Staking Her Territory

Mr. Barty Farty  had to spend half the night with us Wednesday night as his folks were away and his human brother got off work at midnight.

He was literally pointing toward his home with his nose when I took the "wrong" road home. But he's been here before and I think he just assumed it was a pit stop on the way back to his people.

Mabel makes it perfectly clear where Bart cannot sleep!

In the house, Bart usually sleeps under his mom's desk and he kept trying to get under mine...but mine has a lower shelf and foiled him at every turn. But I kept petting and reassuring him and Mabel Lou kept playing with him.

We had fed both of them early so there would be no food issues but I gave them both chicken jerky and we all had a beef jerky. All was well until Bart jumped on the sofa... Mabel Lou's spot! He got down pretty fast. The two of them played a while. Since it was raining, Mabel had an extra bed in the living room as her outside bed would've gotten wet. The two of them curled up on those beds side by side. SO cute!

After a while, Mabel wanted sofa time. Bart got up and stretched, had some water and curled up on the bed closest to us. He was being such a good sport, I wanted to see how things would go if he were to sleep over. I gave them cookies and Mabel got in bed and Bart got into her bed (that she never uses) on the floor. And both dogs slept! He was fine and so was Mabel.

But when the Godson phoned to say he was on the way and Bart saw him drive up...he was one happy camper!  At least now we KNOW he can do a sleep over here. I can't say the same about Mabel sleeping there!

The bed pics were taken earlier in the evening when we got home from hiking. This last photo is horrible... my flash didn't go off. As always I find those pics the most fascinating... I can't even count all the paws in that shot... Mabel had jumped off the sofa for a roustabout. Check out Bart's eyes!

FYI, Bart is sporting his "summer do." Better pics of that later.

Incredibly Photogenic Pup

We think Atilla (a/k/a 'tilla boy) is one incredibly photogenic pup! Don't you agree???

The Old Girl Still Has It

I love seeing my girl in action. I am amazed daily when I remind myself she's TEN!

Wonder if He Gets Much Work

The Red Cup

When I was a girl, my mother purchased a set of melamine dishes in a variety of colors. There was a clear plastic outer liner and a little woven basket-weave piece in the middle and the color part was inside. Being the girl of the house, the pink set was mine.

That is, until Tommy came along. Tommy was my stepfather's brother-in-law.  For some reason, I never referred to my stepfather or his people with a more formal title. This seems odd to me now as even my mother's closest friends were given the honorary title of Aunt or Uncle. Tommy most certainly did not deserve to be my uncle.

He was a such a girly little man. Short and stocky, he was always complaining about something. Still, I loved going down to their house in the "country" just below McComb, MS. There were stocked ponds full of catfish and if they weren't biting, Tommy would throw some feed on the water and dip them up in a dip net for an impromptu fish fry. The berry patches were magnificent; I swear I could eat my weight in them! Around the bend lived my step grandmother and her husband, a dairy farmer in his eighties. He would let me help feed the cows and reward me with a cup of cold fresh cream. And then there was Buster, may favorite cow of all.

In that story, I wrote of Tommy's love of the color red:

... if at all possible, he ate out of a red bowl or plate… said it made his food taste better. If there wasn’t a red bowl, pink ‘ould do! If there wasn’t a pink one, he’d pretty much go hungry!

So, when they came to our house, guess who had to "be the bigger man" and give up her pink plate and cup? Yep, me!

He must've made a lasting impression on me because I swear my coffee tastes much better when I put it in the cup you see above.

Giving Her All He's Got!

I just LOVE this action shot of Tila boy and Mabel! Check out Mabel Lou's greyhound hind legs in action... see how far they reach to her front?? And the look on Tila's face... He IS an incredibly photogenic guy! ;-)

Incredibly Photogenic Guy

Yeah... we have a few of those around here:

Incredibly Photogenic Guy #1:

Bart

Incredibly Photogenic Guy #2 

Atilla (with an assist from an incredibly photogenic girl, Mabel Lou)

Clever Gal

What's this? Hiding in the pool covers???

It's Mallory trying to be all sly!

Always Ready

Even when I'm still unloading the car from class... she's always ready to go!