We're ready!

Bonnie and I are ready for our big adventure on Friday. Her crate is marked, a water cup is secured to the door, a bag of food is taped to the top and her crate is lined with a cozy fleece pad. 

 

The crate is actually Darby's car crate.  Darby was acting nervous as we fiddled with securing the water cup--she kept jumping in and out of the crate -- as if she were claiming it!

 

St. Francis is going along with my Bon-Bon granddaughter dog to help her get safely across the US and home to her mom. 

Say a prayer, cross your fingers, think good thoughts -- whatever your personal beliefs allow -- to help us both travel safely. 

Oh yeah, and say a prayer, cross your fingers and think good thoughts that Darby doesn't drive Glenn crazy enough to give her away before I get back!!

Need a new collar?

Hey, is one of your dogs in need of a new collar?  If so, check out the giveaway over at Corgi Butts where Kelly has again bent over backwards to create a contest that leaves no one complaining.

Even if you don't need a new dog collar, go check our Wilson's Pumpkin themed collar.  Guess who is going to be getting one of those....

What? You don't vacuum your grass?

This afternoon (Wednesday, as I type this) I was outside vacuuming my grass and the dogs started barking.  I looked up and my neighbor, Paul, was looking over the wall at me.  I turned off the vacuum and said "Yes?"  And, he said "WHAT are you doing??"

It is a bit of a story.

See the little round things in the grass in this photo:

They are figs from Paul's huge, beautiful fig tree.

And there are THOUSANDS of them all over the grass on the side of our yard where we enjoy the lovely shade from the tree.

When Bonnie stayed with us this time last year after Erika's wedding, I noticed her eating them (our old dogs never touched them.)  Of course, I Googled them right away last year and found that they are, indeed, edible, just not very palatable--not to humans, anyway.  Bonnie the pig-dog apparently thinks they are just dandy! In fact, she can't get enough.  (Darby eats a few then loses interest. )

So, yesterday evening, as I picked up EASILY 10 times the poop I normally pick up after these dogs who eat high quality dog food, it occurred to me that if Bonnie continued to tank up on figs, she would be in a world of hurt on Friday while flying for 8 hours across the US with no "bathroom privileges."   I saw the headlines "Corgi explodes over Oklahoma!"

When she proceeded to poop at least FOUR more well-formed, normal-volume poops within an hour or so, I knew I had to pick up the figs she hadn't eaten yet. So I did the only thing I could think of--I dragged out Glenn's shop-vac and about 35 pounds of orange extension cord.

 

When I fired up the shop vac, Darby retreated a few feet, but the roar didn't deter Bonnie one bit!  In fact, I think it made her panic as she realized her snacks were rapidly disappearing!

It took me nearly 45 minutes to suck up all the figs, and while I didn't open the canister, Glenn says it was nearly full!

So today, I came home from work and did it again.  That's when my neighbor caught me!

I hope the figs Bonnie has already eaten and those she will manage to get tomorrow as they fall off the tree during the day, work their way through her system by the time we leave the house on Friday morning.

But, just in case they don't, I asked Erika to bring lots of towels and wipe-ups when she meets us at the airport.

Ears -- again

Look at the ears on this girl!  

 

I don't think Pumpkin's ears are going to be as big as Leda's Zoe's are, but they are pretty big. Her brother Bailey has a rather impressive set of ears, too! 

I can't wait to get my mitts on the Pumpkin-girl. 

A little more than two weeks, now! 

P.S.  Looks like things are still a go for Bonnie to fly with me to Virginia!  Keep those fingers crossed! 

Dog pile!

Where's Pumpkin???

Can you see her little nose and little toes sticking out of that pile of Cardigans?

Here's another photo of her brawling with Bailey and one of Leda's other dogs. (Her tri-coloredness gives me goose bumps! See how Bailey is biting her front leg? I want to do that to her back leg where the white, brown and tan all come together. I won't, but I want to! If you think I'm strange, go check out The Pioneer Woman's blog.  She who claims to be "Plowing through life in the country -- one calf nut at a time." She has great recipes, too.  Ones that don't involve "calf nuts.") 

I think Pumpkin and Darby are going to have great fun together. Bonnie and Darby play a LOT, but Bonnie usually gives up long before Darby is ready to. Darby keeps trying to engage Bonnie by play bowing and sneaking little playful bites, but when Bonnie is done, she is done and she lets Darby know that in no uncertain terms! Darby often looks like she's thinking, "Darn, and it was just getting fun."

I think Pumpkin is going to give her a run for her money! (Whatever the heck that means!)

Oh. my. gosh.

You just have to hurry on over to The Daily Corgi and check out this video! 

Erika, ferrets play a part. 

It has inspired me to work on some tricks with The Darbs. 

Cross your fingers

Would you cross your fingers and keep them crossed that on Friday morning the forecasted temperature in Dallas is 85 or below?  That means that Bonnie can safely change planes in Dallas on her way home to Erika and Christian (and Rocco!  I'll be there with my camera to record their introduction!)  I wish Bonnie could ride in the cabin with me; she is one dog who would do that very, very well. 

Forecast for
Dallas, TX

Fri
Oct 1

Sunny

83°
62°

I've know since December when Erika left Bonnie with me that she would have to go home.  But, I didn't realize how hard it would be for me to let her go.  I thought that having Darby would make it almost not matter.  But, that's not the case.  I am really going to miss her! I'm looking forward to the fun of an older puppy--Pumpkin will be 5 months old by the time I get her.  But, I'm still going to miss my sweet Bon-Bon granddaughter dog. 

Wasn't she a cute puppy?

Guess what we were doing this weekend, last year?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy 1st Anniversary, Erika and Christian!

And, because this is Darby's Daily, I have to include this shot from the night before the wedding: 

UPDATED -- What I did last Saturday...

...and hope to do again today:

 

Knit on a sweater made with yarn from the lovely Beaverslide Dry Goods  in Montana.

The photo doesn't do the color justice--it's a gorgeous blue called "Huckleberry Heather."

I hope you get to do something you want to do this Saturday!

UPDATE:

Sammy left a comment telling me what he is doing on this lovely Saturday--he, Baily, the Pumpkin-girl and Leda (and who knows how many other of the 22 dogs who live at Leda's house) are at a dog show in Gray Summit, Missouri.   Sounds like "running around the hotel room" just might be the highlight of the trip. I hope Pumpkin behaves and learns not to make too much noise in her crate, so she can be good on our flight home to California next month!

I had never heard of Gray Summit so I Googled it!  (If I were responsible for policing the Google brand, I would correct me and say that GOOGLE is a trademark, the proper use of which in this context is "I performed a GOOGLE search")  Sadly, most of the first Google entries are about a terrible school bus crash in April of this year.  But, I also learned that Gray Summit is on the famous Route 66 (so be sure to get your kicks, OK, Sammy?) and the population in the county is about 3,000 with a density of about 377 people per square mile which is considered very low. The tornado activity is slightly above average for Missouri, meaning 106% greater than the US overall average.

But, by far, the most interesting information was "Most popular first names in Gray Summit, MO among deceased individuals and their ages at death:"  Check it out -- I guess there is at least one benefit to being named "Bertha."(I apologize to any readers who are named Bertha or have a loved one named Bertha.)


Name    Count    Lived (average)
George    6             76.2 years
John        5             71.6 years
Joseph     4            62.8 years
William   4            77.8 years
Edward   3            83.0 years
Charles   3            82.4 years
James     3           69.7 years
Bertha    3           88.9 years
Anna     3           73.0 years
Grace    3           88.0 years

(My sister says I have too much free time.  Whatever would prompt her to say that?)

Guess whose birthday it is--sort of

Recognize this guy?

This is the male half of the people who belong to Bryn who is Darby's mother.  Remember when I wrote all about it back here?

Well today is Mike's birthday, sort of.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SORT OF, MIKE! 

Why "sort of," you ask?

Well our plan was that Glenn and I would be spending this week visiting with Mike, Wendy, Bryn and Dynah in Maine.  We would sightsee and pick up where we left off when the four of them visited our house back in March. Tonight, the plan was, we would all (at least the four humans) go out to celebrate Mike's birthday.  But, in late August, just short of buying plane tickets, we decided it best to postpone the trip until next year (that's a whole other story, but nothing bad.)

We were all so disappointed, even if it was the only thing to be done.  Mike, bless his heart, was disappointed enough to declare this particular birthday (I won't tell you which one it is, but will say he is older than he looks and acts!) will just have to wait until Glenn and I can be there to celebrate with him. 

That works for us!  

But, we hope Mike really, not sort of, enjoys his day!  

Corgi Calendars are ready!

The Corgis with Blogs calendars are ready!  Head over to Corgi Butts  to check them out.  They would make great gifts for all your Corgi loving friends!   100% of the profits go to a local--local to Corgi Butts, that is!--Corgi Rescue.  Thanks again to Kelly for the fun contest--and for making everyone a winner by graciously creating two calendars!  And thanks to all of you who voted for my Darby!  (She is "Ms. March" in the second, slightly smaller version of the calendar.)

Buddy's Personal Assistant is better than I am

Buddy's personal assistant is better than I am.

If you go to his blog (see it in my sidebar,) you'll see all sorts of photos that she has taken on the walks they go on.  I decided not to stand back envying her any longer without trying it myself.

So, on Tuesday, when we went for a walk, I took my camera.  Not my big, expensive,  have-to-mess-with-settings-and-cry-real-hard-if-I-dropped-it-camera, just my cell phone camera.

Well, I have to say I don't deserve to stand in Buddy's personal assistant's shadow.

Here are the best (the BEST!) two photos I got:

Pathetic!

Shortly after this, the girl's leashes got tangled, I almost dropped my phone trying to put it in my pocket with one hand, and I almost stepped in dog poop that someone didn't pick up off the sidewalk!

Then!  Then!  When we were on our way home but still several houses away, Bonnie decided she needed to poop!  She was outside all day long, and decides she needs to poop while out for a walk!

And, OF COURSE, I didn't have any bags with me.*

Not only is Buddy's personal assistant better than I am at taking out-and-about photos, she probably would never consider leaving home without poop bags!


* I trudged home, hoping that no one saw Bonnie poop, and returned with a bag! 

Coincidence

So, remember the non-stuffed, stuffed animals I got the girls?

Take a close look:

Now, take a look at who arrived at Erika's and Christian's house today:

 

 

Is it only me, or is there an unfortunate resemblance here?


P.S.  Leda, the ferret's name is "Rocco." 
P.P.S.  Erika has read a good bit about ferrets and dogs and evidently, dogs that don't have high prey instincts usually get along really well with ferrets.

Dear, Leda.

Dear, Leda.

Thank you, again, for entrusting Glenn and me with not just ONE of the pups you have so carefully bred, but soon, a SECOND one.

By now you know how nervous I am, how much I worry about Darby--and will worry about Pumpkin.  You know how I have too much time on my hands how carefully I think about the toys they play with and the activities they do.  You know how neurotically carefully I pay attention to the eating and drinking and pooping of creatures that are entrusted to my care.  One can tell a LOT about a creature by observing its poop, huh?  Did I ever mention the time I fed Erika strawberry Jello? (Glenn would say this topic is yet ANOTHER one that I just didn't have to mention.  Poor Glenn.) 

Anyway, because you know how strange I am how much I care for Darby and want Pumpkin to feel welcomed here when she joins us next month, it probably won't surprise you to open the package I mailed off to you today.

A terry cloth hand-towel.

After I slept with the towel under my pillow for a couple of nights, I put it in Darby's crate for a few nights.  Then, just before packing it up, I rubbed it over the back of Harry the cat.  My thought is that letting Pumpkin sleep with the towel for a few weeks before she comes to live with us might let her be a little familiar with us when she gets here. 

So, this is fair warning--when you receive an envelope with an El Cajon, CA return address in a few days,  you might want to put on rubber gloves before opening it!

Love,

Melissa

New toys!

I was at the pet store picking up food for Bonnie (which, of course, they didn't carry in a size that will just tide her over until October 1, when I hope she will fly to Erika in Virginia, but rather will last her until this time next year!) and I found the cutest toys I just couldn't resist buying.

They are flat stuffed--or rather not-stuffed--animals that have small empty water bottles inside their bodies.  The idea is that most dogs love chomping on crackly water bottles and when the first bottle is all chomped out, you open the velcro flap on the belly, pull it out and insert another one.  (My sister gave Darby a non-plush dragon like this.  She LOVED it but proceeded to nibble off the velcro strips holding the flap shut!  She didn't eat them, just rendered them -- and therefore the toy -- useless!)

Of course, I gave each girl her own animal.  And of course, at one point each girl decided she preferred the one her friend had! 

 Well, OK.  So BOTH girls didn't decide they wanted the other's toy, Bonnie decided she wanted Darby's toy.

And, of course,  Bonnie managed to assert her authority and take Darby's toy away! (At least she didn't try to stop Darby from immediately picking up the one she had dropped!)

It's going to be interesting to see how Darby and Pumpkin sort things out and determine who is top dog.  I have a sneaking suspicious the Pumpkin-girl will be it -- Leda says she is quite feisty and not timid with the older dogs.

It will be interesting! 


P.S.  Bonnie is so much easier to photograph than Darby is--Darby's dark eyes often get lost in her dark face.  I'm going to have to learn how to compensate for that--Pumpkin's face is even darker.