Fudge and Vern Gone Wild!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Something is happening to Fudge and Vern!  They have been getting into all kinds of trouble lately and driving me nuts.  Yesterday, I tried to sell them to our neighbors for $1.00 each and they declined and when I dropped the price to two for a dollar, they still said no deal.  With the weather heating up, our walks have been shorter, which seems to leave more time in the day for their shenanigans.  Fudge has turned into a digging machine.  If I turn my back for one minute or try to talk to the neighbor, in a matter of minutes, all I can see sticking out of some hole is her backside. 

She is just getting started!

I am not even sure she can hear me screaming, “no digging,” because both ears are down deep inside the cavernous hole.  Truly, if some intruder tries to enter our yard via the new area John just added deer fencing to, the cops are probably going to have to throw him a rope to get him out of one of Fudge’s holes. Even the neighbor commented that she was digging close to the bottom of the deer fencing and I sensed panic in her voice because on the other side of that fence is her pristine yard.  God forbid I try and mow the yard, because if I leave her out in the yard unattended for two minutes, I am apt to come around the corner and see a yard that resembles the Badlands of South Dakota.

Part of the problem is I bought a new bird feeder, which the manufacturers should have actually called a squirrel feeder.  At times, I look out the window and I will have two or three squirrels hanging off the thing and some of their buddies stretched out in the yard waiting their turn.  The dogs have full view of this from our dining room and foyer windows and the sight of these squirrels amp them up.  If I open the door to let them out, it looks like the beginning of the Kentucky Derby when the horses fly out of the starting gate.  Too bad they haven’t figured out that all the squealing they do out the door is probably why the squirrels know they are coming.  I will have to say it is funny to watch because sometimes they go in the wrong direction and sometimes they split up to increase their odds that one of them catches a squirrel.  So far, the score is squirrels-102 and Fudge and Vern-0.  Unfortunately, once the squirrel rush is over all that adrenalin has to go somewhere and digging or hunting for chipmunks always seems to come next.

 

Between the squirrels and the chipmunks, I am not sure which is worse.  I always loved the cartoon Chip and Dale, but our yard chipmunks, not so much. 

Talking about this Chip and Dale:

I wouldn't be complaining if this is what I was talking about:

They run into our stone wall and I don’t know if they are between the stones taunting our dogs with, “na-na na-na boo boo, stick your head in doo doo,” but Fudge and Vern are obviously hearing, “stick your head between the stones,” because both of them will plaster their faces up against the stones for hours.

Either that, or they start their own demolition contest to see who can knock the most stones out and still not get a chipmunk.  Sometimes, Fudge just gets the work started and then brings in the big gun (Vern) to finish the job and he is good at his job. 

Wait until John gets home from work, Fudge and Vern!  Can you say SPCA?

Seriously, they could probably do less damage if they brought in a wrecking ball.  I think I will invest in some rubber mallets and invite the neighborhood children over to play “Whack a Mole,” only in this case, “mole” can be anything that moves fast enough to get my dog’s attention.

I just don’t remember having to be so vigilant with my children.  I don’t remember them destroying stuff or me ever thinking I was raising a couple of juvenile delinquents.  They even used coasters under their sippy cups and Vern can’t even drink his water without half of the bowl running out the side of his mouth onto my floors. Oh sure, there was that one time when our youngest was at her sitter’s and got in trouble for lighting matches, or so I thought.  It turns out a new girl to the sitter’s and our youngest had gone into the bathroom with matches or something and got caught.  Later, when I was going on and on to her about why she was never allowed to play with matches and how we had told her that time and time again and how disappointed we were in her, she looked right at me and said, “Mom, the girl had a lighter, not matches, ” like that should make all the difference in the world.  Our other daughter just had a mouth on her and my biggest problem with her was trying to keep a straight face when she said something I thought was funny, but knew as a responsible parent I should not be allowing. On more than one occasion, she said to me, “mom, it would work much better to your advantage, if when you are disciplining me you could stop laughing.”

So, am I really saying Fudge and Vern are harder than raising children?  I don’t know, but I can tell you, I never had to think about paying someone to fix a stone wall after they came in from outside.  We had green grass in those days, too, and our kids didn’t run around half the day trying to dig up rodents.  Fudge goes out every single day on a reconnaissance mission in search of enemy forces and unwelcome varmints and then gets her second-in-command, who is usually eating sticks or grass, involved.

Reporting for duty!!

Once the two of them work in tandem, all hell breaks loose. My kids usually worked against each other and were more than happy to tell on each other about something stupid like who ate the last piece of string cheese without sharing.  Divided forces are much easier to conquer! The kids did have a little problem with resource guarding, but usually if I said if I heard one more word about whatever it was they were fighting over that particular item would be going bye-bye, they were content to squabble amongst themselves. I also had a whole bunch of well used one liners and after awhile I think they just didn’t want to hear them anymore…If I cared about fair, I’d be a judge… if I wanted to hear both sides of the story, I’d sign up for jury duty….one more time and mommy is going to call Santa Claus.  Hey, whatever works, ok? This may also explain why my oldest called me yesterday to tell me my new ringtone on her phone is the Wicked Witch music from The Wizard of Oz. 

Today, when I call her and she picks up the phone laughing to my new ringtone, I plan on saying my new saying I just found on the Internet…have I told you lately you deplete me?…that will teach her to mess with her mama.  Who am I to say which is easier?  I guess like childbirth you try to just remember the good stuff.  Unfortunately for Fudge and Vern, when I look out over my yard, it is still too soon to forget.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Marnie, I was hoping ONE person would say, "your daughter is a brat and you don't deserve that ringtone!" LOL I used to have Gnarls Barkley "Crazy" as my ringtone for both my daughters, but that phone went kaput and I need to re-do it on my new phone :) LOL about your ringtones. I think we think alike :)

Joanne, LOL...did someone get pickle clips in the mail?

Deanna, Wow...Sedona...you are some hunting dog, but I don't think I want you teaching Fudge any more tricks. LOL It does make us look at them a little differently, doesn't it??

[Deanna & Desi & Cori]

For a small fee, I'll send Sedona your way.  She's turned into "hunter extraordinaire" and will rid your yard of varmints.  Unfortunately, instead of cute little chipmunks or squirrels darting around your yard, you'll have to contend with varmint carcasses lying around!  (Warning / Gross Alert: She had kill #2 the other night.  Literally shook the gopher in half!)

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Oh Pickle Breath, look what the mail brought. I'm clipped. More TBA

[Marnie, Stanlee's Mom]

We aren't up in arms about your ringtone because that's kinda funny.  I had the theme from Halloween as my daughter's ringtone:  I say download it and call yourself from her phone because "you can't find yours" next time she's around.  Just sayin'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVQbg5_8JdY

 

Oh, and for my mother I had the theme to The Omen.  LOL

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Thanks, Pat. Yes, they are quite the team :) LOL

Cheryl, LOL...how many traps do you have again? I need at least two big ones for my kids :)

Bonnie, What a sweet frog :)

Nancy, Way to go, Gordie!! Hang with the big dogs...LOL!

DJ, Awww..your description of Chance made me smile :) I love him, but one hunter is enough for me! LOL

Charlotte, I know...why didn't someone tell us before we got a Doodle, right? LOL We have one troublesome cat a neighbor feeds and it causes big problems, too, when it walks by in the yard :)

DJ, Joanne just posted lots of pictures, but didn't tell us where to get them!

Janie, We have a bird's nest under our garage eaves (not sure what to call it). John has already had to put the baby bird back in the nest twice, so we hope it survives. We have also had birds building nests in my decorative bird house that Fudge and Vern can easily get to. Maybe that is where the expression "bird brain" came from...LOL!  I will have to tell my DD about the screaming goat.

Cheryl, Ponds are A LOT of work. Take it from me who watches John do all the pond work :) We have deer, too. That seems to be who get my two up in the middle of the night. Maybe a high rise condo is what we need.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Karen, My kids always threatened to call the Child Abuse hotline on me and I always said, "go ahead, they come and get you, not me." LOL I probably have that bumper sticker somewhere :)

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

Love ALL these frogs! I don't think one would ever be enough, but first I need a pond :) Finn has given up squirrels for deer.  He's been chasing one very harassed mom (if that makes you feel any better, Laurie:) There must be a baby in the woods and she'll probably come out to play in the next few weeks.  Let the games begin, sigh.  It's going to be a long summer.

[Janie, Jackson and Jilly]

I love seeing your two on the hunt! I think every doodle would love a stone wall, that would keep mine busy for sure! We gave up on feeding the birds when we got Jack, it just wasn't a good combination, but i do miss them! This year we have a robin's nest just out the back door in a cherry tree and we've been watching the little babies being fed. Jack and Jilly haven't noticed them yet, but I dread the day they start to fly. What was this mother thinking?!
Your daughter is too funny with the ringtone! I just made my DD change hers, she had the "screaming goat" (have you seen the video) as hers and I almost lost it a few times if you know what I mean! Lol

[DJ & Chance]

Okay, ALL the frog sculptures are too cute and Chance wants to order some for the yard.  

[Charlotte and Bo]

As usual a you made me smile.  What is it about these doodles?  They can't just dig a hole, they have to dig a crater.  It takes 3 or 4  bags of top soil to fill them in :-)  The squirrels and feral cats around here seem to satisfy Bo's prey drive.  Those darn cats lay right next to the fence and hiss at him.  I shudder to think what would happen if he ever caught one in my yard..