Love Those Fosters

With the temperatures soaring over 100 degrees here in Oklahoma, we're staying cool as much as we can. No riding in the pickup for us this week because of the heat. The grass is turning a little brown and getting crunchy under our feet. One of my favorite things to do is stand under the spray when Mom is watering the grass and flowers. I can really soak that cool water up and then shake it off! Glynn gave it a try but decided after a few minutes that she didn't much care for it. Cap said it wasn't his cup of tea, either.

We're so thankful for caring dogs and their families, like our friend Mackie. He takes in fellow wire fox terriers that need a place to stay until they find their furever homes. It warms the heart to know that these unfortunate pups are getting the help they need and finally know they are loved. Great job, Mackie! As much as we'd like to take in some foster wires, we just don't seem to be able to find any in our neck of the woods. Boxers and Dobies, yes. Jack Russels, oh yeah. Even a few kitties have come and gone. But no wires like me. Not even close. This is as good as we get...

Our latest foster is a barred owl with a broken wing. Fortunately, it's already beginning to heal and it won't be long before he's on the fly again. We get a lot of birds of prey from the game wardens, but Mom draws the line at possums and raccoons in the house. Anything that climbs up her pants leg makes her squeal (hee hee).

~Tell

Turtle Crossing

It's the time of year that we find turtles everywhere. We have them all around the house, and you can't hardly walk across the yard without tripping over one. Even Jake and Just Harry have found one, and Butchy and Snickers have written about finding two in their koi ponds. Now, look what My Girl and My Boy found while walking down the road. Yes, that's right Butchy and Snickers! Your alligator snapping turtle must have Delta-Dashed herself to Oklahoma to visit us in the hollow. We've decided to call her Earnhardt after the NASCAR driver. Here are a few snapper facts:
1. The average weight of an adult alligator snapping turtle is 175 pounds, and their lifespan is about 30 years in the wild (longer in captivity).

2. They are the largest freshwater turtle in North America, with a record weight of 236 pounder living in the Chicago Zoo.

3. They can stay submerged for up to three hours at a time.

4. Typically, only nesting females venture out on land.

5. They have spikes and raised plates on their shell, and often are covered in algae.

What a beauty she is! My Boy and My Girl left her alone after the photo session, and she mosied on down the road. We hope we'll see her again.

~Tell

Little Guy is Here!

Great news, everybody! Married Kid and Her Husband had their baby this week. Little Guy weighed in at eight and a half pounds and was twenty-one and a half inches long, so I guess that would make him a member of the Substantial Baby Club, if there is one. He's nice and healthy, though, and the family is very proud of him. There are no hospital nursery photos of him because Grandma Doofus forgot to bring her camera (Owww! She just smacked me on the back of the head!). Sorry about that remark, Mom. Anyway, we can forgive her this time because it's the first grandbaby and she got all excited and everything when she heard the news.

Here is a photo of the Little Guy when he came home from the hospital. My Boy leaned over and said, "Hey, there, I'm your favorite uncle!" I have a feeling that Little Guy and me are going to be great buddies some day. My Boy and I will teach him how to fish, catch grasshoppers, stomp in mud puddles, run in the fields and go wading in the creek. Maybe chase some squirrels, too. There's no end to the things a couple of boys and a dog can do together, especially when Grandma isn't looking (waiting...waiting...okay, no smack that time). Life is good!

~Tell

Foxholes and Trenches

Hope everyone out there had a nice Memorial Day weekend. The Kids were all busy doing different things, and Mom and Dad spent two days cruising on the cycle. So what does a terrier do when the peeps leave him unsupervised? You think they'd have learned by now that I'll find ways to entertain myself. So I did. Yep, I went digging. Excavating. You'd have thought I had some heavy earth-moving equipment from the damage I did. I had about eight holes going at once. I not only dug down, but flung dirt for yards in every direction. Looked like a small war had been fought in our backyard. Foxholes and trenches everywhere you stepped.

An added bonus was that I found one of these in a foxhole. It's called a mole. I was beginning to feel like a real earthdog after a rat. I tell you, I think I'd found my calling. But wouldn't you know it, Mom came home and took it away from me. Put it right over the fence out of my reach. It was frustrating, knowing it was over there rummaging around again and I couldn't get to it. So I'm warnin' ya, Mr Mole, stay put in your own bunker. I'll be watching for you...
~Tell

Three Sisters and a Little Fellow

There are some big changes coming to our home soon. Big ones, I tell you. And I'm not too sure we wires like change. At least Glynn and I are a little nervous. Cap sleeps through most things these days, so he may miss it all, but I'm happy in my comfortable rut. The Girls are rocking my boat and shaking things up around here, and I'm not sure what to do about it.


First, College Kid (on the right in her Eskimo Joe shirt) graduated and got her DVM degree. The big ceremony was held at the Gallagher-Iba area (think Eddie Sutton Court) at Oklahoma State. Now she's packing boxes and moving to Maryland. She's going to live about 15 minutes from D.C. I just hope when this year is over she doesn't come home and bring a politician with her. Next, My Girl (on the left) graduated from high school, and now SHE'S packing up her laptop and heading for college. Talk about cleaning house! Who's gonna be left around here for me and My Boy to pester? And now I find out that Married Kid (in the middle, who I haven't spoken much about since she had pretty much moved out before I moved in) is expecting a little bundle in a couple of weeks. Married Kid and Her Husband live nearby, and I'll bet we get to see a lot of the baby.

Well, that last part might not be too bad. Having a Little Fellow for My Boy and I to hang with could be fun. That is, if he can learn to throw a ball. Maybe wrassle in the grass a bit. Dig some holes. Drop some Fig Newtons. We'll see...

~Tell

A Whump Monster Lives Here

Here I am sitting in Dad's chair. We're not allowed on Dad's chair, and I know it. Still, I prefer to sit here than in my regular spots around the house. Why, you ask?

Because a Whump Monster has moved into our house, and it's living under the new wood floors. I can tell right where it lives, too, because the floor is buckling up. Yes, buckling up! The wood is bowing and bending, and it make a funny whump sound when we walk over it. Really, it's enough to curl a wire's hair.

We had a nice visit with the flooring company and we're assured that this monster will go away in a week or so when the air dries out and the rain stops. Lots of folks are having Whump Monsters under their floors right now, even with the most expensive wood. This happens when it rains almost daily for weeks at a time and the wood swells. It leaves a little air pocket just right for something to move in and live there. These monsters do not like dry weather, so as soon as the weather improves outside, this one should move on down the road and leave us alone.

I'm glad all I have to do is wait a week or so for the weather to fix this. Good gracious, I was afraid those workers would come back and tear up the floor again. Having the floor ripped up was a big stress in our lives, especially Glynn who likes her routine the best. So I guess for a little while, we'll just walk around and give the Whump Monster some space, and wait for it to go away. They don't eat terriers, do they?

~Tell

Wordless Wednesday -- Irises After the Rain

~Tell