CRASH...BANG....CLATTER... What's the matter?

CRASH...BANG....CLATTER... What's the matter?
 Lexie ran outa the kitchen like somethin' was after her, then turned right around an' went back in that kitchen barkin' like she was gettin' somethin'.   Mom an' I ran in to see what was goin' on...dad even got up outa bed to check out what all the noise was about.....
What'd we find?  Lexie still in a high alert, the kitchen floor covered in kibble an' broken crockery.  Now, that all the crashin' had quit, all that was left was examin' the evidence an' maybe doin' a lil' tastin'.   At that point, Lexie an' I were then shoooed outa the kitchen, while mom got the broom an' swept up all the kibble an' broken pieces of our "now former" food dishes.  
It's quite upsetting to see your food dish that you've had forever unceremoniously dumped in that trash bin....along w/your food. Lexie looked especially sad an' kept circlin' mom, the trash bin, an' the place where her food bowl used to be.
Mom gave her a hug an' told her it'd be ok, Then she got out a couple of her mixin' bowls an' said we could use them till she gets a chance to get us some new ones.  An' then gave us a couple of sausages.  (That makes everything alright in our book)
How did it happen?....well, Lexie's tags, that's how.  Our food bowls are on a stand an' somehow, her tags snagged that stand an' when she tried to get 'em loose, everythin' went topsy turvy an' those bowls hit that kitchen tile an' kinda exploded.  Lexie thought somethin' was after her.  Gotta give her credit, though, as soon as she figured out nothin' had ahold of her, she turned right back an' was gonna "get it".  
This isn't her first time to cause some kind of commotion w/ her tags in the kitchen.   Wish we had a video of the time when she was a pup an' was "prewashin'" the dishes in the dishwasher an' snagged her tags on the rack.  You shoulda seen her tearin' outa the kitchen w/that entire rack of dishes right behind her.   Silverware landed all over the place.  Now, that really made a loud clatter!
You'd think a loud disaster like this would scar us....make us avoid any situation where this may occur again.  Nope....Lexie still "prewashes"....an' there's no way anythin' s gonna make us avoid the kitchen or our food bowls.  Besides...there's always mom....can't tell you how many times she's dropped stuff in the kitchen  an' it sounded like a bomb.  Which is why we're probably not afraid of loud booms or bangs...lol.

Out on a Limb

AHS Official Report: Lexie (COO), was out doin' a quick patrol before dad came home from a late nite at work. I was inside w/mom waitin' for him. When he came home, it seemed unusual for Lexie to not be there to greet him. She's usually the first one at the door, an' I know she heard the car. Mom was even a lil' concerned. The backyard was awfully quiet, too.

Mom opened the backdoor an' called her, even tellin' her that her "daddy was home". Still nothin'. Then mom got out her big lite.....we both saw Lexie about the same time. The movin' of the tree limbs by the greenhouse was the tell tell sign, she was after somethin' or had somethin'.

I took off runnin' in case she needed backup...mom followed at a much slower pace since it was dark. 

As mom approached that tree, I was on one side an' Lexie was on the other...there was a lot of movement then somethin' raced up the trunk. Lexie an' I were both jumpin' as high as we could....mom wasn't comin' too close (she's still not likin' gettin' under tree limbs at nite w/just a lite an' havin' some critter lookin' down on her). She did shine that lite up the tree an found what we was after literally out on a limb....a long skinny lil' limb. Mom said she'd never seen a possum move that fast, at first she thought it was a cat, till she shined that lite on it.

That possum was so heavy that even mom was surprised it could stay on that limb w/it dippin' w/it's weight like that. It was obviously aware of it's precarious predictament. We could tell when it turned around that it was weighin' it's options of comin' back an' tryin' to face us or at least find a thicker branch. We weren't havin' it. An' believe you me....we were serious about issuin' tresspass warnin's only once. It finally settled down an' was tryin' to wait out that branch not breakin' an' us givin' up. Lexie an' I weren't givin' up....we could do this allllll nite long. Mom was gettin' kinda antsy, an' declared she wasn't stayin' out there. ( I keep wonderin' about her commitment to AHS)

Mom got a lil' closer. Then she took on of her long stakes outa her deceased t'mater plants that succombed to the heat an' drought. Lexie an' I got excited....we knew mom was gonna go into action...we were ready. Mom took that long stick, gave that possum a couple of whacks (r'member it was a skinny lil' branch, so it didn't take much) an' it dropped w/a big "thud".

Lexie an' I both hit that fence w/a big "NOOOOOOO".....mom had knocked it off that branch alright....right smack in the neighbor's backyard, on the other side of our solid 6' fence, clear outa sight an' more important...clear outa our reach. We were disgusted...still excited about the chase part...but not at all happy w/the outcome.

After mom declared it was "gone"...well, "duh".....we all went back inside. We were still runnin' on "high" an' hit our water bowls hard. Mom had to refill them twice, of course she complained we'd have had plenty if we hadn't gotten most of it all over the kitchen floor. All I have to say, is that w/any professional athlete...after a hard game....w/all the adrenalin....it takes a lil' while to come down. An' besides, now since she mopped the floor, it's all clean, now.      :)

Push Button at Your own Risk

He can't say he wasn't warned!...that salesman went ahead an' pushed that button anyways.   Don' know why he acted surprised when I appeared at the kitchen window an' hollared at him to back away from the front door.   Lexie was on the other side of the front door tellin' him the same thing.  Bozo (that blue an' gold chikin') was peepin' thru the window wavin' his wings in encouragement.   Mom was watchin' from the safety of the livin' rooman' an was lettin' us handle the situation)   (she don't like to talk to random salesmen.  She said if she did, she woulda' put one up that said, "press here to get someone that wants to buy what you're sellin'").
He got the message an' backed up even w/the kitchen window....an' me.   I looked him in the eye an' gave him another warnin' just for good measure.  Then we all waited to see what he'd do.  Me at the front window, Lexie sniffin' at the front door, an' Bozo peekin' thru the front window. The salesman...just stood there lookin' at me an' then lookin' at the front door with hope against hope that some"body" was gonna open it.  (as if!)
That salesman stood there for a few minutes before he gave up an' started off on his way to somebody else's house.   As he walked down the sidewalk, Bozo waved his wings an' hollared, "Bye!".  The salesman stopped an' started to turn around an' come back.  I had to give him another, "don't even think about it...just keep on goin'" warnin'.  He got the message an' left.
Mom was impressed with how we handled the entire thing an' gave us all rewards. An' I'm glad she got us this new fangled piece of equipment for AHS,  it works really well.  Like I said, they press that button at their own risk.