Dairy Daze...and Now Beyond

 Actually, let's do the vaguely funny first.   Last week Gary and his sister Gail went on a driving tour to Kentucky and West Virginia and a loop around back home.  I didn't want to go this time, I don't do well on driving tours, Ellen had to work, and it just didn't work this year for all of us to go.  So Ellen and I stayed home and had the care of the chickens and Gail's cat. Princess, the cat, stayed in our little cat "habitat" that Gary had made several years ago for this purpose. We parked it in the shade and I made sure to take her frozen 2 liter bottles of ice and place on her shelf to cool her off if she needed it.  She did great.  I kept her food and treats in the house, of course.  One morning I got up and found the bag of cat treats on the laundry room floor; torn open with only 2 remaining.   I had wondered why Smudge hadn't been in to wake me up for her breakfast! Crazy pudgy cat. ************************** This past week, t...

 Much of this I have posted on Facebook, but I feel perhaps it bears posting in here as well, just for posterity's sake.   Ellen knows the gal who is the fill-in editor at the local newspaper, The Buffalo Reflex.  She gave Ellen the questionnaire to fill out for this little blurb they have every week. This came out last week.   Ellen actually got her picture in the paper twice last week.  Here is a closeup of the second one: Only Ellen, who was not scheduled to be on a float in the Buffalo Christmas parade, could end up with her picture in the paper for being on a float in the Buffalo Christmas parade.  We were standing there watching the parade when the OMB (Old Missouri Bank) float went by.  Her coworker there in the green sweater hollered at her to climb on, so off she ran and clambered onto the float.  Gary and I, when it was over, then had to follow the tail end of the parade over to the factory parking lot where it started so we could p...

 She has no brains, I am afraid.   Well.  I take that back.  She is fairly smart...when it suits her.  She recognizes quite a few words.  When I ask her "where's the SQUIRREL, Bella?"  she will look up into the trees, wagging her tail.  When I ask her where the CAT is, she will look around the place, toward the house, or toward the places where the cat frequents when she is outside.   But when it comes to common sense things, she is hopeless.  She will just pester the cat to the point of the cat's insanity.  Smudge will be lying on the sofa, trying to snooze, and Bella will just get up in her face, as above.  She will just stand there, not moving, staring at the cat.  Smudge will try to sleep, but then the tip of her tail will start to twitch, and she will look back at the dog from squinted eyes.  I just keep them in separate parts of the house when they both have to be inside.  Maybe I should just let ...

 If you have been a long-time reader of this blog you will know that Bella is TDIDW; the dog I didn't want.  She is smarter than she ought to be, and she can be an absolute idiot....at least in seeming.  For instance, she doesn't know when to leave well enough alone.  She adores the cat.  But she makes a complete nuisance of herself; just hovers over her, nudges under her, paws at her, and generally just won't stop aggravating her.    Smudge puts up with it for a bit, but then wants to be left alone.  Therefore when they are together, Bella is always on a leash and I am always hanging on to it.   Smudge is a self-proclaimed touch-me-not.  She is not a cuddly cat.  She tolerates being held for a bit, but will switch her tail the whole time, maybe 3 minutes, then start squirming to get down.  It's kind of sad because she is so fluffy and cuddly-looking.  But no.  When she gets tired of you she will bite. ...