Mom & Gypsy

A typical day with mom and her dog, a spoiled rotten, short-haired pointer.


Winter has made some changes at the cabin. We have wrapped the water lines and turned on our infrared lights in the pumphouse and bunkhouse. I am using the bunkhouse as a greenhouse for now. I brought the aloe vera plant that was blooming there into the cabin and put it on the window sill next to the desk where I write. I have been watching the ladybugs crawling over the bloom eating the aphids. The ladybugs are welcome guests inside the cabin. Our time spent on the porch has diminshed with the colder weather, however, on those warmer mornings we are still there observing the morning. This is typical Texas weather, 22 degrees on Monday and 75 degrees on Tuesday. We have had one hard freeze, but, much of Winter has felt more like Spring.
With this cooler weather, the influx of critters into the cabin has pretty much come to a stand still. Oops, that is until a week ago. There is a mystery as to what actually happened. I am speculating as to the series of events that forced a squirrel to take cover in the only space in our walls big enough to hold it. That Gypsy was involved in the squirrels desperate attempt to escape is pure speculation. The scuffle I heard on the porch within seconds of her exiting the cabin door, leads me to believe she is somehow mixed up in this. Mind you, Gypsy is a near perfect, unspoiled pet. She is a loved, trusted and dedicated companion. I would not change one thing about her. Well, maybe one thing. She is death on cats and squirrels. The episode I mentioned above is due to her desperate attempt to get her teeth firmly around a squirrel, followed by vicious tearing, chewing and of course, lots of blood and guts. My best guess is she surprised a sguirrel on the porch. In it's haste to avoid instant death, it became confused and hit it's head on the swing. In a confused frenzy, the squirrel looked for any place it could find to escape. It ran up the logs near the porch, by the swing, and into the first hole it found. This led to the only space in the wall where a critter could fit. The noise began as soon as it started to investigate it's new found sanctuary. At one point, I thought it had found it's way into the cabin proper. Throughout the day it made it's presence known. When it panted and whined I was concerned for the state of it's health. Suddenly, the noise stopped. We may have heard it a few more times, in the next couple of days. Gypsy with her nose in the air and her ears up insisted it was still in our wall. I did not hear or smell it. The Organic Pest Control guy, Carlos, came and sprayed a large dose of capsicum,(red pepper) into the crevice in the logs where I actually saw a flash of flesh entering. I am not sure what it was. He said not to plug the hole until we were sure it was gone. A few days have gone by, and I am still not sure what to make of this. Could Gypsy have injured this animal enough so it passed away hiding in our cabin wall? Sometimes things are just better left alone. We think this is one of them. Gypsy still seems mildly interested. She says it was a big squirrel with big teeth and bulging eyes. She said it was asking for it and she did nothing but accommodate it. She is probably pondering what could have been if she had captured that squirrel. She probably thinks she came alot closer than she actually did. We think if she had succeeded, we would have had a trip to the vet to get some damage repaired. Does this mean she has given up on squirrels? No, don't think so. There is one eating seed at the bird feeder hanging on the squirrel tree as I write. Gypsy is on the porch on a solid point. Her eyes are glazed and saliva is dripping from her mouth What do you think? Excitement reigns! Gypsy rules! Call The Dog Whisperer, before it is too late for us! Girls just want to have fun!