We have Sparky

We have a new pet for the time being. Sparky. Sam named him. He is a little bird that fell out of a nest that was up on the eves of our house, in the sun. Its been especially hot this weekend and the other bird in the nest died. This one had fell out and survived the 12 foot fall. So Carl brought him into the courtyard and put him in a planter that gets a bit of water and lots of shade.


He and the kids are nursing it back to life. He's made more than one trip to Pets Mart already. We were excited because Sparky started eating today. We couldnt get him to take anything yesterday, but today his mouth is wide open and ready.

Carl feeds him this:


Which are these meal worms crushed up. Eeeeew! I know!


Anyways, earlier we saw another bird come by and take note. Later that bird came back and was in the nest with Sparky for a bit. I had a great view from Sam's bedroom window. She was feeding Sparky! Awesome. We are all excited and hope that he will live and these other birds heard his tiny cries and are here to help :)

Dude will be missed

I am sad to say that we lost a loved member of our family this week. Our crazy beloved dog, Dude. He was a character for sure. When I met Carl and started dating him, he had only had Dude for 3 months. He rescued him through Pointer Rescue. Dude was a 9 month old hunting dog that his original owner couldnt handle. He was high energy! Carl took him and gave him a loving home and good life. Dude was a bit crazy sometimes. To say that he was lively and rambunctious would be an understatement. He was extremely jealous when I came on the scene and would get up on the couch next to me and lean his whole body on me. If I called Carl on the phone and he talked to me, Dude would bark in the background. Sometimes when I was over, Dude would stand in front of me and just bark at me and Carl would have to put him outside, then he would throw himself against the windows and doors until we let him back in and he went into his kennel in the kitchen. Then he would try to dig his way out of the kennel, and the kennel would be bouncing across the room, until it was facing a wall and then he was really unhappy...barking and making a ton of noise...we had a difficult time watching a movie . I laugh when I remember that now. Dude was not going to accept me easily.

Poor Dude had Carl alone for 3 months, then Carl met me and got married and then 2 kids came along....he was never first place again. He didnt like to be left alone and was known to demolish an entire leather couch one vacation that Carl left him home. He also loved to steal food off the counters any chance he could.

With all of Dude's challenges to us, he was a really great dog. I dont think there was a mean streak in him at all. This dog took a lot of abuse from the kids and never once snapped at them and in time he also came to love and depend on me. Charlie is going to miss Dude a lot because one of his favorite things to do is to drape his blankie over him, then hang on him and suck his thumb. Im really feeling the void that his loss has left here. Every time I walk into my closet, I expect to see him there, laying on the floor like he always did. Its strange around here without him. He definitely had a place in our home and now he will be missed. RIP Dude. 2000-2008.