Category Archives: Country Life

Car Full of Monkeys 

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals,

May the Force Be With You.


This is Coco and Milo. They are Pembroke Welsh Corgis. Coco is a sable and white little girl of 2 1/2 years of age. Milo is the tricolor and turned one recently. We are watching them this week for our daughter. And here the adventure begins. 

We went to pick them up and bring them home one evening last week. This was to save them the trauma of being “left” by their parents. My husband was driving us home and the dogs were crawling all over me and trying to crawl on him. I told them “no crawling on the driver”. I had to grab them frequently by their harnesses to gain some modicum of control. Milo the Younger was on my lap, on the dashboard, on the armrest. Then he crawled around the back of my neck and hung their. Then it was in the backseat, in the front seat, trying to crawl on my head. And Coco the Elder was going from front seat to backseat and trying to stand on the driver, etc. You get the idea. I turned to my husband and said “this is like driving around with a car full of monkeys!” 

We were on the freeway about halfway home when my car window started to go down.  I thought my husband was putting it down so the dogs could get some air. But it kept going down. And there was an energetic dog on my lap looking out the space where the window pane was. (Now halfway down.) My husband said ” what are you doing?” I said “I thought you were doing it.” Turns out Milo was standing on the control and he put the window down. Mercifully, he had been such a monkey up to this point that I had my hand on his harness, as I did for most of the trip. (Please note, childproof locks were engaged after this episode. )

To be fair, after we got part of the way home, Coco the Elder went in the back seat and laid down. I suspect the excitement of having someone take them away from home had them all worked up. 

The reintroduction to our pack went well. The dogs all remembered each other and there were no issues. After the initial sniffings everyone went their own ways. They all went out for last call to do their business with no problems. 

Then it was nearly bedtime. We were leery of bedtime because the pups would have to sleep in a crate which they are not used to. For their own safety and the peace of mind of the other animals, a crate was required. We thought it would be a long night with lots of barking and scolding. Those little pups went in their crate with their treats and were good as gold. They slept in the same crate because they are so bonded. Milo and Coco are actual siblings. Same parents but different litters. The only peep we heard out of them during the night was to provide backup for Baxter, our lab/Doberman mix, who was barking out the window at a groundhog. 

And so day one ended well and peacefully. Stay tuned for further adventures of Coco the Elder and Milo the Younger…

Size Isn’t Everything 

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals,


Size isn’t everything. It’s often attitude that is the deciding factor in the pecking order, for people as well as dogs. In this case I’m talking about dogs.

Yesterday the dogs were playing outside and got quite wound up. Cassius began hazing Shelby. Cassius is a greyhound who weighs 70 lbs. Shelby is a Shetland Sheepdog who weighs 32 lbs. The score? Shelby- 1, Cassius- 0. 

Shelby was running and barking at a visitor as their car pulled out of our driveway, no surprise there, she is a sheltie. Cassius decided it would fun to bark at her for barking. Then he decided it would be fun to nip at her when she barked and finally he grabbed a mouth full of fur in a play bite that left her with slobbery fur and pulled her enough to move her. Looked like a bite but I know Cassius was playing and there was no visible wound, hence a “play bite”.

Shelby put up with his behavior up to the point where he grabbed her. Then she whipped around and got in Cassius’ face, barking and lunging at him and generally telling him off. She had him backing up while barking in his face. At that point we intervened so it wouldn’t escalate. But Shelby likes to be in charge and maintain control. You don’t mess with Shelby.

Cassius got scolded for putting his mouth on Shelby and spent the rest of the evening pouting and depressed, on the couch. He is such a sensitive dog. If you raise your voice at him, he gets very upset. 

But it was just a day in the life. As you can see they do normally get along fine. It was just one of those sibling squabbles. And so it goes.

Choose Wisely 

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, Thoughts On Life, ,

Relaxing is good for the soul, and peace of mind. I could be doing one of the many things that I should be doing. Cleaning litter boxes, washing dishes, weeding. No thank you. I did the most important thing though. Frisbeed the dogs! It was the most important, just ask them.


But instead of any chores, here I sit on the porch with books about…dogs and food, of course!


And don’t forget the cold beverage.


I have chosen wisely. Life is good.

Snapshot

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, Thoughts On Life, ,


A typical photo of life at our home makes me happy. 

The furnishings will never make an interior design shoot. The couch is not particularly attractive. In fact, quite the opposite. It does however, hold up well to active dogs and feline paws. The windows provide places for cats to perch and sniff the air and keep track of life beyond the screens. And then there is the obligate doggy patterned pillow. Throw in a lamp and a piece of artwork and it is a functioning room.

You have to see beyond this for the magic to appear. The largest two of our four dogs are napping peacefully together. One of our cats is also hanging out, watching daddy watering plants outside.  All is peaceful and cohesive. 

This is a snapshot of our lives and I am content. 

Peonies 

Country Life, Gardens, Thoughts On Life,


Peonies make life better.  

I gaze upon my peonies and am filled with wonder and happiness that anything could be so beautiful. And Peonies don’t put all their eggs in one basket so to speak, their scent is equally divine. 

I can’t help but believe if there were more peonies in the world, it would be a happier place. Spread peonies! 

Destressing

Country Life, Gardens, Thoughts On Life, ,

I am recovering from a stressful day and decided that should be done with flowers.  It helps!  See new clematis above.

One of our four mandevillas. They are already growing so well that I had to make new trellises for them. Can you tell we went to greenhouses on Saturday? We also bought a gardenia, a new climbing rose, and a hibiscus, plus some annuals. Photos of those will be forthcoming when they flower. We still have to get our usual flats of flowers too.

And then we have our usual suspects that flower year after year. This clematis amazes us with its profusion of blooms. 

The rhododendrons are also in fine form.

The Wygelia is spectacular. 

The columbine pleases with its delicate blossoms. 

And the scent of the Miss Kim lilacs! I sit on the porch for hours just to smell them. Then I take some in the house. And to work. I want to enjoy their scent as much as I can before they fade until next year. Of course we have old fashioned lilacs, and the Miss Kims, and Royal lilacs. They bloom in succession so we are with lilacs for some time. Bliss!

And I am destressed! The wonders of the outdoors can work magic. 

Spring Favorites 

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, Uncategorized,
Cassius and Me

One of my favorite signs of spring is…hiking! Spring is the best season for this as far as I am concerned.  It’s warm, it’s sunny. Not too cold, not too hot, limited bugs. And all the green, blooming and sprouting things are good for the soul. 

Baxter

I took our dogs who enjoy long hikes on a three mile trek at West Branch State Park. I call them The Three Amigos because they go nearly  everywhere together, Cassius, Baxter, and Shelby. 

Shelby

You can tell how much fun they had by the smiles.

Shelby and Cassius

Shelby and Cassius enjoy the view. And quite a view it is.

We saw some boats.

But the nature views are the best. The dogs seem to enjoy it too, but really their favorite place to be is anywhere that I am.  My favorite place is also any place with them. That’s why we stay home a lot. The best place to be is with family. Cassius, Baxter, and Shelby are family.

Kammie and Nikki, our other two shelties, are of course family too. They just can’t hike so far anymore so they stay home. With age, comes that right! 

A Better Place

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, ,

Harley was my idea of the perfect cat. He was a good mouser. He was regal and demanded respect yet he was also affectionate and loved his people. I had the pleasure of being Harley’s momma for 16 years. We lost him yesterday. He went in for a dental and did not survive.

It turned out that he suffered from a condition that I was not familiar with. Something called dental resorption. As near as I understand it, the tooth or teeth, begin to calcify at the root. This forms lesions and the calcification attachs the tooth to the jawbone so that it is hard to remove. There are more details and technicalities but I will spare you. In Harley’s case, the teeth were very hard to remove. In essence, by a few hours after the surgery, the amount of blood loss he suffered was too great and he succumbed. This was traumatic and unexpected for us because although Harley was old, he was in fairly good shape for his age. We picked him up from the vet’s and brought him home. He is now buried with our other furry family members that have gone before.

I first got Harley when I and a friend where hiking with our dogs on a path that ran beside my house. We made it about half a mile down the trail when a kitten of about 4 months came running up to me meowing. This was near farm land that was grown up and no longer used. I think someone dumped Harley there. He couldn’t have been born there, he was too friendly to be a feral kitten. He ran up to me even with our dogs and let me pick him up. My friend Becky said “you can’t leave him here”. And so I didn’t. He let me carry him all the way back home. He never struggled to get down. He soon became a part of our household.

I thought for a while on what his name should be, and finally came up with Harley. Now he is not named after the obvious Harley Davidson of motorcycle fame. His name was short for Harlequin because he was a black and white cat.

Harley made the move with us to our current house nearly 14 years ago.  It is an old farmhouse, built in 1830. Read as:  mice like it here! Harley was a supreme mouser. And catcher of moles, and chipmunks, and baby squirrels. Unfortunately for us, this was all in the house. We would not do well in this house without a cat. Harley taught his protege’, Morty to catch mice.

Once he had passed the torch, as it were, he gave up hunting. That was apparently something for the next generation.

In his retirement, Harley became ever more affectionate and communicative. Once we discovered that his teeth were bad, which is another story, he ate canned food. He would call to me first thing in the morning and again throughout the day whenever he wanted his canned cat food. I would put it in a crate for him (so the other cats and dogs wouldn’t take it) and in he would go. I would then close the door. Whenever he was done, he would call to me again so that I could let him out and put any remaining food away for next time. This usually made me smile because he communicated so well. 

He also followed me around for affection. He would sit on the arm of the couch beside me and squint his eyes with happiness. He would rub on my hand and ask for ear rubs. And if I was busy doing something else, he would sit on the back of the couch directly behind my head, for maximum closeness while I read, or watched tv, or talked. He was my kitten always.

My world is an emptier place without a Harley Cat. But it is a better, richer place for having known him.

Spring Blooms

Country Life, Gardens,

Spring rebirth and renewal is always appreciated here.  It takes place in the heart and soul as well as in the garden.  Let me take you on a tour. 

Tulips and hostas emerge from the bed beside the house. 

Candy tuft hangs over the side wall.

Bleeding hearts are just starting to come out.

The dogwoods are flaunting their finery. These are just a few of the sights that rejuvenate my soul. I hope that you are enjoying and communing with the blossoming of spring wherever you are.

Peace be with you. 

Benefits of Obedience 

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, Thoughts On Life, ,

Spring has, at last, sprung here in Ohio. I finally have some pictures with flowers in them. And of course dogs. One of the benefits of teaching your dogs a few obedience commands is being able to pose them with things. 

Such as flowers. 

And book displays.

And certificates. 

Dogs who know some commands get to share more of their lives with us. They are more pleasant to be around. And more trust worthy. And having a dog who listens helps keep them safe too. A few minutes every day makes a surprising difference.  Give it a try!