"She's so Sweet"....NOT!

Oh..."she's so "sweet" lookin'", everyone says.

I'm not puttin' that in my AHS log...nope. Don't think mom's gonna object, either.

Mom gave us a "last call" about 10pm, last nite. She wanted us to do our thing before that front came w/the rain.

We met her at the backdoor...she gave us that pointy finger "come right back" command. Even tapped Lexie on the nose an' had that finger right in front of her eye an' made her look at her, so she couldn't pretend she didn't know what mom was tellin' her. We grinned as usual, givin' her our "sure...of course, mom"...an' zoomed outside.

Mom finished puttin' stuff up in the kitchen, closin' down the house for the night....an' about 15 very quiet minutes from us...she was at the backdoor callin' an' whistlin'.

It was cold, damp....an' silent......it's that silent part that really gets her.....it always makes her suspicious...not sure why. We know what we're doin'.

Mom grabbed her lite an' headed out around the pond to the lil' orange tree. She didn't even bother lookin' anywhere else. First she saw me on the right side of it, checkin' the ground. Then she swung that lite to the left....there was Lexie.

Mom told me to go to the house, an' then went to Lexie. As the got closer...she saw Lexie pick somethin' up off the ground. Mom tried to grab her as she took off trottin' towards the house. With a pretty pitiful, "NOOOOOO"...mom desperately grabbed for Lexie's tail...but she slipped right outa mom's hand.

Mom took off after her, with me followin'. (I knew how this show was gonna end an' didn't want to miss it).

Mom walked into the house an' there was Lexie by dad's chair, just a grinnin' a waggin' her tail. Maybe it was a Christmas present....or maybe she was confirming that she came "right back".....just not alone.

Don't know...but when mom walked around the coffee table an' saw that big ol' possum layin' there w/those bared teeth....she wasn't thrilled.

She grabbed Lexie an' put her in her bedroom w/sleepin' dad. Then looked at that possum....was it playin' possum?...she didn't know..she wasn't gonna touch like they do on tv to find out....but it wasn't on a blanket or nothin'...just the rug. She wasn't gonna pick it up...couldn't "roll" into somethin'....what to do. An' she had to go back outside to get somethin' to put it in. I got on the couch to keep watch while she figured it out.

She hurried outside to get a bigger pot to put it in....then just grabbed a lil' log to use to push it into the pot. She didn't want to waste anytime lookin' for anythin'...'cause in case it was playin' possum...she didn't want it runnin' amuck in the livin' room..(guess she forgot that I wouldn't have let that happen....or the fact I wasn't concerned that would happen....duh)

Anyway, she came inside, quickly scooped it up....had me escort her to the back fence. Good thing she had left that thing to stand on, so she could dump it over the fence into the field...'cause she's short. This was a bigger pot, though an' she did have some concern she'd miss an' dump that possum on her head....not to mention the whole way out to the back, she was worried it would decide to climb outa that pot, if indeed it was playin' possum.

When she got back to the house, out came the pine sol an' she scrubbed the rug...then let Lexie...who was still grinnin' an' waggin' outa the bedroom. Lexie proceeded to double check the livin' room for her possum....but it didn't take her long to figure out mom had removed it.

After all this...mom washed up....then seein' us sittin' in our usuall spots w/ bright shinin' eyes an' grins, thinkin' we had done a great job protectin' her oranges...an' we hadn't been gone very long.....an' it was way early.....she gave us each a hug an' our nite time snack......an' then turned out the lites an' went to bed.

The way I figure.....that's two down...an' there's about a dozen or more in a litter...mom should be more prepared....an' have a possum removal kit handy......bet she hadn't thought about this...or she wouldn't have fallen asleep so fast......after all....AHS is doin' their job.

Not a Nite like the Other

AHS log---I coerced mom into lettin' us out at midnite. I had been up in my tower an' missed "last call". Against her better judgement, she let us out, but not before sittin' us down in front of the backdoor an' usin' "that voice an' finger" tellin' us to "come right back!!"

When dad went to bed, he handed mom his lil' tactical lite...an' told her to keep her shoes on. He said that since it had been rainy all day, an' we had been sleepin' allllll day....we'd want to go outside allllll nite. Mom said that wasn't gonna happen...once episode a week was enough.

So....out we went. I zoomed to the left corner, where earlier in the nite, we had chased a possum into Ginger's yard (w/dad's help...he says he just went out there to make us be quiet). Lexie zoomed to the right back corner, where we had apprehended the possum earlier in the week.

Mom was watchin' from the backdoor an' had that lite on me. She yelled at me to remember what she said, "RIGHT BACK!". I immediately left that corner (since nothin' was there..not really 'cause of mom) an' ran down the fence line towards Lexie (an outa' mom's sight...just coincidence...really....<wink, wink>).

Then there was a rustlin'....right on the other side of our fence..the part that backs up into the woods. Of course, Lexie an' I began givin' it a warnin'. Somethin' was back there....it could be a cat, a possum, a r'coon, that wild hog...maybe even a coyote. It wasn't givin' us any response...just movin' around back there.

Then.....there was that lite....an mom.

Yep....she had come out, in her words...to retrieve us before we "apprehended anyone...or anythin'.". She shined her lite across the fence, where we were workin'....said she didnt' see or hear nothin'. An' since I hadn't been givin' off my rare, "I'm gonna eat you alive/balistic/serious warnin'", it wasn't a person, mom said that any critter on the other side of the fence wasn't in our jurisdiction. Upon that declaration...she ordered us into the house. After one last sniff test along the fence, Lexie an' I decided that we might as well go in. Whatever was there, wasn't gonna tangle w/mom...an' us.... an' had gone.

We were waitin' in the kitchen when mom made it back to the house. She said we did pretty good an' we got a reward.

We were still pretty amped up an' wantin' to play, so a game of chase an' biteyface were happenin', when mom said she was goin' to bed...an' if we still wanted to do that...we'd have to do it in the dark...then she turned out all the lites.

Geez.....maybe if she napped durin' the day like us, she'd be more fun........

Out in the Fog.....

AHS Log---Last nite was foggy, not mom's favorite kind of nite to be traipsin' all over the backyard after midnite...but there she was....
Mom had worked late on some orders, an' when she was finished, she started closin' up...turnin' off lites, lockin' doors.....that sort of stuff. I had been layin' by her an' was ready to call it a nite, too. As mom went to lock the backdoor.....she noticed that Lexie wasn't in the house. This isn't really unusual. Lexie loves to lay outside at nite when it's cool. 
So, mom opened the backdoor expectin' to find Lexie on her lil' porch. Nope...not there......mom told me to go find her. I went down the path where she likes to lay by the grape arbor.....nope...not there. I went to check some of her other places. 
All of a sudden, mom heard me barkin'. She grabbed her lite an' went out into the fog. 
That big lite of hers doesn't really do much good in fog. Visibility isn't really good. The nite sounds seem magnified an' all the bushes an' tree limbs seem closer...bigger...darker. As she made her way down one of the trails towards where she heard me, that's all she could see.....then everything seemed to go silent. 
Mom made to the back, where it's more open....not a thing was movin'. She went across the back an' still didn't see Lexie or me. When she made it back to the deck, she found me waitin', but no Lexie. She started over, goin' down another trail to the back. It was a good 15 minutes before she even caught a glimpse of Lexie. A quick glimpse, as Lexie slipped off into the fog as silent as a ghost. 
Off mom went on her trail....trails. I stayed on the deck watchin' the blinkin' of mom's lite....an' the two of 'em goin' in an' out all over the yard, even sometimes passin' me. Mom would follow Lexie, then lose her...then find her again....then see Lexie trottin' off w/her ears back an' flappin', her head up high to keep the tail an' bottom half of the big possum that he had in her mouth from draggin' the ground. (I had warned Lexie to leave it back when mom sent me to look for her, don't know why she don't listen to me). 
As I watched this, I was thinkin' that mom's feelin's about Lexie's ears was changin' a bit. Mom tried callin' her, tellin' her to stop, tellin' her to "leave it"...to "come here"....an' I know Lexie heard some of this, 'cause she'd look at mom an' then take off w/those ears just a flappin' behind her. Mom was not happy about this an' I think I heard somethin' about a tazer. 
This went on for about 45 long minutes...in the fog. At 1 am. Mom lost Lexie. She had tried to cut her off on one of the paths an' then didn't know which way she went. On her last trip around the yard, she ended up back at the deck. 
Mom came inside thinkin' she'd close Lexie's door, the backdoor an' turn off the lites...maybe Lexie would at least come closer to the house, an' mom could bribe her.
There I was inside. There on MY bed was Lexie. There on MY bed by Lexie was the possum. 
Mom had been outside for about the last 15-20 minutes by herself. She closed the door, closed Lexie's lil' door. Took out the lil' piece of pizza that she had tucked into her pocket to bribe Lexie w/, an' gave a piece to me ('cause I'm the good one)...then when Lexie came over to get a piece, mom gave it to her...then grabbed her collar an' locked her into her bedroom w/sleepin' dad.
Me an' mom both looked at the possum on MY bed. She was sortin' thru all the possible solutions....was it "playin' possum or not?" bein' the first problem. She wasn't gonna do that check they show on tv...no way was she gonna touch it....not even w/gloves. The shovel was way out back....again...what if it was just "playin"...she couldn't leave it loose in the house. Finally, she went out to the deck....got one of her big plastic flower pots, kinda rolled my blankie so the possum fell into the pot. Then she grabbed her lite an' told me to come w/her. 
When we got to the back fence, mom tried to dump the possum over it into the field. She forgot, she's short....we've got an' 8 foot fence. There was no way for her to dump it w/out the danger of it fallin' back....on her head. She finally found a lil' rollin' cart that she dragged over to the fence an' that worked. We went back to the house, an' she let Lexie outa' the bedroom. 
After puttin' my blankie in the wash, w/soap an' bleach on the "extra dirty/sanitize settin'" mom turned out all the lites an' headed to bed. I followed an' settled down in the doorway for the nite. Both of us ignorin' Lexie sniffin' all over the place lookin' for her possum.

One for the Books....

Oh my gosh.....last nite was one for the books...AHS log........I was up in my tower doin' some neighborhood surveillance, when it happened. I was shocked, but immediately let out some very loud warnin's.
I saw him comin' from between two houses, down by the corner, an' into the street. Then he proceeded to make his way down the street towards our house. He was stil a few houses down from us.


I was in high alert...I sent out some very stern warnin's. He musta' finally heard me an' figured out that he had been made. He crossed the street an' stopped by the lil' drainage ditch. His head was slowly goin' back n' forth tryin' to locate me.
This was a serious situation...I watched him silently as he stood there. I knew what I had to do....an' ran downstairs. This called for witnessess an' possible backup.....an' someone w/thumbs to open doors an' help to possibly apprehend. I went to find mom.

She was at her computer. I gave her some nudges....then plain as day signals for her to follow me. It was late, so, I'll give her that excuse as to why she didn't "get it". She asked if I wanted out. I let her think that, just to get her up outa that chair. Then when she got up...I herded her towards the stairs. I wouldn't let her get to the backdoor. She finally stopped an' asked me to "show her".

I gave her a quick "yip" an' ran to the stairs. As she followed, as went up 'em to my tower room an' jumped up on that bed. He was still there, right there.. across the street.
Mom finally made it up there, saw me..an' she climbed up in the bed beside me an' looked out the window.
She looked out the middle window....an' told me she didn't see anythin'. I barked out a warnin' an' tried to point out where he was.

Mom looked again...but this time outa the side window.....he was on the move an' was startin' to cross the street towards our house. I was really in active mode, now.....I was yellin'. He stopped in the middle of the street, an' I could tell he had zeroed in on me. An' now...mom saw him, too!

I let out some more serious warnin's....an' it musta made him a believer...he changed directions an' went up our neighbor's driveway an' then headed down the sidewalk towards the corner.
Mom an' I watched him till he was outa sight.

She told me I did a good job....an' that I was right to scare him off.
I heard her tell dad that was the biggest cat she has ever seen, an' she's never seen it around our neighborhood before. All I can say is that is definitely somethin' we DON'T need another rogue neighborhood cat!

Just another nite....

My job's done....I'll be in my tower. 

Mom let us out w/the "come right back order"...just about 15 minutes, ago. Our last "out" before lites out. 
I checked in w/mom an' then laid down. Mom finished shuttin' down everythin', an' then asked me where Lexie was.

I got up an went to the backdoor w/mom. We both looked out, mom whistled....no Lexie. 
Then we both heard her barkin'....an' it sounded way off...I looked at mom for comfirmation about the same time she gave me the order to "go find Lexie!". 

Off I went towards the back fence, while mom grabbed her lite. Then she was right behind me. 
It was quiet. I went to the corner an' looked around the back of dad's shed an' mom's greenhouse. Mom shined her lite....we didn't see anythin'....didn't hear anythin'. Nothin' was makin' any noise an' nothin' was movin'...an' no Lexie. 

That corner is notorious for possums. It's the fence between our yard an' Ginger's. An' Ginger's dad has a big shed in that corner an' a big tree....an' worse...a big possum den. They multlply an' climb that tree an' go down our fence line an' eat mom's oranges. 
Mom was afraid Lexie had dug under the fence or somethin'...an' since she can't hear...mom was startin' to get a nigglin' panic. But I was there an' I knew I'd find her. 

I started trackin' her...an' mom was callin' an' whistlin', an' we both made our way outa that corner an' around the front of dad's shed.....

Then we heard her barkin'...an' lots of noise from inside dad's shed! Mom noticed that one side of the doors to the shed, was completely off the track an' layin' half inside. She moved it and shined her lite inside just in time to see a black n' tan shape climb over the lil' tractor in there an' disappear to the far back. 

Bein' mom....she just ripped that door completely off the track an' moved it outside. Then got Lexie's attention an' told her to get to the house. I'm guessin' that last barkin' of Lexie's was 'cause she had been successful in breakin' into dad's shed...but had successfully trapped herself inside, lol. 
Anyway, I didn't had to be told to go to the house....I kinda figured I was on the "good" list, Lexie had been found...an' after watchin' mom rip that door off...just maybe stayin' on that "good list" might be a good move. I was pretty sure she wasn't happy, especially since now, she had to reblock the entry to that shed in the dark. 

After she did that, mom went to the house, where I was waitin', but no Lexie. Mom wasn't in the mood to go huntin' her, so she got her police whistle an' used it. (She's startin' to use this more an' more). Lexie came to the house w/a big grin....an' soakin' wet. Guess she got hot climbin' all over in that shed an' decided to take a dip in her pond to cool off. She ran in the house an' jumped on the couch. Mom made her get down, then Lexie jumped on dad's chair an' laid down. Mom made her get down....an' then Lexie went an' rolled all over MY bed! It was like musical chairs, w/out the music. Mom finally got ahold of her an' toweled her off. Believe it or not...but she was just wet...no mud at all! An' still grinnin'! 
Now, Lexie's mostly dried off....I'm in my tower....outside is closed....an' mom's loaded the washin' machine w/towels an' blankets (from my bed, the couch an' dad's chair) an' is off to bed......just another nite.

AHS log, Sunday 11:30 pm

11:00 PM-

Well......remember me sayin' this kind of weather makes all kinds of critters get bold........it's clear, it's cold...it's kinda bright......perfect for AHS operations.

Unfortunantly......we have a private contractor (mom) who doesn't understand just how much we love our job....nor does she understand the restraints that she puts on us are downright completely impossible for us to comply with.

Dad thought it was awfully quiet outside....an' we hadn't checked in w/mom for sometime...at least 30 minutes or so.

He took his lite (he's got his own now...it's some kind of tactical lite) an' went out lookin' for us.

He found us.

We had a big situation, an' we had been takin' turns workin' it out. Back by the far fence was a pipe....a long pipe...w/a hole just big enough for a possum to scoot down inside...all the way down inside. It's closed on one end....so, naturally....we were workin' on tryin' to move it or lift it up...or somethin'....
It was about 12 feet long....we could see an' smell the possum inside an' at the other end of it. There was no way it could come back out....it was too little for us....too long to reach....nothin' else to do but dig under it. Don't ask me why.....sometimes you've just gotta use the tools God gave you...an' think outside the box....anythin' is better then nothin'.

It was there...we were there....an' we weren't givin' up!......until dad showed up. Then he gave a cease and desist order Although I protest that what we were doin' was entirely legal. An' then he told us to go to the house an' report to mom.

We did. Actually, we were kinda proud of our lil' operation. We had chased it outa mom's orange tree.
For some reason.....she didn't seem as happy......she wasn't smililn'......instead, she kinda had that squinty look an' pointed us both to the showers.........

We know what side our 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 welcome, 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.

The Bestest mornin'.......

You know there's that time b'tween nite an' day....when everythin' is kinda grey. For some reason there's a lil' mist an' you don't hear a sound. It's all still, not even the whisper of the leaves. Daylite is just peekin' out. It's the bestest of times...well, except for darkthirty...an' maybe midnite.

Anyway, Lexie an' I were chompin' at the bit. We had gone to bed early in support of mom...actually we had no choice in the matter. She took her cold meds an' it was lites out pretty early around here. We could see the grey slippin' in b'tween the blinds....so, we discussed it an' decided Lexie would go wake up mom, to let us out. (No one can resist Lexie when she turns up the charm w/that huge grin an' waggin' tail).

Lexie gave mom a quick nose poke...then lots of wags an' grins...an' of course it worked...mom got up an' let us out, then she went back to bed.

It was perfect timin'.....it was still that "time". The temperature was cold, everythin' was still like the whole world was holdin' it's breath. As we ran towards the back, we could see our breath in puffs of clouds. Then....it happened! Everythin' stretched an' woke up! The day had really started, an' we were there to see it happen. There was a squirrel comin' out of that nest in dad's pecan tree...an' we surprised him just as he was gettin' to the fence. The birds were flyin' to the back corner where dad put out some wild bird seed. For some reason, those big blue ones don't like the lil' red ones, an' chase 'em off. Lexie an' I don't get involved in that, they need to work it out themselves.

We covered every square inch of that yard..an' then some.....had a great time. But that special time doesn't last very long, so we were ready to go back inside an' wait for the folks to get up an' make breakfast.

Lexie went in thru her lil' door......but I wasn't feelin' like goin' thru that lil' door. I had other ideas. I stood at the back door an' hollered for dad to let me in. (he's my personal doorman....lol). He got up, an' as he went to open the backdoor.....I went thru the lil' door an' raced into his bedroom. He was right behind me as fast as he could close the backdoor an' follow. But he was too late.

I lifted my head from his pillow with a huge grin, as I laid there all stretched out on his side of the bed next to mom. An' I wasn't movin'.....he tried....didn't work.........he gave up. I snuggled down an' snoozed w/mom till she was ready to get up.

As far as I'm concerned....this was the bestest mornin'........