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.

[DJ & Chance]

ROFL. Great blog!  I know Chance would love to hang out with Fudge.  He patrols every inch of the yard, digs holes faster than I can see him disappear in them, and actually believes he can catch a squirrel running up a tree.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

What is Gordie doing, you ask?  Racing out with the rest and barking his head off!  He has NO idea what he is racing or barking for but, he is one of the pack so......... Gordie is our bird catcher but, luckily, he rarely catches one. We have a small yard with a wall and a hill.  We have it blocked off - so attractively :-[]  - with bird fencing.  Clancy keeps going under it and getting on the hill to chase his beloved lizards plus the birds and whatever else ventures there.

[F, Calla & Luca]

What a romantic frog.

[Bonnie and Kona]

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

LOL this is hysterical Laurie!  Sorry it's at the expense of your yard :(  I have 2 Have a Heart Traps I could send your way.  The smaller one would trap the chipmunks. The larger one might work for ... wayward doodles or ungrateful children ;)  

[Pat and Traveler]

Hilarious, Laurie!  I love the pictures of F&V on patrol.  What a great rodent search area they have!  Fudge is a mighty hunter, whether she has to dig for the animal or haul it out from between stones.  Nice to have Vern along to do the heavy lifting.  LOL

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

LOL, Laurie! Love this blog and the photos! 

I'll take dogs over kids any day. It's true that kids don't usually chase squirrels or take apart your stone wall, but dogs don't wreck your car or stay out 2 hours past curfew, either. And nobody reports you to the authorities for putting your dog in a crate for time out. :-) 

PS: Tell your DD that for Christmas, you would like that bumper sticker that reads "My Other Car Is A Broom". 

LOL

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Thanks, Lonnie. You bought your birdhouse near where I live. I always look at the beautiful Martin houses they sell up in Lancaster and would love to get one. Someday, but now Joanne is trying to sell me a frog :) LOL Yes, I like that dogs don't talk back :)

[Lonnie & Libby Lu]

Laurie, this is soooo cute and I love the part about the Kentucky Derby and "out of the gate"!  So funny and I can just imagine the two of them "flying" out the door with their ears straight out!  We have a very nice Bird House we got in Lancaster, Pa. but like you, the squirrels took it over and I stopped putting the bird seed in the house.  My DH said, so we bought this BH and had it sent to Ca. all for nothing? Men just do not understand, do they?  As for raising children vs dogs, it's a "toss up" in my book!  Although Libby cannot talk back so she as the advantage:)  Great blog and lots of fun:)  Thanks Laurie!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Oops...I have the wrong frog. I like the guy reading the book with the glasses on. Reminds me of someone I married :)