Random Bits

My parents have an electronic invisible fence for their dog, Max.  They've had to put it on the highest setting and make sure to place the collar high on his neck, because otherwise he goes right through it.  Because of this, today we had an interesting stand off between Max, a 70 pound black lab, and a couple of deer, just wandering by.

Max saw the deer when he was inside and started to go a little crazy wanting to go out (usually he is not a barker).  We didn't catch sight of the deer until he was already out the door and racing toward them.  Because of the fence, he stopped a good twenty feet from the deer that just stood and stared at him.  He spent five minutes growling and barking while the deer just stood there just inside the tree line and looked at him.

When it turned and bounded off (only a few yards - maybe thirty) Max chased her along the treeline (and along the "fence") until she met up with her deer-friend.  Then he turned around and came back, happy he'd driven them off... while they continued to stand in full view and nibbled on the undergrowth.

Big hunter-dog.  Chased the fearsome deer for all of a handful of yards before feeling like he'd done the job and returned inside.

Dogs!

So my s-i-l is in Florida until tomorrow seeing her grandmother. My brother has been alone with the kids since Friday. Sunday, he brought them over to my folks' house so he could fix the decking and entrance to their house, and my mom and dad could play with the kids.

It was fun - we got into all kinds of mischief. I found out the oldest, G, who sepent the last couple of years half-heartedly playing the upright bass and the violin is FINALLY learning an instrument she likes! She is playing the Saxophone! I've always wanted to play the saxophone - I don't have the manual dexterity required of it in my left hand anymore. But she LOVES the saxophone! Both my mom and I are delighted - we're both a little soft over the type of sound the sax is capable of.

B went off mid-afternoon for soccer evaluations. Came back after all sweaty and windblown, having had a lot of fun. L spent the afternoon flitting from one activity to another. After B had returned my mother mentioned Max needed washing. So the kids and I washed the dog (mom just supervised and kept them on task)... I got a LOT wetter than when my mother and I wash the dog... G had hold of the nozzle for a bit. B thought washing the dog was great fun in theory - but when it came down to it, really didn't like getting wet, soapy, or having Max's fur come off on her hands.

L kept opening the door to see what was going on, and I had to hold Max pretty firmly so we didn't have a wet, soapy dog running amuck through the house. We kept telling L to make a choice, in or out and he kept choosing out. But he really wanted to be in, and so the door kept opening and I got wetter and wetter and wetter.