Thursday, July 23, 2015

I have a Thief!

It's summer here in Indiana and my tomatoes and cucumbers are almost ready to start harvesting.  I have been waiting for the fresh, heirloom tomatoes all summer.  The ones on the vines are just about perfect, big, round and with all the rain we have received here they should be especially juicy.





 I have had a few tomatoes get ripe, or almost ripe, and I have picked them to finish ripening on my kitchen counter.  But the big, juicy ones are not quite ready yet.

Last night I was watering plants and working in the flower beds and saw this under the pine tree in my back yard.





At first I thought it was one of the Granny Smith apples which have fallen off the tree in our yard.  I find half, or mostly eaten apples all over the yard, including up in the trees!

Then as I looked closer I realized it was one of my beautiful, big heirloom tomatoes (yes a green one) that had been picked and stashed under the pine tree.  It was most likely one of my four legged, bushy tailed thieves!  There was a big bite out of the tomato so I could not take it back.  This morning when I woke up and looked out the window it was almost completely gone.  That darn little thief!  It's not enough to steal all the sunflower seeds out of the bird feeder and stash apples all over my yard.  Now he is hitting my tomatoes!  

I don't mind sharing my produce with the local squirrel but if he takes too many tomatoes I will not be happy!  This squirrel has the best set up ever in squirrel-dom.  He lives in my neighbor's maple tree all year and then comes over to my yard for his (or possibly her) selection of tasty items.

It looks like I will have to become more vigilant about my tomatoes.  I don't mind sharing but I want the best ones for me since I did the work to grow them.  Darn little thief! 

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Live Life Like Sadie - The Beagle Way!

Sadie is our nine-year-old beagle.  We adopted her from the Humane Society of Hamilton County last year.  She is considered a "senior" dog.  From what we were told her owner surrendered her because the owner was in end stage cancer and wanted to make sure her beloved pet was taken care of. 





So Sadie has lived with us for a little over a year now.  We have never had a Beagle before and it has been a learning experience for us.  Over the last year I have learned Sadie's rules for life:

1.  Everything is better with a dog cookie(or any other food).

Sadie loves her treats.  The people at the humane society said she is extremely food oriented.  She knows after walk she will get a treat, when I come into the house she gets a treat, and the day ends with "pills" which is usually a small piece of cheese to hold her latest prescription medication.  She lets me know when I forget or somehow get off the acceptable cycle of treat distribution.  Sadie always stays close when I am cooking just in case something hits the floor.  No need to clean up food from the floor when she is around, she will take care of just about anything that drops. 

2.  Life is best observed from the couch

Sadie is a couch potato.  Once she is done with morning walk and breakfast she takes her spot on the couch and does not move until it's time for walk or food.  Sometimes I can see her with one eye partially open just to make sure she does not miss anything but overall she watches life from her favorite blanket on the couch.  I have to practically shove her off the couch when it is walk time in the afternoon.  I just tell her both of us need the exercise. 

3. When in doubt let your voice be heard

Nobody told me beagles were so vocal.  Sadie is a talker.  She will howl and groan and murmur to my husband and I when something does not meet with her desires.  I have never had a dog "talk" to me as much as Sadie does.   The only one who comes close is her friend Harley, who is a Siberian Husky.  

This last year has been a learning experience.  Sadie is an important part of our family and has acclimated well to our routine.  Well, maybe she has taught us her routine and we have acclimated.  Whichever way it happened I am glad she is part of our pack and I am learning the "Beagle Way."