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The Sharing Dish

As I emptied the contents of the crock pot into a container today, Geordie kept hitting my leg to remind me that he would like a taste.  Toby, on the other hand, was off in an other room playing with his toys.  (He doesn’t take food work as seriously as his brother.)

Thinking that Geordie would enjoy a private little treat, I quietly placed some food in his dish.  Normally he would run over and scarf it down.  Instead, he sat beside his dish looking up at me.   He looked toward the food, then toward Toby’s dish, than back at me.  Oh my gosh, he wouldn’t eat until I had given Toby some too!  We called Toby over, and he enjoyed some home-cooking shoulder to shoulder with his big brother.

When Toby first arrived, Geordie couldn’t stand to be in the same room as him.  Now he won’t eat goodies without sharing.  It’s so sweet it makes my eyes all leaky!

Cairn terrier puppy hold his food bowl.

Really?  I can have some too?

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The Sideways Tree

Tree growing although it has been knocked over.

It’s hard to judge from the photo just how big this gentle giant is.  He is huge!

If you could peek through the trees a few feet, you would be able to watch the Keystone Pipeline being put in.  Workers pushed over the trees in this wooded area  to make a place for the pipes.  Part of me would like to blame the workers for knocking over healthy wood, but these trees were nearly all past their prime and should have been thinned  long ago.  Over the years when the pups and I have walked by, I was struck by how many trees were still upright simply because they had died leaning against a fellow tree.

One day during a bad storm, this giant of a tree was knocked over.  Even though he was down, he continued growing and put out a full display of leaves that first year.  By the second year, his spirit flagged.  As you can see in the photo, his leaves were thin, and he looked tired.

At the end of the Summer, he finally gave up and died.  He had had enough.  What is sad to me is that he has had to lie there for all of those years while the township mowed around him.  Again, my photography isn’t good, but there is an island of unreasonably tall grass as large as the outline of the tree.

Toby and I walked past the tree last week.  I brushed against a branch, and it was so brittle it easily snapped off.  Inspired, I broke off more and more.  On several more days (sans Toby) I went back to the park and broke off all the branches that would snap.  I even dug through the snow to reach the ones buried under the 30″ tall grass.

This is fun for me.  I like the work, and I like making that public area look better.  I am planning to sneak back with a saw and keep hacking the tree into pieces that I can drag into the woods.  I am wondering how long I can do this before someone decides to yell at me.  You know, because after nearly 3 years of ignoring the problem, the township is suddenly going to develop an interest in it.

I hope that the parts of the tree I have returned to the woods will decompose and become fertile ground for new life.   Season by season we can watch that stand return to its former glory.

Terrier pups waits next to his tennis ball.

I can’t believe you are getting rid of my chance to pee on the top of a giant tree!

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Christmas is right around the corner.  Order your copy of Poopiter for yourself or for someone you love!

Bitey Dog and Toby in POOPITER

Poopiter is available at Amazon.

 

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The Closet (The Coat)

I had though that the season change was off to an auspicious start when I was able to repair a purse for under $0.50.  Surely this was a sign of good things to come!  Not.

A quick perusal of other Winter gear showed a coat with definite cold spots.  OK, it is at least 12 or 13 years old.  Surely I could at least think about possibly finding a new one?  Maybe one with a hood?

Thinking is about as far as you can go these days about new things.  With all of the talk I hear about the flourishing economy and American-made pride, I thought I would be overwhelmed with great choices.  Choices yes, but certainly not great ones.

Anyone who lives up north knows the value of a warm coat.  Sadly now I do too.  It is approximately a mortgage payment.  I had always been lucky enough to find something at an outlet store, but there don’t seem to be any around here anymore.

A check online showed that not only are coats super expensive, but for some reason every manufacturer has decided that current coats must a) be very form-fitting and b) have a zippered turtleneck.  Models demonstrate the coats’ attributes while wearing stilettos and nothing else.  Really?  Are we supposed to be wearing our down coats over cocktail dresses?  What happened to dressing in layers?  How are you supposed to fit a wool sweater under one of those?  I find this level of stupidity very frustrating.

And then there’s zippered turtlenecks.  That is all you can find.  I loathe zippered turtlenecks.  They catch on your hair.  They catch on your earrings.  They constantly poke you in the face.  Seriously?  No one could think to buck the trend and place a zipper to the collar bone then a snap-closed insulated collar?  Even if I could afford a coat I would either have to hate it as-is or commit surgery and void its warranty.

So, my unfortunate puppies are closet orphans for another week as I try to once again fix what I have.  Toby enjoys going through my fabric bin with me and pulling out different insulators trying to find something to help.  If I can’t find anything, maybe I’ll just stuff him in there.  After all, my boys are always bragging about how warm their fur is.

Cairn terrier pup standing in snow.

My fur is warm.  N’yah, n’yah, n’yah!

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Don’t forget to pick up your copy of Poopiter!

  Bitey Dog and Toby in POOPITER

Available at Amazon.  Makes a great holiday gift!

 

 

 

 

 

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What I Did Today (No Good Deed)

I voted

Like millions of Americans, I went to the polls and voted.  At the sign in table was a pile of little “I Voted” stickers.  I asked if I could have one, then happily brought it home after my task was complete….happily until I watched the news, that is.  On the plus side, voter turn out is higher for a midterm election than possibly any year before.  On the minus side, the news had to do a story about municipalities refusing to offer stickers because of the tremendous cost to the budget.

Thanks for sucking the fun out of my sticker.

(In case you were wondering, Bitey and Toby did go along with me to the polls.  They weren’t the only dogs to show up either.  Did they vote Repawblican or Dogmacrat?  They didn’t tell.  Dogs are good at keeping their secrets.)

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If you would like to read more about Bitey and Toby’s adventures, pick up a copy of Poopiter!

Bitey Dog and Toby in POOPITER

Poopiter is available at Amazon and would make a great gift for the dog lover in your life!

 

 

 

 

 

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Shadow Games

When I started Bitey Dog, it was really just a way for me to capture special memories of my boy.  This post is one of those.

Carn terrier puppy hiding under a chair.

I played just like when I was a puppy!

Geordie has always loved chasing flashlight beams.  He will run himself to the point of exhaustion barking at full volume while chasing the light all over the house.  In bad weather, it was a nice cheating way to exercise my boy.

For some reason, Toby does not see the light as something to be chased…but Geordie is.  Toby knows that if Geordie goes on a run-and-bark tare, he will be yelled at.  Toby can’t stand raised voices or angry family, so he does his best to keep Geordie in check.  As Geordie sprints by, Toby will reach over and chomp him on the butt.

When Toby’s tennis ball rolled under the furniture and I needed the flashlight to find it, Geordie insisted on a game.  In spite of being sick, I had him running, barking and jumping all over the place just like when he was a puppy.  Toby got in just as much exercise chasing Geordie and trying to bite him.

It was just a little game, but it was so nice to see that  my Geordie still has the energy to run and play.  It helps me to remember that he will always be that crazy ball of fluff both in this world and the next.

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To share some of Bitey and Toby’s other adventures, pick up a copy of Poopiter.

Bitey Dog and Toby in POOPITER

Poopiter is available from Amazon.  Start thinking early about Christmas gifts!

 

 

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Not Cool, Mom!

Sketch of Cairn terrier dog.

Seriously, you chose this picture?!?

When Geordie saw the picture of Toby I posted on the blog, he insisted that I put a picture of him up next.  For some reason he is unhappy about this one.

This is a draft of one of the pictures in his (and Toby’s.  Don’t tell him Toby is in the book too) next book.  Although I have been working on it for a year, it feels like I am never going to get done.

This book is filled with so many memories for me.  It has also been a great opportunity for me to learn more about working with digital media.  At the rate I am going, though, I will die of oldness long before I ever get done.

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To read some of Bitey and Toby’s already finished adventures, pick up a copy of Poopiter.

Bitey Dog and Toby in POOPITER

Poopiter is available at Amazon.  It would make a great Christmas gift for the dog lover in your life!

 

 

 

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Halloween Memories

001 - Copy (2) - CopyWe all know who did it.  The guy in the middle.

004 - Copy

Bwaah!  Too much partying last night!

003 - Copy

“Awwoo!  I hate spiders!”    (“And I’m none too fond of wolves.”)

003 - Copy (3)

I don’t know why no one comes to visit.

003 - Copy (4)

Come a little closer, dearies….

Back when it was just Geordie and me, we used to carve pumpkins together.

Geordie and the Pumpkin 1

He would climb inside the pumpkins as I would try to work and try to eat them from the inside out.    Since Toby has come along, things have been too chaotic to try any holiday decorating.  I feel bad that my little guy hasn’t had a chance to climb inside his own pumpkin.

If only he were Peter, Peter Pumpkin-Eater’s dog….

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We Need a New Name

I think we need a new name for this month.  It used to be that October was a chilly time,  unique in its crisp, colorful way.  With temps now a good 15-20 degrees above normal, it is more like August. The plants have come back to life.  The bees are active and cranky.  The humans still wear beach-style clothing.  No, I think we should call this month Augtober.  It seems more fitting.

Honey bee climbing on clover.

Cranky bees.

Violet blooming in Fall.

Flowers think it is Spring.

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If there is anything you would like to buy from my store, checkout will be easier now than in a month.  Unfortunately business has not been good this year, so I am having to downgrade to a more cumbersome, two step checkout method. The shop is Needful Things of Salem.  I have a little something for everyone!

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Don’t forget to pick up a copy of Poopiter!

Bitey Dog and Toby in POOPITER

Available at Amazon.

 

 

 

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Things We Take for Granted

Cairn terrier sitting with marigolds.

Toby visiting the new statue and enjoying the marigolds.

At mass this weekend, the topic of parish closings came up.  It seems that with all of the scandal in the Catholic church, attendance is dangerously low (as is financial support), and there is a very real chance that we could lose our church.  For some reason I had never considered this as a possibility.

Our church isn’t one of the oldest, but it has been around for 50 years.  A lot of work has been done with building maintenance, improvements to the grounds and even adding a statue of the patron saint.  Not only is it a big part of the community, but it is where dog people in the area meet to talk and exercise their pups.  My boys grew up there and are known by everyone.

Since I have MCS, being in buildings with a lot of people wearing perfume and having cigarette smoke on their clothes is more than I can bear, so I haven’t attended mass in a good while.  I still participate in as many other aspects of the community as I can, however.

I didn’t realize until today just how much I would miss it if our church weren’t here.  I know a lot of other people are going through the same thing.  October is the month when then count attendance in order to determine which churches are closed and which kept open.  I am hoping to struggle through as many services as I can to do my part to keep this one open.  I hope that most churches are able to weather this storm and continue to provide good things for their communities for years to come.

Good luck with yours!

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Need to distract yourself from being sad over things that are not in your control?  Consider reading Poopiter! It is a fun little distraction with plenty of stories about these naughty pups.

Bitey Dog and Toby in POOPITER

 

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