That Little Dog

Charlie has a job to do. Well, he thinks he has a job to do.

He is watching the trees for squirrels. The squirrels like to come and clean up any seed on the ground near the bird feeder that has seed in it. 

I put out a cup of seed each day in the feeder so hubby can enjoy his morning coffee and tell me which birds show up.

Charlie watches the yard for any squirrels. And ... he is diligent.

This is his new mission in life. It's so fun to see him so intent. The one tree is a hickory tree so squirrels climb it often and then dig in the yard and bury the nuts. Charlie is also on top of that. After all, it is good that he has a job.

I'm pretty sure he sees the squirrels this way:

On very hot days though, I have to be careful with him. His short snout makes it hard for him to cool off quickly. I went for a walk on our gravel road with him just to get out and move around. On our way back home Charlie sat down in the shade and stopped.

He was puffing and hot. Bad me! 

I picked him up and carried him most of the way back home. When he got inside, he laid on the cool floor and just stared at me with those big round eyes of his.

Eventually he got up on the couch and relaxed.

This Little Dog has a great life and we know our lives are enriched by having him with us.

Morning trek

I watched the sun come up with a pink - reddish glow in the clouds ...

Charlie and I watched the red fade away and the sky become a dull metal grey color.

I went in for a cup of coffee. Charlie came and laid at my feet. I browsed the news on the internet and decided that none of the news was good news.
I knew that I had some fencing to check and the mules probably were ready for a rotation....
I set my warmed up coffee down and set up a fresh pot.
I hit start...
I asked Charlie if he'd like to check fence with me.

Charlie didn't answer, but ran to the door when I put on my 'woods' clothes and tossed a camera bag over my shoulder.
He saw me headed towards the electric gate and jumped on my work boots. I scooped him up and used the other hand to open the top line. He has a healthy respect for hot wire.

The middle pasture looked pretty good. The grass wasn't as plentiful as it was in the meadow but it had grown at least 3 inches since last week. I decided to check the 'creek' pasture which is on a steep hillside just above the creek itself. I won't let the mules in there until it dries out much more or they'd just tear up the hill 'path' and it would wash and erode.

However I did want to make sure that the lines were all intact. Charlie led me to the creek on a narrow deer trail and we walked below the wire in the water.

The leaves of the trees were still wet from last night's rain and the 100% humidity.

Not a very clear shot, but the low light and humidity probably didn't help.

I even had a hard time getting a shot of my brave assistant it was so dark...when...

Some light suddenly broke through. Not much, but daylight was preparing to come to the valley.

Last night's rain was still coming off the hillsides and creating little tiny falls. I walked towards the bottom of the 'road' where it meets the creek.

And the sun broke through the leaves.

The creek fog lit up like it was electrified. I was tickled to see it though. Creek fog is pretty hard to capture in any light.

"Cool huh?" I asked Charlie.
Charlie put his paws on my boots, he wanted a lift.

Of course. I hiked him up into my arms and we proceeded to the trail and headed up the steep hill. It was terribly hot and even muggier ... if that was possible ... as we headed away from the cold waters of the creek.

There was little rivulets of water in the meadow pasture making its way downhill towards the creek.

Charlie was wet and hot in my arms.  As we passed under the box elders that the mules use for shade I noticed a brightly lit coral fungus. I hesitated. I wanted to get back to the house. I was hot, Charlie was hot, but in a few minutes that light would be gone.

To my surprise I found a slug on the fungi.

A slug hug.

Charlie waited patiently between my feet.

 I picked the little fella up and we wound our way through the sleepy mules and I let him out of the pasture gate. He trotted towards the house to wait for me on the porch.

I opened up the gate for the mules and they all trotted past me with nodding heads as if they had expected this exact outcome.

A shower for me and a bath for Charlie. He'd then be ready to go to the nursing home for a visit.

Happy 4th.