![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.ancientrails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/101.jpg\" "\\"101\\"")
<\/a>invasion. \u00a0She periodically checks all the points where I’ve closed up the base of the fence. On occasion she finds one that has come undone. \u00a0Kate’s found her in the orchard twice in the last week. \u00a0I found the spot and wired a log across it, crude but reversible solutions.<\/p>\n(Rigel and Gertie)<\/p>\n
She used to climb over the fence. \u00a0That’s when I added the electric fence. \u00a0She no longer does that. \u00a0Now her snooping follows the line where fence meets ground. \u00a0You might wonder why we want to keep her out of the orchard. \u00a0Both she and her sister Vega love to dig and when in the orchard they dig up soil mounded around the fruit trees. \u00a0Since this is where plant guilds beneficial to the trees live, we see the digging as unwanted behavior.<\/p>\n
It’s been a bright full moon the last couple of nights and the dogs have been restless. \u00a0No, I don’t think moon rays make dogs crazy. \u00a0I do think they make navigating easier for night time critters and the dogs notice. \u00a0Then they whine to go outside. \u00a0Two nights ago in the wee hours for example. \u00a0We heard them bay in the woods not long after we let them go.<\/p>\n
In other dog news Kona’s mass continues to grow. \u00a0We have her on two tramadols three (Hilo)<\/p>\n Kate and I counted up the dogs we’ve had since our marriage in 1990. \u00a017. \u00a06 whippets: \u00a0Buck, Iris, Emma, Bridgit, Hilo and Kona. \u00a0 8 Irish Wolfhounds: \u00a0Celt, Sorsha, Scott, Morgana, Tira, Tully, Orion and Tor. \u00a0Two Irish Wolfhound\/Coyote Hound mixes: \u00a0Rigel and Vega. \u00a01 German Shorthair: \u00a0Gertie. \u00a0 The Wolfhounds are short lived, sadly.<\/p>\n Kate already had Buck and Iris when we married. \u00a0Buck, like Hilo and Bridgit, died early, around 10, while the others lived into their teens, as has Kona.<\/p>\n We don’t know yet the lifespan of Rigel and Vega, but since they’re hibreds I’m hoping for at least a few more years with them. \u00a0Gertie should live into her teens.<\/p>\n We’ve learned many things from having this many dogs as life companions, but the most telling one of all, to me, is the remarkable differentiation in personality. \u00a0Iris was a princess who didn’t like insects and chose to watch other animals rather than hunt them. Buck was a little daffy. \u00a0He loved to pick up somebody else’s kill and run around with it in his mouth, very proud. \u00a0Celt knew us, knew the pack and kept the other dogs in line. \u00a0He was our only true alpha, a regal dog who accepted all praise as his just due.<\/p>\n The others, all different, too. \u00a0Sweet Tully, who developed a predator\/prey relationship with the whippets. \u00a0Tira, whose fear of thunderstorms led her into serious injuries more than once. \u00a0Sorsha, who took down a deer all by herself and loved to hunt. \u00a0Also stubborn.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Summer \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Moon of the First Harvests OK. \u00a0Late July and the temp outside this am is 59 degrees. \u00a0And I approve this … Continue reading Dogs<\/span> <\/a>times a day which seem to manage her pain very well. \u00a0She’s eating, moving around. \u00a0It’s hard to tell how long she has, but for now she seems mostly comfortable.<\/p>\n