There's One Creature Stirring

It’s Christmas Eve and I know in some houses the creatures aren’t stirring but that is not the case here.  There is a rodent under the house and it is chewing and gnawing and scurrying and driving me nuts.  It really pisses Lee off too.  He says he’s going to shoot the little bastard if he sees it coming out from under the house.  I have to tell you that the rodent might be more worried about it if Lee hadn’t been saying that for three months!

I really like it when we hear the rodent chewing and Mom runs to that part of the house.  She stomps her feet really fast and loud and yells.  I bark in my highest pitch that can still be heard by rodents.  I can tell it freaks it out.

Lee hired one of the kids from out at Slana to help repair damage under the house caused by the rodent.  It chewed through plywood and was tearing into the insulation.  The rodents like to use it for their nests.  I think that’s pretty dumb.  I guess maybe they like the pink color but that stuff is full of sticker things that cling to you forever – or that’s what Lee says.  Now the floor is much warmer and Lee thought he had all the access points sealed but the other night the wind blew open the door to the crawl space and the little bastard took advantage of it.

 

We used to have a lot more rodents but this summer a lynx family lived in the yard.  The mom taught the young ones how to hunt using MY rodents.  I only have about six left.  The mother lynx also ate most of the wild rabbits in the yard.  I only mention this because it just isn’t fair.  I told mother lynx that she could go hunt any where.  If I leave the yard I get into big trouble.  She, on the other hand, is free to go wherever she wants.  She has a whole national park to hunt in.  She said that my rodents were dumber than the ones who lived out of the yard and she was enjoying not having to work so hard to feed her family.

Mom is making me post this picture of me in my winter clothes.  She says that I look great and she’s right.  I know you probably don’t usually think of me as a trend setter, but there you go.  You should see Lee when I have to wear this get up.  The tough old grouchy hermit gets all giggly and silly and practically gushes about how cute I am and how cute it is that I run funny with my boots on.  Mom made my coat.  Ellie the Poodle used to wear it but she died so I wear it now.  It’s a little small but Ellie left big shoes to fill.  Anyway, the boots are weird to walk in but they do keep my feet warmer.  I don’t wear this get up until it’s -25 or colder and we are going to be outside for more than ten minutes.  Without the boots I have to stop and either sit or lie down and hold one or more paws up in the air.  It’s a bother.

So anyway, I hope the only creatures stirring at your house tonight are dogs and little kids and maybe some kitties.  Of course Santa and the reindeer.  But that’s a given.  Merry Christmas!

On Guard

Finally I got Mom to sit down and help me write a new post for my blog.  Geeze, it’s been one excuse after another – and after all the things I do for her.  Like take this weekend for example.  Lee left in the white truck yesterday and hasn’t come back yet.  I didn’t think he would because he packed for two days.  Most of the stuff he packed was out at the shop.  I know ‘cause I helped.  It’s a thankless job.  He doesn’t appreciate how hard it is to stay underfoot all the time.  Mom says he’s at a gun show.  I’m glad we stayed home.  Gun shows are OK when I can come inside but otherwise I have to wait in the truck and it is BORING.

We always stay with our friends Dean and Mike in Eagle River when we have to go to Anchorage.  Me and my friend Mike have been dodging around rifles and parts and boxes for years.  I know that you know that I don’t really have any dog friends with the exception of my cousin Angel and probably Mike.  He’s a Springer Spaniel.  His person is Dean.  They are bachelors.  All I know is that Mike has his own ice cream dish and likes Ben and Jerry Carmel Sutra a lot.  Do I have my own ice cream dish?  Hmmm.   Anyway, Lee goes to a lot of gun shows and then he buys me food so really all the other stuff doesn’t matter - much.

Excuse me.  DANGER, DANGER, DANGER.  So the point of all of this is that Mom can’t handle things around here alone, no how.  So, I’m on duty pretty much 24/7.  Wait, I need to go check out that sound.

OK – no worries.  Just a magpie.  But wait – DANGER, DANGER, DANGER.  And Mom just sits there.  She has the nerve to tell me I’m imagining things?  Me?  I’d be insulted if I didn’t understand her limited sensory abilities.

Just today I had to remind Mom to close the gate at the bunny pen and then I had to interrupt my foraging in the compost pile to help her haul fire wood in the wheelbarrow.  That thing has a mind of its own if I’m not there to help her.

DANGER, DANGER, DANGER.  Finally, she looks.  It’s just a snowshoe hare?  Just a snowshoe hare?  Really, Mom?  Well, it’s gone now, thank goodness.  We’re safe again for now.

The part of taking care of Mom and helping her that’s the hardest for me is snuggling with her.  I’m just not a snuggler.  But I know that with Lee gone she misses her hugs and what not so I try to put up with some extra petting and I sit on her lap while she watches TV.  It’s not too bad until she has a hot flash.  Boy, then things get exciting.  She pushes me down, jumps up and starts stripping off clothes.

Tonight I’m going to have to keep a close eye on her.  Last night the oil heater went out and she didn’t do a good job banking the wood stove.  So the house was colder than a dog house at the North Pole this morning.  It’s almost dark again and the house is finally warming up.  Wait, I’ll be right back.

DANGER, DANGER, DANGER, DANGER, DANGER!  MOM, MOM, LET ME OUT.  DANGER, DANGER, DANGER!  MOM, LET ME IN!!!

Wow, that was close.  There was a squirrel on the wood pile.  I worked really hard helping to cut all that firewood and I’ll be darned if I’m letting a furry little pain in the ass rodent, tree climbing, bark eating vermin touch it.

It’s almost dark, although it’s either almost dark or dark all the time now.  But I better wrap this up.  Soon it will be time to go gather eggs.  I’ve got to be ready to help because Mom could step on a squirrel before she knew it was there.  God help us if another wild rabbit or one of those big kitties came in the yard.

Your friend,

Pearl of Nabesna

Chief of Homestead Security

Another Wonderful Day on the Homestead

I just finished a delish rawhide flip chip.  Mom gave it to me because she hoped I would quit asking to be let in and out, in and out, in and out – you get the picture.  I guess it worked because now I’m feeling very full and happy.  Of course that feeling might also be a nap coming on - either way I win.  But it’s been such a great day I just had to write a short note to rub it into all of you who are stuck in cities or some place with bad weather.

Lee is at a gun show in Fairbanks so it’s just me and Mom holding down the fort.  This means I have to stay more alert but Mom is pretty savvy and takes pretty good care of herself.  She needs help but that’s true of all humans.  Anyway, we slept in and drank coffee in bed and finished a crossword puzzle.  Actually, I went back to bed.  I don’t like crossword puzzles or magazines in general – what’s the point.  After breakfast, I checked out the thermometer on the porch and couldn’t believe what I saw.  It was 25° ABOVE zero and rising and the sun was shining.  It’s the middle of February in Alaska.  So I grabbed Mom’s pant leg and when she saw the temp she said we needed to get right outside – YES!

So we let the chickens out into their yard and we had to get a couple of bags of feed from the storage building.  This requires the use of the wheel barrow.  That thing is impossible to steer unless I help by biting the front tire and barking.  After that was finished and I had snuck in a few bites of chicken poop, we checked on the bunnies.  Unfortunately, Ebony bought it during the night and Mr. and Mrs. Raven were eating her.  This is sad.  Well, Mom says it’s sad.  The Ravens don’t think so.  After preparing her for burial in an NPS dumpster, we took care of filling the bird feeders.  This is one of my favorite chores – especially when Mom gives the birds dry dog food.  Sometime soon I’ll share my technique for tricking the birds into dropping food for me.

It’s almost 4:30 in the afternoon and it’s still light.  The temperature is dropping a little.  In about half an hour I’ll have to remind Mom to go gather eggs and shut the chickens in to the coop.  I hope tomorrow is this nice.

Arrf, arrff!

Your Friend,

Pearl