A present from Ripley

Last night I was dozing on the couch. Hubby and I visited Joshua Tree National Park and we were out all afternoon and it was COLD up there! I came back exhausted. Hubby let all 3 dogs out front in the fenced yard and they came back in. I awoke when they came in the house and saw, out of the corner of my eye, that Ripley was staring at something on the floor, by the couch. She didn't touch it, but she sat and stared at it. I asked hubby, "Is there something on the floor that Ripley is looking at?" and when he replied, "Don't MOVE!", duh...I immediately sat up and put on my glasses! Guess what it was? A DEAD RAT! Or, actually, not quite dead! Now, I'm sure Ripley didn't mangle it...that would have been Daisy's job (our little female cat...), but I'm also sure that Ripley found it outside and brought it in to...er..."play with"!!! No pics. Sorry. Hubby scooped it up and I don't know what he did with it. Ugh. Here's Daisy saying, "WHO ME??????" Just LOOK at that innocent face! Actually, it is the face of a ruthless KILLER! She's killed mice, rats (almost as big as her!), birds, gophers, hummingbirds, and even baby rabbits! She has a pile of "dead things" out in the garage (in a corner) and I have to...er...clean it out every now and then! GO DAISY!

After a day with Ripley...this....

is what our German Shepherd is like. Totally EXHAUSTED! She's a HANDFUL!!! I mean, who could blame him for konking out on the couch????

Sunday morning breakfast

Okay, so the pack didn't get sardines this morning! They did get their eggs, yogurt, and 1 chopped up hot dog with cheese. Guess what? Their dishes are all clean! Yup! Clean as a whistle! And, they are all sacked out and it's only 7:00 a.m.! They helped me go outside this morning and fill up the bird feeders. After yesterday's rain, the birds will be hungry today and I wanted to get their food out early. We have doves, sparrows, and some kind of little black and white bird visit the feeders. I have a family of mockingbirds that lives nearby. One year I found a baby mockingbird who was cornered in our front yard by our white cat, Loki. The little thing was stretching his/her wings out as much as he/she could to scare the cat away, and I guess it worked because he/she was unharmed. I brought the STUPID CAT inside and I guess he somehow got back to its nest. The parents were divebombing the STUPID CAT, so they knew where the baby was. I love to hear the mockingbirds sing. We also have a family of orioles up in our cottonwood tree, although I haven't seen them this year. Once in a while we have a visiting owl who hoots in the tree in the evenings. We have a roadrunner family that has lived in our neighborhood (we don't get much car traffic here) for years and one time, one of them was chasing our little (petite) cat, Daisy, down the street! YES! Can you believe it? She might have been after one of their babies! In the 33 years we've lived here, we've always had a family of roadrunners (HA! probably 15th generation by now)! Here's a photo of Loki (STUPID CAT, the white one) and Daisy (little hunter, the orange and white one!). Enjoy your Sunday!

Weekend breakfast

When I'm home on weekends, I like to cook a nice breakfast for our three dogs. They get eggs cooked in olive oil and a can of sardines. I also add some yogurt. They LOVE the warm eggs, yogurt, and sardines! The sardines add extra oil to their coats and Ripley's is absolutely shining! They also seem to help our old German Shepherd with his dry coat. If I forget to give him his sardines, his coat gets dull and dry, but when I give him some, he perks right up and his coat shines, too! I didn't get a photo this morning, but I'll take one tomorrow. Yum, yum! Weekend breakfast! It certainly is better than a dry, old bone!

How many bones does Ripley have?

Last weekend, when I went to visit the horses, I stopped by the feed store and bought 1 bone for each dog. Simple, right? Nah. Ripley immediately gathered two bones and then sat and protected them for the next two hours! She guarded them and kept one eye on the other sad-looking dogs! Little BUGGER!!! Well, at least it kept her busy and she took a LONG nap that afternoon! It was funny watching the other two dogs try to outwit her. Our German Shepherd finally stole one of the bones, ran down the hallway, and jumped on our bed to enjoy his catch!

Here's Ripley...."Hmmmm...now how many bones DO I have?"