I'm Batman

It is officially spring/summer! How do I know? Bruce is back! Bruce is our brown bat that lives alone in the eve of our deck covering. Every year he comes back to spend the warm months eating our bugs and looking extra cute as he relaxes during the day. As the weather starts to get warmer Kev and I start looking in his little summer home daily to await his arrival. He's so cute I have to really control myself not to try and pet him.

Inspired

I've been following Yes I Know My Dogs Look Funny's blog for a few months now and I'm inspired by she and Girly Girl's fight with OC. Her online diary really speaks to me in so many ways, including my fear of losing one of my girls at a young age and wondering what decision I would make if either of them was diagnosed with this horrible disease. Thanks to her blog, I found my new favorite greyhound artist, Beth Wade.

Beth's work is inspirational. Mixed metal jewelry is the main focus, but in exploring her site and Facebook fan page I found the most amazing portrait quilts of her greys. I've always wanted to try portrait quilting, but I've never been good at applique, which this method requires a lot of. But the more I look at her pieces the more I want to try to capture Seka's dreamy eyes or Roxy's quirky smile in fabric.

I've thought of ways to keep my girls with me when they are no longer here. I've planned a tattoo of Seka's 3-toed paw and ear number somewhere. Maybe I'll add each dog's ear tattoo to my body art as we adopt and care for more greys. I love the necklace Denise had made in memorial of Spooky. It's on my list as well when the time comes. But, I'm currently looking for some sort of charms for a necklace to remind me of my girls when I can't see them - whether that's traveling for work or play.

I have decided to give this portrait quilting a try. I'll be sure to post my progress, but until then I will just marvel at the artistry and be inspired by Beth's work.

Swing Batta Batta Swing...

At GBD we are huge baseball fans, specifically we are members of Red Sox Nation. The last three vacations we took during baseball season (which includes spring training) we planned around seeing the Red Sox play. I'm one of the few girls that knows how to keep score at a game (and I don't mean knowing how to read the scoreboard). Kevin was an official scorer for a Braves minor league team for 10 years and even was one of the official scorers for the Atlanta Olympics in 1996. I worked in game promotions for a minor league club for a few summers.

There's been a trendy promotion recently embraced by major league parks across the country: Bark at the Park. Bring your dog to a baseball game. Our family has attended several of these events and everyone enjoys themselves - including the girls. They have special cooling pools, water, treats and prizes all for the four-legged attendees. We've already made our plans to attend the 2010 Bark at the Park at Turner Field on Sunday, May 2. 

When I saw this video on Yahoo, all I could think was, "thank goodness that wasn't a greyhound." They never would have caught this little escape artist!

 

Dog Poops on Field During Naturals Game @ Yahoo! Video

Walk it Out

Spring has sprung in the South. Everything is covered in green: the trees, the grass, my car (thank you pollen). You can't help but be cheerful when all this life is around you.

The warm weather and longer days also mean morning and/or late evening walks for the girls. Seka and Roxy are wusses when it comes to cold weather. I guess they take after me. I hate being cold. Even air conditioning in the dead of summer can be too much for me and I drag a hoodie with me everywhere I go. Roxy needs a jacket, pjs or a blanket when the air conditioning is going full blast in July. So even when it is 90 degrees at 7a, we like the warmth.

For the most part, I like walking the girls. Let me clarify, I like walking Roxy. She loves taking various routes around the neighborhood and will go as long as I ask her to. She only freaks out when the UPS truck passes us.

Seka, on the other hand, divides her walking behavior into thirds. For the first 1/3 of the walk she is horrible. I don't know what it is that makes it necessary for her to mark EVERYTHING she passes. We can't get more than five feet before she is sniffing and squatting. Sometimes no amount of correction will call her off whatever sent she catches a whiff of. After dragging her away from 10 different spots that she has to mark, she gives up and decides to enjoy walking for the next 1/3 of our route without too much distraction. Then the last 1/3 of the walk she decides to stop and do her best mule impression in the middle of the road. She just decides that she's done, no matter what Roxy and I prefer to do.

I carry treats and use it for reinforcement at the cue "keep it up." I only treat her when she is in motion and doing as I ask. But eating cookies as you walk kind of defeats the purpose. I think I'm going to start using a coupler and see if Roxy can encourage Seka to "keep it up" with some sisterly encouragement.

No matte how frustrating Seka's stubborn streak can be, I cherish the time we are out together. I guess Seka thinks we're like Hansel and Gretel, leaving her own brand of bread crumbs, so we can be sure to find our way home.