AHS Log-Spring's just around the corner....

Ahhhhh....spring is right around the corner & here at AHS, we're glad to be back in action. This winter hiatus stuff is boring.

 About 2 am, mom got up to get a drink of water...of course, we head to the back door & give her that "look". She lets us out w/her, "now, you come RIGHT back!". We had good intentions, it wasn't our fault....and I did send Lexie in to tell her somethin' was up, while I kept a close eye on that varmit...a loud close eye (if you know what I mean). Well, mom came out w/a flashlite, barefooted & in her stripey jammies to make me quit. 'Cause all that noise was right outside the bedroom window, where dad was sleepin'.

First she checks us, then the roof & then....(I had to point it out) the top of the tree. Yep, right there at the tippy top was a lil' possum, holding on for dear life. That's right...he better hold on tight.....

Mom told us to come inside, & since I already knew, there was no chance of us gettin' it, we came in. Once they make it to the top of that tree, they just scamper across the roof to who knows where. So, knowin' possums....since they aren't too smart, we'll get another chance at him.

Anyway,  Mom closed outdoors again, just in case.

Now, this morning (normal mornin' hours accordin' to mom)...she hears us makin' a racket again. She goes out to check, & Lexie immediately runs to tell her all about it & lead her to the scene all excited like. An' she greets mom all covered in mud & now, so is mom.

When mom makes it to the fence, where I am.....I point out to her our culprit, that is just out of reach. So, so close..but we can't get to him. On top of that, he's slow & maybe stuck.  At least he sure looks stuck.....classic case of a round thing tryin' to fix in a square hole.

Once again, being the CEO of AHS..I decided that to make an executive decision an' assign Lexie the job of keeping an eye on him, freeing myself up for more important things...like warning off the couple of chows that were bein' walked on my sidewalk in front of my house, helpin' mom w/her buttered toast. You know...that kinda stuff.

Meanwhile after a bit, it got kinda quiet...too quiet...mom goes out to check on Lexie. There was evidence that she had tried to dig under the fence in the mud.  I guess the mud got to her an' she had rinsed off in the pond. We found her just sitting there by the fence, soakin' wet, (but w/mud on the top of her head)  staring at that turtle...just daring it to move.

Mom says it's gonna be a long day.

The Mooch....

Don't know why I'm even commentin' on it. It's an ongoin' situation , & I don't see it ever changin'. Actually, it's a "who" & not a "what"...Lexie...aka- "the mooch", "the wheedler", "the suck-up". 

It almost always happens....mom or dad will call us into the kitchen. Then they'll give us somethin'...maybe a cookie or piece of jerky..just somethin'. I'll get mine...take it to my bed-central & TRY to enjoy it. Lexie gets hers about a nano second after I get mine...and then proceeds to scarfs it down, then runs after me, stares at me while I'm tryin' to enjoy mine...hopin' I'll let her have it. 

When she decides I'm ignorin' her (the best I can), she runnnnssss back in the kitchen, sits, wags her lil' tail, ..prob'bly grins or holds her paw up in the hope to score an extra. Oh...I know what's goin' on. Believe it or not...a lot of times she gets away w/it, & gets another one.

As I finish mine, I listen for a chuckle, the lid to our cookie jar, or any talkin'. Then I make my way back in the kitchen. An' lo & behold..just in time to see her either gettin' another treat or munchin' on one. 

Naturally, they feel guilty & give me another, too. You'd think that'd be the end of it...but nooooo. Lexie is tryin' all over again w/the cute act.

I'm not about to leave a second time...I wanna know if she gets away w/it.

She's got them convinced that the extra she got by herself didn't count, & that if we are both there...we have to both get somethin'. It wouldn't be fair to only give one of us somethin' in front of the other.

Actually, you have to give the lil' con artist credit for a well thought out scheme.

I'm not really concerned....& I'm not tellin' about the fact me & mom have a secret silent signal, or the fact that when she does it...I very quietly go to her & she gives me somethin' special. (It's our lil' secret).

What's the Alarm About?

I dunno what's w/mom. First off, I don't know why she gets so suspicious when she don't see or hear us. Second, our house isn't that big, you'd think she'd be more aware of what's goin' on.

She's been leavin' the greenhouse open durin' the day, 'cause it's been so sunny. At nite, she closes it up 'cause we've still got pretty cool nites.

It was a lil' before dark that Lexie an' I followed her out there to close it up, an' then went on an' did a patrol. Mom went back in the house an' got busy, well busy doin' mom stuff...borin' as heck as far as Lexie an' I are concerned. It didn't even evolve the kitchen.

Awhile later, long after dark, mom took a moment an' realized she hadn't heard or seen either one of us since she closed up the greenhouse. I wasn't in my tower, Lexie wasn't nappin' in the kitchen or on the couch. Neither one of us were in our beds. So, mom went to the back door an' opened it..then proceeded to call us. No answer. She whistled an' called us again. Still no answer. About then, she was startin' to get concerned an' called louder...nothin'....not even Ginger from next door.

Now she was gettin' worried.......really worried....

We were, too.....

Lexie went thru her lil' door to stand on her lil' porch to get a better look to see what mom was lookin' for......an' I finally pushed past mom's legs to see, too........

Still not sure what the emergency was. Lexie an' I were stayin' outa the way an' just nappin' in her room when we heard her open that backdoor. We came right away an' were standin' behind her tryin' to help......but she never turned around.

At least we got a cookie treat outa' it. Maybe I need to write a book., "An Airedale's Guide to Raisin' Mom"

AHS does Squirrel Rescue

After dinner last nite, I went out to do..well, what I needed to...an' to check the perimeter. Good thing....I found somethin' an' after tryin' to solve it myself, I let out an alert. I couldn't leave it, an' finally dad came out to see what was what. He didn't see anythin' but me tryin' to tear down Mr JD's fence post. He figured I had chased a lil' field mouse or rat into it an' was just tryin' to get at it. So, he made me leave it an' go back in the house.

A couple of hours later, me an' Lexie both confinced mom an' dad that we needed to go out. Dad figured it was a safe be that whatever had learned it's lesson an' had escaped an' (accordin' to mom musta had a brain burb) thought I had forgotten (really?!?).

Anyway, he let us out an' naturally, I zoomed straight across the yard to that back corner. Within seconds, I was back to soundin' an alert....along w/my assistant (cohort) Lexie. We were havin' a fit....a loud fit.

While mom was laughin'...dad grabbed her lite an' a lead an' took off across the yard. (He has a different approach then mom). After a minute or two, he came back in the house w/me. Turned me over to mom an' then headed out after Lexie. When he returned w/her, he told mom about the fence post an' that somethin' must be in there...'cause he could hear somethin'. mom said she wanted to see what we were concerned about. (She knows us...an' even for us, this was a tad unusual).

So, dad took mom out to show her where the problem was. There was somethin' in there alright. Mom could hear it. Dad thought maybe it was a bird...but then mom pointed to the lil' openin' at the bottom an' said she doesn't know of any birds w/red fur. There pokin' at the bottom was a lil' squirrel's paw.

Somehow, he had completely fallen down that hole in the post an' got himself stuck. I had been tryin' for hours to unstuck him...but that post wasn't budgin'. Mom went an' called Mr JD, an' told him that dad was outback an' he had a squirrel stuck in his fence post an' it needed rescuein'. A few minutes later, dad was in the house borrowin' mom's long barbque tongs an' puttin' on his grillin' gloves....he an' Mr JD had a plan.

First, they put a hose down the post, an' the squirrel grabbed on an' climbed out....but when he saw dad an' Mr JD...he ran the wrong way an' got himself stuck in the other part. So, dad tried to grab his tail w/the tongs with the intent to pull him out an' grab him w/the glove....but the squirrel scrunched up his tail an' dad couldn't get to him, all he got was a lil' tuft of tail hair.

Their next plan was to cover the post hole....an' poke him w/the hose from the other end an' make him back out. That worked....he backed himself out, grabbed the edge of the fence w/a death grip, poked his head around, looked at dad an' then hightailed it across our wooden fence to the trees.

Whew! That lil' guy was probably stuck there most of the day an' hours into the nite.. He had almost lost his bark when mom heard him...it was a lil' hoarse an' desperate soundin'... Lexie an' I chase squirrels as they run from tree to tree, even occasionally when they get on the ground. But we've never caught one...not sure if we really want to....it may be all about the chase. But....we do know the sound of distress....an' when somethin' isn't right. When that happens, if we can't fix it, then we're gonna get help. It's nice to know that mom an' dad pay attention.

Don' t mess w/the Routine....

Interesting morning....first off..I was sure dad forgot to set his alarm, so I woke him up at 3:30 am w/one loud "woof"...really close to him.. Needless to say, he got up (I don't have a snooze alarm..& he knew that my paw was ready to give him a lil' "push" if he didn't). 

He let us out & closed the big door.  

Well, it's not like I have a calendar in my pocket. I didn't know he didn't have to go to work. Which woulda' been A-ok in my book, but guess what happened. He went back to bed. Not only that, he forgot to open Lexie's lil' doggy door. We were stuck outside!

We waited, we patrolled (Tthere's not much goin' on at that time of mornin'. the Nite varmits have already been out & about & are snoozin...the early mornin' ones haven't gotten up, yet)...we even tried waitin' patiently. Then we got to worryin' about mom. You see, after dad leaves for work...I get up in the big bed w/mom (on dad's pillow) & Lexie stations herself in the doorway, while mom sleeps....totally secure & safe w/us on the job. We didn't know dad was still there...where was mom?...what was going on? It had been almost two hours...this was not right at all! So, I started hollerin' w/Lexie addin' her two cents.

Almost immediately...the big door opened & there was dad. There we were sittin' right on the other side..waitin' for him.   Before he could say or do anything...we zoomed past. Lexie grapped her stuffed puppy (just in case mom needed it for some reason) & we both made a beeline for mom.

There she was ...asleep. Lexie pushed her puppy in mom's face, I jumped up & started sniffin' & kissin' to make sure she was ok. She seemed ok...there seemed to be some muttering..as she told us to lay down & go to sleep. Then she rolled over, ...then started grumblin' about grit on her face when she pulled up on the covers (which was kinda amazin' that she could pull 'em up, since I was layin' across her chest & Lexie was across her legs.)

Then dad tried to get back in bed...I scooted over & managed to get on the edge of his pillow (I was gonna share..kinda). He laid down....then I started wrigglin' & pushin' w/my legs...by the time I was good & comfy..he was barely hangin' on the edge. Mom went back to sleep (w/Lexie's puppy tucked next to her), me & Lexie were snoozin'...but dad..well, he finally gave up & got up. Woo hoo, more room for us!

Pleadin' Not Guilty.....

It was  "Monday" alllll day long.

I was happy when mom came home from the store. Tried to cheer her up, since she was mad at the grocery store that couldn't figure out how to take her free coupons from someone call the Green Giant....so, she just left the stuff there. Then she gets the mail, an' gives me a dirty look....seems the water bill was a tad bit higher...an' for some reason, mom's got a mind like one of them elefants about certain things. Just 'cause I may have, might have, there's no proof it was me.....turned an' left on the water in her sink a couple of times.. (that is my favorite place to get a drink an' the best water ever!!)......but then dad did turn it on for me an' forgot it one time, too.....so, I'm thinkin' maybe I can blame him for the other times....like I said...there's no proof.  
It's all simply circumstantial.....
Really......let's face it, I don't do "self serve" unless I'm desperate.....

It's the cat's fault

I'm blaming it mostly on that cat...an' maybe the full moon.

It tried to come in our yard (yes, I've told ya'll before it's crazy). We chased it back over the fence...of course. Well, it kinda rained a lil' last nite an' was all drizzly durin' the day. So, that meant things (dirt) was kinda muddy.

I also came to the conclusion that Lexie is short...er.

We spent a lot of time barkin', not only in frustation at not catchin' that cat..but also tellin' it what's gonna happen if we catch it. But, it was kinda late, so mom called us in.

Naturally, we were in a high state of excitement & wanted mom to know of our adventure. I'm pretty sure she figured it out..because first thing she did was stand back, her eyes got really big, & yelled, "nooooooo.....look at your feet!". Then she grabbed Lexie & they were off to the showers. I took a moment & looked at my feet. YUCK! I ran to the shower, too..but mom had Lexie in there first. I have to admit she was in bad shape. Not only was her feet muddy, but her legs, tummy & even her beard. She was almost black all over.

We were in the same place...don't know how she does it. It must be 'cause she's short...er, & wallows in it. I laid there & watched her get soaped up twice comtemplating this. I looked at my feet & again went, "yuck". (I don't like my feet even to be dirty). Finally, mom dried Lexie off, & I almost bumped her outa the way tryin' to get in there & get my feet clean. Mom laughed...just my feet were dirty..not my legs, belly or beard..just feet. She cleaned 'em & dried them w/a towel.

Lexie had been standin' by & watchin' & watin'. As soon as mom gave me the all clear..Lexie & I went straight to mom's bed, pulled back the covers & wallowed in the clean sheets w/our clean feet. Mom wasn't happy....we were clean...but still a lil' damp....good thing she had some dry sheets handy.....an' dad was still up 'cause it was Friday nite.....

Tunnel job

Mom's learned.....last nite at the first sound of Lexie barkin'...mom was out that door w/her light. Dad didn't have time to deal w/that critter hole at the back fence, an' that's the first place mom looked. (Plus the bushes movin' kinda gave Lexie away). Mom shined her lite down there an' there was just part of a furry butt an' tail stickin' out. The tunnel had tunneled some more.

Mom told Lexie to get outa there (in THAT voice) an' Lexie backed herself outa there real quick, then looked to mom thinkin' mom was gonna help her somehow. Well..surprise surprise...mom did. She went an' got the water hose an' standin' back a lil' in the bushes, she let loose w/the water an' fill that tunnel up.....about half way, she decided that she might oughta get that lite shinin' on her work.....what if whatever Lexie thinks is in there decided havin' his quarters flooded wasn't gonna work for him an' he swam out an' ran to the bushes (mom) for safety. Mom's experienced havin' furry creatures run across her feet before in the dark an' believe you me...she don't like it none.

Anyway, she only had to tell Lexie a couple of times not to even think about checkin' out that water filled muddy hole. Lexie an' I kept an eye on it...an' then did a check of the surroundin' areas....we found nothin' an' when mom declared it "all gone" an' said "everyone in the house"...we were all for it. The excitement was still runnin' high as with all AHS jobs....it was like ol' times w/mom helpin' out w/her lite an' us on the chase...an' typically, when she's involved...we don't actually get to catch anythin'...but in the end, we still get a reward for a job well done....tonite it was big Blue'sBones. So...alls well than ends well......but I do seem to remember her tellin' dad that she's buyin' some quick mix concrete today......