Friday, November 13, 2009

Fitting in


Listen kid, if you want to be a part of this family, you'll listen to my advice.
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First things first - you can't be afraid of Mad Teeth (tm). No hiding.
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Face your fears
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And give 'em as good as you get 'em.
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Ha ha! That's my boy. He's learning the ropes around here pretty good already!

And so am I. I have resigned myself to the fact that muddy feet are just a part of living in the stix, and that I'll just have to become a little friendlier with the mop. And thanks for all your wonderful landscaping suggestions - over time I will definitely implement some of them to make our little space in the country more user friendly!


The dogs are loving it for sure. While we miss our our old haunts, there are some new ones to explore. Yesterday was beautiful, so we went and relaxed at the local dog park for the first time.

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We made lots of new friends. Except for Wootie, who made no friends. He has taken on the roll of Dexter Protector, and he beats up anyone who tries to play too rough with "his" puppy.

And if I don't feel like loading everyone up in the car, we just play on our own property, which backs onto the dikes.

In the Jungle
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The Mighty Jungle
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The Puppy Creeps Tonight

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Somebody comes from real sheepdog stock.

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Now that he is getting kind of coordinated, like a real dog, he is all crouchy, creepy and stalky. It's very amusing to watch.

And he is getting braver too. He now tumbles merrily down the hills without fear. This is because he wants to follow his big brother and sister into the grass pit. The grass pit is this huge basin flanked by four hills, about the 2/3rds the size of a football field, and full of grasses that are about 5 feet tall. I can amuse myself for eons by lobbing a ball in there from the top of the hill and watching the dogs hunt for it.

Are you sure it's in here, Food Lady?
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Tweed always finds it though.
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Hours can pass without me seeing more of Wootie than this:
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He's usually hunting wildlife. And there's lots of it too!

There are, of course, lots of ducks
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Blue herons (this one was standing on my lawn and took off as we approached the house)
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Yesterday I saw 4 snow geese circling the farm way up in the air. And two nights ago I could hear an owl "who who-who whoing" in the trees, so I went outside with a flashlight and saw him sitting at the top of a pine right outside my front door. How cool is that?

Yup, we are really liking it out here so far, kind of a surprise to The Food Lady, who likes her city comforts.

I always knew this would be awesome. I'm smart.
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Are you just going to let him tell lies like that, Food Lady?
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Come on, kid. Let me give you some more advice. Follow me, and you won't go wrong.
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Should I be listening to this guy??
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19 comments:

PoochesForPeace said...

It really looks wonderful where you are now, and the dogs look like they're having so much fun. Great pics, too :)

Rossie said...

I love piper's face when dexter flashes his teeth! "whaaa!?!"

riosmom said...

Love Piper's expression when Dexter returns her Mad Teeth tm)in kind. No pictures of Woo protecting "his" puppy? Glad you are enjoying your new world but how could you not? Muddy paw prints notwithstanding.

Janice in GA said...

I love the puppy Mad Teeth(tm).

Mary said...

Now, when you say the basin is 2/3 the size of a football field, do you mean American football, Canadian football, or that sport that the rest of the world erroneously calls football, but is really called soccer?


Ah, who cares. The dogs are happy. That's all that matters.

Two French Bulldogs said...

Now that sure was good advice. I will have to pass it on. BOL
Benny & Lily

erin said...

I lovelovelove pictures 2 and 4.

Colleen said...

Great to hear you all are happy out in the stix!

Wondering how you selected the name Dexter? It sooo suits the little honeypie!

Anonymous said...

What type of camera do you use? Or suggest?
From <12 feet>

amyinbc said...

Great post, love your new locale as I am sure the dogs do.

My hubby is addicted to Craigslist FREE stuff. Might be a great place to find pea stones or whatever to help with the mud situation.

Loving seeing how Dexter is fitting in :)

Ruth Hansell said...

What a wonderful place you've found. Your commentary is even better than when you were a City Food Lady!

However, you'll want to check your homonyms. Unless there's a group of lesbians standing at the edge of your property, you're referring to 'dikes', not 'dykes'.

Glad you and the pooches are happy.

Ruth

The Border Collies said...

"However, you'll want to check your homonyms. Unless there's a group of lesbians standing at the edge of your property, you're referring to 'dikes', not 'dykes'."

Thank you for that! I wasn't sure about the spelling, and I googled it and the first thing that came up was something about the "dYkes in Maple Ridge" so I just went with that spelling. So far, I've yet to come across a long line of lesbians backing onto my property, so suffice to say I really did mean DIKES! ha ha!

The Border Collies said...

"Now, when you say the basin is 2/3 the size of a football field, do you mean American football, Canadian football, or that sport that the rest of the world erroneously calls football, but is really called soccer?"

Erroneously?! I am quite sure that North Americans stole the term "football" which has always applied to the game you call "soccer." Being a footie fan myself, I know this to be true. I only used the North American definition of "football" to make the visual easy for the readership :)

The basin is very big. That should clear things up!

LCHS Feisty Fido Crew member said...

I wanted to recommend the Swiffer Wetjet for quick clean up of footprints. Mops are so passe' but more eco-friendly. I compromise and hit the muddy track through the house with the Swiffer and use more mundane stuff for the big areas.

Anonymous said...

Watch for eagles and coyotes - they like puppies.

Value the paw prints, one day they won't be there. Best excuse I can come up with to ignore mucky floor.

Anonymous said...

I'm with Food Lady! Why do they call the sport with the odd shaped ball 'football' when the ball spends so little time on or near the foot? Makes much more sense to refer to 'soccer' as football! Great pics of Dex! I just want to snuggle the cuteness out of him!

AKDD said...

Hey, Food Lady. Love the new look to the blog... the new puppy face in your life... the new digs... all exccccccellent.

Me, I'm a big afficionado of wildlife in my yard. Wildlife additional to my dogs, I mean.

Ow! OW! Why are they biting me now?!?!? I meant to say, additional to my perfctly-behaved angelic pets! Really! That's what I meant!

(Okay, I have to ask... is Dexter named after the character in the TV series, or the dog in the book, or do you just have cool taste in names?)

dreameyce said...

Living in the PNW stix is muddy, but the space, and privacy is my friend! With 4 dogs, including two Barkgis (Oh, I mean Corgis!), I can't imagine NOT living in the stix!

I'm a HUGE fan of the swiffer wet jet mop thingys, but use knit covers you can wash and reuse (DIY, or etsy) instead of the diapers, and am a cheapskate, and refill those bottles with vinegar water, or water with scented oil, such as rosemary, grapefruit, or lime essential oil. (Directions for refilling online) I don't even OWN a 'real mop'. I have one for the kitchen, and one for the dog yard/mud room so I never have to get the kitchen one ickky with dog mud. My friend, and only way my home isn't covered in mud during the wet season!

I'm so glad you suckered down and got a puppy! I've been MIA from blog-land thanks to school, but squeed when I saw you were yet again a sucker! YEA! Now, to catch up....

Leslie Hawes said...

There is no question that Dexter has the "collie eye".
And he might well be the cutest puppy on earth!