Duker-day ... this and that

Duke here.

Sosha came over yesterday and hasn't gone home yet. Things change when she's here.

She was sick and now has to eat special food. That means my mom and dad can't give her treats of any kind. That means that I can't get treats of any kind either. Seriously.

The family is throwing a Halloween party over at my brother's house. Apparently Sosha and I are not invited.

My mom complained that when my sister dropped Sosha off on her way to work yesterday and we were still all in bed, I never got up to see why the driveway alarm went off and I didn't bother to go see who came in the house. Well, it's because I knew who it was. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. If Mom and Dad can sleep in, then so can I. Even though my mom said she slept in because she didn't fall sound asleep till about 6am and we know that if my mom sleeps in then my dad will sleep in too.

Yesterday morning it started raining so my mom went to the door to let us in. She couldn't find us.

We were already in the house. Hahahahahaha! Joke was on her!

My sister (and Sosha) stayed here last weekend because Mom and Dad went away to a meeting. My mom made the extra bedroom into a guest room with two twin beds. Apparently Sosha thinks one of them is hers.

That's the bed her mom sleeps in if she stays here anyhow.

Me? I just sleep on my own bed. On the hard floor.

My Monday Musings

I haven't had musings in a while. ☺

We don't have cable. Air conditioning either. The other night I even said to Jim that it seems silly to run the dishwasher with just the two of us. This almost makes us sound backward.
I don't care. I'm a simple gal.

Jim getting things ready to take down the old antenna and put up the new.
Wouldn't you be nervous if you were me??
I can't climb that tower, but I stayed outside every time he did.

 Speaking of no cable. Our antenna tv coverage has been horrible this summer. To the point where we watch the local morning news and, even though I sometimes leave the tv on during the day for noise (although silence is real nice sometimes!), most of the stations putter out in the afternoon and evening. We just weren't watching much tv in the evening. Mostly Netflix, if at all. No tv is not a bad thing, but there are some things we like to watch (I love PBS!). So, we bought a new antenna and cable, a booster and rotater. The works. Hey, we don't spend money on cable so figured we'd flip for the new stuff. Our antenna is mounted on top of a windmill tower (that's where it was when we bought the place) and that seemed a good place for it to stay put. Jim had a lot of prep work to do and YIKES that was stressful. For me! The worst was when he was finally ready to take the antenna up. He climbed 35 feet with the antenna (about 10 feet by 4 feet) on a 3 foot pole. Talk about panic (ME). I was so relieved when he got it up there and mounted. I kept saying, "Please let's call Jon (our son) and have him come help!" Jim would reply, "He can't really help me carry it up." He was right, but it was definitely not a one-man-climb-a-tower-toting-antenna kind of job. And it will not happen again! He even admitted that when he was done. But all's well that ends well. Our stations all come in (plus a couple extra) and so crisp and clear. I WAS ABLE TO WATCH PBS LAST NIGHT!

Our new antenna.
Jim toted that thing all the way up there and installed it BY HIMSELF!
I took no pictures of him doing the actual carrying up and installing because I was too busy having a panic attack.

I've started letting our chickens free range. Not every day and not when Sosha is coming (I think the two dogs together might not be good for the chickens). They love it. They wander all over the place. They're not very smart though. Sometimes they get on the other side of a fence and can't figure out how to get back. I usually know where to look for them if I haven't seen them in a while. When they see me, they run to greet me (I'd be more flattered, but I know they're looking for food) and sometimes they follow me around. I feel like such a mother hen! And they head back at bedtime to their cozy little henhouse.

The girls enjoying the freedom of the yard.

Jim and I have been over two weeks on our own and have survived it so far. House seems quieter, neater, emptier. Not so much from Jamie moving, as from Sosha and Ricky. Going from two dogs and a cat down to one dog makes a huge difference in the fur factor. And my allergies. Sosha had a little trouble at first, but seems to do okay when her mom's at work as long as she can't get upstairs to the bedrooms. We kinda miss them, but it's okay. Everyone is close by. On to a whole new chapter!

And we had a little scare with Duke. It all turned out okay, but I'll let him talk about it on Duker-day.

Duker-day ... and the Yellowjackets

Duke here.

You know what's bad? Yellowjackets (or yellow jackets, whatever).

My dad was moving something out back a couple of weeks ago and there was a yellowjacket nest underneath.

This is how we discovered it.

THEY STARTED STINGING MY DAD AND SOSHA AND ME!!!!!!!

AND IT HURT! AND WE WERE SCARED!!

It was not good. My dad had gloves on and even though he was getting stung, he got those stinging things off of Sosha and me first. He's a good dad. My mom and Jamie gave Sosha and me some cheese right away. That might sound strange, but we knew there was medicine in that cheese. My dad got some medicine too. No cheese though. He was kind of bummed about that.

We were all okay though. A little sleepy the rest of the day, but okay.

This sure would have felt good after an experience like that!

Duker-day...Just Another Saturday

Duke here.

I see that my mom hasn't been here all week. In her defense, she's been busy. And frankly, the whole thing hasn't set well with me. I mean, it seems like she's spent more time over at Jamie's new place than she has here. And I only got to go once. It didn't thrill me either. It just wasn't home to me.

Apparently, Sosha has had a hard time getting used to her new home too. Let's hope she adjusts well.

I miss her, but I'm kind of enjoying the undivided attention right now.

Sosha keeping an eye on things in her new home.
No, Jamie will not normally keep a portable air compressor in her living room.
There are still a few things that need doing.

Duker-day and the Empty Nest (maybe)

Duke here.

My mom says: "I wonder if I should give this whole blog thing up. I mean, I'm not very consistent in my writing. People get tired of that."

I think she should keep plugging away because someday she'll get to a point where she will be able to write more often. This IS supposed to be her journal. And mine. She should keep a journal. That's what I t hink.

So, please don't abandon her. She'll come around. I think she'll need an outlet because it seems that she's going to be an empty-nester very soon. And I'll go back to being an only dog (depending on how well Sosha adjusts to condo life).


My mom has been real excited about this for months. She's so happy that my sister, Jamie, bought a condo. Jamie has been wanting her own place since about a week after she moved back in three years ago. It is a good thing. It is time.

But my mom realized something last night.

This is permanent. My brother owns his own house and my sister owns her own house. This means (God forbid that anything happens) that they're not coming back. And my Mom (even though she's happy and excited) is a little sad.

Duker-day...and the horrible week

Duke here.

As some of you may know, my mom and sister went away for a whole week to something called LauraPalooza. Well, actually it was two weeks, but I got to go to where she was for the second week. That was a good week and I'll talk about that next week.

But that first week? It was horrible.

I knew something was up when I saw her packing the suitcases. And I know from experience that the suitcases mean that I'm not going. I know that when I'm going on the trip, she packs in the huge thing called a dufflebag . I don't know why. I just know that suitcases means I'm staying home.

And Sosha shared in my misery.

And she packed both her suitcases and then she packed some extra bags. I knew that this was not good.

My mom wants you to know that behind me is the door to the shop. That's why it's so dirty.

Very early that Monday morning, Mom and Jamie got into Jamie's car...and they were gone. And it was very quiet here. And things just weren't the same. On top of all that, Dad was very busy and Sosha and I were left home alone for very long days. It was a bad week. Every night Dad talked to Mom and that made me happy. I never got to talk to her, but just knowing that Dad was talking to her made things a little better.

Even if I banged on the front window to be let in, no one was in the house to let me in.

The house was quiet. Not that we got to spend much time in it since we were outside all day. No little breaks in the house like Mom gives us when she's there. No following Mom to the chicken coop and begging for the treats she gives the chickens. Just Dad. And he was always in a hurry. Especially for the the last couple of days.

Old picture (obviously it didn't snow while they were gone).
And no one was here to take pictures.

What last couple of days, you ask? The last couple of days before he loaded up the car, opened the door and told us to hop in, and we left! Then the very good week began! And I'll talk about that next Duker-day.

This is me the last time I took that wonderful trip!

Duker-day...And Dogs of the Family

Duke here...

It's been a boring week. Not much to report on so I thought I'd share pictures that I found on my mom's computer. They are the dogs that were part of this family before me. I think I'm the best, but they were probably pretty nice too.

That's my sister and Ruby. Ruby lived in Michigan then moved to Florida with the grandparents.
She didn't like it in Florida so she moved back to Michigan
and lived with my mom and dad and Jamie (Jon wasn't even born yet).
I hear she was a pretty good dog.

Otis. He came into the family as a puppy.
He didn't like the house, wouldn't come up the two steps from the office
to the house until he was an old dog. He hated thunder and fireworks too.
He lived till he was 12.

Bear. He was part of the family when I was born.
He loved me (sometimes a little too enthusiastically).
He had no tail, but he could wag his stump pretty darn fast.
A sad thing happened to Bear.
I don't want to talk about it.

Sosha. She's here now. I was here first.
She's nice, but she can be bossy.
I just let her have her way, it's easier.
I hear she listens better than I do. Whatever.

Me.
Ain't I cute?

Duker-day...Wrapping gifts

Duke here. My mom and dad were wrapping gifts a few days ago and I saw something. I saw something I shouldn't have seen. And it was gooood! My mom decided that putting my gifts under the tree wasn't a wise idea. Something about a certain someone who is not to be trusted. She couldn't possibly have been talking about me. Right?

I can't wait for Christmas.

Sosha and I promise not to destroy our presents in less than two minutes this year.
This was a couple of years ago. We've grown up since then.

Duker-day...And The Corn Addiction

Yes, I admit it. I love corn on the cob. Yes, I admit that I harvested the few ears of corn that the garden produced this year. I. couldn't. help. myself.

I knew that my mom had been keeping an eye on that corn. The garden was pretty much a bust this year, except for the radishes. And those weren't tasty at all. My mom thought that maybe, just maybe, the family could enjoy the little ears of corn to go with a summer supper one night. It was not meant to be.

It all started when my mom saw this in our front yard. Whenever I find something good, I take it to the front yard.
She became very suspicious.

So she walked out to the garden and saw this....

and this...

and this.

The chickens were cackling, "It was Duke! Duke did it!"
Dumb chickens. There were still six chickens then...

I did get a big talkin' to. It's a lucky think I'm so cute. The next time my mom gave me corn she took pictures to show how much I enjoy it.

First I husk it.

My mom gets a kick out of this because I spit the yucky stuff out.
I wanna get to the good part!

I dig right in...

And eat the corn right off that cob.
I know how to do it.

After I eat all the corn off of it, I usually just go ahead and chew the cob up too.
Don't want it to go to waste.

Sosha pretends like she likes it. She'll take an ear and carry it around for awhile.
Eventually she eats it, even though she doesn't really like it.
She just doesn't want me to have it.

My mom wants me to remind everyone that she has a giveaway going on!

Duker-day...And The Sad Day

Yesterday after lunch, my dad noticed that a chicken was missing. Everyone looked all over, but could not find her.

Later, my dad decided to look off the trail into the woods and found where she had been taken... :-(

I swear. I promise. We had nothing to do with it...

Duker-day...when I accidentally escaped. (part 2)

 So...that day I accidentally escaped...it was a long hot day and I was in the doghouse all day.

Well, I can't really be in the doghouse anymore because my mom and dad changed what we were using for my vacation home (doghouse) into a chicken coop. That's a whole 'nother story for a whole 'nother day.

The thing is - it was a hot day and I was all stinky and swampy from my adventure earlier in the day. And my mom and dad can't be mad at me for too long. I realize that and take full advantage!

Sometimes on hot days on the weekends when my dad isn't quite so busy, he might take me to my friend Chevy's to swim in their pond. We don't have a pond. All we have is a little kiddy pool and really, a kiddy pool? So later that day, my mom and dad took me to swim in Chevy's pond.

Boy! Did that feel good!

Now, Chevy's a good dog, but she's a girl and girls like to boss me around. I'm an easy going dog though so I just let them. Or avoid them. And when I go to Chevy's pond I just want to swim and cool off so I try to avoid Chevy, even though she's a perfectly nice dog.

Chevy was in the house when we got there. She wasn't too happy to see strangers out at her pond...till she realized that we weren't strangers after all!

And that's about the time that I decided it might be safer to hang out underneath the dock.

I don't mind it under there. That water is still nice and cool under there.

That's my dad and Chevy's dad. They've known each other since they were kids. Oh, and Chevy's back there trying to figure out where I'm at.

She'll never find me! 

Way too soon and my dad's telling me that it's time to go home. That's me in front of my dad and Chevy behind.

Good-bye Chevy. Good-bye wonderful pond. I hope to see you again soon.

Duker-day! The Toby Edition.

My brother Toby...

In the first few weeks of our lives, Toby and I were inseparable.

We were a couple days old here.

And then Toby went off to live with a very nice family and I ended up staying with my family. Life goes on.

A couple of years ago, Toby's sister wrote a very nice note to my mom. She wanted us to know that they are so happy that we let them adopt Toby and that he is the best dog ever (well...maybe second best ☺). They love him very much. I'm happy that Toby and I both have such great families! She sent pictures to my mom too. So, we got to see what Toby looks like now. Except that my mom, dad, and sister got to visit Toby once so they already got to see him all grown up...they didn't take me with them.

Toby ↑ and Me ↓ Do you see a family resemblance?

I don't either...

Obviously Toby and I share a love of water. I think that Toby's family has a pond so Toby can swim whenever he wants...I'm a little jealous.

 Just yesterday my dad was telling me that he worked for someone who is a friend of Toby and his family and that Toby is doing great. Maybe someday we'll get to see each other again...I wonder what would happen.