Fridays are Golden

We spend many summer hours sitting on the screened porch. Safe from the insects, we are still in touch with nature, listening to the sounds and seeing the sights of the seasons. We are at eye level with some of the bird boxes and watch the residents coming and going. It's a great place to read, especially when it's raining.

We always felt a little guilty that the dogs had to lie on the hard planks. But the rain sometimes blows onto the porch so standard dog beds didn't seem practical. After some research we ordered a couple of canvas beds for the dogs. Placed near the edge, they would offer the dogs the opportunity to catch any breezes and to look down on the woods that make up our back yard.




The dogs are quite interested when we are on the porch. They do not like to be left inside.

With any new thing, the sniff test is always first.

Lucy decides that she doesn't like the new beds and doesn't understand what they are for, and has no desire to be near them. She walks away, disgusted with this surprise much like a child who gets pajamas for Christmas.

Ellie sits on one of the beds and decides she likes the feel of it.

Following Ellie's example, Lucy tries the other bed.

Lucy falls asleep. She still doesn't care all that much for the new bed. I think it's because she can't share the bed with Ellie.

As we enter this weekend, please give thought to the devastation of the Gulf oil spill. Devastation that we brought upon ourselves because of our steadfast refusal to conserve and sacrifice a little more. So this weekend (if not forever) carefully look at your own energy consumption. Look at ways to reduce your own carbon footprint.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone.

Fridays are Golden

We had another four inches of rain this week, taking us out of any drought category (not even abnormally dry) for the first time in more than two years. It is wonderful!

Our dogs are very active and will run on the trails until we make them stop to rest. However, they hate rain and become a couple of slugs in rainy weather. It amazes me that they are content to simply lie around on rainy days. One would think they would become restless. Instead they do not seem at all bothered by the lack of activity. Too bad they don't know how to read...I'm sure they would love a good book on a rainy day. They do occasionally play actively with tug toys or wrestling.

Ellie picks up a toy and it appears they are finally going to see some action.




But Ellie declines, leaving Lucy to play with the toy by herself.

She carries it across the room while Ellie simply watches. "Go ahead, Lucy. Enjoy yourself. I'll just sit here and watch."

We are fortunate enough to have a large screened porch. They love sitting there watching the birds and animals or just listening to the rain while we read. So I thought a visit on the porch might ease their boredom.

Lucy takes a look into the woods. Usually, she goes to each side of the porch looking for action.

They are not at all interested in being on the porch. Both of them go and stand at the door, clearly wanting to go back inside.

I try to explain that they have this entire porch to themselves. As you can see, they are still begging at the door.

I glance at my watch and I immediately understand what is going on. It is within an hour of dinner time! While the girls cannot tell time, they instinctively know when the dinner hour is approaching. And since it is my husband who provides the feast (if you call dry dog food a feast), they do not leave his side when dinner is an hour away. No matter where he might go, there are two Goldens who appear tethered to him.

----------So I let the girls back inside. They immediately lie directly in front of the chef to make certain he doesn't forget to feed them. We learned the hard way the Goldens have no satiety center. When Ellie was small, we simply left food in her dish like we had done with our Springer Spaniels. Very quickly she porked up and we learned that timed and measured feedings are the way to go. The girls consume their meals in less than two minutes and it's all over.

We are expecting even more rain this weekend so I will spend it reading, knitting, or visiting neighbors. The Golden Girls? They will lie around and reluctantly go for a couple of walks in between showers.

Have a wonderful weekend! Enjoy the time you have to spend with family, including the canine and feline members. Our time with each other is finite...so enjoy every single minute you can.