Mixed Bag

 

We have to remember these innocent moments with Bridie right now. 

Such moments can go far to temper our tempers. 

I won't say the loud words I heard inside the house last night from the deck when Bridie got into Bill's dish of salted sea salt caramel ice cream and turned it over on the carpet. 

We'll leave that to the imagination.

And, I won't repeat any words I said to Bridie when she bolted from the garage and raced every which way but loose (oh, but she WAS loose), NOT coming but going, not passing "COME" to get her $200 and totally refusing to be caught.

That behavior is beginning to happen on a regular basis with our little innocent.

Spring has sprung and scents are strong. 

Thank goodness that so far her mini escapes have involved chasing down Liam's scent which doesn't go very far.  

And, I must say that even Liam, who in his puppyhood did the same,  tries to help when Bridie bolts.  

He knows that if he comes to us, Bridie won't be far behind.  It's just that she follows him but doesn't put on the brakes.

  Our little darling is far from 2 but probably in puppy years, she close enough to the Terrible Two's. 

The good news about Bridie is that she slept in her crate without her Elizabethan collar last night. 

Mom has finally decided to let Mother Nature take care of the wound on the back foot, at least until and if Bridie re-opens it again.  Fingers crossed that she doesn't. 

So, at least for the time being, no need for Elizabethan collars.  Plural because readers may remember we've purchased three of those since Bridie was spayed in early February. 

The Bridie beat goes on, but she's pushing seven months and still alive, and that's a good thing. 

In other dog daze news, I've been hinting all week to Foster, the resident top dog, that he's going to be really happy today.  

It's not nice to torment him with the mention of Annie's name, but I may just do that today as the hours wind down for her appearance. 

When she does, for two full days, Top Dog will be just an acquaintance to all humans except Annie.  

And, then on Sunday, when he sees that back pack come downstairs just before she leaves, he'll know that he has to start being nice to Mom and Dad again.

  That's essential when you're the Top Dog who joins Bill for dinner every night.  

In the "what's wrong with this picture?" department, I'll tell you that the lighting could be better AND that the photo clearly suggests a lot of work ahead.  

During all those weeks that the snow piles hid the board fence, that work was not apparent.  

Now, however, I can, with certainty, say that all that snow did a number on last year's paint job. 

So, when dry weather comes, so will buckets of paint and brushes.  

Another aspect that's wrong with the picture is that there's still a lot of snow to melt. 

And, the ice keeps wreaking its morning havoc.  This morning I walked out the driveway to get the paper. 

The middle section of the driveway was flooded with a thin sheet of ice over it.  

Yesterday I took a shovel out there to find the north end of the culvert.  

Still not to be found thanks to a stubborn layer of ice underneath the water, covering the culvert opening. 

I banged away at the ice, but the only "progress?" involved big splashes of water all over my jeans.

So, we wait.  I did not walk out to get the paper because getting across that area suggested too many red flags.  

So, I walked back to the car and decided to take the wimpy route.  Well, guess what?  The windows were covered with a thin sheet of ice.  

Okay, I thought, I'll put on the defrost and wait.  Well, that wasn't gonna happen because I had taken the car keys inside the house.  

So, Bill braved his way out the driveway and brought the paper in. 

Every step, every task still involves an unforeseen challenge. 

Okay, what's right with the picture above?

Please note all that blue sky and those pretty little clouds.  

That's a big plus, and I'm guessing that by this evening when we roll back into the driveway with Annie and Top Dog gets to see his favorite human on earth, a bunch of that snow will be gone. 

Just some early spring odds and ends on ice.  

~~~~

What's wrong with the picture below?

Answer:  the reason that so many people around the world are suddenly displaying beautiful sunflowers wherever possible. 

A thing of beauty makes us think of unspeakable ugliness and evil and needless suffering in Ukraine at the hands of an evil _______. 

In spite of that reminder, we can easily say what's right with this picture.  

It symbolizes a nation of people standing up for themselves, showing incomparable bravery and grit against huge odds, sacrificing so much for such an important basic principle:  freedom from tyranny. 

May the beautiful sunflowers bring out the best in all good people in Ukraine and in all good people around the world.  

May this horror story please move toward a somewhat happy ending with the hideous despot gone and the good people in Ukraine, regaining their lives and once again thriving with beautiful fields of sunflowers.