She's Getting Older

She's getting older, this pup o' mine. And the signs break my heart. She's grayer under her chin. She hesitates and groans getting into the jeep. The other day, tired of waiting for her to jump down, I placed one arm under Mabel's butt and the other around her chest and lifted all 95 lbs of her to the ground as she groused her shock and disbelief.

She rarely wants to play, even with canine friends. The other day, a rabbit raced across the trail right in front of her. Instead of the expected chase, she turned and looked up at me as if to make sure I didn't realize she failed to race after it.

She has trouble getting in bed. It's no longer enough for her to go into my tiny bathroom for a three-point turn and a two step hop onto the bed. No, she prefers starting in the hallway.

Yesterday, I needed a nap and by some miracle, I made it into bed first (the better to stake my territory!). She came round the far side, sniffing to make sure of where I was; where all my limbs were. And then she disappeared. I thought she had gone into the hall for that longer running start. I raised my head...but no, she wasn't coming.

I leaned over to see if she had decided to nap on the floor... no, she wasn't there either.  And then she came bounding in the room and leaped onto the bed. Turns out, she needed an even longer running start and had gone down the hall.

Oh dear!

And so, I may be running out of funds faster than I care to admit but, I'm shopping for steps and ramps. Anything for my girl...

Impressed by Her Antics

Would it impress you if I told you that when Miss Mabel hears me putting ice in a cup, she comes running to the kitchen even if she's all the way around the house or even in the car??? She does this because she knows there is a can of O Boy Oberto beef jerky right above the ice maker and she has trained me to give her one when I'm getting ice. No???

Well, what if I told you that I trained her that she ONLY gets ONE a day and she only does this the first time I put ice in my cup on any given day??? I thought so.

The Troublemaker

The other day, when I wrote about our local peacock flock, I wanted to write about this little guy, but thought my end of day pics were just too bad.  But now that I've had another encounter with the flock, I couldn't resist. I'm certain there is a troublemaker in flock. See him on the outside of the fence?

The other night as I watched the flock, he was one of the set of four belonging to one peahen. She jumped the fence and two of her chicks followed. Another went under. This guy comes strolling up long after all the others were inside the fence. He panics and frantically twerps and runs along the fence. He can't get over and can't figure out under.

The other peahen and her two chicks as well as the childless hen were way up the hill. And this one's mom and siblings were now headed out the gate on the other side of the property. The big male flew up to the top of the fence and called out to this little chick who scurried around to dad and finally joined up with the others.

I would have chalked it up to just a lost little chick if I hadn't encountered the flock again yesterday. I was driving home from the BFF's early morning and sun was in my eyes. There in the middle of the road, backlit by the sun was a pea chick, then a mom, then a chick. I slowed and the oncoming traffic stopped. Another chick crossed, then the second mom slowly strolled into traffic. Two more chicks raced past her. Then nothing. My heart sank. Oh, she's lost a chick! I was so sad. Our peacocks have a hard life in our desert mountains full of predators.

But mom was still standing in the middle of the street, proud and defiant. And then out of some tall grass, here comes the little troublemaker...lagging behind. As he passed his mom she nipped him in the butt! Once he was safely out of the road, she crossed the road where the others were and the big male and large childless hen were already waiting.

It's been a few years since we've had babies and I'm so loving running into these guys. We've never had this many chicks. The last set of babies was three males that the neighbors named Ed, Larry and Larry (after the Newheart show). Larry and Larry were identical and Ed had a deformed wing.

But with this many, we may not get to name them...not all of them. But I do have a name for one of them.

Local Post: Missing Horse

Our local LAPD Sr. Lead Officer asked me to help spread the word on a missing horse so this post is for my fellow creekhikers in the Tujunga River wash area:

A horse was lost in Hansen dam about 8:00 am Sunday morning. rider got bucked off and the horse took off...and hasn't been seen since. The rider lives in Shadow Hills and the horse knows the way home, but didn't get there...yet (5:00 pm Sunday). the horse is a tall bay Arab gelding with white socks, wearing an endurance saddle with green saddle pad ...if anyone sees or hears of any interesting leads, please call Lynda 1818-804-6770...the horse is either hung up in the bushes somewhere...or taken.

There is a reward. If any of you hikers find him, please call for help.

My Kind of Traffic Jam

One, two...

three, four, five...

six, seven, eight, nine, TEN!

All ten of these guys were in the street the other night. Usually, it's just the big male stopping traffic. But he had the full harem out for a strut. I raced home to get the camera. I haven't seen baby chicks in a few years. This is the best kind of traffic jam!

Oh Ru - beeee, Don't Take Your Love to Town

The rotten boys Mabel and I hike with have a new sissy to keep them in line and her name is...Ruby! She's a rescue and hasn't had a lot of time with other dogs. She and Mabel snarl at each other for a good 30 seconds and then all their female bitchiness disappears and we have a nice hike! Go figure! Isn't she a cutie patootie???

I've long had a weakness for dog butts and rottie butts are the best. I just adore those little Rorschach  tests on the back end. But Ruby's is extra special:

If that doesn't tell you what she's all about...

Evidence of Breakfast in the Creek

Mulberries are in season! Every morning, I stand beside the creek and eat my fill! They are tasty and wonderful but there's no hiding the evidence. The purple stain lasts until the next day...when I'm at it again!