Birdsong in the Morning

If you were sleeping with the windows open I suppose birdsong in the morning could be annoying since the birds start singing very early. However, birdsong is a lovely accompaniment when Sable and I are out walking.

Today was a beautiful, crisp Spring morning filled with sunshine, blue skies, budding trees, and wonderful birdsong. Even though all of this beauty is lost on Sable, it makes me smile. The birds are so busy flying around, searching for food, chatting away. I can recognize the Robin's song and the orange-shouldered Blackbird call pierces through all the other sounds. But it is the distinctive trills of the Cardinal that makes me pick up my head and search for nature's black-masked red marvel.

Cardinals are my Mom's favorite bird and she taught me when I was young to recognize the male's call. This morning was filled with Cardinal song, calling to each other, perhaps saying this tree is mine, my territory. As we paused on a corner so Sable could sniff around, I heard a Cardinal call out and I immediately looked up to the tops of the trees (Mom instructed me that they like to be up high). There at very top of a tree that was just starting to leaf out was my little showman, beautifully bright red among the light green leaves and back dropped by an azure sky. He continued to sing out as I watched him and was answered by an unseen Cardinal somewhere across the road.

Sable and I were serenaded throughout our walk, such a joyous way to start the day.

Marshmallow Treat?

Sable was hanging around the kitchen while I was working, no big surprise there, so I gave her a large marshmallow. She promptly trotted away to the living room and dropped it on the carpet. She didn't know what to make of it!

She picked up again and spit it out again with a flick of her tongue. She picked up and spit it out several more times. Until finally Sable just laid down in front of it and stared at the wierd fluffy treat.

After several minutes of staring, the marshmallow was picked up once more and once again spat upon the floor, this time with a sneer!

In the Great Marshmallow Showdown...the mighty mallow won. I have added one more item on the short list of things that Sable won't eat.

Try and Get It

Just had to share this great picture of Sable, head down and Gator in her mouth ready for some rough and tumble playtime. She is sooo cute, I just love her!

Everyday is a Good Day to Play

This is our beautiful Sable with saliva frozen to her muzzle and face. It was hard to get her to sit still for this photo. She just loves to play! The extreme temperatures don't bother her one bit, she wants to play fetch or tug-of-war. I am careful that she is only out in the freezing cold for short periods of time, but she gets one extra play trip to make up for the short sessions. If I were to think like Sable, I would have to revise the title of this post to be "Play-time, All the Time!"

If we get all the snow that the weather people are predicting, I'll post some pictures of Sable in the snow, she'll be so excited! Me too!

Morning Walk

Sable and I just arrived back home after our morning walk--it was lovely! It was snowing for our entire walk. It had just begun to snow a short while before we went outside, so there was only a little more than a dusting of snow sticking to the ground, sidewalks, and streets.

The only sounds I could hear were Sable's softly padding paws and the "huh-huh" of her breath as she strained slightly on the leash, the metallic "krunch-krunch" of my Yaktrax clad boots assuring me of a safe walk, and the distant "thrum-thrum" of vehicles speeding along the tollway.

And still, amidst the all the various sounds I could hear the soft "splich-splich" of the wet snow hitting the ground. The snow was quickly gathering on tiny tree branches which couldn't support the wet snow's weight and it was falling like leaden rain drops creating lacy patterns in the already accumulated snow.

A beautiful, "noisy", morning winter walk!

Toy Box

Just like most dogs Sable loves to play. She would willingly wake from a nap for a round of play.

If you couldn't guess by now, Sable is a little spoiled. Some of her toys are pictured: Herbie, Hotdog, Elephant, and Banana. While they may not be the most creative names, Sable knows each of her toys by these names and will quickly fetch one or more of them so that we can play with them.
This group of toys is rubber or soft plastic and is quite durable considering that Sable loves to chew. Banana has been a favorite for several months while Hotdog and Herbie have been around for a year or two, amazing survival rate.

However as much as Sable likes to play with the rubber toys, she absolutely ADORES playing with soft plush toys that have SQUEAKERS! The problem is that this type of toy just doesn't stand a chance against Sable's teeth.

The bedraggled toy pictured to the right was once a cute little puppy. This is Baby, and it did have two ears, stuffing and a squeaker. Baby actually survived longer than the average plush toy, it wasn't until the second day that Sable gnawed off the ear, and pulled out Baby's "brains" to get to the squeaker, victory! Even though Baby has been de-stuffed Sable still enjoys playing tug-of-war with it.

This very sad looking creature is Sable's newest toy and latest conquest. If you look closely you might be able to guess what animal this toy originally represented...any guesses?...alright, this mess is actually a pig named Porky. Porky's manufacturer claimed that it was created with a reinforced new material that would make it harder for a dog to chew through. Well, within several minutes of Porky's arrival, Sable chewed off the tail, opened each hoof and removed the squeakers! I spent ten dollars, so I took the Porky away for the night. Porky lost his ears when it was returned to Sable the next day. Since then, Porky has suffered general abuse and dishevelment that comes with being a dog toy, and surprisingly the body and the largest squeaker remain intact. Porky is Sable's current favorite and is often brought to me along with Banana and Baby all together in her mouth, expectant look on her face, and tail wagging fast and high, saying "Wanna play?!"

The Many Faces of Sable

Sable is full of personality. Here are just a few:

she has her playful side;

her pampered, sleepy, side;

her contemplative, I'm waiting to play side;

and her spooky side!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM SABLE!