Out With The Old, In With The New

Year, that is.

I posted this on face book the other day

“Ok, Ed's probably going to choke me for this, but it was just too funny. As many of you know, we have a black lab named Meeko. Meeko's nick name is "King Licky" because he will lick any part of you he can get to. Ed is pretty good at holding him just out of reach, usually telling him, "No licking the Ed!"

Well, today were were out back in the dogs' 1/2 acre, trying to raise a gutter that was so full of ice that it was catching the door. So Ed has his hands up, trying to raise the gutter while I am trying to push a post underneath it. Suddenly Ed jumps. Meeko had noticed that Ed's raised arms had also raised his shirt, and took the opportunity to lick Ed's bare belly! Yes, Meeko is still alive.”

Which received many likes, a few ROFLs and an in depth conversation with Ed's youngest daughter about other dogs who have earned Ed's ire over the years.

Yeah, Meeko licking Ed's bare belly was hysterical, probably not as funny as the time he hiked his leg on him, but close.

We've had roller coaster weather in the last week, and as many of you know, weather changes affect animal behavior, and all of ours have been nuts.

King Licky, AKA Meeko, decided he wanted to follow Katherine down the hall licking her bare calves. She was not impressed, and more than a little creeped out. The next day, he showed extreme interest in her shoes, while she was wearing them. It kind of proved what I had been trying to tell her about those shoes for the last few weeks. Last night, he found Captain sleeping on the living room floor and started sniffing her. Of course, that woke her, and she lay there looking at him as if to say “Really?” Then he licked her! So she hissed at him and he must have heard someone suddenly call  him from the kitchen. I was surprised she was so calm, but then I remembered her previous owner also had a very large, clumsy, St. Bernard/Boxer/Pit Bull mix, named Bobby. I could probably write a whole blog post about him. Maybe I will some time. 

Adora has become my unintentional alarm clock. What she is actually trying to do is get in bed with me when Ed gets up. She wants to curl up on my chest and go to sleep. She probably shouldn't announce herself when she gets in bed. Even if she didn't, the extra fifteen pounds on my chest would get my attention.

When I am not available, she either curls up in the blanket we have stuffed under the back door, on the wood pile next to the wood stove or underneath the entertainment center. If we would need to find her, we just have to follow the snoring.

Marshmallow has taken to sleeping in Katherine's bed, which just annoys Bookworm to no end. However, Bookworm has decided that the bathroom sink is the best place to sleep in the house for the time being.

Captain has claimed my office/workshop, always choosing to lay on what I need to be working on.

Of all the animals, “Looney” Libby has probably been the most calm..maybe its just that she's getting old...Nah, she's up to something! 

Wishing everyone a happy and blessed 2014!

Animals and Holidays

The fish survived Thanksgiving. They are now here for Christmas, and only one of them has to go back to school next week. Apparently Katherine's teacher decided that four fish was two too many. The others went home with another student, who will also only have to bring one back. Either the cats haven't noticed them, or consider them not worth the effort.

Ed remarked that he is sure the irony of names of the two fish are lost on Katherine. I agree. Their names? "Fresh" and "Ice Cold".

We had a very nice Thanksgiving dinner at my sister's house. She is also an animal lover, having several dogs, cats, and a few other critters hanging around. She has a Beagle named "Brutis" and a Jack Russell Terrier named "Doobie" that stay in the house. They do get to go outside, but only under certain conditions.

That afternoon, after dinner, the kids (Katherine and my niece Josie) took Doobie outside. Needless to say, Brutis was not a happy camper. This is his discussing the situation with Ed, made all the more funny by the look on Ed's face. You see, it took about three years for Brutis to determine that Ed was not the boogey man.

A while later, Brutis decided to try me. 

You think he isn't spoiled? This is my sister, singing him to sleep. The music in the background from my boys and Ed.

Unfortunately, I didn't get any animal Christmas pictures. Of course the cats were more interested in the boxes and paper than anything else. Christams evening, we gave the dogs the rawhide bones Santa left for them. The took them and made a bee line for the back door! 

All Quiet on the Canine Front

Wow! I didn't realize how long it had been since I posted anything here. The dogs have survived the indignity of the bath one other time since Ed's last post. It wasn't nearly so difficult that time.


The dogs have pretty much settled into a routine. I check their food and water first thing in the morning. Right now that means switching the frozen bucket outside with a thawed one from inside.They spend their day playing and wrestling with each other, barking at the dogs from down the road (Well, Meeko barks and Libby makes that noise), eating, and sleeping. In the evening, we let them in for a little while, while we change out their food and water. Meeko likes to wrestle with Ed or whoever else is available while Libby tries to sneak off to the litter box. Then we put them back out for the night. So for the most part, all is quiet on the canine front. I do wish I had thought to take my camera with me when Ed put fresh straw out for them this fall. Libby has such a great time “helping” him spread it out.


The cats, on the other hand, are driving me crazy! As I sit here typing, Captain is sitting on the table next to me, purring loud enough to wake the dead, and trying to nuzzle on my shirt. She does this about fifteen times a day. This room, which is my office/work shop, has become her hangout. That means she is right in the middle of EVERYTHING I try to do in here.


The other three are playing the with the revolving cat door...oh wait, we don't have one! I have to wonder if maybe they think the weather will be different if they just wait a minute. Adora and Marshmallow are the worst about it. This morning, between 5:45 and 6:00 a.m., I let them both in and out three times. I lost track after that. Bookworm is pretty good about staying put for awhile. Usually, she wants in about 5:30 and then goes to sleep in Katherine's bed for a few hours. Then she wants back out....Had to take a time out. Captain just spilled my coffee all over my desk! Everything seems to have survived, but Captain has decided to visit another part of the house for awhile.



Oh, did I mention that Katherine gets to bring home her Science class pets for the Thanksgiving holiday? In about forty-five minutes, she'll be bringing home two Betas!