Chasing Squirrels

We SO need to get a doggy door. 

I can’t tell you how much time I spend each day getting up (from the sofa, table, etc.) to let dogs out and getting up to let them in again.  You know how they do those studies of how people spend their time in the course of their lives?  Like, “The average person will spend a total of 1.5 years of their life in the bathroom.”  Well, I don’t even want to think about how much time I spend at the back door.  I could probably complete a doctoral dissertation in the amount of time I have spent in the last few years complying with my dogs’ demands.

The Great and Mighty Squirrel Hunters
Waiting on Their Prey

The problem is compounded by the fact that 1) two of our Doxies are obsessed with squirrels, and 2) we have lots of squirrels in and around our back yard.  Plus, I really believe that one of the squirrels either has a death wish, or knows exactly what he’s doing when he taunts the two aforementioned dogs.  I’m not kidding, if the dogs are inside, this squirrel has actually come up to the back patio door and calmly sat there preening while my dogs go crazy on the other side of the glass, and I can’t prove this, but I swear he is making faces at them.  I’ve seen this little guy sit on the roof of our shed out back with our two mighty squirrel hunters sitting right below, going crazy, and this fuzz ball takes a flying leap over our dogs’ heads and runs for one of the oak trees in our yard.  Thing is, the squirrel could just as easily avoid this whole process by jumping into the neighbors yard since our shed is right next to the fence and her tree is right next to our tree.  I’ve also seen this guy sit just high enough on the side of the tree so that our dogs can’t reach him, but close enough to make them nuts. 

This is my life…

This morning, although we have storms due any time now, the weather is perfect for having the windows open, and since the mosquito population has slightly decreased with the change of the seasons, I have opened the back patio door wide enough so that the dogs can go in and out as they please.  The result of this action = BLISS.  I haven’t had to get up but once to go outside and yell at them for barking at the dog across the street (a daily occurrence).  Plus, the psychotic squirrel has been noticeably absent.  It’s a win-win all the way around.  I may get some serious knitting done today.

An Atrocity If I've Ever Seen One

Speaking of knitting, my mother-in-law shared this picture with me on Facebook and I thought I’d share it with you.  If you think this is cool, please stop reading immediately and proceed to your nearest doctor to find out what in the world is wrong with you.  I’ve never seen anything quite so ugly.  The pressing question is who thought this would be a good idea???  

<---  I don’t care if you live in The Arctic, this is just wrong…

On a more cheerful note, while I am still in need of buttons to finish the Malabrigo sweater, I have finished the knitting portion of my daughter’s project and have some detailing to do.  Since I could not work on it over the weekend lest her little peeping eyes see it before its’ time, I cast on sweater number 5 and I must say, this is the easiest sweater I’ve done yet.  It’s from a bulky yarn, so I am progressing three times faster than the other sweaters I’ve done.  I’ve actually got the entire body done and am almost finished with sleeve #1.  I should have this finished no later than tomorrow.  Ooooohhh yeeeeaaaahhhh!!!

I might actually make my Christmas deadline after all…

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