Snowflakes falling

Gus was enthralled with the snow.  Friday, the flakes were bigger ones than I had seen in a long time.  Obviously, Gus thought so, too.  He stood for a very long time like this at the window.  He would occasionally sit and continue to watch through the blinds.  Our two dogs are very different.  Crunch seems to be the sharper of the pair.  He figures things out quickly, is a little on the sneaky side, and  tries to talk to us continually to command us to mind him. Gus is very quiet and unassuming.  He never tries to tell me what to do, and he has those warm, chocolate eyes.  When Gus was a pup, I called him my little autistic dog.  He shied away from physical touch and wouldn't look you in the eyes.  He has warmed up to us over the years and now will roll over and accept tummy rubs and lots of love.  Gus makes me laugh with his obvious and fierce love for Crunch, food, and toys.  He is also wonderful to watch as he does things like he did at the window while it was snowing.  I think I can figure out what Crunch is thinking sometimes.  Gus is a mystery to me... a lovely, quiet mystery.

Crunch and Gus Christmas

Make a Smilebox slideshow

A Saturday Hike

There is nothing more relaxing than spending the day with the dogs on a hike. We had wonderful weather (for an August in AR) and lots of shade on the trail. These handy benches were placed strategically along the trail for resting. I carried a backpack with the essentials: collapsable water bowl, bottled water, insect repellant, treats, sandwich baggies and cell phone. This was a short hike, but I had a feeling at the end that we were going in a circle. I stated, "Didn't we pass this bench earlier?" My husband looks at me (eye roll), "Don't you think that all the benches out here are exactly alike?" Okay, I think that is true, but it is a bad plan. State park trail planners should place VERY different benches along the trail. Then, you are certain that you've never passed THAT particular bench. Just a thought.

Guard Duty

It is evident that the house is under watch. And the street. And the bushes, the neighbors's lawn, and so on. Gus, on the left, is a little more laid back in his method of surveillance. He feels no need to damage the windowsill with a frenzied alarm of toenail scratching to emphasize the alert that will be sounded. A low but insistent bark is enough for Gusser.

Crunch, on the other hand, knows how to convey URGENCY. Not only will be you aware that a human, an animal, a leaf, or a bug is within a half mile radius, you will know that it is necessary to run to window and see for yourself. These days we have a few lizards who like to sun themselves on the front porch and brick pedastals. Evil lizards according to the guards...

Ahhh! This is the first year with a decent snowfall. I could hardly wait to see if the dogs would enjoy it. Here is one of my favorite pics. Gus looks like a little snowman. Both dogs played in the fluffy snow...pouncing and watching the flakes float around. When it was time to come in, they of course did the crazy tasmanian devil ritual around the living room to dry off.

Before the destuffing

Ah, the joys of Christmas... Crunch and Gus were not left out of the festivities. We have generally made it our policy to avoid purchasing anything made of cloth and stuffed with batting. The reason for this is simple. The lifespan of these types of articles is so short; you could blink and the toy is destroyed. We decided to make an excetion. Target has a decent selection of dog goods. There were some small furry owls that met the criteria for a good destuffing, chewing, destroying time. We gave them the owls Christmas morning and they loved them. Crunch immediately destuffed and in some spots, "defurred", the small defenseless stuffed owl. Our little bully then plotted on ways to steal Gus' owl to further obliterate the owl species. I have been picking up pieces of evidence all over the carpet ever since. It feels just like I picking up small toys for weeks after Christmas when son was young. :)

Pinnacle Mtn. State Park