This was a hard question for me! Each of them have meant so much, but I posed the question so it came down to a tie. One dog, one cat.
I'll start with the cat. Yahtzee was a six toed cat, that got his name because of his habit as a kitten of sleeping in my kid's Yahtzee game box. He was a least 17 pounds of long haired, blue eyed cat. One of the funniest animals that has ever been a part of my life. He would sleep in the bathroom sink, and never did he move when you turned the faucet on to wash your hands. As he got bigger he sorta oozed over the sink! He would go right up to one of the dogs and swat them in the muzzle with his over sized paw, just for the heck of it. My kids would put him in a plastic grocery bag, and take him around the house. There he was with the bag really sagging and he just hung his head out, he actually seemed to enjoy it. He was so full of personality.
My favorite dog was Skirt, a smaller dog then the rest of the pack. She came onto the property one day and never left. I don't know where she came from or how old she was, but I do know there was more personality packed into that little girl then most dogs have.
At night she would sleep between Mr. P and I, and I remember rolling over and becoming face to face with a dog who was laying on her back with her head toward me, softly snoring. A favorite memory of mine!
Those are my two favorites, who are yours?
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Hi Karen! I did see that beautiful crocheted table cloth that you are making!!! Quite an undertaking!
On the grout, if you don't clean and seal it every so often it gets really hard to clean. Right now the baking soda and toothbrush is working on my floor tile, what a job!!!
Hi Ylee! We got some snow, just a dusting but some of it is still here. More coming on Thursday.
Isn't that a pretty yote!!! Maybe I won't have dogs anymore just yotes, LOL!
Hi Briar! To bad about your cat, but they seem to manage with the three legs pretty well. This young female coyote's leg was just dangling at the knee for quite some time. Then she started using it a little, then I saw her walk on it one day. The knee has some calcification on it (the joint is visibly large then the right knee) but she seems fine.
Talk with you all later :))
Hi GG! You have been busy lately, I have too. I have not had the time to visit much lately!!
Hi Ylee! Cats do like to pick their names, LOL! Love the name Muttly, special skills not required, just enthusiasm!!
Cold, and more cold for us the rest of the week into the weekend. I love it!!!
Daisy would always listen to her visitors and mumble her advice. She would hug people that needed hugs.
No one ever considered Daisy a dog after they met her. I was rather expected to bring Daisy wherever I went or be kind of chastised for not bringing her along.
Miss Daisy really wasn't a dog but some kind of fur angel. I consider myself lucky to have been the person allowed to show her to the world.
Coastie son headed off to St. Paul island for a six day deployment. The Coast Guard admiral congratulated everyone that helped with the Kulluk. The WC show was very upset at not being around to film any of the CG involvement with the Kulluk. Would have been great if they had filmed it.
Snow crab season starting up.
My first dog, the current Koko, is my favorite as well. She is my companion, baby, patient (now that she is old like her owner). She has given me pleasure, beauty, friendship, and yes, she is very demanding of my attention. A bit unnerving sometimes but she is my adored baby.
I like the blog idea. Nice.
When we lived in San Diego, she taught herself to hunt, but never learned to kill. She brought her catches into the house through the cat door and turned them loose. Among other things, she left a live half-grown rabbit in the bathtub, a ground squirrel took up residence inside my recliner, several different mourning doves had to be chased out the door after I found them perching on curtain rods. She always got quite irritated with me when I turned the critters loose.
Well, I've had many pets through the years that I've loved, both dogs and cats. But this year something happened that has blessed both of us and a lot of people around this small community.
Two days before Christmas, a gal pal of mine had to take some trash to a dumpster on the other side of the island. As she was dumping the trash, she could hear faint crying inside the dumpster. She climbed in, rooted around the garbage and found a three - four week old pup. We are now the owners of this little pup (part min pin and part chihuahua). We've named her Charley (we give her a French twist and it sounds like Sharley).
I'll have to post a picture of her. I cannot believe how cruel people can be and just thank our lucky stars that my friend was there, Charley was found and we have the perfect Christmas gift!
Lindy
Hi WTS! Love the name Grasshopper!! Maybe when I get new pups I will have wuers name them. I remember the time when feline leukemia took many young cats. Glad grasshopper wasn't one of them.
Hi Briar, did you here me laughing!!!! I thought the doves on the curtain rods was lol funny!!!! Pretty cat, thanks for sharing a picture of Gem.
Hi Lindy!! Thanks for stopping by and with a story that has a happy ending!! If you have time a pic of Charley would be great!! Dumping puppies and kittens in dumpsters is a heinous act!!!!
Mr. P found 4 puppies out by our creek one day, that was 14 years ago. One pup is still alive and that is our Shadow. I still can't believe someone would dump these pups in the boonies! Lucky for them and us that we do a lot of hiking and found them.
Back To work now.
When I got married, our first dog was a pure bred Border Collie - named Sadie. Gosh she was such a good dog. Dad had papers, and worked on a farm, and mom was just a farm dog, but also pure. Unfortunately we had to give her away as the Army saw fit to send us overseas and at that time there was a 6 month quarantine for animals - coming and going.
We did get a cat in Germany and named him Gomez. We were able to bring him home. He ended up living with my mother-in-law.
When we got home we had an Aussie Shepard mix named Poncho! He was a crazy dog! We had him when we lived in Lake Tahoe. When we had a snow blizzard, he would beg to be let out and went to go play in the snow. We went out one time and found him sitting on top of his dog house! He used to run and take big gulps of snow. He was a crazy dog! One time we came down here to the beach to visit, and Poncho went out on the sand and did the same thing. When he took a big gulp of sand he had the most quizzical look on his face.....like, "what did you do to my snow???" It was pretty comical.
Took a little break to have kids, and then got a Black Lab mix named Mandy. She was a sweetheart of a dog. An orange cat name Cutsie Pie was mixed in there. Then we got Drizzle and Lucy (we still have Lucy - she is 19 but just lately she is truly showing her age) and a rock jetty feral cat name JK. He was a tough kitty, in more ways than one, but eventually matured into the kindest, gentlest kitty one would ever know. We all mourned him a lot when he passed.
We had our Missy girl (Chihuahua) basically thanks to my daughter who bought her when she graduated high school, then left her with us when the first apartment she rented wouldn't allow pets. Missy passed just last year at the age of 18 1/2.
Then 6 years ago we got our second Sadie. She is a border collie mix. We also have Trucker - another daughter pet. Trucker was living in my daughter's apartments, but he was not an apartment cat. She gave it a go for 4 years. He's been with us for the last 2. Everyone in the neighborhood knows and loves Trucker. Of course Trucker thinks he owns the neighborhood. We let him out during the day, but he is always inside at night.
Gee, have I left anyone off? Probably, but you asked for a favorite. Guess I'd have to say what we have now - as they are the best!
Lucy our 19 1/2 year old kitty
Sadie - our Border Collie mix
Trucker - and the reason our dining room won't heat up - he's always sitting right on top of the vent!
Have a good weekend!
Another favorite pet was our first pet when we were kids. A green parakeet named "Bird". Dad bought him for us at a K-Mart type store (remember the pet section they had in all the dime stores and dept stores back in the 60's-70's). Bird was well travelled and went back and forth from Texas and Minnesota on the plane. (Parents were divorced). I think Dad bought us Bird to bug Mom.
He also had run of the house and only went to his cage to eat or sleep. Parakeets really are my all time favorite birds. They just have such short life spans (usually from accidents, they are waaaay to curious about everything.)
(No offense, Gus!)
I had them both at the same time.
Sam was a blue point Siamese. If you've never lived with a Siamese, let me tell you that it is an experience!
She was a talker; always nattering on at you about anything and everything. That wonderful Siamese yowl.
She was a climber upper but not a climber downer and was always getting getting herself somewhere and couldn't get down or out. Curtain rods, valances, top shelves of closets, behind the freezer.
She got into anything: boxes, cabinets, closets, baskets. You'd wake up in the night, hearing her yowling and bumping because she'd gotten herself shut up somewhere.
She'd steal nuts out of the nutbowl in the middle of the night and bat them around the house. We had parquet floors, too. When you'd get up to see what the heck was going on and turned on the light, she'd sit there, blinking at you and looking all innocent.
She was wild for bacon, pork roast, pork chops, ham and any kind of cheese.
She'd be sound asleep; you'd wave a piece of cheese past her nose and her head would come up, eyes still closed, yowling and snapping her jaws.
One night at supper, she was sitting in the built in bookshelf beside the table, staring avidly at the pork chops we were having. She got to a point where she simply couldn't stand it any longer and made a desperate, flying leap at the dining table. Dad was furious; Mama, my brother and I about died laughing.
She was one of those "Bring 'em home alive" hunters. Her forte was snakes and lizards and she'd nip in the door with them before you could stop her. Mama didn't mind the lizards but she was terrified of snakes. There was a lot of screaming in our house back then.
Winkie was a little black and white shorthair. His official name was 'Winken', from the nursery rhyme. The one with Winken, Blinken and Nod.
We sometimes called him Winkie Humandgrin, 'cause his mouth was so curled, always looked like he was grinning. And he hummed. No lie. If you called him, he'd come out and when he did, he said, "Hmmmmmmmm?"
He liked to steal cigarette butts out of the ashtrays (folks smoked back the 70's, remember?) and run through the house with one in his mouth, looking for all the world like Andy Capp from the comic strips.
He love potato chips and ice cream. You couldn't eat either, without him sitting there, waiting for his share. He'd watch your hand moving back and forth to your mouth. If you didn't give him any, after a while he'd raise his paw, as you moved your hand. He didn't grab at it, it was like he was begging.
He followed my Dad around the yard like a dog. Whatever Dad was doing, Winkie was right there.
His hunting thing was birds and shrews. He was really bad about raiding bird nests in the shrubbery. Mama would get so upset with him.
She didn't mind the shrews so much. There were tons of them in the leaf mould and ivy that was all around the yard. He'd bring the bodies back and drop them outside the patio door.
Winkie's kidneys failed at age 15. Sam got really senile and was having health issues and she left us at 16.
Hi Karen! Thanks for posting the pics of your 'friends'! It was hard for me to pick a favorite, each animal was special in their own way. Though I have to admit there were some cats along the way that I could have done without, LOL!!! Sadie is sure a cutie!!! Your cat on the heating vent reminds of Taz the nursery cat who has taken to living in the lumber yard. She is about two feet from a large propane heater and pretty much stays there all day long!
Hi Ylee! No more snow, but plenty of cold!!!! It just got above freezing and it is 12:36 PM!!! My rain barrel is frozen solid, and so is everything outside! Even our chicken waterer heater had a hard go of keeping the ice out of the chicken waterer.
Oh the bride was plenty cold, even though down the hill it was in the low 50's!!
Hi GG! The wedding went great!! Lots and lots of fun. I will tell more about in just a bit!!
The parakeets have always been a favorite of mine too. I had one as a kid, his name was Gomez! I never heard of taking a bird on a plane before, how fun was that!!!
Hi Bug! I have a fondness for Siamese, I had a himalayan named Captain Howdy. Can you figure out where that name came from?? He was a crazy cat! Winkie sounds like one cool cat!! I love it when they act like dogs, and a cat humming, now that is unusual!!
Wedding was fun, and very relaxed!! We got there at 10:00 in the morning and didn't leave until 9:30 that night! I am really, really tired! Can't party like I use to, LOL!!! A gal was there and did the hair and makeup for the bride, her mom and me. That was fun! This is an Italian family, so lots to eat and that was just the appetizers!
My son looked so very happy, how can I not be happy for him :))
Here is a' How Small this World is' for you. Mr. P and the brides dad found out they went to the same high school and were in the same class!!! Is that not crazy!
I feel like I have known them for a long time, that is how relaxed I am with them, which is really great.
Now for the cold, it has been crazy cold here! A low of 17 for us this morning. Thank goodness Mr. P is anal over pipe insulation. Our neighbor forgot to turn his light on his water pump and came home to no water. We have a temperture activated light on our pump so no worries there.
I think we have had one of the longest cold streaks that I can remember!
Remember all that fun cake testing I did, well here is the result!!
And I want you to know how much I'm enjoying this blog. It's fun to read about WUfolks' special furpersons. Anyone who has ever lived with one knows just how much they give us in return for some food and shelter.
Hi GG! Those are real flowers! I really liked her flowers, dark purple hydrangeas, orange tulips, lilies and roses, green coffee beans, green cymbidium orchids and green calla lilies. Oh, plus delphiniums.
I read that you got thunder snow, I have seen it happen once, six inches of snow in an hour. An incredible brown hued sky and thunder and lightning. Pretty darn cool!
Cal - oh the cake is lovely! Sounds like the wedding was a grand time....so happy!!! What an odd coincidence that Mr. Cal and your son's new in-laws went to school together. It IS a small world, and getting smaller all the time. I hope you continue to have a great relationship with the relations. Our older daughter is married, and we have a great relationship with his parents. We've even gone on 3 camping trips together and we're planning another this spring. Very lucky we are!
It has been COLD and I have been whining, but today was quite nice! Warmer tomorrow I hear. I'm ready, but I must say, my weather station said we hit a high of 64 and I never knew just how warm 64 could feel! Delightful! Especially since our highs have been 55F for toooooo long!
Once upon a time, when I was a young cat, I caught a big, fat Squirrel. It was half as big as I was, so I didn't play with it. I kept a firm grip on its neck with my long teeth so it wouldn't struggle or get away. I carried it up, out of the canyon, and under two wooden fences. My neck and jaws ached from carrying that heavy Squirrel so far, but I didn't let go. Finally, finally, I came to my own back yard and pushed through the cat door into the car's den. Then through the second cat door into the house I share with my human. Enough. I'm tired. I brought that humongous Squirrel home. My human can take it from here. She is good provider. I only help.
I should have known better. Squirrel made a nest in my human's chair. Stupid human. I love her, but she is sooooo stupid. She sits in that chair every night. She acts like she doesn't hear Squirrel moving around, doesn't smell Squirrel at all. At night when my human is sleeping, or during the day when my human is out hunting somewhere, Squirrel takes kibbles out of my bowl! Drinks water from my other bowl. Steals my Food! Squirrel is supposed to be Food! If only human would do her job and put bits of Squirrel in my bowl. But she doesn't. She ignores Squirrel. Doesn't she like to eat Squirrel? I think I might, but I don't know how to make Squirrel into Food.
Sometimes Squirrel drops a few kibbles on the floor. My human picks them up and scolds me for being messy. Scolds me. I didn't make mess. Squirrel makes mess. Squirrel drops other things besides kibbles. My stupid human doesn't smell that? I love her. I really do. But she needs to pay more attention to what is around her.
Finally, my human noticed something. She sees trail of kibbles. Follows to back of chair. Sees bump in back of chair. Pokes it with her finger. Squirrel pushes back and scolds my human. Finally! At long last, my idiot human knows Squirrel is there. She pokes back of chair again. Again Squirrel pushes back and chitters at her. Yes! Yes! Squirrel for dinner tonight! Yum! Oh, it is going to be sooooo tasty. I just know it.
No! Nonono!!! My human opens big glass door to the patio. She pushes and pulls big chair outside. She comes back in and closes big glass door. In the morning, she brings chair back inside. But Squirrel is gone. Gone! I worked so hard to bring Squirrel all the way up from the canyon. Through two cat doors. I worked so very hard. And she put it back outside. Is she never going to learn what to do with all the Food I catch and bring inside? Why do I even bother?
I scold and she just pets me and opens another can of Food. Will we ever eat fresh Food for dinner? She'll never learn, that idiot human.
Doesn't matter. I'll keep bringing her Food. Someday she'll figure it out. Or not. I love her anyway.
-------------------------
That was in San Diego. After we moved to Toledo, WA, and Charlie (big orange cat) persuaded us to let him live here, he caught mice and bunnies and taught Gem how to eat fresh food. She really appreciated that, because he always shared with her. She lived to be 18.
Hi Karen! So sad that Lucy is leaving you!!! She sounds like a great friend.
It is great when everyone gets along, more fun too!! You should be happy with the warm up, I do see possible rain on the 24 and 25. We shall see what happens.
Briar what a wonderfully written story!!!! Thank you for sharing it on my blog! You captured the cats point of view perfectly, they probably think we are stoopid humans. Especially when they leave remains of a mouse or lizard for us to munch on and we promptly throw it away, lol!
cal, your ice melted yet??
This was hanging on the wall at local seafood restaurant -
What do they have against Puffin? - oh wait - now I get it!
:)
Love that story Briar!
Again, congrats on a wedding where everyone had fun.
What NO PUFFINS! I have seen signs like this and I still don't get it!
Thanks GG! I have a few errands to run this weekend but for the most part we are just going to hang out!!!
Hi Bug! The cake was one the best tasting wedding cake I have ever had! Most of the time they are kinda stale, this was super moist and had great flavor!
My new location for the garden center is really shaping up!! They got the shade area up and we put it in a 'L' shape this time. I like it, but now I have to figure out the tables because it is quite a bit narrower then before. We moved the huge Newport Fairy climbing rose yesterday. We have a really good backhoe operator and he did a great job, except he bumped the bucket accidentally and the rose fell out! But no damage and now it is snug in it's new hole at the new nursery location. I did a lot of clippings of that rose just in case we lost it. I also cut it back pretty severely, in case we didn't get all the roots. It is only a spring bloomer but when it blooms it is amazing!!! Now what to do with the pond!! I have someone who will take the bullfrogs (if they can catch them, LOL). Because as of right now I don't have a good place to put the pond. This location is much smaller then the old location.
Next on the nursery agenda is to plant a large tree to help shade the trees in pots that are for sale and getting the lattice work up around some of the shade area. Also planting the Virginia Creeper that I dug up around the new shade area lattice. Oh, and paint the garden office!
It is a beautiful day and I had better go back out to enjoy it. Already been on a hike so time for work!
I think the key to the 'No Puffin' sign is not letting the mind add an 's' to the end and also seeing the (not very prominent) lit cigarette by the puffin's feet! Very punny! Of course, I just thought it was a cool Puffin :) I guess the little guy likes clean air!
I hope my plum tree does not bud out yet, a bit early!
Sounds like you are having fun arranging the new area at work!
Hi Karen! I am glad you are out enjoying! And no problem with that rascal eddy!!!
Hi GG! There is a couple of problems with having the pond going in, one the space and the other that I will be going to seasonal next year. I want to have more time off and I believe my work and I have come to an agreement that would be good for us both. So the pond won't be taken care of like it should. A lot can happen in a year, so nothing is written in stone yet!
Another nice Cali day, cool but not cold. My plants in the greenhouse got hit hard, but they will recover. We don't heat it anymore. I got rid of all my citrus. I got tired of fighting the cotton cushiony scale! My freesias had all come up and are now not looking so good, neither is my Alstromerias. But I know they will be back.
Everyone have a great week!!!
Hopefully you'll find someone who shares your work ethic, and will take over evereything as it should if you go to seasonal work.
Don't work too hard!
Hi Briar! I am having fun with it! We are not in any sense a destination nursery but a cute small town place that has one knowledgeable gal!
Raining here, nice sitting in the dark with a cup of coffee listening to the rain. But I have to get my rear in gear and get to the gym! Have a good one everyone!
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