Grateful Monday

I am always grateful for these two cute dogs—even when they eat my shoes.

I got to give Milam Touch of Love a check to cover buying materials for the new dog run at the City of Cameron pound. Photo by Suna

Harvey and Suna both love to sing, and I enjoy listening to them.

A big black dog

Little too much gray around the muzzle

A big black dog

Why she ended up at the pound is a puzzle

—Emmylou Harris and Will Jennings

This week is another of those that prove the need to cherish the things that don’t go to plan as much as those that do. Everything you experience goes how you want it to, benefits you or your community in unexpected ways, or teaches you something that will make you a better person going forward.

Sarita snags … again.

The Sarita sale keeps hitting snag after snag. On Friday, the title company called for payoff so they could complete the settlement statement. The mortgage company “couldn’t find the loan.” By the time this snag was resolved, it was too late to finish the statement today. They can finish it on Monday, but FHA requires three days to review it. That would put closing on Thanksgiving Day. Looks like next Monday will be the earliest we can close.

The incompetence of title companies and mortgage companies is outside of my control. I’m doing better at accepting this reality. The Realtor® helping us with the sale thanked me for “being so patient.”

Better living through chemistry. Right? Not so much. I’m grateful to be learning to focus on what I can affect.

Cars are expensive!

Through a series of decisions, we now own three cars that need to be inspected, licensed, and maintained in November. This year, I failed to set up a reserve to handle this expense. So of course, my car needed thousands of dollars in repairs.

The timing is set and can’t be changed unless I trade vehicles. The lack of reserves is something I can correct, and I will.

I am grateful I had more than enough set back in the family’s general reserve account to cover the combined expense.

Tractor Supply rocks!

Suna and I went to the Herne Tractor Supply to buy things for the horses. While we were there, we got to talking with a really nice guy who turned out to be the store manager … at least, until January sometime.

He helped us find all the materials we need to build a big dog run for the City of Cameron’s pound. Now that we know where to find all the materials, Hearts, Homes, and Hands cut a check to Milam Touch of Love, the charity that supports pounds and animal rescues in Milam County, to cover the expense. Next week, we will go pick up all the materials, and my nephew Chris has promised to help put the run together over the Thanksgiving weekend.

I am so grateful we could help further the work of MToL and help take care of the lovely animals who end up in the Cameron pound.

We Occasionally Get to Kick Back

I am so pleased with how good a dog Brody is turning out to be. His loyalty is beyond question. Photo by: Suna

Suna enjoys a cold, funny-flavored Shiner. I prefer beer that tastes like beer.

Brody and Harvey pretend to be so ferocious. They play like predators.

After the stresses of the last week—the floods, worrying about if any of our projects were damaged in the storms (They weren’t.), and keeping up with life in general, it’s nice to be able to take a few minutes to relax and enjoy ourselves. So that is exactly what we did.

Suna and I sat on the back porch at the ranch and enjoyed the natural beauty around us. We enjoyed each other’s company. Oh, yeah. A few adult beverages were involved in the enjoyment, too.

The dogs enjoyed being able to get out and have fun. Brody and Harvey act like human brothers. They play hard. They beat each other bloody, although they are very careful not to really hurt each other. Then they curl up for a nap together. I love watching them, and they are such good companions.

He’ll Be Watching Me

Brody watches me from the porch while Harvey plays in the grass.

Every breath you take, every move you make

I’ll be watching you.

— Sting

I wanted to post this picture to show one reason why we do what we do. These two keep me sane. Dogs are very grounded creatures. They care deeply about their pack family, but they live in the eternal present. No worries beyond right now. What a wonderful way to live.

Brody never takes his eyes off of me. In fact, Suna has a T-shirt with a cattle dog looking longingly up at you and the words to the Sting song on it.

Meanwhile, Harvey is rolling in something he loves out in the grass.

Good Company

This isn’t a very good picture, but it shows the boys in one of their favorite office activities: pretending to be cats sitting in a window.

I spend a lot of time working in my “office,” which is really a room in the garage I originally intended to use as a woodshop. Brody and Harvey keep me company even though I’m sure they’re bored. They still like hanging out with me.

Dogs and Doors

Harvey can’t believe Brody would attack my foot. Rose watches Harvey.

The garage provides enough space to stain all the doors and let them dry.
The stain on the doors matches the bookcases and trim in Suna’s office. It contrasts well with the green walls.

It’s a tug of war.

We expected more.

But with one thing and another,

We were trying to outdo each other.

—Paul McCartney

Rose and Brody have accepted Harvey. Rose is so easy going, she was never at question. I was more concerned with how the two mail adolescents would get along.

Brody, who has been with me since he was six weeks old, is comfortable enough with me to use me as chew toys—especially my socks...especially when they’re still on my feet. Harvey looks on in disbelief every time. Sometimes he looks at me as if to say, “I would never treat you like that, New Daddy.”

Doors

The painter lined up the new doors in the garage to stain. They looked almost like they were floating if you ignored the bits of wood at the top and bottom that held them together.

The garage made the perfect place to stain the doors. It had plenty of room to work, and it didn’t matter if the overspray hit the floor or the walls, not that there seemed to be that much overspray. Finally, leaving the doors open a bit provided plenty of airflow to encourage drying.

Once the stain dried, it is a perfect match for the bookcases and trim installed throughout the house. It stands out nicely against the green Suna chose for her office. It’s darker than the caucasian color of the downstairs, but it may be a bit too close of a match for the bamboo we installed upstairs. It does stand out somewhat against the chocolate color of the master bedroom and the orange of the master bath.

 

A New Harvey

Sara pets Harvey at the Annex
“What’s that other dog doing over there. He looks nice.”

“Thank you for feeding me. Will you be my new daddy?”
You can see the poor boy’s ribs through his coat from the front. There are also two wounds on his side where he was either shot or impaled by something.
I don’t know how anybody could abandon such a sweet boy to starve to death. There must have been something serious going on in their life.

That’s just the way it is

Some things will never change

That’s just the way it is

Ah, but don’t you believe them

—Bruce Hornsby

When we went to our friend Janet’s house for Thanksgiving, our neighbors were there, too. Ralph and Sara told Suna and me about this dog someone had dumped at the Rattlesnake Annex.

People dump dogs in the country all the time. I guess they think the dogs can survive by hunting or something. But most abandoned dogs are shot when they try to get at someone’s livestock or chickens. Almost all of the others starve to death because they have to learn how to hunt. If they’re abandoned, they don’t have time to learn before they starve. Only a few get rescued.

I didn’t think too much about another abandoned dog. Ralph or someone would probably put him out of his misery before he suffered too much. So I was surprised when Ralph called this morning to tell me I needed to “come get this dog.” He was still at the Annex, and Ralph had apparently been feeding him enough scraps to keep him going. Ralph explained, “He waits at the gate everyday for his people to come back and get him. He only leaves long enough to find some water or maybe a little to eat.” Ralph said the dog was understandably shy and hard to get close to. It had taken him a couple of weeks to get him to take food without waiting for Ralph to leave.

When I pulled up at the Annex, Sara was petting him. They had given him a bone with some meat on it to chew. I talked to them a bit. When he saw me leaving, he walked calmly to the car. When I opened the door, he jumped in, crawled into the passenger seat, and sat down looking at me like he was trying to say, “Okay. Let’s go home now.”

I took him home, and Brody accepted him without question. Suna calls him Harvey. Or Starvey Harvey because he’s so starved (only 19.2 pounds, although his frame will support at least twice that). To keep from making him sick, I fed him only about half a cup of dog food, which he ate greedily. When he was done, he jumped on the couch, laid his head down on my lap, and went to sleep.

That is not normal behavior for a rescue. I’ve spent the better part of a week getting a rescue to let me see them. I’ve never been accepted so quickly.

I guess Harvey is home.