothing I could really sink my teeth into, nothing that satisfied my refined palette that was used to things like pumpkin, chicken, sweet potatoes and grain-free goodness. Plus, all the things I found made my stomach a bit upset, and that was a very important selling point for me. After all, 'sticks and twigs' is not the same as real food fiber.

Finally, after searching for what seemed like forever, I went back home empty pawed and disappointed. I told Mommy of my search for the perfect kibble. Thank goodness she'd been searching too! She told me the exciting news that she had found a new dog food kibble that indeed had the qualities I was searching for: a high quality grain-free, limited ingredient kibble without any fillers or questionable ingredients.

"Pixel, we've got to try Pinnacle® Grain Free Holistic Pet Foods," Mommy said with enthusiasm. I was overwhelmed with excitement (and hunger pangs) as she told me about this wonderful dog food. "At last," I thought, "I've reached the pinnacle of dog foods that encompasses all I seek":
- Quality ingredients like Quinoa, Sweet Potato, Pumpkin, Sea Kelp, Cottage Cheese
- Natural, healthy recipes that use high quality proteins
- Antioxidants to support healthy immune system
- Fiber and Probiotics to encourage healthy digestion and small stool
- Promotes general joint health and overall muscle tone

I read on their website that Pinnacle launched in 1998 as a breakthrough brand in natural holistic dog food. And while Pinnacle has always had holistic health ingredients like quinoa, pumpkin, kelp, flax seed, blueberries & sweet potatoes (two of my FAVORITE foods) and cottage cheese...in May 2015, they took all dog recipes Grain Free to facilitate easier digestion. That was especially great news for me because I only eat grain free food. I'm excited to say I'll be giving this dog food a try. I will be writing about my adventures eating Pinnacle dog food in a future blog post, so stay tuned. 

If you'd like to learn more about this fantastic brand of holistic dog food with limited ingredients, or give it a try, visit the Pinnacle Pet website, where they offer a $5.00 coupon off your first purchase. They even have a helpful Pinnacle Pet Food product locator so you can find it at a store near you. And be sure to visit their Pinnacle Facebook page or follow Pinnacle on Twitter.

For natural, ingredient conscious pet parents, Pinnacle pet food provides your pet the high caliber ingredients you feed them and more, giving your dog the total nutrition she needs for

holistic health. 

So my friends, do you think you'd like to try this new, holistic dog food? I can't wait to try it myself. Mommy and I will be getting a bag of their delicious kibble VERY soon. My mouth is watering at the very thought. What do you think is the best thing about it based on what I told you or what you read about on their website? What do you want to know from me in my trial of eating it? Let me know in a comment below...

The Joy of Mystery - Undercover Duckies in a Fountain

Ever since I was recruited to be a professional undercover duckie operative by my very own Purple Patrick Duckie, I've had to become versed in pretty much all tactics that rubber duckie operatives might engage in to get intel, run an operation, or "blend in". I've also had to go ahead and train Mommy in some of the basics just so she can survive and not get too freaked out when my rubber duckies go all "007" on her. Although I'm pretty sure Mommy is oblivious to the "spy games" my duckies and I sometimes play, and she's safe from any rogue mischief, I might have to re-evaluate my thoughts on her involvement in things. Duckie adventure, it seems, is following her.

A few days ago, Mommy and Grammy were spied on when they had to go "out of town" to an undisclosed business establishment for a very important appointment. They'd traveled an hour and a half in the pouring rain. It was thundering, it was lightening, and the rain fell like sheets of...rain. Mommy pulled up into the parking lot of the establishment in which they had an appointment, right in front of a large running water fountain. I don't mean the kind you drink out of, I mean the kind you throw a nickel in and make a wish.
They had arrived early and the business establishment doors showed a sign saying they were still "closed for lunch". As they waited in the car for the place to open back up, Mommy recalled that she couldn't help but feel as though she was being watched. As she squinted through the dim light of the gray, rainy day, her eyes fell upon two figures wearing sunglasses and pasty smiles on their faces...staring at her.

Thanks to my training, it was obvious to Mommy right away what was going on...these were under cover duckies engaged in some covert operation. But why there? And why spy on Mommy? And where were my duckies?? All of these questions flooded Mommy's mind as she secretly took a few photos for me to analyze when she got home. As soon as the sunglasses wearing duckies locked eyes with Mommy, they knew they had been 'made' and immediately started swimming about the fountain acting all nonchalant as though everyone wears sunglasses on a pouring down rainy day AND goes swimming in a fountain in the rain. The only other thing those duckies needed was a soaking wet newspaper with eye holes in the center so they could pretend to read while spying on Mommy and Grammy. I'm sure no one would have noticed their little orange bills poking through the classifieds.
I don't know what those rubber duckies were up to, but I'm looking into it. If they were simply there to protect the building as security guards, they were doing a fine job of it. They had Mommy and Grammy a bit nervous and I'm pretty sure no one would want to 'cause trouble' with them conspicuously milling about. However, if they really are undercover duckies trying to spy on people...they really need to work on their 'duck and cover'.

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I'm taking part in the "Monday Mischief" blog hop, where pet bloggers share their fun, adventures and stories from the weekend. Visit some of the links below to read other stories of mischief, silliness and fun happening elsewhere around the world!

The Joy & Breathtaking Beauty of the Beach - Pixel's Getaway in the Sand & Sun

Our family loves going to the beach once a year for a fun in the sun getaway. I love the feel of the ocean breeze, the coastal sunshine, the sand under my paws, and the smells that only the beautiful sea can bring. These are some of my special memories...
Each morning started with an amazing sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean. This is exactly what it looked like...no alterations at all. It was incredible!

We'd go walking and exploring on the sand and find all kinds of shells, living creatures and interesting things on the beach. The living things, like starfish, living sand dollars and sea anemones we'd throw back into the water. Jellyfish we avoided like, well, jellyfish.

We went out exploring each day. It was such fun! I loved sniffing the shells, and occasionally would find one and pick it up if I liked it enough. Mommy made sure I didn't walk too much of course, Dr. Mask's orders, but I got to go out for little excursions with her.

Mommy and I found such pretty things. Beautiful shells, a lovely piece of driftwood, coral, a couple of conch shells, some cochina, and in an amazing moment when Mommy went to wash a simple shell in the ocean as the tide was going out, the sand suddenly separated away from a perfectly whole sand dollar that had long since dried out. There were even beautiful rocks at the beach!
One of the shells that actually made Mommy laugh was a shell that had her initials carved in them. We walked up on a pile of shells that had washed up during high tide, and there was her shell. "J/L" was carved in it from some little sea creature that was trying to get in or out of that shell.
She took a photo of exactly what she saw, then she just had to take it home with her!
The photo below is a small display of some of our favorite items we collected together.

There's a million other things to share about my time at the beach, so much beauty, so much precious time with family, to much to fit in one story. But I will end this time of sharing the joy and beauty of the beach with this amazing sunset that ended our first full day there.

We were awestruck by the vivid colors that crept over the western horizon at dusk and just kept coming. It was truly incredible and a memory we will never forget. The breathtaking beauty we experienced was so invigorating. We breathed it in, we felt it on our skin, we lived it as long as we could, and we took a little bit of it home with us.

The Joy of Surprises: Operation Red Wagon with Purple Patrick Duckie

As you know, I adore my duckies with a passion that is beyond compare. We have lots of fun and adventures, but nothing could have prepared me for the adventure I'm about to share....
About a month ago one of my favorite duckies, Purple Patrick Duckie had been missing for a while. I'd looked and looked, but he was nowhere to be found. Then one day I was minding my own business tearing up an empty kleenex box (I love doing it & Mommy takes out the plastic liner first) when my missing purple Duckie Patrick shows up out of nowhere. He jumped into the box and told me to "just act normal" but let him "lay low" for a while in there. It turned out he was part of a covert operation called "Operation Red Wagon" and I was recruited to help out. He couldn't tell me anything further but I was now unwittingly up to my neck in it too. I looked around cautiously as I thought to myself, "Goodness knows what he's got himself into...and now I'm involved too!"

Purple Patrick Duckie and I hung out together acting as "normal" as possible, but then he suddenly "disappeared" again one afternoon. I had started wearing my purple spotted hoodie, that matches him perfectly, as a show of solidarity and support of his covert "Operation Red Wagon" that he had recruited me into. Details were still sketchy, but he was teaching me some things. On the very day he again disappeared, we had been practicing his now famous "duck and cover" technique, but he was acting a bit odd during practice...standing a little too close, commenting on how "comfy" my hoodie looked and saying that being invisible was a "state of mind". I had no idea what kind of existential mood he was in, and was too tired to try and keep up with what he might be inferring. I lay down for a nap after our covert "duck and cover" training, but when I awoke, Patrick Duckie was gone. I was upset that he didn't say goodbye, but just figured, "that's how it is when you're a covert duckie operative..."

Three days later, right after finding out about my scary ear lump and upcoming surgery (at the time it was the end if January), there was a faint knock at the door. Mommy insisted I be the one to answer it. There sat Purple Patrick Duckie with Minkie Duckie (Pinkie Tuskadero Duckie's sister) by his side. I was so happy to see them both I didn't initially see what was behind them. We greeted each other with love and then Patrick said, "Pixel, I have a surprise for you. Operation Red Wagon has one last critical stage that needs your help. Will you be a part of it's final success?" "Of course!" I exclaimed with excitement. I'm always there to help my friends, and I knew it had to be something of utter importance for him to be gone for so long. I told him I missed him and hated that he just up and disappeared on me. He promised never to do that again but that it was important that he do this operation in secret.

"Look behind me Pixel..." Patrick Duckie said. That is when I heard the low murmuring of little quacks here and there. Then I saw the most amazing sight my little duckie loving eyes had ever seen. A red wagon filled with a bunch of little rubber duckies that needed a home! "This is 'Operation Red Wagon' Pixel," Patrick Duckie said with delight.
I kissed Minkie Duckie and thanked her for helping greet them. They were all relatives of course. Can't you see the family resemblance? They'd been looking for a loving forever family home together and they found mine! I adopted every single one right on the spot.

I greeted each one and told them how much fun we'd have, what a nice place they were at now and what a great life they ALL would have with me and my family. They all seemed very excited, just like me. Mommy was kind enough to document the whole thing.

I checked around to make sure they were safe and then we all went inside for a nice dinner together.

This was truly one of the best surprises ever! I think I'm going to like these covert operations!!

I hope you enjoyed my "Operation Red Wagon" Tail of Adventure! Please leave a comment below and tell me what you think...
Happy Wordless Wednesday friends!! This blog hop is hosted by my friends at BlogPaws, and today's theme was "spoiling your pets" since February is "Spoil Your Pet month. I do believe I've found my favorite month...