Puppy Tales: Three's Company

When Zoe came to live with us in June, Puppy wasn't too sure about her. She looked an awful lot like her nemesis, the Squirrel.

The techs at the vet's office thought they were a hysterical pair, and it certainly helped Puppy's veterinary anxieties to have this stoic little - but older and wiser - dog with her in the room. I mean, how silly would she feel having one of her panic attacks when Zoe was so calm, right? For me, it was the first vet visit in years without any drama.

Now all three of them get along as if Zoe had always been here. They walk, they play, they sniff the yard together. Zoe knows to watch out for Puppy's big clumsy paws. Puppy knows to guard her food or the little dog will zip in and take the crumbs. Our other dog has learned that no one gets breakfast until Zoe gets up - so she's stopped asking, and is at the ready by the bedroom door to watch for Zoe to emerge in the morning.

It's been an interesting summer watching the adjustments all three dogs have had to make. Us too. We've never had a dog this little - it's almost more like having a cat. Except she's a dog. And she thinks she's a big dog, at that.

Except when she cuddles up for a nap. Then she's definitely a little bundle.

Puppy Tales: Back-to-School Version

Back-to-School time.

It's not like the kids spent the entire summer playing with the dogs. Yes, they took them for walks (when I asked) and had them in the pool area when they were swimming (if I walked them out there)... and my daughter was even away for a week at computer camp. The kids were in and out of the house, back and forth to work, to friends' homes, to the beach... and she didn't seem to care in the least. And besides, it's the little dog who gets to sleep in that bed at night, not the 150-pound Puppy.

But from the way Puppy seems to be pining for my daughter, you'd think they were side-by-side inseparable for the last few months. And the way she greeted the bus yesterday? Pure Joy.

I think she's just worried about them. The kids all go off for the day and she's not sure where. She sees the big yellow bus swallow my daughter before it's full light out and not disgorge her again for almost 8 hours. Where does she go? What does she do? Who's keeping her safe?

Back-to-School. It's an adjustment for everyone. Even Puppy.

Puppy Tale Friday: One Hundred Sunrises

It's official. Since the start of our house rennovation project at the beginning of May, Puppy and I have watched 100 sunrises from our beach during our morning walk. This takes into account the days we've been off-Cape and the two days it was raining too hard to go to the beach.

One hundred sunrises.

Some mornings it's been too cloudy to see the sun. Some mornings we've slept a little later and the sun has already crested the horizon on its upward ascent.

But most mornings she and I watch the new day break together. Some days we have company - just yesterday, someone's houseguest was on the beach when we got there, big camera in hand waiting for the red sun to rise up. Most days, our company is in the form of sandpipers, sea gulls, terns, and the great blue heron who moved into the neighborhood just this summer.

It's been interesting comparing sunrises, seeing if the old maxim about "Red Sun in Morning, Sailors Take Warning" rings true (which it mostly does -- orange skies herald the best beach days.)

One hundred sunrises. I'm not going to post all hundred, but a few of my favorites for you to share in the beauty that is Cape Cod at dawn. Have a great weekend - and maybe catch a sunrise or two yourself!

Puppy Tales: Down on the (Organic) Farm

My sister owns an organic farm in Northern Vermont, where she grows all kinds of wonderful veggies, herbs, blueberries and flowers. She sells to local restaurants, at local farmers' markets, and through the Deep Root Coop, an organic collective that ships to supermarkets like Whole Foods.

It's a long drive from Cape Cod, but we try to get up there to visit once or twice a year and she tries to get to the Cape once or twice a year. We love visiting her farm in the summertime.

 This year we even planned to help harvest blueberries, but our helping time was limited by rain that was sweeping through New England. We managed to pick several containers full in between storms.

Even my dad got into it and helped pick berries...

Puppy's favorite part of the farm - besides hanging out with her cousin Louie - is the swimming hole.

Our newest addition, Zoe, wasn't too sure about the rushing river. She watched for a long while before venturing down onto the rocks.

 Zoe inched closer, watching from atop different rocks until she was right at the edge. And then she took the leap!

We all cheered, and then watched her try to swim against the current - or swim at all as the rushing water swept her clear across the swimming hole to the line of rocks across the river... where she was finally able to grab hold with her nails and scrabble out of the water to safety.

(She stayed on the edge just watching after that, but was all like, yeah, I already did that. I swam. Been there, done that.)

Puppy, however, couldn't get enough and just enjoyed her spot in the deep water.

 ...And then Puppy found her new favorite spot. 

 Happy Puppy.

Puppy Tales: Teaching New Tricks to an Old Dog

The newest addition to our family may be puppy sized, but she's 10 years old. Too old to be learning new tricks, right?

That doesn't deter my husband. He was determined that Zoe should learn to love to swim, just like the big dogs. And she did.

 Look at the smile!!

And yes, she did go back in on her own. She wasn't just swimming because he forced the issue, or rather, she was the first time, but then she was in and out of the lake as much as the big dogs were!

And then, of course, there's my husband's favorite trick. The "Wait" command. Our big dogs are very familiar with this trick, but Zoe and both of my mother-in-law's dogs took a few attempts to get it right. Husband is patient. Dogs learn. Everyone is happy in the end.

Happy, that is, when it's over. In the mean time, the poor big dogs had to wait. And wait. And wait, until everyone was sitting and staying and waiting the "right" way. I'm not sure this photo captures the sheer amount of drool expended in the waiting time, but believe me it was a prodigious amount...

But yes, everyone is happy in the end.

Puppy Tales: Wherein Puppy Is So Glad We're Not Doing A to Z

With too much on my plate this spring, I've reluctantly decided NOT to participate in the Annual A to Z Blogging Challenge. I had a great theme and everything picked out, but alas, it didn't work out. Next year.

The one who's happiest with my decision is Puppy. She feels I tortured her enough last year to last for a long, long time. At least through this April as well. So I thought, to honor the sacrifices she made for art in 2012, I will re-post some of her favorite letters this month as well.

Even though I'm not playing, I think we're up to "K" today. So here goes....

 (Ate it. she Actually Ate the letter A. It was the last one she Ate.)

 (Bored. By day two, she was already Bored.)

(Chagrin. the emotion that filled her when she realized I wasn't giving up.)

 (Don't Do this to me, she says. you can see it in her eyes.)

 (Everything got worse when mom made her wear the letters...)

 (Friends help make everything more bearable.)

 (Go away already, she says.)

 (Heavy sigh as she fills the Hallway with Her Huge self.)

(I, as in the letter, seems to have been lost...)

 (Just let me sleep...)

(Kan't you see I'm still sleeping?)

HAPPY A TO Z 2013!

Puppy Tales: In which Puppy Says Erin Go Bragh

Happy Saint Patrick's Day to all!

Enjoy your corned beef and be safe out there - and remember,
friends don't let friends drink green beer.

Puppy Tales: A "Live" Ball for Puppy

My daughter's hamster loves this. Really.

(And you know Puppy does!)

 

Puppy Tales: In Which Puppy Demonstrates Her Sheer Brilliance

We have a tiny kitchen in our house. As in, there's no room for two big dogs to sit around the kitchen just waiting for scraps. None. Especially not for Puppy.

So one of the first "tricks" or commands our dogs need to learn is "Out of the Kitchen." So, while you think this pair is just laying there looking cute, they are really testing me. If you look closely you can see that the dog on the left has half a paw over the line onto the linoleum, and Puppy has part of her snout over the line. Not enough for me to yell at them, but enough to let me know that they're waiting.

What are they waiting for?

At the time I took these photos, I was cutting up leftover steak to make sandwiches for the boys' lunchboxes. The dogs were counting on getting some scraps. But they had to wait.

Which leads us to the next trick in the repertoire...


Waiting.

As in, we put down the scraps of steak and make them literally wait until we say "Okay." I can't take credit for teaching them this trick, as my husband is the one with the more twisted sense of humor sometimes. But it makes for a very impressive trick.

While Puppy seemed to understand "Out of the Kitchen" pretty quickly, this "Wait" trick took longer to master. You can see the expression of disbelief on her face even now - "Are you kidding? You're doing this to me AGAIN?"

But the next trick is even more impressive. And even more cruel...

The dog has to sit with the piece of steak on her nose until we say "Okay." At the signal, she then tosses it into the air and catches it to eat. If it falls on the floor, she can't eat it and has to try again. This dog has gotten very good at catching food. Any food. Every time.

Puppy? Not so much. She can't catch. Or won't catch. She likes to sniff each piece of food before eating it, as if we were trying to trick her into eating medicine or something.

Someday maybe she'll learn to catch. For now I'm just glad she understands "Out" when I ask her to leave the room, or I'd never get anything done!

Writer Wednesdays: Blizzards, School Closings and Deadlines

It's been quite the busy week here in the Northeast, what with the Big Blizzard Thing and all. I'm telling you, the Groundhog screwed up and annoyed Mother Nature with his prediction earlier this month. I feel like a disbelieving Bill Murray, insisting that the storm won't hit here. But it did.

This is not spring. And there is more snow coming tonight. And tomorrow.

Puppy loved the white-out conditions. All the people without power on Cape Cod (most of the Cape) didn't love it quite so much. My house was only out for a short period during the first night, when we were snuggled in bed anyway. It screwed up my computer, but not much else. Well, that's not true. Schools were closed. And some are still closed as the buildings suffered damage or are still being used as emergency shelters for those without power. So as a sidebar note, the storm wrecked the end of basketball seasons for two of my kids, missing games Friday, Monday, Tuesday and today that won't be made up - at least they each have one game remaining.

With the computer down and the kids home from school and sports.... I didn't get any writing done this week. Practically None. I'm on my third new paragraph on the WIP I wanted to have finished by the end of this month. Now I feel I'll be lucky to have the first draft finished by the end of the month.

I'm all about deadlines. Even though this is an "internal" deadline I set for myself, it's making me crazy to let it slip. I'm planning to spend today writing like a fiend to try and catch it all up and get those last 20-30,000 words onto the page. (Yeah right. No, it could happen...) I'm giving myself until Friday, and my son's last home game at 5 p.m. to get it done. Because next week is school vacation week...

What do you do when external forces mess up your writing schedule? Are you deadline oriented or go-with-the-flow? Any good tips for working around snowstorms and children?