Waiting

I love this photo of my boys, Joey and Oso, waiting outside the Blogicito command center.

At one point, Pancho the rooster was perched on the window sill right next to Joey, a very strange occurrence. I don't know what was up with that. I used to feed the chickens outside this window but we've been feeding them somewhere else for ages.

September 11

Molly and Alex

On September 11, 2001, we were in Houston, Texas, taking care of final paperwork at the Honduran consulate and arranging for shipping of our cars. We were supposed to leave for Honduras on September 13, but that didn't happen.

We were wakened by a phone call telling us to turn on the television. ..... Oh, the horror of it. I was glued to the television for days. It just didn't seem real no matter how many times I watched it. How could something like that happen? God rest the 3,000 souls who didn't survive that day.

Of course, our flight was canceled. We ended up not being able to get a flight in which we could take both of our little dogs until a week later. The airline only allowed two dogs in cabin per flight and every flight had at least one. We had made all the arrangements for them and even had made an advance trip to the airport to make sure there wouldn't be any problems, but all of that changed with 9/11. The helpful airline's customer service solution was that we only take one dog with us. Right: We'll just abandon one of our 14-year-old dogs in the airport. No problem. So, instead we ended up spending an expensive week in a motel in Houston with two dogs before we finally were able to leave for Honduras.

At the airport, we were designated as suspicious characters, exacerbated by our one-way tickets. Our four huge overstuffed bags were searched completely, down to unfolding the socks. I waited, trying not to notice that all the blonds sailed right through with a wave. I never thought that the inspectors would ever be able to put everything back and zip up those suitcases, but miraculously they did.

Honduras was a relief as we had no news, no phones, no cable TV, and no newspapers in the beginning.

Both dogs have since gone to doggy heaven and I still miss them.

Hola from Oso, Joey, Zoe, Chloe and the flock

Let me in!

That is Oso looking through the window screen wondering why Papi's favorite, Zoe, gets to stay inside while he's relegated to being a yard dog. Then he's joined by Joey, whose pitiful sad look works on me and inside they come.

The dogs generally stay outside during the day and come inside when Arexy leaves at four. They've learned to tell time and know when it is 4 pm even on days that Arexy doesn't work. Just in case I don't notice the time, they gang up and remind me.

Lately, El Jefe has frequently "accidentally" let Zoe inside during the day which gives her the idea that she is special and rightfully deserves the special treatment. At the first drop of rain, she cries like she is sure that she will just melt away if a single drop falls on her.

During the rainy season, all the dogs spend more time inside. Even Chloe, the guard dog, sometimes whines to come in although she has a huge covered terraza to keep her dry. Chloe really appreciates any time she gets inside the house. She just immediately finds her spot, puts up the "off-duty" sign, and goes to sleep. She's also taken over the chicken coop as her dog house. She shares it with the termites who are destroying all of El Jefe's hard work. :-/

At one point, the chicken coop was taken over by fire ants and the flock abandoned it for the railing on the terraza — not a good thing due to the mess they make. The rooster in the foreground is Pancho. He's still going strong as leader of the flock and you would never know from watching him that I snatched him from the jaws of death. He's almost indistinguishable from the other rooster, except for a missing spur and one of his long tail feathers which never grew back.

Generally it is best to only keep one rooster (because of fighting and increased crowing to each other), but I wanted to keep the other one because he was a white chick and I was hoping that we would get some more "blond" hens. It hasn't worked so far. The normal Red Jungle Fowl look seems to prevail with few variations. But the roosters get along most of the time since there are enough hens to go around. The photo is deceiving because there is a hen behind the second rooster and it looks like her head belongs to him. ;-) If you look closer, you'll see that his head is bent down.

I tried to get some photos of the hens but they would run away when I got too close. There are two chicks in these photos as well. For some better photos of these bantam hens, check out this article.



The hens are constantly disappearing somewhere to nest and reappear after about 6 weeks with their chicks. In the meantime, we get no eggs! I suspect that Chloe is finding the egg hiding spots before we are and is eating the eggs.


Chloe is about 8 years old now. She's a good dog except for her penchant for my eggs and a very good guard dog. She doesn't bother the chickens and mostly gets along well with the chihuahuas, though the boys have taken to growling at her sometimes when she comes into the house (their territory). She gets annoyed with that so I try to nip that in the bud. It's funny how chihuahuas don't see themselves as they are. They seem to imagine that they are Chloe's equal. Unfortunately, they have both found out the hard way that they aren't.

Saturday night excitement

Central American Woolly Opossum

Caluromys derbianus info: [English] [Spanish]

About 8:30 pm tonight, this animal was sitting on the railing on the upstairs terraza, barely 8 feet away from me. Chloe the guard dog was inside with me, off-duty because it was cold and rainy. She had been sound asleep on a pillow in the corner but we all (the dogs and I) heard a noise and she ran to the window to check it out.

Thinking it was a branch falling in the wind, I went back to the computer. Several minutes later, I turned around and saw that Chloe was still standing at the window, staring outside into the dark, perfectly quiet and alert, her tail up, acting like a pointer dog.

"What is it?" I took the two steps to the window, knowing that she couldn't possibly be seeing anything outside down below.

"I don't see anything." I opened the screen to get a better look.

"Eeeeek! A giant rat!" I quickly closed the screen.

Carefully peering through the screen again, I saw that it was too fluffy to be a rat. "No, it's that damn squirrel that takes one bite out of the guavas and then throws them to the ground!"

"What's wrong with it? Why is it staying there looking at me? Why isn't it afraid? Why doesn't it run away?" Thoughts of deranged or rabid animals went through my head.

Then the blogger in me recovered. I knew what I had to do. I got the camera and slowly opened the window enough to point the camera through the opening. Click! Flash! Still the animal didn't move. Click! Flash! It looked at me, turning its head from side to side. Every time Chloe or I made a noise, it moved its head and wiggled its ears as if it was using radar to pick up the sounds.

In the flash of the camera, I could see that it was neither a rat nor a squirrel, but some sort of opossum. Bad news. As cute as this one looks, they kill chickens.

You can see in this photo that it is looking down below, probably trying to decide which one of the birds he wanted for dinner. We had a close call a few nights earlier when something went after the chickens in the middle of the night but Chloe apparently scared it off before it could do its dastardly deed.

After the peek through the open window, Chloe went nuts to try to get to the animal. She knows her job and it is to protect us and the chickens. She ripped right through the screen but I was able to hold her back long enough to close the window. I wasn't so concerned to protect the animal as I was that if the animal jumped, Chloe, in her frenzy, would leap right over the railing to the ground below.

What to do?! What to do?! It's El Jefe's job to handle wild animals, mice, and bugs! I took Chloe downstairs and let her outside to guard the chickens.

Thankfully, minutes later our hero arrived. Chloe ran to the gate, whining "Come quick! There is an emergency!" J knew instantly that something was wrong. I ran to the other side of the terraza, whining, "J! There is an ANIMAL up here on the terraza!" "What kind of animal?" "I don't knooooow! Come up here! Hurry!"

He took a look and I asked, "What kind of animal is it?" "It's one of those 'animals-that-eats-chickens'," as he always calls them. "I'm going to knock it off the railing so Chloe can kill it."

"Oh, noooo ...."

"We have to kill it or it will kill the chickens," he patiently explained.

"Oh, I know, but .... Oh, do what you have to do."

So he did. And she did. He congratulated her for her good work. She felt useful. I felt terrible.

Ugh. The law of the jungle is tough.



Related article: This was our second encounter with one of these. See Ladrones y comadrejas (burglars and weasels)

Evicted

Evicted from the coop

I was walking through the garden with my camera when I noticed all the newspapers pulled out of the chicken coop. We put newspapers at the bottom to make it easier to clean and then cover up the newspapers with wood shavings which absorb the moisture and hold down any odor problem. The hens like kicking it the shavings around to make their nests.

"What the heck? Why would the chickens do that?" I wondered. Rounding the corner, I spied a wide-open door and a happy pink tongue peeking out the darkness. Chloe the Rotten Rottweiler. She even seemed proud of herself.

Currently she has a cushioned vinyl mat on the terraza on which she sleeps. She was very happy with that when I first gave it to her. She likes being on the terraza because she can see/hear us while still doing her guarding duties. She can stay cool and stay out of the rain. Plus from that vantage point, she's in the perfect position to guard the chickens, too.


El Jefe has been talking about making a dog house for her ever since he made the chicken coop. I kind of pooh-poohed the idea because I didn't think she would use it and I thought a dog house would get too hot. On second thought, maybe she would like her own house.

This new development might also explain why I haven't gotten any eggs in two weeks. So now, not only does Chloe have her own private residence, but she also has room service. Eggs on demand just waiting for her. Bad, bad dog.

Jumping chihuahuas

It just made me laugh. How about you?



(Email readers: click the download link, or click the title of the article to go to the blogicito to see the video.)

Yogurt for the whole family

Got yogurt?

It has been almost a year since I mentioned my yogurt making. Making homemade yogurt has become such a regular part of my life that I don't think of it as blogging material. Yawn.

What is blog-worthy about yogurt, at least in my humble opinion, is that I'm not the only one in this household who loves yogurt! Yogurt is a huge treat for the dogs and chickens, too. They love it plain, unsweetened and unflavored.

I've stretched out my powdered yogurt culture supply, using only half a packet when I start a new batch, and still have some from the original purchase. Good thing since it isn't available here in Honduras, at least not in La Ceiba.

After each fresh batch, I save about 1/3 cup of yogurt to activate the next batch. That works for a few batches until the yogurt starts to get grainy and then I start a new fresh batch. I'm not sure what causes the graininess, maybe the dried milk powder, which helps to make the yogurt thicker. It doesn't affect the flavor but I don't like that texture.

Yogurt flavored with papaya and honey is still my favorite. A ton of information from yogurt experts is available on the internet. I gave some good links in the original article: La Gringa's gonna live to be 110.

If you like yogurt or just want to do something good for yourself, give homemade yogurt making a try. It's so simple and so forgiving. I can let it incubate 4 or 5 hours and it is fine or I can let it go 7 or 8 hours and it is fine, too. Once I even forgot about it and let it go all night long − still fine!

Note the yogurt "mustaches" on the chicken's beak and above the dogs noses as well as all the lip-licking going on.

The animals are also pretty good at sharing and waiting their turn as they know that La Gringa is fair and they will get their turn at the bowl. In fact, they may be a little better about sharing yogurt than I am. ;-)


Some of these photos are blurry as it is hard to take a photo with one hand and feed dogs with another while the other dogs are jumping on me with excitement, but you get the idea.

I missed the most terrific shot one day when the yogurt bowl was being shared by a chihuahua and a chicken at the same time! Can you imagine? That was one determined chicken.

Contented yogurt-eating chihuahuas
doing a little clean-up on each other

Chloe saves the chickens!

Chloe: Always on guard

Last night the dogs were going nuts. I was really scared.

We have five chihuahuas and one sweet (to us) and ferocious (to others) Rottweiler/Doberman mix. My dogs, I'm sure like most dogs, have different barks for different reasons.

There is the bark! which is a gentle reminder to "Give me a cookie." or "Pick me up."

There is the direct order: bark-bark! which means "Let me in now!" "Hey! It's raining out here."

Bark-bark-bark! (usually from two or three of the chihuahuas) and Woof-woof-woof! (from the Rottweiler) means someone is walking on the street and the dogs are saying, "There are guard dogs here. Watch your step, buddy."

Bark!-Bark!-Bark!-Bark! (from three or four of the chihuahuas) and Woof!-Woof!-Woof!-Woof! signifies imminent danger: "You are getting too close. I'm warning you!"

Last night I was getting:

Bark!-Bark!-Bark!-Bark! Bark!-Bark!-Bark!-Bark!
Woof!-Woof!-Woof!-Woof! Woof!-Woof!-Woof!-Woof!
Bark!-Bark!-Bark!-Bark!

Translation:
Warning! Warning! Warning!
Perimeter breached!
Danger! Intruder on the premises!!


I believed them.

To make matters worse, all six dogs were involved and they were alternately racing to the street side of the house and standing guard at the top of the steps of the terraza as they barked their little heads off sounding much more ferocious than chihuahuas usually do. Chloe has no problem in this department. If I didn't know her, she would scare me when she gets serious about her guarding job.

I made sure all the windows and doors were locked. I went upstairs and looked around from the terraza but it was too dark to see anything. It's not a good idea to talk about security measures but suffice it to say that I was prepared!

Eventually we all calmed down, the dogs first and then me. I assumed that the dogs were protecting us from an animal intruder, not a human one. Chloe particularly does not like snakes and has barked all night long while she kept one cornered.

(You might want to stop reading here if you are sensitive to dead body photos.)

This morning I went out to the terraza to feed the dogs. I walked down the steps to go to the chicken coop to gather the daily egg (Singular. We have 10 chickens and are getting one egg per day, but that is another couple of stories.)

I turned on the sidewalk to head towards the coop and stopped and screamed! And then screamed again. El Jefe came running.

There, arranged neatly on the sidewalk as a display of her excellent kill was this:


I thought it was a huge rat! In the split second while I was screaming, I was also thinking that I wanted to move. El Jefe said that no, it wasn't a rat, "It's one of those animals that eat chickens." An opossum. Chloe protected our flock and captured and killed the vicious predator. We were so proud of her.

A chicken (or chihuahua) in every pot

Pancho and Joey

No, I don't know why. I know why the rooster is there − dust bath.

Maybe the soil feels cooler to lay on.

Or maybe it is just to show the rooster he can.

Chihuahuas eat chicken food

It makes no sense, but these silly chihuahuas eat the chicken food wherever they find it. Even raw rice! I'll let your imagination go to work as to what that does to a dog's digestive system. It's not pretty.

I think that it is just jealousy or that they are trying to show their superiority over the chickens. They don't have many opportunities because the chickens intimidate them.

Here is a video of the little monsters caught in the act:

Caught in the act

Caught!

You don't scare me. See? I'm bored.

Serious case of green-eye...
or evil eye...
or possessed by the devil

Laying on the stinky laundry is sooo much more comfortable than the dog pillows and she doesn't have to share with the boys.

The dogs ate my underwear

Oh, man! My (almost) brand new imported-from-the-US cotton Jockey underwear! I sorted the laundry on the laundry room floor but the water went out and I couldn't wash. Each time this happens, I have to run a cycle on the washer to make sure none of the black water was in the pipes, and then we would have to go somewhere and I couldn't get the laundry done. The next day, the same thing all over again.

Meanwhile, the pups discovered the laundry handily left within their reach and decided they would make fun chew toys. It wasn't just these two. They chewed up all of them! I tried sewing them but most were hopeless. Rips I can sew but these were giant holes.

Now I just have to hope that I don't get hit by a car and have to be rushed to the hospital. ;-)

Slumber party

Chihuahua slumber party

Aren't they cute? A puddle of puppies. Some of these boys need a good home. Joey, on the left, is our boy, but his boys need their own home. Four males in the house just won't work.

Oso (the bear) is the larger black one in front. He is a teddy bear, so sweet and cuddly. Katrina wanted to take Oso home with her but she just didn't know how that would work with her starting a new job in a new apartment. Oso will get along with anyone, children, adults, other dogs.

Junior, the black one in back, is called that because he is the spitting image of his older brother Blackie, complete with the attitude. He's the smallest, but the first one to start a fight or grab someone else's treat. He's also the first one to run off crying when one of the others pick on him.

He surprised us last week. A cute young girl came to look at the pups and decided she liked Junior. At first he wanted no part of her, but when I calmed him down and showed her how to hold him, he snuggled up to her neck and even gave her a kiss. Unfortunately, she left to go get the money from her father and never returned. I think that hurt Junior's feelings. Junior will probably do best where he is the center of attention.

Uno (number one) never got a real name because we never knew we would keep him so long (on the right). He's from the first litter. Whenever someone has come to look at puppies, he has growled and even snapped at them. Needless to say, that didn't make him pick of the litter.

It was a total surprise to us because he is never like that with us and is the most obedient of all. Apparently he doesn't want to leave us but I think he'll be much happier in his own home where he can get the attention he deserves and to help build his confidence. The other dogs tend to pick on him and it has made him quite timid. I think Uno will do best where there aren't very young children or other dogs.

Uno's brother Blondie (now with the Italian name Biondo) is doing well in San Pedro. His owners sent us a Christmas greeting with a photo of Blondie wearing his red Christmas sweater and matching collar. He belongs to a little girl who looks to be about 10 and I'm sure that he is spoiled rotten. I wonder if he is now tri-lingual − English, Spanish, and Italian? I love hearing back from people who have gotten a pup from us because I love these dogs!

Biondo, San Pedro Sula

Kitchen Island

Kitchen island

Not useful, not functional, but pretty.

La Gringa has a dog so lazy that ...

Lazy chihuahua

I have a dog so lazy that if she rolls off the pillow upon which she lays 23 hours per day, she will lay on the floor where she falls waiting for someone to pick her up and put her back on the pillow.

In this photo, she is yawning, bored from the long wait for someone to pick her up again. El Jefe has spoiled her rotten. She truly believes that she is daddy's little girl and shouldn't be subject to all the stuff all the other (boy) dogs are.

Where did that expression "work like a dog" come from?

The clean up crew

We'll clean it up for you!

I was making ice cream the other night. I always have to chill the mixture in the freezer until it is very, very cold, otherwise it just doesn't freeze in the ice cream maker. No matter how cold the ingredients are to start with, by the time the mix is complete, it isn't cold enough.

After chilling it for an hour, I checked and it was ready. I stuck it back in the freezer to wait while I assembled the ice cream maker. Even two minutes sitting on the countertop will rewarm it.

When I opened the freezer door again, ice cream started pouring out on the floor. The container had tipped over and my nicely chilled ice cream mix was all over the bottom of the freezer and dripping out on the floor. I try not to cry over spilled milk, but spilled ice cream? Whaaaa!

Not to worry! My clean up crew rushed in to take care of the job. The little ones couldn't quite handle it so I brought in Chloe to finish the job and finish the job, she did. That floor was spotless and dry as a bone.

Warning! Extremely gross dog activity coming up. Seriously, don't read the rest:
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Oh, you are still here?

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Do you know what a dog does when she gorges herself on three cups of cream?

Of course: she throws up.

Do you know what a dog does when she vomits sweet and tasty cream and egg mixture?

Of course: she eats it again.

At that point I rushed her outside, where she promptly threw it up again. I didn't stick around to see more but I have to say that the mess wasn't there in the morning. :{