It was a dark and stormy night ...

The annual Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest uses this phrase as a signifier of purple prose.

Summer is waning, which means there hasn't been much rain lately, but the promise of a late summer storm is in the air tonight. Mom and I were outside watching Dad as he was balanced on the railing of the deck, scooping a few leaves out of a clogged gutter. Wielding the rake handle and the hose, Dad was trying to dislodge a clump of sticks and leaves. That's when we saw the crack of the lighting, followed pretty quickly by a clap of thunder.

My old man has always pretty been quick on the uptake ... he decided that standing in a thunderstorm with an antenna was not exactly the fate he wanted to tempt, not tonight. We all decided to pack it in, and we'll just worry about the clogged gutter tomorrow.

The trouble with tribbles ...

As is my routine ... I like to take my final stroll of the evening in the 500 square feet that belongs solely to me. I take pride in ownership and am wont to allow strangers into my midst. It has come to my attention whilst I am inside the house, interlopers will converge in my backyard and remain there, undisturbed, until I make my presence known ... at which time, squirrel and hare will scatter to the winds.

I have developed a method to deal with these unwelcome visitors. When the time comes for me to take that final stroll .... Mom and I will exit the back door, save for the cast of the porch light it's very dark. Until the motion sensor on the deck stairs is tripped, the backyard remains shrouded in darkness. The sensors aim is off for me but Mummy can set it off as she approaches. Once tripped, the light can bathe part of the area in light. But even then, I still cannot see the darker corners. The moment the light turns on, I will race down the stairs and approach the furthest, darkest corner ... that place where the bunny can usually be found. A favored spot where he seems to have worn a low-spot under the fence as he traverses fearlessly between my own house and the house next door.

With the confidence of a hardened warrior, I approach this spot in the yard and although I may have missed my chance today ... one day I will catch that cottontail.

A is for Allergies ...

A is for Allergies ... and I have 'em
B is for Back of my neck ... that's where I got my shot
C is for the Cortisone shot to help with the itchy-ness
D is for Doggone ... and
E is for Ears ... my Doggone Ears are itchy
F is for Canis familiaris, Latin for dog dander ... surely I'm not allergic to that!
G is for Good Boy ... I was a good boy and behaved myself while on the exam table
H is for Healthy ... I may be scratching them, but my ears are healthy
I is for Itchy ears ... 'nuff said
J is for Juice ... which is what they put in my ears
K is for Kantankerous ... I don't believe that is spelled korrectly
L is for Lick ... I lick my paws when they itch
M is for Mama ... who took me to the Vet
N is for Nap ... done with the Vet and now I need a nap
O is for Oticbiotic Ointment ... I have ointment to help relieve the itching
P is for Perfect... that the word Dr D used to describe the inside of my ears
Q is for Q-Tip ... which I would use if I had thumbs
R is for Roadtrip ... the ride in the car to see Dr D.
S is for Scratch, Scratch, Scratch ... the impetus for the roadtrip
T is for Tired ... these roadtrips take a lot out of me and I'm tired
U is for Uncomfortable ... this is how I have been feeling
V is for Vet ... I got to see my Vet, Dr Donovan today
W is for Weigh In ... I got on the scale and I weigh 21 pounds
X is for X-Ray ... I didn't need that ...
Y is for Yawn ... No more yawning, now that Mom can sleep
Z is for zzzz ... Mom can get a good night's sleep and I won't wake her up with the scratching ...

Peter Secada Cicada ...

A typical Saturday morning around here ... Mom was up early to meet with her quilt group so ... when she's up, that means I'm up. Mom put me in the back yard so that I could ... ahem ... fertilize, and she headed back up to have breakfast.

As a recovering helicopter mom, she rarely leaves me to my own device, but on the occasional Saturday, she will let me out of her sight for a few minutes. Today was that day ...

I'd been outside when Mom peeked through the kitchen window long enough to see me sniffing around in the grass ... she was probably thinking I was simply rooting around for yard-bage. A few minutes later, when she looked again, I was still nosing around in the the same spot. Big surprise, she was by my side in a flash to see what I was up to.

I'd been found out ... she sees that I've discovered a cicada, and I was amusing myself by holding it hostage. Stick in the mud that she is, Mom liberated the cicada by shooing me back allowing the cicada to flit off and skirt danger ... but then there's me ... hot on his tail. Mom tends to approach these situations by merely removing me from the offending circumstance, so when I wouldn't let the little creature alone, Mom picked me and took me up the stairs, intent on distracting me with breakfast.

But there was just one fatal flaw in her plan ... the moment she put me down, as elastic as a steel spring, I raced across the deck, down the stairs, and across the yard in pursuit of my prey.

Alas, by then my quarry had slipped away ...

Tuesdays with Mommy ...

Last week, mummy was a bit under the weather and she got to stay home and keep me company for a few days ... we got into a morning routine that went a little something like this ...

When I wake up, I like to roll over onto my back, which results in a tummy scratching and then I stretch. Mom will pick me up ... since I can't get off the bed without a little help … and when she puts me down, a couple more stretches. At the top of the stairs, I like to put my two front paws on the second riser, which pushes my tookus into the air and there is some more stretching … When it’s particularly satisfying, I’ll let out a hoot to let you know just how good it is.

Then, if I'm not really feeling it, I’ll sit at the top of the stairs … I like Mom to really sell me on the idea of coming downstairs. Once she's made an adequate case for coming downstairs and going outside, I like to visit the low spots by the fence where my friend the bunny comes and goes. Then I check under the squirrel feeder ... just in case there might be some tasty bite for me. After completing my appointed rounds ... I'll head back up the steps.

That's about the time breakfast arrives … I’ll cruise by my bowl to make sure that the morning offering meets with my approval. Some days I'll have breakfast with Mom and other days, I'll wait and have breakfast with Dad ... but then some days I prefer to have my meal served up in the kennel ... we like to call this 'breakfast in bed’.

I also really like Dad's office days … when Dad serves up that second cup of coffee, it’s time to head to ‘work’ and I'm ready to go. Once I'm 'at work', I like to sleep in various places in the office, but I prefer the knee hole of Dad's desk … right between the sidewall of the desk and the chair with my chin on top of Dad's foot. *I* am an excellent office companion ... that is ... unless it’s random barking day … then I’ll bark at nothing until I get tired of that when it's time for my next nap.