A multi-media account of my travels through life
That’s my friend Mary with two of her standard poodles. Until I stayed at Mary’s house I had never spent any time around Standard Poodles. I can see the attraction to them. Their intelligence is very obvious and they move with a certain grace that is hard to describe. I was hoping to get a nice portrait of Mary and her poodles but the picture above is as close as we got. Trying to corral these canines proved to be a chore, as the picture below demonstrates. The dogs had other ideas. ❧
And its even better with friends! ❧
Any one who has ever owned a dog knows what this picture is about. It’s Tango’s happy dance…those moments when dogs throw themselves on the ground and, well, they twist and sometimes shout. It is a moment of unbridled joy. The joy of dogs is infectious. Every morning I awake and there he is, his chin resting on the bed, his tail wagging, eager to greet the day. He is joyful EVERY morning. There’s a lesson there. ❧
My cat, Rainbow, isn’t much for posing. It is hard to get a good picture of her. But this nice sun ray on the bed convinced her to stay and pose. ❧
In many parts of the country today a cozy fire made Thanksgiving just right. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. ❧
With the temperature falling into the teens last week, critters all over these Carolina Hills are re-doubling their efforts to prepare for winter. Staying warm is a definite priority for mammals so you can’t blame a little field mouse for squeezing himself into the warmth of an aging double-wide with lots of little gaps and holes.
I first noticed mouse droppings about three weeks ago. They seemed confined to the kitchen sink area so, taking advice from my neighbor, I plugged all the holes I could find with steel wool. The problem is that field mice are tiny and can squeeze through openings that are unbelievably small, so small that humans do not even see them sometimes. Ridding my home of mice could be a challenge and a trauma. The mechanical and chemical means of eliminating such creatures are not for the faint of heart. Remember, dear readers, this is a woman who has owned and loved gerbils.
Two nights ago I heard rustling in the cabinet where I store things like crackers and egg noodles. Tango Dog and Rainbow Cat, sat transfixed in front of the cabinet, looking up as if watching a big screen TV on the wall. I opened the door and there he was, nestled happily in the new, and previously unopened, bag of egg noddles. The clear plastic packaging made for perfect viewing. We made eye contact and then he was off like a shot.
I reapplied steel wool, moved the dry goods to plastic tubs, cleaned up and hoped for the best.
The next night, at about 3 a.m., I awoke to a ruckus in the living room. It was the cat and I knew immediately what was going on. Switching on the light I found the cat by the hall cupboard, peering intently behind it. The mouse was cornered. Tango quickly joined in the fun. Realizing there was nothing I could do, I wished the mouse well and went back to bed. I suspect Rainbow was there most of the night, waiting for the rodent to make a misstep. Tango, being no fool, came back to bed with me.
This morning the mouse was still cornered. As I came out of the bedroom I looked behind the cupboard and there he was. His little head emerged from an opening in the back of the cupboard. It quickly pulled back when he saw me. Tango saw all this too and he was back in the hunt.
Thankfully it was a wonderfully mild and sunny morning. I propped open the front door and hoped the mouse was smart enough to make a dash for freedom. It took a while for the coast to clear. The cat lost interest and went for her pre-nap nap. Tango stayed on the case but eventually his interest flagged as well. The mouse, I think, made his escape. There was a brief skirmish by the door and Tango went running to the deck and down into the hedge. I’ve seen no further signs of the mouse today. Guess we’ll learn more tonight. Of course there is never just one mouse … ❧
A friend sent me an email today, via LinkedIn, and it said, “”you post wonderful photos! would you take one of your pets too please…” Well, I am more than happy to oblige. Here’s one of Tango from last spring. We’re at Myakka River State Park. My cat, Rainbow, wasn’t too keen on having a dog but she has warmed to Tango’s charm. He’s become her big brother and she’ll often look to him as if to ask “What’s up? Is it safe?” For those friends on Facebook you can find a lot more pictures of Tango in my Tango and friends photo album. There will be more of Tango and Rainbow as time progresses. I’ve decided to spend most of winter in N.C. and neither of them has experienced snow. That should be a real photo op! Will be in Florida for the Christmas holiday and I have a speaking engagement in Sarasota on January 2nd. So I’ll probably spend a month or so on the West Coast but then it is back to this magical place is the Nantahala Forest. I want to experience the seasons again and there is more but that will be shared another time.
Tango on the Log — a continuing and fun theme from previous posts. This time in Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. Note the beautiful new collar from The Kenyan Collection, courtesy of friends Daryl & Craig. ☙
Sundays at our house are very low key. Usually I watch “Sunday Morning” and the critters … Well, you can see they take it easy too. That’s Tango, on the couch and Rainbow cat above him. At one point they had touching paws but by the time I got the iPad to take this picture the touching paws was gone. Oh well, it is still a sweet image ☙
That’s Buddy. He lives above me on Fawn Hill. He’s a sweet dog but he has a problem…Buddy barks. He barks so much that his owners had to take some drastic measures and they got him a collar that shocks Buddy every time he barks. That’s the thing around his neck that looks like a camera. Buddy is no dummy, however. He seems to have figured out that he can get in three barks before things get too bad. Or he shakes his head in such a way that the folds of skin minimize the shock and he’ll bark and bark. Cesar Millan, are you free to visit North Carolina?
Buddy can’t help himself. He’s a rescue dog and heaven only knows what his very early days were like. More recently Buddy shared his penned yard with Old Joe who also barked a lot. Old Joe was blind so part of his barking may have been a defensive strategy. Buddy was Old Joe’s eyes…a stressful job. I know from experience. So part of Buddy’s barking is learned behavior from Old Joe. The other part is expression — happy, sad, somewhere in between — all Buddy knows is barking.
Tango and I try to visit him every day. I take treats and we have a party. And I’ve seen Tango go up to visit on his own. Buddy is a likable dog and we all want to reassure him that things are okay. Is it working? Well, maybe a bit. All we can do is try. I mean, look at those eyes…Buddy is the kind of dog that makes you keep on trying. ☙
Alice's WanderLand 