Coulda' Been a Excitin' Wake up.....

It coulda' been a lot worse, but mom says it may give her nitemares, lol.

Me an' Lexie like to wake mom up in the mornin' w/lil' kisses an' snufflin' to her face.....a paw to make her turn over, if she facin' the wrong way. An' all at what she considers a decent time...like between 7:30 & 8 in the mornin'. 

Dad gets up before daylite, an' of course me an' Lexie get up w/him. We go out, do our thin'....maybe a lil' patrollin'..then we come back inside to nap till it's time to wake mom.

He don't like to turn on all the lites....so as not to wake mom. He'll let us out,then go to her computer to look at his email an' check to see what's happened overnite & drink his coffee. Then when we come back inside, he'll give us a lil' treat an' close Lexie's lil' door. (This is the new protocol mom put in place since the "neighborhood cat fiasco" happened before it was time for us to wake her up). 

Everythin' was goin' on like usual, this mornin'. Mom was asleep, dad got up an' let us out...he got his coffee & then sat down at the computer, leavin' the livin' room lites out. I came back inside.....after a lil' bit....Lexie came back inside.

She was headed towards the bedroom. As she rounded the coffee table, dad noticed she had somethin'.
He got up an' headed her off......an' asked her what she had. Well, she sat down an' showed him......
She was carryin' a lil' possum. Guess she was gonna wake mom up w/a present, lol. 

Anyway, dad didn't have time to go get gloves or nothin'...but he had a treat waitin' for her (I already got mine)...so, he grabbed that. She quickly traded her lil' possum for the treat & dropped it promptly on the livin' room floor.

Dad quickly picked it up by the end of it's tail an' headed out to that back corner by the field. About halfway, the possum decided to wrap his tail around dad's fingers for a more secure position, lol. Dad decided to walk faster an' then dropped it over the fence. 

When dad got back, Lexie was stretched out in his chair w/a big grin....I was layin' on my bed just thinkin' about the fallout if he had been in the shower when Lexie had come inside an' taken her "present" to mom, lol. 

After hearin' dad tell her about his mornin' an' her almost mornin'....mom pointed her finger at Lexie an' told her "it had better not ever happen".....

Personally, I dunno......Lexie's under the impression that mom likes possums....otherwise, why would she pay her for them?

Salmon Cigars.....

Another scorcher of a day.....personally, I could do without summer.....it's hot hot hot down here in Texas. Mom, for some strange reason, spends more an' more time outside.....not me...it's AC all the way...an' that means outside.

Anywho....she came inside an' saw me an' Lexie all stretched out in the livin'room....an' thought we might be bored. (we weren't...we were just enjoyin' the quiet an' cool, lol). 


She went to my birthday loot box...an' got out these humongous salmon jerky "cigars". 



Those things were huge! Almost 2 feet long!....an' super fishy smellin'. Naturally, that smell is what sold 'em for me an' Lexie...mom not too much. But she gave 'em to us anyway. We both grabbed 'em an' headed off to do some serious chewin'. 

I laid down....got into a comfortable position....put that big ol' thin' right there between my front paws, just like I do with any chew......that's when mom started laughin' at me......

Well, you try to hold somethin' between your paws to chew on...an' it be stickin' up two feet in the air....almost a foot over your head!

Lexie had the same problem.....

It only took us a few seconds to figure out that we either had to stand up an' hold that sucker down to chew on the end....or break it.........like Lexie's motto....there's no food that we can't figure out how to get to......

By the way....we loved 'em.....mom said she'd get 'em for us again, but next time, "she'll" break 'em in half for us....

Magic Rock

Went out w/mom an' dad to the back corner. Mom was showin' dad that table she's been workin' on. Ya know...the one she "rescued" from a pile of hurricane damaged trash. 

Anyway, Lexie an' I decided to do a lil' recon in that area.....all of a sudden....

Whoa! I jumped back about three feet....

What the heck?......I had one paw up pointin'...my neck an' nose stretched out.........

Dad an' mom saw me.....an' mom told me to "leave it!"....she had no idea what was against that fence...but for me to act like this...she didn't want me near it until dad checked it out (to be honest, she thought it was a snake). 

Dad came over an' I got a lil' closer, but I didn't want him to be close to the danger by himself, so I went ahead an' walked w/him..just in case he was attacked.

Dad told mom it wasn't a snake....then he picked it up to show her. I was a g'normous rock...with four legs an' a head! Then all of a sudden...it was just a rock again! No legs....no head!

Dad held it up so I couldn't inspect it, so I began to give that spot where it was a really good examination.....just in case there were more. I had my nose down...sniffin' as fast as I could....then all of a sudden, I jumped....mom wasn't s'posed to see that.....I had turned an' there was a big round rock...an' outa the corner of my eye, I thought it was another one of them magic rocks. (mom did apologize for laughin'.....hey, I've never had one of them in my yard, before, and the first one looked just like a rock).
Dad took that turtle to mom, an' they discussed what to do w/it. Dad was for puttin' it on the other side of the yard an' hopin' it'd dig back under the fence.

Mom nixed that idea....she didn't want it anywhere in the yard....because of us (she had noticed that it looked like "someone" had bit off a lil' corner of his "box"...an' there was chip on the backside, too), an' because of her garden veggies...an' because of her fishies. In other words, he was persona non grata in our yard, as far as she was concerned. 

So....she took him thru the house, down the street, around the corner, across the baseball field an' put him in the field behind our house. 

What'd he do? Stuck out his head, stretched his neck to look around....put out his legs, hiked up his box an' took off.....right towards the busy four lane road. He was movin' pretty fast, too.

Mom watched him for a minute or two....sighed...an' then went wadin' in the weeds after him.
She finally caught up w/him, picked him up, an' walked in the other direction an' put him back down.
He never even put his head back in his box...nor his legs...when she put him back down, he stretched his neck out an' was puffin' it out like he was MAD!...then he turned around an' took off....but at least this time, he was headed towards the woods.....

Mom was sure wishin' she had brought her camera...'cause she thought it was kinda funny they way he was actin'.....then she noticed that he "may" be headed for the woods...but he "may" be headed back to our yard, since he'd have to pass that corner of our yard on the way to the woods. She's already decided he's goin' for hummer ride if he shows up again.

On the way outa the field, she found a lost baseball. 

I had watched her traipsin' down the street to the corner w/that turtle from my tower. So, when she came back, I met her at the door an' gave her a good "goin' over". I had to make sure she was "magic rock" free....naturally. Who knows what coulda' happened.

She said she was ok...an' then gave me that ball from the field. I like it a lot more then that movin' rock....

T

Battle of Wills

Ha ha ha.....if only I had thumbs, I coulda' recorded mom an' Lexie arguin' an' then the subsequent hissy fit by Lexie....then them gettin' into it again...then mom givin' in, sorta......tryin' to get Lexie's attention an' Lexie purposely not lookin' at her, so she can play the "I'm deaf" card......it was hilarious!

We had a lil' thunderstorm blow thru, an' amazingly, Lexie wanted to go out in it to find that "boomin' man". Guess she can still hear him, lol. Mom kept tellin' her "NO", by sayin' it slowly, loudly an' shakin' her head. The universal negative response, whether you can hear or not....in fact whether you're even close or not....it mean's it's not gonna happen.

Lexie wanted out, an' that was that! She can get really demandin' when she wants to...she's always been like that. She'll stomp her feet, an' bark as loud as she can. She kept doin' that, an' runnin' to the back door, slappin' that bell....then runnin' back to mom.....she's barkin' mad, mom's shakin' her head an' sayin' "NO!!!!!". 

Finally, Lexie got that look.....

She ran over an' grabbed on of her toys....shook it an' then tore a leg off, took out the stuffin' an' the squeaker...then looked at mom an' started barkin' again!. 

She had escalated to a classic "Lexie hissy fit". 

As mom started pickin' up the stuffin' an' squeaker, Lexie ran over to my new squirrel stump...an' started takin' out the squirrels an' tossin' 'em everywhere...then, I guess she decided there was an' easier way to get 'em out...so, she turned it upside down an' was about attempt to rip the bottom off an' release all the squirrels!

Luckily, mom rescued 'em...an' my stump. She an' Lexie were havin' a stare-down. 

I decided that, you know what....it had stopped rainin'.....an' who knows when "I'd" get a chance to "go out" again, tonite, since more rain' was comin'. So, I went calmly over to the back door an' gave mom a nice polite request to go out.
She took the cue an' asked me it I reallly need to go out....I answered w/an affirmative. 

Lexie was payin' attention an' she ran up to the door by me. Then mom came....she told me, first,....to "come right back!". Then she tried to get Lexie's attention to tell her the same thin'. This is where Lexie was playin' the "I can't hear you" card. She wouldn't look at mom. Mom grabbed her beard (mom likes to use that as a handle). An' Lexie kept tryin' to avoid lookin' at her...but finally, mom got her to look right at her, an' told her very firmly "to come RIGHT BACK!". Mom made sure Lexie was lookin' at her when she said it, too. I'm pretty sure Lexie knew mom was serious an' knew exactly what mom was tellin' her. It's not like this is a new thin' w/us. So, there's no way Lexie could pretend otherwise.

Anyway, mom let us out......we zoomed out....disappearing out into the dark....to the outward bounds of our yard....
Within a few minutes....I was back. I had done what I needed to do, an' there was no way I was gonna get caught out in the rain.

Lexie was still MIA. 

Mom got her flashlite an' shined it back n' forth across the yard. (It's her signal for Lexie). Just as she was about to get that squinty eyed look she gets.....here comes Lexie strollin' down the path by the grape arbor headin' for the house.
She came inside w/a grin an' headed for the kitchen. She didn't come runnin' in the house...she took her time...but I guess it was her way of compromisin' w/mom, lol. 

In any case...we both made it back before the rain started, again. An' we both got a lil' reward! As far as mom's concerned....it was a successful nite. 

As far as I'm concerned it is, too....'cause she forgot to put the gate across the stairs...that means I get to have an allnighter up in my tower, ha ha ha.....

Signs of Love

Ahem...<clearin' my throat an' gettin' my prepared public statement ready that mom's makin' me do, I dunno why, it should be obvious..but she's givin' me "that look". So, here goes>.....To whom it may concern or interest, mom did not wet her pants. I wiped my beard on 'em after gettin' a drink. (I don't see what the big deal is....it's not like I wear a shirt an' can wipe my beard off on my sleave. She was there an', well, can I help it if her crotch is nose level an' those pants show every single lil' damp spot?...they'll dry...an' it was clean water...geez, she oughta wear it proudly like a badge...kinda like a love sign :) ).

Stubborn?

Trials an' tribulations...that's my life around here. If it isn't mom...it's Lexie. <sigh> Sometimes, I just have to do what I wanna, just to remind her that the universe as we know it, really doesn't revolve around her.


Like tonite....we were both nappin' in mom's room. Lexie was up on mom's bed...an' I was layin' on my bed on the floor beside the big bed. I was nice an' c'mfortable...all stretched out..just snoozin'. Then rudely woken up w/Lexie..bark, bark, bark'n.....right over my head. She just kept on an' on...demandin' that I move. She wanted to jump down off the end of the bed, but didn't want to jump over me....just in case she miscalculated. (I appreciated that part). 

She was barkin' so long, mom came to investigate. Then proceeded to laugh...that's when Lexie took a "leap of faith" an' jumped....missin' me by a paw. (again, I appreciated that). 

All I've got to say about the whole thing is......there's a whole other side to that bed she coulda jumped off of at anytime. She was just tryin' to make me move....an'...well...r'member that "stubborn" streak us airedales have?   Bein' a lil' older, bigger, an' wiser...I'm pretty sure mine is wider.  I wasn't movin'!!

Mom's almost trained

Dad was workin' evenin's, last nite. So, it was a quiet nite for mom. She had worked all day on that iris project, determined to finish it an' get it over with. It was a muddy, dirty an' sweaty project. When she finally finished, she said she headed for the showers, dug out her summer lounge outfit an' told me an' Lexie that we were not havin' any late nite patrols 'cause she was gonna close outside super early. 
She was serious, too.

Mom cleaned up the kitchen, put clothes in the wash an' gave us our dinner, then settled herself on the couch w/a blankie an' her book, an' the tv low on some shows she had taped. Figurin' out mom wasn't gonna do anythin' interestin', Lexie an' I finally went out on a patrol about 10 pm. 

It was a really nice nite.....quiet n' clear w/a lil' breeze. We checked everywhere, not worried about mom by herself.....we knew the front door was locked an' she was right by the backdoor, where I could hear her if she needed me. 

Like I said...it was a quiet nite...mom on the couch, us out patrollin'......imagine her surprise when......
Lexie burst in thru her lil' door, runnin' right to mom w/a waggin' tail an' a grin..well, kinda a grin.....holdin' a big possum in her mouth. 

I have to give mom credit....she was right in the midst of sayin' "hi" to Lexie w/a big smile notin' the waggin' tail and the happy face...then she zeroed in on what Lexie was showin' her. 
That "hi, sweetie"...quickly changed to "ohhh, you've got a possum.....you need to take that outside"......
Mom stayed calm as she put down her book...an' lowered her chair. Lexie was still waggin' her tail as she went back out her lil' door....w/the possum.

Mom started to go out back....but then.....she thought....."gloves"...."shovel"...."lite"...."how far was she gonna have to go outback".....then ....."hmm...dad's should be home soon"...."what are the odds"......just for fun, she went an' looked out the front...and there was his car! She felt like she had won the lottery....in fact, he walked in the door at that moment. This all took less then a minute since Lexie had gone thru her lil' door.

Mom told dad she was glad he was home.....HIS lil' girl was waitin' on the back porch w/a possum for him. 

Dad laughed..mom got a couple of treats an' they both headed to the back door. 

There was Lexie....watin' on her lil' porch w/that possum still in her mouth. She showed it to dad an' mom (again). Mom offered her a treat for the possum......an' pointed to the ground. Lexie dropped the possum an' took the treat. Then mom grabbed her collar an' pulled her inside...an' gave her another treat an' a lot of "good girl's". Dad found mom's shovel an' removed the possum. 
Me? I was in the bushes lookin' for more.......
.
Mom said she's not sure about this new development of us bringin' stuff in the house to "show" her......I don't know what her issue is.....it's not like we leave stuff in the house....Lexie took it right back out, but wanted to make sure mom knew about it...an' would pay her for it. It's like a bounty. We've always tried to include mom in our missions. It makes perfect sense to us. She's also not sure her reactions are normal......again, we do....after all, we've almost got her trained good.

A Rat's Tale

<FYI.....graphic details, you have been warned>

AHS report----Last nite was awesome! It was right at bedtime, an' me & Lexie were out patrollin'. We caught a critter in Lexie's favorite orange tree. We almost had him, too..but he was fightin' back. We were on him, but it was a case of "too many cooks"....he managed to escape up that tree. Of course, we had to sound the alarm. Mom was watchin' a show, so dad came out to see what was up.

Dad had borrowed mom's lite an' was shinin' it this way an' that way......Lexie an' I pointed out just where that big ol' field rat was hidin'. The rat hadn't escaped our clutches unscathed. He had sustained some injuries. There was blood all around his mouth....

At that point, me, Lexie an' dad wanted him outa that tree, but dad wasn't gonna reach in an' grab him....an' he was way too high for us. So, dad decided the best thing was to put it out of it's misery & satisfy us. He went into the house to get his pellet gun.

When dad came back in the house, mom got curious as to what we were all up to. Dad told her.......she decided that this was an unusual AHS mission....an' just had to see what we were all up to. So, she followed dad out to the orange tree, where me an Lexie were keepin' watch. 

Dad shined her lite all over.....the rat was gone. Nope, said mom.....pointin' to us sittin' patiently by the tree......"he's still in the tree", she told dad. Dad looked some more...then mom took the lite an' shined it right in the middle....an' pointed out the rat. 

Mom knew what dad was gonna do, so she hooked a lead onto Lexie an' stepped back. (She just decided that she wasn't in the mood to chase Lexie & the rat all over the backyard, an' sure didn't want it brought into the house).

After the rat dropped to the ground......Lexie was goin' nuts wantin' to get it, but mom had her held back on that lead. I checked it out, but I just wanted to make sure it wasn't gonna take off, again. Then dad disposed of it. 

All of a sudden, our neighbor called out from that lil' gate between our fences. He had been watchin' all the goin's on, but couldn't really tell what all was happenin'. So, dad went over an' talked to him. Mom scurried back in the house, thinkin' of all our other missions, & wonderin' how many were actually witnessed, lol. 

After all that, Lexie an' I did a quick recon of the yard an' trees, then went into the house, where mom checked us all over for any kind of bites...then gave us big dental chews..."just in case", she said. Then she told dad that she wasn't sure that havin' loads of experience findin' hidin' vermin 'cause of us, was somethin' she really wants to brag about, lol. All I can say is that we've trained her well.