Gods of Frolic

The dog is the god of frolic.--Henry Ward Beecher

Because he grew up in a household that didn't allow such frivolity as birthday parties, dancing or theatre, it's easy to see why Beecher admired dogs' ability to play. Unless he disapproved of frolicking even as an adult.

Hmmm, I'm thinking "Gods of Frolic" makes a better blog name than "The Farm House," which I never liked but tacked on when I began this blog because I couldn't think of anything else. The name has to encompass all the animals, even Matilda the cornsnake who has spent most of the winter sleeping in her box.

I guess you can't accuse Matilda of frolic, though she is endorsing a famous sport-shoe maker. Will have to keep cogitating on the name thing.

I don't know why we watch this stuff

But we do. Then we record it and watch again and we watch other people's dogs doing the same nonsense.

And we smile.
Correction: or maybe we don't because the darn thing is too dark!

A dog's work

When the human is working at her desk, she thinks dogs just lie around; but I assure you that I'm working, too. I hold the bedspread down.

I do some stretches to keep my spine limber.

I clean those dust-hippos off the floor.

OK, sometimes I rest.

Editor's note: I have a pin of an Airedale with super-long legs. I didn't believe it was accurate until now.

I end the day with a little reading in bed.

Saturday Blog Hop

Announcing--

--the first egg of the season, courtesy of Muffin.

I didn't install extra light this winter so that the hens could rest up for spring and summer laying. Now that they're in their second or third--I can't keep track--season of laying, there won't be as many eggs. With the two Polish chickens off cavorting with a rooster at a new home, my only layers are Muffin and Brangelina. Little Edna might lay an egg or two, if she feels like it. Modern Game chickens are mostly decorative, as you can see below.

This magazine cover is pictured on the website of the Modern Game Bantam Club of America. Since it's dated 1932, I assume it's out of copyright.
I plan to add a couple of chicks to the flock this spring but finding another Modern Game Bantam is unlikely. This variety doesn't show up in the feed stores and, so far, I haven't found any local breeders. I'll just have to keep searching.

What dogs really want on Valentine's Day

Alanis and Miro wish everyone a treat-filled day.

Quoting myself

"Miro, leave my clean laundry alone!  Here--you have plenty of dirty laundry to play with!"

Miro does some remodeling for blog hop day

Silly Saturday Award

Guess what's in the lower left corner.

For an Airedale person, possibly for any dog person, it’s an honor to win an award for being silly. Isn’t uninhibited silly one reason for enjoying dogs? Sometimes dogs bring uninhibited embarrassment—nosepoking the parents of your kid’s friends, for instance, when they’ve come to see if your household is safe for their child—but you laugh about it later.

I was thrilled when The Teacher's Pets selected my photo caption for her first Silly Award. The photo was of a dog in a car, yawning. Yawn, car, latte—the connection is a no-brainer for a person from the Coffee Center of the Universe from which espresso has slithered across the world like a many-tentacled alien, even usurping the ancient coffee-houses of Europe. But I digress.

Thank you, Teacher’s Pets, for rewarding a dog’s daily dose of silly.

Who's there?

Something's next door.

There's a nose poking under the fence.

Maybe I can dig right here.



A new neighbor!



100 sled dogs slaughtered

100 sled dogs slaughtered

The cruelty and callousness of the people involved is rivaled only by their stupidity. According to some commentaries I read, everyone is scrambling to deny responsibility: the dogs' caretaker who claimed compensation for post-traumatic stress (Why did he "just follow orders," to use that infamous phrase?), WorkSafeBC that granted his request for compensation, Outdoor Adventures which owned the dogs. Tourism Whistler, the marketing and sales organization for Whistler Resort where this happened, surely didn't know anything about the slaughter. As a promotional company, they would know what a public relations nightmare would result. Yet they still bear responsibility. The phrase "on their watch" comes to mind.