Perches and Hide-Aways

Happy Memorial Day !! It's Sephie & Bailey here (Do they have a "Memorial Day" in the UK or Down Under?) and we're getting ready for the Grand Annual Family Picnic and Ritual Grilling of Raw Meat.

First, we wanted to share some secrets about our most treasured spots to watch the goings-on about the neighborhood.




We Kerry Blues are notorious busy-bodies, and nothing within six thousand leagues will escape our notice! We require the highest perch at the Mainmast (translate: the back steps to Grandma's Penthouse) in order to spot, report on, and bark at all intruding warships, squirrels, and satanic Westhighland terriers.



Oftentimes, it's necessary to stick one's neck out to get the best view of the terrain.

This is the quintessential "Bailey" profile!



And from a squirrel's perspective, the formidable dynamic duo will prevent all access to the Sanctum Sanctorum.



Doesn't Bailey look really fierce? Those are oak tassels in her mouth, but she would have you think that they're squirrel entrails.



And here's me--Persephone, Goddess of the Underworld, in my secret, secret hide-away, underneath the potting table in back of the shed. Being a creature of the earth, I need, well, DIRT around me. I used to hide under the stairway to the deck, until Dad barricaded it up!

Okay, it's picnic time! Time to look cute and beg.

Cheers,

Sephie & Bailey

The Call of the Wild; or, My Lupine Roots--by Buster

Blogbuddies:

It's Buster, the feral Wonder Dog here, getting in touch with my inner Beast.

Things are blooming, the girls are both "in season" (and off-limits!), and my little brainstem is filled with testosterone and atavistic urges. I want to howl.




So it's off for a tour of the Connecticut Wilderness! I must put meat on the table.




Well, maybe not...

Ever try to get past an angry mother goose? Even us wolves have our limits!





The little guys are sort of cute. I have some stuffie toys this soft.

Anyway, the Mayflowers are out!


And Dad says that the Hendrickson (Ephemerella Subvaria) hatch is over! Not a single mayfly on the river!


But I'm thinking: "Is there a herd of caribou that I can take out?"



We wolves must affect an appropriately fierce and noble demeanor. I shall practice my deep-throated growl.

Pretty soon, those alpine strawberries will be ready to eat!


In the meantime, I'll stand on the high ground overlooking the Farmington River valley and strut about like the primordial alpha canis lupis that I (think) I am.


Okay--enough time starving in the Wilderness!

There's nothing like Mom's kitchen, some warm, left-over chicken, and...



My good friend, Alvin!

Cheers,

Buster

My Garden--by Persephone

G'morning! Sorry we've been so recalcitrant in our blogging. There's so much going on outside: springtime for Persephone-dogs is a matter of grave importance!


So herewith, I wanted to share the latest happenings in my Springtime-Persephone-Back-from-Hades- Celebrate-the-Fecundity-of-Everything Garden!



A couple weeks ago, my azalea looked like this. My mom added the Celtic cross--nice touch, huh?

Here it is now!



And everything's green and pretty, and Spring has officially broken through the permafrost of dour, frigid, Puritan Connecticut!



I love sniffing my flowers and chasing my chipmunks!


Alvin continues to torment me! His favorite perch is just atop the sculpted bell in the front garden.


BUT...my peonies have "popped!"



And the pansies are still in full bloom...



And the Buster-Dog spends long, languid moments lounging among the Lilies-of-the-Valley!



Did you know that hazelnut trees are an ancient Celtic symbol of fertility? They're twisty-turny, convoluted, and complex--just like us Irish peasant dogs!



My ferns are emerging from their long, winter's nap beneath the Douglas Fur tree.


Whenever I walk by, I try to irrigate them properly.




And that sweet scent in the air must come from...


My little carpet of ajuga!

There are some things I'm not sure I know the names of...Mom got these, and they're blue and pretty:



If anyone recognizes them, let me know, 'cuz I like them a lot!

Here's another unknown specimen, in the shade under "Douglas," my pet fur tree:



Ah...Life is good!


Things are green and yellow and blue and PINK!




My little Japanese Maple has sprouted its delicate leaves...



And my weeping larch is doing what weeping larches do best!




And I, Persephone, the dark Goddess of the Underworld and Harbinger of Spring, shall proceed to do what I do best:

Naptime!





Cheers,

Sephie

Miss Bailey's Weekend Sheepherding Adventure

Ms. Bailey Blue here, finally with a report on last weekend's extraordinary sheepherding adventure, starring ME, the uber-sheep-meister, border-collies-eat-your-hearts-out, all-around EXPERT dominatrix of wooly critters with cloven hooves!

Part I: The Start of the Event!

This affair took place in the ultra-urban, global hub of Portland, Connecticut. Note the expressions of arrogant disdain on the faces of the sheep! Plainly, they had to be put in their place. Plainly, I, Ms. Bailey Blue, was the one to do it!

Every flock has one...the Alpha Ewe! I kept my eye on her, knowing that a show-down was inevitable.

Okay--let the carnage begin! After gently whispering to Frau Lamm, "You wanna piece of me?" I'm off!

Note the moves, the breathtaking vitesse, and the discrete, subtle use of barking...

The Alpha Ewe has been dispatched and put in her place! Now, the flock is MINE!

Kerry Blues, 1, Sheep 0.

Now, the Flock sends in its second string:

The score: Irish Street Thugs, 2, Ovis Aries, 0!

If it doesn't work the first time, why would they expect it to work the second? I tell you, these sheep are geniuses.

But Frau Lamm is back, and she's angry! Watch this:

Just in case you're concerned, NO SHEEP WERE HARMED IN THE FILMING OF THIS FEATURE. I know, they're kind of warm and cuddly, and they make great sweaters and lambchops...oops, please forget I said that...

After a long day of pursuing intellectually-challenged, wooly quadripeds in the mud, what is one to do?

It's time for...

Signing out...

Ms. Bailey Blue, Scourge of Ruminant, Herding Animals

Random Springtime Explorations

Hi--Sephie at the keyboard tonight, reporting on some of the curious sights and happenings in my world...


Does anyone else like magnolias? They're falling off the trees in great, gushing quantities, making thick beds of flower-petals. I like that.



I spend lots of time exploring my garden, looking for unsuspecting rodents and watching things grow!



The ferns are forming perfect fiddle-heads right now, and I'd chew them to bits if the humans would let me.




Sometimes we go exploring. We found this tin-man in the woods by a brook. Perhaps some mad sculptor built him...or maybe the Wicked Witch of the West lives nearby!



It was a cold winter in Connecticut, and Nature's rules are stern. Here, the score was Bambi - 0, Coyote - 1.



Not that I don't think deer are kind of cute--but Wiley Coyote is a close relative.




Ah...Something to ponder! Darn, these little guys have tunneled all through the yard, and before I can reach one, he disappears into a hole!



Chasing Alvin does tire one out.




Maybe one or two more sniffs of the flowers...


And it's bedtime.



Cheers,

Sephie