Life in the Bristolwood

Oh, I know….people write some pretty corny things about how their dogs are like humans and such.  Color us canine lovers as a “unique” lot. But hey, before getting too judgmental, just remember the kitty lovers out there!

This morning, as Mark was busy, I went looking for Angus. He wasn’t positioned on the windowsill where he often sits, ever en garde for strange humans or wildlife that might threaten his food bowl humans.  Instead, he was in the dining room….

Yup, he was actually curled up in a little ball until I walked into the room with my camera. He became a bit disturbed by my presence. In fact, he must think his mission in life is to watch the great outdoors for intruders!

Oh my! He must have seen a vicious squirrel out there! Just look at that stance!

Yes, I am sure that everyone and everything would be frightened to tears at the sight of my 20 pound “teddy bear”. Ah well….

Angus really is Mark’s therapy dog. Although he never went for formal training, Angus is just so special to Mark. Mark has told me that there have been times when his legs ached so badly and Angus would lie down on them, switching back and forth as though trying to make them feel better.  Mark says that some days when he feels tense, when Angus jumps up on his recliner, Angus actually calms him down just by sitting with him.  (nothing like a little warm body to soothe and relax!)

In looking at these photos, I now feel terrible that we didn’t take Angus with us when we went out for a short ride late this morning.  Angus loves riding in the truck. He lies down on the seat between Mark and me and falls asleep. When we stop, Mark opens his window and allows Angus to stand and look out the window….

We stopped in Woodville this morning and as we sat looking at the boats on the lake, a kayak came from across the lake. Mark egged me on to talk to the person in the kayak, so I jumped out and talked to the fellow. He was a wealth of information, and his best advice was to try out many different types of kayaks and canoes before settling on a certain one. This gave Mark some new ideas, so we were so happy to have met this kind man named Bill.  He was amazing….he even offered to allow me to try his kayak out.

Before you think I was totally stupid for not trying out the vessel, think of this….I was wearing a sundress. Yes, there are many things I *can* do in a sundress. However, entering the kayak involved seating oneself on the ground, holding onto the paddle with one hand, and the kayak and other end of the paddle with the other hand.  One then lifts oneself up from the ground, sliding a foot into the craft, then magically lifting their torso and other foot inside. Sounds easy enough, correct? Well, I am sorry to say, but when I get nervous, I tend to make mistakes.  And, I certainly did NOT want to wind up standing on my head inside the kayak, sundress upside down, belly and derriere sticking out!!! There…now you can understand my declining such a kind offer, no?

I did get another cool shot of an even prettier waterlily than the one I took before.

And, just in case you would like to see….these are the four little Junco birds that hatched out last week. This is the family that is so enjoying my fuchsia plant on the front porch.

Last night while Murphy and I were sitting on the porch, Murphy kept “tap-dancing” his way along the front railing.  I finally stopped what I was doing and watched him..it was so funny! The junco bird or birds (mother and father) would grab a mouthful of bugs and then hop along under the railing on the porch. Murphy figured this was playtime, and he would give chase to the bird. What a game! Finally, the bird would fly up into the fuchsia plant and Murphy would bark.  Ah, if only my little Scottie could fly……..

Yesterday was a busy day for me.  The rains came down and since it has been a somewhat scarce commodity this summer,  I took advantage of it! I dragged the eight foot ladder from the garage and positioned it next to the camper.  The top of the camper is rubber. Yes, a rubber roof.  Rubber makes a great roof, but why it is white is beyond me!

Rubber roofs are supposed to be washed clean every year. Somehow, this little bit of information was missed by me the first three years we had our camper.  Then, one day, while reading the camper’s literature, I came across the info. Yikes! When I looked at our roof, it was black! After reading on the internet, I climbed the ladder and in the grungiest clothing I could find, bleached that roof until it became white again. Now, dear reader, please remember that I stand all of five feet, one and one-half inches tall! As my ladder teetered a bit yesterday, on the sloping driveway, I scrubbed with one hand, while hanging on to the camper with the other!

Come to think of it, one is supposed to *inspect* the aforementioned rubber roof every year for tears or other signs of punctures. I guess that is why it is white. It would be more difficult to examine were it dark, and it would also heat up a great deal more.

Well, I worked on the roof cleaning for about an hour and a half in the pouring down rain. I figured the rain would help me rid the dirty stains, and also rinse. And, it did!

Murphy and I sat on the porch for quite some time yesterday, just enjoying the cool, clear air. It felt like air-conditioning.  There were times when the rain fell so heavily,  each drop created a divot in the ground!  The majority of the time, it fell steadily, though, just saturating the ground and filling the outside air with a sense of cleansing! Ahhhhhh…..

Here is the container of basil our friend, Jeanine gave us. To brush against it and smell is amazing! I love basil.

While Murphy and I were on the front porch, a little male hummingbird began to play peek-a-boo with us! He would buzz down by the feeder, then retreat to a branch above. One curious note about hummingbirds is that they always land on a dead branch.

Later in the day, as I walked the Scotties, I observed something unusual.  I have heard the expression “it is raining cats and dogs”, but in this case, snails might be substituted.  No, the snails weren’t on the ground….instead, many could be found on the trees!

Hmm…..perhaps they retreated to the trees to seek refuge from drowning while it was raining cats and dogs?