Welcome Carol, fishducky, and Brian, new followers of Desert Canyon Living.
I'm at the library again. I don't get to town often or you would see more updates. We are all doing well and having fun in the canyon; this is what's happening:
Today, I stopped by the computer repair shop in town and it may not be too expensive to get my computer fixed. I believe it is a mechanical problem, not something wrong with the hard drive or the software. The woman in the shop said something may have worn out too. I will try to bring it in next week sometime and we'll see. Hopefully, I can manage to get it fixed and get back to blogging and reading blogs soon. I miss you all so much by now. It has been far too long. It feels really strange to blog without pictures. Samson, of course had his opinion on the computer problem, blaming me. So what else is new? He may not be totally wrong though.
Samson Says:
I'll let you in on a little secrect: Mommy has completely IGNORED her computer for the longest time! She hasn't taken any time to try to figure out what's wrong. Im peeved -- it has been weeks since I last laid eyes on Gracie (that's his blogger girlfriend) and what's Mommy doing? Running around with Daddy everywhere, driving that old raggedy pickup truck, wearing her cowboy boots and hat, acting like she thinks she's somebody! Since she paid no attention to her little computer problem, I had to step up and take charge.
She's got a bunch of stuff in front of the electric cords and computer cables because she thinks I'm gonna chew on them. Hello! Who was just two years old? Me! I don't chew on her stuff any more.
So I snuck back there and what I saw, would shock you! I'm sure you all keep all your cords and stuff in the back dusted and neat. What I saw behind our computer was enough to make anyone want to shut down. Dust, dust, and even some of my fur was gathered back there.
So she has to come in from outside, stop playing with Daddy, and clean up around here. I mean, she's not the only one who blogs in this family. No consideration......
Since the computer goes on for a while and then shuts down, I think it has a fan problem. I think it gets too hot, just like me in the summertime. If Mommy wasn't so lazy about it, she could at least have checked it out by now.
Well, she let me blog and I got this far -- maybe the computer is feeling better now. I hope we can read some blogs soon too so I can find out what you all and my Gracie have been up to. I miss you lots. Have a nice day everyone!
Posted by Samson, the Samoyed Pup
Mommy Says: Thanks a lot Samson, you are such a clever dog! And I will take it in to the shop soon. And get one of those air compressor thingys. And I have now taken your advice and vacuumed! (I got Samson's post written at home, but couldn't post it.)
Soldier's Story:
Soldier is getting old. It happens so fast with some dogs. He is eleven now and has arthritis, is going deaf, and seems a bit disoriented at times. But he eats, guards, and is very happy to go on his walks. He also chases and kills any critter that comes in the dog enclosure. Well, almost any critter, sometimes he meets his match. The other day, I saw him out there spitting and coughing and looking like he was in trouble. So I rushed out and found he had tried to kill a little toad. I found out that toads release a poison that is unpleasant to predators and looking at poor Soldier, it was a very, very unpleasant experience, indeed. I put the little toad outside the fence and it seemed relatively unhurt, so its poison came in handy.
Then yesterday, we had the strangest experience. We were being stalked by a coyote! Soldier and I walked up to the barn and a pack of about four coyotes were next to it. Three of them ran up the hillside, stopped and looked a few times, but continued on. That's typical coyote behavior when we run into them. We see them often and we have never been challenged by one.
But one of them may have sensed Soldier's vulnerability since he has a limp now or maybe it was just an agressive animal. Hungry too maybe. I'm guessing here, but it stopped, turned toward us and made that coyote sound, yapping, yipping, that I hear at night when they gather their packs. I assumed they made that sound after they caught their prey, but this one continued with the sound the entire time it was following us. And follow us it did. I stopped when it stopped and we stared at each other. Soldier stared too, but was neither worried nor wanting to attack. His hackles were raised though and he was on the alert, had he been younger..... The donkeys next door were braying like crazy and the atmosphere was strange. I was glad it was only a coyote, not a bear or a mountain lion, because it felt weird. I turned around and Soldier and I slowly walked back to the house. I thought the coyote would just leave, but to my surprise it didn't. It followed us or ran at our side a bit off the road, but not far at all. Hidden by the junipers for most of the trip, but its yapping continued and was so loud that my husband got worried and was about to come out and check on us. After we reached the house, the coyote stopped behind the junipers and continued yapping for a few minutes before it finally took off.
This was the first time I have been stalked by a wild animal and while it was interesting and not all that scary, it still was a very strange feeling.
I guess I should mention that while she has had no adventures to speak of, Angel is doing fine. She is older than Soldier, but is now beginning to seem younger. And how I wish I had some pictures to share with you. I guess I could download some from Picasa, but I am running out of time and email awaits me.
This was a longer post than I planned, but I just had to tell you about our adventures.
Thanks for your comments and I hope to have my computer problems resolved soon.
