No Holiday Break for AHS

Humph...I guess the critters thought AHS was on holiday break or somethin'. 

Last nite, Lexie & I had to chase a possum outa the yard...in the mud...at midnite. 

You shoulda seen mom's face....proud isn't a word I'd use.... when she saw Lexie come inside w/her lil' legs the same color as the saddle on her back. Lexie, of course,  had a big smile on her face, 'cause she wears that mud like a badge of honor....good work as far as she's concerned.

This mornin' (it's prime squirrel weather, cold, grey & damp)...we've been takin' turns keepin' one squirrel treed. He's huggin' the trunk on that pecan tree so hard, it's like a second skin. Oh, he got cheeky earlieer...sittin' out on a limb like one of those toy squirrels w/his tail all curled in a "S" shape, just twitchin' every now & again. But that was when Lexie was out there by herself...when I came out...he decided not to be so brave. Then...when our neighbor, Mr Hawk & his wife decided to come check out the field & woods behind us....that ol' squirrel started to really tried to pretend he's part of that tree.

So far...we're all at an impasse.. & the squirrel's in the middle pressed against that tree trunk. The hawks are ridin' the air waves & we're settled in under the tree......stay tuned....

Ho Ho Ho...Around the block we go.....

Christmas day was great!

As usual, a couple of unexpected moments..like when M'shell came over & I zipped past her for a quick zoom down the street, back to her...bypassed her & around the other block..till dad came w/his truck. He opened the door & mom yelled (from the end of the block) for me to "get in the truck".

 I heard her & went to the driver's side, where he was & hopped in. An' I wasn't the only one that heard her yellin....so did some guy who was walkin' out in his yard. He thought she was yellin' at him to get in dad's stopped truck (he didn't see me).

He did apologize for callin' her crazy after he figured out what was going on.

Then when we all get back home, the kichen had to be mopped..'cause "someone" left the water runnin' in the sink durin' all the excitement.

But after all this, we got to open all our gifts & stockin's. Lexie an' I  got new kong balls that squeak really loud, & new stuffies (Lexie's favorite is her lil' raindeer), & some kong pull toys (they squeak, too)...lots of chews & treats.

Now, about these treats..they were presents from Santa. I understand we can't have 'em all at once. (Lexie would try) But, I think we shouldn't have to "work" for them...they're ours...gifts...We should be able to get one when we want one...just like dad does his choc. covered cherries he got for Christmas. Or mom & her cookies....

Toe Job

You probably can't tell, but that white thing is my left foot. It's still hurts & I won't put my foot down. I think I broke or sprained my toe.   I'm still takin' that medicine from my dr, & I've been under house arrest...but it's still hurtin'. Mom put on her "Nurse Nancy" hat & decided to practice some of her medicine. She's had a couple of broke toes in the past (karate is tough on old ladies). What made them feel better was supportin ' em by taping them up to another toe. So, she decided to treat it like that. She bribed me w/some jerky & wrapped my foot & then put a sock on it. I let her, no biggie.  I'm patient.  

As soon as she was finished, I hopped off the couch & immediately began to remove it. Lexie had been on the coffee table observin', and she jumped down to help me. I got a piece where it was tied, Lexie got the other piece, then mom got involved...then we was goin' in circles. Mom came to her senses & stopped. Then she announced, "who wants some jerky?" Well.....we froze & beat her to the kitchen. After that, I forgot all about that stuff on my foot...I think that pill makes me sleepy zzzzzz

Fun with Cones

Fun w/cones...Lexie's to be exact....lol.

First off, mom caught her doin' a pretzel move an' managin' to scratch her face w/her back foot, so dad was sent to get a bigger cone. Then Lexie got herself stuck behind the kitchen table an' the front window...that was funny. She managed to back herself out. She's knocked all kinds of stuff off things, Mom says her legs are all bruised up. Then with the big cone, Lexie was tryin' to eat her green beans mom gave her...an' was just pushin' 'em all over the place w/her tongue....'cause she can't reach 'em w/her mouth. So, mom went to take off the cone an' between the two of 'em...they managed to knock over both our bowls of food, all over the kitchen. But the best one of all.....picture this....mom's standin' on the deck w/Lexie on her long lead. Lexie's out at the end of it, squatted down finally takin' a much needed "p" break. (She's been havin' trouble doin' it on a lead w/an audience).....I thought I heard somethin', an' ran across the yard to check.....now, really...how was I s'posed to see a thin black lead line strung across the yard..in the dark? At least I put on the breaks enough that neither mom or Lexie fell completely down. I just hope Lexie doesn't get some kind of post traumatic pee disorder from it. I can't wait to see what happens on day 3.

Wake up Call

Awwww.....(stretch)...what a great day! .  It started out foggy......Lexie an' I love foggy mornin's, an' we like to get up an' out in it...early.  

Mom was sleepin' on her left side. I'm sure she thought that would deter any early mornin' wake ups. (I usually wake her up w/a kiss). Well....when you wanna go out...you wanna go out.  .   I just gave her a big paw smack on the back of her head...that woke her up.
Oh, I know from experience that a nosey nose poke usually works in cases like this.  But most times it just results to a pat on the head an' then she'll roll back over an' snuggle deeper in the blankets.  I swear she can do this in her sleep.   Trust me....a paw slap gets instant results.   

They were everywhere.....

Good morning!!! 

Started this mornin' with a bang...literally.

After spendin' yesterday afternoon pickin' up pecans outa the yard...which is a chore in itself 'cause the ground's, also, covered in brown leaves, Mom left the bucket of pecans on a box....for some reason she thought me an' Lexie shouldn't have full access.
Well, this mornin'...she somehow knocked the entire 3 gallon bucket of pecans over,  & all gadzillion of em were rollin' all over the livingroom.   It was awesome! At one point she was usin' Lexie's frizbee to scoop 'em up...meanwhile, I was helpin' in my own way. I'd run over & check out her progress, then grab one...go eat it. Then she told me to quit that, so, I worked on the ones that had rolled way over by my bed....I thought that was only fair...save her the trouble of havin' to look for 'em.  Lexie had a stash back behind dad's chair an' was muchin' away.  

Hey, mom can't say we don't help.   

Lexie doin' her AHS duty

Have to give her props, Lexie does take her AHS duties seriously...sometimes. Yesterday, it was cold...has been cold for a couple of days. Well, another weather blew thru w/lots of wind, a lil' rain..an' it raised the temps to 80.

We stayed in the house while it rained, an' napped. So, tonite Lexie went out on patrol. I was layin' by mom when I heard Lexie soundin' off. I could tell she was needin' backup. Found her out in the back corner goin' behind mom's greenhouse an' dad's shed.

Then I picked up on what she was after. Between the two of us, we managed to chase it up on the fence.

I had it "treed" (well, fenced) an' sent Lexie in to get mom. Lexie zoomed inside, got a quick drink, went to mom an' let her know we had a situation....an' she wasn't takin' "no, I'm not goin' out in the dark" for an' answer.

Mom, finally, got her lite an' followed Lexie out back. It was still pretty overcast, so it's really dark back there in that corner. I showed mom where that critter was last seen. She shined her lite there, didn't see nothin'. I showed her again...she shined it all up an down the fence....I was still tryin' to tell her where to look.

She finally shined it up over her head, after warnin' me there better not be anythin' there. There wasn't...I finally had to stand against that fence to get her to understand where to look. Even Lexie was right there.

Mom shined her lite at the top of the fence..the kept goin'up....an' sure 'nuff...she finally saw it. A big ol' possum in the tree...problem was...it had climbed from the top of our fence to the top of the tree in Ginger's yard. Which is like gettin' a total free pass...not only was that possum the same size as Ginger...it was way up in that tree...an' since she's only got feet an' knees...hardly any legs....that possum can pretty much do what ever it wants in her yard.

Anyway....mom stated the obvious that it had gotten away (duh)....we knew that....even Lexie knew that....we just wanted mom to be informed as to what was goin' on.

In fact, Lexie an' I were waitin' in the kitchen when mom finally made it back to the house. An' yes, we were fully expectin' a reward for a job well done. Mom didn't say much...just closed Lexie's lil' door, put up her lite....came in the kitchen an' saw us sittin' there....did that thing w/her eyebrow...but got us each a cookie.

What side the biscuit is buttered on...

Well, dad.....don't laugh...but we know what side our biscuit is buttered on. We're airedales, after all. 

You wonder about things we do, & don't know why we do 'em. Well, a lot of things just come natural, like common sense, common courtesy...& no, it's not calculating..well, not all the time, anyway. Like tonite, mom saved a lil' bit of that taco soup & sprinkled a lil' cheese on it for me & Lexie. We licked those bowls so clean, she coulda' just put 'em back up in the cabinet. (Believe me, Lexie did a second check & even she couldn't detect anythin' left in 'em.). I got finished w/mine first & left my bowl for Lexie's spot check. Passed you in your chair, as I made my way directly to mom at her spot on the couch. Gave her a lil' nosepoke & lick, like I always do, after finishin' w/any special treat. Just my way of sayin' "thank you". She pets me & rubs my back & tells me, "you're very welcome!". After a couple of back scratches, I go on my way. Then it's Lexie's turn. She gives mom her thank you, usually stands up to give mom a proper kiss (depending on the condition of Lexie's beard, mom may let her, otherwise it's an "aire kiss"). Then mom, rubs her ears & tells her, "you're very welcom, sweetie". Then Lexie goes on her way, usually out her lil' door. We always do this. Been doin' it for years. Same as when we've been outside for awhile, as soon as we come in, we make a beeline for mom, just to "check in". Just usually a nosepoke or quick kiss. No big deal. 

You're still tryin' to figure out what kind of angle we're workin', aren't you? You think that we might just be checkin' to see if she's got somethin' else, nahhhh....we wouldn't do that, it'd be too obvious. We're smarter than that...remember, we're 'dales.

Fruit of our Labor----AHS

People are always wonderin' why we had to start our own security firm (AHS), an' why we're always so busy. Well, I'll tell you.....there used to be a huge huge field an' woods behind our house an' on the other side a huge field. All kinds of varmits lived there...you can imagine.

They first took away the huge field an' built a retention pond (that's behind us) an' apartment houses on the rest. That drove all the critters to the woods an' any other place they could find....the coyotes, opossums, squirrels, rabbits, rats, mice, an' even the raccoons....an' everythin' else.

Then they cleared the woods...not even leavin' a single tree. The coyotes left to go to a lil' patch of woods a few blocks from us (they still roam 'cause they're surrounded by houses). The raccoons moved to some drainage ditch areas between neighborhoods Ithey still manage to get into yards an' house attics when the mood suits 'em an' when they're lookin' for a warm place or food).

That left the field on the side of our yard.....it's pretty barren. Where did the rest of the critters an' varmits go? Well, they moved into the neighborhood, of course. Mostly...our yard.

We've got trees....pecan, citrus, fig...bunch of other kind that make great places to nest or hide...or escape us...we've even got grape vines. The grapes disappear as fast as they grow. There's even got a pond for drinkin'. Mom's had to just about give up tryin' to grow vegetables....the varmits wipe 'em out overnight just as stuff gets ripe. My M'shelle has called our yard a virtual smorgasbord for wildlife.

Right now....it's gettin' cold "er"......we've got our paws full. Mom just went out to check her citrus trees......she's appalled at the hundreds of fruit that's on the ground, picked an' eaten by varmits durin' the nights. One lil' orange tree mom was lookin' forward to tastin' it's fruit, since this was it's first year to have any...was picked clean last nite....she was only able to pick one lil' orange. She was not happy. The rest of the citrus trees are huge an' have a lot...but she's still not happy about the thievery.

We do our best..but since mom won't let us stay out all nite....well, AHS cannot be held responsible.

Here's an example of what we've got to protect.....Meyer lemons, Ponderosa lemons, three different kind of oranges (there's a fourth, but those are still green) an' two different types of Ruby red grapefruit.

Lost in the Fog

Last nite was one of them still an' foggy nites. Not much movin' around...downright spooky accordin' to mom. Naturally, one of us (me or Lexie) would be, as mom says...."outa pocket" at bedtime.

I was sleepin' on the couch, when mom started turnin' off everythin' an' puttin' stuff up for the nite. The last thing was to close Lexie's lil' doggy door....an' tell her to come inside. The nites have been cool an' Lexie loves to lay outside till the very last minute.

Mom called Lexie, as she usually does, but Lexie didn't come runnin'. Then me an' mom heard her warnin' somethin' off by the far fence. There's been a rash of possums, stray cats an' coyotes movin' about in the neighborhood w/the cool nites. So, mom grabbed her big lite an' the both of us took off towards Lexie. Of course I ran ahead to provide backup an' gave off a warnin' to whatever it was.

Mom got about halfway there, when Lexie ran up to her all excited that she was out there, too. Needless to say, mom wasn't nearly as excited. There she was standin' out in the middle of the yard w/a lite that did no good. As she tried to shine it off towards the fence...or anywhere for that matter...it just bounced off the fog, like a wall just a few feet in front of her. The only good it did was for her to see her feet.

"Enough of this"...mom declared, an' told us all to got to the house. Lexie ran ahead an' beat mom inside. Then mom turned around an' called me. I didn't come...so, she called me again. I still didn't come. She resorted to announcin' that she was lockin' me out. Then she closed the big door, turned off the outside lites....turned around........

..there was me an' Lexie standin' behind her in the house w/grins on our faces. I had beat 'em both in the house......mom's so much fun, lol