Lady of the Flies

Spring in North Carolina has arrived! Well, it actually (unofficially) arrived a few weeks ago with temperatures

in the 70s-80s. Flowers and trees are blooming. The grass needs to be mowed. Birds are singing and bees are buzzing.

With Spring comes a few nuisances. First, the pollen. Here in the South, it is disgusting. It literally will turn you white, silver, black, or Pepto-Bismal pink car (yes, there is such a car driving around my town) a bright yellow. Gross! What looks like yellow sidewalk chalk coating everyone's driveway is, you guessed it, pollen. I remember our first Spring here; mid to upper 70 degree temperatures was perfect weather for wide open windows in the house. A yellow dusting started to form on my white window sills and because I am from Michigan, I had absolutely no idea where this yellow stuff was coming from. Sure, there is pollen in Michigan but nowhere near the amount we experience here in NC. Slowly, yes I am blonde, I put two and two together. Thankfully, no one in my immediate family suffers from seasonal allergies to the point of needing to keep the windows closed all spring.

When I'm home, my car is in the garage. This car is not mine. http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/healthteam/story/1261521/

The other thing that is a bit of an annoyance is the flies. Because Heidi is constantly knocking at the knob to go out and jumping on the door to come back in (two seconds after going out), the door is continuously being opened and closed allowing a fly or two in the house. There really isn't much Heidi is afraid of but flies are definitely one of them. When there is a fly in the house, Heidi is such a WEENY! She becomes incredibly clingy, I guess they are called "Velcro-Dogs" for a reason.

Velcro-Dog

A few weeks ago I was painting the kitchen. It was a beautiful day out, mid-70s, a gently breeze stirring the pollen around a bit more to torture the poor, allergy stricken people. Hence, Heidi in and out...ALL. DAY. LONG. A particularly large fly made it's way into the house. This scaredy-dog was constantly under my feet. When I was standing on the ladder, she was laying at the foot of it. Our kitchen is not that big but every time I moved, even if it was to move the ladder two feet over, there she was at my hip. It didn't matter that the fly was not even in the kitchen. She knew it was somewhere in the house and she was worried!

Hiding under the table. The fly won't find her there!

She never lays on a hard surface. Desperate times call for desperate measures!

I guess I can't really blame her, though. Dogs have an incredible sense of hearing...when they want to, I should note. She may not hear me tell her to "leave it" eighteen times but she can hear a fly buzzing on the other side of the house. Truly, the sound of a fly buzzing by my head is annoying enough and my sense of hearing is no where near Heidi's. However, for a dog her size, with tremendous speed and agility, it is beyond me as to why she is so afraid of a harmless fly. Nonetheless, my ego is slightly elevated every time she seeks my protection! What's more baffling to me is that when a bee, hornet, or anything else with a stinger is around, she will jump up to try to catch it in her mouth! Really, Heidi? Weimaraners are smart dogs but if Heidi were a real girl, she would be the one in class with a ton of book smarts but really lacking in the street smarts department.

What silly something is your dog afraid of?

The Instigator

The other day, I was repeatedly chastising Heidi for "stealing" Logan's stuffed mountain lion. It wasn't until I saw him actually holding it out for Heidi to take, did I realize she was not at fault. Logan was clearly being an instigator! In true Little Brother fashion, he gave her the stuffed animal and then started whining when she took it from him. Because I had not originally seen him do this, my first thought was that Heidi, hater of all things stuffed, stole the toy from his room and was not giving it to him which led to his whining. Nope! What a little stinker! Poor Heidi, I felt so terrible. If that dog could talk, I can only imagine what she would have said to me. "He started it!". "But MOM, he said I could have it!". "Blame the dog, it's ALWAYS my fault!".

Here's another example of my son, the 16 month old rabble-rouser. At each meal, Logan sits in his high-chair and Heidi lays a foot or two from it. Gosh forbid she is any further than that and a bit of food falls from his tray giving me time to scoop it up before she can inhale it. Logan has started placing a bit of food on the edge of his tray just for Heidi. He'll slide it over to the far edge, tap on the tray and say, "Ha-di, Ha-di". Of course, if I don't get 18 "Leave-it" commands out before she sees the food, it's gone in a flash. At this point, I can't scold one without scolding the other. Truly, Logan started it...again! Heidi didn't have to follow through but in her mind she is absolutely starving, going to wilt away at any moment, only gets fed twice a day. Don't you feel pity for her?

One last example. Heidi is minding her own business (for once), chewing on her bone. Out of nowhere comes the tyrant toddler and snatches the bone right out of her paws. He scurries away giggling and waving it wildly in the air. Heidi catches up with Logan and attempts to grab it back, with me yelling "EASY! EASY!" after her. She is able to get her teeth on 1/16th of the bone, the only part not wrapped in chubby, baby fingers and gently (shocking, I know!) pulls it out of his hands. Logan is no longer giggling...he's whining. This scenario usually repeats itself for a good five minutes until Heidi just gives up and lays on the couch...defeated by a toddler. Now don't you feel pity for her?

Heidi's bone is in Logan's left hand on the end table. He just looks at her saying, "Come and get it!".

Heidi has taught Logan how to play fetch. She brings him a toy, literally drops it either at his feet or right next to him, for him to throw for her. Unfortunately at 16 months old, Logan is no Roger Clemens so the toy usually lands within a few inches of him. For Heidi, that's fine. After she drops the toy near him, she will run around behind our living room chair and wait for the toy to be throw down the hallway. Hmm, maybe that's not such a great habit to teaching our toddler. Oh well! Anyway, she waits patiently there until the toy is thrown. Because Logan's throws don't go too far, Heidi still has to run around the chair to fetch it, all the while burning a teensy bit of built up energy with each toss. Then, Logan will run up to her, grab the toy, and a fun game of keep-away ensues.  

Heidi is ready to play fetch!

Logan threw the toy and is now trying to get it back.

Such a good little brother.

Now time to rest! :-)

 I apologize for being behind the past few weeks updating this. There's plenty more to update you on before we leave for Orlando next Friday! Thanks for stopping by; feel free to leave us some Wiggle-Butt love below! :-)