We didn’t come to the WV Place last weekend (one of Shannon’s girlfriends, who we’d never met, came to the MD house to visit). So I was looking doubly forward to this weekend to see what changes the coming of Spring had wrought.
One of my favorite things to do is walk through the woods, looking, listening, and just observing all the subtle natural changes.
I was delighted to see the trees have started blooming.
"Hello, Spring!"
I was especially happy to see the Redbuds have started blooming. That’s when you know Spring is really here.
Rudbud Tree Starting to Bloom
I was also very tickled to see this little butterfly (or moth). It was only about an inch and a half long.
"Hello, little butterfly!"
Another of my favorite pastimes is watching the dogs enjoying their freedom in the woods. Each and every one of them absolutely LOVE the WV place.
K in one of her rare moments without her head buried in something.
I swear they all run around with big, silly grins on their faces when they are here.
K the Hunter
That’s K in a more-familiar state. If you ever wonder why I post more pictures of Meg and Belle than I do of K, this is why. She’s usually got her head buried under something or is dashing like a crazy dog through the trees sniffing stuff. I think she has some cat blood in her. She’s supposed to be a bird dog, not a rodent hunter.
Belle
Belle is a follower. She and K were just walking along when K decided to stick her head under that stump. Belle stopped and looked back as if to say, “Hey, wait a minute. What’s under there?”
The Tag-Team
Belle just had to go back for a better look. K was by that point shoulder-deep under the stump. And Belle was watching closely to see what she would find.
Bored Tree Cavity
The previous evening, the two young ones had bored out this tree cavity. No rodent is safe in our yard. Not one.
Waiting for Dad
This was Meg earlier in the day, waiting for Hubby to come back from town with lunch. My lunch, not her lunch.
Speaking of Meg, while the young girls were chasing rodents, she was off doing some hunting of her own.
Look what she found…
Meg wins the prize for finding the largest bone EVER.
That is a big bone. I have no idea where she got it. The thing is, it didn’t smell all nasty and decayed like most stuff they drag home. It sorta-kinda smelled like ham. Which makes me think Meg may have robbed one of the neighbor’s smokers.
You should have seen Belle’s eyes light up when she saw Meg walk past with that big-ass bone.
"Can I have some?"
K was too busy hunting to notice the bone right away. But she did finally notice right before I took it from Meg.
They were all looking at me as if to say, “Aw, c’mon, Mama. Where’d you put the bone?”
What sort of Spring changes are happening in your neck of the woods?
What I don’t love is their propensity for getting dirty.
K, Meg, and Belle (l-r)
That picture is from a clean day.
Last weekend was a bit different.
First it was our food-obsessed Meg.
Dirty Meg
I think she was just trying to be helpful by cleaning all the ashes out of the catch-tray under our charcoal grill.
She may not look that bad to you, but check out the paper towel I used to wipe her face.
Yuck
And that was only after one pass.
The next night, at about 11:00 PM, our cute little princess, Belle, went on a mouse hunt.
Belle After the Hunt
She’s not quite 4. That’s not gray hair on her face. It’s dirt.
Fortunately (since there’s no bathtub here) she’s small enough to fit in the sanitary tub we’ve got in the garage.
She was DIRTY.
Tonight’s issue is not dirt. It’s aroma.
I have no idea what the young ones found to roll in, but they stink.It’s rather barnyard-like. Not like steaming, fresh manure. More like sun-dried dung.
Earlier tonight, when Hubby was using his air nailer, which is VERY loud, K HAD to be on my lap.
If I were a kangaroo, she would’ve been WAY down deep in my pouch.
Her smell rubbed off on me.
Ugh.
Do your critters get dirty/stinky, too? Feel free to post picture links in the comments.
I used to think it would be cool to have a job that requires travel. Not travel every now and then like I do, but travel a few times a month.
It always looked sort of glamorous to me, seeing the well-traveled professional people scurrying through the airport with their smart little wheeled bag. Notice I said BAG singular. Seasoned professionals never drag more than one bag along.
They always looked so on-the-ball. So focused.
Things are rarely as they appear. That’s one of those lessons you learn as you make your way through life.
I didn’t travel far very often when I was younger. I think I was sixteen before I even flew anywhere.
One of my girlfriends moved from Baltimore to a city near Seattle, Washington. She’d fly back occasionally for visits. I accompanied her and her grandfather to the airport a couple of times when she left to fly back. I remember watching the folks working on the tarmac — baggage handlers, plane pushers, guys with flashlights waving planes in, etc. — and thinking those would be great jobs. I never considered the fact that they have to be outside in all kinds of weather. And the noise. Yikes.
My family didn’t have money for fancy vacations when I was growing up, but we did a lot of camping. Not roughing-it camping in the wilderness with tents and stuff. Camping in a travel trailer, usually surrounded by family. Which was cool. We got to spend time with and know some of our family members way more than others. We usually went to Pennsylvania (with Dad’s family) or West Virginia (with Mom’s family). Occasionally we went to different places, like Cherrystone, Virginia. Once, when I was nine, we even went and camped at Walt Disney World.
It make not have been exotic travel, but it was fun. I have lots of fond camping memories from my childhood. Something else I remember are the many people around us (not just one or two) who thought we traveled A LOT. Many of these people had never been out of the state of Maryland. Some had barely left the city of Baltimore.
Can you imagine? Mobility is definitely something we take for granted. I know I do. I mean, if I want to go somewhere, I go.
Speaking of going… Hubby and I go to the WV place most weekends. Not every weekend, but often. Especially if we’ve got something going on (like the kitchen remodel thing). Our three dogs LOVE the WV place. They love being able to run around and play and chase critters. K especially loves the mice.
One would think word would spread through the mouse community that a killer was afoot. I’ve lost count of how many rodents she and her faithful sidekick, Belle, have killed.
Mice in the Block Pile
It’s not just mice. It’s all rodents. Squirrels, voles, and moles are fair game, too.
Something is Under There
There’s something living under this log at the end of our driveway. Even Meg stops to check periodically. But these two? They stop to check every single time.
Tree Cavity Search
I thought for sure K was going to get her head stuck in that tree cavity. She didn’t, fortunately. They didn’t find anything in there either.
Rodent Alert
This is a pretty common sight. K is obsessed. Belle is a follower. Until K came along, she never acted all that interested in rodents. Except for that big groundhog. But that’s a whole ‘nother story.
You can’t understand the degree of K’s obsession until you see and hear her in action. She’s our vocal dog, remember. This video is the perfect example of the hunters in action. You can thank K for the soundtrack.
Doesn’t she sound pathetic?
Imagine what K would do if she saw this…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C48BTtAVsK0
Yes, it’s a bit stupid, but it’s one of my favorite commercials.
Are any of your dogs or cats this obsessed with chasing critters?
Sorry, I’ve been busy. With work mainly. And getting ready for Christmas. And more work. And shopping. Wait, that’s part of the whole getting ready for Christmas thing.
Anyhoo…
I’ve actually been collecting stuff to post about. AND I have pictures for You Capture tomorrow.
I have so much different stuff to post about (“different” is not always a good thing), that I just don’t know where to start. So I’ll start with The Pope of Dope (video embedded below). The first thing I had to so this morning was to respond to an e-mail a dear friend sent to me on November 28. It started off with “Happy Thanksgiving.”
See? You, blog readers, are not the only peeps I’ve been neglecting. Although she’s a blog reader, too. Sometimes. So she has been doubly neglected.
Why did I just tell you all that. Because it was she who sent me this lovely video. 🙂
Only a small percentage of my readers will like this video and/or song. I happen to like it. If it gets on your nerves, just skip over it. ‘kay?
I also owe some people a phone call. Another friend called me over a week ago. I keep meaning to call back, but the days just get away from me. And now it’s way too early. Hopefully, I’ll get to call her today. You know who you are!
As for that stuff I have been collecting to share…
Here’s a picture of K in front of our half-naked Christmas tree. I’ll try to get a better shot with all of the dogs included. For now, maybe this one will make you smile. It made ME smile.
"Ho. Ho. Ho. Happy? Now get this stupid hat off of me!"
Yes, we Americans even decorate our pets for the holidays.
Speaking of pets… what does my yard have in common with the US-Mexico border?
Is it the jacket?
Even though it is the same color as those worn by the Customs/Border Patrol folks, it’s not the jacket.
A lot of DOPE.
Contrary to what some of you think (“Oh, lord, is she on drugs or what?”), it’s not the dope constantly flowing in either. Or even trickling in.
Give up?
Well, I’ll tell you.
I mean, I’ll show you AND tell you.
Hey, cool. Show and tell!
Tunnels
It’s the tunnels. More specifically, KILLERS digging tunnels.
Digging killer caught in the act.
K is quite the hunter. She’s not trying to escape. She is after a mole or moles that in this case happened to go under the fence.
She digs in other spots, too.
On the hunt again.
Fortunately, she doesn’t usually dig in the middle of the lawn. And she’s not digging just to dig. She is HUNTING. Trust me. Her kill list seems to grow every day. Mice, moles and voles mainly. But she gets a squirrel now and then, too.
Accomplices.
She’s not alone in her quest, but she is definitely the ringleader.
Do you have this kind of excitement in your backyard?
It’s never a good sign when you wake up with a headache. I mean, what a crappy way to start a day. Hoping to get rid of the ache, I took some naproxen and then made myself a big plate of blueberry pancakes. No luck so far, but I am still hopeful. At least the pancakes tasted good.
While I ate, I caught up on my blog reading. That’s when I realized I haven’t posted anything for five days. I’ve been collecting various pics to share. But it’s an eclectic collection. So there was nothing driving me to do a posting. Now, however, I think it is time to catch up.
The first couple of shots are from Sunday morning at the WV place. It was in the low 30s when we woke up.
Frosty Window
Doesn’t that just make you want to say, “Brrr?”
Lingering Green
Most of the trees are bare already. Except for the oaks. We have lots of oaks. And they hold on to their leaves for a long time. Apparently some are late in the color-change department, too.
Nakedness
See what I mean about the trees being bare?
Morning in the Woods
This is one of my favorite spots at the WV place. Back before we had Belle and K, we had CeCe and Meg. CeCe was a lot like Belle in that she liked to hang close to Mama during our morning walks. She and I would wait here at the top of the hill on Turkey Hollow Road for Meg to return. Quite a few of CeCe’s cremains were scattered here for that very reason. It’s been almost two years since we lost CeCe and we still miss her.
A Hint of Green
The colors on this green leaf caught my eye. There’s not really anything special about that picture except I thought the leaf was cool. So I am sharing it here.
Cool Colors
Speaking of colors catching my eye, I really liked the way these frosty leaves looked.
Frost
You can see the frost more clearly on these leaves. Quite a few bushes are still green, so the woods aren’t completely colorless.
Belle racing around the corner.
Right before snapping this picture, I’d started walking back toward the house. When Belle realized she couldn’t see me, she came running.
Belle
Here’s one where Belle was waiting with me for the other two girls to come back. As for the other two…
Napping while Mama works.
They did reappear shortly after that picture of Belle was taken. I snapped the above image while I was working. The camera was sitting next to me on the windowsill. My girls always like to be close to Mama. Notice K and Belle sharing that small bed?
K
K is more into sharing than Belle. In this shot, although you can’t see her (the zoom lens was on the camera and I couldn’t fit her into the frame), Belle is pretty much hogging the entire bed. K found a corner to sit on and gave me this look as if to say, “Mama, she won’t share.”
K is truly a Mama's girl.
Belle sits with me in the mornings. It’s rare to see Belle on my lap in the evenings. K on the other hand is all about her evening Mama-time. She’ll come over and give me this certain look. That’s when I say, “You need some Mama love?” Immediately she climbs into my lap.
We did have a bit of excitement on Sunday. Are you ready for this?
The new refrigerator.
We bought a new refrigerator! Now we just need to buy some more food. 🙂
Our kitchen is very small. We never really planned the kitchen. I bought a whole kitchen full of old cabinets and we put them into place. It all works okay, except the door placements are very awkward in a couple of spots. We only had room for an under-the-counter refrigerator. And no room for a dishwasher.
Because Hubby really hates doing dishes, we need a dishwasher. We can’t have a dishwasher unless we re-do the kitchen.
Oh yeah, we have a really cheap, crappy cook top, too. It works, but it is a huge PIA. The burners are super hard to regulate properly. If you turn them back too low, they go out. And they won’t relight unless you put a match to them first. It’s annoying.
Our Little House in the Woods
This is not a great picture since the trailer is sitting in front of the garage. But someone was asking me what our house looks like, so there it is.
Going "down the hill."
The dogs just love it when we walk them down the driveway. They’re all three in the picture, K is just hard to see because she is so far ahead. The girl runs like a Greyhound.
Going back up the hill.
You know what they say… what goes down, must come up. Right? 🙂
And now, for the last picture of the day, we have K.
"Mama, she's not sharing AGAIN."
K is looking a bit pissed off. Is it because Belle is hogging the bed? Or because Mama has no room on her lap at the moment. Or both?
For the record, Belle is wide awake, but she hates having her picture taken. Really. She squints or blinks in most shots unless I catch her off guard.
One of the things I love about having dogs around is that they make me laugh.
Really. Sometimes they just do the goofiest things.
They can do gross stuff, too. Take my Meg as an example. She eats pretty much anything. Poo included. And used Kleenex. She just loves used facial tissue.
Meg’s penchant for eating just about anything got her into a bit of a predicament today.
I was out walking with the girls. K and Belle were in the driveway. Meg walked down toward her friend’s house.
A little while later, Meg came running back out of the woods. She ran past Belle, who immediately started following her. When those two ran past K, she decided to run along, too.
They were all making a beeline for me.
"Mama! Mama! There's something wrong with Meg!" (Ignore the glowing eyes, okay?)
I could see something was amiss, I just wasn’t sure what.
Belle looks on as Meg tries to rid herself of the newly acquired accessory.
When they reached me and I saw what the problem was, I started cracking up.
Somehow or other, Meg had managed to get a plastic shopping back stuck around her neck. She was off digging in someone’s trash no doubt.
She was really quite embarrassed.
How do I know she was embarrassed? She didn’t want to let me take her picture. I had to make her sit three different times before I got this shot…
Meg not even a little bit thrilled to be photographed at that particular moment.
First, she gave me that evil eye you see in the above shot. Then she just refused to look at the camera.
"I am NOT going to look. And quit laughing at me."
Finally, I removed the bag. I felt sorry for her because I know she felt pretty stupid. And maybe I shouldn’t have laughed at her, but she looked pretty stupid, too.
Meg’s a good sport.
Meg looking a bit more regal.
Since she did actually sit still to let me take that picture, I figured I’d post a nice picture of her, too. So you could see that she’s not just a big ole doofus. She’s really very pretty. She is a bit of a character. But that’s part of her charm.
