Did you ever notice how everyone wants a piece of Mom’s lap? It is hard to get any space to get comfortable. Don’t they know that she is mine and I should have priority?
Mini Cooper is so rude. She has the nerve to sit on me because she wants the whole lap to herself. Cats can be so pushy, don’t you think?
Sometimes, Bearnard doesn’t mind being close to Mini Cooper as long as she lets him stay on Mom’s lap. I don’t know about you but she looks scary to me.
I give up. I am going to go into my kennel and let Bearnard and Mini Cooper figure it out. Nite Nite – Jolie Olie
Over the years Big Tree, the giant maple in the backyard, has seen many animals. It watched the kids grow up. It shadowed many a pool party. Now it has a new group of protectors.
Jolie and Bearnard are the keepers of the watch in 2024.
Sofie & big tree 2010
Louise & big tree 2009
The Trio 2019
Sofie & big tree 2014
Lulu & big tree 2009
Squash & Louise big tree 2011
Squash E Bear 2007
Charles & big tree 2022
Nikkolette 2001
In 2023, it was Charles and Jolie.
In 2022, it was Charles, Louise, and Sofie.
In 2013, it was Louise and Sofie.
In 2012, it was Squash and Louise.
In 2011, it was just Squash.
In 2002, it was Nikki and Squash.
They have seen a lot of squirrels come and go and think about all those birds. There was a year (about 3 years ago) that the Cedar Waxwings stayed in Big Tree for a month.
While the dogs were out for a walk, Mini Cooper was happily resting in the sunspot on the stairs.
But, then we came home.
And poor little Mini Cooper was rudely pushed out of her spot by the dogs.
Sometimes life is just not fair. But Mini can get up by the windows if she wants and the fluffballs can’t, so I guess it all works out in the end. Have a wonderful Wednesday!
Happy 8th Birthday, Miss Jolie Olie. You are a crazy, silly, bundle of fluff. Though you have only been with us 1-1/2 years, it seems like much longer. We love you tons!!! Stay forever sweet girl.
Bearnard here – I can tell you that I am not used to snow days. Actually, I don’t think I ever saw the white stuff before. Being Littles, the snow is right up to our bellies. And worse than the snow on the ground was the Arctic freeze. Mom would not let us outside without our sweaters on because it was -9 degrees with the wind chill and she was afraid that we would become pupsicles. The snow was wet and stuck to Jolie’s hair in clumps. Lucky me, my fur is thick and resilient.
What a week of snow and ice it was, but then it changed to 75 degrees and foggy. I am happy that we were able to go for long walks in the grass again, even though there were still some snow banks left over from the days before. Now everything is wet and muddy (including our bellies), but puddles are fun for me. Sadly, Jolie hates the rain and the puddles because of her burned paws, but she does it.
Mom says this weather reminds her of some science fiction books where planets have such varying temperatures between night and day that the humans have to be prepared to freeze when the sun(s) go down and roast when the sun(s) rise. I do hope we don’t get to that point. Was it too cold to play outside by you, too? – Your friend, BearBear
What kind of mischief did you get into today?
V took that great picture of the bluebird and the squirrel tail by the feeder. Those critters sure did eat a lot during the storm days.
The holiday was great but it almost wasn’t. You see I did a bunch of stuff that I shouldn’t have and scared Mom half to death; I could have killed myself.
Last Wednesday before the holiday, V was making candy and stuff for the holidays and had to stop because it was time to go get a haircut. When no one was looking I managed to steal a block of Baker’s Chocolate. Yes, that deadly stuff that could kill dogs, especially little ones. Mom was out at the gym and when she got home (about 30 minutes after V left), I had already eaten about 2 ounces of it and pooped on the floor. She wasn’t sure if Bearnard ate it too because he had his nose in it also.
She quickly tried to figure out how much I had eaten and went online to the Dog Chocolate Poison Toxicity Calculator. It was semi-sweet baker’s chocolate so I was somewhere between possible seizures and death.
Of course, Mom was freaking out.
Lucky for me, however, I did not only steal the chocolate, I also got up on the kitchen table and knocked over my canister of dog kibble. (More about getting on the table later.) Mom thinks that all the dog food helped me not get “as sick,” from the deadly chocolate because it may have absorbed some of the poison.
Chocolate has things called Theobromine and Caffeine in it. These chemicals create Methylaxanthines which are harmless to humans but can be deadly dangerous to us pets. Animals metabolize food in a different way than humans.
I wasn’t done yet, however. Even though Mom had holiday presents hidden in her office for months, now that I had the smell of yummy deadly chocolate on my mind, I went into a cardboard bag, in a plastic bag, in a cardboard box of presents in her office, and I ate 4 milk chocolate balls a few hours later. Mom didn’t even realize that I had that great a nose. I had not bothered any of her gifts that she had been hiding, so it didn’t even enter her mind that I would rip open a closed package. I went downstairs and pooped in the same place Mom had just shampooed from my earlier exploit. Wasn’t that nice of me?
At this point, Mom figured she should contact the vet, but it was already 8 PM and they were closed, so she called emergency to ask if she should do something called ‘induce vomiting,’ which sounds terrible. The nice lady on the phone said to watch me closely, and she could use hydrogen peroxide if she wanted to, but that was up to her. So she didn’t thankfully, because I was acting mostly myself, except I needed to go potty every 30 minutes. Bearnard was fine. I don’t let him get much food if I can help it. He doesn’t care and I want everything I can eat.
I woke Mom every 2 hours during the night for 3 days to go outside. At least it was not raining or snowing but it was dark and cold.
I need to tell you about the kitchen table. Since Noel is so old, she can’t jump up on the counter and eat in her herb window anymore, so Mom has been feeding her on the kitchen table. She can get up there by jumping on a cabinet in the living room and then going through the dining room to kitchen pass-through window. Well, it did not take me long to figure that out. So I have been stealing her food when Mom wasn’t looking and Mom thought that Noel had finished her dinner. Mom caught on to my antics when she saw me up on the kitchen table one day, so she stopped feeding Noel there if she wasn’t watching. Mom thought she had me fooled.
However, I got up there the day that I ate the chocolate and I knocked down my food canister, which was supposed to be secure Mom said, and helped myself to 1/2 a bag of dog kibble. So then Mom moved the cabinet in the dining room from under the window so that I could not follow Noel and get on the table. My access was gone (or so she thought).
But wait! Mom put a box of Christmas presents under the window so that she could wrap them on the dining room table. It was a low box, so she figured it was safe. Oh, did I tell you Mom loves to bake (LoriansKitchen.com). She had made this awesome gluten and dairy-free chocolate walnut strudel with amazing little leaves and acorns on it. Yep, you got it. I am really smart. Mom was cooling her treat on the kitchen table and I managed to help myself to all her beautiful handy work. (Before and after pictures below)
My Mom really doesn’t understand that I have the most incredible nose and can jump like a cat and get everywhere, especially when it comes to food. Now she thinks she has removed every way for me to get on the table except the cat tree, which is how Noel is getting up to the kitchen (she path below).
I think I will try that next.
My gift to Mom this year was to survive the holidays. What did you give your Mom? – Jolie Olie, the best nose in the business.
We are waiting and hoping that our stockings will be filled with wonderful treats and toys. Mom said that if we are extra good and behave ourselves the next few weeks there may be a special holiday dinner in our future. We are thinking sweet potatoes and turkey, maybe even green beans (we love those).
Over the years the animals have enjoyed many holiday celebrations. This year, they will light the lights of the menorah to celebrate Hanukkah once again. Here are pictures of some wonderful holiday moments from years gone by.
By the way, there is no wrong way to spell, Hanukkah. You may have seen the holiday spelled like Hanukkah, Hannuka, or Chanukah… the list goes on. The most common version is probably Hanukkah, but all of the spellings are actually accurate. Because there is no correct way to directly translate the Hebrew sounds to English, it could be spelled in a variety of different ways, each equally correct.
Eat some doughnuts or latkes and enjoy the festival of lights for 8 nights.
And poor little Mini Cooper was rudely pushed out of her spot by the dogs.
DogDaz Zoo 