Happy 5th Birthday Sadie

House Guest

Grammy and Granddad have been away for a conference this week in Iowa.  As a result, Maggie has been sleeping over. 

I use the term 'sleeping' loosely as the dog as no 'Off' switch.  Like the Energizer Bunny, she just keeps going, and going, and going...

But in an incredibly rare instance of tranquility, we caught the moment pictured below...

 

New Tennants

If you will recall, last July we had a bit of an ordeal with a bird nest in the back yard.  Well, thanks to my work of strapping that nest down, it continues to reside in the Redbud adjacent to our deck.

Said nest was vacant until just a couple of weeks ago when an apparently expectant Mourning Dove moved in. Mama promptly remodeled the place to her liking and laid a clutch of two eggs.  Those eggs have since hatched and we now have two wee babes staring back at us every time we take Sadie out.

Meet Gracie

Today, Grammy was out and about with Abby, Amanda, and Aidan. As they made their way down Kirkwood Highway, Grammy spotted something small and furry in the middle of the road. With no other cars nearby, she slowed the van and drove over top of it, straddling it with her tires.

Once the van was just past it, Grammy stopped in the middle of the road, lit the hazard lights, and got out to investigate. Sure enough, it was a very young kitten. And it was mostly unhurt but for a small patch of missing fur on her hind leg. She immediately scooped it up and quickly got back in the van.

Once home, it became apparent just how young the wee babe is. This little one should still be nursing. But now, separated from its mother, Grammy has had to take on the role. But its a role she happily accepts.

So, with all that said, meet Gracie.

Happy Birthday Sadie

Photo creds to Abigail

Wild Kingdom

On Monday morning, while Sadie was out for her morning constitutional, I noted that she had taken a particular interest in the kid's play-set, sniffing intently around one outside corner. When she darted to the inside of the same corner I knew something was up. I dashed down the stairs to seperate her from her quarry and found a wrack of 4 bunnies.

Monday evening, during a pre-walk bunny sweep, we found no trace of the babes. Thinking they had moved on, we sent Sadie out in the yard on her own. This lapse in judgement resulted in soon finding Sadie with her curious nose pressed against the now wet forehead of one of the little ones who had wandered back into the yard.

Now, on Tuesday night, our 4 hares have multiplied out to 7. Yes, 7 baby bunnies are now nesting is my heavily dog-scented back yard. I know the housing situation is tough out there right now but...come on...!

Introducing Zoe...I mean Zeus...

"Why do I sense we've picked up another pathetic life form?"
~ Obi-Wan Kenobi

A little bit ago, before Sadie even arrived on campus, a stray cat appeared on our doorstep. Anyone who knows either Mommy's or my family, knows we have a weakness for stray animals (i.e. Puddy, Cali, etc).

The cat was clearly a lost pet: She was very friendly and wanted inside the house in the worst way. So I walked around the block and talked to a few neighbors hoping to find her home to no avail.

At that point, our mind-set was; Just ignore her and she find her way home. Yeah, that didn't work either.

Fast forward a few days, a few bowls of food, and a new name: Zoe. We still had no intention of keeping her: We couldn't take her in due to allergies and didn't think it fair to keep her outside with the impending winter.

Then the end of last week, one of our neighbors, who we learned was also feeding Zoe, had a vet friend take a look at her with the possible intention of adopting her. That's when we learned the truth: She's a he.

So now, for as long as he's here, we'd like to introduce you to Zeus.

Photo creds to Abby...

Two Weeks with Sadie

Our first couple of nights with Sadie were...challenging. She would wake-up almost hourly crying and barking. We had kinda expected this so we weren't too surprise...which doesn't negate the fact that, by Wednesday of last week, we were looking for a way to speed up this crate training thing.


The following Thursday, Mommy had the genius notion that, 'Hey, the hamsters are nocturnal. Perhaps they're disturbing her'. So Thursday night we moved Sadie's crate into the family room, away from Yoda and Squeaky. Wow, what a difference. Since that point, she has slept (or just been quiet), consistently, through the course of the night. And this without any messes in her kennel. Good girl!

Another neat little tidbit: Sadie plays fetch already. Toss a tennis ball down the length of the kitchen and she'll run to intercept it, usually sliding half the length of the kitchen, and bring it back. We're still working on releasing it once she returns, but, hey, its a start.

The kids are loving playing with Sadie. A little Tug-O-War here, a little fetch there. Alex will take her out in the back yard and the 2 of them will just run around in circles chasing each other. And with Aidan and Sadie being home together the brunt of the day, the 2 of them are bonding. They're also partners in crime: We've found Aidan rolling Matchbox cars under the gate to her - "Hey, Aidan. Roll me the one over there. You know, Alex's favorite. So I can taste it a little..."

Welcome Home Puppy

This evening, after dinner, we piled the clan in the van and headed back to Adonai Farms to pick up the puppy we picked out only 2 short weeks ago.

Upon our arrival, we found the remnants of the litter in the barn, clamoring for some attention. Now 8 weeks old, they had clearly grown and they were much more animated than our last visit.

After saying goodbye to her brothers and sisters, our little girl curled up in a towel in Mommy's lap for the ride home; still nameless at this point. Oh, we had a list of possible names, but finding consensus across 6 family members is...challenging.

However, by the time we hit Newark, we had done it (mostly). Welcome home, Sadie.

Once home, we all spent some time in the back yard under the warm glow of our new security light (thanks, Poppop) running around, tiring the little girl out.

An album of our most recent addition can be viewed by clicking here...

In Memory of Leia

Post updated on 5/9/11 due to shutdown of GoogleVideo.

The Gift that Keeps on Giving

NOTE: This post archived from our previous family website and back-dated...

So for Christmas, Alex got a hamster (dubbed Squeaky Chewbacca Tokarski). Over the course of the next week, Mommy and I noticed that Squeaky seemed to be getting more round around the middle (kind'a like Mommy). Well, on Thursday, Jan 5, the kids came home from school to find 5 pink little babies had taken up residence. Goodness they grow up so fast...