Yesterday was the 4th of July and, due to a certain tropical storm, fireworks were cancelled all over the Northeastern United States.

Including, like, here.

But that was okay, as Mac and Jack and Gabe were here, and we all made the best of it, braved the puddles and sprinkles in town, and found out that torrential rain outside has no effect on the yummy-level of lobster rolls if they are eaten inside.

Probably outside, they would have been a little watered down.

Yes, that was bad.

But I just couldn’t stop my dang fingers from typing it.

Anyway, when we got back to The Inn (which is not really an Inn but it used to be one so I call it that anyway), Mac wanted to take some pics because she had dressed in her 4th of July outfit and why waste it?

So we went out on the screen porch and took some lovely photos of Mac and Jack:

And then Mac got the great idea of having their portrait done with royalty, which was really cool because – in an interesting and rather convenient twist of fate – royalty is staying with us.

So Mac and Jack called to Her Royal Highness the Princess Bunny Blaze (a.k.a., as HRH Princess Blaze).  And she came over and look at how happy she is to accommodate her commoners with a portrait.

Unusually talkative and demonstrative for royalty. she was seen dolling out a rare royal smooch…

However, if you look into the bottom, right corner…

Now, you may remember that HRH Princess Blaze has a rather interesting personality quirk in that she does not like her photo taken with any other dogs in it, ever. Especially non-royals.

Marshal Dillon Dingle is himself of royal blood as the son of HRH Princess Bunny Blaze’s Aunt, the beautiful Duchess Jewel. However, due to the disorganized brain of Marshal Dillon Dingle, he has ‘lost’ his Patents of Nobility (wicked extra special papers proving his aristocracy), and therefore can provide no proof of his lineage that would satisfy HRH Princess Blaze who decreed long ago, “No Patents, no portraits.” We have no idea what happened to Marshal’s papers.

We think he ate them.

Either way, Blaze does not want him in any of her photos.

Because when she suspects he might be nearby, attempting a Marshal Dillon Dingle-style photo bomb, as you know, she gets all growly. Photographic proof (note tail tip at bottom):

And this, sadly, usually doesn’t stop him. So she resorts to pleas to the common humans around her…

And, in this case, the humans misinterpreted Her Royal Highness’ plea to behead the puppy as wondering if Marshal Dillon Dingle could join them in the portrait. So Mac and Jack called him on over, which caused Blaze to try to give Mac “the eye”.

But Marshal Dillon Dingle was very excited to be called over to be a part of a portrait with HRH Princess Blaze on purpose. Unfortunately, he went in for a kiss, not a traditional half-bow or a curtsy. Note Blaze’s lack of appreciation.So then a brief talking to, letting the Patents of Nobility-less plebeian know he is completely out of line…

First attempt. Princess Blaze still ‘communicating’ with the imposer, who is clearly listening intently (but still doesn’t seem to care about his unwelcome status).

Second attempt…

Third…

Finally, Jack realizes that force must be used. And we get, well, we get the best portrait we are probably going to get if Marshal is to stay in possession of all of his parts and extremities.

And right after this there was mayhem.

And just a little while later, we found Marshal Dillon Dingle here. To the untrained eye, he is de-stressing.

But to a trained eye…

He’s just resting up for next time…

Thanks for readin’.

As always, you can come on over to Just Ponderin’s Facebook page to comment or just hang out.