Tag Archives: dreams

Do Dogs Dream?

Posted on April 27, 2017 | Leave a comment

Cesar Millan asked this question last week and his site would not allow me to respond. Yes, they do dream. Our 13 year-old Zoe just had one and I hated to leave her to come in here and write this. She’s a herder and will be by my side in under three minutes.

The tail wags, ears twitch, eyes open and close. Then the entire body twitches and the paws run like crazy. Sometimes she awakens for a walk and breakfast, and sometimes the REM phase just puts her back asleep. I like to guess whether it’s a squirrel, bunny or mouse. When she was young and faster she did kill two mice with precision and my husband took each out of her mouth immediately and fed them to the baby birds over the fence in the protected wildlife area. 1,200 acres, five feet away. Moose crashed a wedding and elk jumped the fence and crossed the highway. I used to make our bedroom balcony available for credentialed photographers. What a view.

The baby colts (young Greater Sandhill Cranes) would make sounds at night. I’d awaken and tell my husband that mom was going to the 7-11 to get them something to eat. There was no 7-11, and we didn’t see any this year. Years ago there was a fox that hung out there for hours every day, waiting for the 6′ parents to leave their colts. They never did, “married” for life and raised colts every year. The fox always left, disappointed. Hey, you just chose the wrong prey!

Yes, dogs do dream. She’s never had a thing for any bird, as there is a turkey who lives in our neighborhood and he is pardoned by all of us every Thanksgiving! She just ignores him as she walks by on leash.

She has been with me for 20 minutes and can jump down, just not up. Time for “last chance” and bed. You know who’s the boss now. It certainly is not me. Cheers! Dee

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Posted in animals, dogs, Editorial, editorial pets, Uncategorized

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Hire The Duck!

Posted on August 22, 2016 | Leave a comment

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/grilled-leg-of-lamb-robert-recipe.html

I don’t think my husband has ever eaten duck.This was great but we got 1/2 leg of lamb, the hip part, already boneless as that’s all my butchers had and I opened it up like a bad book (skills need tuning). I placed it in a glass Pyrex vessel for nearly three hours in the marinade.

My husband assembled our new grill, same one we had for ten years but cleaner and he went out for propane (we’re not allowed to use charcoal). We cooked it and it was uneven so I’d already washed the Pyrex and we turned off the grill and took it to a pre-heated oven. He also bought and had delivered an instant read thermometer, nearly the kind Alton Brown uses, but at 1/3 the price. We cut off segments of lamb as they reached 130 degrees and let them rest.

After dinner the newest instant-read was clean and joined its two competitors, one digital, one analog, in a drawer. Play nice! Hey, stop touching him. I trust that the large Mommy candy thermometer will step in as needed. Mom, I’m not being haved! Thanks K for your brilliant save.

The lamb was great, I have to soak and scrub the grill grates and place them in the dishwasher, and put a clean “dog towel” over the top (I have tons) probably with bungee cords for the wind to keep the top clean.

Last weekend my husband elbowed me in the gut, in his sleep, big bruise. I think he was probably turning over and used me as a pillow. Often he mumbles in REM sleep (so does our dog as she chases squirrels) and I get a word every now and then and have no idea what he is saying.

He is only “home” three nights, two days per week so rests up for the next work week. Don’t worry, I have 24/7 security from multiple sources. The other night’s dream aloud was a plaintive, clear cry, “hire the duck!”

Neither he nor I have a clue what dream that came from or what it means but it had to be interesting and we laughed about it.

So what do I do with chilled medium-rare lamb? Gotta go. Car leaves in an hour and I need to take the dog and feed both her and husband. Dee

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Dreams

Posted on September 10, 2015 | Leave a comment

We see life in snippets. I was chastised by the nun in third grade. Rewarded by my gymnastics coach in high school. Family life breeds these actions in spades.

When I was 16 I was supposed to take care of my little brother and sister, ages nine and six, at a pool and on a beach in Florida for their vacation. I was off at college and had a break.

They drove me nuts, swimming for hours at a time. Finally they went upstairs and took a nap and I got a few moments to myself. A young girl came up to me and asked if I could teach her gymnastics (I was teaching summers back home), and I asked what she wanted to learn and if it was OK with her father. We spent 20 minutes learning basics.

While she was cooling down her father approached me and asked me what I wanted to be. I didn’t know yet. He said “If you’re a doctor, you deal with problems. If you’re a lawyer, you deal with problems. If you’re an architect, you deal with dreams.” Whoever you are, I will remember this to my dying day.

I kissed a lot of frogs as to job selection and boyfriends. There was a career path, unbeknownst to me. It led me to my husband at age 40.

After 14 years together we are so different, he’s a genius geek and I’m the emotional brainy social side. It works. Now I cook dinner and take care of our dog and am the nurturer and blogger. With the dog, Zoe, he gets to be The Fun Guy. Who does she wait for at the front door? The Food Wench and Disciplinarian. Me.

I just realized we are both architects. We build companies, for-profit and not-for-profit. I’m retired (sorry, non-profits). We dream, we build, effect change for the better even if some companies want to and are destined to fail. None have on our watch.

Ideas. Great things. Fixing problems. We’re not “the fixer” as in a certain George Clooney movie. We are brought in to make things right, to be an architect for change. To the girl’s dad I met many years ago, thank you. To my Dad, thank you. You know this story and gave me the knowledge and experience I needed. Cheers! Dee

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Sleep

Posted on November 12, 2014 | Leave a comment

Thank goodness I can’t see myself sleep. I have it on good authority from my husband of many years that I do snore and sometimes mumble in REM sleep.

He does as well and awakens me. At least he did. Now he’s off on a contract for months. If he’s stressed I just place my hand on his back and he goes right into deep sleep, which he needs because he works hard and is always problem-solving while awake or sleeping. I know about problem-solving as it’s my job as well.

Now that he’s been gone for a while I’ve something to say to scientists who say that dogs do not dream, and that they don’t remember anything or anyone after forty minutes.

While I’m up writing this, Zoe’s gotten off the bed to make sure I’m OK and still here for her. She’s had three REM sleeps, I don’t know if she caught the ball, squirrel or bunny. The only one she’s had awake success with is a ball.

I put a hand on her back and she went back to sleep. Now, I will, too. Zoe has taken over the sofa. Back to bed, dear. Yes, I’ll lift you. Bath tomorrow, you always like that. Dee

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Do Dogs Dream?

Posted on May 21, 2014 | Leave a comment

Of course they do. Zoe’s a herder so is always at my feet. She’s sleeping in the sunlight as I write, by me, and running in her dream.

She runs, whines, yips and seldom growls in her dreams. I always wonder what she’s doing. Is she chasing a squirrel she’ll never, in her biggest dreams, obtain?

A dog specialist years ago said that dogs live in the present and never remember anything for longer that 45 minutes. That’s not true. Zoe tried to take me to another place yesterday that we lived in for three months, over two years ago. She remembers people and dogs and places for years.

At night when the phone rings she goes to the door because she knows Daddy is coming home. Not when his Mother or Nanny call at a similar hour. The other day, she knew the Chinese food delivery guy was coming and stood at the door for nearly an hour.

If you don’t think your dog dreams, bring it into your home. Dr. Dog once said “A dog in the back yard is a dog without a home.” My dear in-laws wanted Zoe in a pen out back until my husband told them she was a house dog (after I said I wouldn’t visit). His dad cleaned a crate and placed it in the back bedroom. She used it for ten minutes, jumped up on the bed and now his mom is upset when she doesn’t visit on Thanksgiving because she watches out for the grandkids and cleans up anything we spill in a three-day cooking spree.

Another specialist said we should take her back to the shelter as she had severe hip dysplasia and needed surgery. I did the research, got two second opinions and Val The Vet operated on her twice before she was nine months old. She’s over ten years now and grew her own hips and can give any dog a run for it’s money.

Do dogs dream? I’ve always wondered what all the Greyhounds off the track in Caliente and Colorado dream. I helped name some of them and volunteered to care for them for years. Do they dream of racing? Or sleeping on a sofa instead of in a crate. Who knows. Dogs dream. When they herd you all day long and are dying to go to bed at night, they dream and you can see it. I see it, I see the squirrel! Dee

 

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