Animal House

Funny how completely this place is controlled by the critter residents!

This is the special kitty closet:


We had an extra door made for the cabinet under the sink in the laundry area, this one with a cat sized hole so the girls can access their litter box in privacy. Note the lock. It works. I ran an errand yesterday and forgot to close the dog door to the outside. Came home and Buck was inside. I'd also left the dog gate at the top of the stairs open and he had made an effort to get the "tootsie rolls" from the litter box. No success. Now I need to get a decent looking rug for in front of the cabinet.

And this little area by the kitchen door:
Since it's visible from the living room/dining room, Scottie put up a bulletin board and shelf that is hidden from view for all the junk, messages, etc., that we seem to need. A much cleaner look. The bowl is one made by brother-in-law Don and holds napkins.

When I put the bowl on the cabinet, Scottie commented that this was Ellie's favorite spot. Sure enough, she came to check out the changes and was quite unhappy. Hence the bowl being moved all the way to one side so she still has room to lie in the sun.

I have some plants, hand me downs from a neighbor, in one small area:

It didn't start out to be a rock garden, but the rocks have been necessitated by puppers digging and lying in the cool and damp. This is on the northeast side of the house and gets nice afternoon shade. The black, circular thing is the top of a 5 gal planter that is protecting a fern that was squished by some lounging critter.

And, that swimming pool is now an oversize water bowl. They won't go in it without yours truly, but they love to drink the muddy, dirty water rather than the clean fresh water we put out! So all you folks that listen to the admonitions to be sure your dogs have plenty of clean, fresh water when it's hot - forget it! Give them a mud hole.


Hummers have taken over. We get 20 or more at a time and Scottie can't keep up with their consumption. We have a gallon milk jug in the fridge labeled "hummers", and he is constantly making more nectar. They've gotten so brazen we can almost walk up to them. This photo was take from less than five feet away:

Humans do still live here though. This is Scottie arriving home from a "short" bike ride, maybe 25 or 30 miles. As soon as the dogs hear the truck, they clamor to go out and greet "daddy".

I'm glad they allow us to share their space.