Farm living...

The other day I heard something. Since I'm still a young pup I, Monster, wasn't sure what it was so I enlisted my trusty ol' friend Droopy in searching out the culprit. Droopy's got a nose on him, you see, he can sniff out a 3 day old trail and sure enough Droopy found the culprit. We started barking madly. Then Phat Boy, Ralph the Mouth and Sir Licks A Lot started barking. H1 was inside, busy nursing a head cold. Oh no, what were we going to do? Woof, WOOF. Still the culprit wouldn't leave. Woof, WOOF. H1 began hollering, she says because the barking was echoing off the stuffed passages in her head. We didn't listen. Hmmm... why not? Well now H1 was in danger, we had to protect her too. Then H1 realized we were concentrating on a tree. Barking. Barking. BARKING. Oh crap!

H1 flew out the house, hollering at us, she was clearly not happy. I can't understand why doesn't she know we are just trying to get this intruder to leave. OH NO shouts H1! STOP! STOP! RUN, RUN, GET AWAY! BACK, STAY, INSIDE, BACK, NO, NO!! CRAP!!! Shovel. Yes, shovel. H1 puts herself between us and the SNAKE. She's clearly more experienced at this then I am, I best listen if I want my treats later. Back. Back.... back.... Ok H1 I'm back. I hear H1 say, dogs safe, H2 safe, H1 NOT! NO, NO, don't lunge at her. BACK. OUT! GET OFF OUR PROPERTY! CRAP, it's a rattler! LUNGE, NO! H1 SHOVEL................

When you live out in the country you know you are going to encounter some critters, some wanted, some not. So it should come as no surprise to anyone that sometimes a snake crawls through the yard. H1 tells me we've had snakes in the yard since she moved here 12 years ago. They have always been harmless snakes, bull snakes, red racers, gardner snakes and king snakes and she always let them go on their merry way.

Flat Mia, day 3....

Let's see where did I end off. Oh yes, the race. Well Sir Licks A Lot was winning until Phat Boy came in for a sideways tackle which caught Sir Licks A Lot off guard, but it did not deter him. He managed to finish the race with Monster gaining on his backside and Ralph the Mouth barking eagerly along side the gang. Of course, Buddy sat by and watched their crazy antics and Droopy had his nose in a gopher hole. Droopy is always on to the scent of something and H1 is always hollering at him to leave the other critters alone. That Droopy, he is a character.

So today, I got a chance to ride Black Beauty. Well I thought I was going to ride him, but he was cranky because he was eating breakfast. H1 told me we would have to come back later. Just then I saw a Coyote walking down the road and I high tailed it back inside.

And later we did. I met up with H2 who couldn't wait to go for a ride. I asked H2 about using a saddle and the response I got was a little alarming "Silly, this is the Wild Wild West we don't need a saddle for this adventure." Hang on to your cowboy hats boys and girls we are off. As we walked along I got an opportunity to see high above, Black Beauty is the Gentle Giant of Horses. He is tall and likes to just walk along and check out the sights just like I do! Oh what is that? H2 says not to worry, it is just a Jack Rabbit. A what? A Jack the Rabbit? No, a Jack Rabbit, apparently it is the larger version of a rabbit here in the southwest, though they do have Jack Rabbits and Cottontails. Pretty tall too, but not as tall as Black Beauty. H1 tells me that over yonder are some Petroglyphs, but unfortunately, it is getting too late in the day to make the trek that way. H1 tells me I should learn all about the prehistoric Hohokam people of this area and their drawings. She promises to tell me more later.

Stay tuned next Monday for the final update of my visit...

Flat Mia... bump in the night...

It's 8 p.m. again, time to settle in for the night. Just got done enjoying some BBQ Chicken, roasted corn and potatoes. I sure am enjoying country meals, scrumptious food and great company. Well I'm off to bed now. I hear I am heading out in the next day or two. I'll check in with everyone again tomorrow....

.... Yip, Yip, Yip, HOWLLLLLL.... Huh? What's THAT? Did you hear that? Is that the owl again? No, it can't be the owl. HOWL. Is that one of the dog's, it kind of sounds like a dog. Hmmm.... what could it be? H1 assures me it is just a Coyote passing by. A COYOTE!?! I look out the curtain, but the night is black and I can not see a thing. I can only hear the Yip, Yip, Yip of the Coyotes talking to each other. I close the curtain and snuggle back in my bed and try to sleep... try to sleep... finally the Coyotes pass and I can barely here them in the distance...

Stay tuned for the next update on Wednesday.

Flat Mia, day 2 part 2

I learned a lot from Buddy. He tells me you must slow down and smell the flowers or else you will miss out on the beauty of life. He also tells me that you need to rise as the sun is rising to know what the day will bring.

After a nice lunchtime nap H1 tells me it is time to meet the rest of the gang. Now remember, she doesn't know this rowdy group was already playing with me when I first arrived here. I'm next introduced to Mama, Monster, Phat Boy, Sir Licks A Lot, Droopy, Ralph the Mouth and the Queen.

Mama made her way to the farm 6 years ago. Someone dumped her in the desert and she found her way to the farm. She ended up being pregnant and two of her boys still live on the farm, Sir Licks A Lot and Fat Boy, the other 5 siblings were adopted out. Of course, you wouldn't know that Mama, Sir Licks A Lot and Phat Boy were related because none of them look alike, but they are and they are the best of friends. As a matter of fact, if one of them ends up trailing behind or gets shut out of an area the others whine and wait for H1 to take notice and reunite. Even if their separation was for only a split second they get excited and start jumping around.

Monster is a funny dog. He loves to play! He also likes chasing after H2 especially when they play hide and seek. He always finds H2 hiding under the blankets, it is his favorite game. Monster and Droopy are H2's favorite playtime friends. Ralph the Mouth is the noisiest of the group. Ralph the Mouth constantly barks at anything that moves. Yes, she might even bark at the wind. She is a high alert dog which is probably due to her breed. Ralph the Mouth has a lot of charming qualities, but she also gets into a lot of trouble. Mostly trash trouble. Yep, even though she is fed well she likes trash. You will often here H1 hollering across the way telling her to stay out of the trash. You really can't blame Ralph the Mouth for liking trash, it just means her nose is working.

What I'm learning around here is that love is plentiful and discipline is short. H1 may holler a stern warning to this rowdy, mischievious group, but that is all. H1 says "We are only keepers of God's creatures and our job is to provide comfort, warmth and love to all of mankind's best friends".

Well it looks like the evening race is going to begin. I put my bets on Sir Licks A Lot he seems to be the most built for a scrimmage across the farm.

Stay tuned next Monday for another update...