Morning Bliss

The Husband loved mornings. (We sang 'Morning Has Broken' as the last song at his memorial service.) I never have been a morning person. With my erratic sleep habits/insomnia, it just isn't something I ever considered. However, I certainly wish I was a morning person...

The other morning I went to put mail in the box before 7:00 AM. (Don't ask me what I was doing up at that time. It's better you don't know.) It is unbelievable how peaceful it is at the end of a dead end street at that time of day! And because of the peacefulness, the wildlife feels free to roam. I decided to sit on the front porch and watch what goes on when I usually am sleeping. I found out that there is A LOT of activity.

I've mentioned (many times before) that there is a lot of wildlife in the neighborhood. And I got to see quite a show. Across the street, I saw two bucks, grazing. One of them was probably born last year and it was a 4- to 6-pointer. The other one was a full 6-pointer...it looked like it probably was older, maybe by a year. These two might have been the ones I saw the evening before, but with the amount of deer we have in the neighborhood, I can't be sure. I found it fascinating to see them side-by-side, eating. Very soon, they will probably be competing for the affections of a doe, but right now, they were pals. They wandered around in the neighbor's yard for quite some time and I lost sight of them when they went behind their house. They are lucky that they are 'city deer'...they probably have a very long, healthy life ahead of them.

I almost went into the house after losing sight of the bucks, but a fawn made its way to my neighbor's front yard. It wasn't a 'newborn,' but it definitely was a late birth. It still had spots, but they weren't apparent until it got closer to me. This little one wandered all over the neighbor's front yard and then made its way across the street to my yard. It continued to look for something tasty, but didn't find a whole lot to hold its interest. It didn't make its way to my back yard, where my neighbor's apple tree is dropping its fruit...I'm sure the deer will find them very soon.

After the fawn wandered off, I sat for a bit. The birds were in full voice, filling the air with their songs. I watched two adult cottontails across the street and two young 'uns in my front yard. They leisurely had their breakfast, with no cares in the world. And why should they? The world was quiet and they were safe.

 

Sources of Amusement

The left side of my property

The right side of my property

Across the back of my property, I have a wooden fence, which we put up before buying the half-lot next to us. The half-lot has a chain link fence, which is my neighbor's. The squirrels use the tops of the fences as a high speed, super highway...a way to get from one yard serving peanuts, to wherever they hide said nuts. As the summer rolls along, the Virginia creepers begin to take over the wooden fence--courtesy of another neighbor's yard--and grapevines take over the chain link fence. This doesn't really bother me, as the green is a nice contrast to the fences. One thing I DO enjoy, however, is how this greenery affects the squirrels...

One day I was looking out of the back window when I saw a squirrel running to get to its hidey-hole. Run, run, run...slow down and detour up into the trees in order to avoid the grapevines and back to the fence. Then, run, run, run until getting to the Virginia creeper...slow down, climb DOWN the fence, creep along (while clinging to the side,) climb back up and continue its journey. I thought this was a one-time thing, but as I continued to watch day after day, I realized the squirrels all do this in order to avoid the greenery. I find this absolutely fascinating and funny at the same time. I will never NOT be amazed at how the critters adapt to their environment, no matter WHAT gets in their way!

Day Ten--Stalker

Anyone who has ever lived with, or been owned by one, knows that the very definition of the word stalker is 'cat.'  I have spent endless hours through the years watching cats stalk whatever they find fascinating at the time:  flies, birds, chipmunks, little pieces of lint on the floor.  Sadly, our cat is no longer inclined to stalk anything.  At her age (20 in April), she just wants to sleep, drink water, and eat--and that's okay with me.  When she goes to 'cat heaven,' she'll have all eternity to stalk whatever she wants.

***ADDED BONUS!  Here is the ultimate 'stalker song.'

Responsible Dog Ownership

Last weekend, The Youngest's boss ( a veterinarian) and his partner decided to take advantage of the nice weather and walk along the river there in the city where they live.  As it was, they walked along just enjoying the day and not paying particular attention to what was going on around them.  Suddenly, a dog attacked the vet and bit him in the crotch and immediately let go.  However, there were four puncture holes through the man's pants and boxers and blood was present.  The dog was on a loose lead and his owner wasn't paying attention to what was going on.  The vet didn't even SEE the dog, much less engage him in any way.  He didn't talk to the dog and didn't make eye contact.  Yet, the dog--a Rottweiler mix*--attacked with no provocation.  And to make matters worse, the dog was not vaccinated and is now in custody of animal control and under quarantine.  Meanwhile, the vet almost lost his junk--he is considerably bruised and battered--and must wait the proper time to find out if he needs rabies shots.  This freaked me the hell out!

I LOVE big dogs and would love to have one, but this is just an example of how you MUST be in control of your animal at all times--and I'm not sure I have the wherewithal to be able to control a big dog.  Despite what people say, you can never completely trust an animal.  As I have always said about my animals, "S/he hasn't bitten/scratched anyone--YET."  Too many people--and I'm making assumptions about the dog's owner, now--don't do enough research about a dog/breed before getting one.  Many people just go by what looks cool or is the 'in' thing at the time.  But there is much, much more that is involved in RESPONSIBLE pet ownership and it's time people started to realize this.  Maybe we should have to have a license in order to GET an animal, rather than waiting until we already have one.

Hopefully, the vet will be fine--and the chances are that he will.  This could have been much worse, but for him, it was terrifying enough.  I don't even WANT to think what the results would have been if the dog had attacked a child!  Horrifying!


*In no way am I trying to vilify Rottweilers OR any big-breed dogs.  This is only mentioned as it IS relevant to the story.  Little dogs can do just as much damage as a big dog--in different ways, of course.

Police Log

After a holiday weekend/road trip, I am finally able to settle down and write a post.  Actually, this will be a few posts, as I have collected enough police log entries to break them up into multiple posts.  Today, we will deal with animals.

--6:47 PM, report of a dead duck in the roadway; unable to locate.
It baffles me as to why someone would even report a dead duck in the road--or what is otherwise known as 'road kill.'  Nature takes care of the dead animals and the only time I feel they should be removed by humans is when the animal is very large--such as a moose or a deer.  As to being unable to locate said duck:  we have crows, ravens, turkey vultures, various critters that will eat dead stuff, etc. Problem solved and it probably was taken care of by Mother Nature herself.  Then again, the duck could have just been 'playing possum' and wasn't dead after all.  ;)

--8:38 PM, turkey in parking lot; captured and relocated.
This one had me floored.  While we have all sorts of wildlife wander into town, this is the first turkey I've heard of.  Wonder if someone will have wild bird for Thanksgiving this year?  :D

--11:32 AM, kitten at large.
I want to know more!  Is this the owner that called or did someone see a kitten and report it?  I'm so conflicted about this.  It can either be someone very concerned over a little furball or someone who needs to mind their own business.  And there always is the possibility that someone saw a furry animal in their yard and only THOUGHT it was a kitten when it very possibly was a squirrel or chipmunk.  SOME people DO need new glasses, you know.  :)

Just For Laughs

Some amusement for a Thursday afternoon:

I Love Furry Dogs, But...

I have always said that if I owned a dog, it better be BIG.  I'm not too thrilled with 'pretend dogs'--although I think Westies are about the cutest damn things I have ever seen and would seriously consider getting one.

But, if I had my druthers, I would LOVE to have a dog like Banshee (see last post), an Alaskan malamute.  Other than being rather large and needing quite a bit of exercise, malamutes have one other thing that is annoying and that's the fact that they 'blow their coats' every year.  Now, my long-haired cat sheds, but when a malamute blows its coat, that is another thing altogether.  And if you have never experienced this, it is hard to imagine, so here is a picture of Banshee being brushed by her mom when she is blowing her coat:

 All of that white in the picture is NOT snow, that is her fur.  And the dogs that shed like this need to be brushed multiple times per week--especially during this phase.  This is just one more example of how important it is to research the type of pet you want to get before actually doing the getting--it would save a LOT of animals from being brought to the shelters.  AND this is one reason why I DON'T have a dog like this:  FAR too much upkeep.

Dog, Dogs, and More Dogs

This weekend is the annual dog sled race here.  With our lack of snow this year, the race won't be starting downtown as it usually does, but that doesn't mean the activities will be any less than other years.  There WILL be a ceremonial start in town, but the 200 mile race will have to start where there actually is snow.  It has been a strange, strange winter.  We don't battle the crowds to go and watch the start of the race, simply because it is much too cold to stand around just to see the sleds take off.  That doesn't mean we don't get some of the effect of having the dogs in town--their presence is felt all around.  It is fun to pull into a parking lot and see the trailers with the dogs in their cubbies--and you see this a lot in the week leading up to the race.  The local newspaper and TV station have daily stories--with pictures--about the dogs and mushers.  This is a nice 'celebration' during the long, cold days of winter.  And the best thing about the race is the dogs.  I have NEVER seen happier dogs than ones pulling a sled during a race:

Just LOOK at those faces and tell me they aren't doing EXACTLY what they want to be doing!  I LOVE sled dogs--the bigger the better.

Banshee is the official mascot of the race and she has her own Facebook page here.  If you have a bit of time to kill--or just love looking at some GREAT pictures of dogs (and her 'brothers'--two cats and Seamus, who is in training to be the new mascot)--go on over there and spend some time.  I don't know if there is a happier dog around than Banshee--and she is quite good-looking, as well.

Both pictures I 'lifted' from Banshee's Facebook page.  I don't think she'd mind, though.  ;)

A Working Dog

Almost every time we take one of our road trips--like we did this past weekend--I visit one of the 'named' pet stores in the town.  Our cat is a bit picky in her eating habits, so I have to get to a bigger store with a better and larger selection of food.  The strangest thing about our cat is that I cannot buy the same food two bags in a row--in other words, she will be happy with food for one bag's worth and then needs something new.  At least these days she WILL eat seafood--something she wouldn't touch when she was younger.

When I get into the pet store, I must walk all through it, just to see what is new.  I always enjoy looking at the animals they have ready for adoption from the Humane Society--and those animals are almost always cats.  This past Sunday there were six young cats--not kittens, though--ready for adoption.  I loved seeing that none of them were distressed in any way.  Some days when I go there, some of the animals will be crying for attention, where these cats seemed to be quite content to wait for someone to take them home.  They all were healthy looking and very calm.  If we lived closer to this store, I would have a hard time not to take every one of the animals home with me.  And it was very hard for me to leave one of the cats:  a Russian Blue mix.  Kind of like this:

Just look at that face!  But, our cat will not tolerate another feline in the house, so I can't even think about adopting.

A lot, if not most, pet stores will allow pets to visit the stores with their owners.  It is always fun to see the different pets shopping and be able to pet and talk to different breeds than what I normally get to see.  On Sunday, I saw a real working dog--and he was gorgeous.  He was a German Shepherd and was wearing a 'drug detection dog' vest.  The handler also said that he was a cadaver dog and had been in some disaster areas doing his job.  

(The dog looked a LOT like this.)

While I love the look of German Shepherds, I do have a healthy respect for them--as well as a bit of a fear.  I was shopping on the other side of the store from the dog  and all of a sudden I heard a very deep, loud, and frightening barking--which I assumed was the drug/cadaver dog. I know for a fact that if I was confronted by a dog barking like that I would confess to anything--including the crucifixion of Christ!  But, when I got to the checkout, the dog was laying down calmly and a three-year-old boy was petting him--so, obviously, he only sounded vicious.

It seems as if most working dogs that I see--seeing eye dogs, for example--have a look about them that makes me want to cuddle them.  I know you are not to talk to or distract a working dog without asking permission first, so I usually just leave them alone.  But I find it very, very hard to do.  Anyone else just want to touch and talk to working dogs, too?  And why is that?  Do we respect what they do so much that we want to 'reward' them with some affection?