When I was four years old, my family adopted a little mutt (a beagle/terrier/poodle mix) from the pound. I had her until I was 21 – when I finally, and painfully, decided to have her put her down.
Afterwards I used to remark that having had a dog so long, I didn’t know that if you dropped food you also had to pick it up. Muffin was always at my side (especially in the kitchen) and a big chow hound who never missed an opportunity to get an extra snack.
Albert has taken over her “Hoover” mantel. Usually he scores bits of veggies that drop off the cutting board, but this morning it was oats.
There’s my favorite rabbit. I guess he’s like a living Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner. I just thought, he automatically empties himself so unlike Roomba, you don’t have to worry about that. š
Yes, but we have to empty the box that he empties himself into (and boy does it get to stinking if you don’t keep up).
Those Roombas are awesome. I want one. Of course when discussing the merits of one we figured that Albert would probably hop aboard and ride it around the house.
Yep that would be a point against Albert. However, I’m sure he’s much more cuddly than a Roomba. I think the Roombas are awesome too. I’m saving my pennies for one.
He’s been a bit more cuddly now that the temperatures have dropped.
Yesterday, I lit a fire and he came bounding out from the spare bedroom (mere seconds after I struck the match) to assume the position under the wood stove.
We had a rainy morning.
I love, love, love this picture. It’s just wonderful.
You’ve got to admire any being that can slack like that when others are pulling the vacuum. If only I could get that slackerly.
For all you sesquipedalians out there in Dog Blog land, here’s fun place to test your skills and to do your meager best to fight hunger. Since yesterday (when Imogen told me about this site) I’ve donated 7740 grains of rice – at 20 grains per correct answer.
Of course, I googled “how many grains in a pound of rice” and found out that there are 29,000. Which leaves me a lot more playing before my contribution amounts to much.
My best vocabulary level is 48, and I average about 45-46. My last word was ratiocinative – which I got right. š
No other wordy-nerdy types on this thread?
Imogen and I have both gotten up to level 50 a few times now, and together we’ve donated over two-thirds of a pound of rice (almost 20,000 grains).
Hi keres,
I’ve linked to FreeRice before (also today in Steven D’s front page story on food rationing) and stop by now and then.
I think my stats are similar to yours. Did you notice that you can do cumulative scores in ‘options’?
Yep, we have it set for cumulative scores.
It’s nice to hear that FreeRice has gotten your support and is now getting front page treatment as well.
In addition to playing I also click through to one of their advertisers once per session, because that’s what the advertisers will be counting in determining whether their ad money is well spent.
It’s the perfect place! You’ve got your hole and you can snuggle up against the house. Giddy points out, though, that to be absolutely perfect, it should also be under a porch.
Alas, we don’t have a porch, so she had to make due with a fuchsia.
For some reason, Giddy doesn’t like to be inside when there’s precip but she’s made herself a perfect fitted hole underneath the small front porch, right up against the house.
Dogs. Snow. No pawprints.
Click for larger
Wow. Levitating puppies.
We’re in the middle of drizzly period, with occasional short burst of actual rain. Luna’s been sleeping inside as a result. This morning I awoke to the sonorous sounds of canine snoring.
We had the thousands of males for the better part of a month before we started seeing the females. Now we have tons of females and see only the occasional lagging male.
This female, along with dozens of others, was feeding on the sap from one of our eucalyptus trees.
Wow, that’s a fantastic close-up.
As for the males, I guess it’s like Madeline Kahn said in Young Frankenstein: “Oh. Where you going?… Oh, you men are all alike. Seven or eight quick ones and then you’re out with the boys to boast and brag.”
Or, in this case, they have sex – and then die. The males we occasionally see are probably the virgins.
The females breed, and then spend another three to four months waiting to lay their eggs. That way their caterpillars are timed for the burst of green grass that results from the fall rains.
This appears to be a young Three-Lined Skink, Acritoscincus duperreyi.
The black irrigation pipe is only an inch-and-half in diameter, which makes this little critter about two inches long (most of which is tail). Skinks are live-bearers, and obviously they’ve recently given birth as there are literally thousands of tiny skinks scattering through the grasses right now.
This appears here just a little bigger than actual size.
Here. Darwin Award, narrowly averted.