Spying on my dog.

It was just an experiment. I have always told everyone that I keep Nollie in her crate when I'm gone because it keeps her calmer. But since I'm not there how do I know? Common wisdom says your dog sleeps all day when you are gone.

Well, one time about 6 years ago in her old house she was left "loose" and when we came home there were accidents, a lamp was knocked over, and she was overheated and panting (from nonstop barking, I suppose).

So, we live alone now so she has to spend 9+ hours in the crate 5 days a week. I feel so bad for her I tried a couple of ways to leave her loose. It was a disaster. When I left her in the bedroom she was good the first day but by the second day it was accidents and more. So I tried leaving her in the bathroom with a pottie pad and water. When I got home I could kind of hear her barking from outside, and when I let her out she seemed overheated. The next day I put the voice activated recorder in there with her and found out she had barked for 3 or more hours. Plus accidents and overheating.

Back in the crate, the recorder told me she barked a total of 18 minutes all day. I don't like crateing her all day but it does keep her calmer. Now I have proof.

Freak rainstorm in Boynton

There was a freaky rainstorm in Boynton last night that dumped 8-10 inches of rain. Lots of parts of Gateway were flooded, including the back entrance to my neighborhood. My lake was up several feet this morning and the high water mark was more than halfway up to my patio. Oh, and this freaky drain pipe thing appeared on the side. Did it float up out of the lake during the storm? Can Dottie's flooded car be saved? Since it followed us home can we keep the water? Enquiring minds want to know.

My Garage!

These are the "before" shots.

I know I shouldn't be so excited about a garage, but it is going to be so awesome to have it all fixed up and organized. Right now, all the stuff stored there is on one jerry-rigged table, 2 high wall shelves and all over the floor. I've lived here 6 months and never parked my car in the garage! I didn't even know I had a big bag of potting soil out there. I could have repotted that palm that's pushing it's way out of it's pot. In my defense, the former owners left a lot of this stuff and it's been kind of hot outside.....

I have to get the shelving in place so I can put Nina's limbo stuff out there. She says some day she'll go through it and sell some of it on eBay. Yeah, right. In the meantime, out of the house and into the garage with it!

Here's the deal, folks.

Never mind. I'm much mellower now.

My backyard swan

I looked out the back window today and saw we have a SWAN in the lake. Just when you think the view couldn't get any better!

I'm really enjoying my new house, because now I have furniture and it's getting better all the time. I had a little party on Christmas Eve, with 8 or 9 people, and now it's leftovers daily. You know, the yummy kind!

Here's my table:

You know, if I hadn't divorced I'd still be living in that low-class box my ex calls a house. Thanks Mr Asshat for insisting you wanted the "house". I'd not be where I am today with ya!

In the meantime I'll just sit on the back lanai and enjoy the wildlife show. Happy New Year to one and all!

Nina's new place

Nina officially moved into her first own home, with Tristan, last Friday. This is a huge commitment for her and I know she is thrilled to be there. Of course Nollie and I miss her very much.

Good luck Nina, I love you!

Sunrise in my back yard

The view from my back window this week was spectacular. Check out this sunrise:

The four large ducks in the middle are the fake ducks for the sprinker intake pipes. The small duck on the left is one of the several real ducks that hang out on the lake. It is beautiful!

We have an abundance of wildlife here, including ducks, rabbits, foxes, too many frogs, egrets, and even one heron that hangs out here on occasion. When it is rainy the lake comes alive with birds. I am loving my view of nature from my back window.

With all this wildlife, what do you suppose Nollie barks at the loudest and longest? The lizards on the back patio of course. Go figure.