Time

The life expectancy of a Great Dane is 9 – 11 years. Now, some of us see this as a definite mark in the minus categories for owning Danes. For dogs so sweet and so wonderful, it seems like such a short amount of time to share.

Or perhaps you are someone who expects your Dane to live only nine years, and then, well, she’s just marking time at the ripe old age of 9 ½, so you move and leave her behind with enough kibble to last her a couple weeks, as long as she doesn’t eat too much.

Yesterday morning, Princess ate the last 2 cups of the Ol’Roy she had been left.

Yesterday afternoon, freshly washed and coiffed, Princess made her way here to MisFit Farm, which we all expect to be the last move she makes before leaving this mortal coil. While we have an exceptional track record for longevity here at the Farm, we have every expectation Princess will leave us wanting for more time to share.

It's Hot in Toe-peek-ah

This only begins to capture how the 109 degree heat index is feeling here in the Toe-peek-ah area.

The dogs have retired to lay on the cool concrete floor in the basement almost permanently. While the rest of the dogs still want to lay on the tops of our feet, when they are not curled up around the cold air register, Emmett can be found routinely sprawled out in the cool recesses of the dog room. When I let the old dogs out the front door for a potty break, they skirt along the front of the house under the covered porch and dance across the hot sidewalk into the yard. They may be goofy, but they sure aren't stupid.

True to form, my girl, Trinity, bucks the trend by following my footsteps as a sun worshipper. While the other dogs duck-dive for a cool spot in the mud under a shade tree while they accompany me for garden work, Trinity stretches out in the sun, her sleek black coat glistening. I come home from work to find her sitting out in the middle of the dog yard, head uplifted as she drinks in the warm summer air. The other dogs offer, at most, a cursory bark from their positions inside the cool confines of their air-conditioned and ceiling fanned room.

I must remember to add to my list of things I betcha didn't know: chickens can (and do) pant. They may be laying their eggs pre-hard-boiled soon. The ducks, still residing at our pond, spend most of their days languishing under the shade of the bridge, venturing out only occasionally to splash tepid pond water onto their backs. The goats and horse find shady spots of their own, take dust baths, and suck down enough water to keep RWD #6 in full employment.