Autumn Moments

We love Autumn at our house! We love the brisker temperatures and football games. We love getting out our Halloween decorations and the color of the changing leaves. I even love the way the trees look, silhouetted against a "winter's coming" sky, after the leaves have fallen. When fall arrives, I can't wait for the weekends to come so that I can load my camera and my favorite photography companion, Max, in the car for long drives in the country. This past weekend, we had the opportunity to do just that. We visited Riverbend Farm on an overcast Autumn day and were not disappointed in all the beauty we found.

I am always amazed at how different the weather can be only a few miles away from our house. We may see torrential rain at home, but three miles away, it may never rain a drop! I'm equally amazed at how the colors at Riverbend Farm are still mostly green, but at our house, a short distance away, is awash in Autumn colors. These photos of our house were taken the same day we took the photos at Riverbend:

Our Molly loves to chase sticks. Can you BELIEVE the size of this one that she brought for me to throw for her? She is quite ambitious!

"Rummmm....yummmmm....yummmmm....good stick!"

Max is thinking..."Throw a stick for me, too, Mommy!"

Aren't these trees in our back yard a beautiful color?!? They're so gorgeous, I don't want to rake them, yet. I love the colors on the ground!

A view of the corner of our back porch and the trees beyond.

Max and Molly love spending time outside playing in the leaves. Here, Max is wearing his Halloween costume that reads, "Handsome Devil." How cute is that?!?!

Doggone Sweet

Heaven goes by favor.

If it went by merit, you would stay out

and your dog would go in".

~Mark Twain.

"To err is human" To forgive, canine"

~Anonymous

"They never talk about themselves but listen

to you while you talk about yourself

and keep up an appearance of being

interested in the conversation"

~Jerome K. Jerome

We have a new member of the family. Duke is a Golden Retriever who was adopted by my parents and rescued from the local Animal Shelter. If this isn't an endorsement for adopting your pets from the local shelter, I don't know what is! He's beautiful and perfect! Who could resist such a face! He's 90 pounds of love!

Happy Day!

Here Comes the Sun

Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter

Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun

and I say it's all right

Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces

Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun

and I say it's all right

Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting

Little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun,

and I say it's all right It's all right

Music and Lyrics by George Harrison,

From the Beatles' album "Abbey Road," 1969

The last couple of days have been gorgeous! It's so nice to get a taste of spring weather early in the season...a little sampling of what is soon to come. My sweet husband and I took our dogs to the park yesterday, and they had a wonderful time playing in the warm sunshine and making new friends. There were many people out enjoying the weather, children were on the playground, some teenagers were playing a pickup game of basketball at the nearby courts, and a couple of young adults were playing Frisbee. People were out walking their dogs and just enjoying the warmer weather. It was heaven!

Max is so excited to be out in open space where he can run and play! He follows Michael everywhere!

Molly's favorite toy is a good tennis ball to run after! She also likes a good Frisbee and tried to steal one from some of the people playing in the park. Thankfully, she wasn't successful.

"Yum, yum, yum, I love this toy!"

Taking a break from playing catch.

Molly follows Michael up the steps of the slide.

But she backs out at the last minute, so only Max is brave enough to slide down...in Michael's arms (otherwise, he may still be up there!).

What a happy family! And you may be wondering where I am. Well, I was staying behind the camera since I hadn't bothered to put on any makeup.

Here you see why I was staying behind the camera! This is our self-portrait on the swings. Michael took it, so half my face is cut off!

Molly and Max were so excited when some of the children came over to make friends!

Looks like Molly is ready to play a little more catch!

Max and his two new pals.

Look at those two run! Wow, are they having fun with new friends!

With Molly, it's all about the toys.

And here's the result of a long afternoon of play. Both puppies and children are tuckered out!

...and Molly and Max had a very good night's sleep.

Tales from the Zoo

Those of you who know us well know that we adore our animals...all four of them...despite their idiosyncrasies and bad habits. AFTER ALL, my husband and I know we have our own idiosyncrasies and bad habits; however, the difference is that neither of us chew up our shoes, leave "presents" on the carpet to freak out our B&B guests, chase cars (or birds or squirrels), or pull things off the kitchen table (tablecloth and all) into the floor, breaking dishes and eating the food off the hardwood. We have had a rough month with our "home zoo," and DH is fit to be tied over all of our animals except one. Hermione is allowed to stay. The others...well, let's just say he wants to vote them off the island.

For the past two nights we've been awakened several times by one of the following two occurrences: Molly and Max wrestling on the floor and wanting to go outside to play during the wee hours of the morning, OR one or two of the animals wanting to bite the face off one or two of the others. About 4 a.m. this morning, we were brought abruptly out of our restful sleep by a cat/dog fight RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR BED. You see, the animals are NOT allowed in the bed, but sometimes a critter or two sneaks up there in the middle of the night. Apparently last night TWO of them did so, and there wasn't enough room at the inn for both...or so Molly thought (and we would have thought that, too, if we had been awake and known about it). Anyway, she attacked poor Hermione who has now been cowarding in corners or at the end of the porch ever since.

We've decided enough of this madness!! We have crates. Crates are good. There will be no more doggie freedom in the middle of the night. Crates are the thing. We're using them. Doggie jail for those who refuse to behave. And we're not even feeling guilty! As for the cats...that's tougher. I think we're going to designate a special room for them at night...or at least close the door to OUR room so they can't get in. We've actually tried that, but Hermione plays with the door and mews to the point that we can't sleep, so we may have to come up with some type of alternative because we're really, really tired.

If ANYone has any recommendations on how to control our animals (that doesn't involve giving them away or taking them to the shelter) so that we can get some much-needed sleep, we would be so grateful!!

Top Photo: Molly & Max looking guilty of "something"

Artwork by Cyber-cats.com

Lost Photo: Hermione vs. Hissy Isabella

Sleepily,

A Possum Tale

(Posted by Paula)

You know, our adorable little puppy, Molly, who grew into an adorable HUGE puppy, is always full of energy. In fact, she's about to drive Michael and me crazy. She's at this new stage where she likes to ignore us, so when she goes outside, no matter how long and how loud Michael and I call for her, she does her own thing. Michael came in the house the other morning absolutely fit to be tied. You have to understand...Michael NEVER gets upset, but that morning he was mad. He told me that he'd been trying to get Molly in the house for the past half hour, but she was totally enamored with a possum that had wandered into the yard.

Mr. Possum waddled around the yard for a while but never played dead, according to Michael. I thought that was something they did when a big ferocious puppy wanted to play! Molly was out to make him her best friend, but he really didn't want to have anything to do with her. He was more interested in the big ole fish he had in his mouth.

"WHERE did the fish come from?!?!" I cried, to which Michael replied nonchalantly, "From the creek." He said it as if I was supposed to have known that.

Now, granted, I've only lived in this house for about a year and a half, but NEVER in that time did I ever notice our little creek being deep enough or clean enough to have fish in it. Especially a big ole fish like that. I may be wrong, but I think Michael was pulling my leg...or he just wanted to impress me that he knows everything, including where that possum found that big ole fish.

Well, finally, we herded Molly into the house. I think she was a little hurt that Mr. Possum didn't like her very much. She quickly got over it, though, because the next day when she found that Mr. Possum had left her a lil present -- a dead fish carcass in the yard.

Now, I didn't notice the fish carcass until Molly wouldn't come in when I called her, and I found her in the yard playing with something. She kept sniffing it and chewing on it, and then, she...and I'm not lying...turned on her back in the yard, laid on the fish, and rolled all over it. I still didn't know it was a fish at that point. No, I found that out when she decided to come in and jump on me and try to give me fishy kisses. Needless to say, I TOTALLY freaked out. Michael, of course, thought the entire thing funny. So much so that instead of picking up the fish, he leaves it out there another 8 hours so that Molly could go play with it again and do the same thing to me later that evening. Upon witnessing my display of hysterics mixed with a bit of anger, Michael has now seen to it that the fish is no longer on the property. Very smart move.

So, Mr. Possum is no longer allowed in our yard or in our creek if he's going to catch the fish and leave them for Molly to play with. No, there will be no more presents of fish remains. Molly is disappointed, but I'm sure she'll find something else just as smelly to play with.

Anyone with any tips on how to keep possums away (that does not include using an illegal firearm, poison, or any other devices or chemicals that could bring long-term harm or death to the possum), please let me know!!

Harmony, Sweet Rare Harmony...

(Posted by Paula)

We've actually had a weekend in which all our animals actually got along. No one got mad and chased the other, knocking down precious antiques or plants or heavy pieces of furniture. No fur flew. No one relieved themselves on our carpet (they used litter boxes and the quiet side of the yard, as appropriate). We've had a weekend of harmony, of peace. That's so rare with two cats and a dog, so we're feeling pretty good about our little family tonight! Isabella even let Molly lay beside her in the living room while I was reading. Molly didn't try to bite Hermione for laying on her dog bed. Hermione didn't try to eat Isabella's food sending her into a tantrum. All is good at the Whisenant household tonight.

Molly is getting more mature every day, and that is such a relief to the weary...those of us who have been chasing after her for the last five months! She is starting to mind what we say and ignoring us less. Always a good thing. We took her to the park today, and she ran and chased the tennis ball, brought it back, dug holes, ate dirt, chased another dog, got chased by another dog, and chased me as I swung back and forth on one of the swings. She even made friends with a couple of children who were there playing. Molly's goal the next time we visit the park: get Katie the dog (who lives across the street from the swings) to play with her instead of barking with her hair raised on her neck. We've told Molly we don't think that's going to happen, but she seems determined. Molly tries to make everyone her friend.

We have loved the warmer weather (quite strange weather for January!), and we're getting spoiled by it, but we try to keep reminding ourselves that winter isn't over...in fact, the worst is yet to come. But while we can, we enjoy the sunny days at the park with Molly. The socialization is good for Molly, and we truly feel like she's making progress.

So, tonight we're enjoying the quiet, rare harmony with which we have been blessed, and we hope this will be typical of our days in the future. We're not used to all this non excitement, but it's certainly something we would enjoy having more of! But realistically, we know it will continue to be rare and fleeting.........just like a warm sunny day in January.