Guilty Pleasures

Roomba! I've been wanting one of these forever and finally rolled up my pennies and bought one. I have a lotta house to clean, and it sure would be nice to have the floors done while I sleep or work. I'm a bit lazy by nature, so if I can find an easier way to do something ... I will!

Stray Souls

Stray dogs seems to be the norm in rural North Carolina where I recently moved. I've been living in city suburbs for years, where it's rare to see a stray dog...so this is a bit of a culture shock for me. There were 7 stray dogs when I moved to the area. One was a momma dog and two puppies, but I only saw the puppies a couple of times and never again (who knows that happened to those pups). One thing I do know, if you leave the strays as strays...they'll multiply, die on the roadside and/or starve to death. So, I made it my goal to capture the five that are left before they multiply or get hit by a car. I figured they'd have some chance at adoption at the Humane Society, and worst case they'd have a painless death by euthanasia.


I managed to catch two that were semi-friendly black Border Collie mixes, one even had a collar. They looked like siblings. My guess, someone didn't bother to spay their female and these were the puppies they didn't find a home for....their solution, dump 'em. I tried several local All-Breed No-Kill rescues in my area, but they're all full. It's no wonder, since I think only a minority of pet owners bother to spay & neuter down here in Podunk, NC. At least these two females won't add to the stray population. If lucky enough to be adopted, they'll be spayed first.

I did contact Animal Control, and they said they'd had no luck catching the dogs in my neighborhood because someone would trip the traps, or put food outside the traps to prevent capture. I suppose the folks think they're helping the dogs, but they have no idea how slow & painful it would be for the dogs to starve to death. The AC officer said he believes these three dogs were most likely owned by the person who sold off the land to the developers, and when they moved recently they just cut the dogs loose.

There are three left...little black 'n rust Momma dog who's about the size of a beagle, a large hunting hound type dog and a brown Chow-mix lookin' dog with an undershot jaw (seriously ugly dog). All three are very thin, ribs and spine showing, too afraid to get too close. The Ugly Dude and Momma dog will come within 3-4 feet of me if I've put down food, but the Huntin' hound stays far away until I drive off. Huntin' dog was limping, but seems better now.

They're living in the new construction area of my neighborhood, and probably scrounging food from construction worker's trash. I've been tossing down dry dog food each morning to keep them from starving, and hoping I can get close enough to lasso one. I usually either see all three together, or not at all (though I see they eat the food each day). This time I only saw the Momma dog and the Huntin' hound, don't know where the Ugly Dude went. Time will tell...if he's alive, he'll be back at the feeding grounds eventually.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sad News ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I wrote that post yesterday but hadn't published it just yet. This morning I went to feed the strays, and saw the same two...both jumped up with tails wagging when I pulled up to the feeding area. But, on my way to work, I found the third stray..Ugly Dude met the fate of most strays, I found him dead on the side of the road.

Lost the Battle

My old weed-whacker was on it's last leg, so I bought a new one...a double-string model. My step-father broke it in while he was visiting, and this weekend I had my first whack at it. Well, I think you need a PhD to figure out how to put those spools on without them unwinding. I lost the first 2 battles and got it right by my third try, but for some reason it looks like those darned spools were eye-balling me, mocking me even! This is what happens when you attempt to do lawn work without a Smirnoff Ice!

Southern Sundays

I'm out early this Sunday morning to my favorite store...no, not Walmart...not Macy's...Home Depot! I know, not very 'girly', but I'm a homeowner and could spend hours just browsing that store. I'm a 'list person', so there I am with my list of things to get, but I have a hard time keeping to my list in that store. Today I did well, and only had a couple of things extra: bag of birdseed & some handy-dandy velcro tie wraps to organize anything from computer cables to water hoses. Satisfied with meeting that goal, I'm off across the street to Petsmart for special dog food for old sick boy, Tucker. Ten minutes before opening, so I dash over to Food Lion next door for some milk, and since I plan to do some yardwork and mowing, a 6 pack of Smirnoff!


To my embarrassment, as I try to pay at 9:00am in the morning, the teller informs me that I can't buy alcohol before noon on Sundays!!! Yup, I'm in the Bible-belt!


On a happier note, I've been taking my dogs for a walk on trails in a nearby park. It's about 1 1/2 miles from my house, so I'd drive there with one dog, walk him, come home, swap dogs and repeat the walking process. I didn't want to try both dogs at once because I wasn't sure I could manage to keep control. Today, in an effort to save time, I tried them both and I managed without getting hauled around! It kinda looked like I was driving two mules, but we managed okay.

Trim Spa for the Baby?

While vegging out in front of the TV, I actually watch the commercials and see a new Trim Spa ad featuring old overweight photos of Anna Nichole. As it shows these photos, the narrator says, "We know what you're thinking. Anna Nicole is pregnant and she's going to go back to looking just like before. But you are forgetting one thing..." A slight pause and a bikini clad slim Anna jumps up yelling "Trim Spa, Baby!". Below that image is the small print disclaimer. They showed this often enough tonite that I was able to read a portion. "Do not use TRIMSPA products if pregnant or nursing." Now, if they'd just make a C-chip for the TV's that works somewhat like the V-chip and I could avoid these stupid commercials!

Dober-doodle?

Sometimes it's frustrating when ya walk your Doberman in the park and parents pick their children up and take the far side of the trail. Now, don't get me wrong, this media-fed interpretation of the breed can be handy for a gal walking in the park along with 80 lbs of Doberman at the end of the leash. Hey, the bad guys don't know he's a wuss, eh? But, here's another way to avoid the public's descrimination of this fine breed. (Select the Dober-doodle link above)