All your life, you will be faced with a choice. You can choose love or hate…I choose love.  ~Johnny Cash

Me & Joel with my dog Jill. We were on the swings in our front yard. 1980s

There’s always moments in life that just plain work your nerves.  Sometimes it’s Kyle, my family, work, a trip to the grocery store etc.  This time?  The dogs!

I mostly consider myself a cat person, even though I’ve always had dogs my whole life.  I appreciate those friendly barking beings and I most certainly love our dogs, Scooby and Seven, but they can sometimes be a pain in my bottom.  Both are Labradors, Scooby blond and Seven noir.  In truth, they are a couple of good dogs and I wouldn’t trade them for the world, but it would be nice to have a babysitter on speed dial, especially when their corks are heightened.

There are so many good things I can say about them and really mean it, like they are friendly (at least Scooby is with us), somewhat well-behaved (at least Seven is with me) and they are full of love (only Scooby with us, Seven loves playing with the neighbor dogs and kids).  But then they have their hiccups too, so let me vent for a moment or two or three.

I’m sure my perspective is off slightly, since I’ve also been watching Nicole’s dog, Avery.  I’ve had her for two weeks now and I still have another week to go.  At least, that’s what I’m hoping for.  I just found out Nicole may need to go out of town for work again, then after that out of the country for a month.  Guess where that leaves me?  Yep with a third dog.  When did I become the dog whisperer?  I’m going to have to add dog wrangler to my resume.

My pap with his dog Pudge. 1970s

Avery’s a Rottweiler, pit bull, Doberman mix. (Something like that).  She’s a little over a year old, so she’s still a puppy.  A very vocal annoying puppy.  Nicole took her to be professionally trained by those who actually train dogs for the CIA and such.  Acorn (as I like to call her) knows how to listen and be good, but like all puppies (or kids) they know how to push major buttons.  Avery’s major malfunction?  She is constantly barking and whining, for no apparent reason and she chases my cat.  Major no!

I’m sure having Avery here with Seven and Scooby has caused everyone to be off his or her game.  Regardless, I’m going to speak freely about those actions that irritate me the most, mostly about Scooby and Seven.

There is the obvious, every time I go to lace up my shoes I get bombarded.  Both dogs instantly jump up, start panting and breathing heavy in my face, with their noses not even two inches from mine.  I can’t even get through their bodies to put my shoes on.  They believe every time, and I mean EVERY time I put on a pair of shoes, it’s so I can take them for a walk or a hike in the woods.  No!  I am not your personal walker!

Seven & Storm (a.k.a. Lady Fluffington) Storm loves Seven! Seven could care less. Picking grapes…. 2013

They used to only do this when I would put on a specific pair of tennis shoes, the ones I walk them in, but somewhere they decided any shoe will do.  Then, they  jump around barking and crying in excitement, LOUDLY.  I can almost handle that, ALMOST.  Until they start knocking things over and jumping on my feet.  Let’s face it, a couple of nearly ninety pound Labs jumping in a small space leads to disaster, whether they are happy or not.  Unfortunately now-a-days, they get in my face even if I’m putting on a pair of stiletto heels.  Come on guys, I’ll let you know when it’s walk time!  Sad part?  They taught Avery to do the same!

Then, when I try to build the trust and give them some freedom to roam around outside in the yard, they all of a sudden disappear.  Even if I’m watching and simply take my eyes off of the hounds for a moment.  A SPIT SECOND!  They take off for the woods for a four or five hour plus, walkabout.  Forget it if they are spotted making their great escape.  Once they’re at a certain distance away, I swear they give me the middle finger and continue on their journey, only to find them on the porch hours later, totally muddy, panting and exhausted.

I will admit, I am relieved when they return, I’ve been through Dog Gone and Dog Gone Irony!  It’s also a great outcome upon closer inspection and they return with no signs of porcupine quills stuck in their noses or obvious injuries.  But seriously, what is wrong with them?  It’s not like they don’t get walks.  Does it have to be when they decide they want exercise?  Frustrating!

Moving on to the next pet peeve.  I like how every time I don’t have the door to the bathroom shut completely, they feel it’s their right to barge in, leaving the door hanging wide open!  Naturally, you are not able to get up and shut it at that particular moment.  So you sit there, with the door flapping in the breeze and a dog starring you squarely in the eyes and breathing in your face.  Love that!

Scooby (blond), Seven (black) & Avery (annoying) out for a walk. The boys are old hands at it, so no need for a lease when running through the woods. 2013

While we’re on the topic of bathrooms, let’s continue.  Our dogs believe the rug in the bathroom is another bed for them to hang out on, again while you are doing your business.  Now since that is their self proclaimed, temporary bedding area, it’s always covered in dog hair, ALL THE TIME.  Then, every time I get out of the shower and my wet feet hit the area of cushion, I look down to find hairy hobbit feet where mine used to be.  Gross!  It’s not like I leave the rugs go for a month to be washed.  In fact, before I wash the hair catchers, I have to take them outside to give them a good shake first.  YIKES!

That’s the one time I can get a break from the dogs, when I’m in the shower.  They are terrified of water.  Funny, right?  Labradors who are afraid of water.  Yep, they hate baths!  They don’t even really enjoy doing their business in the rain.   Scooby will hold it until he’s ready to burst like a rain cloud, which is ironic, because my cat loves to hang out while I’m showering.  She’ll sit on the toilet (with the lid down) and stare in my direction.  She’s also the one who will go outside and walk around in the rain.  Comical!

Usually our Labradors are pretty good when it comes to their own bathroom time.  Usually, they try and go in the weeds or closer to the woods, keeping their piles of business out of direct line of my foot when I’m walking in the yard.  However, when we have to babysit my sister’s dog, who thinks it’s her right to crap next to the deck or by the front steps, things start to change.  The other day, I was getting the boat ready to go fishing Catfish Hunter and low and behold what did I step in?  Avery crap!  Which is not petite in the slightest.  I was beyond livid.  That’s the one thing that totally grosses me out and I can’t stand.

Seven riding along in a car, he always gets the back seat, when Scooby gets the front. 2013

It’s very true I can do what every other American does and go out and clean up the crap to avoid such matters.  But then again, that’s the perk about living in the country.  We have the woods for them to do their business without clean up time and I don’t have to leash the dogs to take them for walks.  They are able to run free in the woods, which makes everyone very happy.

Going back to my previous thought, why is it when dogs actually have a good habit, it’s automatically turned to the dark side when the bad example is set by another dog?  Couldn’t the dog with the bad habit learn good?  Nope!  I guess the force is strong with Avery because when she visits, our dogs find it a need to crap closer to the house, apparently to show who has the bigger pile.

On a side note, I noticed my cat has been meowing to go outside, and now sometimes she uses the restroom near the dogs’ areas.  Nice!  I’m liking that Storm! a.k.a. Lady Fluffington.

Next item up for discussion, the kitchen.  I don’t particularly like cooking with dogs in the kitchen, not only because they always get in my way and are constantly begging, but because … well that’s usually it.  And the fact that their hair just flies through the air with the greatest of ease.  I can’t control where it lands.  Another gross!

Scooby always takes shotgun, sometimes when someone else is in the car. 2013

How is it, when you say ‘Move!  Get out of my way?’ they instantly align perfectly centered with your body and stay a half a paw in front of you, so you’re walking on their heels?  This talent is particularly evident when I have a hot pan in my hand walking away from the oven.  Same goes for a pot that is too full and I’m rushing to the counter to only have a dog or two, instantly appear out of nowhere to trip me up.  Dangerous for all parties involved!  Stop that!

On the opposite note, my dogs insist on walking on my heels, literally.  When I’m wearing flip flops, that’s when I notice it the most.  Of course, there have been several occasions when I nearly shot myself forward due to a paw tramping down at the back of my shoe.

Personally, I never said it was acceptable to walk past me while I’m wearing shorts and lick my leg either!  Or when I’m lying on the couch and the tongue drags (usually Avery) across the bottom of my foot. Double gross!  This ambush is effective when I’m carrying groceries and I don’t have a hand to push them away, or worse wipe the spit from my leg, allowing it to just dry there as a reminder I need to jump in the shower and scrub.

Me & Kyle washing Avery.. no this was not pre-approved by Aunt Nikki! 6/28/14

Again, I do like dogs, but I’ve never been a fan of dog kisses, licks or slobber, whatever you want to call it.  My old dog Jill, who was part Colly and part Coonhound, was the best!  Instead of lapping up my face with her tongue, she would do the gesture without ever making contact.  It was the thought that counted and I appreciated her for that.

However, when the dogs are fast asleep, they are pretty peaceful and worth it.  Especially when I’m having a bad day.  Even worth the effort to coddle Scooby when it’s storming out.  He is frightened of thunder and lighting (which is funny because that’s Scooby and Seven’s nicknames respectively) and he’s too fat to fit under the bed.  It is worth it when Seven cuddle’s up to me at night and it’s definitely worth it when I bring my sidekicks along for hikes.  Yep, I guess the dogs are alright, even Avery.  Well, Avery in small does.  They are apart of the family.

There is a sacredness in tears….They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition and of unspeakable love.  ~Washington Irving

Storm sleeping… not very ladylike. c. 2012

This story is no fun to tell and was certainly no fun to live through, however I want to share my tale to stop this situation from happening to another.  What happened?  I nearly killed my cat by mistake.

Accident or not, the results ended the same, with a near fatal blow to Storm, my cat a.k.a. Lady Fluffington.  First let me explain, Storm is a three year old short hair weighing in around nine pounds.  Our Labradors top the scales at around eighty to ninety pounds each.  Clearly they are in the extra large category, while Storm falls in the small or extra small category.

Let me explain the details leading up to this near fatal error, if for anything else to give myself a little leeway.  I have been sick off and on for nearly two months now.  I’ve had everything from bronchitis to sinus infects to tonsillitis, very unlike me.  For the past couple weeks, I was suffering from this really annoying cough.  The kind that hits you out of nowhere and you can’t stop coughing, especially in the middle of the night.  Needless to say, I’ve been pretty sleep deprived.  Last Tuesday, I woke up, from a not so good night sleep, very groggy and with a new surprise.  I opened my eye, yes only one eye because the other was swollen and infected with conjunctivitis.  Yes, in layman’s terms, pink eye.  Fortunately, I am now on the road to recovery, but not before I took Storm down with my sinking ship.

Continuing with the last Tuesday thought, I wanted to give the dogs and the cat their flea medication.  The weather is breaking and I didn’t want our pets to start off the summer with fleas and ticks.  Knowing the dog flea medication is lethal to cats, I always give Storm her dose in the morning, along with the boys, and let her out for a walk about, keeping her away until the medication soaks up in Scooby and Seven.

How Storm got up on the deer head is beyond me. Dad would not be happy to see this, especially when I caught her gnawing on the horns c. 2013

A pretty solid plan.  That is, if done correctly.  I was half paying attention and took Storm outside and applied the flea medication to her neck.  As I was doing so, I noted there seemed to be extra flea medication in the tube.  At that moment, Storm jumped out of my hands, no doubt angry about the application and ran off.  My gut was telling me something was wrong, so I grabbed the wrapper and read, For Extra Large Dogs over 55 pounds.  Do Not Use On Cats.  What?  I messed up big time!

Actually, at first I thought I read it was for puppies under 55 pounds.  I had to look again to see correctly, that’s how out of it I was.  Upon this realization, my heart began to race and pure panic settled in.

I took off after Storm.  I didn’t want her to get too far in the woods or I would never see her again.  Naturally, she didn’t want held, so she sent me on a chase through thorn bushes, down into a creek and into my uncles field before I tackled her.

Running as fast as I could, I darted back to the house and nearly threw her in the sink and instinctively ran water over her fur, specifically the area with the flea and tick treatment.  Using Dawn dish soap, I began to scrub a very confused and stressed cat.  Trying to avoid her angry claws against my soft wet skin, I did the best I could before wrapping her in a towel and jumping on the computer.

Storm relaxing in my lap while we watch Elementary c. 2012

Advantage II is made by Bayer.  I looked up the company and called their pet line.  Yes, they actually have a pet emergency line, obviously for careless individuals like myself.  Jessica administered to my call.  She was so sincere and helpful even at the point when my sobs caught up to me, and the tears were uncontrollable.  I felt horrible!  The entire time, Storm is soaking wet in my arms, ticked off.  I didn’t want to let her out of my sight until I knew she was safe.

The time frame, from applying the drug till I was able to give Storm her first bath was almost an hour.

Jessica instructed me to give Storm another bath with Dawn, which I guess was the only thing I did right that morning.  My question, what was going to happen to her?  Was she going to die?  Apparently there is an ingredient, permethrin, in the dog flea medication that causes muscle tremors and seizures and yes it could be fatal.  There is also no anti-drug.  It just needs to work its way out of the cat’s system.  However, I was instructed to take her to the veterinarian if the tremors got really bad.

To play it safe, I called the veterinarian’s office to warn them of the events from the morning, just in case.   The vet’s office told me to bath her again.  At this point, I did let Storm go off on her own in the confines of the house.  I kept running back to check on her after scrubbing her up again.

Now about two hours from the point of conflict, Storm was having trouble jumping on the chair and her face started to twitch.  Crap!

Calling the vet’s office again, they said they only had an opening at 1:45 pm.  It was roughly 10:00 am.  Ok, I’ll take the appointment.  However, no more than thirty minutes later, Storm really started to shake all over and convulse in complete spasms.  I called the vet’s office again to get her in now.  With a little bit of an attitude from the one girl at the front desk, she said, “Well, we’re really busy.  You can bring her in now but you’ll probably have to wait.”  There were a few choice words I wanted to say to her, but I didn’t want to waste my energy arguing.  I needed to get this cat some medical attention.

Storm getting rest after coming out of the ICU. See her front paw was shaved for the IV. 4/23/14

The ride to the vet only takes about ten minuets.  In that time Storm really got bad!  She started to spit and then it happened, she had a full blown seizure in my arms!  What have I done?  I sped into the parking lot and ran into the office, again with eyes full of tears to only hear the one girl, behind the wall spitting with sarcasm, “O no, you can come any time, it’s not like we have appointments.”  Believe it or not, if Storm wasn’t about to have another seizure, I would have reached around the corner and grabbed her by the throat.  That was just plain wrong and she said those harsh words so I would hear her.  Didn’t anyone ever hear of an emergency?

Telling my parents about this later, my mom commented how strange that was since they are all normally very nice.  I guess not in an emergency situation when I move their cheese.

The vet, Doctor Ben, was absolutely amazing and kind.  He squeezed Storm in shortly after I arrived and explained everything to me with the blunt truth.  He didn’t want to get my hopes up for a positive or speedy recovery.  I appreciated that!

Dr. Ben took Storm for the day and gave her an IV to avoid dehydration and administered muscle relaxers to make her a bit more comfortable.  They had to watch her temperature so she didn’t spike a fever and monitor her sugar so it didn’t drop.  He also made the time in his busy schedule to have someone give Storm another bath, again trying to scrub the toxins off of her skin and out of her fur.  He even suggested that I call in the office at any time to check on Storm’s progress.

About 1:30 pm, Dr. Ben personally called me to give me an update.  Upon hearing, “Honestly, she’s getting worse.” I about died!  Trying to focus on Dr. Ben’s words, I held back my tears.  The plan of action was to keep Storm until right before they were to leave for the night at about 6:45 pm.  He would wait till the last minute to pull the IV and give her another dose of muscle relaxers to help her through till the next morning.

Dr. Ben reviewed how to take Storm’s temperature and what it should range.  He even prepared me for her appearance before he had her brought out.  Updating me on her progress during the day, he said Storm did spike a fever at one point but her sugar never dropped.  He wasn’t sure, but felt certain she might make a full recovery.  However, I was instructed to bring her in right away the next morning  if she looked the same.  Poor Storm, her entire body was shaking like she had Parkinson’s disease.

That night was a tough one, but as the hours went by, she slowly started to show signs of recovery.  Slowly might I add.  I was warned by Dr. Ben, who also called another doctor for a second opinion, and Jessica at Bayer all agreed that it would take anywhere from 24 hours to 48 hours to work its way out of my cat’s system.

An example of the cat’s reaction to the flea medication, which was totally heartbreaking to watch,  Storm’s leg involuntarily curled up under her and she fell over.  Then to hear her cry out in pain was nauseating.  There was a time Storm started to hiss and growl before a spasm hit.  She was in serious pain.

By daylight, Dr. Ben again personally called me to check on Storm and reassure me if I needed to bring her back in the office, just stop in.  Too bad his front desk girl didn’t have the same heart for this poor little kitty.

Throughout this process I kept petting Storm and massaging her muscles, which seemed to help.  Her body was still in spasms into Thursday, now two days later and twitching into Friday.

What a horrible ordeal.  I hope no one and no cat ever has to go through this.

Using my error as a learning lesson for Kyle, I told him the story when I picked him up last Friday.  I wanted to show Kyle that mistakes happen, but sometimes they are fatal and irreversible.  I’m not so sure that actually got across to my little immature man.  For some reason, probably sheer exhaustion, as I was telling Kyle the story, we both got the giggles.  Maybe I shouldn’t have demonstrated how Storm stiffened up in the car.  I didn’t mean for it to come out humorous, but there we were.  Poor Storm, laughing at her own expense.  Honestly, it was something I truly needed.  Kyle was concerned for our little kitty, but again, maturity runs lows in the Piper family and knowing Storm was fine, opened the doors for laughter.

Another funny, on Wednesday or Thursday, I received an email birthday card for Storm, marking her third birthday.  I nearly killed my cat on her birthday!

Another comical situation.  While Storm was making her recovery, I locked us in the bedroom, so she wouldn’t jump up on something, spasm and fall to the ground and get hurt.  Well, naturally she wanted out, even though the cramps were prominent and severe.  She was scratching at the door and meowing loudly under the crack to Seven, who was sniffing on the other side.  It was like she was calling out to him for help.  Just then, a stray cat from the neighborhood sat on the window seal outside and started to meow with a distressed sound.  Did Storm send out the bat signal to break her out of her temporary prison?

I’m glad I can breath a sigh of relief over what could have been a tragedy.

Thank you Jessica at Bayer and thank you Dr. Ben at Latrobe Animal Clinic.  Your support and guidance was very much appreciated!  I can not speak highly enough for both parties.  Storm thanks you too!

Here are a few clips I pulled of a healthy Storm.  She has this weird obsession with wool and any article of clothing containing the material.  I caught Storm trying to steal my sweater!

I heard a noise to find my cat pawing at the tub.  Why?  Who knows but she seemed to be enjoying herself.

Aragorn: Gimli, lower your axe.
Legolas: They have feelings, my friend. The elves began it, waking up the trees, teaching them to speak.
Gimli: Talking trees. What do trees have to talk about, hmm… except the consistency of squirrel droppings?  ~Lord of the Rings J.R.R. Tolkien

Kyle going through is basket, Easter morning…. Scooby helping. Keeping tradition with the books & kite! 4/20/14

Being sick now for weeks, I am finally on the road to recovery, even though these rainy windy days like today, make it hard to get out of bed, sick or not.  Recently, I was thinking back to what had happened over the last several weeks, while I was under the weather.  Actually, a lot went on.  Over the next few days, I will start to document the stories.

Sunday, April 20th was Easter!  A day I slept most of the daylight hours.  I did get to play Kyle at Quarto, a strategy game I purchased for him for Easter from a store in the Mall of America in Minnesota.  Naturally, Kyle won the first game.  I truly thought I had this game in the bag, but alas I was proven wrong again by a twelve year old.

On Saturday, however, it was a beautiful sunny day and I was feeling well enough to help dad in the yard.

The event of planting trees actually started way back in December over Christmas.  We purchased Chestnut trees for dad and had them mailed this spring.  Perfect Gift -  Chestnut Trees  Guess what?  They came in!  Boy was dad elated! He was looking forward to this day since he heard about his perfect gift.

What really makes these trees significant to plant around Easter, is that the orchard was always a big part of our Easter celebration.  Every year since Kyle was a wee one, we would fill multi-colored plastic eggs with money and candy and hide them around the orchard.  Yes mom and I would go out in the middle of the night after Kyle went to bed, usually late, and hide the eggs with the help of flashlights.  Then, it never failed, Kyle would wake up at 3:00 am, sometimes 4:00 am and want to go out and hunt Easter eggs left by the Easter bunny.  Even though the rest of the family remained in bed, I always got up with him, wrapped a blanket around me, slipped on my rubber boots, grabbed the flashlight and trotted out to the backyard.

Kyle always had a blast!  It was nice seeing the kid so excited in the morning, even though it was usually so dark it was hard to see him at all.  My job, was to count the findings to make sure no egg was left behind.  Although, it never failed, while mowing in the spring we would always find an egg or two.  I guess I didn’t do such a great job at counting.

This year that tradition didn’t take place, since Kyle is nearly thirteen, but it didn’t mean we couldn’t go outside and sit among our trees and freshly planted crops.

Seven in front, Scooby behind him, Avery to the right, Gigi, & Aunt Nikki enjoying the shade while planting fruit trees. 4/19/14

That orchard holds a lot of memories, memories when Ryan was still with us.  Ryan helped to plant some of the original trees and he always mowed and weeded the area.  It was nice to have Kyle a part of that tradition and have his roots grow among the memories and stories of dad’s orchard.

When I say the family participated, I mean the entire family.  Nicole and Avery were home; the boys, Seven and Scooby; Storm and naturally the rest of us.  We all joined forces to plant the trees.  I couldn’t think of a better way to spend a pretty day, especially before Easter.

We dug up a couple of trees that had died over the years.  Dad was hoping each year would bring renewed life back into the brittle dead branches, but no such luck.  We pulled those out, believe it or not with the help of the pick-up truck.  Digging up the dirt around the roots to loosen the deceased cherry tree, dad wrapped a chain around the trunk and attached it to the truck, then gave it the gas.  With the help of Kyle and me loosening the dirt and pushing on the tree, the roots surfaced and we drug it to the burn pile, leaving a new hole for another life to flourish.

The day consisted of planting new trees, including finding a home for dad’s elephant ear tree and another chestnut tree.  There are about twenty fruit trees in dad’s orchard, ranging from paw paw to plum and peach and naturally apple.  He’s very proud of those trees and his blueberry bushes.

The weekend before Easter, I was in Minnesota for my good friend Davey’s wedding.  Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Seminary  That’s when Kyle helped dad plant the original two Chestnut trees purchased over Christmas.  They also planted a couple of mulberry bushes and a mystery tree that lost its tag.

During the day of playing in the dirt and hauling saplings back and forth, Dad kept saying to Kyle and the inadvertently the rest of us, “When I kick off, now you can go out and have a piece of fruit and think of me.  You’ll always have food with these trees.”

He’s right, it is nice having fruit trees in the back yard.  I enjoy them too, not only for the fruit but also for shade and the beauty of the trees, but more importantly for the memories of planting the trees with the family and watching them grow.  Perhaps that is the most valuable part of dad’s orchard.

Kyle using the digging iron to open the hole where we pulled a dead fruit tree, to only replace it with another. Dad was supervising. 4/19/14

On a side note, during the day the neighbor boy Philip was out walking his dog Thor.  They stopped over to say hi and visit.  Avery was excited to see another dog, as was Seven.  Scooby on the other hand, had to be placed in dad’s truck for the duration of the visit, he’s not very nice.  We call him the enforcer or the grumpy old man.  While in the front seat of the truck, which he usually rides shotgun, no one would have thought Scooby, would do what he did.  He jumped out the window!  Yes!  He pulled an underdog and flew out the open window and charged Thor.  Dad broke up the little altercation without incident.

Personally, I stood in shock.  Our nonathletic, clunky and slow moving dog jumped out of a truck window, down on the side of a hill and was able to speed past us like the breeze.  Truly amazing!  I guess he meant business when he barked, ‘No one on our property’.

It was a great Easter weekend.  I continued the tradition mom started when we were kids by giving Kyle books in his Easter basket.  This year it was the rest of the Guardians of Ga’Hoole series by Kathryn Lasky.  Kyle started to read them and seemed to be enjoying the books, so I fueled his journey.  I love his love for reading!  Every chance I get, I reward him in books, and he’s excited about it!  Mom continued the tradition of receiving a kite, or two in Kyle’s case.

Can’t wait to enjoy the shade of our newly planted trees and pick the fruit they produce!  I was also told by Mr. Kyle that I would enjoy reading the Guardians of Ga’Hoole series and he wants me to read them too.  I guess I have a new series to start!

Happy Belated Easter!

Compassion is the basis of morality.  ~Arthur Schopenhauer

Ryan holding Jill, our 1st family dog, on our front porch. She was part collie & part coonhound. She was named Jill after our cousins’ dog, Jack c.1984

As I’ve mentioned before in Playing As Kids – Tire Rolling, as these crazy stupid memories of entertainment come rushing back to me from my childhood, I will record them in a blog entry for Kyle’s later enjoyment.

Two weekends ago we had the dogs out and about since it reached forty degrees, before the anticipated winter blast from the northwest rolled in.  My mom decided to take the boys for a ride, their favorite activity after eating and sleeping that is.  While mom drove them up and down the road, it reminded me of another stupid/fun activity we invented.

What was this crazy pastime?  From the blog title one might assume we acted like dogs and literally chased cars.  Not exactly.  Let me first explain about my first dog, Jill.  She was named Jill because my cousin’s, who lived down the road from us, had a dog named Jack.  We thought it was humorous to say Jack and Jill (went up the hill to fetch a pail of water…).  Anyway, we received our beloved Jill for Christmas one year, circa 1981.  I was about six or seven years old in the first grade, Nicole the third and Ryan wasn’t in school yet, going into kindergarten the following year.

Jill enjoying the fall foliage under the grape harbor. 1980s

We had mom’s dog Baby in the house, but Jill was our very own dog, our first one.  The dog we were suppose to share among the three of us, and we did.  Jill was a beautiful mix of Coonhound and Collie.  Basically, she was a blond collie with black fur outlining her features, especially around her ears and eyes.  To us as little kids, she was a huge dog, but in reality she was a medium to large size dog, with a few extra pounds, as many of the Piper dogs sport.

Jill had this bump on the top of her head where her skull came to a point.  In my eyes as a youngster, that meant she was really smart.  Let me tell you, she wasn’t stupid in the slightest.

Jill loved all of us kids, cousins included.  Never, ever, did she nip or snap at us, even when we’d lay on her, chase her around, give her baths, cut her hair and all the basic things kids would do to a dog they adored.  She followed us everywhere, for bike rides, running through the woods, and she’d stay on the porch at my cousin Casey’s (and the crew) while we played in the yard.  Yep, Jill was the best dog who lived.  She stayed with us for a good long while, until I was out of high school sometime.  (Scooby and Seven are pretty good too!)  Jill even hung with Ryan’s dog Jake for many years, but she never got to meet my late cat Pudd’in, but she did have friends who were cats.

Jill LOVED car rides too, like all of our dogs after her.  (Mom’s dog Baby, Jill’s predecessor hated car rides).  Naturally as little kids we couldn’t exactly take the car out for a spin to fulfill her adventurous wish, so I got creative one day.

A close-up of our beloved Jill. Part collie & part coonhound, she was one of a kind! 1980s

How could a kid roughly ten years old at this point, satisfy the dog’s hunger to feel the wind in her ears and feed her wild side?  Simple.  We acted it out.  I remember this day all too well, probably because it was seriously the silliest thing we’ve done, or close to it, to date.

It started with a beautiful sunny Sunday.  I remembered coming home from church and changing into my play cloths.  Since it wasn’t too hot, I would peg the season to be spring.  These crazy adventures always  started with Ryan and me looking for some trouble to get into.

Opening the door to the car, we thought it was all too funny Jill jumped in and sat down, thinking she was going for a ride.  That’s when I felt terrible for misleading her.  Knowing, mom and dad had no plans of getting in the car and taking her for a ride, I improvised.

I had an idea!  Instructing Ryan to get in the driver’s side and act like he was driving, I stood beside the car and ran back and forth to simulate motion.  Thinking back on this situation now, I truly laugh at that sight!  Ryan really got into it too.  He was motioning like he was shifting gears (mom’s car was a manual transmission) and making loud engine noises.

We even wound down the windows, while Jill sat in the backseat with her head hanging out like she was cruising along.  It even became a race, once Ryan would “rev up the engine” I would run slower behind the back passenger door, like the car was passing me.  Then Ryan would act like he was slowing down, taking that as my cue to speed up to be parallel to the hood of the car, never going too far in either direction.

Ryan, me & Nicole in the living room. Yes I believe we were fighting over the baton c. 1983

Oh but that was not all!  Ryan turned over the key to get juice to the car without turning on the engine, putting it in accessory mode.  With the electrical components working we were able to add to our quasi driving experience.  Ryan turned on the radio to give me some running music, and him and Jill some driving tunes.  We even thought it was funny to blast the music.  Sometimes Ryan would switch on the windshield wipers.  Great idea until he hit me with over spray with the windshield wiper fluid, although that caused giggles to erupt from both parties.  I bet Jill thought we were a bunch of idiots.  Yet I know she appreciated our sense of humor and our passion for having fun.

Nicole must have heard our ruckus and decided to investigate, finding this unusual behavior exciting.  Being so wrapped up in our activity, all we heard echoing from the porch was “What are you guys doing?” in that same authoritative brush voice of hers that still rings true today.

Would you believe even Nicole got in the car, granted she wouldn’t take turns like Ryan and me running beside the car, but she would sit and pretend to be a passenger or drive.

We were out there for hours, doing the same thing, that is until mom checked in on us and realized we’ve been draining her car battery.  That ended electronic entertainment but the car fun continued.

Eventually, we had to come in for dinner.  Jill jumped out of the car with such enthusiasm and satisfaction it made us all happy.  She loved playing with us, even though the car never left its spot.

Using the imagination is the best way to play!  At least Jill thought so.

Read About Our Other Activities

Playing As Kids – Tire Rolling

Tell me a story of deep delight.  ~Robert Penn Warren

Seven making his way through the snow on a hike. c. 2012

Being a Pennsylvanian gal, I do appreciate all weather and I love cycling through the four seasons.  Personally, I couldn’t imagine skipping a winter, summer, fall or spring.  It’s true I do have my favorites, winter and fall being the top two but again, I love all seasons.

I also like all weather.  Whether it be rainy days or brisk chilly evenings, just like the seasons, there’s always something to do in any weather condition.  Even a snow storm?

You bet!  The snow may have continuously fell all weekend, and it wasn’t what I would call a snow storm, but it was nice and cozy.  In anticipation of the horrible road conditions, Nicole came home on Friday night to visit.  We were all going to go out to eat for my dad’s birthday, belated.  The only place we ended up going was to church, for not wanting to chance it on the snow covered roads.

One place we sled ride, my cousin’s field. This is the view. 2014

Was I upset or disappointed?  Nope!  Not in the slightest.  There’s nothing like warming up in front of the fireplace when the snow is falling outside, drinking hot chocolate, and getting cozy with the family and dogs alike.  Sure I would have also enjoyed being on the slopes getting a few miles on my snowboard, but I wouldn’t change a thing all weekend.

A few board games made the list of activities, Kyle and I played a mean game of Battleship and Nicole and Kyle played Kyle’s beloved Summoner Wars.  (Not really my cup of tea, but I’m sure one day I’ll have to learn to play.)  We watched movies, took naps and Kyle played his video games for probably too long, but we all did our own thing, and loved it.  I even took the time to work on some freelance work and write.  Did we take advantage of the snow?

You bet we did!  We even went sled riding at night!  I haven’t done that since I was a kid.  For some reason shooting down over the hill in the darkness, with only my parents spotlights on the side of the house to light our way is exciting.  Nicole even joined us and rode down the hill a few times.  That made Kyle’s night!   He really wanted to sled ride with his Aunt Nikki and he got his wish.  Me on the other hand, Kyle knows I love playing in the snow so it wasn’t a big deal but expected.

Scooby checking out the snow on a hike … wonder what he spots? c. 2012

We let gravity drag us through all the powered to the bottom of the hill and then we fought that same gravity to walk back up.  We did this so many times I lost track, at least I did.  The dogs got their exercise too.  For they chased me down the hill and ran back to the top to start again or find another poor soul to chase.  My sister’s dog Avery (a.k.a. Acorn) had a headlight on her collar that Nicole turned on.  For some reason that really cracked us up.  We played outside until the cold soaked us through and we agreed it was time to warm up.

Nicole and Avery left mid-day Sunday so they could take their time, in case the roads were still bad.  All-in-all it was a nice relaxing, lazy-day weekend.  I don’t care what anyone says, there’s nothing like being warm and toasty in the cold of winter.  Getting out and playing in the fun that winter brings is nice too!

Sunny day
Sweepin’ the clouds away
On my way to where the air is sweet  ~Joe Raposo

Seven sporting his broken leg, taking a break in the grass 9/13

This past September, the 28th to be exact, I arrived at my mom and dad’s house to find Seven slightly different.  What was this change?  His injured leg.  What happened?  Seven broke his leg!

Over the years, we’ve never experience a dog with a broken leg, ever!  I mean dogs meet porcupines, yes.  Dogs meet skunks, yes.  Dogs even get too much exercise and have sore muscles for a few days, sure, but a broken leg?

Evidently, Seven and Scooby got away from mom and they headed straight for the neighbors dog, Thor.  Yes Thor, he’s a really friendly German Shepperd pup.  Knowing our dogs, the mad dash for Scooby meant he wanted to bully the dog.  The mad dash for Seven meant he wanted another friend to play with.  Either way, our boys, mostly Scooby, do what they want, when they want, even if mom is standing on the porch yelling at the dogs to listen (my cousins down the road can hear mom yelling, no joke!) and they simply choose to do what they feel like.  Both dogs, Thunder and Lightening as I like to refer to them, headed down the driveway and onto the road, till they reached the neighbors driveway before making their way back.

Seven even mastered running with his cast. He was a good sport. 9/13

Mom said Scooby trotted up the driveway all proud of himself, wagging his tail like he did something admirable.  Now, Seven on the other hand didn’t come back right away.  That’s not normal behavior, at all.  Seven is faster than Scooby and Seven likes to run around like a puppy.  Not to mention, he’s the one out of the two that semi-listens.  Mom called for Scooby’s sidekick and eventually he came into her line of vision, limping along the way.  What happened?

Her and dad looked it over and they guessed it was broken, but couldn’t verify.  Being later in the evening on a Friday night, there wasn’t a whole lot my parents could do for the dog, so poor Seven had to go to bed and try and rest.  Mom informed me he laid in the extra bed, the one I usually sleep in when I stay there, and whimpered all night.  Poor Seven was in pain!

Seven walked around with is broke leg & cast pretty good. Nice tongue shot! 9/13

By the next morning, they could see an area on his leg that was swollen and Seven couldn’t put any weight on the injured limb.  By the time, I got there, mom had already taken Seven to the Vet’s office.  After a few X-rays, low and behold, one broken right leg.

The Vet’s office was praising Seven’s behavior, being mild tempered and a real trooper.  I was proud of him.  I mean, a bunch of strangers poking and prodding, being held in a strange place, all while in pain.  Seven even let them move him around to get proper angles under the X-ray machine and never said a peep.  Once they were done with him, mom and Seven headed home with my buddy sporting a cast.

On a side note, Kyle and I felt really bad for Seven, although we were both excited to sign his cast, just like I was in high school again.

Seven gradually started to put weight on his cast. Poor broken puppy! 9/13

Seven eventually became very efficient at walking and then running around with three legs.  Soon he started to put some pressure on the cast and use it like normal.  Well, nothing about the situation was normal.  Not being mean, but it was funny watching him walk stiff legged and dragging that cast around.  Sometimes, we would bust out laughing at him walking on the cast and the ticking sound he would make on the hard wood floor.  I know mean, but Seven took us in strides, knowing it was a humorous situation.

The only part that put us all in danger, was when he became too comfortable with the cast.  He felt the need to be his old normal self, and would try and jump up in our laps, which resulted in him jabbing us in the gut with the stiff leg.  That hurt!  He even whacked me across the face a few times trying to get in my lap so I could hold him.  The worst came, when Seven was trying to jump around with excitement as all Labs like to, and he brought his cast to meet my shin.  Half hurting and half laughing I said, “O, he clubbed me!  He clubbed me!  Man down, man down.”  Kyle and I got a kick out of that one.  In all seriousness, he did bruise my shin pretty good, yet I know he didn’t mean to.

Seven & Scooby walking on the road. Seven’s broken leg is all healed up! 10/13

As time was healing our broken dog, the vet told us to take the cast off and let Seven continue to apply weight as he could.  He was still not allowed to run around and believe it or not, Seven was not allowed in bed.  I think the later really upset him, but we wanted him to heal up without causing additional pain to our little doggie so we held tight to that rule.  I had to cut off the darn, dirty, stinky cast.  That  melted my heart.  The further I continued to cut away at the cast, I started seeing signs of distress.  Seven rubbed the back of his leg raw from itching and there was a lot of dried blood.  Poor Seven!  At least with the cast off, it wasn’t so itchy and now the air got to his fur, giving him some comfort.

Eventually, Seven was walking around pretty good.  I was not allowed to take the dogs for our usual daily hikes until Thanksgiving, which I was going to do after I came back from running in the Turkey Trot in Latrobe and after we ate Thanksgiving dinner, except the dogs took it upon themselves to go for an unapproved walk for a couple of hours in the woods.  By that Monday, it was hunting season, so no walks in the woods for two weeks.  After that, it seemed like the holidays always consumed the days, then it was raining all the time and then we moved into those few subzero days.  I couldn’t take the boys out in those conditions!  That is until last Friday.  Yep, me, Seven and Scooby headed back up to our path for a three mile hike, round trip.  We all thoroughly enjoyed the mid-day break to stretch out our legs.  I quite enjoyed watching the dogs jump around in the woods.  They were truly happy!  Can’t wait for our walk today!

Seven’s leg seems to still bother him every now-and-again, especially in the cold, but he’s doing much better.  What exactly happened to him?  No one knows.  He could have stepped wrong along the side of the road, or stepped into a pothole (Pennsylvania is famous for those) or twisted his foot wrong.  Who knows, but he survived and is still recovering nicely.

I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes…you’re Doing Something.  ~Neil Gaiman

Well here we are, 2014!  Happy New Year!

Me & Kyle celebrating New Years! Storm photo bombed us from her perch. 12/31/13

Kyle and I rang in the New Year like we always do.  We made our rice crispy treats, (actually I made them while Kyle watched Despicable Me 2).  Thanks to my friend Tree for helping to make that a New Year’s tradition!  We were making the delicious sticky treats when we were in high school and it stuck!  We ate our pork and sauerkraut and hot dogs, brats, and kielbasa.  Yep, the same sauerkraut we just made Family Traditions Through Sauerkraut in November.   Another tradition started by my mom when I was little, was the meat and cheese tray.  Usually, it’s complete with a variety of crackers, carrots and celery, olives and such, but this year we just nibbled on the meat and cheeses.

Keeping ourselves entertained, we played Trouble and a little Wii, even though I didn’t give Kyle hours on the game, we did play a few rounds of shooting and fishing and horse riding.  Since then, Kyle has a renewed interest in the video games.  Maybe this weekend we’ll bust out the Michael Jackson Experience and dance to a little MJ action.

We watched Dick Clark’s Rockin’ Eve as many do.  Mom and I were reminiscing days of New Year’s old.  One New Year’s, my sister went to New York and rang in the new year in Time Square.  That was fun having Kyle try and find his Aunt Nikki among the sea of celebratory people.  That is until he spotted the Lego store in the background.  Yes!  Only that kid would hone in on the Lego store among the crowds and crowds of people and on-air activity.  I remember he immediately called my sister and instructed her to go into the Lego store and take pictures and send them to him.  What a card!  He wanted the mission completed at that very moment, while my sister was corralled into limited space with millions of others.  Nicole was not able to tackle such fetes, but later that summer or the following one (I can’t remember) Nicole took Kyle to New York so he could experience the Lego store for himself on the ‘Aunt Nikki and Kyle’s Week of Fun’.

Seven celebrates New Year’s in style… Happy 2014! 12/31/13

Around 11:30 pm or so, we really humored ourselves by making the dogs wear party hats.  Once midnight hit, we blew our party horns and blasted our party favors till we covered the living-room with streamers.  Naturally, we took pictures and sent them to Aunt Nikki, keeping her in touch with all things Kyle.  We had a really good time!

New Year’s day we took the .22 and the 20 gauge out squirrel hunting.  We didn’t see any signs of life, but maybe that’s because of our invited guests, Seven and Scooby.  They had a blast running through the snow in the woods and jumping around.  This was the first walk I took them on since this past fall, when Seven broke his leg.  Great way to ring in the New Year!

Yep, it was a pretty good 2013.  I mean, I was able quit my nine-to-five office job at the ad agency and start working on Thrill of the Hunt full-time.  Thrill of the Hunt is going into our seventh month of business, full-time.  Technically we started Thrill of the Hunt in September of 2012, but it was only a part-time gig.  Even though the company is not self-sustaining, it is picking up notoriety and popularity.  My goal for the New Year is to make the company profitable and organize our finances and database.  Sounds simple enough, yet I know the challenges and I am ready to take them on ten fold.

Scooby receiving his New Year’s attire… Happy 2014! 12/31/13

Kyle is now in the seventh grade, taking advanced science and math classes and doing pretty well.  Nicole and I discussed it, and this year we’ll start training Kyle to take over all finances including entering expenses, accepting checks and possibly creating invoices in Quickbooks for The Piper Corporation.  Yep!  You heard that right!  I trust Kyle explicitly, and finances and dealing with numbers is kind of his thing.  Plus, I feel it gives him great work experience and exposure to business and will build good work ethic and character.  Not to mention he will truly be a part of the company.  He is now, especially with all his help promoting scavenger hunts and working the events, but he will be an integral part of the company.  Did I mention, I will follow-up on the information entered?  You bet!  I can’t very well expect Kyle to not make mistakes or do things incorrectly, at least not until he really learns the program and gets into a routine.  My accountant will also be aware of our unofficial employee and keep an eye out to ensure all is entered correctly.  How else is he going to get this experience and learn?  He’s worth the extra time!

Me & Seven celebrating New Years! 2014! 12/31/13

Nicole and I discussed Kyle’s new role with him over Christmas and he was truly excited!  Excited to be learning something new, excited to be dealing with numbers, exciting to be helping us out and excited to be getting paid.  I think the later was more important to him.  He called me yesterday asking when he was going to start working in Quickbooks.  Apparently, he wants to buy something.  What a stinker!  But a very ambitious one!

I asked Kyle, as I always do, what his New Year’s resolution was?  His reply?  A dismissively “Umm I don’t know.”  He could care less, but I guess that will come over time, although when I was his age I made resolutions.  I mean it’s good to set goals, right?  This year mine includes, blogging at a minimum of three days a week, finally writing my book (not sure about that one, but why not), branching out Thrill of the Hunt into Virginia, Maryland and Ohio, in addition to Pennsylvania and building the company to a profitable state.  I’m not looking for millions, just enough to say we’re profiting.  But I guess in time all things will work out the way they are suppose to.

The snow has been falling all day yesterday and all night long.  It’s beautiful out!  Even though we have my Uncle Ray’s funeral tonight, Uncle Ray – Passing of a Piper Legend it’s a bittersweet beginning to a new year.  I have faith that God will bless us with an extraordinary 2014!

He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree.  ~Roy L. Smith

Continued…. Perfect Gift – The Ugly Quilt

Roasted chestnuts popping out of their shells.

Now the next perfect gift of the 2013 Christmas season goes to … dad.  Mom came up with the idea and me, Nicole and Kyle were totally on board.  It was truly brilliant!  So what was this perfect gift?  Easy, it was two chestnut trees to be delivered this spring.  What?  Yup!

Dad loves chestnuts!  When he was younger my gram and pap had chestnut trees that dad would pick and roast and eat.  My pappy loved these seasonal nuts too, as do I.  Well, maybe not as much as dad.  They used to roast them in the fireplace, (on an open fire) but in modern times, mom pokes the chestnuts with a knife, sprinkles water and covers and microwaves them for a couple of minutes.  Voila!  Chestnuts ready to eat!  Not as good as fire roasted, but not bad.

On a side note, this story must be told.  Mom came home from the grocery store a couple of weeks ago with a really funny tale.  She said, while in the check-out line, the girl ringing her out asked mom what type of nuts was in the bag.  Naturally, mom replied “Chestnuts.”  As mom continued with the story, she was toppled over with sheer laughter.  Ok?  What is so funny about chestnuts?  Apparently, the girl asked mom in a very serious tone, “Are you going to roast these over an open fire?”  Ok, I’ll admit I lost it, I didn’t see that one coming.  Me and mom were rolling with gut stretching laughter.  Mom said, she didn’t want to be mean to the girl so she tried not to giggle and explained that she used to roast the chestnuts that way and you most certainly can, but now she just nukes (microwaves) them.  The girl was so enthralled she kept asking my mom about this newfangled method of cooking chestnuts.  She wanted to share your knowledge with her grandpap who apparently loves chestnuts too.  Great!  I hope we brought back the popularity of chestnuts!  They really are a unique treat.

Yes, now-a-days, mom makes the chestnuts in the microwave, even though she complains about it every step of the way.  You see, if you leave them in for too long they explode, just like any other food item and obviously makes a mess all over the interior of the microwave.  To ease mom’s pain with this process of making dad happy, I got her a plastic cover to use, but she still chances it without the cover and grunts about making the chestnuts for dad.  Now on the opposite side, can dad make his own chestnuts?  Sure.  Does he know how?  Yep.  Will he?  Nope.  It’s just like making coffee.  Mom and dad have a Keurig, so basically it’s a matter of popping in the coffee pod and pressing a button, but dad won’t touch it.  Of course the man’s never used an ATM machine or touched a computer either in his life.  Ever!  Mom might always yell and complain about waiting on dad hand and foot, but who trained him to be like that?  Certainly not me.  That behavior has been going on since I can remember.  I guess that’s another blog topic.  Maybe one for the couch, one for the professionals.

Back to the chestnuts.  Since we didn’t have the actual chestnut trees on hand to place under the Christmas tree, we had Kyle read the receipt to dad.  Dad was totally surprised and excited!  I even added, “Yes dad and me and Kyle will help you dig the holes and plant them.”  In dad’s eyes, he was given the perfect gift!  Immediately, he started to discuss his ideas for placement of the chestnut trees.  Only dad!  I have a feeling this will be a whole adventure in itself.  Mom said she ordered two of the six or seven foot chestnut trees.  Yikes!  I have a feeling this one is going to make me sweat.  Although I don’t know what variety they are.    Merry Christmas to dad!

Chestnuts off of the tree … they are messy! Hence why I wanted to plant them far away from the house.

Dad is so stoked about his gift, he already started to ask when the trees would be coming in and when he would expect to harvest the chestnuts.  Sorry to burst dad’s bubble, but alas I guess we have a three year wait.  Or I should say, I have three free years before I have to go and pick chestnuts for dad.  I guess it doesn’t matter, that was truly the perfect gift!

On another side note, as I’ve mentioned I too like chestnuts, clearly not as much as dad, but regardless.  One year dad insisted that mom put chestnuts in her stuffing for Thanksgiving.  Why would anyone mess with mom’s stuffing  perfection?  No clue, but mom did as suggested.  No doubt someone saw an episode of chestnuts on the Cooking Channel and got the great idea.  The verdict?  Not a favorite.  It was just ok.  Even dad had to admit he didn’t like the buttery nuts mixed among his stuffing.  First, it was definitely the size of the nuts that threw us off.  Mom doesn’t believe in chopping food items up, so they were pretty whole throughout.  Luckily it was easy for me to pick them out and eat them separately. Lesson learned.  Eat stuffing or eat chestnuts.  Don’t combine them.

Naturally, Kyle got a bunch of Legos courtesy of Aunt Nikki and Gigi and pappy, which is always the perfect gift in his eyes.  I got Kyle the Chronicles of Narnia books, The Book Thief and the last Diary of a Wimpy Kid book.  Those were also perfect choices, just not for the immediate play time.  Although he already started to dive into the books.  I also got him for his Jazz Band concerts a new Calvin Klein tie.  Since I don’t want to spoil the good cheer in this blog post, I’ll save that story for later.  That one was a fight to the finish.  Spoiler alert, I won.  I think.

Yep, we are truly blessed!  Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas as we did!

It isn’t ever delicate to live.  ~Kay Ryan

Kyle crashed… 6/9/12

Two weekends ago, well actually that entire week, I was working in my yard.  Yes, the very same yard work I should have done in the spring, or even the summer and yet here I am, trying to get it done before winter sets in and hunting season starts.  Luckily, we’ve had a pretty mild fall.  We’ve even been blessed with nice temperatures in the 50′s and 60′s and overcast with some sun.  Perfect for outside work.

I’m glad I got my work done because as of today,  the snow rolled in.  Only a few inches but still a pleasant sight.  I love snow!

You see spring always seems to sneak up on me and then I miss the boat with respect to tending to the lawn.  Then summer rolls around and I don’t handle the heat and the sun too well.  Literally!  Being outside in the sun makes me sick to my stomach.  I get really bad headaches and let’s not forget about my sun sensitive skin.  I have to be pretty well covered and protected from the harmful rays at all hours of the day, especially in the summer.  And those summer months, I am usually busy with Thrill of the Hunt events.  So there you have it, back to fall work in the yard.

What needed done?  The usual, mowing and weeding and trimming, which I have elected to do about once a month now-a-days.  I’m sure my neighbors love that sight.  Actually, they should be thankful, for I make their lawns look perfect!

Last Thursday night, early Friday morning we had one heck of a windstorm roll through.  It resulted in a tree branch taking down a power-line, right down the road from my parents.  Guess what?  I couldn’t work on my company stuff nor my freelancing work, since my “office” is in the corner of their kitchen with my desktop and my external drives.  Don’t worry, I always have something to do.  No free day for me!

This was the beginning of my backyard steps… 2011

On a side note, I purposely set up my “office” in my parents house, as opposed to my house, to get me out, dressed and moving.  I want to make sure I never get lazy, especially with The Piper Corporation.  So I force myself to travel to my work station.  It’s perfect actually, I have a great view of my Uncle’s farm and a view of Saint Vincent College out looking through the picture window in the kitchen.  The best office space ever!  Plus my office companions aren’t too bad either, Scooby, Seven and Storm.

I recruited Kyle to assist me on Saturday at my house, since my parents were still without electricity.  I took this as a sign from God, telling me to get in the yard and finish it up.  After all I couldn’t work on the computer.

Starting my day as soon as the sun rises, around 6:00 am, Kyle and I went to work.  Yes it was not light duty chores.  It was hauling mulch and river rock, pulling weeds and walking up and down my back steps around my landscaping.  Truly hard work even for a professional landscaper.  So how did Kyle fare?

Well, at first it was a big argument.  He didn’t want to do the mulch and was seriously exaggerating his motions in such a way, I made him carry the river rocks while I took over the mulch job.  I knew I could get it done faster, making better progress than Kyle.  Then, I caught him trying to do the job half way, cutting corners that sort of thing.  I was livid!  There are few things I really truly can’t stand and detest, beside smoking, and that’s laziness.  I just can’t understand making that choice to wimp out, especially on something that is benefiting oneself such as my house.

My backyard while we were just getting started… before the steps. c. 2009

After about an hour of me loosing my patience, yelling and Kyle dropping his attitude and getting acclimated to the job of the day, he really began to work.  And I mean he worked!  That kid was on fire!  Really after, we got moving and he started to get into a rhythm and saw progress, he was such a hard little worker.  He was even proud of himself saying, “Wow Aunt Heather I think I’m getting stronger with each rock!  Soon I’ll be even better in the weight room!”  What a cutie!  I had to concur with his reasoning, because he was right.  The more work he did, the stronger he was getting.

You see, for the next few weeks Kyle is in the weight room at school for gym class.  They are teaching him how to lift and such.  He seems to really like it.  Kyle even asked me, “Hey Aunt Heather, how much can you do on the leg press?”  Truly not remembering I said, “Probably around 100 pounds or so.  Why how much can you do?”  With a victorious and ornery grin, Kyle responded proudly with “I can leg press 240 pounds!”  Wow!  Holy smokes buddy!  That’s great!  I really was proud of him.  He is a strong little compact bugger!  He said only one other kid did more than him and he did 260 pounds.  Still all very impressive.

With the weight room talk, it gave Kyle another incentive to keep on truck’in.  He was great!  All the way up until it started to rain on us.  I was almost done with the mulch, when I turned around to see my little man with his hoodie up, soaking wet carrying buckets of river rock and looking defeated.  We had to leave soon anyway.  Kyle was serving mass at 6:00 pm that night.  After seeing the look on his face, I said, “Go jump in the shower, we’re done for today.”  Shear joy fell over him.  Not to mention a sense of accomplishment.  Kyle did remark, “Wow Aunt Heather it’s actually looking nice.  We got a lot done!”  Yes we did buddy, especially with all his hard work.

My backyard while in the progress of landscaping… ton of brush! c. 2009

As it turns out Kyle wasn’t done working, not by a long shot.  You see he had off of school on Monday for an in-service day.  So I took advantage of that fact and asked him to assist me again to try and finish the work once and for all.  Surprisingly, he was enthused to help me wrap up the yard.  That morning, we first helped my dad by stacking some wood before making our way to my dreaded lawn.

On another side note, sometime on Saturday I must have weeded out poison ivy and proceeded to scratch my face and my eye.  Yes my eye!  By Sunday, my face was all swollen, itchy and my eye looked like a big marshmallow.  Not believing in doing actual work on Sundays, I try to honor the Sabbath Day as much as possible, I took a few Benadryl pills and fell into a sleep coma.  By Monday, my eye was even worse and we had to make a pit stop at Med Express to get me on steroids again.  I really hate those things!

Yes, I worked like that with basically one eye since I could only see out of it with a sliver.  I figured, I would rather get in contact with the poison ivy again, now that I was on medication, rather than later when I was healed and had to go through this again.  Plus, I wanted to stay away from people with all my ugliness.  I even avoided the gym in the mornings.  But lucky for Kyle, I had no qualms about hanging around him.  I would even tease my little man by leaning in with my bulging eye and saying, “Go ahead and touch it.  Feel how squishy it is!”  He was grossed out and would squirm around me.  Eventually, we made a joke out of it saying “Don’t make me give you the stink eye.”  And then I would point my eye in his direction.  That cracked us both up! If you can’t laugh at yourself, then what’s the point in living.

While we were talking and working Kyle mentioned again about getting an apartment and buying land to build his house and huge fish tank on.  I said, “O buddy between me and your Aunt Nikki, we will probably have enough rental properties for you to live in so you don’t have to worry about it.”  Kyle took that as a sign that he will take my house.  It’s yours buddy, you earned it through sweat equity!

While wrapping up some of the work on Monday afternoon, Kyle started to comment about hard work and how hard our activity was.  Then, he started to get a bit sarcastic and threw out the attitude again.  He said, “This is suppose to be my day off from school and I’m not suppose to be doing work.”  Really?  Says who.  I retorted with, “What do you think most people do Kyle?  They work all week and do yard work in the evenings and weekends.  Welcome to reality.”  He had nothing to say on that note.

I get it, he was tired and not used to working that hard for that many days in a row.  I completely understood.  But I still won’t tolerate an attitude.

After that came the fury of Aunt Heather.  I asked Kyle to dump a couple of buckets of dirt up by my back fence in a mulch pile of leaves and branches.  Not wanting to walk up the hill, we both kind of laughed at the thought of making another trip there.  Finally, Kyle did what I asked and made the first trip, promising I’ll make the second.

No this was not in my yard! Me & the boys saw this while on one of our walks… I LOVE IT!!

When I made my trip, to help him out and show he is not doing all the hard work, I noticed he dumped the dirt right in the yard, not even coming close to the pile!  Fiery anger shot out of me and resulted in a lecture on laziness.  I wanted him to understand that he has to train himself now, NOT to be lazy and to NOT take shortcuts, for it will always bite him in the butt in the long run, especially in a professional environment.  I went off explaining how I trusted him to do a job and I expected it to be done right and not to have to redo it.  Then, I went into a tangent about how he doesn’t want the reputation of being a lazy kid.  And so on and so forth.

When teaching a child to NOT be lazy, you’re actually teaching them more than hard work, you’re teaching a sense of worth and self-accomplishment, good foundation structures that I fully believe in to create a solid character.

Okay, granted I was tired too and it was a long few days, plus with all the poison ivy irritating my skin, I’m sure my nerves where just a little bit sensitive.  He felt horrible and kicked it up a notch until he was out of steam.  Seriously, I haven’t seen a kid his age work that hard in forever!  I was really proud of him, and maybe I was a little too hard on my man.  But I wanted to make a point, that it’s not just about my yard.  I am training his character, the man he will hopefully grow to be.  The one I hope him to be, minus any laziness.  And you know what?  I believe he will get there.  It was only at that moment, he was being a kid and a tired human.

Thanks buddy for all your hard work!  You earned every muscle you worked out and you earned both movies and popcorn.

This past weekend I took Kyle to see Thor 2: The Dark World and I believe the second movie of his choice is The Hunger Games – Catching Fire.  I even told him he earned popcorn, which he gave me a victorious smile.  I love paying this kid in movies.  It makes for a well deserved date night.

I never thought to get finished pictures of the yard, so once the snow disappears I will take pictures and do a comparison.

You educate a man; you educate a man. You educate a woman; you educate a generation.  ~Brigham Young

Kyle’s 2nd day of Lego Camp at Saint Vincent College – Bricks 4 Kidz Program 6/25/13

Most people celebrate their birthday the day of their actual birth, or sometime close.  Others take a week or so in preparation and to celebrate the anniversary of their birth.  I really do neither, I’ve never been much of a birthday person.  Seriously, I could care less about my birthday, except it also happens to be my parents wedding anniversary (I was born six years after they were hitched).  Going out to eat, or birthday cakes and such never appealed to me.  Well, cake certainly peeks my interest, but not the celebration.  Yes, as a child I loved to get presents, but it wasn’t like it is today.  Even back then, I remember asking mom to stop the birthday parties.  Just not a big fan.

Kyle on the other hand is a big supporter of birthday celebrations, specifically his own.  Literally, from December 26th up until his day of birth, July 30th, he is preparing, scheming and throwing hints left and right.  Keep in mind, Easter falls between this time and he gets more gifts, not to mention his report card money that tends to go toward more Legos.  But his birthday, day, opens his eyes and fills his head with possibilities like no other.

Keeping with tradition, I never get Kyle toys or video games, basically what he asks for.  Nope!  I get him unconventional gifts.  They are items that I believe give him skills, introduces him to thinking differently, gives him life long knowledge or interests and helps him to grow as a person.  Others, mostly my parents and my sister get him the items that make his childhood bucket list of desirables.  (Happy Lego Birthday Kyle – 11 Years Old!, Flying Back to Kyle’s Ninth Birthday, Family Time Through an ipod Touch, Happy Birthday Kyle- 10 Years Old!)  I’ve mentioned it in the past about buying him piano lessons, swimming lessons, flying lessons, books etc.  So what to do for his twelfth birthday?

Starting to mill around ideas in my head back in May, which is when Kyle started to throw out hints, I really had no clue.  I’ve been known to give him a saving bond, again another practical gift to force him to save for the near future, but I really wasn’t sure.  Then, thanks to a family friend, Lori Planinsek Rodgers, she gave me the perfect idea!  Lego Camp!

She mentioned it while we were at the 24th Annual Planinsek Fishing Derby, Gone Fishing!.  At the time I just thought it might be something fun Kyle would enjoy, so I mentioned it to him.  Naturally, anything with Legos causes the kid to jump out of his skin.  Well, that is until he found out he doesn’t get to keep the Legos he builds.  Too bad!  Looking online into the programs, the light came on in my head and bingo, his birthday present was established.

Yes, another Lego even while at Lego camp – Bricks 4 Kidz at Saint Vincent College. That was his report card money courtesy of his Aunt Nikki 6/27/13

This gift accomplished more than just his gift.  Kyle always loved going to daycare (Come and Play) every summer.  He truly looked forward to hanging out with his friends and playing.  The kids not only played, but the daycare ladies  would make them bring books to read and they would have to go outside and run around and do some schoolwork.  Kyle’s days were very planned, very organized and very structured.  All the qualities that make for an enjoyable day for Kyle, truly!  Well, this summer Kyle didn’t go to daycare.  He was seriously bummed and bored!  I wish he was sent at least a couple of days a week, but nope, his summer consisted of hanging by himself at home.  That’s when I thought to send him to camp.  Granted the kid takes more vacations then any other child I know, but it still stinks to sit at home by yourself, not being mentally or physically challenged and being socially deprived.

Originally, I was going to sign him up for the third week in July, bringing it closer to his birthday, but alas that week was the ‘Aunt Nikki and Kyle’s Week of Fun’.  No good!  So I had to work backwards deciding on the week of June 24th through June 28th, last week.

Signing Kyle up for Animal Grossology in the am session (8:30-11:30) and Space Adventure – Star Wars for the afternoon session (1:00-4:00) at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, all I could think of was how excited he was going to be.

Kyle received 2 certificates for finishing his Bricks 4 Kidz Lego Camp at Saint Vincent College. Animal Grossology & Space Adventure- Star Wars 6/28/13

Keeping the Lego camp a secret, I alerted the rest of the family and I made arrangements for us both to stay at my parents house all week, which made my parents really happy.  They were looking forward to his Lego camp too for two reasons.  One, to spend the week with Kyle and two, to share in his excitement, knowing how much he loves to build Legos and being challenged.

Leading up to the birthday present surprise, I started to prod Kyle a bit, although he never really took the bait.  Probably because he knew his gift from me wasn’t exactly what he wanted.  I did tell him he was getting his gift early and it involved animals and space.  That sparked one of our dashboard silly conversations Laughing About Nothing…Dog in Space.  Throughout Kyle’s short life, you would think he would learn to trust me.  Our activities are never items he’s thought about or thinks are fun, but he can never deny he loves the gifts I get him.

One of the hints I slipped him, was that he was going to college and it was an educational gift.  He politely smiled and gave me a grunt.  Then he said, “I can’t go to college, I’m not old enough.”  Love that kid!  I told him he’s going and he better pay attention!  I could tell he didn’t know whether to take me seriously or not.  Sometimes I can be such an instigator.

Sunday night, the eve before Kyle was going to partake in his Lego camp adventure, I told him where he was going.  His eyes lit up and excitement shot over his entire body, leaving his mouth ALL night!  To be honest, I was trilled at his enthusiasm but it was getting late and I was tired.  He kept speculating on  what he was going build and what he was going to do.  He commented, how much he loved animals and told me how much he knows about animals.  Then he went into his dissertation on space and Star Wars.  It was a long night until the sandman knocked Kyle out.

Kyle his a great little guy! Check him out helping another, at the Bricks 4 Kidz Lego Camp at Saint Vincent College! 6/24/13

The next morning and all week he was up early, got himself his breakfast and got dressed, all without incident.  The first day was a bit rough, especially at lunch.  I packed us a lunch and thought we could picnic at Saint Vincent College and then walk around a bit.  I wanted to share with Kyle, some of what I remembered Father Alred teaching us about the buildings and the history when I was in the sixth grade at Sacred Heart.  (I found out that I remember very little and need to research the college again to bring back what I knew.)  Kyle was very quiet and almost blasé about his morning and kind of complained about his lunch.  Then, he didn’t want to walk around, didn’t want to sit, didn’t really care to go back.  I was in complete shock and let’s face it, irritated.  Only because I thought Kyle didn’t appreciate this opportunity.  Keep in mind it was pretty hot and humid out.

I dropped Kyle off for his afternoon class and then picked him up at 4:00.  Same attitude, same almost lethargic demeanor.  At this point, I thought Kyle was getting sick or maybe he was tried from getting to bed so late and waking up pretty early.  That is until the next day brought me my answers.

As I dropped him off for his morning session, I spoke to the one teacher to see how Kyle was doing.  She informed me that the room was really hot and evidently since it was an old building, putting the air conditioning on cool meant they were turning on the heater!  Yikes!  Kyle was sitting in not only a hot room, but it was being heated too!  No wonder he was so miserable.  The kid HATES being hot.  Not that I can blame him.

Kyle loved the Bricks 4 Kidz Lego Camp at Saint Vincent College! 6/26/13

By the time I picked Kyle up for lunch on Tuesday, it was like he did a one eighty!  He was ecstatic, energetic and completely excited to tell me about his day and what he built!  I was so happy I didn’t make a mistake with the  Lego Camp.  I did not!  It was a hit, now that the temperature in the room was bearable.

What a great week!  Everyday, Kyle and I ate breakfast together; then I dropped him off for his morning class; picked him up for lunch, which we made and ate together; dropped him off for his afternoon session and then picked him up when his day was done.  Actually, everyday except Friday, mom picked him up for me since I was getting the Dog Gone! Scavenger Hunt ready for the following day.  (For my company Thrill of the Hunt)  That was the start of the Dog Gone Irony!

Kyle had a GREAT time!  He not only got to feed his addiction of  building Legos, but he fed the brain too with animal knowledge and space talk.  As much as Kyle won’t admit to it, he loves to learn and discover new things and experiences, much like the rest of my family.  Lori, who introduced me to the  Program, messaged me this:

I see you’ve been busy dog hunting the past couple days, but I’m wondering if you’ve had a chance to see any of the videos posted for Bricks 4 Kidz! Looks like Kyle loved the programs! His teacher brought their entire class (5 or 6 kids) up to our class to show us how Kyle put a motor on the kangaroo (which wasn’t in the plans) and made it move – WHAT A GENIUS! I was proud of him and he’s not even mine!

Kyle surprises me all the time and makes me proud too!  He is a bright young man, that will no doubt shine in his future endeavors, whatever they may be.

He was an absolute jewel the entire week!  Seriously, the happiest and most non-argumentative child.  Everyday he came home and practiced his piano and read in his book.  Then he would watch some of his Lord of the Rings movies, watched a little TV or played with one of his many Legos.  He never complained about dinner and ate some of his veggies.  He even showered every night with little resistance and brushed his teeth without being asked, morning and night.  He was in a routine of structure, family, and good eating habits.  Believe it or not, it made the world of difference on his attitude.

I highly recommend the Lego camp or any of the offered classes!  The teachers are really great to deal with, they have such a positive attitude and the benefits the children receive are priceless.  I’m not just talking about learning to build, but the socialization, the structure, the added knowledge and the attention are so good for the kids.  Kyle was looking into other Lego classes and wants me to sign him up for more.  If he can fit it into his busy schedule, I totally will!

Thanks Lori!  You saved my birthday gift dilemma and brought so much more to one little boy than you can imagine!  You really are a true teacher through and through.

Below is a video I took of Kyle.  I creeped into the classroom, while he was still playing with his creation of the day.  The kid was in complete glory!

Haldir had gone on and was now climbing to the high flet. As Frodo prepared to follow him, he laid his hand upon the tree beside the ladder: never before had he been so suddenly and so keenly aware of the feel and texture of a tree’s skin and of the life within it. He felt a delight in wood and the touch of it, neither as forester nor as carpenter; it was the delight of the living tree itself.  ~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

Dad sharpening his chainsaw blade, while Kyle watches. I guess he doesn’t realize he can push back his hat to see instead of stretching his neck?

Sometimes I have stories to tell, and sometimes I just want to write a dissertation on observations from the Piper family.  This one is just plain funny.  Who knows, maybe there are others like dad or have a different infinity for something.  I guess some people notice old cars, or landscaping or birds, dad notices trees and piles of wood.

I guess that’s where I’m going to start, with wood.  Yes!  The only renewable resource placed on our planet that covers approximately 9.4% of the Earth’s surface, 30% of the total land area, or so I’m told by Wikipedia.  The sometimes tall, always intriguing and beautiful structures projecting upward towards the heavens from the ground.  Yes, woods, trees, forest, all of the above.  Dad has this affinity for the resource, rather an obsession.

Now let me step back and mention he started working at nine years of age making posts.  Can you image any child now-a-days working that young?  I mean working hard.  Well, he did.  Maybe that’s what started his appreciation for wood and his gravitation toward it.  It probably helped.  My guess, it was his career of being a woodsman, a logger that did the trick.  My pap, my Uncle Sonny and my dad owned a sawmill for years.  Dad was in charge of scouting out new timber, cutting down the logs and hauling them to the sawmill to be cut into boards.  So naturally his eyes were always on timber and of course he can name the local species of tress.  Or at least he used to, he’s slipping in his old age.

Dad’s truck he used to haul logs with from the sawmill.

When I think of my dad, the smell of cut wood comes to mind.  No joke!  When I was little and dad would come home from a long day of manual labor, he would bring some of his work home with him.  It came in the form of sawdust in his pant legs.  Dad’s not very tall, so he always had to cuff the legs on his jeans.  Then, when he was cutting down trees, the sawdust would make their way into the protection of his pant cuffs.  Before dad would walk into the house, he would sit on the top step of the porch and unroll his jeans to release all the tiny bits of wood he was dragging around with him.  I love that smell!  To this day, when I catch the whiff of fresh cut wood, dad comes to my mind and a sense of my childhood.  A truly comforting feeling!  I can’t help but try and consume the fragrance of fresh cut wood, it’s such a sweet scent and I want it all for myself.

Uncle Sonny at our saw mill  c. late 1980′s

But then again, wood, might just come from our genes, not jeans, unless we’re talking about dad’s pant cuffs.  Then yes, wood chips and sawdust did come from there.  But let’s talk about the Piper DNA.  I do believe while being conceived there is a wood gene that enters each one of us, some more than others.  Maybe I should step back even further.  The Piper’s have a long legacy of logging and working in the lumber industry.  There wasn’t just one Piper sawmill, but many.  Are they all related?  Pretty much, somewhere down the family tree, so to speak.

Do I have a strong affection for wood?  The more I think about it, I kind of do.  Not to the extreme of dad, but it’s definitely there.  I love the texture, the look, the smell of wood and everyone knows I love being in the woods, much like dad.  He always did love spending time among the trees.

Uncle Sonny walking around Shober’s camp, near Parker Dam

So what brought up this realization?  Dad of course.  For years now, dad has been known to be caught checking out other peoples woods and trees.  Heck, he just doesn’t check out their trees on their property, he notices their wood pile.  Yes!  If someone has wood stacked or just piled up in their yard, especially if they’re logs, his eyes automatically gravitates toward it.  Usually followed by a comment of something like, “Ooo check out their wood pile!” or “Wow they have some nice wood.” or “That’s a nice stockpile they have, looks like they’re ready for winter.” even if it’s the middle of summer.  Yes this has been going on for as long as I can remember, no matter where we’re at.

Once when we were visiting Nicole, outside of Washington, D.C. we went out for breakfast one morning.  While everyone was working their way out of the restaurant, dad walked to the other side of the parking lot, which faced a little patch of woods and stood and stared.  Can you believe he stood there examining the trees?   Out of curiosity, thinking dad might have saw something, I stood beside him and looked on.  Finally I said, “What are we looking at?” Without taking his eyes off of the trees, he said “I was just seeing what kind of timber they have.”  Then he began naming the species of wood and the nice trees.  I just walked away.

The side of our sawmill

All these years I thought it was just dad who seriously lives in the mind of trees.  Nope, a couple of weeks ago as a matter of fact, I was meeting with my cousins Jimmy Scanlon and Marie-Paule.  We were going over the details of the Chad Delier Scanlon Golf Outing they organize every year in memory of their son, who passed away from a brain tumor.  (It’s all in The Chad Delier Scanlon Story)  I don’t know how we got on the subject, but I brought up dad’s obsession with wood, trees and wood piles.  Sasha, their daughter, started laughing and said, “He does the same thing!” as she pointed toward her dad Jimmy.  I was in utter amazement!  It’s true, there are others!  Jimmy just laughed and confirmed what Sasha said was true.   That blew me away!  So it must be in the genes!

After saying all this, I will admit when Nicole and I were in Forks, Washington Rain Forest, Forks, Beach… All in One Day! Twilight Pilgrimage Part 2, which happens to be the logging capital of the world, or at least they used to be, I noticed everyone, and I mean everyone had stockpiles of wood in their yards.  As we drove around to see the sights, I would notice all the wood piles.  I’m guessing since that town is so remote and they have access to cut timber, burning wood is their source of heat for the winter.  Yes!  I was doing what dad does, however I kept telling Nicole, “Boy if dad was here he’d be checking out all the wood piles!”  We both laughed at that very true statement.  Ironically enough, I was indirectly checking out the wood piles as well, on behalf of dad.  I even told him when I got back, “Dad you would be drooling over all the piles of wood in everyone’s yards!”  Mom just rolled her eyes, but that caught dad’s attention.

I’m guessing everyone has their thing, dad’s just happens to be wood, which I have no doubt inherited proudly.  One day I hope to take him out west to Washington to see those trees!  I believe that’s on his bucket list.  I truly hope dad never looses his interest in wood, for I fear it would be the end of dad.

Below is a video of dad running my cousin Merle and Bruce’s forward logging truck.  Personally I shot to the video because it has been awhile since dad loaded wood like that, and I thought I would catch him doing something funny.  Nope!  He showed me, he jumped into the rhythm in a matter of minutes just like he’s been loading every day of his life.  Actually, it was pretty cool to capture a rare video of dad working with in his comfort zone.

Dad saw the junk pile of wood and didn’t want it thrown away and wasted, he wanted to at least burn it.  So that’s what brought us there, dad and his observation for wood!

If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?  ~1 Corinthians 12:17

The Sacred Heart / Saint Cecilia Youth Group got together at the Ligonier Camp & Conference Center to participate in the ropes course 4/27/13

This past Saturday Kyle’s youth group had a fun activity, the ropes course!  What is a ropes course?  I had no idea at first.  Before the day began, all I knew was that Kyle signed me up to join him and the rest of the Sacred Heart / Saint Cecilia youth group on their chosen outing.

Sometimes, I am just amazed how God works, even blessing us and our outing with such a pretty sunny day.  Enjoying the cool bright morning drive, we headed out to Ligonier, making our way up a secluded side road just outside the town.  The ropes course was held at the Ligonier Camp and Conference Center.  Great!  I was never there, and what are we doing again?

Mikaela Milko showing how to wear a babushka at the Ropes Course in Ligonier 4/27/13

After meeting our counselors, Marty and Jeb, they led our group about a quarter of a mile up a hill towards the woods.  Unbeknownst to everyone at the time, our real journey was about to begin.

We started off with the standard, ‘get in a circle and introduce yourself’.  However, they added a fun twist.  We were to introduce ourselves and tell everyone what our super power would be.  I chose flying, while others chose super strength, invisibility, mind reading and such.  Ok, neat idea to get everyone thinking and listening to our neighbor.  Where’s the ropes course?

Next, we completed a serious of individual and small group exercises.  We did the listening game of Shlaw and a fun sword game.  Comical as it may seem, and it was, we ran around with one arm acting as a sword and the other hand positioned in the middle of our backs, acting as our week point to be struck with an opposing sword.  Yes, we ran around in a large yard that was marked off, trying to strike each other down.  This is what really cracked me up.  When a person was slain, they were not permitted to just kneel down and be out of the game.  O no!  We had to act out a dramatic death scene, dropping to our knees.  That was just getting us warmed up.  There’s more!

The Sacred Heart / Saint Cecilia’s Youth Group participating in the Ropes Course 4/27/13

Let’s not forget when we teamed up in groups of four and acted as a dragon, trying to get the other dragons tails, a.k.a. the handkerchief.  Then, there were the teams of two.  Only one person could see to guide the other.  Toward what you may ask?  To pick up stuffed animals and propel the soft ammunition at our opponents of course.  At first, we were allowed to speak to our temporarily blinded partner in crime.  That was just for practice.  The second time we played, there was no talking, only reading body language.  For me, I had Mikaela who is about Kyle’s age.  So I basically drug her around the large grassy area and used her arms as extensions of mine.

Sacred Heart / Saint Cecilia Youth Group figuring our the Ropes Course in Ligonier 4/27/13

When do the ropes course come into play?  That’s what I was wondering!  Not that I wasn’t having fun and learning the hidden lessons with each of these games.  But I wanted to swing like Tarzan.

Then came our first group activity!  Marty and Jeb borrowed a water bottle and gave us instructions to move the water bottle of its current position on the ground to Marty’s hand.  Everyone was to use at least a pointer finger and a pinky finger to move the bottle together as a group.  Yes all at once, all eighteen of us around a small water bottle.   That certainly took teamwork, and everyone following the called out instructions from those with strategic insight.  Did we do it?  Yes!

Me assisting Kyle on the Ropes Course in Ligonier. A fun activity with his Youth Group! 4/27/13

Seriously, the entire time that we were working on this challenge The Wonder Pets song was playing in my head.  Kyle loved that cartoon and he used to sing the theme song all the time.  Indulge me for a moment…
Linny: “The phone, the phone is ringing!”
Ming-Ming: “The phone, we’ll be right there!”
Tuck: “The phone, the phone is ringing!”
Linny: “There’s an animal in trouble…”
Ming-Ming: “There’s an animal in trouble…”
Tuck: “There’s an animal in trouble somewhere!”
———————
Tuck: “A baby [animal]
Ming-Ming: “This is se-rious!”
Tuck: “We have to help him/her”
Linny: “Let’s save the [animal]!”
Tuck and Ming-Ming or All then All: “Let’s save the [animal]!”
———————
Linny: “Linny,”
Tuck: “Tuck,”
Ming-Ming: “And Ming-Ming, too!”
All: “We’re Wonder Pets and we’ll help you!”
Linny: “What’s gonna work?”
Tuck and Ming-Ming or All: “Teamwork!”
Linny: “What’s gonna work?”
Tuck and Ming-Ming or All: “Teamwork!”
———————
All: “Wonder Pets! Wonder Pets! We’re on our way
To help a baby [animal] and save the day!”
Ming-Ming: “We’re not too big,”
Tuck: “And we’re not too tough,”
All: “But when we work together we’ve got the right stuff!
Go, Wonder Pets! Yay!

Part of the team building exercises including using your blind partner as a bomber 4/27/13

Naturally, at the time I couldn’t remember the entire song, but regardless, it seemed to fit our situation.  Anyway, once we accomplished the first water bottle challenge, we were given the same activity only with another twist.  We needed to have someone place their nose, two people add their elbows and two pinkies (I believe) on the bottle.  All while EVERYONE, was touching the bottle in some way.  We needed to lift our object off the ground with a nose, two elbows, two pinkies and thirteen fingers on the bottle, at the same time.  Then move as a group toward our goal, Marty, to deliver the object of focus.  It was a bit awkward, but we did it!

Now the ropes course?  Not quite yet.  We had to sit in a circle among the trees and discuss the lessons we learned with all the previously executed exercises, including the themes of strategy and teamwork.  This was a way to encourage everyone to speak up and continue to be an integral part of the team.  Not to mention ensuring everyone was learning the lessons taught.

The Sacred Heart / Saint Cecilia Youth Group working out a strategy to the Rope Course 4/27/13

We started moving toward the theme of the ropes course when Marty and Jeb were talking about safety, teamwork and strategy.  Something along those lines.  I was too excited for the long anticipated “ropes course”.  I had already built up this grandiose idea of what we were going to do.  Better yet, how I was going to fly among the trees and jump from one set of ropes to the other hundreds of feet in the air.  Or climb a rope with one hand that was over fifty feet high.  All of which did not happen, it was much harder than that.

We’re just getting started on the day. Ligonier Camp & Conference Center 4/27/13

After I was forced out of my dream state, I realized the time was at hand.  Our team cheer was the youth group motto, Helping Hands.  On the count of three we broke and headed toward our next destination.

Now the ropes course!  Eighteen of us lined up standing on a log.  We needed to shimmy around a bit to get our group to fit, but we managed.  Then, we needed to split into two groups to tackle the course from each end.  Simple enough.  No!  No one, not from either side was allowed to touch the ground and the adults were not allowed to talk.  If we touched the ground, then everyone would have to go back to the beginning and start all over again.  Did that happen?  O many many times.  I was the reason we started over once, jumping into the side of a tree as I lost my balance.  Kyle fell at least once, not to mention all the other participants who followed our lead to the ground.

Sacred Heart / Saint Cecilia Youth Group at the Ligonier Camp & Conference Center 4/27/13

The ropes course was a serious of balance type of obstacles we needed to cross, working our way back to the starting line, the log.  No one was allowed to touch the ground, and everyone had to make it back.

Team building exercises before the Ropes Course at the Ligonier Camp & Conference Center 4/27/13

Along the way we realized the strengths and weaknesses of our team members.  With every start, we learned more and more and realized how to adjust to make our plan work.  From the very beginning, I knew I could help Kyle.  It was just like we were snowboarding and I was helping him with his balance.  Although, I will admit Kyle started to do pretty good on his own with each pass.  In fact, at the one intersection where we had one rope to walk on and one rope to hold on to, I lost my balance and went backward, holding on for dear life.  Please keep in mind we were only about four or five inches off the ground but it was the fear of touching the ground and making everyone start over.  No one wants to let the team down.  Kyle held his position, whereas I could have completely thrown him off balance.  He used his body to project us forward allowing both us a steady passage to the tree.  Nicely done buddy!

There was a lot of teamwork and “helping hands” along the way.  Ultimately, since one big challenge was crossing paths with the second half of our team, we sent the shortest of the group through first, while helpers were posted along the way.

Without my help, but with the assistance and guidance of others, Kyle, along with the rest of our vertically challenged kids made it to the end.  Great job guys!  We nearly got everyone through, then we biffed it again and unfortunately ran out of time.  I spent the majority of the exercise on the double ropes, which I think I mastered.  Although the cramping in my feet and the burning in my thighs might argue the opposite.

We ended the day with another recap and a prayer before tackling our lunch.  By that time everyone was mentally and physically exhausted, but in an good way.  What a great idea!  Asking who presented this activity to the group, Isaak raised his hand.  This was a perfect way to really get to know your group and allow everyone to make a contribution to the team!  I would love to do it again.

We left there feeling pretty good about ourselves.  It was the teamwork and the ability to lend a helping held and accept assistance from others.  God made us all differently so we will rely on one another.  Simple as it may seem, that’s exactly what we did!  As Henry Ford once said, “Coming together is a beginning.  Keeping together is progress.  Working together is success.”

You can’t be friends with a squirrel!  A squirrel is just a rat with a cuter outfit.  ~Sarah Jessica Parker

Kyle tripped over an animal carcass while walking to our next location to squirrel hunt with dad. He splattered in the snow. 2/16/13

This past Saturday, me, dad and Kyle participated in a squirrel hunt contest, hosted by Gutchess Hardwoods, mom’s work.  Everyone had two or three people to a team.  It started at daybreak and ended at 3:00 pm.  Since it’s small game season, they assigned points for the legal animals in addition to squirrel, after all it was a squirrel hunt.  We received a list of our legal targets such as coyote, crow, pheasant, rabbit and naturally squirrel, along with a point system for each.  You were docked if you shot a red squirrel.  Raccoon and fox were also on the list but I refuse to shoot either.  I don’t know who came up with the list or the point system, but both needed to be reevaluated.

I’ve only ever seen a fox once in my life, and believe it or not, it ran across the road in front of me a few months ago near my parents house.  So cool!  I felt blessed and privileged to see this miniature dog-like beast scurry past me.  Since I haven’t seen many foxes, actually only that one, and let’s face it my love for raccoons Raccoon or Cat? is an instant protector of the fury nocturnal bandits, both critters didn’t make my list of small game to shoot.  On a side note, I do want to state a fact.  If a sick animal, of any kind approaches me or my family, even a raccoon, I wouldn’t think twice about putting it down.  I told Kyle about my adjusted list and he gave me the orneriest look and said, “I’m shooting them Aunt Heather!  They are worth more points.”  I told him I’m doing it on principle.  One, “I like those animals and I don’t want to shoot them”; two “We weren’t planning on eating them, unlike the squirrels so I see no point in killing them”; and three “I’m your Aunt and you have to live with me if you do shoot them.”  With that I gave him a very unsure smile, half serious and half joking.  Turning the conversation quickly to his side, Kyle said, “Pap pap is planning on shooting them.”  I smiled and confirmed his thoughts by saying, “Yes, pappy does what he wants.”  And with that the discussion was over.

The night before we gathered up our cloths, rifles and .22 bullets, so the morning would run smoothly.  Dad let me use Ryan’s .22, while Kyle picked his semiautomatic, with what seemed like an endless clip.  I asked him, “Are you planning on turning our small game into Swiss cheese?”  He just laughed.  It’s always exciting getting ready for a day of hunting, it really is!  Even when I was younger, before I could hunt, watching mom gather dad’s stuff in preparation for the following day was exhilarating.  Maybe it’s the anticipation of what might happen and what creatures will make themselves known.

Throughout the evening Kyle kept saying, “Squirrel”.  He was cracking me up!  That was taken from the Disney movie Up.  We would be packing my trusty backpack with provisions like a Thermos of water, crackers, apples and such and Kyle would just throw out there, squirrel!  We became Thing 1 and Thing 2 echoing the word, squirrel every-now-and-again.  I don’t think anybody else got our humor.

Kyle enjoying a fall day with his pap on the quad. 11/18/03

The next morning didn’t move as swiftly as I’d like.  Dad is slowing up in his old age.  He used to be dressed, fed, at his location,  and ready and waiting for the action, even before sunrise.  Not so much now-a-days, but he’s still faster than Kyle, just not what he used to be.  Right before we headed out I let the boys run around in the snow.  I swear they saw the guns and saw us getting layered up for the cold, and knew they weren’t invited.  So Scooby and Seven took it upon themselves to go for their own walk.  I’m guessing they were mad at me for not taking them on their hike the week prior.  So this little hiccup delayed us because dad had to leave on the quad and go and track down the bad dogs.

As dad was playing bounty hunter, Kyle and I headed up the woods in dad’s direction.  Would you believe Kyle complained the entire way up the hill?  Yep!  He didn’t want to wear his bibs, or his hat, or a T-shirt under his bibs (he wanted to go bare chested), or warm socks, or gloves and he certainly didn’t want to walk with all the clothing on while holding his own .22.  That’s our Kyle, it wouldn’t be a day without some sort of complaining about clothing or walking.  I will admit, he was sweating under his gear, which is not good when it’s cold out, but he needs to learn to layer when needed and strip down when he’s hot, preferably without whining.  If it was up to him, he would have left in the snow with a T-shirt, shorts and flip flops.  Not on my watch, when it was clearly freezing outside.

We reached the top of the hill and made ourselves a spot on a rock.  It was such a pretty day!  The snow fell all night long and covered everything with fresh fluffy snow, like the ground and trees were covered in cotton balls.  Since the weather moved in, all the animals hunkered down in the morning and weren’t moving around, not good for hunting, but very peaceful.  Dad said he saw coyote tracks and deer tracks, but no squirrel.  In addition to the woodpecker we heard, Kyle and I heard a crow in the distance but nothing within visibility.

Eventually we walked down the road near the cabin.  To create a little adventure and to follow the dogs tracks, Kyle and I followed the power line right away down to our location.  Along the way, Kyle tripped and splattered down the hill in the powder.  I turned around and saw him flattened on the ground, partially covered in snow.  His rifle flew out of his hand and landed a foot away from him.  I couldn’t believe my eyes!  At first, I started laughing, especially when Kyle lifted his snow covered, bright red faced, black dog hat wearing head up at me.  After I helped him out of the snow and shook most of the cold fluff from his limbs, I noticed an object surfaced from the ground.  Kyle tripped over a carcass of some small animal.  Really?  I just walked through there and managed to make it without raising the dead.  Not Kyle.  Once I pointed out the ribcage, Kyle joined in on my laughter.

Kyle after he pulled himself out of the snow. He loves that .22. 2/16/13

Then, you think Kyle got it out of his system, but nope.  After the three of us sat in the woods near a tree holding squirrels nests and saw nothing, we decided to head back home.  Dad was on the quad and Kyle and I were on foot, well at least for a little while.  In middle of the path there was a huge branch off to the side.  I get it when the objects are camouflaged by the snow, but when they are clearly visible there is no reason to trip over them.  Apparently, Kyle didn’t get the memo because the next thing I knew, he splattered all over the ground again.  Really?  Yep!  At this time, I lost it.  I was between seriously expressing my amusement and my amazement.  Walking right beside Kyle, I was laughing all the way down the hill, that is until Kyle realized he lost his small clip.  Yes the child has a small clip that same with the gun and a larger one courtesy of his pappy. Kyle, clearly upset over this discovery stated, with absolute certainty that the clip used to be tucked away in his pocket.

After we backtracked, and by the grace of God found the clip, we headed back to the house again.  This time we decided to cut down through the woods to pop out onto our neighbors driveway.  Would you believe just as we approached the clearing, Kyle did it again?  Yes!  He fell again!  To be honest, at this point I’m glad we had a few inches of fresh power to break his falls.  If not, that kid would have been pretty bruised and possibly bloody.  I turned to Kyle and said, “Buddy, what is wrong with you?  First day with the new feet?  I have never seen someone fall as many times as you have in one day, let along one morning!”  Kyle seemed to be accustomed to his consistency of gravity taking hold of him because he just started laughing and laughing.  At least he was amusing himself!  To really make light of the situation I said, “What are you trying to wrestle the squirrels?”

We giggled over Kyle’s actions all the way to the paved road.  Then it dawned on me that this is a recipe for disaster.  Trying to give fair warning, I commented “Kyle you better be careful on the road, if you fall again, it’s really going to hurt.”  Kyle considered this and said nothing.

We made it back to the house and enjoyed the rest of the day inside.  I really had a lot of fun, even though there wasn’t any movement.  It’s nice sometimes to just get out in the fresh, crisp air and enjoy the silence and beauty God gave us.

Eventually around 1:00 pm, our neighbor called and said Seven and Scooby was hanging around his house.  Yep those dogs were running from 7:30 am to 1:00 pm.  I took the quad up the road and had them follow me back, into the punishment of mom.  Needless to day, they spent most of the day under the kitchen table being punished for their rebellion.  Maybe if they could say ‘squirrel’ there scolding wouldn’t have been so harsh.  Perhaps next time I’ll prep them a little better.

I totally forget about snowboarding in the summertime.  ~Shaun White

Me & Kyle snowboarding… our 1st run of the season 7 Springs 1/5/13

On Saturday, I took Kyle snowboarding at Seven Springs.  It was sincerely a perfect day.  The sun came out to expose a brilliant blue sky and white fluffy clouds, the temperature remained in the twenties, the windchill was low and it wasn’t too crowded.  Saturday was the first time we were able to get out this season.  Unfortunately, last year I didn’t get my board out, not even once, due to a lack of a real winter.  But this season I decided to take advantage of the winter conditions early.

Once the snow falls, Kyle always reminds me about snowboarding, that and sled riding.  Two of his favorite winter pastimes.  This year, I saw in Kyle’s expression and heard in his voice, the sounds of disappointment and accusation from skipping a snowboarding season.  He reminded me all summer that we didn’t go out once and he continued to reiterate the same over Christmas.  If I could help it, history was not going to repeat itself and Saturday was a testament to that.

Me, Casey & Kyle taking a break from snowboarding. The Foggy Goggle fireplace is the best! 7 Springs 2009

We had a great day!  After we ate lunch we stopped into the Foggy Goggle to sit by the fireplace.  I know it’s a bar, but that fireplace is always blazing and no one is ever hanging around it because they’re at the bar.  That’s my secret location to sit and relax and warm up before heading back out.  I have been taking Kyle there when he started snowboarding at four years old.  In fact, while we sat on the bench in front of the fire waiting for our cloths to warm up a bit, Kyle nearly fell asleep.  He never does that, so I know he must have already had a good workout during our morning runs.   I leaned over to Kyle and commented “You know buddy, you’ve fallen asleep in here many times before.  When you were really little, I would lay my coat on the floor, in front of the fireplace and you would take a nap until our cloths were dry.  Then we would head back onto the slopes.”  Kyle smiled at me and said, “I did?  How big was I?”  He is too funny!  I showed him about how much space on the floor he consumed and where I placed him safely out of the way.  Everyone would walk past this cute little blond haired boy, peacefully sleeping and smile.  He really was way too cute!

Me & Kyle ready to board the chairlift at 7 Springs 1/5/13

Funny story.  The Foggy Goggle had a larger than life statue of the Captain Morgan pirate in the one entrances.  The first time I had Kyle in there to sit by the fire, we had to pass this monster statue that no doubt caught his eye.  All of a sudden Kyle tugs on my arm and says “Look Aiya, Captain Jack Sparrow!”  What do you say to that?  After I was done laughing, I said, “Ya buddy, looks like him doesn’t it?”  Kyle was so happy about recognizing what he thought was the Pirates of the Caribbean character, I didn’t said a word.

Though, he did bring it up to my parents and I had to pull mom aside and explain what he was talking about.  Mom just rolled her eyes and asked if he was allowed in there.  It’s not like I plant him at the bar and order him shots.  We just take advantage of the emptiness surrounding grand old fireplace and the warm heat radiating from it.

When I hit the slopes, I like to go early.  One, because I like getting a head start on the day and it’s usually not too crowded, making it easier with Kyle.  I’m not a big fan of crowds, particularly the swarms of them who all seem to have just started skiing and are zipping past my little guy with uncontrollable movements.  Also, let’s face it, I’m not the most patient with waiting in line to ride the chair lift either.  Hence why I like to get on the slopes early.  If they would allow riders on the run at 7:00 am, I would be there waiting to partake.

Once we got past the fitting of the snowboarding boots, we were golden.  Yes, let’s discuss the boots.  Kyle has this thing about his cloths,  particularly his shoes, touching his skin.  He doesn’t like anything to be fitted, I’m not talking tight, I’m talking fitted perfectly to his body.  Nope, not for Kyle.  If his shoes and cloths are not hanging off of him, he thinks they are too tight and throws a big fit.  Did I mention snowboarding boots are suppose to fit?  They need to be snug, not tight, but not loose.  They need to be able to respond to the rider when he/she turns to carve.  And to do that, the boots need to be fitted, not hanging off his feet.  I will admit it does take a bit to get used to wearing snowboarding boots, especially early in the season, until you’re body is warmed up and loose.  Listening to Kyle complain about the boots most of the day, drove me crazy, to be honest.  But he wasn’t too bad I guess, nothing I didn’t expect.

My goal of the day, besides improving Kyle’s riding, was for him to become independent on the mountain.  Not that I was planning on abandoning him, never ever!  I’m talking about managing his own board.  Kyle never really buckled his own bindings before and I always helped him up whenever he fell.  I don’t generally baby Kyle, but he started snowboarding so young, I really had to assist him and then it became a habit for both of us.  A habit I wanted to stop this year, after all he is eleven.  I tried to be as hands off as I possibly could, forcing him to do for himself.  Did I also mention the kid has NO flexibility?

By the time we rounded out the day, Kyle was gaining a little bit of flexibility and doing pretty good with pulling himself up and bending over to strap on his own bindings.  Along the way, Kyle did receive some assistance from kind on lookers.  Much like myself when I first started snowboarding.  I guess we both either have that look of being purely pathetic or being too cute to pass up.  I vote for the later, but I have a feeling reality lies in the first.

Kyle took a picture of my raccoon hat wearing goggles… snowboarding at 7 Springs 1/5/13

Kyle was even managing to get on the chair lift by himself, of course the few extra inches he’s grown over the years helped in that department.

Our runs on Saturday was a testament that Kyle didn’t miss a beat from two winter’s ago.  He is not the strongest rider, or the most daring but he can hold his own.  He just needs practice.  There were a few times when someone was going to run into Kyle and he reacted pretty quickly to avoid a collision.  I was quite impressed, thinking I was going to have to peel him off of the run!  But nope he maintained control when the other party didn’t.  Good job buddy!

Kyle is also a considerate rider, always looking over his shoulder and beside him for others that are sharing the mountain.  He never pushes or cuts people off either.  He will wait patiently for others to get out of his way and he never wants to hurt anyone.  That’s my Kyle, still wearing his big heart on the slopes.

Throughout the day, we couldn’t help but getting silly.  It wouldn’t be a typical day for us if we didn’t.  Every time I put my goggles on top of my head, which is wear my raccoon hat was resting, Kyle would start laughing.  He said it looked like the raccoon was wearing the goggles.  And it did!

Speaking of raccoon hat.  There was someone there wearing a HUGE raccoon skin cap, complete with a tail.  It was ridiculous!  It was so big and obnoxious  on the person’s head that it looked like an actual raccoon was hanging on for dear life.  Every time we saw it, we busted out laughing!  You couldn’t miss it.  I thought we were on Wild Kingdom.

Hopefully this year brings us more of those days.  I’m not necessarily talking about the conditions, but the time spent together.  We had a blast and I really cherish my one-on-one time with Kyle.

I didn’t want to do a throwaway, mindless movie with fart jokes just to make 6-year-olds laugh.  I want to provide my children with some substance.  ~Fred Durst

I’m not normally the slap stick, stupid humor type of writer…well sometimes I am, but this one is silly yet educational.  My family is going to kill me for sharing this humor, so I will keep it general and not give too much detail.

First, I want to comment on how tight our family is.  Probably too close according to some.  Not only do we speak our minds, anything that appears up in the cranium cavity exits our mouths; but our rear-ends are free to speak as well.  We are not shy about belching and we certainly are no strangers to flatulence.  Some may say we are simple honest open people, while others may say we are gross and improper.  Now don’t get me wrong, we don’t act like barbarians in public and around others.  We do practice our manors, but I’m talking about behind closed doors in the privacy of our own home among family.

To be honest, I thought everyone was like us, well maybe not as dedicated, but certainly open.  Nope!  I was just recently talking to a good friend of mine who commented that her and her husband do not fart around each other and they’ve been married for over a decade.  Having to confirm what was just declared, I had her reiterate that they do not fart around each other.  Seriously, I was in shock!  Really?  I just couldn’t believe it!   You don’t fart around one another?  To make a comparison from my point-of-view I explained the general Piper practices.  I’m sure there are others who agree with her, but that wouldn’t be my family.  And come on, EVERYONE farts!

Now sticking to the theme, I want to tell you about a joke in our house.  My dad was watching something on TV, probably Dr. Phil since dad has this infatuation with him, I don’t know why but I’ll move off of that topic.  Dad said “I heard on TV when someone farts they are lowering their blood pressure.”  The minute Kyle heard this he busted out laughing.  Moving forward, every time there was an exchange of gas Kyle would say, “I guess you’re lowing your blood pressure.”  It’s actually too funny!  Once, Kyle passed gas and shot me an ornery grin and said, “I just lowered my blood pressure!”  I died!  It really was so spontaneous and funny, I shared it with the rest of the family.  Dad especially got a kick out of it.

So back to why am I sharing this very personal stories?  Mom sent me this email titled Fwd: Facts about farting…very educational.  You know the emails that have been forwarded ten thousand times, literally.  Evidently, my cousin Ray emailed it to her, then it ended up in my inbox.  Mom knows I hate those generic forwards.  I pretty much delete them right away, however, this one mom made it a point to call it out to me.  She wanted to make sure I would read it.  Ok, I thought, this must be a good one, I’ll bite.  When mom was asking me about the email, Kyle happened to be standing in close proximity actually paying attention.  He looked over at my mom with curious eyes and very quizzically asked, “What Gigi?  What’s it about?” as he joined my mom, sporting a huge grin.

Needless to say, mom showed Kyle the email, upon his request and he intently read through it.  During the entire weekend and flowing over into the following week, Kyle kept quoting from the information he read.  Out of no where I would hear, “Aunt Heather I can’t believe termites are the top farters and they give off more methane gas than cows!  How can that be?”  How do you respond to that?  I would laugh and nod my head and say, “I have no idea buddy.”  Then he would bring up vegetarians saying, “Vegetarians fart more than people who eat meat.  I love meat so I must not fart as much as them!”  That’s a pretty good deduction and one way of looking at it!

From vegetarian to dog, Kyle compared his new found statistics with Seven’s flatulence history.  Poor dog resides in the group of silent yet deadly.

Through all this, Kyle’s number one favorite fart fact, was the information on farting after death.  He just thought that was amazing and funny at the same time!  He said, “Aunt Heather a person can fart after they died!  Can you believe that?!”  Yep, we are a wealth of knowledge around the Piper household.  I wish I could say this was the strangest conversations we’ve had, but alas I don’t think it was.  I guess it goes to show that anything can be made into a conversational piece.

There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats.  ~Albert Schwitzer

Nicole pocketing Draco

A few weeks ago, while taking Kyle to his piano lessons I realized there must be something about us together in a car, alone, with our imaginations that makes these stories.  Our minds go out of control.  I mean sometimes really silly out of control.  This time the topic was cats.  What got us on the subject of cats?  I have no idea, probably Kyle asking how Storm was doing.  Regardless, the stage was set and we were armed with humor, wit, and imagination.  At this point, no one can tell where the conversation was going to turn, especially us, but we always know it’s going somewhere.

We started talking about Storm and the next thing you know Storm was visiting my sister’s cat Toshi (I call him Lester) in the Washington DC Metro Area.  Keep in mind this is a completely fictitious story that we started to make up.  Why?  No clue, just to simply humor ourselves I guess.  As the story started to take shape,  I said imagine that conversation, “Storm would say meow, like a kitten and Lester would respond back with a loud ear piercing MEOW!”  We both started laughing.

You see, Lester has this really loud and annoying meow that doesn’t end.  I can understand the cat meowing when I’m visiting Nicole, being in his domain and all, but he does it while I’m on the phone with my sister.  Let’s not forget when I’m talking to Nicole on Skype and I swear I hear the cat when I email and text message my sister.  One time when I was staying at Nicole’s, the cat sat outside my closed door to the spare bedroom and meowed all night.  Lester just sat in the hallway and projected his really loud and drawn out meow towards me.  I’ve had cats all my life and I’ve never experienced anything like Lester before.  Finally, I told Nicole to take the cat in her bedroom, which she did only to find out it didn’t help.  The cat kept meowing just as loud, if not louder from Nicole’s room.  It sounded like Lester was meowing directly into an intercom, which hung over my head.  Again, I can understand this, because I was occupying his space, but he does it all the time!  Whether you’re in the living-room, bathroom or kitchen, there is no escaping Lester’s alarm system.  Due to this annoying and slightly entertaining behavior, he has been the subject of many conversations in our household, over the years.  Can’t imagine why? (sarcasm)

Lester sitting in the ceramic bowl I made Nicole for fruit… guess Lester didn’t get the memo

There’s such a difference between Lester and Storm.  Mine meows only when she wants something.  Lester, lives to meow.  I swear that cat has meow “CATivated” paws, he meows with every step.  Either that or he has meow turrets.   (No disrespect to those suffering with turrets.)

I know what you’re thinking, it’s me.  Nope, Lester acts like that for everyone, not just me.  Mom, dad and espeicaiily Kyle has lived through the Lester siren.  Nicole said, during this past “Aunt Nikki and Kyle’s week of fun” Lester walked on top of Kyle while he slept and kept meowing.  I told Kyle he was probably saying “What is this large lump in my bed?”  To this day we still laugh over that one.

When I first got Storm, Kyle said we should take her down to meet Lester.  My sister chimed in saying, “He would think his time was up, he was being replaced.”  Well, this current conversation started with those words in mind and created another, little darker scenario.

Back to me and Kyle in the car.  I said, “Ya Kyle, the conversation between Lester and Storm would go something like this…

Storm: meow, meow (Hi my name is Storm, I’m the traveling kitty)

Lester: MEOW, MEEEOOOWW, MEEEOOOOWWW (I’m done, I’m being replaced!)

Storm: meow, meow (Where’s your litterbox?)

Lester: MMMMEEEOOW, MMEEOOWW (My time is up, this is just the beginning they have a replacement!)

Storm: meow, meow, meow (Do you have any kitty treats?)

Lester: MMMMEEEEOOOOOWWW, MMMMMMEEEEOOOOWWWW, (I’m going to starve to death!)”

Needless to say, we were cracking up.  Sometime in the middle of this conversation, it took a downward spiral.  Kyle said, “Remember what Aunt Nikki said, if we brought Storm down to her house, Toshi would just die?”  I busted out laughing.  My sister did say that!  I took it one step further and said, “Ya then Storm would have to do CPR on Lester.  She would have to rub her paws together to create a spark, then say ‘Meow’ which means clear and shock the cat back to life.”  We were dying!  I said, “All Storm would need to do it lay her paws on Lester’s chest and bring out her claws.”  Kyle following the story said, “Ya then Toshi would scream back to life MMMEEEEOOOOWWW.”

Ok, pretty stupid story but just picturing Storm leaning over Lester and administering CPR was too much for us to pass up.

Then two weekends ago when Nicole was home, dad asked her how her cat was doing.  He said, “Nik how’s your cat, is it dead yet?”  Nicole said, “No, he’s good but the other day when I came home, he scared me.  He wasn’t there to greet me at the door, like he always does.  I thought I was going to have to look around for a dead cat.”  Kyle and I lost it!  We are still rehashing that conversation.

Sometimes it’s animals that make life fun and exciting, even if they are stemmed from our imaginations.  Thanks Lester for the laughs!

*In the making of this blog, no cat was harmed.
**Since Lester has been ill, Nicole told me to be sensitive to his feelings and not call him Lester.

 Read more on our stupid humor

Laughing About Nothing
Laughing About Nothing … True Story

Personally, I would not give a fig for any man’s religion whose horse, cat and dog do not feel its benefits.  Life in any form is our perpetual responsibility.  ~S. Parkes Cadman

Mom with her dog Fritz c. 1959

While Kyle was taking his Hunter’s Safety Course – Passed! last weekend, they gave the kids a short recess on Friday to stretch out their legs.  Kyle hung out with me during the break and we got to talking, actually screwing around.  After all, that was the first I saw Kyle since Monday night and I missed him terribly.  Well, it doesn’t seem weird talking about deer and animals in such as class, but this one may throw you for a loop.  Somehow we started talking about mom’s pet deer.  Yes!  Mom had a pet deer when she was little that lived on my Uncle Walter’s farm down over the hill. How she came about this pet, I have no idea.  Please note, my mom has lived in the same house since she was five.  My grandpap Chester and his brothers built the house on a section of the farm given to him by my great grandma.  Anyway, I’ve heard the stories about this deer.  Another side note, please keep in mind all my uncles and aunts who lived on the farm were big hunters.  Hunting is a lifestyle from both sides of the family.  Anyway, from what mom told me, during hunting season they would decorate the deer so no one would kill their unconventional pet.  Apparently, they placed a big red bow around its neck.  That was it, but this story became so much more.

Dad with one of his many deer

First Kyle didn’t know about the deer.  He was truly amazed.  He new about Rascals Raccoon or Cat? but we must not have talked about this deer.  Of course it wasn’t my pet, but I still enjoy the story.  For some reason this deer with its holiday decoration became the highlight of our conversation.  Kyle asked “How did they decorate it?” I told him, “They put ribbons and bows on its antlers.”  As that came out of my mouth, Kyle busted out laughing.  Then naturally following suit, I joined him.  I said, “Can you imagine this poor buck with ribbons and bows and glitter hanging off its horns?  Gigi probably decorated the deer with pink streamers that blew in the wind.”  We were dying!  Especially when I followed up with “Can you image being the hunter seeing that deer in your scope?  I think I would have to rub my eyes and take a second look.  Imagine if that was your first buck, Kyle?  What do you think pappy would say?”  We both lost it!

Mom with her brother, Uncle Denny at the Rolling Rock club, Ligonier c. 1957

I told Kyle that Gigi decorated the deer in hopes no one would shoot it during hunting season, which was true.  Kyle asked, “What happened to it?”  I bluntly responded, “I think someone shot it!”  Kyle gave me a gut-stretching laugh and I totally lost it.  Then I blurted out another fun fact between laughs, “Ya Gigi said she even put a wreath around its neck.”  This was too much for us.  I’m sure we were bringing attention to our corner of the room, but we didn’t care.

Ok, now we were out of control throwing out scenarios and embellishments to the story.  Kyle questioned the size of the wreath saying, “How did they get the wreath around its horns?  It would need to be this big.” as he held out his hands as far as they would stretch.  Only Kyle would think of the logistics to such an out of control story, but he did.  I said, “No wonder the deer was shot, it was probably weighed down with so many decorations it couldn’t pick up speed anymore.  It was probably dragging all decorations behind it.”  Kyle added, “Ya what if it was wearing a sign, property of…” as I interjected, “Rita Piper, actually Rita Olczak at the time.”  All I could picture was this perfect buck, wearing pink shimmery streamers, glitter and bows on its antlers, wearing a huge wreath with a large wooden name tag saying ‘Property of Rita Olczak.’  Our laughter took over our bodies as we stood there shaking and turning red from such an exaggerated story.

Really, can you imagine walking through the woods and seeing this deer dressed in couture?  That would have been so funny!  Especially to see it run through the woods with streamers hanging from its antlers, like a magical unicorn,  what a sight to see.  At this point, I’m liking my story better than the actual one mom tells.

Then we started to go dark, well I did, Kyle just joined in.  I said, “What do you think the deer thought when someone kill a deer and drug it back to the house to be skinned?”  Kyle looked at me with curiosity like, ‘Where is she going with this?’.  I said, “It could have been its uncle or neighbor.”  Kyle said, “Ya he’d say, ‘Aren’t you my uncle?’”  We were seriously so engrossed in our conversation; I truly have no idea who heard us.  I hope no one, because after you hear what I said next they would have seriously wondered about the two of us.  Going with the dead friend or dead family member angel I said, “What if Gigi fed the deer, deer meat?  Would he like it?”  That comment just shot us over the edge.  We could hardly talk at this point, but we didn’t want to stop.  I said, “It would be like feeding a pig, pork rinds.”  Kyle didn’t know what those were, nor did he get the reference to Designing Women when the character Julia Sugarbaker had a pet pig and that’s what she fed it; but Kyle got the idea.

Mom with her dogs, Duke & Fritz c.1958

I love it that Kyle and I can take any situation, any comment, at any time and turn it into a fun imaginary story to humor us.  Kyle is my buddy!  Even though he’s pretty logical and has very structured thinking, he also has an imagination and is a creative thinker.  I love it!

Good job passing your class!

Read More About Nothing
Laughing About Nothing

PS
When I was gathering pictures for this blog, Kyle looked at me and mom and said, “The pictures are in black and white?”  He laughed, I forget kids have a totally different lifestyle.  I mean, we didn’t have black and white photos either but I certainly knew what they were.

If dogs could talk, it would take a lot of the fun out of owning one.  ~Andy Rooney

When did dogs start acting like two year olds? Scooby a blond Labrador Retriever of about six years and Seven, a black Labrador Retriever of about 2 and a half years have stepped back in the terms of maturity.  They always get in trouble, I believe that’s unavoidable, but recently they are completely out of control.  They live with my parents so it’s not like I have to deal with them everyday, however if that was the case, they would have no choice but to straighten up.  Over the last few weeks, we’ve been at our wits end with these defiant kids.

Now what could those adorable dogs have done that sparked this blog entry?  Let… me… tell… you!  But first, in order to really understand the stories, I have to explain each dog’s behavioral and characteristics physical.

Let’s start with the old hand of the household, Scooby.  He is a little bit chubby, slower moving by choice, except when there’s food around; very stubborn, yet a sensitive dog.  When he’s scolded, he looks like he’s ready to cry.  However, he will push the boundaries and break rules, especially when no one is looking.  He tries to get away with as much as possible.  Scooby is not a people person, ironic since he’s a Lab.  In fact, he hates anyone he doesn’t know and is particularly protective of Kyle.  Not so much now-a-days but years ago.  If I was chasing Kyle around the house or tickling him while Kyle screamed, Scooby’s hair would stand on end and the dog would give me this look like, ‘Keep going and I WILL take you down.’  I don’t think he’s particularly friendly to kids.  We’ve never wanted to test that theory out, even though Scooby’s been around Kyle since he was five years old or so.

If Scooby was a person, he would not be athletic and he’s certainly not agile.  He does however, have an iron stomach.  He can eat anything at any time including a stick of butter, silver wrapper and all.  True story!  Scooby’s never had very good eyesight or hearing, but like a true Lab he uses his olfactory senses to lead his way.

Now, the new pup we got from the pound about a year and a half ago when he was two.  Already named Seven when we picked him up, he slowly became a part of the household. I say slowly because Scooby wasn’t very welcoming of the addition and Pudd’in (rest in peace) hated him.  Seven is not very sensitive, he could care less if he runs into you, knocks you down and leaves a big bruise.  He will jump on your chest and kick the wind out of your lungs without so much as a second glance.  Seven is pretty obedient but he does manage to get in trouble.  Over the years, he’s been really following Scooby’s lead.

Seven is a very, very hyperactive dog, still running around like a little puppy, a puppy that is too big for the house and is as strong as an ox.  Seven is the athlete, he is agile and his body is longer than Scooby’s, allowing him to access additional areas out of reach from most dogs.  Seven has a more sensitive stomach.  If he eats too much of what he shouldn’t, then it takes a toll on his digestive track, which builds a smell in the house so potent you just want to die.  Also unlike Scooby, Seven’s senses are spot on.  His hearing, eyesight and smell are all every acute.

Within the last year, Seven has been a big bully to Scooby.  When they’re in the backyard running around and playing, Seven will wait on the opposite end of the yard and take a running charge toward Scooby to ram him and roll him on his back.  It’s horrible!  We yell at Seven, but we can’t always catch it quick enough.  Seven also bites Scooby, his legs, face, neck.  I mean sometimes he looks like a grizzly bear attacking a helpless chunky blond animal.  I’ve noticed Scooy has been loosing weight.  Well, there’s a very good reason, Seven has been snapping at him when he goes to eat.  What?  Seven has not been letting Scooby eat from his own bowl!  Again when we see this injustice, we address it immediately, the only problem is no one is home during the day.

Both dogs love attention and love to be held; in fact they wish they were small enough to be lap dogs.  But Scooby’s 87 pounds and Seven’s 77 pounds pose a little problem to sit with comfortably in a chair.  Scooby is the one who seems to need attention and affection more.  Seven does as well, but his is more a need to show up Scooby.  Seven is the ‘If he gets it I want it’ type child.  Now don’t get me wrong, Scooby can act the same way, but Scooby is the cuddle type.  Both dogs love to chase birds from the yard, specifically wild turkeys and don’t get them near deer.  They will take off so fast, sometimes I swear they wearing capes.  Both dogs would be good hunting dogs, except Scooby is afraid of guns. Now Seven on the other hand, is the complete opposite, he loves to go out with us when we shoot in the guns.

Now let’s really discuss their eating habits.  Both beasts love to eat!  I know this is not unusual behavior for dogs, but they seriously don’t care what they are eating and how much.  I’ve seen them get into the garbage.  Not long ago Scooby got into the garbage and pulled out a contain of chicken livers.  No!  We don’t eat them, dad buys them to use a bait.  Scooby pulled this old container out of the trash and proceeded to enjoy his feast until we found out.  Gross!!  Dad said his breath was so rank, he couldn’t even stomach Scooby near him.  Now that the stage is set.  This is where my story begins.

Over the last couple weeks, the dogs have literally been eating us out of house and home.  It started with the tomatoes.  This is the best time to explain Scooby’s infatuation for tomatoes!  When we have a garden, Scooby has be kept out because he has been busted picking the tomatoes off of the plants and eating them.  Seven eats tomatoes too, but my guess is he’s following suit from Scooby.  Dad is a huge fan of the fruit stand, shopping there everyday in the summer.  A couple of weeks ago, dad bought an entire bag of tomatoes, probably around 20 to 30 nice sized tomatoes.  Did dad place them on the floor?  Nope!  He had them up on the bakers rack in the kitchen.  When mom and dad came home after work, the tomatoes were missing and there was a mess on the kitchen floor.  Upon closer inspection, the mess was not contained in the kitchen but went into the living-room where remnants of tomato seeds and juice were left.  This mess was all over the floor and their beds.  The dogs ate all the tomatoes!  Where they trying to promote diarrhea?

Now mom has been putting the tomatoes in the oven to store them out of sight.  Putting the tomatoes in the refrigerator takes the tastes away.  So that was the best immediate solution we could muster.  Trying to take the temptation away from them.  None of us like to yell at the dogs, and we certainly don’t like seeing them in trouble.

The tomato situation can almost be forgiven, considering Scooby’s craving for tomatoes.  But what happens next, is not excusable.  Last weekend, I bought about four loaves of bread for mom and dad.  Placing the bread on the bakers rack, where it has been stored for years, I never thought I was doing something wrong or enticing.  Wrong!  Last Monday; mom and dad came home to shredded plastic bread bags on the floor and not a crumb to be found.  They ate all four loaves of bread!  Are they preparing for a heavy weight championship?  What is up with these dogs?  The bread has been assigned to that location for a long time now, never to be disturbed until recently.  Now when you walk into the kitchen, the bread resides beside the tomatoes in the oven.

That’s not all, for the last few weeks, periodically when mom makes dad a sandwich, all mom has to do is turn her back for a second and the hounds engulf dad’s grub.  Well, let me be exact, all of it except for the hot pepper in the sandwich.  They apparently don’t like hot peppers, but that doesn’t stop them, the warriors manage to pick out the pepper and eat the rest of the goodies.

Here’s a good one that I would have completely lost it.  Mom bought her and dad dinner the one night, roast beef sandwiches.  Mom thought she could outsmart the dogs by placing the sandwiches, placed in the containers in the center of the kitchen table, surrounded by cans while she was preoccupied.  Would you believe they are so brazen to get all the way up on the table and take the containers to the floor and eat out of them like it was their dinner?  I shouldn’t be surprised.  Mom should have known better by now, but it’s still a shock.  We deduced that Seven and Scooby are working in tandem.  There is no way Scooby would be able to get up that high, but Seven would have no problem clearing the distance.

Both dogs are also jumping on all of us.  They are not allowed to jump on people.  They are not listening when we call them to come in from playing outside.  They are just acting out, worse than children.  Last week, I was off work in the middle of the week.  It was a beautiful day, so I thought I would take the boys out for a nice long hike, thinking that would help to the keep them out of trouble.  Would you believe as I opened my car door to retrieve my hat for the hike, both dogs stormed the small opening into the car and jumped in, muddy paws and all?  I was so ticked, I almost couldn’t yell!  They never just jump into my car.  Never!  They know I don’t allow it.

Then, later that very same day, I noticed Storms kitten food was licked clean out of her bowl.  Really?  Storm never licks her bowl clean.  Then I see her cat food bag was opened enough for a large head to stick his mouth in there and feed on kitten food.  Are you kidding me?  These dogs are not hungry!  And really?  Did they need to eat the kitten little nibbles, Meow mix?  Now, I had no proof, which one of the children did it, but it didn’t make me happy none-the-less.  They have their down Dad’s Trail Mix.

What has gotten into the boys?  Why are they lashing out like two-year old children all of a sudden?  The dogs are not ignored, neglected, or without privilege.  It’s also not like they are jealous of my kitten.  I got Storm months ago, so that didn’t change.  Mom told me she thinks it’s because her and dad have been working long hours.  Apparently in the eyes of Scooby and Seven, bad attention is still attention.  I’ve always noticed Dog Acting Like Kids.  I hope this phase ends soon or these dogs are going to get it!

I wish I could write as mysterious as a cat.  ~Edgar Allan Poe

Me & Rascals. My raccoon loved the kazoo! c.1993

It has been about four months since I brought home a little kitten called Storm.  In that time, her actions have flashed me back to my former self.  I think I’ve mentioned that I’ve always had cats.  My pappy used to call me old cat women.  So the true nature of a cat is not foreign to me, but some of the things Storm does reminds me of another pet I had, Rascals.

Rascals was our raccoon.  Yes I said raccoon!  She was amazing!  Is it legal to have a raccoon as a pet?  No, but it’s not like we went out in the woods and stole a baby raccoon from its mother.  My dad was a woodsman for most of his life.  He was the guy who cut down timber and hauled the logs back to the sawmill or wherever they needed to go.  Throughout his life he’s run into his share of animals, wild and domestic.  Yep, dad would come across cats that were starving in the woods because their owners would abandon them, so he would bring them home to give them a fighting chance at life.  Dad did the same with abandoned or injured wild animals, one happened to be a raccoon.

This bundle of helplessness came as a package of three newborn raccoons to be exact.  Unbeknownst to dad, he took down a tree with the babies, who were so little, their eyes weren’t even open yet.  Dad would never let these little babies lay there to die.  I mean who could?  They would have never had a fighting chance.  Ever!  They were just babies!

Rascals loved Nilla Wafers c. 1993

I’ll never forget, this happened the day of my junior prom.  When I got home that night, well actually the next morning, there they were three little tiny critters, who needed to be bottle fed.  Unfortunately, two of the them died shortly after arriving at the Piper household.  They were also the two runts of the bunch.  Dad said they could have had internal injuries that we didn’t know about, or they could have already been sick.  Regardless, we did our best and with that, Rascals survived!

Trying to be responsible, we called the vet and asked if we could bring her in to get her shots, specifically rabies shots.  They told us, we are suppose to release Rascals back in the wild, even after we informed the vet of her age.  They informed us that she was not a domestic animal.  Really?  We had no idea! (sarcasm) Again, who would release a helpless baby and set her on the course for sure death?  Not my family. Especially after we bottle fed the animal to health.  Still denied!

Anyway, Rascals grew up fast and bad, she was a little stinker.  Little known fact to some, but raccoons are very intelligent creatures.  Almost too smart for their own good.  Just to share a few examples, if Rascals was out  in the garage, she would stand on a pile of boxes by the door leading into the kitchen.  She knew how to turn the door knob and push it open to let herself in, believe it or not!  I’ve seen it first hand.  Eventually, when she got to be too big for the house, mom actually had to lock the door to keep her out.  I felt so bad, I would sometimes unlock the door and let her find her way back in.

Rascals favorite place to hang out was onto of dad’s gun cabinet.

In our bathroom at my parents house, we have a tub with a shower as well as a shower stall shielded with a plastic curtain.  We would leave the door slightly ajar when taking a shower so Rascals could “sneak” in to play with the water running down the drain.  Can you imagine showering and all of a sudden you see these little feet peeking out from under the shower curtain trying to catch the water going down the drain?  It was too funny!  The first time she did it, I nearly shot out of the shower with surprise.  Considering I had my eyes closed, washing my hair and then feeling something grabbing at my feet!  It was kinda freaky.  But eventually it became a game and I looked forward to Rascals playing in the water while I showered.

Ok those are true raccoon traits, almost human like intelligence and logic, and the love of water.  Neither of which are Storm.  However, if I was talking about obsession with my hair and hair ties, that describes both of them to a tee.  Sometimes Storm likes to lay across the back of my neck while I’m standing or sitting.  She did it when we were at the vet, I stood and she was anchored between my neck and the wall.  She also did that when we were driving, between my neck and the seat.  Very Rascals like!

The litter of raccoons, only one made it…Rascals c. 1993

Rascals loved being up by my neck, usually to play with my hair.  When I was in high school my hair length would vary from a little past my shoulders to boy cut short.  When we first got Rascals my hair was down to my shoulders.  Then at one point, I got my brown locks cut up to my ear lobes.  Needless to say she was upset.  Rascals would sit on my shoulder grabbing the empty space that used to contain my hair, and she would snort.  Apparently showing her feelings toward my new do, showing me that she didn’t like this change.  Storm doesn’t seem to care if my hair is up or down, but there were a few times already, I would wake up with Storm in my hair!  Yes, she would nestle her face and front paws among all of my curls on the pillow, either to sleep or I to play among my knots.  Believe it or not, it’s kind of relaxing.

Let’s not even discuss hair ties and such.  In high school I could never find my hair things.  They would always go missing, even while I was wearing them.  Sometimes as I sat on the couch, Rascals would creep up on the back of the furniture to play in my hair.  But then she would slowly move her paws up to the top of my head where my headband was resting.  She was quick, because before I could even read her mind, she grabbed the hair accessory off my head and was running away with it.  I would find my hair things in the 10lb bag of dog food, under the couches and in corners tucked away.  Recently, this same occurrence was happening again.  The other day, I saw something peeking out from under my bed.  When I got down on all fours to better examine the space, I found a big pile of hair ties!  Mystery solved.  My raccoon has been reincarnated into my cat.  I couldn’t believe my eyes!

Rascals needed a nap. Spring 1993

The similarities don’t just stop there.  With both of those fur balls, my closet doors have to remain shut.  When Storm hears me getting ready in the morning, she will ambush me and run at mock speeds to get into my closet.  I don’t know if she thinks its a secret play land for her, but I don’t want her using my cloths, which are resting on hangers, to be her rock climbing wall.  Rascals used to do the same thing, except I would also lock her out of my room.  She would get into everything, even destroying my red lipstick.  I will admit, after I got over being mad at the pulverized new red lipstick, I did laugh at the raccoon wearing it all over her face.  It’s silly to say that I have to lock these creatures out of certain areas.  But I did with Rascals and I do with Storm.

Did I mention that Storm is a stripped kitten?  As she gets older patches of red/pink are showing up between the stripes, but her tail is dark and patterned with lines.  When she puffs up her tail, let me tell you, I feel like I’m staring at Rascals.  Even their fur is the same, course yet soft.

As the similarities unfold between Rascals and Storm, I’m sure I’ll be reporting on them.  It’s funny, I’ve known others who’ve had raccoons as pets.  Yep, I’m not the only one.  All the stories are very similar, the love of dog food and Nilla wafers,  the intelligence, the orneriness, as well as the realization of how amazingly smart raccoons are and how much fun they had with the creatures as pets.  Anyone who had the privilege of raising such a little critter loved their time with their raccoon, at least until they got older.  Although, that’s a separate blog post.  I’m not saying everyone should run out and get a raccoon.  Absolutely not!   And no one should ever approach a wild animal, but to have had the opportunity to really appreciate such a living thing was a blessing.  Rascals was an experience, one I would never have traded for anything, she is apart of me and who I am.  I love it that Storm brings back those memories.

It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.  ~Mark Twain

Yep those are the porcupine quills, I wish I could have gotten a shot of his lower lip, that’s where most of the quills stuck.

As I was writing about Love of Animals, Even Fictitious Pets, I realized I never addressed the incidence with Scooby and the porcupine.  Usually I have Kyle on Wednesdays, but he was on vacation with my sister, for ‘Aunt Nikki and Kyle’s Week of Fun’ during the second week of July.  Being at a loss for my little man, I went for a run with my friend Holsters in the evening.  Afterwards, I made my way to my parents house to see how the old folks were doing.  Since I was already sweaty and warmed up, I thought I’d treat the dogs to a hike in the middle of the week.  We did our usual route of three miles, however by the time we were heading back nightfall was upon us, not that it bothered me.  As kids, we used to run through these woods at night without flashlights, chasing each other and plotting strategies of attack at Halloween.  My only concern was twisting an ankle, on the over abundance of loose rocks covering the trail.  No problem, I took my time and really paid attention to my steps, while the dogs continued to run around.  They were having a blast!

As we were within the last half a mile from the house, Scooby who was a good fifty feet ahead of me yelped in a painful cry.  What the heck?  I saw him pretty clearly and he kept pawing at his face.  At that moment, I thought that knucklehead found a nest of bees!  He likes to snap at bees, don’t ask me why!  O great, I thought here I am allergic to bees and it’s dark and I’m in the woods.  How am I going to make my way around them?  I actually contemplated turning around and hiking back where I came from, another two miles to the main road and have mom pick me up.  Then, as I approached the area where Scooby was pawing at his face and shaking it violently, I had another thought.  For some reason I was convinced it was a snake!  I have no idea where that came from, but I thought a copper head bit Scooby in the jaw, since I saw some white around his mouth.  Common sense told me that it couldn’t have been a rattle snake because I didn’t hear the warning noise from its tail.  At that moment, my mind was racing, thinking that if it was a snake, I really would never be able to see it in the dark.  Yikes! Run!

As I scooted the dogs down the trail, I noticed Seven kept staring over the hill and was ready to take off for whatever started this situation.  He listened to me, thank goodness, when I called him to join us, but he was still on alert.  As I approached the opening of the woods and my feet hit the pavement, I looked down at Scooby who kept shaking his head,  It was at that moment I noticed he had porcupine quills in his face!  What?  I didn’t even know we had porcupines in the area!  My only thought was, ‘Well I guess I have to get them out’.  While we made our way down through the yard, Scooby took that as an opportunity to roll around in the orchard.  Then I heard a really loud yelp.  He must have rolled onto his face and hit the quills.  For some reason, Scooby didn’t want to go in the house, he wanted to stay in the yard.  That is until I really yell at him.

All three of us stormed through the front door into the kitchen, and I yelled for mom to get tweezers.  She jumped up off the couch, apparently reading the sense of urgency in my voice.  She came around the corner and wanted to know what the heck was going on?  I told her that Scooby had an encounter with a porcupine.  Then she saw the quills stuck in his face.  Mom looked at me and said, “We have porcupines?”  I said, “I guess so.”  Mom was still really confused and said, “Heather I have never seen a porcupine around here, ever!  I’ve never even heard of a neighbor’s dog coming across one! Ever!”  So in the sixty plus years mom has lived in the house, she never encountered a porcupine.  Then I was thinking, am I really looking at porcupine quills?  Neither one of us were experts in porcupines, but we both agreed, that’s what Scooby ran into, literally.  It looked like Scooby stuck his face directly into the rear end of the spiky critter.

As we brought Scooby into the living-room so mom could sit there and hold him while I plucked the quills out, I saw Seven.  He had a few in his face too!  What the heck?  I took care of Seven first, since there were only a few quills and he just wanted to jump around.  Then, I locked him in his cage, to keep him from getting in my way while I evaluated the situation with Scooby.

Just as I got a really good look I was mortified!  His entire bottom lip was COVERED in quills to the point it actually looked like a beard!  I needed to get these things out and fast.  Well, my inexperience with porcupines was showing when I tried to use the tweezers.  They didn’t work at all!  Next I tried using my fingers, and I did manage to get a few out, but they were so smooth it made it difficult to get a grip.  Then, I grabbed a paper towel, which assisted me with extracting a few more quills but didn’t allow for a really good grip on the others.  Once the upper lip was clear and I felt like I was getting somewhere, I moved to the polluted lower lip.  The paper towel method work for a few, but even that wasn’t cutting it anymore.  I was at loss, I didn’t know what to do?

Think!  Yes, pliers!  I went in the garage and pulled out a set of my dad’s pliers, allowing me to evacuate a few more.  As I continued, Scooby yelped.  Instantly, I stopped to take a serious look at his mouth.  With a double take, thinking my eyes were playing tricks on me, I saw the real damage on his face.  The quills went the entire way through his lower lip!  O my poor, poor Scooby!  What to do?  Knowing the vet retired for the day, mom called to see if there might be an emergency number to reach someone.  It was a number to a pet hospital in Monroeville.  Monroeville?  That would take us at least an hour to get down there.  I wasn’t going to have Scooby wait in the car for over an hour with these things puncturing his face, and then, who knows how long it would take them to alleviate his discomfort.  No way!

Back to the drawing board.  Let me tell you, approaching a dog in pain with a pair of pliers is a little surreal.  Mom tried to hold him, while I moved in on Scooby’s face with the clamps of pain. He caught on to me and kept turning his head every time I came near.  He would look at me and give me the sense that I had his permission to yank those darn things out, but then at the last second, he would turn his head away.  Come on! I get it he was scared and in pain.  I felt like I had no choice but to be a little more aggressive with the embedded quills.

Scooby was a trooper!  As the process of yanking the foreign objects out, blood began  just dripping from Scooby’s chin.  It was sprayed across my white T-shirt, my arms, on mom and all over the hardwood floor.  At one point mom stopped me and said, “What what if he bites you?”  Remaining focused on my mission, I said, “Well, I’ll deal with it if he does.”  Only twice did Scooby growl at me and snap at the pliers.  He didn’t snap at me, he directed his pain and fear towards the pliers!  What a good dog!  Every now and then, mom would interject, “He doesn’t mean to growl.  He’s just scared and it hurts him.”  I certainly was not holding Scooby’s hostility to heart and I didn’t want those things to stay in his skin any longer.

While all this was going on, Seven was in his cage, crying and wanting out.  No doubt, he thought he was missing out on something, all while Storm hid under the recliner and was trying to play with Scooby’s feet.  She apparently didn’t realize the tense look in the dog’s eyes.  I had to try and keep her away from him, to give Scooby a break.  I’m sure playing with Storm was the last thing on his mind.  Not to mention I didn’t want this upset lab striking out at the kitten.  Yikes, too much to think of at once!

After over an hour of literally blood, sweat and tears, Scooby was done.  He looked happy and like himself again.  The bloody chin seemed to heal up instantly and stopped bleeding.  Using a flashlight to inspect the area, I noticed he had a few quills in his leg.  Those were a breeze to pull out after the ordeal we just went through.  Scooby was sore, but hopefully on the road to recovery.  He didn’t seem to hold a grudge against me either, wagging his tail and wanting attention.

After I left the injured to rest, I had to stop and fuel up the car.  I didn’t even realize the streaks and spattered blood on my T-shirt, arms, legs and hands until I got out.  I looked like I just fed someone to the pigs!  Either that or I worked in a butcher shop.  What was really amusing, was when I went to take a shower and saw I wiped my forehead and face with a bloody hand.  Can you image what a bystander thought as they saw me pumping gas?  I had blood spatter across my chest, and streaks of it on the rest of me including my face!

The next day mom took Scooby to the vet’s just to make sure I handle the situation correctly and to ensure he was healing properly.  The vet was impressed, how I managed to get the quills out, all without Scooby taking a chunk of my arm or seriously hurting the dog.  I can’t take all the credit, Scooby was the brave soul.  Of course, he was also the knucklehead who stuck his face in direct line of fire of a porcupine.  But that’s another topic.

Well, clean bill of heath, or so we thought.  After some time passed Scooby started to develop a lump under his chin.  Mom hauled him back to the dreaded vet, which the dog absolutely despises.  Scooby growls at him every time and won’t let the vet come too close, let alone touch him.  The outcome?  Scooby was to take some medicine to hopefully dissolve this trapped piece of quill.  Initially, the vet had Scooby on an antibiotic to ensure the wounds wouldn’t get infected.  Now he was back to more medications.

Well, after medications were consumed the lump still remained.  Let’s discussing giving this dog his pills.  Scooby isn’t the easiest patient.  Mom had to roll up his pills in lunch meat and bread to get his drugs into him.  However, mom said that shortly after she started this daily routine, Scooby caught on to the extra love.  He seemed to develop a talent for eating the food and spitting out the pills onto the floor.  What a stinker!   Then mom would have to go through the process again until he consumed the medications.  The dog is too smart to take his pills, but not smart enough to stay away from animals with built in weapons.

This past weekend we took Scooby back to the vet’s to have the lump inspected.  The vet said that he thinks it’s actually scare tissue.  He measured the two centimeter bump and told us to watch it, making sure it doesn’t grow.  The vet looked Scooby over and you know what?  He wasn’t in pain, at all.  If that was an abscess, Scooby wouldn’t be able to eat, and certainly not play tug of war with Seven, which he does occasionally.  Can you believe all this from one innocent walk through the woods.  I guess it could have been worse and I’m glad the our Labrador  seems to be healthy and happy.