Seamus Loses Volume (But Not Weight)

It had been bothering me for quite awhile that Seamus' already rather hefty body was growing wider and wider with the addition of an ever expanding coat of black wool. While I rather like his fully furred look, I knew I must give him a haircut soon. One Sunday afternoon I spread a tarp on the floor and called him over for a beauty treatment:

Seamus doesn't like getting a haircut. He enjoys getting my full attention, but not holding still for so long or being forced into strange positions. But he apparently had no bad memories from previous shearings:

I had the vacuum cleaner on stand-by as I began the clipping. Fergus watched with fascination as his big buddy was about to get a haircut:

I began on the most difficult part - his legs. I kept telling him to sit but he kept lying down. I was become increasingly irritated until I noticed that the slick tarp was making it impossible for big ol' Seamus to maintain his seated position because his front feet kept slipping forward. So I removed the tarp and braced myself for the horrible hairy mess I'd soon have to clean up on the carpet:

Luckily, Seamus is a placid and agreeable fellow. He didn't mind too much:

Being on a non-slippery surface made it more pleasant for both of us. Also, I left my expensive but useless electric clippers in their case and just used sharp scissors. That also made it easier:

When I was all done, I had a horrible mess. This is AFTER I'd cleaned up most of the hair with a leaf rake:

And here's the handsome fellow with his new coiffure. Clover looks on in admiration:

Winky (on the left) got a back-end hair trimming. This is more difficult because I must keep one hand on his neck to prevent being bitten. This leaves me only one hand with which to do the clipping. Daphne (on the right) is a Papillon and has the breed advantage of not needing haircuts. After owning Poodles, I've come to cherish the wash-n-wear coat of the Papillon breed:

Happy Haunted Halloween - Part 2

Evil lurks this night of nights
And spreads its fear inside your house,
Causing howls and chills and frights
Creatures are stirring, not just a mouse:

A tiger comes from jungles deep
To haunt your very dreams,
To make your jitters upwards creep
Here to stay, or so it seems:

A scary thing with ghoulish howl
Has come to frighten all tonight,
A monster clad in pumpkin cowl
Will put your family all to flight:

From darkest jungles comes the panther
to haunt your every thought,
"I'm afraid" will be your answer
Fearing that you will be caught:

The blue-haired monster rises up
To give you quite a start,
Your dreams he's going to interrupt
And bring a terror to your heart:

Fear the fallen angel too
Who flits about your inward spaces,
Screaming, howling, shouting "Boo!"
Putting terror on all your faces:

Most fearful is the evil witch
With braided orange hair,
She'll make you have a nervous twitch
Then fly on broomstick out of there:

And jungle cats from nightmares past
Haunt your dreams and steel your sleep,
Fear has arrived, the die is cast
Arrived from gloomy jungles deep:

But don't be fooled by cutesy bunnies,
They'll try to trick you into being slow,
Don't let them coo and call you "Honey"
They're really monsters from below:

And, worst of all, the wicked devil
With horns on head and scarlet wings,
Don't trust him, he's not on the level
Fear and dread are his offerings:

So Halloween is almost upon us
The night when all these fearful critters
Haunt the night and cause a ruckus
And turn the bold to timid quitters: