Worrying about Snakes

Pssst.

Southern Pacific rattlesnake. Pat Murkland Photo

It's snake season.

We have 6 species of rattlesnakes in Southern California.

Three different species live where we do.

Each has its own DNA.

The anti-rattler vaccine doesn't appear to apply to our snake breeds.

Anti-rattler training with shock collars?

Many Irish Wolfhound people will tell you,

not with their hounds.

Our first wolfhound, Erin, was our snake-wise trainer of other wolfhounds.

When Blake was a baby, she taught him about snakes.

Today, Blake barked ferociously.

We investigated.

Blake wanted too let us know this snake was in the yard.

This is our "snake protection yard," with a snake fence around the chainlink.

The snake still found its way in.

Fortunately, this was a beneficial gopher snake. Whew.

Blake stood guard while we checked out the situation, watching the snake and protecting us.

Good dog, Blake!

Thank you, Erin. Good training.

Go Ahead and Make Your Joke About Needing A Saddle ...

© Pat Murkland Photo

Neighborhood Watcher

© Pat Murkland Photo

© Pat Murkland Photo

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

© Pat Murkland Photo

It was snowing in Southern California,

snowing all over the apple blossoms and green, green grass.

Snow falls with a special silence. We listened.

Afterward, Blake loved walking in our winter wonderland.

© Pat Murkland Photo

© Pat Murkland Photo

© Pat Murkland Photo

The snow crunched as we walked.

We saw where the rabbit had run.

... And where the coyote had loped.

A breeze blew some stray snowflakes onto our footprints.

And Blake said: Life is good.

Holiday walks

Blake © Pat Murkland

It's a holiday tradition in our family to take a walk with our four-footed friends.

We especially enjoy starting out our New Year with unconditional love at our side.

Seeing the wonder of the natural world helps put all that inner small stuff into perspective. Oh yeah ... it's small stuff.

And when we set aside that stuff, we are free to see, smell, hear, touch and even taste what the natural world is offering us. That's, after all, what Blake is doing, with boundless enthusiasm.

Blake is always happy and always there for us, a guardian and a forever best friend.

Have you hugged your wolfhound today?

Wearing Valentine Love

© Pat Murkland photo

Blake loves to love people and be loved.

Happy Holidays

© Murkland 2009 Baby Hunter at 10 months

Happy Holidays from all of us!

Catching Up With Hunter

© Murkland

Hunter has his mother's eyes and His Dad's smile, along with his very own Irish humor and sense of mischief.

© Murkland

He's losing his baby coat.

Yes, Baby Hunter is now eight months old!

Playing Around

Liberty (left) enjoys playing with her Uncle Blake!

© Pat Murkland

Not sure who is calling "Uncle" ...

© Pat Murkland

Blake (rear) demonstrates a new look

for Wolfhound ears ...

© Pat Murkland

Celebrations!

© Pat Murkland Photo

This week, we celebrated!

Fathers Day (the first day of summer, June 21),

Blake's third birthday (June 22),

and Hunter's fourth month birthday (June 23).

© Pat Murkland Photo

Blake's best way to celebrate was to let his little son believe he was winning all the wolfhound games.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to the famed tennis litter from your littermate, Blake.

Can you believe the Dozen are all already three years old?

Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday, dear tennis litter,

Happy birthday to you!

Let's PARTY!

Mr. Growing Hunter

©Photo by Pat Murkland

Hunter is growing so fast.

He's all tall and rangy just one week shy of his fourth month birthday.

And full of growing mischief, too!

©Photo by Pat Murkland

It's so much fun to see both his mother and his father in him.

He has his father's head, for example, but his mother's expressive eyes.

©Photo by Pat Murkland

And yes, he knows how to use those eyes, just the way his Mom and Dad do, when he gets into trouble!

Publicity Hound

I probably should have brushed Blake a bit better before this event.

He had a lot of fun and thought the entire Bark and Art downtown Banning event was made for him.

A Dream Come True

Gryffindor's Dream Hunter is now registered with the American Kennel Club.

Happy Birthday, Everyone!

Three months old today! 

Happy birthday to Gryffindor's Dream Hunter.

OK, big guy, thanks for scrunching up the rear and topline just as the shutter clicked. 

:-)

We'll post a better shot the next time we can get him to stand still for a few seconds ...

Maybe!

And in other birthdays ...

Happy one year to the X litter! Can you believe it's been one year already for Liberty's half-brothers and half-sisters? 

An especially happy birthday to Janey-Mac. 

Here she is, pictured at 10 days old. 

(Photo courtesy of Glenamadda.)

And here is Miss J-M celebrating her birthday earlier this week.

She knows how to party: 

(Photo by her Mom, Mary)

Wait, there are more!

Janey-Mac's partner-in-crime, Uly the Leonberger, also celebrated his birthday.

And our good friend in Southern California, Miss Pearl the Leonberger, also celebrated her three-month-old birthday on May 20. 

Rumor has it she had a b-a-t-h.

(Photo by her Mom, Genette)

Last but never, never the least, 

We love you, Vanna.

Blake barks

A jet was flying over this a.m., and making a lot of noise.
Blake began barking from the back porch.
We decided to go and see why he was barking. After all, we've been having lots of rattlesnakes lately, and indeed, last week a snake had somehow made its way onto the screened-in back porch.
Blake wasn't barking at the jet.
He wasn't barking at a snake.
He was barking at something outside. It was something outside the chainlink fence of the back yard.
We let him outside, and immediately saw what he was barking at: A big brown bear!
Blake charged the bear, barking ferociously. The chainlink stayed between them.
The bear fled, running so fast it crashed into the bushes.
Good boy, Blake!

Happy Mother's Day

Mother and her ten-week-old child

Seven weeks old!

Growing

Eating like ... a wolfhound