Baby

Gardening

Friday night, I read a newsletter on how you can spend several hours doing something that has nothing to do with a goal, but in the long run, will give you more time to do your goal if it simplifies your life. So yesterday, I went out in the back yard to do that and ended up out there until sunset.

With the water rationing and time it takes me to water a double-digit number of potted plants, which do protect the plant from being sprayed by dog pee or bulldozed by the Posse, I put a good dozen plants in the ground. Plants that were in pots of 20-gallon size or thereabouts. And others, I said Grace and parted with them. Other smaller ones went around the big ones in the ground. I’m still not done with it all, but this has left me with one-third less pots to water. Yeehaw!

Potted plants along two fences now in ground

There was a fine lizard hanging onto the blossom of my ginger plant once it was stable into Mother Earth.

0046-lizard-01-14-08.jpg

Across the yard, where I placed a bird cage for a loose cockatiel, another lizard sunned on the perch.

A lizard visitor who makes this bird cage his home

Baby (QM & Diva of Fort Doberdale), of course, was the most striking sunbather of the day, and everyday, as she lay atop a mound of leftover soil from my digging efforts.

Baby Sunbather

Raven was up to new tricks today.

Raven’s a big tease!

Try as Ollie might, he doesn’t have the vocal prowess that Raven has and she was unimpressed.

Na-na-na-na-na-na!

Then the ultimate insult…Ignorsville.

Raven Teasing Oliver

As hard as Ollie tried, he could not compete with Little Big Pants’ spry maneuvers.

Resolution…Ollie’s outdone by Little Big Pants

“I win! ”

Just Me and my Tongue

After we sorted through the day, we lingered under the gorgeous darkening sky where the sun was setting and the moon circled us.

Sunset

And Luigi played peek-a-boo.

Where’s my ball?

The Second Day of Christmas

Baby is uncharacteristically perky in this picture, but it’s too cute not to be the official picture for the 2nd day of Dober Christmas.

Baby Cakes Diva?  Is that you looking all cute and perky?  Mon Dieu!

Baby’s a true DoberDiva. She can turn on any of her personalities whenever she chooses. Today she wishes you a happy holiday. (Today…that may not be the case tomorrow.)

Now let’s see some of the other faces of Baby.

Here’s the Raspberry-Giving Baby.

Here we have the Raspberry-Spitting DoberDiva

Here’s the Smug-Faced Baby.

Happy Face

The “I’ll do it one more time, but you will know I am not happy doing it” Baby.

If I have to smile one more time today, I’m going to scream!

The Unreachable Baby.

“Can I have your autograph?”  No!

The SuperStar Baby.

This is the last straw!  I can’t work this way!  Out!  Out, you beast!

She’s ready for her close-up, Mr. DeMille.

And it’s tasty too…

Lovely Luna hurt her front paw by playing too too hard over the weekend. I put a harness on her, so I could grab her to slow her down when going outside. Look how lovely Holiday Luna looks.

Luna in her red holiday harness.

Now this was not just any harness. This was the Doberdiva’s harness. Baby’s color is red, but she said it was OK for Luna to borrow it.

OK.

That is why we are keeping the news to ourselves that Luna found it necessary to chew the harness off while she was in her crate. She said she was bored. Yikes! I must find a red replacement harness fast before her Divaness finds out what happened, or before someone tells her!

Pippin’s thinking of spilling the beans!

These are Premier harnesses, which are the best because they are adjustable five ways. Baby likes that!

December 1st in Fort Doberdale

Here we are ending the first day of the last month of 2007. Wow. It was a busy day at Fort Doberdale.

Today Ollie turned 7 years old. Happy birthday, Oliver!

Today is Ollie’s birthday!

Here’s a lovely hibiscus flower that bloomed just for Ollie’s birthday.

Lovely lilac colored hibiscus.

In other news, someone changed our daily incoming mail routine. Normally, the mail pops out of our front door like toast, onto our floor, and sits there until I pick it up. But today’s mail moved from inside the house to the back yard, where the rubberband had been removed, and the mail had been scattered. And as Ginger walked up to the pile, I noticed a small band hanging from her mouth.

Ginger’s adventure.

Ginger was hesitant to share her find with me. Opting, instead, for the infamous “let me see if I can swallow the thing before I get to my mom” move.

I can’t seem to swallow this thing.

She couldn’t swallow it that fast, so we had a bit of a tug-o-war, which is rather unlike Ginger, who is usually more cooperative. Perhaps she has “stepping out of her comfort zone” goals, too!

Gimme that, Ginger!

A Mockingbird watched the goings-on…

A Mockingbird looking down on us.

…until I won and had the rubber band in my possession. Then he flew the coop, and Ginger confessed to what was obvious.

Yes, I did it.  But I wanted that rubber band!

She has promised me that was the last of her maildog endeavors. Not that I distrust the girl, but next time that mail comes popping through the door and I’m not home, I’m not sure if she can hold true to her promise. So I have to remember to put an ex-pen around the door when I leave. Staying one-step ahead of the FDSP is one of my daily challenges.

Meanwhile, one weekend, back in July or August, I had intended on teaching Luna to sit on command. That didn’t pan out. Luna is one of the most observant Doberdoggies I have met. She watches everything, as if she is planning on doing it next. My first attempt at teaching her to sit wasn’t as successful as today’s. Today, I took her out amongst the crowd with clicker and treats, and did exactly the same thing with her as I had on that summer evening in a private lesson, but instead of being wary of the whole adventure, today, Luna did magnificently well vying for the click-and-treat with all her buddies. Anyone who knew how to sit, did so, and in no time, Luna was sitting along with the crowd, getting her own clicks-and-treats.

Luna sit!  “OK.”

Luigi was particularly eager to help out. He is fond of Luna Kahuna, and moreso of treats.

Luigi demonstrates how to get a treat.

Leissl was another big-time teacher today. She can sit and lie down push-up style.

Leissl such a big help, too.

Raven also had a milestone today. She learned the beginnings of “down” on command. Unlike Luna, Raven has to do her learning without distraction. She did very well in the bedroom with the down command. She was a brainiac. But amongst the crowd, where the picture taking took place, there were too many other things to do. Like shove her toys at me. But, she is slowly piecing things together, and that’s all I ask.

Raven ponders what this finger on the ground thing is all about.

Finally, Baby and I spent alone time to figure out if she is going to compete anytime soon to get her Companion Dog title. We are still figuring that out, but the best part of working, for any Doberdog, is the playing afterwards. And Baby is no exception. She loves her Frisbee, and that’s how we ended the sunshine portion of our December 1st in Fort Doberdale.

I love a game of Frisbee!