Dogs And Cats Of Home

Bugsy was my first test subject for a new camera. He was sitting on the blue yoga mat, next to the blue dog food bin:

 Seamus, Daphne and Jack hung out at the ramp while I mowed their lawn. You can see the plum tree in blossom in the background:

 Fergus moved away from the lawn mower and over to the back of the house while I mowed:

 Clover prefers the north end of the yard, where she can nap on the warm rocks and be surrounded by tall grass:

And then Clover moved inside the dog house. Usually Daphne is the only one who goes in there:

 In the farm house kitchen - a typical scene with Daisy, Sammy and Clover:

 My sister brought me some mitten type hand puppets. I filled them with catnip and the cats went wild:

 Jack watched as the cats got stoned:

After dumping the catnip out of one puppet, Sammy began rolling in it and got totally wasted. His eyes sort of crossed and he began "catching" his own tail:

 On the other side of the house, Daphne and Seamus rested quietly in the computer room:

 The big green floor pillow in the kitchen corner is always the most popular place in the house for napping:

 Another blue photo, a result of blue yoga mats and a blue dog bed:

Farm Dogs, Farm Cats - Living The Good Life

The dogs and cats here are indeed living the good life. A case in point would be this collection of Clover, Daphne, Fergus and Jack lounging in the kitchen corner:

The cats stay in the house, but the dogs get to go out into their fenced yard often:

They seem to love it outdoors but still often collect at the gate, waiting for me to let them back in:

Bugsy is now the only cat who joins the dogs on the floor pillows, but he climbs right in on the pile:

Daisy has several favorite spots to nap, and this bed on top of a bureau is one of them:

Clover, Fergus and Daphne. Notice that Fergus couldn't restrain his yawn long enough for me to snap a picture. Or maybe he was making an editorial comment:

Bugsy again, making himself comfortable between Clover and Daphne:

Daphne is the only dog who goes inside the dog house, sometimes using it for shade or shelter from the rain:

Old Georgette began climbing to the tipsy top of an upstairs cat tree. She spent much time there, clearly not worried about it toppling:

Bugsy cuddled up against his friend, Clover, while Fergus kept a bit of distance:

Outdoors by the maple tree, a perfect spot to bark their fool heads off at everything that moves, real or imaginary:

One more shot of the beloved green floor pillow, this time with Clover, Bugsy, Fergus and Daphne:

Comfortable Pets At Home

As the weather outside slowly gets colder, the indoor pets, though always warm, seem to spend more time snuggling on soft surfaces. Bugsy is fond of this little table which is covered by a rug:

Former tenants left this dog house behind when they moved. My dogs have mostly ignored it, but sometimes Daphne uses it to get out of the wind or rain:

Seamus' thick, woolly coat makes him pretty much impervious to the cold. He could stay outdoors for long periods, though he too likes his soft beds inside the house:

The ramp is still a favorite resting spot for the dogs when they're outdoors - and yes, the Rugosa Roses are still putting out a few late season flowers:

But the favorite resting spot is the kitchen corner with its floor pillows and dog beds:

As for Georgette, she is wedded to her bed on the kitchen table. That's Fergus, watching from the background:

And speaking of snuggling, Clover and Bramble are a preferred duo. They are proof that dogs and cats can love each other:

The dogs always want to come in - unless I'm outdoors also:

A typical kitchen corner scene - Daphne, Clover, Jack, Bramble and Seamus:

Rocky, atop the dog food bin. It's difficult to get a good photo of Rocky. His tuxedo coloring seems to throw off the camera's sensors:

Even Bramble, here atop a 6 foot high cabinet, always looks black and white even though he's really gray and white:

Jack, Clover, Fergus, Rocky, Seamus and Daphne, a kitchen corner pet collection:

Indoor/Outdoor Pets

It's been a pleasant summer for the dogs. They get lots of rest indoors - and lots of rest outdoors. In this case, they also got the shade and sweet perfume of the Rugosa Roses:

 Seamus enjoys his time outdoors but if it's warm and sunny, he finds a shady spot:

 Bramble is happy to sit on a windowsill and watch for birds outside:

 Two "Poodly" buddies at the foot of the stairs, Fergus and Seamus:

 Bugsy, the bad boy of the house. He's not actually bad, but he sure is mischievous:

Daisy has forgotten her roots as an abandoned barn cat and made herself at home as a pampered house cat:

 Seamus and Fergus, again at the foot of the stairs:

 Little Daphne, keeping her eyes on me:

 And Seamus and Jack watched me through the Rugosa Roses:

 I was mowing the dog yard, so Clover hid inside the dog house:

Again on their ramp, a favorite spot:

 Daphne, the little dog with the big personality:

Housepets

We've had early snow melts (alternating with blizzards) and take advantage of them. After cold and snow, it feels wonderful to be out in the sun again:

Daphne and Clover bask in the glorious sun:

Georgette stays inside, comfortable in her cat bed on the kitchen table:

Morning mealtimes have become a community event. Amazingly, I have no food aggressive animals. They all share. In this case, it was Rocky, Clover, Daisy, Bugsy and Daphne at the food bowls. Another wall had more food and water bowls:

And the cats have additional access to cat food, water and litter boxes on both floors:

Daisy's upper respiratory infection and diseased cornea both seem to be healed:

And the scrawny, flea and disease ridden, abandoned kitten, Bugsy, is now a long, luxurious, adult cat:

Rocky is getting old, but he still gets around and always wants more attention:

Dixie, the guinea pig, apparently had a stroke which took the use of her rear legs. Then she lost the use of her front legs also. I didn't know what to do, so I began wrapping her in a dish towel, kind of like a guinea pig burrito, and she loved it. It keeps her upright and I put food in front of her face. She is eating and drinking (I hold her up to the water bottle) so much that I have to change her towel many times each day:

She wriggles out of her towel burrito sometimes, but it gives her better traction than the pine shavings, and she can often remain upright on her own, at least for a while:

Dixie has also become more communicative. She used to be mostly silent, but now she vocalizes her wants - and sometimes she just wants to be petted:

At first I expected her to die soon, but she seems to have developed a new life with which she is happy: