Lizard Invasion

The cats love it when we leave the front door open for them. They usually will line up and take in what is going on outside. From time to time NOBELLS, the cat across the street will come over for a visit. The cats enjoy his visits and are always on the look out for him. We always have birds out front and the cats will spend hours looking out the door, in stealth mode, as if they could actually get a bird. They also like checking out the butterflies as they come by and check out the flowers. The other day all the cats were off causing trouble in other parts of the house when I saw Moose, the silly red cat, tuned into something out front.

Sometimes we think Moose is a half a bubble off. He has a tendency to hunt sun spots and other imaginary things, so I didn't pay too much attention to what was going on. When Moose didn't leave the door I checked out what was going on and saw that he was observing two little lizards run around the front porch. They were after a few crickets that were almost as big as they were. Non of the other cats tuned into the action, just Moose.

The next day Sandi goes out back with Gypsy and sitting just outside the garage door, sunning on the walkway, is another lizard.
They are all over the place!
Of course Gypsy sees this and leaps out the door, tail up and with gusto. Thankfully the lizard made it to a nearby bush.

 Now, whenever we go out the back door, she leaps out and sniffs the bush looking for that silly little lizard. She was on the sent of a lizard in this picture I think and she was pointing.
Hey Dad, that stinking lizard is over here!!!

After lizard sniffing the bush for a few minutes, she will then go back into her primary duty of making sure the backyard is free from bunnies and that our air space is not being violated by big black birds.

Missing Hair Bands

As you all know, the cats rule the roost around here. They are all good cats and generally well behaved. One of Sandi's favorites is a little boy Virgil. He is always getting into something. Either trying to get the other boys to chase him or to wrestle. He enjoys racing around the house at warp speed, dashing up the giant scratching posts we have, usually knocking them over. All of this only further endears him to Sandi. One of his most favorite things to do is to sneak into one of Sandi's drawers and steal her hair bands. He brings them downstairs and plays soccer with them for awhile. When he gets tired of this he usually will deposit them into a water bowl or if available, the toilet. When this happens guess who gets to go fishing?

 While doing some painting the other day I had to move the refrigerator. Jackpot! A load of missing hair bands. I tried to keep them out of sight from Virgil only to find two of them in the toilet a few minutes later.

Chow Hound Update

Well, it has been a week since we started making Gypsy the finicky eater homemade food. When we tried alternate diets in the past she would seem interested for a day or two then start turning her nose up at the new trial food. So far she seems to really like what we are giving her. She eats a big bowl in the morning and night. Last night she went over and stood my her bowl when it was dinner time. I think that is the first time she ever did that. I'm making a combination of ground beef, white rice, peas, and eggs. Last time I made it I tossed in some chicken hearts and gizzards.
What in the heck is a gizzard?
I'm not totally clear on what a gizzard is but she seems to like them.
It might be my imagination or wishful thinking but while you can still feel each rib, they are not quite as pronounced. Hopefully our Chow hound will put a pound or two on.

Chow Time

To say Gypsy is a finicky eater is putting it mildly. She sometimes will not eat more than a bite or two for days. I've tried different dry food. Mixing dry with canned food. High end food, and the low end food. I've tried mixing dry with chicken stock.  Nothing seems to excite her. I think this is just how she is wired. When we took her to puppy training she would spit out the treats we gave her for positive reinforcement. It has been very frustrating. If you look on-line there are many different "solutions" for a finicky eater. It can be very confusing. I decided to make my own doggy food for her. The slop shown above is my first attempt at it. Basically it is beef, peas, white rice, and eggs. Yesterday was her first day on it and she ate with gusto in the morning and night. This is not unusual when I try something new though. This morning when we came in from the yard she went over and stood by her food bowl. This is not a common occurrence with her. She ate up the first bowl I gave her and wanted more. When Moose the red cat came by to see what was going on, Gypsy actually gave him a growl. First time I ever heard that but maybe a sign that she likes this food?
Not sure how this will go long term. I might get a multi vitamin to mix with the food.
I will keep you posted.

Summer Do

I've mentioned how hot this summer has been. Everyday has been hotter than the last with relentless humidity. So hot, we just have not been outside enough. Gypsy hates hot weather. We limit the car rides, don't go on our walks, and spend too much time inside.
Hey, Dino is melting out there!
So when I took Gyp to the groomer the other day, I had the idea of getting her a summer haircut. All her life we've taken Gypsy to the same groomer and she does a great job keeping Gypsy beautiful.
I've got a natural beauty to me...
Yes, you are pretty. We always have the groomer do the standard haircut on her. Fluffy hair on top and tail with long ears. This time around I told her to clip her short, head, ears, tail, and make it high and tight.
Girls love to have a makeover!

I think she looks awfully cute. Sandi is not too crazy about it because you can see just how thin Gypsy is with the short hair. She looks like a refugee from a third world country.
I think the main thing is that Gypsy has to be more comfortable with less hair.

Sharing the Deck

When it cools off enough at night we do try to get outside if we can bear it. Chloe (aka Canned Ham) loves the deck and is the only cat we allow outside. When Sandi opens the door for her, she struts out like a model on a runway. Then she will give us a full stretch and go about surveying the situation. She and Gypsy are deck buddies. With the hot weather they basically just lay around. I think Chloe like the hot weather.

Hot Hot and Hotter



We have been having some HOT weather for the past few weeks. The entire east coast has been suffering. We've been around the upper 90's and with the humidity it has been bad. This is not ideal poodle weather to say the least. Summer is Gypsy's least favorite time of year. We don't take her in the car with us while we run errands around town. She hears the car keys and gets all excited about a road trip and we tell her to go chill out in the office.
What a buzz kill...
It's been too hot to walk her with any regularity because of the heat. Even if we go out early in the morning it is hot and humid and she starts huffing and puffing right off the bat.

Recently we took her on a short walk and had to detour around some Geese. Gypsy wanted to play but the Geese didn't want any part of her.
Hey, those are funny looking chickens!

Sandi and I try our best to get some time on the deck or in the back yard with her but it has been too hot for that too. When we do try to have some outside time, we have to hose Gypsy down to keep her cool and she hates that. So, we've been inside a bunch and Gypsy has been bonding with the cats.

The cats rule the inside. They are always interested in what Gypsy is up to. When I do get Gyp to eat, the cats go over by her and keep track of what is going on. Gypsy doesn't seem to mind too much. They go up and sniff her and rub on her legs while she is eating.
Hello...a little privacy would be good.

The other day Gypsy got her privacy when we were invaded by a bunch of butterflies. They were all over these flowers on the front porch and all the cats were front and center.
The forecast has the HOT snap we are having coming to an end this weekend and hopefully we'll have some time outside again.