One decapitated bird

Our neighbor - whom I DEARLY love - has cats. Those of you who know me well know I'm an animal - not just dog - lover. With that being said, cats, like dogs, should be inside animals. For many reasons.

So, when I got home Friday, the first thing I did was let the girls out, then went to change clothes. As I'm passing back through the living room, I look out the window and see Loretta trying to eat something, right under the bird feeder. I rush out....and find a decapitated bird. A really beautiful bird. Some kind of sparrow, I think, but pretty none-the-less. I seriously doubt that Loretta pulled the head off and ate it, but of course that was my first thought. I can tell myself over and over that the cats are just doing what comes naturally, that it's just part of that food chain thing, but I really - REALLY - hate it when they predate on birds at the feeder. It just seems like the birds should be able to eat in peace, you know?

Loretta on the pillow

Loretta, within the last six months or so, has taken to laying on Tony's pillow after he leaves in the morning. As he gets up around 1am, we're talking most of the night. The girls' routine is to get up for a few minutes with dad, go outside to pee, then come back to bed with me. What's hard about Loretta's new position is that this is the exact same position my Susanna would assume each morning - the original "yellow dog," and the undisputed non-human love of my life. She did it to protect me, from whatever might come through that bedroom door. Loretta, I'm not so sure. She's like Susanna in ways - the typical golden retriever ways - but very unlike Susanna in many other ways. Anyway, I've just decided to enjoy it, the comfort it brings, regardless of her reasons or motivations.

Lots of panting

At my house. Me included (no no no not THAT kind of panting - WAY too hot for THAT!). Emily gets cooled off in the sprinkler every night, but everybody else is pretty much suffering. We're trying to keep the central AC set pretty high, and we have a window unit in the bedroom which we turn on at night. I have to share that with Ruby, as she lays on the bed RIGHT in front of it. Even with that the electricity bill I got over the weekend was - gulp - over $300. Yes, indeedy, it's gonna be a long LONG summer.

Five dogs....

equals approximately 10 vet visits a year - not counting going because they're "sick." It seems like all we do is go to the vet. Now, of course, you say, "Well, why don't you just arrange the vaccination schedules so they all "match?" First, of course, you just can't take five dogs to the vet at one time. Not even if they're well-behaved, which ours only partially are...actually, they're pretty much okay until you add Emily to the mix. Anyway. Trust me, five at once is tough. Second, in the dog world, as in the human world, there's a trend away from over-vaccination. Which means that the vet is really not willing to speed up one set of shots so that it coincides with another set of shots. In other words, if you have them vaccinated for parvo - a "6-month" shot - in January, then have them vaccinated for lepto - another 6-month shot - in March - that's three months apart, and the vet won't speed up one, and you can't really risk slowing down the other. So it makes for a LOT of visits. At least they went to every three years on the rabies....and our vet said that he really wouldn't even do it that often, except that it's required by law. When the dog's blood is titrated, there's still tons of antibodies even after three years (more than you wanted to know, right?).

Our poor, poor garden

I haven't been in the yard anywhere near as much as last year (in case you remember all the fabulous pictures I posted). It got too hot too early. Tony waters almost every afternoon, and stuff is completely wilted again by the very next morning. The only thing that seems to be thriving - and I can't figure this one out - is a canna lilly I planted in a container last summer. I know they're heat-resistant, but this is one tough plant. My best intentions were to split it this summer, but I didn't, and now it's taken over the pot. Pretty, though....

Took the camera outside, too!

So, again, a plethora of pictures. I decided to post one of Ruby in the squash patch, and one of Loretta with her new summer "do."

The reason Ruby looks so attentive here is because Tony is yelling "Ruby! Ruby! Get out of the squash!" Typical of Ruby, she's giving back her best "Why should I?" stare. Is she just gorgeous, or what?



Every summer, we have Loretta clipped down. Her hair is very thick, and pretty long, so I think she probably appreciates the clipping. Easier for us, too, as she loves the water so much. Would you guess that she's a total Daddy's girl?