Bouffant Blonde

Something is eating the cucumbers. I don't know what. I go out to gather them and something has taken little bites out of several of them. Every day. Could it be a rabbit? Maybe? I figured with three dogs, surely they could determine what's going on. I held up one of the ruined cucumbers and asked Little Guy who was eating it. He dutifully sniffed the bitten area. He shook his head. "Cucumbers are not good," he told me. "Whoever is eating those things is not really smart." He wrinkled his little nose. "And I don't care what Gran says," he added before walking away. Well, I figured, that was strike one. Surely his older, wiser sisters would have the answer. I called Sunshine over. She's a lab. Labs love to hunt. Surely she would know who's eating the cucumbers. She took a sniff and shook her head. "Probably a rabbit," she said. "I can't be sure. Those cucumbers are really foul smelling and that masks the smell of any c...

Little Guy loves to go to the garden with his grandaddy. He loves to go just about anywhere with his grandaddy. It's lots of fun. He can hunt and chase baby calves and slosh through the edge of the pond. Just guy stuff. But Little Guy is really, really afraid of the electric fence. The fence is supposed to keep the cows and calves from the vegetables in the garden. It also keeps Little Guy in the garden. He was really afraid when Grandaddy put a gate up at the garden entrace. What if it had an invisible electric fence? He couldn't be sure. He was so excited to go into the garden that he didn't think about that. But when it was time to leave, he was scared. Gran tried to coax him out. He just shook his little head. Grandaddy called and called. Little Guy frowned and backed up. Then Mama came out. She walked through the gate, bent down and hugged him close to her. "It's okay, Little Guy," she said. "We'll walk through the gate together. There's no e...

My life, it seems, is all about head counts. One. Two. Three. Uh...three. Where is number three? Missing in action. I rushed out the door heading to church this morning. I am always running late. Or so it seems. Sunshine came immediately when called. Miss Lady Bug stumbled out from her napping spot in the laundry room. She gave me one of those indignant looks that says "What is your problem!?" My problem involved the prime sleeping spot in front of the garage fan. It was vacant. No Little Guy. That was not a good sign. See, I haven't had this problem lately. That's the benefit of triple-digit heat. The dogs don't wander off. They stay parked in front of fans or in the house. Cooler temperatures make them feel better about exploring. Without human restrictions and parental guidance. I asked Sunshine where her brother was. She gave me one of those looks that let me know she was not his keeper. Not today anyway. I had to bite my tongue to keep from reminding her t...

Ban all personal fireworks. That's right. No more roadside stands. No more backyard shows. Fireworks are dangerous. They can be a fire hazard in dry areas. And the sound of fireworks terrifies my dogs! Enough said. I knew as soon as I heard the fireworks start on the Fourth of July that I had to get the dogs inside. They were almost on top of one another at the back door. The first pop does that. Little Guy, by far the smallest of the three, was first in the door. Fear seems to heighten strength and he definitely muscled his way in. His sisters weren't far behind. I know what you're saying. Fireworks are beautiful and fun. My mother reminisces about "shooting fireworks" when she was a small girl. She's 75 now. She thinks I'm nuts. But even she can't argue at the trembling mass of dogs that cower in fear at the pops and whishes of fireworks in the sky. My father understands. If I'm not around, I can trust that he will always let the dogs in the hous...

Little Guy loves to help his Grandaddy. He thinks it's ever so much fun to run through the corn and look for rabbits. He bounds over the pea vines and races through the cucumber patch. There is just so very much to do in the garden this time of year. This week he's helping cut down the corn stalks so his Grandaddy can feed them to the cows. The cows really seemed to enjoy that corn that was left on the stalks. Grandaddy said what was left of the corn wasn't worth gathering or eating. Little Guy thought Grandaddy might be hiding something. He decided to sample said corn himself. So he grabbed up an ear and headed for the house. There he sank down in front of the garage fan. That's Little Guy's favorite spot outside. With the wind from the fan blowing his hair, he started taking the husk from the ear of corn. That took a while and made a mess. Then he tried to get the kernels of corn off. It was hard and took a lot of effort. The kernels were splotchy and he spent a l...

Sunshine is a lab. She loves to hunt. She loves to catch things that move. It really doesn't matter what. Of course with the weather near 100 degrees and the heat index even higher, she's abandoned much of that. Except when something just happens to cross her path. She really can't help herself. I knew something was up when she scrambled out from under the van (which she is really too big to be under) and raced across the yard. I hadn't seen her move that quickly in weeks. She's so laid-back that her usual mode of travel is slow and leisurely. She immediately started looking for something. Her nose was in high gear. I didn't know what she saw. I figured maybe a squirrel. She likes to go after squirrels. I know the squirrels get a good laugh as they jump from tree to tree without the dogs ever having a clue. Sunshine started trying to move some tin stacked next to the cattle trailer. Soon, Little Guy and Miss Lady Bug had joined the search. I tried to be helpful...

Little Guy loves to fish. He never really understood fishing until my oldest nephew visited when Little Guy was just a puppy. He'd obviously lived in the city before he came to us. He knew we had a pond. He loved to romp along the sides, splashing in the water. But he never understood that there are fish in the pond. Wow! He watched my nephew gather a reel and rod and other supplies. Then Little Guy happily followed him around to the dam. Both his sisters went along so it was a fun adventure. He sat right next to my nephew as he threw the line in. Then, oh my gosh, a fish came out! That was exciting! Little Guy danced all around and tried to get close to the fish. My nephew removed said fish from the hook and threw the fish back into the pond. Wait a minute, Little Guy said. Don't we get to play with the fish? I want to take the fish back to the house and show my mom. So Little Guy did what any puppy would do under those circumstances. He went into the water after the fish. He...