More Late Season Additions

These date back to August / September or so but I deliberately held off posting them for a reason that I will get into a little later, assuming that I am able to maintain a train of thought. This is never guaranteed.

The first is a birthday gift to both the three of us from Caroline and Asley.

Dramatization. Treats Were Involved

It's a doghouse (although you might have concluded that on your own)!

Kind of a neat deal. It was assembled in no time, easily. It was, in every way, the exact opposite of Frankenshed, may it forever burn in a hell hotter than a billion suns.

It's also quite light so easy to move around while we figure out exactly where we want it. It sat across from the bunkie until the end of the season but we figure it's more likely to get traffic nearer to the fire pit and picnic table. You know, where there are people to trip and/or steal food from, both common dachshund hobbies.

Here's something we may do for kicks: We need to buy paint to...huh...paint some tiles I've added to the outside walls in a largely pointless attempt to keep a variety of critter types out of the cottage. There aren't that many tiles to paint, so maybe we'll apply what's left to the doghouse to match the actual cottage and bunkie. That might be neat.

Regardless of whether that ever happens, Caroline also suggested this as an entertainment option.

If we ever manage to winterize...Deal!

Also, being a guy, I have to admit that I've stared at it for some time and thought to myself "Bet I could fit in there". The only thing that's kept me from testing that theory is the possibility, however unlikely, that I am mistaken and that Christine would have to get me out of there by unscrewing the roof. But it will continue to tempt me, I know it. I may attempt it, but only when she is within earshot.

Now as to why I waited a bit (I did it! I remembered!) before posting about it, not long after we received that gift, we also began to serve as foster parents for this little darling.  Meet Ladybug, those of you who have yet to do so.

Long story short (a rarity in itself), she'd had a rough go of it for a while and Canadian Dachshund (the hardest word to spell, ever) Rescue needed a home for Bugs while she went through some treatment. They contacted us, we agreed to give it a shot, and she's been with us since.

I'd planned on posting about her almost right away, and about how the doghouse would make for a nice "extra bedroom" for our new visitor, but a conversation with Chris underscored that we didn't own her as such yet so I held off in case she left as quickly as she arrived. Now that we're further along, she's responding well and we're closer to making her our own, I think it's safe to include her.

Those who met her early on might be surprised to see how much weight she's lost. She was, indeed, a bit of a porker.

She's a much leaner sausage now to the point that she was referred to as being "perfect" shape (as opposed to cylindrical) when Christine took her for her a treatment recently. She seems to absolutely love walks on the trails around Crow Lake so there's more of that in her future. Assume you'll be seeing more of her (and George) here, assuming things continue to go well.