04.06.2025. Happy, Happy Spring!

 It has been a while since my last post. There has been so much happening. But, for those of you who follow Shorty's blog (blogspot.com, search for mydogShorty or Is that your dog?) you will see he has been very busy posting his busy life with Fionnegan and Gunnarr.

It is now Spring and they are still working on the front room of my house! We are in the six month of construction, and you would think they were building the Taj Mahal! It is just the front room of the house and one closet inside the main entry. They promise the inside will be done this week, complete with the inspection. But - we still have a roof to replace! And to think the first estimate they gave me was the end of January.  I am so tired of the dumpster in my driveway. I did insist they move it out for a while because it was just there causing havoc and ice dams. But it is back making it near impossible to get my car in the drive let alone any workmen. Go figure. And to make matters worse, I came home after a busy day at the office this week to find no internet connection and no cable. The electrician had to make some new cable connections and apparently lost all of the existing ones due to a technical problem. We live and die by our access and must say Comcast (my provider) did their best late at night to restore service but to no avail. Then the Comcast technician come out the next day and after a couple of hours everything was restored and I now have a new modem. Thankfully. For that I was very grateful.  There have been quite a few challenges with this project from day one when tarp broke after the demolition and the metal hook broke my French door window. Crash, boom, shatter. Woke us all up from a deep sleep. 

In the good news part of all of this is that the boys are becoming more and more socialized to various men. Now, that was never an issue for Fionnegan and Shorty, but Gunnarr always would hide behind me whenever anyone comes to the house. Now he gingerly approaches the workmen, with one eye on me.  I think he would like a nice head rub too. No sense the other two getting all of the attention. Yes, Gunnarr is never far from my legs and I am never out of his sightline. Fionnegan and Shorty go right up to new people and give them lots of kisses. As if they get no attention at home!

Here is my one and only daffodil in bloom. Guess who needs to get into the garden for some fall plantings. A couple of years ago I planted many bulbs, perhaps they were a feast for our squirrels and chipmunks.

Inspector Shorty at your service. Since we are almost done, the plants were put back into the atrium to get some much needed sunlight. Will move the furniture back once it is properly cleaned and inspected. 

Fionnegan and Gunnarr had a spa date today and Shorty and I did a few household chores. We couldn't go for a walk because it was raining. Neither of us likes to get wet. And all three of them were soaked. I let them out early and while I was doing some chores inside the house, there was a cloud burst and they were drenched in a matter of minutes. Needless to say, they were not happy standing in the rain waiting for me to let them inside the house. Of course, they got no further than the kitchen so I could towel dry each one. 

Before the spa date.

Shorty and me.

After the spa date. They also smell really good too. My little fluff muffins!

And now it is nap time after a busy day for everyone.

Hope you all are well and are enjoying our stories. 

Wishing you all a pleasant day........

03.17.2025 Happy Saint Patrick's Day.

 An Irish Blessing for all of you. 

And may you enjoy the fun and light heartedness that comes with this special holiday. 

I did put a green scarf on each of my pups. While they didn't mind that, they were a little less than enthused for an early morning picture! But I managed to get them all on a couch for a group picture since it was pouring down rain outside. I don't think any of us would be too happy for pictures!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Soon our atrium will be done and there will be some new pictures to share. Stay tuned!

Until next time....................

See Shorty's blog for more pictures of the boys - Is that your dog? on blogger.com

02.18.2025 A Flurry of Activity after a Winter Storm

 Winter snowstorms come in many varieties. There is the one with just a few flurries and then it is done.  There are those storms with feet of snow, no school for days and maybe no power either! But this last snowstorm was a mix of the worst conditions. I don't mind shoveling snow - it actually is quite therapeutic. No one outside to bother you, just peace and quiet with the exception of the shovel scraping the driveway. 

But this last storm left us with almost 10 inches of snow, then it started to rain, then freezing rain, then more snow and freezing rain. I started shoveling early but I could only clear the snow done to the ice from the last storm. Now we have ice on top of ice, some of the gates are frozen shut and the main gate does not close, and one must walk very carefully in the driveway and on the sidewalk. I used all of my ice melt and it doesn't seem to make that much of a difference. Was able to clear some of the sidewalk and after much effect managed to get the double gate closed - with rope! Cannot wait until the next storm this week!

On the bright side of a winter storm is the flurry of activity at the bird feeders. Three was a flock of male and female bluebirds, my winter favorite dark-eyed juncos, black capped chickadees, my little all time favorite Carolina wren, cardinals, tufted titmouse, white throated sparrow, white breast nuthatch, hairy woodpeckers, blue jays and our little red squirrels. They shared the feeders with constant activity. Most of them are very timid, so even opening the door startles them and they fly away. And most of them do not like cameras. So I had to carefully open the kitchen door and stay as still as possible with the camera lens in a very small opening. It was cold, but not too bad. I love watching them but also really wanted to see if I could get any nice photographs.

Here are a few photographs showing a variety of birds. 

      

A bluebird and a female cardinal share a perch in the freezing rain.

Goldfinch and house finch share the globe feeder.

 

More bluebirds.

   

Hairy woodpecker.

 

Dark eyed junco. The eye is really hard to see as it blends with its black coat. Back, front and side views! They do not hold still for very long!

A little Carolina wren. They nest on the Christmas wreath and we found nests between the gutters and the house! Looks like they will be here for the Spring!

A bit blurred as she would not hold still, but this is the white throated sparrow. They are a bit shy.

A tufted titmouse. 

Male house finch.  They also nest around the house.  Beautiful little birds. He has a sunflower seed in his bill.

A black-capped chickadee shares the globe feeder with a house finch.

Chickadee at the suet feeder.

The birds are not very territorial right now. It is cold and they seem to allow birds from different species to feed. But in the Spring during breeding season, we don't observe sharing like this. Generally, it is one at a time - quick grab a seed then out of the feeder. 

I had noticed that some days the feeder is empty almost as soon as I fill it. Then I found out why! The little red squirrel could squeeze into the globe - you can see how small the space is from some of the pictures. I found him sitting inside chomping away on the sunflower seed. His little cheeks were as full as they can be. As soon as I opened the door I saw how he got there as he tried to escape. He squeezed out of the globe, jumped onto the baffle that is supposed to keep him from climbing up to the feeder, then he jumped onto the dumpster, scampered along the edge and jumped over the fence to the garden. Clever little one. He has a lot of practice running fast since the dogs bark at him when they see him feeding at the bottom of the feeder. He usually picks up what the birds drop but now he has figured out how to enjoy a feast! No pictures, sorry - I was too captivated to watch him and there just was no time to get the camera.

For most of the winter the boys did not need their puffer vests. But because it was so cold I got them all dressed. First they assess the steps - I can almost hear them discussing strategy!

Fionnegan jumps off the porch first. He is having a good time!

Gunnarr is right behind him. 

It would not be snow without a chase!

Shorty was a bit late to the party but once down the steps he had fun.

Shorty is getting old so I let him just take his time.

Gunnarr was having a good time!

No outing would be complete without a group photograph.

There were sent back into the house to warm up and I needed to shovel. I don't let them in outside when the gates are open - learned the hard way that Shorty is very stealth!

Shorty in his green puffer vest. Goes well with his natural coat color.

Fionnegan is always in blue.

And Gunnarr is in a red puffer vest. They do not mind getting dressed.

How did you weather the winter storm? Any problems? Do you have ice problems like us? Am just riding this out - Spring will be here soon!

Until next time........................

02.14.2025 Happy Valentine's Day

 Hope that you were able to spend some of the day with someone very special to you.

This is my red rose to you.

 

Shorty, Gunnarr and Fionnegan love playing in the snow! They send their Valentine's Day greetings to all of you, too! 

Until next time..................

01.25.2025 It's Cold Outside!!!!!!!!

 We are having some work done on the house and this cold snap is not helping the construction progress! It was past time to renovate the front of house - leaking windows, ice dams in the winter, broken tile, etc. So we bit the bullet and hired a construction company to do the work. There are always problems and delays - too cold, too much snow - you get the idea. But the roof is on and shingled, so we no longer listen to the tarp flapping in some of the high winds we had. But I decided I really did not like a window and decided we needed to replace it now before the insulation and drywall is done. I tried really hard to like the upper windows but there was no convincing my limited sense of aesthetics that it was right.  So the draftsman redrew the windows to what I had to be done the first time and we will proceed. But with delays, of course!

The pups are managing reasonably well. Their wings have been clipped, so to speak. No more racing through the house as everything from the atrium is in the dining room. And only a few precious tuns through the yard as we had to fence off an area for their safety. I do inspect the ground in the front and after I pick up all of the loose nails, I let them run for a little while. But I must be very careful that they do not hurt their paws. And of course all there have peed on the lumber! No surprise there.

We did get about 5-6 inches of snow and we all are enjoying it. The boys were out running around, rolling around and also eating it.

My little Carolina wren is inside the feeder. She is so cute and I hope she is able to build a nest nearby this Spring.

She was able to get a cold sunflower seed and take it to her warm spot - under the dumpster!

I do not mind shoveling snow - the first time! It generally is peaceful and quiet and it is good exercise for me. I let the dogs out in a secure area and they watch carefully. No doubt they look for an escape so they can join me.

We are enjoying a winter wonderland!

Shorty is now a senior dog and he runs and walks carefully in the snow. But he is enjoying it and shortly after coming back inside he nudged me to let him back outside. He is such a good boy.

Gunnarr was the real surprise, He seems to endless energy and was running all around the yard at full speed. He is also such a good boy but he had a harder time adjusting the inside and outside changes. When the construction is done, he will enjoy his new quarters!

Fionnegan ran around the yard, too. But he spent most of his time eating snow and keeping Shorty company. He is just too cure for words!

Fionnegan and Shorty.

Fionnegan and Gunnarr. Their bond is incredible but they are litter mates so that is to be expected. 

Ann the three of them are never far apart from each other - a very special pack!

Shorty with a little snow on his eyebrow and nose.

He sleeps next to Fionnegan.

Then moves to rest near Gunnarr. The three of them are apart 2 feet from each other!

Must clean one's paws before coming back inside the house!

Hope you all are safe during this near nationwide freeze.  Soon it will be Spring. You can feel the days getting longer.

Until next time.............