Another two weeks, another set of pictures of the allergy-and-migraine-inspiring scenery around Chez Hergenrader.
 Two weeks ago the back looked like this… |
 …and the front looked like this. |
 Today the back looks like this… |
 …and the front looks like this. |
Okay, two more because you’ve been good. See if you can find Heineken in the photo to the left.
 Can you find the Heiner? |
 Mole patrol. |
Everything is up really early this year. Only the hastas remain sleepy. The lilac tree bloomed (yay!) which you can kind of see in the photo to the left. After the lilac, my second-fav thingy is the red, ornamental Japanese whatchacallit there in the center. Heiner likes to lounge under that one. Let me see if I can find a picture…ah, here it is:
 Master of his domain. And… |
 Would you be afraid of this dog? |
Athena: goddess of wisdom, strategic warfare, and sulking. Apparently.
Okay, okay, enough with the pictures.
Current Mood – Good (Despite the Weepy Eyes) | 
Currently Listening To – Wilco – “A Ghost is Born”
7 Comments
Gee, do you think you could reduce the pixel count any more to make searching for a cat in the great outdoors even MORE challenging? (grin)
I have to say, your puppy when outdoors is a real camera queen — haven’t seen a bad picture of Athena yet outdoors. The indoor picture? “When are we going outdoors, boss?” (double-sad-eyed-grin)
Dr. Phil
I like the pic of your two bitches in the backyard, Hergenrader.
We gotta hook up in July when I’m in WI.
One more year of Favre!
Phil, the challenge of finding the cat is the fun part! Especially at 11:00 at night when he hasn’t come in and has all sorts of sheltered hiding spots…
Athena is a good puppy. She knows the power of the sulk, though. She lays those eyes on Amy and she can get just about whatever she wants. I’m only slightly less resistant. And Athena is a child of the wild, there’s no doubt about it. Whenever we come home from camping, she always looks at us like we’re nuts and seems to be asking, “Why would you ever want to go back?”
I often ask myself the same thing.
Butthands, tell me when you’re going to be in town and I’ll make sure we’re around. I think July is pretty open.
We raised hothouse kitties who’ve never been outside — and will never get run over by a car. (We live on a two-lane straightaway, which is more racetrack than country highway. The animal slaughter is unreal.) Cats just don’t understand about cars. Standing in the middle of the road and either (a) hunkering down to hide or (b) frizzing up and looking big, just doesn’t work with a Ford F-150 driven by teenagers.
Dr. Phil
We let Heiner roam when we’re at Amy’s parents in the country. He doesn’t go very far and only a few people live on their “lane” which is tucked far back from any major (or minor) road. The neighbors were driving to town one morning and saw Heineken was sitting in the middle of the lane. They slowed down and thought he’d move out of the way when they got closer. They finally stopped because he wasn’t moving. He proceeded to jump up on the hood and, finding it nice and warm, and curled into a ball.
Of course this story was told to us by my father-in-law, who answered the doorbell only to find the neighbor pointing to his car and saying, “This your cat?”
Amy always says she wants to start a cat-spanking service because we always see lots of cats by the highway on the drive to East Troy. She’d pick them up, spank them lightly, and then bring them home. She hasn’t come up with a complete business plan, though.
We’ve a friend who is a cat vet and she has a MUCH better than spanking technique. Flick a finger hard against their hard heads right between the eyes and just above the nose. Kitties have very thick skulls, so they aren’t really hurt by this, but if you do it right you’ll hear the thump! practically echo. Surprises the heck out of them and they generally don’t see it coming the first time. Actually, the first time we saw our friend do this to one of our kitties, she rapped him on the head with an aluminum knitting needle. Stopped Sam from messing with the yarn instantly.
And you’re welcome.
Dr. Phil
Hi! Loved the pictures of your front yard and backyard transformed – they’re beautiful! Course Heineken and Athina take center stage, especially that adorable shot of Athena in one of her sulky moods – those eyes!!! The story about Heineken in the middle of the road was scary, though. Cat-spanking? Hmmmm. Dr. Phil’s suggestion for cat discipline was interesting too. We just saw “The Sentinal” – skip it or see it on DVD. Doubt “V for Vendetta” would appeal to us. Hope you got the books – they were mailed about a week ago. Are headed to the woods for some hiking this afternoon – it’s cool and no sun, so should be perfect. There’s a new blog album at http://golfaikenstyle.blogspot.com – check it out. All for now. Take care of those allergies – you wouldn’t like it here – stuff in the air all the time – hopefully it will all be clear by August! Talk to you soon.