Dogs Archives - Sandra Orchard

1) Plastic Flower Pots – Don’t ask me where my pup keeps finding these. But I’m thinking that the zigzag chew marks around the top will appeal to eclectic collectors. E-Bay auction here I come!

2) Rubber Boots – Around here rubber boots are worn to muck out the farm animals. Dog eats your boots…Someone else will have to do the mucking out. I’m thinking Win-Win. Dog’s happy. I’m happy.

3 Cucumbers – Yes, fresh from the garden, vine-and-all cucumbers. I must admit this one miffed me at first. After all, I enjoy a good cucumber. But…no half bushel of cukes means no obligation to spend hours canning relish and pickles. It works for me!

4) Sofas – Yes, what pup doesn’t like to gnaw on a good sofa? The thing is old, old, old anyway. What better excuse do we need to replace it? Word of advice: wait until pup outgrows chewing phase.

5) Miscellaneous Tools – Maybe the man in your life will start putting them away instead of leaving them lying about. A cause for celebration…okay, if he doesn’t send the dog packing first!

6) Wood – Sure that cord of wood was supposed to be for cosy fires in the dead of winter, but we can always use the bits of wood for kindling…or garden mulch!

7) Remote Control – Clearly the dog is trying to tell us that the time has come for a new T.V. The analog receiver on that old TV doesn’t work anymore, anyway. And all the shows appear as a narrow band across the middle. The pup did us a favor! Or…maybe she’s telling us we need to spend more time walking than watching!

Fridays are my days for fun posts about the “characters” in my life and at large. Lately, our young pup is the biggest character in our lives and rich fodder for blog posts!

And yes, that is something new she’s found to chew–an eavestrough end cap and down spout strap. Ugh! No wait a minute…I’m thinking scrap aluminum prices are up these days. We’re good.

Moral of this story: Look for the silver lining in the trials of your day. And if all else fails. Laugh about it.

Your turn: Got a story to share?

Scent is a powerful thing. The slightest whiff of a particular scent can rouse memories you haven’t thought about in years, evoking unexpected emotions. The fragrance of my mom’s favorite hand lotion will bring memories of her flooding back to me. For others the smell of oil might take them back to their first car, or a day spent with their dad working on the old jalopey. The smell of leather might remind you of that cool guy you dated in twelfth grade.

Since I write romantic suspense, you’re probably thinking–fragrances…romance…I know where she’s going with this. Trust me when I say…probably not.

Do you have Japanese beetles where you live?

They’re quite attractive, with shiny green and bronze shield-like backs. But destructive! Think plague of locusts.

I knew we had to take action when the leaves on my linden turned to lacy skeletons and began falling in mid-June, a full three months too soon.

When the beetles, migrated to my bean plants, we declared all out war.

We discovered a nifty way to catch these beetles without using pesticides. You hang a plastic bag, like the one in the picture, upwind from the infestation and place a pouch of female beetle pheromones inside.

Instantly, hundreds of beetles lifted from our bean plants, and swarmed to the source of the scent.

Wow, that was one powerful fragrance.

It reminded me of the verse in 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?

A humbling thought, isn’t it?

When I catch myself acting not so fragrant, I think of that swarm of beetles and how very much I want to be the fragrance of life to those around me. How about you?

Today’s smile:

You remember Bella, my connoisseur-of-hubcaps pup?

Well, she felt sorry for all those Japanese beetles doped up on pheromones. After all dogs have an acute sense of smell. So… she liberated them!

Yup, it’s true. As my daughter told my husband, “You had to know that was going to happen.”

Have a fragrant weekend!