Summer gets kicked off at the Erben house. I have added two galleries of various photos of the kids enjoying activities and each other. Some of which include the zoo with some old friends and a 4th of July parade.
They can be found below:
Alas…after being up earlier than usual to do a visit to the porcelain gods for unknown reasons Tuesday morning, a nice, quite slumber in the wee hours of Friday morning is cut short due…too…
Now, I am sure you are all thinking, Nora, it has to be that cute, chubby, darling daughter of mine. Wrong.
Ms. Nora has been a fairly good little sleeper this week on average, including last night. No…no…this morning, we had barking dogs.
I am sure you are thinking I was cursing out Ralph and/or Eros. Wrong. My dogs hardly make a murmur between about 10PM and 9AM, unless Ralph goes out for a constitutional and discovers a feline snooping about.
Nope, our friendly neighbors to the west are out of town, and one of their poochies decided he was pissed off and wanted to bark…and bark…and bark. He’s still out there yelping, even after I lost it at 7:15 and chewed his ass, only to stir him up more I suppose. Part of me is frustrated as Flossie has been up, I am sure it does not help Nora sleep (Tyler is a zombie, it will not disturb him), but mostly, it kept me up !
However, I do need to come back to Earth, and realize, I own dogs as well, and those dogs at times are left home alone, and they do may feel lonely/abandoned/upset/vindictive, and bark as well…but at least Ralph has a cool howl and Eros will only bark for a few minutes before heading into the garage to curl up.
So, my bag is packed and I am ready to head into work…on…my…mountain bike. Today will mark the second week of using pedal power to get into the office, and I think I have only gained 1lb this week. Need to pedal faster I guess. I have a semi-permanent loan of a bike from a work associate, and have been riding into the office 2-3 days a week, as Flossie has generously offered to commute the kid to daycare. So, we are not saving on fuel just yet…but as soon as I get the old habits back on riding, it may be time to find a wagon to tote behind the bike so I can chauffeur Tyler around at least. Maybe Flossie will get one too…hey…anyway to preserve the valley air, cut down the fuel bill (put that fuel to use for railfan adventures with the t-man), and drop a few lbs is worth a shot.
This is very tempting…
As I slowly work through a backlog of items for the blog, tonight I present to you a short video clip…well, a few minutes at least of good old fashioned canine fun. A few weeks ago, Tyler and I were hanging out on a drizzly morning when Lupus decided to stop in for a visit. Eros and Ralph, as hospitable as they are, welcomed him with open mouths. Slide on over to the video section, or follow the link below to catch the excitement.
Probably need to keep this short as the end of Dad and Tyler time draws near, and I must prepare myself for the insanity I subject myself to five days a week. Tyler is catching a few Z’s here on the floor, so I slapped together another gallery. But, get this, it is NOT a Tyler related gallery. No no no…that kid has been pushed to the back seat, this time, we have dogs and squirrels.
For those of you lucky enough to talk to us on the phone, or visit us, you may be familiar with our squirrel problem. See, it is not that squirrels are causing damage to our property, it is that they are playing evil mind games with the dogs. Eros and Ralph are part of the anti-squirrel league, a group formed by many canines across the US, and flourishing since the advent of email. Through this network, they communicate, share stories, and learn new hunting techniques. For example, it is not enough to go outside and bark at the squirrel. Eros has perfected the “uber-still-no-flinch” move in which she becomes a rock, and does not budge. However, she keeps her legs cocked, and when the squirrel is lured into thinking she is a statue, and attempts to make a getaway, she breaks loose and begins the “hot pursuit”.
So far, the dogs are 0-for-531 in catching a squirrel, but it is not for a lack of trying. We are also now part of a squirrel civil war in which one squirrel, we call him Maverick, is trying to edge in on the home turf of Lupus, our long-time resident. This has increased the tendency for the squirrels to make less thoughtful moves, and to venture into the yard, marking their territory.
Last week, I caught Lupus (I think, still trying to figure out which is which, they all look the same to me) checking out the yard. While the dogs waited patiently in the house, I snapped a few pictures, then opened the flood gate. Here are a few shots from this day.
