Happiness A-Z: B

If you don't know what's going on, go here, or just keep reading.  It's fairly self-explanatory. :)

B

1.  Butterflies - An unexpected flutter of beauty bebopping its way through the world.  How can that not brighten your day?

2.  Baby animals - Technically, I guess I already covered this in my "A" list when I listed Animals, but I think baby animals deserve their own listing.  Holy Cuteness and Cute Overload are good resources for your daily fix of baby animals and other cuteness.  Some of my favorites include baby elephants, baby hippos, and baby Basset Hounds.

This was our first Basset Hound, Sadie, when she was a puppy.  She was mostly ears, and we had hard wood floors, so running was tricky anyway, but every once in a while those short little legs would step on one of those long ears, and then it was all over!

3.  Buster - I've mentioned Buster before.  After we had Sadie for about a year, we decided she needed a companion, and we adopted Buster from a Basset rescue society.  Here is what he looked like when we first got him:

See that spot on the back of his head?  That was a big scar from some injury he had sustained before we got him. We suspect that someone might have thrown him out of a car, but we don't know for sure.   :(  He recovered fine, and he's been with us ever since.  Here he is consulting on our landscaping a couple months ago.  

4.  Basset Hounds - Duh!  They are great comic relief, and according to this 2006 New Yorker article by Malcolm Gladwell, they are the only other dogs besides beagles that have never been implicated in a fatal human attack.  They are laid back and have no problem making themselves at home.  Case in point:

"I'm NOT moving."

"You're not going to make me move are you?"

According to bassethoundrescue.com's the Basset Hound's Indoor Energy Level is, "Low-From One End Of Couch To Other."  LOL.  That's about right, but they are actually very energetic and have pretty high endurance if you get them out somewhere where they can run around and smell things.  So they're still good for someone who wants a dog that they can go out and do stuff with, but they'll be right there with you when you want to sit down on the couch, have a beer and watch TV too.  Also, they're stubborn.  If you've ever tried to reason one of these goofballs off the couch, you know!  They'll totally pretend that they don't understand English when it suits their purpose.

Haha-I just went back through and reread my post up to this point, and I realized that the quotes I made up for the two pictures above totally captured both dogs' personalities.  Sadie was stubborn and independent and a little aloof.  Buster is stubborn too, but, when it comes right down to it, he's a total pushover.

5.  Bees - they do good things-they pollinate flowers, they make honey, and they give directions to food sources by wiggling their butts.  I can't do that.

6.  Books - Since we're on the "B" list today, one of my favorites from the past year is Backyard Giants:  The Passionate, Heartbraking, and Glorious Quest to Grow the Biggest Pumpkin Ever.  You can read my review of it here.        

7.  Braveheart - I love this movie.  This is one of those movies that I can always stop to watch if it is on TV.  If I'm flipping through channels and Braveheart is on, that's it, three hours-gone!

8.  Butter - I'm no Paula Deen, but butter makes everything better.

That's all I've got for today.  What "B" things make you happy?