Happy Memorial Day!!

We had Mom prepost this because with Dog Dad around we know she'll be too distracted to remember to put up anything. We love long weekends. An extra day with Dad is always a treat.

The morning starts early on Memorial Day. The City has a Memorial Day parade that visits all the war memorials in the area. It isn't like the more formal Labor Day Parade that Mom and Dad go to in the fall. However, even if you aren't there, you can hear it from our house. The bands and the guns are pretty loud. No sleeping in on Memorial Day.

Memorial Day has a special meaning for Mom because her Dad was a Veteran of WWII and Korea. She was always taught to remember that while it was nice to have a long weekend, this day was about more than a day off.

Mom and Dad usually start thinking about the veggie gardens this weekend. They check out the local garden shop and see what he has in for veggie plants and start working on the raised beds. As of this posting, the weather is questionable. However, Mom will still probably talk Dog Dad into checking out the veggie plants. Those go quick if you don't hunt early.

We'll let you know how all of that works out.

We hope you are all enjoying a beautiful Memorial Day with your family and friends.



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Bailey 5 Garter Snakes 1

The totals are in, after this weekend with two additional captures, five garter snakes relocated, one escaped. The niece was back after Dad located another snake in the bulkhead. Turns out there were two and one actually made his way into the house. While hunting the first one the second one slid into the house. Thankfully, the basement is cold and it did not like its sanctuary. When the first one was relocated, Dad and the niece closed the bulkhead and figured if left alone it might return to the heat of the bulkhead. Sure enough, after an hour, they checked and while stubborn, he was captured and relocated. During his capture, he also gave away the location of the snake entrance and exit. Dad has since boarded this up, so he has high hopes this will reduce or eliminate snakes in the bulkhead.

Dad said I was instrumental in locating and flushing out the snakes. However, I was also responsible for the snake that got in the house as I got between the snake and the niece in an attempt to protect her from the snake. As a result, it was able to make its escape. I was very glad when it was caught later. I am also hoping that Dad's patch works.

Katy is getting tired of me working all the time. Yesterday, we had our first good yard zoomie in ages. While Mom was doing her yard walking exercises, I chased Katy through the hosta and lily plants. She was so happy. Katy also reminded me that we need to practice for the Blogville Olympics. We are hosting Squirrel Hurdles and while I have been hunting snakes, my training for clearance of hosta and other floras have been limited. Katy while shorter has a much better clearance range than I do right now. Yesterday she showed me some amazing moves. I have some work to catch up.

Bailey Takes on the Garter Snakes

This looks like a harmless bulkhead, but I have been warning Mom and Dad for months that it harbored the most feared garter snakes. Yes, not deadly or really even harmful, but greatly feared in this house. Neither Mom nor Dad are fans. Not just one, but a family was living here. I barked, I walked up on it, I sniffed, I scratched, but nobody would pay attention to my snake alarm. We had snakes.

Then came the niece who rescued us when Mom was in the hospital. Mom and Dad asked her if she would help clear the veggie gardens for planting since Mom is under doctor's order to do no physical stuff for a while. While she is terrified of spiders, she has no issue with snakes. Now I had a partner to work with on getting the snake issued solved.

While she and Dad were working on getting the gardens cleared Mom told Dad she thought I might be on to something and sure enough while the bulkhead was clear earlier, when Dad checked after my warnings a snake had dropped in for a visit. We even learned that snakes can climb stairs. The first snake was relocated much to Mom's relief. I however, knew this was not an isolated bachelor or bachelorette. This snake had family. When the bulkhead was closed I put nose to the ground and found another snake. When they took a break from veggie gardening Dad could not believe there were two, but Mom convinced him to check. This one tried to twist himself into a place where he could not be pulled out. However, my barking and her quick speed had that snake relocated as well. They eventually went back to gardening, but I knew we were not done. These snakes are tricky.

Sure enough, I found the scent and Mom had Dad come over and only Mom and I really believed there would be another. This one was small and angry. It had plans and no desire to relocate. He tried to bite and I rushed down the stairs in full attack mode. Nobody bites my snake wrangler. The snake moved out of its protective area allowing it to be trapped and again relocated. We found one more outside the bulkhead, but it was worm sized and too small to catch.

It is so wonderful to finally be listened to and have a partner who is not afraid to deal with these snakes. Katy patrolled the back fence all afternoon to prevent the snakes from coming back. We hope they like their new digs better. We do not want them in the yard again.




Dad has since cleaned out what Mom called the snake garden and put an Eggplant in it since there was no room for it in the Veggie gardens. Mom and Dad's niece has promised to come back and remove any other snakes that might decide to make an appearance. It is so good to have a partner in your work.

Spring Flowers

We helped Mom find flowers. She shot these pictures while we were out exploring yesterday. Some of them first appeared in the snow and Mom was afraid they would not actually appear in the spring weather. However, she hunted them down and now has pictures.

Katy did not want to be in the pictures. However, she strangely appeared in the outdoor craft pictures Mom was trying to keep her out of yesterday. She kept slipping into the picture after Mom thought she was gone.

This Garden Thing Has its Moments

Mom and Dad spend more time outdoors. This weekend Mom and Dad were actually on the garden swing. OK they forgot to bring the cushions out and I ended up in Mom's lap instead of sitting on my favorite comfy spot. However, despite the heat they are still outside with us.

Dad is excited because he had enough veggies to make a salad. He had cucumber, lettuce, zucchini, green onions, and peppers. The tomatoes are still green, but he was happy with the harvest. He has an eggplant close to done and Mom is thinking parmesan. What does this have to do with us? Well as Mom always tells us, happy well fed parents make for happy Shelties. When they are eating healthy, they have more energy for playing with us and you know it is all about us.

No additional critter incursions to add to my weekend report. Katy and I have been vocal this weekend. I suspect that has helped keep down the visits. Human activity also makes them less likely to wander in and attack the plants.