The Great Elk Hound Chase
And today - Even more Fun with Animals!
I got up this morning and let the dogs out to do their business when the promptly took off like a couple of medium sized cannons and headed for the hills. Or at least, the next field...It was a beautiful sunny day. If you ignored the cold, the sunshine almost looked like Spring had arrived. I guess the dogs thought so too, after all they are bred for Scandanavia, and its a lot colder in their in the Spring than it is here in Ireland. I stood their calling names and clapping my hands, but all I could see was wagging tails dissapering over the fence. So I did the only think I could think of....
I went and woke up husband and our house mate. Both of whom then got to spend the next several hours trekking over fields, dales and other assorted muddy places. Our female dog came home, about an hour into this process. Her brother took a lot longer. In fact, he came limping back about three hours later, just about the time we were thinking of printing out the lost dog posters. He looked a bit worse for wear, and we wondered if had fallen into the local creek. As Wolf pointed out,
"Its too bad they can't talk...on the other hand maybe its just as well they can't..."
We aren't sure we want to know. My best guess was the he had headed out looking for a lady friend but discovered too late that he was no longer a young dog. Life in a sheltered run, even with those daily walks beside Daddy, do not a long distance runner make...On the other hand, if he really had found a new lady love, its unlikely he would have come back so soon. We're just glad he did, but now we have the challenge of getting two oversize Elk Hounds to go out long enough to do their business and still get them back into the kitchen every few hours. To make it even more fun, we now know that they have figured out that Mommy can't run after them if they decide to bolt. In fact, she can't do much of anything except shout their names and wave her walking stick at them. Which makes her feel pretty silly, though I suspect the dogs find it quite entertaining...
Meanwhile, Daddy, having already lost his cat this week, is now worn down to his last nerve. Or at least synapse and has gone to bed with a migraine. Which I suspect means he will not be walking the dogs soon. I've bought lots of disinfectant floor wash just in case....I think closing in the court yard has just become a much higher priority on the Kilmurry To Do list...
And, since nothing is ever simple, we are once again back to THE GAMING WEEKEND. Yes, that wonderful time when the nerds gather in The Lizard's office and the frozen pizza's go up and down the stairs. The visitors have been warned not to let the dogs out. But after their mad rush this morning, I'm not holding my breath. Having spent all day downstairs waiting to see if the dog came home (and call the guys on the mobile phone if he did) I am now hiding upstairs doing my Pretending to Be Invisible trick again.
And, I have one more reason than usual to stay out of the kitchen during this particular nerd fest. They have taken one-half of my Kitchen table! Oh, not the oak part, that is too heavy to move. After all, it was bought with butchering large animals in mind. No, this is the smaller one, the one that extends out enough to let me place raising breads and cooling cookies on it. The one that is thin enough to attach my appliances to. The table I count on to make up for my nearly complete lack of counter space...of course, my husband thinks the kitchen "New Look" is wonderful and wants to keep it this way. He says we don't need another table and I should appreciate all the space we now have with the second one gone. Which is easy for him to say, he's not the one who feels like the edge of the world has just been cut off, every time they go to set down a mixing bowl! After nearly setting said mixing bowl onto a zen table twice, I decided to give up while I was ahead (and the floor still free of broken bowls). So, I'm going to stay out of the kitchen as much as possible this weekend, and hope my table returns on Monday. If it doesn't....well I'm sure you will here about it here....
Meanwhile, I can entertain myself writing web blogs, reading books or weaving trim. While the guys feast on pre-packaged pork pies, sandwich ham and beer. I suspect I can sneak myself a sandwich or two in between. Provided I can wade past two rather large, furry, sofas. Otherwise known as the Kitchen Hounds.....
Stay Tuned...I suspect it may be a long weekend...
Disaster Cat