Fast times at ....

So... I was out on the back patio today after letting Fleckie and Vestal out to "go potty"... I was about to get into this wonderfully, comfy and cozy hammock that Kevin got me for my upcoming birthday when out of the corner of my eye something moved in the yard.... I must set this up for you since the routine is always the same and never strays....

YUM! That was not just a
play toy, but GOOD!

Vessie and Fleck always BOLT out the door and never just stroll out to the grass to "go potty".... they streamline it to the back flower bed and go directly to the spot that ONCE had a critter in it (several weeks ago).  They must think that they will someday just FIND it still there, in the same place again?!

Anyway... they entered the back bed from two different directions to "flush out" any low-lying critter who was in their "territory"... Well, this "moving thing in my yard" just happened to be a BUNNY... probably the Momma Bunny who lost her baby in a flood a couple of months ago and then Vestal found it in "her yard" and promptly tried to eat it.  I found her with it in her chops working on "downing the thing". Luckily, we've taught our girls to "Leave it!!" on command and she dropped it on the ground. I probably wouldn't have known it even had happened if I wasn't out there with them at the time of the incident. It was too late, even though she dropped it, the poor thing was a goner... and to dispose of it was so disgusting, but it's what a "mommy's gotta do", I guess.

Vessie, NOT amused at the
thought of having the ears of
a BUNNY!

So, here I am ... standing on the patio looking at this bunny with a "death wish" on its' head!  What on Earth is she thinking? I guess since she can run faster than my guys she thinks that being in our yard, eating my little garden of Basil and other herbs is OKAY.  Well... it's NOT and she's NUTS!  All's I could think to do was yell, "Get out of here... hurry up or you're gonna be eaten!!!!"  With that said, my two quickly stepped it up into HIGH GEAR and raced as fast as their little legs could carry them after the momma bunny!  Around the fire pit all three go... like on a race track, rounding the corner.... onto the home stretch, past the hot tub and the air conditioners to one of many little slits of a hole that the bunny gets in and out of the yard from... under the front gate.  Of course, there was a couple of squeals and a final bark to say "HA, we did our job and got you out of our yard!!" (It probably doesn't help that I give Vestal "Potato and Rabbit" dry kibble dog food, from the vet, due to her allergies and she has "honed her food-finding skills" to RABBIT, now. They haven't a chance with her nose. That is what they are bred for.)

Bela, all the while, is in the nicely air conditioned house in her Diva bed wondering what all the commotion is about.  SHE has made it a habit to "go potty" out the front door lately... I think it makes her feel special that she gets to go out the front without a leash, alone with Mommy or Daddy, and check out the neighborhood. Good sniffs, for sure.

Currently, there is a nest of new baby mockingbirds in the front left Live Oak tree.  The branch with the nest is pretty low so when you walk under it they all start squealing and opening their mouths, thinking that the mother bird is there to feed them.  I honestly think that the mother bird is one of the survivors of a "litter" that was hatched in our back yard.  We nurtured this one sole baby bird from the nest of the original 4 and saved them from being eaten (by our Fleckie at the time... she was training Vestal and teaching her all the "tricks of the trade" back then).  This one, mother bird seems to be quite content when she hears my voice and comes pretty close without taking off.  I hope we can protect these new arrivals.  I know, it's survival of the fittest, but if we can keep our dogs from eating them, then we have done our job. Luckily, it's in the front of the house.   Kevin found a corpse that must have fallen out of a tree a couple of weeks ago covered in Killer Fire Ants and within a day the whole body was devoured. Sad.

Anyway.... what a 'fun time' (NOT!!) here, at the Willette-Taylor manor on Brewer Blackbird.... ciao !