15 minutes

If I could write code, it would have been ingeniously brilliant…because  I would have worked it out to cause a cascade of dog toys to be delivered to every household with a dog – or a cat.  It would just annoy a cat to receive a dog toy…

What’s up, now with hacking the tweeting?
Misdirecting to off-color greeting?
…..The fix is in just
…..in time for the bust
Cuz Fame’s fifteen long minutes are fleeting.

Now, the real question is, will I use my “pawer” for good or for evil?

Just another lazy Sunday

Ah…Sunday morning…we’ve had our breakfast, Maezi’s tried to steal some coffee, we patrolled the back yard…we’ve been very busy this morning.

Funny how things happen…

So I was explaining to Maezi about the “wish upon a moon” legend, & well, I was hoping for some new toys & bones…but I’m not sure where we’d put them because right now the house is discombobulated since one of the rooms is being painted & everything is in boxes in the living room for the duration.  (I’ve offered to help, but apparently I’m not tall enough. )

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Anyway, Maezi thought it was kinda fun & also thought we should howl at the moon for good luck.

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As the afternoon progressed, I figured that the wish didn’t “take” & went off for a nap.  Much to my surprise, Maezi took matters into her own paws, if only to grant my wish.

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It’s funny –  that she didn’t think I’d notice that all the bones are her used ones & that’s even my own green toy – but it’s the thought that counts.

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She’s ok for a little sister.

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Make a Moon Wish

If you get up early enough in the morning, you can sometimes catch the Moon.  This ancient ritual harkens back to our ancestors, the wolves, who chased & howled at the moon.  Now we scowl & growl at the moon, too.  But if you get up early & sneak a peak upwards, when the Moon isn’t paying attention, you can make a wish when you glimpse it.  It often results in a bounty of rewards…like new toys & bones.  Try it!  Let me know if it works for you.

Happy Cousins & the Laughing Jackal

So last night, we were hanging out with Mom, watching “Dogs 101” about very rare breeds.  I liked the New Guinea Singing Dog, & Maezi liked the Thai Ridgeback – until she didn’t – then she started talking back to it.  She didn’t think they were friendly enough, except for Magic, the one that surfed.

At the beginning & there was a bit on jackals, our wild cousins.  Dang, they are CUUUUUTE!

But they also have a dark side – did you know that Anubis, is the ancient Egyptian Jackal-headed god of the afterlife & was charged with protecting the tomb of the dead (mummy)?I know this because my Mom is an Egyptophile geek & well, it rubs off…

Anyway, watching this whole dog-fest made me realize that my summer vacation is just about over, really, & it’s time to get back to the limericks.  Besides, my wild cousins are just so darned adorable looking, they inspired me.

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………love the ears.

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There once were some sad quiet jackals
Whose silence meant many raised hackles
…..But they teased the riffraff
…..And they had the last laugh
Now the wilderness rings with their cackles.

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Photo credits:
Two Jackals – Paul Mannix, Flickr; Anubis & laughing jackal, public domain & wiki.

Next week’s limerick breed: TBD

Happy Barkin’ Birthday!

So…Maezi has just completed her “Terrible Twos”.   Since she’s 3 now, maybe she’ll stop pulling my hair & stealing my toys & ambushing me when I’m napping…oh well, maybe not.

The best thing about parties at our house is that everyone gets a toy.  I like the purple – although, I’m not entirely sure what she sees in the other one.   Eww.  Too hairy.

Happy Birthday, Maezi!

ssOssO

(yes, those are dog kisses)

Dog Days of Summer

The insects chirp, the birds twirp & tweet flitting in the sky, the fan whirs in oscillation.  The Refrigerator hums & the local riffraff starts the Bark Fest down the hill.

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Ah, the sounds of summer.  I was hanging out on the patio, when I was startled by a really BIG bee.  Only it wasn’t.  It was a hummingbird with wings beating so fast that it sounded like one of those giant black carpenter bees.  It woke me right out of my doze.

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I could hardly think to grab the camera…

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In the heat beat the wings of a Hummer
With my tail keeping time like a drummer
…..The days are so hot
…..Let’s enjoy what we’ve got…
All hail to the Dog Days of Summer.

Beat the heat – Tip #3

It was 109 degrees here today.  I didn’t even know there were that many degrees.  But Maezi & I have a sure-fire treat to beat the heat.  Put your nylabones in the refrigerator till cool… then gnaw.

Mmmmmm.

Beat the heat – Tip #2 – Ambushed?

So – I’m minding my own business, out in the grass this morning, planning to do some ‘business’ when I’m ambushed by a wiley invisible adversary.  I never know when it will strike, but it is very stealthy.  It gets me at least once a week.  I have no idea why it picks on me…
First, I hear a kind of whine, like a balloon expelling air.  Then, there’s kind of a wheeze…
Then I am overwhelmed with the power & magnitude of its spritzing misty omnipotence.

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On the other hand, I’m pretty dewy with nourishing moisture all over the tips of my fur  &  I feel cool & comfy.

In fact, it is so wonderful, I just want to share it with my Dad.  He is still in bed.  I just know he’ll love it.

Frankly, it’s not so bad after all.  In fact, I highly recommend it.  Keeping cool has never been so effortless.

Beat the Heat – Tip #1

Hot dog!

Getting hot already?  Me, too.  For some scientifically unexplainable reason, our yard exists in some heat vortex, where it is about 1,000,000 degrees hotter than anywhere else in the valley.  Ok, so maybe I exaggerate.  But only a little bit.

This summer is blazingly hot & also cloudily cool…ah…I loooove the overcast days.  It makes me feel happy to have fur.  But how is it this morning?  Thought I’d share a few of my favorite tips to beat the heat, but I got a little distracted…

One of the things I discovered this summer, well, re-discovered actually, is the peculiarity of the drip watering system.  There is a whole hierarchy of functions & dignitaries that interact to make it work, much like a municipality.  I personally think it’s possessed.

Anyway, I was just minding my own business, checking out the yard on my usual morning rounds & I saw that the little black tube was leaking water.  How was I supposed to know that it’s supposed to leak – slowly, over a long period of time?  How did I know that it was supposed to have that little “governor” on it?

I sort of figured that the water was stuck in the tube & needed help getting out.  So I helped it.  A simple bite was all it took to free the water – & what’s the thanks I get?!  I got an faceful of water, the tube started writhing like a snake, water arc-ing like a civic fountain & I think the tube was having fun at my expense.  The “governor” got away, even though it was supposed to be a life-long job.  I think that I was just a dupe in the whole plan anyway.

And you should have heard the uproar!  I didn’t know that my Mom knew that kind of language.  I didn’t even understand some of it.   The rest of our morning was spent on a discussion about how the hardware store wouldn’t open for another 1/2 hour & other miscellaneous minutia.

After some careful surgical procedures, a new “governor” was installed.  On the upside, I was nice & cool.