Gypsy With Her Funny Green Ball - October 2007

Word of the Day

Detrivenient - Being convenient to the point of detriment.

Once again I find myself sitting at my computer with a puppy (Gypsy) at my feet. She knew right away this morning that the basket under my desk was "her place" and got right into it when she followed me out of the kitchen this morning after our morning play session outside. It's becoming a ritual of sorts. After her breakfast, she wants me to play fetch for a while with each of her toys. Gypsy fetches. All I have to do is toss the toys. I'm not really sure which of her toys is her favorite. I do know that the squeaker on the funny green ball with feet tends to drive her to a frenzy but I don't think it's because she hates the noise. So far, she hasn't attempted to remove the squeaker. I had one dog a long time ago (Betsy the basset hound) that would grab any of those squeaker toys and with great purpose gnaw out the squeaker so it would never squeak again...in other words, she'd kill it. She really wasn't a toy-loving sort of dog and she seemed to hate the squeaker noise.

I started tree trimming operations yesterday. I trimmed one tree. I filled one garbage can with the clippings. Rome wasn't built in a day. My pruning won't get done in a day either...unless I hire someone to do it. I really don't have all that much garbage can space and here I can't just haul the debris into the woods or burn it. I think I may be able to prune one more tree this week before our garbage pickup but right now I'm taking a break. I've got Oleander trees and I need to be really careful with the clippings. I don't want Gypsy to decide that oleander debris may be a fun play toy. Oleanders are poisonous. I'm not sure how much she'd have to ingest to cause a problem but I'm all for not having any doggy health problems. She already has attacked the tangelo tree branches that are drooping within reach. I've seen her eyeing the nice round, ball-like fruit that might just be a fun thing to play with. She's also attacked the lower fronds of the pygmy date palm. I figure the spines on those fronds will bite her back enough that she'll learn not to do that anymore. That and the natal plum spines. My baby likes to play and put things in her mouth. I noted that she brought a piece of the landscape gravel over to her outdoor basket to play with. I'm keeping an eye on her. Chew toys. I'm making sure that there are chew toys a plenty in various places wherever she may be.

I've got to go out shopping today. I'm down to my last thing of Cesar Puppy food. Who feeds their puppies this stuff as a sole source of food? I mean it's expensive and when you feed a puppy three times a day? Good grief! I've been mixing 1/4 of one of those Cesar Puppy food containers into Gypsy's dry food. She's a picky eater. I'm not used to picky eaters. Normally, I'd figure that she'd eat when she's hungry but she's a puppy and I worry that she's not getting enough to grow on and develop properly. Anyway, she eats her food a lot better (still picky but at least she's eating) if I mix in the tempting taste Cesar Puppy food.

Murphyism of the Day

Kubin's Maxim

How feeble are a man's efforts against the unyielding forces of Nature - until the struggle is recounted for the grandchildren.

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

We don't know what we want, but we are ready to bite somebody to get it.

-- Will Rogers (1879 - 1935)