On The Fly

We seem to have a new sport here at our house.  So far, Bunny and Morgan are the only participants, but I've seen Lilac give it a shot.  Blueberry probably has, but she's never lower herself to letting anyone catch her in the act.

What I'm talking about here is fly catching.  For some reason, Bunny and Morgan have both decided this is an entertaining pasttime this summer.  I would prefer they found something else to do, but at least the flies don't bother us much in the house.

The funny part to me is that they both seem to have different styles.  In that respect, it is entertaining to watch.  At least, until they actually catch it.

Bunny is fast.  Actually, she's so fast about it that if you blink or sneeze, you'd miss the whole thing.  She sits still for a second, waits for the fly to buzz near her nose and then with a snap, it's completely gone.  Her head barely even moves!

Morgan on the other hand, takes her time.  She'll stalk the fly all over the living room, pouncing and watching it for an hour before she catches it.  The fun doesn't end there, though!   She'll hold it just so in her mouth, then drop it to the ground, presumably to play with it.  I saw one crawling across the floor feebly the other day, no doubt calling "medic" after her third catch and release.  Then she gave a pounce and the darned thing crawled behind the computer desk and away from the jaws of death.  He was a lucky one.  The other ones she has killed, as well as a hapless spider who decided to make a web on the window ledge the other morning. 

It grosses me out to watch them, but at the same time, it's like an accident you can't look away from.  Am I the only one with such strange dogs?  Does anybody else out there have a dog with a habit that grosses them out?

Darn That Harness

Bunny here, telling you all about our second hike of last weekend.

We had such a good time Friday night hiking at Farmdale Creek that we wanted to go again on Saturday since the weather was so nice.  We'd been cooped up too much because of the heat and we really wanted to get out and stretch our legs and spend time together.  So, Morgan, Blueberry and I all got in the van with Mom and Dad and headed off to find new trails to hike on. 

Every time we go over to Bloomington, we pass the signs for Lake Bloomington and Lake Evergreen, and we've been curious.  We heard there are hiking trails around there, but we couldn't find out a lot about it on the internet, so we decided to just go and see.  I have to bark that it was beautiful over there!  Even if we'd just have driven around, it would have been great to all be together and see the sights.

We saw a trail head, though, so we parked the van and got out.  We went over to look at the lake for a little bit and got to listen to the lively music of an Indian wedding celebration that was happening in the park.  At least, we think it was a wedding.  We aren't for sure about that.  Anywho, after a few photo opportunities, we were off on the trail.

The trail was pretty nice and mostly went near the lake.  It was really grassy and these little white moths kept flying up all around me was I was walking.  I felt like a fairy princess in a movie.  Once we got under the trees, though, the moths seemed to vanish, which was okay since the kept flying up to my nose. 

I was hoping to take a dip in the lake this time, too, but Mom and Dad told me not to.  So, I was just wandering along the trail with Mom seeing the sights.  Then it happened.  A mouse (or mom said it might have been a shrew) ran across the trail in front of us!  I leaped to grab it and I would've had it if that darned leash on my harness were just two feet longer.  I danced around and begged Mom to let me go after it, but she wouldn't.  Phooey!

Morgan got all excited about something in the bushes, too, but Dad told her there was nothing there.  I was in front and while I didn't see anything in there, I did see lots of deer tracks in the mud on the trail.  After Friday night when that buck was right in front of Dad and Morgan, I'm not sure Dad was right about that one!  He told Morgan she couldn't go after it, too.  Blueberry didn't seem to have any interest in hunting anything.

A little later, we went around a bend in the trail and a little frog hopped out right in front of me.  I went for it and darned if that harness didn't hold me back again!  I swear this time the leash got shorter.  I'm not sure how that happened.  Morgan saw it, too, and we both wanted a shot at it, but Mom and Dad said they didn't need us foaming at the mouth.  Phooey again!

After a while when we'd been walking in the woods for a while, we came to a small clearing down by the lake again and realized we'd gone a really long way.  We took a water break and a few more pictures, then headed back towards where we'd come in.  I have a feeling that we could have walked all the way around the lake, but that would have been exhausting.

I have had so much fun with our hikes lately, I'm hoping next weekend is nice again so we can go out and try a few more that Mom and Dad have found out about.  Maybe I'll have better luck with snagging a souvenir, too!  A girl can hope!

Wordless Wednesday 8/4 -- Eyes On The Sky

We've Been Collared

Bunny here, writing a little about Greyhound and German Shepherd fashion today.

We Greyhounds are a bit infamous for our fashions.  We wear winter coats when it's cold because we don't have enough body fat or fur to stay warm.  It's also the reason most of us don't swim without a PFD, no fat means you sink like a stone.  We wear raincoats sometimes, too.  Heck, some hounds who live in really cold and snowy places even wear boots. 

The one thing we're really known for, however, is our fancy collars.  Greyhounds wear martingale collars because our necks are wider than our heads.  Regular collars would fall right off.  A lot of hounds wear harnesses when they walk, too.  Here at our house, we've amassed quite a collection of fancy collars.  We even have some that were featured in an art exhibit once.  That's not to say that we lay about the house or go out hiking every day in velvet and satin.  Our everyday collars are made of cotton and hemp.  We like to switch things around a lot.  On occasion, some Greyhounds wear special leather sighthound collars, too.  Those are more popular in Europe, but some hounds in the States have them, too.

When Morgan came to our house, that changed things a little.  She doesn't wear martingales.  They tried a few buckle collars on her, and Mom ordered her a fancy name collar that matches the ones the rest of us girls have, but Dad wasn't really satisfied with how things were fitting her.  He wanted the kind of collar for her that he's seen a lot of other German Shepherds wear.  So, finally last week, she got her black braided leather collar.  I have to say, it looks really good on her, and Dad found one that had a fancy double-braided design.  Morgan seems to really like it and never wants to take it off.  So, even though there's not a huge fashion market for German Shepherd princesses, Morgan is styling!   Mom even said she will splurge later and get her one of those fancy backpacks we've seen a few Shepherds wearing. 

So, anyway, that's what the best-dressed hounds around our house are wearing.  Do any of you have favorite collars or other stuff you like to wear?  Inquiring hounds want to know!

Unwinding With Nature

Bunny here, working at the keyboard again!

I know lots of people have long faces on Monday morning as they go back to work, and a lot of us dogs have long faces as we watch them go.  So, I thought I'd share a bit of our Friday night hike to take us all back to a happier place.

Aunt Julie had asked Mom and Dad if they wanted to go out Friday night, and they all agreed that a hike would be a nice thing to do.  They decided to have dinner together and then go walk at one of our favorite nearby places.  So, after they ate pasta, we all headed to Farmdale Park.

It was a really nice day Friday, so the temperature was cool enough for Morgan and me to go.  We started walking and it wasn't long before we spotted a doe and fawn.  Actually, quite a few deer were out and they weren't very shy.  Morgan had a rather close encounter with a buck on the way back that nearly resulted in Dad skidding down a muddy hill again, but fortunately disaster was averted this time. 

There are some neat meadows and clearings along the way, too.  The butterflies were certainly enjoying the nice weather like the rest of us.  It was fun to watch them flitting about.

One of the fun things about this place is that you have to cross the creek four times on the trail.  I love hiking through the creek and I think Morgan liked it too.  The people were having fun with it as well. 

Soon, it started getting dark, so we had to head for home.  I can't say I was disappointed, though.  The mosquitos were going crazy out there!  I was afraid they'd eat me alive, even after Mom sprayed us both with bug spray.  Next time I'm going to roll in citronella before we go out there!

It was still a great time and I'll be dreaming about it while I'm sleeping on the couch waiting for Mom to get home!