Yesterday I was admiring the sunlight falling on the devil dogs in the kitchen, and I had to take a picture. Doesn't it seem appropriate that I bought those, and now have a real devil dog of my own? (Ignore the dust.)
Yesterday was pretty low-key. I spent most of the morning reading and doing some minor gardening. At this point gardening is pretty much limited to trying to keep everything alive.
The dahlias continue to perform, and we don't have much sign of powdery mildew, which I'm hoping means the new soil I gave them at the beginning of the summer is holding moisture better than that compost I used last year.
In the afternoon Bailey and I took a walk to the cemetery. On the way we passed this display in front of a neighbor's house. The plants look a little parched but I like the blue pots and the colorful zinnias.
Bailey's new long lead arrived yesterday, and we tried it out at the cemetery. (That's her normal lead above, but never mind.) I envisioned her being able to run around, chase tennis balls and maybe even squirrels, all while tethered to me in case I need to reel her in and away from other dogs. Well, it didn't quite work out that way.
Bailey was happy to run in a wider radius, but she showed no interest in chasing a ball. I'm sure if she'd seen a squirrel she'd have been after it like a shot, but that didn't happen either. It was mostly just aimless sniffing, while I tried my best not to get tangled up in excess leash.
More experimentation is required.
In other news, did you see that Jeanine Pirro dropped the absurd vandalism charges against the Olympic athlete who was accused of damaging Trump's newly renovated reflecting pool? We all knew the charges wouldn't stick, but what made the episode extra delicious was Pirro's assertion that the renovation was "botched" and she had been misled about the nature of the damage. Trump, of course, fired back at her and I suspect she's not long for this administration. Of course, she's a woman, so like Noem and Bondi and Gabbard, she's expendable in Trump's eyes -- unlike Hegseth and Bessent and Miller and the rest of his male co-conspirators.
Some of you were wondering how the arrival of Bailey would affect the garden wildlife, so last night I set up the camera to see what might be going on out there after dark. As you can see, the foxes are not deterred by Bailey's presence. (You'll see Bailey in the first clip, checking out the camera -- I thought her sniffing was cute.) It's remarkable that at least two, and possibly three, foxes wandered through the garden last night and as tightly wound as Bailey is, from inside the house she had no idea. She didn't react at all.
No cats appeared in the video, but honestly, I'm fine with that. I'd just as soon they do their hunting elsewhere. And with our bird feeders temporarily removed to discourage Ratthew, there were no signs of birds, squirrels or small animals. Then again, birds and squirrels aren't usually on the ground at night. Too many foxes around! (I know the squirrels are still here in daytime because Bailey chases them!)
The intense flower colours at this time of year, matching the dogs..
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that Bailey prefers squirrels to balls...but then balls don't run away unassisted!
The fox population seems to be more checking out the garden now that Bailey is around, rather than doing their own things
You might get on better with an " extending" lead. I have a 5 m one for my boy who is never off lead and it gives him much more room to move about and sniff. Those really long ones are no use where other people are about......I got tangled up in one once and was nearly pulled over!! Luckily don't see them very often, probably because they are so difficult to use.
ReplyDeleteI am sure there will be instructional videos on YouTube to help dumb dog owners learn how to use extendable leads effectively. The charges against David Hearn were ridiculous and he deserves a fulsome apology from the president himself... Oh, I forgot, that bloated orange blimp has never said "sorry" about anything in all of his eighty years.
ReplyDeleteOoh, those devil dogs are scary!
ReplyDeleteI am not a fan of those long leads. Once, when out on one of my walks, I encountered a chap walking towards me with a very large, heavyset dog on one of those long leads. The dog seemed to be very excited to see me and made a lunge towards me, leaping up to place his paws on my shoulder and knocking me backwards. He was as tall as me!
You told me to ignore the dust, so that’s where my focus remains. I do love those dogs, dusty or not. But now I can’t get Drake’s Devil Dogs off my mind, and I never even liked them all that much. I wondered if Bailey had noticed the foxes yet. THAT should be interesting.
ReplyDeleteThe reflecting pool idiocy has me incessantly stewing. Pirro was misled? My ass. Time for Drumpf to appoint his next toady.
So nice to see you out and about with a dog.
ReplyDeletePirro deserves whatever comes her way. She signed up for this knowing how her boss acts. But the best was the replay of her news conference after her arrested when she kept repeating the pool was vandalized.
ReplyDeleteMakes her look more incompetent than ever.
I wonder what Fox News talking head will take her job now.
I tried using a really long leash at the beach with Shirley when we first got her. I was afraid that she'd run off etc. But I found that the leash was really a pain as it was too long. Luckily for me, Shirley listens and comes when I call her, so the leash went into a cupboard drawer, not to be used since. I will miss taking her down to the beach and watching her run through the waves. Nothing better than that.
ReplyDeleteI did see yesterday about Pirro and tRump. I remember when she first announced his arrest and her talk of vandalism. The egg is sure on her face right now.
I used to have extendable leads for my various dogs so as to reel them in when I had to, then let them run out when they wanted to explore. But they do keep the human on high alert. I think you and Bailey are training each other I've never had a stray or rescue cat or dog, interested in toys. They'd learned life is serious, I guess. The only ones I've had who loved toys were taken on extremely young with no street experience.
ReplyDeleteDoes Bailey sniff where the foxes have been? Extendable leads give greater control and less chance of tripping over!
ReplyDeleteThe gardens are much quieter now that Bailey is around. You and Bailey will work out your routines - she'll train you! ;)
ReplyDeleteIt's sort of cool that Bailey is not like Olga in many ways. She is her own dog and as such, you will probably realize you couldn't replace Olga if you tried except for finding another dog to love. You will learn each others' ways.
ReplyDeleteI like those zinnias in the blue pots, too.
I'm rather surprised that you have any dust anywhere and, especially in the kitchen!
ReplyDeleteHave you given any thought to putting Bailey [and you] through obedience training?
The blue pots are beautiful! But I must admit I am not fond of paved-over front gardens.
ReplyDeleteI am sure all you need is a bit more practice with the new long lead. It was your first outing with it, after all.
I can just see Bailey running circles around you on her long leash until you are wrapped up like a mummy.
ReplyDeleteOur state fair is known nationwide for it's size and number of people that attend. I have seen many a parent with their kids on a similar leash that retracts and extends automatically so that they can keep tabs with their kids during the day.
ReplyDeleteI guess I never have seen the evidence against the former Olympian to know that it was absurd as you say from the get go. Knowing American politics and how both sides amplify their position to the max, I have assumed that the truth was likely somewhere in-between. Now that the charges have been dropped, I assume that the "ample" evidence that there was malfeasance on the part of the former Olympian were not as ample as led to believe. Likewise, I haven't seen much lately on the other sides initial reports that our current occupant caused the damage himself when his motorcade drove across the renovation in process. The truth in the middle sounds like it is going to be just contractor error in installation. But I think I'll continue to just wait for the truth to trickle out though rather than cast blame from a thousand miles away.
I hate those retractable leashes, but my husband got one for Pat for when we take him out of town.
ReplyDeleteI don't imagine you'll have a lot of feline traffic anymore, especially if Bailey gets to confront one. And I just realized you never seem to have bunnies. They are frequent casualties here. That sniff was really cute!
Those foxes must be pretty quiet when they are out prowling. It's interesting that Bailey doesn't like chasing a ball. Dogs have a wide variety of personalities just like humans.
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm sure you are right about Pirro. The truth has no place in this administration.