Buddies

Have you seen the movie, The Hangover?  In that movie, among other themes...Alan wants to be just like Phil.  Hootie is constantly calling Jack, 'Alan' around here.  

Jack, stealing my spot

Cat Nappin'

Jack walks under my legs when I am being pet, 

he drinks out of my water bowl, 

begs for food when I do and 

is always trying to get between Hootie and me.  

He's kind of annoying 

but he does play with me now and then. 

 ~W

In My Element...

...daily.  

The only thing that would make life better?  If I could lose the leash.  I still don't understand why Hootie doesn't want to spend the whole day hunting.  ~W

Fall Fun

Imagine a Tyrannosaurus Rex putting their nose into a cave and you are that "thing" he is hunting.  The T. Rex's hot breath rushes past your face as he exhales, while you hold on tight as he drawls breath in; deep, snorting inhales as he breathes with his mouth open allowing the extra nasal passage on the roof of his mouth to fill with your odoriferous scent.  You quiver in place and hope his interest will fade or be drawn to something else.

I'm that T. Rex in these photos!  I can smell that little chipmunk, just inches away from my teeth.  Lately I've been hot on the trail of several prize catches.  Unfortunately, I have found something else out about my desired treats...

Enlarge to see a "behind" in the log.

...chipmunks can climb, really high up trees.  ~W

The Gentle Hunter...

Believe it or not, I DO know when to hunt and when to be nice.  Hootie did a fantastic job capturing a very disturbing picture of me while I was hunting the ghost crabs on vacation!  Check out my fangs and wild eyes!  For the full effect, if you can enlarge this pic...DO IT!

*****

But I do know when it's time to hunt-to-kill or when to hunt-to-discover some- thing.  On the return trip home, from vacation, the family spent a night in Gatlinburg, TN.  On the morning walk before jumping in the van, Hootie and I found this little kitten.  See my nose!  His mama was close by and he was much too little to be away from her, so we left him.  The girl child was NOT happy when she found out.  Think the first picture of me above, but add a girl child face... can you see it?    ~W  

Winston and the ghost crabs...a.k.a Vacation Hunting

I know not everyone will appreciate my efforts to help the sea turtles flourish.  Hootie has a soft spot for turtles over all, so I was thinking of her on our nightly walks.  ~W

With my "cousins"... (Vacation, Part 1)

My family recently went on vacation and they made plans to take me!  

First we went to some mountain area and I met my "cousins." 

Their names are Finn and Digby.  

Heading down to the river for a romp

Playing tag! 

Sea Monsters!  

The view at the stream...waterfalls and mountains!  

Fishing

with my Aunt 

Hootie has some pretty cool family!  

Next stop...the ocean.

~W

Frogging

Recently the girl child has started walking with the DH and myself when we go out for our nighttime frog hunt.  She brought Hootie's camera last night.  There was a little accident with my retractable leash.  While the DH was trying to fix it, the girl child was playing around with the camera.  I don't think I am the baseball cap type.  BTW, Hootie needs to go buy a new retractable leash today.  

 *****

The girl child took these pics...one of my frog friends sitting at the edge of the pond and me playing with another frog.  Don't worry, he eventually got away.

What?

Get your own!  

~W

Is-a Good!

Is a Good!

Have you seen the movie Enchanted?  It is one of Hootie's favorites.  It's one of those lovey-dovey, feel good, girl movies.  I think the best part is Pip.  He's the chipmunk in the story.  


*****
When Hootie and I go out for our walks each day, I LOVE to try and find my own little Pip friend.  Hootie keeps saying I am retired, but I don't understand that word.  
Sometimes Pip hides under the rocks near the water's edge.

Other times he's under the rocks on the hillsides.  

He also likes to hide under downed tree limbs.  

***

Most of the time he gets away before I can nab him.  

If only Hootie would not hold my leash so tightly!  

Once in a while I am successful in my hunting and I get more than just a dirt covered nose.  I don't know why Hootie won't post a picture of my catch.  I know she's a big softy.  What does she expect?  She owns a hunter!  ~W

Oh, Deer!

Life around the Burrow has been full of nothing much.  A little road construction made crossing our favorite causeway a challenge.  Towards the end of construction I stepped in the fresh cement.  I left two paw prints...thought I was doing the walk of fame, but the next time I came through I found that the workers had smoothed out my prints.  I thought they liked me too.  They tried to give me pizza one time!  *****  I spent several times this spring playing a reverse Prince Charming for Hootie too.  It seems she can't decide whether or not to keep her hands covered and inevitably she loses one glove.  Our next time out means we have to re-trace our steps.  Luckily for her, I always see to spot her lost items.  

*****

And those deer...

they THINK they are so hidden!  

Okay, well, maybe the next two below are a little hard to see!  

It looks like Mother Nature is smiling in the woods. 

*****  

 Sometimes, streams need to be crossed.  This is a great time for me to remind Hootie that she needs to watch where she steps...

We did cross these rocks above and good for Hootie, she saw the Northern Water Snake before it disappeared under the rock.  It's not poisonous, just scary...if one wasn't paying attention.  

 ~W

The Good Thing About Hootie...

She left me last week, so she could take her human kids out west and show them the Pacific Ocean. I would have liked to have gone too, but ... my time away from her helped me appreciate her all that much more.

The good thing about her is,

She under stands my need to hunt...

...to dig...

...and to take a swim!

I missed her and I am glad she's back. Her hubby told her I was very pouty while she was away. He was exaggerating....I don't pout...much.

~W

Simple Things...

It's amazing how the simple things can make us happy or drive us crazy!

I lost my tags a few days ago and since then Hootie has been obsessed with finding them. No luck on her part...so she bought me some new ones. For me, one of my favorite simple things is a nice nap on the couch after a great hike!

~W

Vanity!

At least my human got the correct name in the first spot!

~W

My Trophy

Now here's a great find!

I was out hiking with Hootie the other day and I found this wonderful treat. Hootie was pretty tolerant of my needing to stop and chew on it every so often. I carried it around for the whole walk...an hour and a half. I left it out back, at the house, before I went inside. When I came back out, the next morning, some thief had taken it off the steps. I bet it was Tiger! He's a sneaky neighbor.

~W

My First Year...

...of being a Dog Guardian

~ by Hootie

I remember being a young girl and reading a mystery novel by Daphne du Maurier called Rebecca. In the story, the dog Jasper is a faithful, non-important, companion to Mrs. de Winters. Jasper stuck with me and I dreamt that some day I would grow up and have a dog just like him. Winston is my Jasper.

This past November we celebrated being Winston's guardian for one year. I grew up with dogs in my household, but I never really took care of them. I have learned so much from him over the past year!

26 Things I have learned from Winston

Feel free to insert: a dog, of a dog or with a dog after each "..."

*how to walk...

*how to clean up waste...

*how much one can shed

*how to bath...

*how to brush...

*how to pick ticks off...

*how to give pills...

*how to pet the belly...

*how to trim nails...

*how to play fetch...

*how to dry off...

*how to pick burrs out of the fur...

*how to I.D. tapeworms in the wastes...

*how to cuddle...(especially a bigger dog!)

*how to praise...

*how to wipe off dirty paws...

*how to go for rides...

*how to eat ice cream...

*how to hunt, even though retired,...

*how to de-skunk...

*how to blame flatulence...

*how real that flatulence blaming may be...

*how to ignore begging...

*how to share pizza...

*how to howl...

*how to trust he'll return should he get loose.

I don't know how to put into words the happiness I feel from Winston each time I return home. He pulls himself out of bed, groggy from napping, sits down, places his head in my hands so I can cuddle his head and his back feet slowly slide out from under him causing us both to end up down on the ground, his tail thump, thump, thumping as he looks up at me and seems to be smiling a doggie hello.

When I am cooking in the kitchen he lays in his bed, keeps his eyes slightly opened and in my direction, like a sentry keeping guard of his charge. Should I leave the room, he lifts his head inquiring when I'll return. If I linger too long he'll come survey the situation. He is always nearby. When the food starts to smell yummy, he'll come see if he can be a taste-tester.

If I jingle my car keys to go pick up one of my children from wherever, he runs to the door, ready to jump in the van for a ride. Without saying a word, I can open the house door, pop the van sliding door and Winston automatically hops in, ready to be my backseat driver.

Hat Head...I have also learned to enjoy walking in every weather condition possible. Cold rain is my least favorite, but dressed appropriately all weather can be fun. Winston enjoys trails much more than walking on the road. The nature lover in me always spots interesting finds. I have learned to focus on protecting my camera when I walk and worrying less about my hair (hat head). :) That's a tough thing for ANY girl to get over!

A lack of vacation. This may be the one area that has suffered in the past year. Our freedom to have someone just drop by once or twice a day and feed the cats so we can vacation has disappeared. I am not willing to put Winston in a kennel. I do not know what his conditions pre-us were, but I am pretty sure he wasn't a pampered pooch. My fear is that he was strictly a hunting dog and left in a cage most of the time...hence his strong, strong hunting desires and instincts. Maybe this year we will be able to get away. When we do go on vacation we will either take W with us, or call upon a friend who would love to spoil our pooch a little for us. :)

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't proclaim how happy I am that we have Winston! How wonderful love at first sight is...I am so glad his picture was in the newspaper and that our shelter could care for him until we were brought together.

Have you donated to your local animal shelter this year?

~Hootie

What I found in the woods today (11/30)...

Yesterday on a walk, I made Hootie stop and investigate a pile of brush. Inside the pile I found this very young cat. Hootie was cautious as she reached down to see how friendly, or not, was this baby. He was VERY friendly. She scooped him up and tucked him inside her coat. Then she let me put my nose on him. He was friendly! He liked smelling me back too!

Unfortunately for our household, this guy couldn't hang around. Hootie says two cats are enough. I thought maybe she could boot Jack or Lily out and keep my find. The girl child was really sad. She tried pleading, begging and crying to add a third cat to the mix, but Hootie remained firm and took this little guy to the shelter. I heard Hootie tell her hubby on a phone message that taking this little guy to the shelter was one of the hardest, but right, things she's had to do. Hootie really wanted to keep this baby too.

I know my friend Laurie and her staff at the shelter will take good care of this guy. Maybe he was just lost and his owners will claim him. Knowing where we found him though, most likely he was dumped. Anyone need a new friend for Christmas? He gets along with others, is curious and purrs like crazy. Hmm, now that I think about it, maybe it was a good idea that Hootie took this baby to the shelter and didn't keep him. I all ready have to share her with the two cats that live here, the two teens and her hubby.

*****

Hootie has started her Christmas baking in the house. She took a break from making buckeyes for the humans to bake me a special treat last night! Mmmm! She says she's going to post the recipe on her blog soon.

~W

Sun Rise...

On our walk this morning, the sun was rising up over one ridge as we walked on an old fire run. Hootie decided she'd be artsy-fartsy and take a few photos of our shadows.

After taking her photos, Hootie and I were standing stock-still when we heard thundering hooves of approaching deer. Six deer; five doe and one buck came over the ridge and down the hill, crossing our path maybe 30 feet away.

Soon it will be breeding time for the deer: rut time. The bucks have rubbed the velvet off their antlers in preparation of defending their territories. They aren't running solo yet though.

*******

I don't like to limit myself, so it's ALWAYS chipmunk hunting time for me! ~W

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

Thank Goodness too!

It's finally great hiking weather.

The BIG baby, Jack needs to stay inside.

Wimp!

~W

Just over 24 hours to vote!

See my last posting for details!

I'm now in 25th place and definitely not going to be on the calendar! C'est la vie.

Poor Hootie, she is a little bummed. Good thing she gets to look at me all the time. I'm lucky to have her as a friend.

~W

A Pin-up Boy!

Hootie took that last picture of me and entered it into a calendar contest. The contest posts the winner on the calendar cover and then on their month of choice. My choice month would be November, but I'm not poised to win this competition. The top 12 entries make the calendar. Currently I am in 6th position, but it's a close competition.

The group holding this contest is a non-profit called PetsAlive. PetsAlive is an organization which provides low cost spay and neutering in south/central Indiana. Their goal is to decrease the number of animals going into the shelters therefore decreasing the number of animals needing to be euthanized. A wonderful goal and mission, if you ask me. You might recall I was in the shelter less than a year ago.

Well, the contest goes until Sept 19th and votes do cost a dollar. But just think, you can spend a dollar to show how great you think I look and earn me a spot on that calendar, make me feel great, make Hootie proud and then at the end of the year claim it on your taxes! Win, Win, Win, Win!!! If you are going to spend a dollar, why not spend more? Great cause, you know.

Don't wait until September 19th... Vote 4 Me!

Thanks admirers! ~W

Beauty in the Eye of the Beholder

It was

the DH's

b-day

recently.

I gave

him

this

photo

for his

office.

His g'ma would have said, "Self praise stinks."

But she didn't know me!

~W

An Impromptu Romp in the Water

A few weeks ago, Hootie and I were on our way to take a short walk in the summer heat. We were three quarters of the way down one of the paths and my neighbor, Kai showed up! Kai has a "sister" Lucy and they both wear collars for their electric fence. Lucy doesn't like to get shocked, but Kai is always up for an adventure! Since Kai decided she'd like to walk with us, Hootie took us down to the lake for a swim.

We found a cicada on it's back and took turns seeing who could hold it in our mouth the longest. It's wiggly legs and flapping wings made it a challenge. For kicks Hootie added the photo below. It's a cicada we couldn't get to. ~W