FINALLY! An image of a rabbit in flight is captured. It’s very tough to get a decent one, even with a camera at the ready; you can’t predict when the race will begin or where it will go. The cottontail is on the run after Ernie flushed him out from his hutch under a tangle of vines. And generally, the
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It’s four a.m. and my creative spirit is at its height. I sit in my old Morris chair thinking, gently hitting the keyboard on my laptop. From the bed Ernie looks over as if to say, “Do you know what time it is?” Of course I do, and so does my brain. It has a mind of its own. What
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He is twenty-five pounds of muscle and skills that come from an unknown heritage. [Although that is about to change with a doggy DNA kit sitting just over there.] One of his favorite pastimes is sniffing out small animals. Principally, we’re talking about rabbits, the wild ones that hang out on your property and eat your garden clean. [They are
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Well, the laws of celestial bodies have finally kicked in and summer is a thing of the past. Although here in south central Texas you still have to look over your shoulder because you never really know when heat will return like a tenant – with good riddance – you evicted. The point was well made last night listening to
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Recently back from our respective vacations Ernie and I resume our early morning walks. Before I open the door I shine the flashlight through the glass and check its bottom outside: is our little toad ensconced in the corner? He isn’t. So with full enthusiasm we go into the darkness; Ern’s leash is on because I never know if we
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What a beautiful day it was yesterday: clear blue, sunny sky, with a hint of coolness from a north breeze. We need days like this to dry out the slog from the last few weeks of record-breaking rain. It is also a primo day to work on the motorcycle. Sitting outside on my stool with wrenches at the ready I
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Having now lived two full years of an agrarian Texas country life, I’ve come to appreciate Nature’s hand in it. It is just as random and capricious out here as it is in the midst of cheek-to-jowl big city humanity. The difference is that in farm country our animal kingdom friends are close-by, clearly seen, and there are more of them.
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After fifteen months of living together Ernie was bound to exhibit a dark side. This morning he snarled and took a stand that gave every indication he would bite me. Ernie: the world’s most appreciative and happy pooch? Since occasionally he startles and puts a rabbit to run I’ve often wondered what would happen if he actually caught one. Now I know.
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“Here’s another nice mess you’ve gotten me into”, said Oliver Hardy to Stan Laurel. [*] Ernie recently managed to get us into one of those situations. [Although in our case I am not always sure who is Stan and who is Oliver?] His nature is to go wherever his nose takes him: rabbits, field mice or rats, and grass hoppers
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Last Friday night began uneventfully. The fact that it was Friday the thirteenth had come to mind but only fleetingly. It was about ten p.m. and I had just finished washing dinner dishes. While starting my pre-sleep routine Ernie began barking towards the side door. Normally I would check outside to discover the source of his concern. This time I
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