little visitors

 The majority of the time the girls (Sienna and Ellie) are calm inside. Sienna has her moments of crazies where she runs around with toys and throws them everywhere, littering the floor with fluff.

The fact that Ellie is a mellow inside dog is a plus for us, because the memories of Sienna as a pup are still strong. We'd like chewed up furniture and shoes to be a thing of the past.

 But every once in awhile Ellie goes bonkers indoors. It's because of some little animals that tease her from the porch.

I left some sunflower seeds outside the other day, thinking maybe the birds would eat them. Instead a big chubby squirrel came by, and knocked the stash over and made a huge mess. And excited Ellie so much that she whimpered, woofed, and whined.

(Yes that's duct tape on the wood. It's supposed to protect the very soft wood from little claw scratches. More attractive suggestions are welcome.)

 

 We also get a quite a few kitties coming to the door. Some may be strays but the others are neighborhood cats who are a let out part-time. Foucault has had some nightly window-staring sessions with them, and now Ellie is having her share of stare-downs with them, inducing more whining and whimpering and pacing by the door.

 

  Can you spot the grey cat?

 

 I call him half-tail. 

 Foucault also likes to patrol the roof via the balcony. Here he is visible from the skylight.

If we head outside he'll chirp at us to get our attention. Only once did he jump off, in an attempt to hang out with his tabby look-alike from the other apartment. He hasn't tried it since, so I assume it was somewhat traumatic.

Sienna could care less about squirrels or cats, she's more of a bird-chaser if anything. But her favorite thing is finding a dog pal at the park to play chase with. If there are no pals around, a big stick will have to do.

I love how having companion animals helps you see the world in a new way: noticing squirrels and other critters more, and getting to know the neighborhood cats and dogs. Not to mention spotting the good throwing sticks.