The Duds vs Water

Between losing power for 4 days 2 weeks ago & the 7 inches of water we received on Friday....I'm losing faith in Mother Nature.  On Saturday, Bru, I & the boys worked all day to remove water from our property.  Dudley was in & out stepping over hoses, pumps,articles left out to dry & didn't waver a bit.  He did have to be carried out the first time b/c the crawlspace door was wide open & not being a water dog - he wasn't impressed with the 3 feet we had down there!!

  Yep...there is our de-humidifier floating in the crawl which is located by my washer & dryer as you enter from the garage. At one point we had 2 hoses going @ one time.

We had @ a foot & a half of water in our yard earlier - we could not believe how fast it went down once the downpour was over.

                    Just to give you an idea of the amount :(

Bella, being a Mastiff, is a water dog & walked thru all the water with ease...

                             Dudley....not so much.

       When Festus joined him... Duds was ....what happened to my yard?????

   He did eventually get braver & began his way down the walk way. His lil legs ended up looking like 4 sticks :)

I'm sure they were all looking for a life boat to take them to dry land!  The huge heavy pot by Bella floated from the other side of the yard earlier that morning.

It's now Monday & things are still drying out - we did a lot of purging & are glad garbage day is tomorrow.  I'm sure it will look like we are moving to our neighbors! 

Dudley's 1st Big Bang Bash!!

Last weekend we celebrated Bruce's Mom's 91st Birthday here on Haddow & Dudley was a rock star.  There ended up being a total of 20 adults & 7 kids & they were  scattered everywhere!  Bella & Festus are used to the family parties - having attended MANY over the years.....but ...... I'm not so sure that Dudley has had any experience in this area.

        Here is Inga w/all her great grandchildren in the screened in porch
                      

                      We had peeps in the back of the yard.....

                  Lots of peeps underneath the tent on the patio

               

                   Here he is assisting in the present opening....


               

                      Some family went in the house to eat.....

                 Kids were running amok with bubbles in the backyard!

Seems to me Dudley really enjoyed all the attention & affection he received during his first real party experience in Illinois :)



By the way, both cats were sequestered safely in the house & knew within a minute of every one leaving & walked @ freely.     

A Day Without Dogs.......

I decided to have all 3 of my canines have a spa treatment on the same day.  The short walk to the facility was VERY enthusiastic (only 2 blocks - thank goodness) & Dudley took me right up to the door - as he was already a veteran of the place.  He didn't mind going in at all, Fest had no problem either, but, Bella walked in & then ...right back out!  Needless to say, she needed some encouragement to re-enter the establishment.

I have not had my house minus dogs in a very  l o n g  time & @ first it was quite liberating - no gate up in the hallway, my stable door remained open (to those who don't know my house, the stable is my half bath that I have adorned with only equine decor), I  could exit my back door any time I wanted without a conga line & it was all VERY VERY quiet.  This was all fine & good for a little while, but... then I began a withdraw of sorts!!  There was no one patrolling my every move, no one following me inside or out & no one staring @ me for direction or affection.  It was really getting weird....... 

So, I was much relieved when they called & said all the canines were ready to be picked up.  Bru drove me so... the ride back home was quick & quiet (thank you Duds).  They all drank tons, peed like race horses , consumed their dinners like it was their last meal  &  ultimately collapsed in various locals in the living room.  I must say...they look clean & smell good & will be a hit @ the party happening here tomorrow for Bru's Mom.

            At 13 y/o - his jet black coat is turning turning salt & pepper :(

                 Her coat looked richer & was SO soft to touch.....

       The Duds looked as handsome as ever & you could see his eyes again!




I don't know that I'll ever take all 3 again - it was just too darn lonely - no offense Pate & Gracie :)

A Lil Touch of Home.......

On a recent trip to Ohio, I brought back Gracie's cat tree - cleaned it up & brought it into Trev's room ....after we completely rearranged his furniture to accommodate the sacred window seat.  It probably took her @ 45 minutes to realize that this stand actually belonged to her. Payton, however, loved it immediately!!  Of course, a rumble had to occur to straighten out the true ownership & of course, Gracie Grace won :)

The cat tree in the garage before I had a chance to vacuum etc.  Notice Cheddars checking it out :)

Also returned with the kitty tubes - that are presently in my living room since Payton loves to hide in them & attack you as you innocently walk by - & Dudley's stairs which we have not tried yet....since he can jump on Trev's bed in one leap.

                        Looks like I could open a pet store!!!!

                      Gracie checking out her new "old" home.....

   She turned VERY playful quickly....that's Trev's hand....he's braver than me!

         Alas she ended up jumping to the lowest seat & took a much needed cat nap!!


At times like these...I wish she could talk & share with me how happy she is to have this cat tree back in her life.  I know this b/c she spends ALOT of time napping on different levels & watching out the window from the top tunnel. It's also a great hiding place to surprise Pate when he thinks she's not around....& WHAM she springs alive - scaring him to death!

  Yep, Gracie Grace is one fierce lil kitty & I'm so glad she has joined the Bang Family.