Friday, April 29, 2011

Eaglet News


The eaglets are going to have a webcam and it could start as early as tonight! WVEC said they are getting one ready to go. Mama learned about it in the chat room a few minutes ago. Here is a really nice video of the eaglets new home.

Today has been a beautiful day. It has been sunny and I have been on my deck. I discovered something really neat about the deck. I can watch Scout run in the yard. She looks totally different running below me instead of beside me.

I helped Mama plant a tomato plant today. Yes, just one. We put it in a container on my deck. It will be safe from the bunnies there.

The cows haven't moved in yet, but we do have some down the road. We hadn't noticed them until today. We heard them. They say "MOOOOO, MOOOO". It could become annoying really fast.

We haven't heard the rooster since last week. Mama thought the rooster and the hen were gone, but we saw the hen. Mama said maybe the rooster become Easter dinner. I don't get what she means by that.

Last night, we saw the red fox run by our house. He is very sleek looking. We were surprised to see two small deer in our yard last night. We have animals all around us. We prefer the animals to some of those seedy people that were around us at the hotel.

Jack
The Greyhound Who Can't Get Enough Of His Deck

Thursday, April 28, 2011

The Sun Is Here!

I'm telling you the sun is out. It may not look like it, but it is. The temperature is 50 and somewhat windy. I'm enjoying my deck. Mama is going laundry and hanging out clothes to dry on the deck. My deck is used to dry clothes and BBQ. It's just a wonderful place I'm telling you.

This morning, I came in from the yard and laid on the folk's bed and I got it muddy. Did I get in trouble? Nope.... Daddy did. Why did Daddy get in trouble? Because he didn't put the spread across it when it got out of bed. Mama bought a cheap spread that she protects the bed with and if we get dirt on it, it's not a big deal. Daddy said he didn't know it was one of his duties, but now he does. He said he put that on his schedule of things to do. I don't think he was happy about this additional duty, but Mama said the last one out of the bed makes it. I don't care who makes it as long as I don't get in trouble.

What is on my schedule of things to do today? Well, eagle watching is out. They have been moved to a facility and the webcam appears to have been turned off. The Daddy came by yesterday with a fish to feed them. It was so sad because they were already gone. He really tried to take care of them. We can still follow their progress but it won't be like it had been in the past. I plan to spend my day on the deck and Mama said she may try and spray some weeds today if the sun dries them out. We may get an afternoon shower though. That was not in the forecast yesterday. Grrrr!

Jack
The Greyhound Who Loves Relaxing In The Sun

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Another Rainy Date


It's another rainy day here. We have had rain since last Thursday. It seems like it has rained almost every day since we moved here, but Mama says not quite that much but almost. Even though it's a cloudy, cool morning, I'm perched on my deck.

The Daddy eagle came and fed the eaglets this morning, so that's a good sign. Last night, the moderators said that the eaglets need to eat once a day so that they do not dehydrate. They should be able to self feed in a week. That does not mean they can get their own food, it just means that they will not have to be fed by the male. Hopefully, a predator doesn't get to them while the Dad is away finding food. It sounds like if the Daddy can't provide for them, humans may come to their rescue. I know they don't want to do that, but that's how it sounded last night.

9:32 am eastern UPDATE: DGIF biologists have decided that it is in the best interest of the eaglets to remove them from the nest and relocate them to the Wildlife Center of Virginia. The removal operation will take place at 10 a.m.

(10:17 am central time - Note from Mama: The eaglets have now been removed from the nest. It's sad, but it sounds like it was the best thing for them.)

Grandma called last night to get an update on the eaglets. Mama didn't think Daddy listened to her when she told him about all the day's events, but he did. He answered all of Grandma's questions with the information Mama had given him.

It looks like we are going to buy a new clothes dryer this weekend. Ours is dying and it is not going quietly. It is making all sorts of loud noises. Mama thought she would have to run it at night while Daddy was trying to watch TV to convince him that we needed a new one, but apparently not. He said we will buy a new one this weekend. He said he could probably fix it, but it's 24 years old, so we should just get a new one.

A friend asked Mama if we live in the country or in town. Well, we have tractors that drive past our house daily, so we say it is country. The tractors drive past us to get to the feed store which is just down the road from us. We are six miles from town. We are not isolated here like we were at the other house as we have a lot of traffic that goes by our house, but we are surrounded by farmland and we are waiting for the cattle to move in across from our house. Mama says we will have new smells especially on hot days with the cattle. I'm anxious to smell that. Mama says I may not like it.

Jack
The Greyhound Who Likes Country Living

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Mother of Norfolk Eaglets Has Been Killed - Updated

Mama is very sad right now. The mother of the three eaglets that she has been watching on the webcam was killed today.

Female Eagle Killed

Professionals are watching the nest to determine what to do. As of 5:03 pm est, the male has not returned to the nest to feed the eaglets. We hope he returns soon. They really need him.

UPDATE: The male has returned to the nest with food and he is feeding his young at 6:45 pm eastern time.

Jack
The Greyhound Who Doesn't Like To See His Mama Sad

Monday, April 25, 2011

Good Friday Tornadoes and Camping

I was so excited on Friday because we were going camping. I supervised everything going into the camper and finally it was time for me and Scout to load up. Mama said we were supposed to get storms on Friday night and it was supposed to rain most of the weekend, but I didn't care. We arrived at the state park around 10:30 a.m. Mama said things didn't look right because a lot of campers were leaving. Mama had checked the website before we left home because she was concerned about flooding in the park, but there was nothing about it being closed. We got all the way to the gate which is a few miles from the entrance and they told us the park was being evacuated. Daddy said we would have to go back home. I pouted the whole way home. I didn't even care that we drove into heavy rain and hail. I wanted to camp. After we got home, Daddy said we could see if there was another park that we could go to, so we got in the car and drove and drove. He didn't want to take the motor home and waste gas if there were no openings. We had checked the website and it showed everything was sold out, but we figured there would be cancellations due to the rain. We were correct. We found an opening at a park! We headed home to pick up the RV. It was so crazy driving back and forth, but finally we arrived at the campsite and set up our camp.

We took a nice long walk before dinner and then after dinner, the storms came. We actually only had rain, but the St. Louis area had tornadoes! It was so scary watching the radar screen. I think we started watching the radar around 6:30 p.m. and it was still on after 11 p.m. A tornado hit Lambert Airport which is a landmark in St. Louis. Neighborhoods were torn up. We heard that 1,000 homes were damaged and about 100 are completely destroyed. No one was killed though. That is amazing, so many are calling it the Good Friday Miracle. We heard that our house had golf ball sized hall on Friday night, but Grandpa and Grandma came by and checked on the house and said we didn't have any damage.

There was non-stop tornado coverage on Saturday and even today, our local news is on instead of the Today Show. The airport is open again which is truly amazing considering all the damage that it had. The windows are just boarded up for now and I think they are just making do with things, but at least they are open and people are able to travel.

We will have rain through Wednesday. We have had so much rain. Flooding is now a concern, but we are okay at our house. We just have a muddy yard that Scout finds extremely fun.

Our camping trip wasn't as much fun as normal due to the rain. We walked as much as we could, but most of the time we just stayed in the RV. I really didn't want to come home yesterday, but Daddy said we had to go back to work. We have another trip booked for the middle of May and that should be a fun trip because it will be for four days.

Jack
The Greyhound Who Likes His Home But Likes Camping Better

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Happy Easter

Hope you have a great day! We are out camping with our folks and will be back later today.

Jack and Scout
The Greyhounds Who Keep Using The Same Easter Photo Year After Year

Friday, April 22, 2011

We Are Ready For The Weekend!


We have been so busy helping Mama in the office that we need a break. Don't we look tired? It's hard work being a telecommuter pup.

We were quite surprised yesterday when two hummingbirds showed up outside our office window. Here is a photo of one of them. It's not too good because we took his photo through the window.


Mama loves birds and put up the hummingbird feeders and other bird feeders right after we moved in. Today, the goldfinches have found our feeders. We hope the raccoons stay away from our feeders. They were such pests at the old house.

Today, we watched the Norfolk eaglets get banded. It was quite interesting. The next big event will be when they fledge. Mama has been hooked on these live feeds. There are also eaglets in Iowa that we are watching and two sets of hummingbirds in California. The hummingbirds have all fledged but new eggs are waiting to be hatched. We never knew about these live feeds until this year.

Jack
The Greyhound Who Is Going Camping Soon!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

I Love My Deck!

The best part of the new house is the deck. I spend most of my deck enjoying it. Mama laughed at me yesterday because it was cloudy and only 50 degrees. I didn't want to come in and Mama kept telling me that I was letting all the cold air into the house.

"What Mama? I can't hear you."

Do I look cold? I don't think so.

Awwww.....my wait staff (Mama) has brought me a frosty treat to make my day complete.

Jack
The Greyhound Who Loves Lounging On The Deck

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

A Few Photos Of Our House

Mama says we can only show photos of the rooms in our house that our clean, so here is our living room.

That is Scout laying on the couch. She pounced on the couch as soon as we took the throw off for the photo.

When the folks saw the house for the first time, they hated the paint color in the living room. They now like it. They said they wouldn't have chosen it, but it doesn't look bad with our stuff.

It's a small room, but we are a small family so it works for us.

I will post other photos as the rooms are cleaned. LOL

Jack
The Greyhound Who Likes His Small Living Room

Monday, April 18, 2011

Goldie Is Home!


I was shocked when Daddy told me to look outside. Goldie is home! I thought she was sold with the house. Daddy said she was being stored at my uncle's house and now she is home. Guess what? Goldie is taking us camping this weekend! I'm so excited. I wanted to sleep in Goldie last night, but Mama said no.

We didn't do a lot this weekend. Mama had a migraine on Saturday. She and I laid on the couch and watched Parking Wars most of the day. It was a cold and very windy day, so it was a good day to snuggle on the couch.

Yesterday, Goldie came home. Daddy cut the grass and Mama went to the store. She stopped at this place near us that is a pig/hog farm and they sell the meat right there. It's self service which seems a little odd, but they've been in business for years. Mama bought some bacon and spare ribs. We had some bacon for breakfast and it was good and we are going to try the spare ribs tonight. Mama says she will stop by and buy some other meat for our camping trip. They have brats and other things, but not pork steaks which is disappointing.

Daddy said he thinks some cows or other livestock are going to be moved into the field across the road from us. He said the farmer put up an electric fence this weekend. We would rather have animals than houses to look at, so we are fine with that.

Mama took a few photos of us in our yard this morning. Here is Scout. She is still wearing her Valentine's Day collar. She really needs to change into something more appropriate.


Here I am in my camouflage collar. I call it my camping/country collar.

Jack
The Greyhound Who Is Excited About Camping!

Friday, April 15, 2011

It's Been A Busy Week

We've had quite a busy week in our new home. Daddy went back to work on Tuesday and Mama did get the spare room organized. It still has boxes in it, but it doesn't look a mess anymore. Wednesday, Mama set up her office and then she went to town. We are only six miles from town. Thursday, I had to go to the vet for my yearly check up. The vet said I was one handsome hound and my teeth didn't need to be cleaned, so Mama was very happy about that. We've been working hard on them and I have the typical greyhound's teeth. Scout went to the vet with me for moral support. She got on the scale and has lost four pounds! She was pretty proud of herself. Scout's teeth look great. I keep saying that she is really not a greyhound. After we got home from the vet, Daddy installed our new microwave. Friday, Mama started looking for a new job. She still has one but now that she has high speed Internet, she can find something that pays better. She loves her job, but the pay is really bad. Her battery back up for the computer stopped working, so that caused her stop looking for work. It sounded like an excuse to me, but I was fine with it. Friday afternoon, we did more work around the house. Mama pulled weeds and then cleared out a spot on the carport to park her car before the thunderstorm hit. It seems to storm a lot here. We had snow at the hotel and now storms here. It's just not fair. That's basically our week in a nutshell. We've worked hard, but we've had some good couch sitting time, too.

Do you want to see a few photos? This is our front yard as seen from my view on the couch. Mama and I love sitting on the couch and looking at the field. Today, we saw a red fox run by. We thought it might get the neighbor's chickens, but it didn't. We have a ton of traffic here though. We have a feed store down the road and also an equipment place and both of those result in a lot of activity.

Here's another view of it looking down the road.

Our backyard is pretty big, but it has a big shed in the middle of it. Daddy says the shed makes up for only having an one car garage and a carport. Mama would rather not have it in the center of the yard, but we think it makes it more like a race track going around it.


We have steps going from the deck to the yard, but we don't use them. Mama says that since I jump steps instead of walking down them properly, I will hurt myself and Scout, well, Scout doesn't do more than three steps. Daddy is going to make us a ramp or something to fix the situation and then things will be easier for Mama.

Jack
The Greyhound Who Has Settled In Quickly At His New House

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

We've Moved!

We've been so busy moving that we have not had time to update you. It was a little stressful Friday morning, because the Pods people called and said the Pods would be there at 7:30 a.m., but we didn't close on the house until 9 a.m. The owner was okay with it all though, so that was good. As soon as Mama and Daddy closed, they started moving things into the house. Mama said they moved everything from the Pods into the house in about 2.5 hours. However, things are still in boxes even today, so the unpacking is going very slowly.

Friday, Scout and I stayed at the hotel all day by ourselves. Mama didn't pick us up until 5:30 p.m. Here we are leaving the hotel and heading to our new home.

When we arrived at the house, we sniffed around outside and then we went in and did some exploring. Grandma and Grandpa came over with dinner and then we went to bed because we were so tired.

Saturday, I discovered that the deck gets the morning sun and I've been out on the deck every day since.


The cable man came Saturday afternoon, so we have TV and high speed! We were all excited to sit on the couch and watch our TV again.

The first few times we went out in the backyard, we just stood there, so no running photos of us. Scout has started doing laps in the yard now though and she's loving it.

The Pod man came yesterday. Bye Pods!

We are making progress day by day. Daddy seems to be having to repair a lot of things and that's getting off our schedule. The washer and dryer are now hooked up and Mama likes being able to wash clothes in the house instead of taking them to the laundry mat. The new microwave is still in the box though and now that Daddy is back at work, it will probably be there until the weekend. It's one of those microwaves that goes above the stove otherwise Mama would just take it out of the box and use it.

There still lots of stuff to tell you about our new place, but we have to get back to unpacking. Our goal is to get the spare room organized today. That was our goal yesterday too, but it didn't happen.

Jack
The Greyhound Who Likes His New Home

Friday, April 8, 2011

Today's The Day!

Today is the big day! We are moving to our new house! We are not looking excited because we have to stay here most of the day. It turns out that the Pods are going to be delivered very early and Daddy says we will be safer staying in the hotel until later today. He says it will be easier to move things into the house without us being around. Mama says she hopes to have our couch all set up for us when we arrive. We wanted to go and help, but maybe it is better if we aren't in all the mess. We have been stressed enough with being here while they packed up our room.

The hotel is looking really pretty here with the tulips. Here's one last look.

Goodbye hotel! It's been nice staying here but we are moving on!

We will update all of you in a few days from our new house!!!!

Jack and Scout
The Greyhounds Who Are Leaving Hotel Living Behind Them

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Spring Time Is Noisy


I am so glad that we are moving out of the hotel. This week has been so busy with workers. It's been hard to nap. Monday, the fireplace inspector came in and inspected our fireplace. He said it was dirty. We haven't even used it. We had to the leave the room while he cleaned it. Yesterday, they power washed our sidewalk. That was extremely noisy. The landscapers were here Tuesday and yesterday. They sprayed weeds, fertilized, mulched and cut the grass. It's just crazy here. Normally, the hotel is very quiet during the day. Most people go to work during the day and it's just us and the hotel workers. We don't know what is going on, but it's been busy here all week. Mama has been having trouble getting her parking spot. It's really not her spot, but it's right in front of our room and she has been parking it since December so she says it is hers. Everyone seems to love that spot. We have backed out of it and had people immediately take it. All other spots are open, but they want our spot. It's not even convenient to their room, but they still take it. We don't get it.

Mama said we should write about what we liked and disliked about the hotel. We have been having trouble coming up with a list. We've liked walking and exploring. We haven't liked the snow. We liked being able to see Mama from any spot in the room. We haven't liked not having any privacy. Yes, we do like privacy and there is none here. We liked racing each other when we walk. I have always won. Scout can be in the lead, but she always looses it at the end. She thinks the finish line is at the door, but the finish line is really the first one to get in the room. Tonight, she pulled out some new moves on me though. She was zigging and zagging every which way. Mama and Daddy thought she was really funny. We like that our room gets really dark when the curtains are closed. It can be a really sunny day and it looks like midnight in here. It makes for a good afternoon nap.

We've learned that strange people hang out in office parking lots. There is this one guy that really gives us the creeps. He sits out on the parking curb even on the coldest days. He just parks his car and sits on the curb. We think he might be the one who flosses his teeth there. Whoever does that just leaves the floss on the ground. There is another man who parks on the far end of the parking lot and reads a book. Why doesn't he go to the park? A few weeks ago, there were streakers in our parking lot. We missed that though. It was in the middle of the night and the police were called, but we slept through it. People are really strange.

One more day to the big move. The boxes in the room are making me nervous. I guess I forgot about the mess that a move makes. :::sigh:::

Jack
The Greyhound Who Is Headed Back To The Country In A Day

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

It's Almost Time To Move


We are counting the minutes to our move! Mama called all the utility companies yesterday and then she found out that in order to get the water switched over, she had to fill out an application. Scout and I piled in the car and off we went to our new town. We drove past our new house again and it looks like they are really moving out. Mama felt better after seeing progress there.

Today is our last day of work until the 18th. The pizza man is coming tonight because Mama says the kitchen is now closed except for breakfast. Daddy says today is the last day to relax. Tomorrow, we have to pack up our room and then Mama and Daddy have to go to the bank and get the money for the house and then do the walk through. They will then go to the store and buy new locks and a few other things that they want to install on Friday. Friday at 9 a.m. is the closing! The only downside is that the sellers have until 5 p.m. on Friday to get out. We hope they are out by tomorrow but according to the contract, they have until 5 p.m. Our agent said we can start moving in, but we don't want to get in their way. We really want to have our Pods delivered on Friday, but we have to wait and see what's happening at the house before we can re-schedule them for Friday. We have them scheduled for Saturday, so that will be the latest that they will arrive. The new bed is coming Friday afternoon.

Oh, goodness, Mama says this posting is just a lot of babble. I'm just very excited about our BIG move. We've been talking about it for over a year and now it's finally happening! I'm going to be able to run again. Daddy says it will not snow at the new house at least for 11 months. It started snowing here from the day we moved in and seems like it snows all the time. I'm happy to be out of here!

Jack
The Greyhound Who Is Moving On Friday!

Monday, April 4, 2011

My Sister Likes To Shower At The Dump Station

Mama decided to be nice to us after she woke us up an hour early yesterday. She and Daddy drove us past our new house for the 20th time and then we stopped at McDonald's for a McChicken. We then headed to a state park to see the campers because Daddy is going through camping withdrawals. It was a warm day. Actually, it was hot! It was 80 and because the trees are still missing their leaves, there is no shade. Daddy said it wasn't hot, but the rest of us thought it was hot. We walked down to the river and what did Scout do? She got in and laid down. She loves the water. I shocked everyone by getting in without being asked to. I started to lay down, but a stick was in my way and it scared me. I did stand in the water though. That's a big improvement over previous years. A few years ago, I was coaxed into a creek. Everyone said "it will be fine Jack, come on in." I went in and fell in a hole. That was scary and I have avoided water since then. Anyway, when Scout got up from the water today, she was covered in mud. Mama said she would have to get a bath because there is no way she could lay on the bed at the hotel. I didn't want to have to ride in the Jeep with her being that dirty. Daddy suggested we take her to the dump station and rinse her off. Mama thought she would throw a fit when Daddy showered her at the dump station, but she liked it. It was clean water, so it was fine. I bet now Scout will want to stop at every dump station she sees to get a shower. I wish Mama would have taken photos of Scout getting her shower so I could show you how strange she is, but there are no photos.

We left the park and then took a scenic drive back home. We, of course, had to drive by the new house again. Daddy says there is no way they are going to be moved out in time. Mama is now nervous about everything going as planned. Our bed is supposed to arrive on Friday, so if the closing doesn't happen on time, it could be a real mess with canceling things. Oh, I forgot to tell you that they ordered the bed on Saturday and Daddy told us he spent lots of money on us because we will use the new bed when they are not in it and Mama bought us a new bed spread. Mama bought herself a new pillow and it is very comfy. I've been using it.

Jack
The Greyhound Who Has A Sister Who Likes To Shower At The Dump Station

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Mama, It's Too Early


This morning, Mama woke us up to go outside. Yes, you read that correctly. She told us to get out of bed to go outside. Isn't that rude? She said "Jack and Scout it's 7 a.m., we need to go outside." It didn't feel like 7 a.m. to us. Mama then realized that our old clocks that automatically change when the time changes had changed. See, they are old and they think we are still on the old time change that used to occur in April but now occurs in March. We go through this twice a year with Mama because they also do it in October. We really need to get new clocks. We walked outside and there were lots of people running around packing up their cars. That is very unusual for 6 a.m. on a Sunday. I bet they have the same clocks!

Jack
The Greyhound Who Lost An Hour Of Sleep This Morning

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Resting Up Before The Big Move


If all goes well, we will be in our new home next week at this time. We hope to move in the house Friday afternoon. Our Pods are scheduled to arrive on Saturday, but if our closing time is early enough, we are going to have the Pods delivered on Friday and then the fun will begin. If not, we may still move in Friday and sleep on the floor which isn't a big deal to us because we have our beds.

Mama ordered the cable and it is being installed next Saturday. I will not miss a second of Judy Judy! Mama ordered us a DVR, so if I want I can even record Miss Judy. Life is good!

Mama has been gone a lot this week doing shopping and errands and we just don't sleep well when she is gone. We have to catch up on our sleep when she is here, so that's why we look so tired in the photo.

Jack
The Greyhound Who Is Ready To Run In His New Yard

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Home Again - Part 3

 Well, we just realized that we didn't finish telling you about the rest of our trip home.  I don't know if we even remember the res...