Survivor

Gabbie and Tess are playing normally again. Gabbie survived her period of forced inactivity; her incision is mostly healed.She is overjoyed to be free of the leash. The two are playing and running at breakneck speed once again. But sometimes they overdo it and need a rest.



As we began a trail walk with the dogs the other day, I noticed a day lily blooming. It's a reddish variety. It is a survivor in mid-August;day lilies stopped blooming a month ago. Day lilies are beautiful flowers; there are hundreds of varieties. We started collecting them about ten years ago. I didn't realize until last year that day lilies are called that because each flower on the plant blooms - are you ready for this? - for one day. This one was truly a survivor because it started blooming five weeks ago.

The survivor for this summers crop of day lilies

Other day lilies in Bittersweet Woods

One other flower is in the survivor category, too. Several spiked lobelia continue to bloom, nearly a month after they started to appear. Some flowers are slightly blue now, most others are still white. The plants seem to be everywhere, often in heavily travelled areas. I don't recall seeing them in previous years. Maybe it is because we've had much more than average rain this year. Or, maybe I was not paying attention....




One other aspect of survivor status was this toad, who did not survive predation. Gary the garter snake (see July post on Bittersweet Woods blog) was observed swallowing him. It's amazing how snakes can swallow prey so large.


It's all part of the natural goings on in Bittersweet Woods. Are you paying attention in your area of the woods?

Gabbie has a boo-boo

Gabbie had a cyst removed from her right rear leg, a boo-boo in kid-speak. She can be outside only with a leash for a week or so until the incision heals. This means limited mobility for her and temporary loss of a playmate for Tessie.

Normally we let them out, they go tearing out the door to explore and to protect the perimeter of our home from invaders, imagined or otherwise. Now,Gabbie waits to lunge outside, but submits very reluctantly to the leash being attached. Tess races out only to come back to look inquisitively at her restrained friend. Gabbie looks at me the same way - as if to say "WHAT is going on here?"



Can't you see I want to play now?

It's also much slower going walking on the trail than they are used to. Gabbie can't chase after squirrels, chipmunks, birds, and other wildlife. Tess makes the effort halfheartedly, knowing the Gabbie is not with her. She often glances at us and Gabbie.

She stays close to Gabbie, sensing that something is not right. Fortunately, this will pass in a few days. Soon they'll be playing, sprinting after wildlife, making unauthorized incursions into neighboring yards, and occasionally rolling in poop. Ah, the life of a dog.

Paul and Judy from North Dakota visited yesterday. They claimed to have a business purpose for their visit, but they really want to see our Old English Sheepdogs (OES to save keystrokes). They have an OES big boy puppy, Bentley Bear IV. They miss their dog and lit up when Gabbie and Tess burst outside and made our guests suitably welcome with incessant licking, herding, and pawing. We together recounted the dogs' antics and characteristics. And there were recollections about pets of yesteryear.

I realized how much enjoyment they bring to us despite episodes of extreme annoyance. Gabbie and Tess are sitting beneath my office chair demanding to critique this post before it is published. Ain't gonna happen, girls.