Howdy blogaroos! Did ya miss us? It’s Squirmy here to share our latest exploits. Where to begin….
Well Aunt Sue was here for two weeks, and we had a blast. We dragged her on walks each morning at 6AM – which she thoroughly enjoyed. OK. We enjoyed it. She tolerated it. And she did smile some mornings. Actually, she even joined in singing our “Good Morning” song several days. She may have been half asleep, but she did join in.
She walked the Coyote- and had to monitor that he didn’t drink out of puddles, eat too much grass, or eat goose poop. It was a grand time.
We also did nightly walks with her and the Warden decked out in glowing jackets, and us dogs also lit up like walking Christmas trees. Plus the humans wore such bright headlamps that we were lucky a 747 didn’t try to land on our road.
After Aunt Sue left, the Warden took us out one by one for our nightly walks – but yesterday she had to turn off the headlamp for fear of being bopped in the head by a flying ping pong ball. Yup. Although it’s still May, the dreaded June Bugs are already out. The large beetle like creatures come out at night – and are attracted to lights. You can hear them bouncing off window screens if lights are on in the house. So for the next few weeks, we’ll be walking around in total darkness in the house- on the off chance one could squeeze his way under a screen. Heaven forbid one of the kamikaze ping pong balls gets inside. Been there. Witnessed the chaos and pandemonium. I still have PTJBM. Post traumatic June Bug Memories.
So Aunt Sue left and we were sad. She’ll hopefully be back later in the summer… We can’t wait. Nothing like a good aunt to give you extra treats, or let you lick her empty yogurt container or smuck you in the butt with water from a squirt gun if you’re acting like a raving maniac when your meals are being prepared….
What else is new… Spud is still very much in love with warm baked potatoes – and he continues to eat more food than he has in his 8 years of life. Go figure.
The Warden says the Coyote is like….a tire repair. So you drive over a nail that puts a hole in your tire. And you get it repaired. But you still keep wondering – will that repair hold? EVERY SINGLE TIME the Warden puts the Coyote’s food dish down, she waits with bated breath. Will the air start leaking out of the tire today? Or will we be ready to roll? So far, the potatoes seem to be holding the tire together. It’s nothing short of a miracle.
Meanwhile, yours truly went to the vet this week. I went for two reasons – to get my paw checked and to get a Lyme vaccine. I’ve been licking at one paw incessantly and although the Warden examined it, she didn’t see anything causing the problem (like a stick or cut). One night she put cream on it and wrapped it in vet wrap. Although I walked like my entire leg was now in a full length cast, I adjusted pretty quickly. The next day when she took the bandage off, the area was less red. But within minutes, I was back at my incessant licking.
So I went to have my paw examined and to get “my shot.”
Now here’s the deal. I’m not exactly a Golden Retriever when it comes to meeting people the first time. I’m not Mr Happy-Go-Lucky like the Boss was. I’m super cautious around new people. And although I have been to the vet before, it’s been a long time. And because I’m nervous, the Warden gets nervous. So we make a horrible team. I feel her nerves and that makes ME more nervous.
Luckily, she was smart enough to fill her pockets with treats. She could barely sit in the car with her loaded pockets. And when the vet came in, she passed her a handful.
Thankfully we have a very patient vet, who sat in the floor with me and took her time with me. To help the vet examine my foot, the Warden did a wrestling move, flipped me on my side, and I was good as gold. I didn’t move a muscle as she checked all my feet. Some of us PONs have the don’t-touch-my-feet gene – and that’s kinda me. Mind you, the Warden can clip my nails with no problem. I just don’t love it.
Anyway, before the session was over I was following the vet’s commands and even heeling with her across the room. I never even felt the vaccine. I was perfectly adorable. And I came home with some new cream for my foot which already seems to be working.
Otherwise, things are pretty stable around here. No run-ins with the walking pin cushion, and no sight of the raccoon who we assumed knocked over our compost bin the other night. Unless it was a bear….
We did have an interesting wildlife encounter a few weeks ago, and our apologies to folks who already read this story on the Warden’s Wastebook page. But it’s worth a repeat for those who didn’t.
As you know, we live in a semi-rural area of Nova Scotia. Although we’re only 20 minutes from downtown Halifax (if there is no traffic) the area where we live is surrounded by trees and our road is the start of a popular hiking trail. As we have talked about many times, we have seen lots of wildlife in our area – from raccoons to deer to porcupines to the odd bear. We can sometimes hear the coyotes at night, and we know there are also bobcats in the area.
Add to the four legged friends, we have LOTS of feathered friends- including all kinds of songbirds, mourning doves, crows, ducks, geese, loons, hummingbirds, pheasants and even eagles.
So we’re pretty used to living in our own little “wild kingdom.”
Several kilometers away from our happy abode is a small industrial park. We can’t see it, because as I said it’s kilometers away. But about 2-3 months ago, the Warden started hearing this sound at night, like the beeping of a truck backing up. She was in touch with neighbors on our road, and others heard it as well. The sound went on for HOURS -and through the night. The neighbors and the warden started suspecting that the sound was coming from the industrial park. The Warden even audiotaped the beeping while walking us one evening. The sound was constant, and even in the house, if the windows were open, you could hear it. The Warden envisioned some truck driver doing repeated backward circles. WHAT could the driver be doing? The Coyote and I heard it, but it didn’t bother us. Which is interesting. Because when a delivery truck backs down our driveway, with the beeping sound, we go NUTS. I mean crazy nuts. But we didn’t care about this “truck”.
Finally, after nights of listening to the “crazy driver”, one of our great neighbors decided to contact one of our municipal councilors to find out info about local noise bylaws- and to see if the councilor could investigate the source of the sound. Who WAS this crazy driver? He/she needed to be stopped.
Everyone waited to hear who the offending driver was. The councilor worked quickly and it was no time before the culprit was revealed. We finally knew the source of the incessant beeping….
https://youtu.be/GwgTcxjLnTo?si=4O3sCMYp87VjBN5D
Whooooo knew that little guy could make such a racket. It’s crazy.
Now, we’ve heard this guy before…
https://youtu.be/6hG6465r0dQ?si=ksf5HjMGBo6uc6HF
But seriously- he sounds like an owl.
Should I point out again, that we canines KNEW it wasn’t a truck. Shoulda listened to us in the first place!
I should also mention that although Mr Beeper can still be heard, for some reason, the sound just isn’t as irritating now. Interesting, isn’t it?
OK. Time to look for trouble. I hope you’re able to enjoy these longer days – and that they are filled with sunshine- and no flying ping pong balls after dark.
Have a good one. Peace and paws up. Stay safe. JBJ.
Viktorsviews. The Next Chapter. 