.....crime scene

This is Augustus, 'Gus' for short..Gus is a lovable whirlwind of curiosity and trouble..He used to be a well mannered city dog...now he is an out of control country dog.

...and Shyla....

Shyla is sweet and loving unless you try to take something from her OR you make the mistake of picking her up...It's not that she minds being picked up...it's when you try to put her down that things turn ugly...she turns into a buzz saw with teeth...

Gus and Shyla are two of my granddogs...I took care of them this past weekend while Daughter #2 went to San Francisco to play....she owes me!!

Maia wanted a close-up too...

...every once in awhile Shyla attacks Gus...I think it's play, but I'm not sure....

I keep her on a leash because she won't go where I want her to and I can't pick her up to take her where I want her to go because then I can't put her down.....I'm scared of her. Gus has to wear a leash because he won't come when called. They are both very, very fast...and always plotting a get-away.

Because I wanted these two two wear themselves out I decided to walk them down to the pond...my beloved Grandson, his dog Buddy, the Bear and Maia came along.

We had a nice long walk, rather uneventful.

When we got home I went straight into the house and into the kitchen to start dinner and what I saw there made my brain glitch....

I saw what could only be blood, blood on the broom closet door...blood on the floor, blood on the bar, blood high up on the walls and blood on the cupboards, blood everywhere....


In what could only have been a seconds many possibilities and a zillion movie crime scenes went through my head.


I took a quick inventory of what animals were with us on the walk, who stayed behind, if I'd left a door open, was the blood that of man or beast and where was the body?....into this horror comes Maia, my Beloved Great Dane and she is covered in blood...
on her back, dripping off her ankles, it was pooling on the floor....
she was the wounded animal....!!!!


I was a little freaked out, there was blood all over her and I couldn't get her settled down to see what had happened. I must have left the door open, she must have come in the house before me, she is hurt! And losing blood....

I patted her down as best I could looking for the injuries and from the looks of things there had to be more then one...the more attention she got the happier she became, it was hard to get her to settle down for a proper inspection...she didn't seem to hurt anywhere I touched.....
in fact she was playful and she was happy.....
the happier she got the more blood I had on me and on the walls,
And I still was not comprehending when Beloved Grandson points out her tail...yep..lot's of blood coming from that moving tail and more with every wag.... more each time she whacked it against me, the table, the bar, etc.

Maia is alright....


It was only her tail and we had to get some of that powder to clot the holes because she is a happy dog constantly wagging her tail and every time she wags it it seems to hit against something and open up again. We don't know what happened to her.....we think she was shot because the wound goes all the way through on the tip of her tail and the holes mirror each other....yes, people do a lot of shooting around here...I'd like to think it was an accident, certainly not intentional.

I was exhausted after cleaning up and from the total emotional stress of all the thoughts that went through my head when I first walked into my kitchen. I'm still finding spots of blood I've missed but thankfully it wasn't as bad as it first appeared.....as is the way with so many things in life.


And that was my weekend memorable moment...

A view with a deer...

I haven't posted about her in a while...but she is still here. Really she is heartbreaking. We've found out the she was bottle fed by some kind people who live up the hill from us. However, their kindness has left the Deer very lonely. She isn't domesticated but she isn't really wild either. She seems to have no place in the world. I've spent a lot of time with her and feel her loneliness because she has no companions, and she is afraid at times because she has no companions. We've spoken with a woman who has had special permits to care for wild animals...a lot of deer have passed her way. She thinks the chances are slim to none the deer will find a herd to join. We're thinking because she is not very happy with Maia right now, but always seems exceptionally happy to see me, she has imprinted on me.
The photo of her is one I took the other day of her watching me through the window....She would like to come in...or have me come out to her... julie

...a vision I had.

She's watching Miss Deer!

Wow! It is such a gorgeous day….Those of us living in the Sierra Foothills are being treated to a preview of spring. Everything is so green.

In regards to the Deer, I had a lengthy chat with friend and fellow artist Sheila Boyd the other day. She is a lover of animals. They are her passion! She has walked with mountain lions!!! www.animalartbysheila.com Realizing I was beginning to come from a place of fear with said Deer, she talked to me about enjoying the magic of her visits. Not hard since she is such an engaging creature. And because listened…..I have settled down so Maia & Zoe seem to be ignoring the Deer unless I am outside too…..I think something may have happened that I was not witness to. There has been a change in the relationship between Maia and the Deer…Yesterday when Maia approached the fence Deer bushed up, ears back, head down…..she looked rather scary. She has a long winters coat and when she bushed up, she looked big and bad!!

We aren’t running her off unless she is “underfoot”. The other night Michael went out to check on her when the coyotes yipping and yapping was getting too close. There she was, tucked under a tree in the back. He has taken to being her nighttime protector, even leaving his “scent” around the fence! I’ve promised him I won’t get too close.

This week Timberline Gallery is starting the first of what may become many, Art Adventures. This is a program we are putting together for elementary aged school children to introduce them to the arts. Since there is no longer art offered in our schools. The first group of children will be coming this Friday to tour the gallery…learn about various mediums and styles, and then get some hands-on fun. My part in this will be to give them a little guidance while they each make a mask.

The first group of 15 are between the ages of 5 - 15, so I think this may be an Adventure in Art for me too! I woke up this morning with the vision of 15 out of control kids covered in feathers, paint, bones and clay! In an art gallery!!!!!