Last day with Abbie.......

Well, today is my last day with Abbie Girl. She is a gem and has been good girl the whole time. I know she is sick of me though and excited to spend the holidays with her whole family. She is still getting up in the night, at least once, but sometimes twice. It isn't consistent so not sure if she has a little bladder infection going on? The weather is cold and dreary. There are a lot of leaves on the property and I haven't seen a gardner since I have been here? Perhaps they came and I didn't notice? All else is perfect! Nothing new to report. Abbie will be very happy to see Mom and Dad tomorrow night! Until my next visit, Happy Howlidays to Abbie's family and all my other clients as well. Stay tuned for some pictures of a new client who has 6-month old Labs! How fun will that be!!

Sunday Drab.....

Abbie and I are just hanging out this dreary day. We woke up to darkness. There was so much cloud cover that it seemed like it was still nightfall. It is not as cold today, suppose to be in the fifties, but yesterday was very cold. We had snow in our passes so I assume that is what kept the temperature down. Abbie isn't impressed with the weather either. She has not been going out very often during the day, but still needs to be let out at least twice in the night.She is snoozing away right now and I can only guess that it is the way she will spend the rest of this Sunay!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Even though it is Turkey Day, Abbie and I have been low key today as always. I was gone this morning for a couple of hours and will be gone from 2pm until 5 or 6pm but the rest of the time is just Abbie and I hanging out. Of course, she will be getting her piece of Turkey so she will sleep well tonight. She is content just hanging out as the weather is cold and rainy and she has no desire to go outside. But she does send Turkey greetings to her mom and dad in the desert! We both hope they are having a great time with family and friends while we hold down the fort!!!

Rain and Wind

This morning Abbie and I woke up to a loud storm coming through. The wind was blowing so hard and the rain was pounding the roof. Abbie didn't even want to go out until it subsided a little bit. But, she has been forced to go out in it all day today. I have noticed she doesn't ask to go out near as often as when the weather is a little better. It hasn't let up at all.
Not much else to report. We have been doing a little cleaning, a little cooking and getting ready for Turkey day. Of course, Abbie will get a bite of turkey on Thanksgiving. I will go home for a few hours on Thursday as my room mates are cooking a bird and then come back to be with Abbie girl. She is a happy girl!

Burrrrrrr.........

Abbie and I woke up to lots of ice on the ground. The temperature was 27 degrees. We knew it was going to be cold as we were out last night at midnight and the sky was full of stars and clear as a bell. But VERY cold. The coyotes were howling last night as well. I was thankful that Abbie did not want to go out in the middle of the night. I worry about her and the coyotes. She has been getting up at 3:30 am and wanting to go out. I throw my hoodie and shoes on and go out with her as I don't trust the critters in the neighborhood. But when she goes way out in the back yard I lose sight of her and that makes me nervous. Who says a petsitter's job is easy! It can be a worriesome job! But when they return safe and sound and give you those nose kisses, it is all worth it.

Our time together has been uneventful and relaxing. Today is Sunday and I will take Abbie for her Sunday afternoon ride. She had her french fries last night so we will not be going to McDonalds today but she is happy if I just drive her around the block!

Low Key and Spoiled

Abbie and I are doing well. Here she is cuddled in the blanket on the bed. We are very low key and there is nothing but rain and lots of wind. The ground is covered in leaves but the gardners came today and took care of the leaves! Abbie and I are keeping each other company and being lazy like slugs! Of course, anyone that knows Abbie's house knows that there is nothing but slugs all over the place! LOL That sounded terrible but Abbie's family collects snails and slugs! Just clearing that up for anyone that doesn't know.

Nothing new to report.......

The farm is doing well. All the animals are being loved and pampered as usual. No coyotes......no herd of Deer, Elk or the like! Nothing but rain and peace and quiet. Just the way we like it!

I have created a monster!!!!!!

I noticed yesterday that Abbie was 'asking' to go outside about every 15 minutes. At first, I just thought she needed to take care of business and couldn't make up her mind. After several hours of this going on, I realized she was asking more than usual and eventually decided there was something else going on. I also noticed she was asking to go out the front door consistently. Usually she will go to the back door and ask to be let out as well. Finally, about 3pm, I decided to watch her and see what she was doing. I usually stay on the porch, watch her out the front door or go all the way outside with her. But, I didn't want her to know that I was watching her, so I let her out and pretended to walk away from the front door. When she made the turn to the left of the house, I followed her. Without so much as stopping to sniff the grass, she continued walking around the side of the house, through the gate to the back yard, up the little sidewalk and straight to the back door and barked to be let in. She was surprised that I was right on her tail and looked at me as if to say 'busted!'. That is when I realized I had created a monster! As a treat, I give Abbie a part of a cookie (about one third) each time she goes out to potty. It's my way of telling her 'good girl'. Well, the cookies are what originally gave me a clue that she was going out a lot as I try to watch how many cookies she eats. I bought her a new box of them yesterday so I was really aware of how many she was getting. That is when it hit me that she was going out the front door and walking straight to the back door because she KNEW I was going to give her a treat when she came in. Can you believe that? I swear Abbie is NOT a dog......she is more human than some people I know!!! LOL.

Horses and QVC

Well, it seems Kathy is right in her element (and I don't mean her car). She has a view of her two most favorite things on the farm. The horses she sits and stares at out the big bay window during the day.......and the Television so that she can shop all day on QVC. Between the two of us I think we OWN that station! We are busy Christmas shopping, each of us in our perspective pet sitting gigs!
She says there isn't much else going on. The weather today is chilly, but no snow in Enumclaw. As a matter of fact, the weather is better in Enumclaw today than it is in Maple Valley. But, she and the dogs and the horses are all doing fine. Quiet and uneventful which is just how we like it when we are watching someone's fur children!

Abbie Girl

I arrived yesterday to find Abbie wagging her tail and excited to see me. It has been pretty gloomy around here and that suits her just fine as she prefers to stay indoors with me. Of course, treats are nearby and that may be the REAL reason she stays indoors. She got a good brushing today as she keeps coming in the house wet from the rain. So, I thought she would enjoy a brush to her cold, wet fur. Its very quiet and we haven't done too much. I had to leave to make an Airport run to pick up a client, but other than that, I have been here the whole time. We are holding down the fort and enjoying our time together.

The Kids......

The kids on the farm are doing well. Nothing to report which is usually a GOOD thing. Cassie is being a good girl for Kathy and this picture says it all......they are waiting for their mommy and daddy to come home and they figure if they peek out the window long enough it will happen! They are very comical sometimes.
The weather has been crappy and very cold so they have been indoors a lot of the time and Kathy is keeping them good company. The horses have their blankets on and they stay in the pasture, grazing for most of the day. We may be getting snow this coming Saturday so its a good thing they have their blankets on. Everyhing is running smoothly!

Mt. Rainier Yesterday

This was a shot of Mt. Rainier from the pasture where the horses reside. Although the sky looks ominous, you can see Mt. Rainier just peeking up in the background. It was much prettier in person and this isn't a very good shot. But, what a contrast from today as the storm from Alaska is getting ready to pelt this area in just a few hours. We are on storm watch and the winds are suppose to be dramatic. The weather never fails me when I am at the farm and I usually have at least one day of disastrous weather before leaving.
The farm animals are all doing well. Cassie never ceases to amaze me as she always manages to be up to at least one antic a day. Yesterday she ate half my sandwich. I made the sandwich and turned around to put the condiments in the refrigerator and in the four steps it took to put things away, she grabbed and ran! So, she had a chicken sandwich for lunch! And she is so dang cute, you can't get mad at her. Besides, whose fault was it anyway.....uh, that would be MINE!
The pups are all laying around being lazy. The horses are grazing until the winds and rain come. Laramie is still being a pill at feeding time. I have figured out a way for the other horses to get at least half of their treats at night eaten before Laramie takes over their feeding bowls. I have thought about closing him in the stall until the others eat, but I do not know his temperment enough to know if that would freak him out or not, so we will continue to try and outwit him.
There has been a rash of burglaries in the surrounding cities. Although the farm is pretty remote, better to be safe than sorry. Apparently, the breakins are ocurring in the middle of the night while everyone is asleep. They gain access via the garage remotes left in the vehicles and wipe you out of all your worldly possessions while you are asleep. So, I scanned all the vehicles and grabbed the remotes! The last breakin was just blocks from my home in Maple Valley, so this one hit 'close to home'- literally!
Kathy will be here at the farm for the next few days but I will be visiting twice a day so I will continue the blog from where I am dogsitting with Abbie! But, everything is A-O-K!

Rain, Mud and Mt. Rainier

All is well on the Farm Front. And though there has been a lot of rain and the ground is soaked and has produced an enormous amount of mud which now resides on my car.......Mt. Rainier was in full view this morning. Trying to get a good shot of it, however, was not successful, but I will try again tomorrow.
The pups are happy and healthy and enjoying the time outside. Cassie got to go on the trail with Laramie and Barb today so she is exhausted right now and snoring on the back of the loveseat! Ruggles seems to be doing better with her sore and she is sporting a clean T-Shirt and her ears are good. They each live for the nightly cookies (and the extras they get during the day) and all has been quiet during the night for the last three nights. There is a full moon tonight so I expect something will wake us in the wee hours of the morning.
Tomorrow is house cleaning day and I have two doctor's appointments in the morning, so I will return in the late afternoon in time to feed both the horses and the dogs. We expect to stay in all weekend and Kathy will be here on Sunday to take over for a few nights.

A day at the farm.....or three days.....

Well, I have been at the Farm since Friday night but I have been very lax in the blogging area. Sorry about that. Let's just say it hasn't been uneventful.
Having arrived late Friday night made for a late night anyway, so needless to say, I was still awake at 3 am when Cassie went nuts! She scared the crud out of me as she jumped out of a dead sleep and lunged for the windows in the dining area. She will usually do this at least once a night, but will usually stop the panic barking after a minute or two. She was not letting up this time and I had to see if I could catch a glimpse as to what she was barking at. Cassie not only has radar hearing, she has radar vision as well. I think she was born with night vision as I could not see anything in the pitch black area she was barking towards. I flipped on the Deck light to see if I could get enough light to see something. Sure enough, I could the outlines of movement in the pasture area. I could make out movement and the outline of figures moving about. I could tell they were fawn in color (any other color would have not shown up in the dim light). They were bigger than a deer but not as big as an Elk. And there were more than I had ever seen EVER! I counted 30 figures in the dark and I am sure there were more than that. I have seen a family of Deer and a family of Elk, but never have I seen a whole herd! I wanted more light so I could snap a photo, but there was no light to be had. They grazed for about two hours and Cassie did not leave the window until she was satisfied they were going away. By this time we were all awake for the rest of the night.
Saturday night was almost a carbon copy of the first night, but this time it was a Pack of Coyotes. Again, and by now I must sound ridiculous......I have NEVER heard that many Coyotes in all my years in this state! They were so loud and so eerie that I swear they were going to lift the house with their screams! It was kind of spooky! Cassie's incessant barking finally made them disperse and all was quiet except for my nerves! Another sleepless night.
But last night was much quieter and a much shorter version of the two nights preceding. Cassie woke us at 2:30am and barked for a short time and then laid back down to sleep.
I am anxious to see what tonight brings......well, sort of. :-)
The horses are doing fine, except Laramie is showing me a side I have never seen before. He is quite aggressive at feeding time. I have seen him eat his food, bite the other horses and bully them out of their stalls to eat their food. I try feeding him first and hurry up and feed the other two before he can finish his so that they get enough to eat. But, he eats fast and it is a race for the three of us! They are much bigger than I am and I am forced to let them haggle it out on their own. That's the story on the farm! All else is great!!!!

Still no computer

The Scnauzettes and I are doing great. I cannot access the router for some reason, so I am blogging from my phone. However, I took a cute video of the pups today and will post it tomorrow when I go to the farm. Kathy will be here tomorrow and Saturday. The pups will be glad to see her.
Until tomorrow, all is great.

Minis and me

Having problems getting online, but thank goodness for my phone. It's my lifeline! But the pups and I are doing fine, Molly, Izzy and Frannie are spoiled rotten. They love it when I don't leave as they get my full attention. They are sleeping all over me. They get treats regularly and we probably go outside way too often. All is well on the Mini Schnauzer homefront.