In Pursuit of Blue Jays

Those blue jays make me so mad! Birds do not belong in the yard of a red heeler. They just don't listen when I bark. Those blue jays are devious demons. They know that dogs don't fly.

Last week they started looking around my yard to rest up in the trees, like they do every year. I hate that. I bark and bark, but they just don't go away.

When they made a nest and had babies last year, up in the crepe myrtle trees by the driveway, they would torture me. Every time I went over there, they would swoop down and try to peck the top of my head. That makes me mad.

I am not the least bit embarrassed that my attempt to drive them out on Monday failed. Blue jays must go.

Ok, so I'm limping and I might not want to try this same approach. On Monday evening, when Mike and Diane weren't home, I tried to chase the blue jays up the crepe myrtle tree (pictured here) and my front paw got stuck between the trunks of a couple of the crepe myrtle trees. I yelped and cried so pitifully that the neighbors came from across the street and eventually freed my paw from the trees, where it was caught. My right paw was swollen, as you should see in this photo of me.

Our neighbor was concerned that I was seriously injured, but Mike brought me in the house to recuperate, and despite a slightly sore paw, I'm fine now. Mike is glad that we have such responsive neighbors.

Summer Naughtiness

It's been really hot and dry for way-way too long. To keep cooler during the day when it's hot, I usually stay under the deck Mike built last year. It's officially "Dog Days" now. Yesterday, I dug out of the yard two times.

The first time was in the morning. King, the Rottweiler/Pit Bull mix who lives across the street, was out of his yard, which occurs quite frequently. His people often don't close the gate when they leave the yard, so he often wanders over and we try to play through my fence. Yesterday, he got into a different neighbor's fenced-in yard and he helped me figure out another way to escape. Mike is quite happy to learn that King's people will be moving out at the end of the month.

Later in the day I got into the neighbor's yard by digging under the fence near some bamboo. Mike tried to close the hole. If it continues to be dry, I might find more places to dig out!

Winter Naughtiness

Mike and Diane were gone for while in late December. I got bored and was enticed by another dog to dig out of the yard which I did several times. Eventually, I dug out of the yard so many times that Mike's brother took me out to his place in the country. I got to spend a week in the country! I had my own vacation.

As you can probably tell from this photo, it is very dry in San Antonio. You might think the photo above was taken in the middle of summer, but it's from late January--we haven't had any significant rain for at least 18 months--longer than I've been alive!

Diane thinks I was rather naughty today. When she came home, she found some papers torn up in the yard. She doesn't know how this mail got into the yard. There were some papers she was expecting. She likes Volksmarching and these papers included several certificates for College Campus Walks and an event book for America's Historic Churches. I didn't chew on the junk mail or the bill that came in the mail. I'm selective about what I chew!

The Gate: Latch #1

Mike recently built a gate at the top of the steps on his porch. This is designed to keep me away from the door and to give the cats and humans a little freedom from me. However, this shows how effective latch #1 was: I was able to open the gate and get on the porch. Mike installed latch #2. We'll see how long that's effective!

Small wounds

You might not be able to see this very well in the photo above, but I got a couple deep scratches on my front left leg, just below my elbow, earlier this week. Diane noticed that I kept licking these wounds, but they seem to be healing now. Mike thinks I was a klutz and that I scratched myself by slipping off a new wooden plank that Mike installed on the back porch. I don't mind licking my wounds! I'm a dog and I like licking many things.

Pet Pals Howl-O-Wine Yappy Hour & Pet Costume Party

On Friday night, Mike and Diane and I went to WineStyles at Inwood for the Pet Pals (of Texas) Howl-O-Wine Yappy Hour & Pet Costume Party. Brenna sang. (See my June 13, 2008 posting about the last Yappy Hour we attended.)

I didn't wear a costume, but I did get this nice bandana. A small dog dressed as a devil won the costume contest. Other dog costumes included a pirate, a bat, a Longhorns football fan, and more. I like the treats I get at Yappy Hour and I like riding in the truck on the way there and back.

Walking in the Parks

I like to walk in the parks with Diane. On Friday, Diane and I drove over to Woodlawn Lake Park. I really like riding in the car or truck with Diane or Mike (or both). It's fun to see the things we drive past. It was much nicer walking on Friday than it was this summer when it was hotter. We only saw two other dogs on leashes with their humans, but quite a few humans without dogs. Near the end of our second loop around the Lake, a yellow dog, who came to the park from the neighborhood and was just wandering on his own, started hanging around me. He even followed us to the car, but then he wandered off past the basketball court.

This morning we walked to our local park, Ingram Hills. There were only two other humans at the park. Sometimes we don't see any other people at our park. I don't think we've seen any other dog on a leash with its human at our park during our walk. I like to stop and sit on the bench when we walk at this park. We saw three dogs lying down or wandering around on their own in the neighborhood this morning.