November in the Desert

The weather is finally nice, not too hot.

The cactus bloom…

And the creatures come out of the cool caves to nap in the shade above ground.

Happy Halloween!

Pumpkins can be good entertainment. Pretty much anything new in the yard is entertainment. At least this is actually edible, not like car taillights. And on the BARF diet.

Now can I have it?? Now?

Almost got it!!

Mmmm… pumpkin-ey…

Bet I can get that one from Tank!

Faline Cutie

September was a busy month for all of us. The WD’s kept busy eating all the rubber off the vehicles & the wiring off electrical equipment within reach, while being entertained daily with food & treats by my friend Katy. Maybe Katy has some pictures of that!

Noel & I went to Washington & finally got to meet Faline, Jer’s Daughter. And just like puppies, no bad pictures of little kids either…

Another attempt at getting a picture of Tank’s cool eyes… He is one year old today.

Happy Birthday Tank!!! (Shh. Secret treats later…)

As part of Noel’s work we took a tour of a local historic enigma, Cabot’s Pueblo Museum in Desert Hot Springs. It was built over about 25 years, all from found objects & has many interesting stories to go with it. Click on the image & it will take you to their website.

On a sad note, we lost Dharma’s friend Max this month. Max was a very sweet & special neighbor & we are so sad he is gone.

Sad, sad howls from all of us Max!

Road Trip!

Before I left I had to get the veggie portion of their food ready… Though why I wash the vegetables still baffles me.

A little over a months worth.

My sister & I brought my mom out to the desert from Centralia WA. I think the last time we were on a road trip together I must have been about six. It went pretty well really. Some fast scenery…

One of Hilarey’s goats…

July – Yes it’s HOT!

Busy work month so I didn’t spend a whole lot of time at home, which was good. I did get this one of Dharma & our neighbor Jordan though.

Amboy is one of my personal projects I got to do this month. What a weird town.

I also got to work with one of my favorite peeps on location for Scion… Hi Homee!

“Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer & like it” – Russell Baker

Not quite as hot as usual here in the desert, but not exactly a day at the beach either…

Wait, I did get a day of cool ocean breezes while Noel took his dreaded LSIT test. Sorry Noel.

Kodiak has his tractor bucket & Tank makes his own water toy… Again, sorry Noel.

Kodiak is the ultimate snake alarm! He ALWAYS informs us of their slithery presence. This poor snake was trapped (Our fault!) in some yard debris. But Kodiak & Noel (supervised by Dharma & Tank) saved the day (and the pretty pink snake).

Tank’s First Kill…

They sure grow up fast don’t they!

Kodiak was having a great time playing with a rat he caught, until Tank got a hold of it that is. I was having a bit of a moral dilemma about following around a tortured animal with a camera without putting it out of it’s misery, but thankfully Tank was relatively quick. And yes, I did omit the gory photos for you sensitive kids.

We also… Oops! I mean Noel… completed the double gates for the driveway. I can’t take any credit for that one. I only spent maybe 2 days on it. So anyway, now we have a protected area for our friends cars that don’t seem to enjoy having them climbed on, peed on & generally covered in foot prints & scratches. Hm.

Helps keep the live food in too.

May was a big month this year.

Noel’s niece “Em” got married (of course I got the dog in the picture too).

And she is adding one of these babies to her new family…

When Em was a wee lass, Wiley (first born wolf dog son) & I lived in the WA with Noel’s family, & Em used to come to visit for weeks at a time. Wiley was terrified of young children & had a horrible reaction to them, but was fine with older kids. Em was at a what seemed to be more than an old enough age, but he still did not like her, so she was constantly warned, supervised & escorted through any situation Wiley might find little Em to be a threat. After a couple of years we just thought Wiley would never like her & pretty much gave up. Then one visit Em brought her “Spice Girl” paraphenalia with her. She came in the kitchen once & Wiley had a fit, barking & backing himself into a corner. She bounced through again a few minutes later in her Spice Girl outfit, complete with platform shoes & Wiley didn’t bat an eye. The shoes had finally brought Em to a trustworthy height for Wiley & they got along swell ever after. What I thought he was finding to be an objectionable maturity level was really just him finding the right eye level.

Maybe that’s why Em likes those small dogs now…

It’s Earth Day!

It is hot here already! (I have no clue why that is still such a surprise to me…) Yep, getting hotter every day. It must be time for more fencing… All the fur has been shed for the season. Dharma is now being referred to as a Mexican Hairless Wolf. Very “wirey” hair & not much of it. Tank (almost 7mo. old now) is still in a full coat of baby fur.

We handed out some toys for Earth Day (mine’s still in the fridge. I’m not sharing either). Tank was the most persistent & ate most of two whole watermelons. Dharma & Kodiak played keep away with the leftovers.

Idaho?

I just got back from a road trip with my sister, to Washington & northern Idaho to look at property. Someday I hope to live in one of those cooler climates out there somewhere. Well, anywhere. It was very pretty & I got to hang out with my sister, my wolf women friends (Kim, Patti, Beth, Ellen, Blair – wolf (wo)man in training) & even some family on the way.

The train that runs through Sandpoint ID…

This is one of my new Idaho peeps. He guards the road. Something like Monty Python’s rabbit I think.

Kenai, Patti’s beautiful boy & Kodiak’s old playmate. He’s one of those creatures with a magic aura all around him. Sweet, happy, a perpetual innocent, charmed. I got to stay with Patti a couple of times on the trip. We stayed up all night & drank tea. She & Beth did a killer howl session with her pack. I started practicing on the way home.

Happy Valentines Day!!

 

V & N
BL & KBFW
B & T
(Val & Noel, Bunny-Lips & Kodiak-Bear-Fish-Wolf, Bug & Tank)