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Borrego Springs, CA

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Faster than a speeding bullet! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!

It’s a bird!  It’s a plane!  It’s Super Emma when she sneaks past me out the door!  Doggone it, I haven’t had this problem with Emma in a couple of years, but when Pam knocked on the door this morning and I went out to talk to her, Emma shot past me like a rocket.  The race was on!  In two shakes of a lamb’s tail she was a quarter of a mile down the road of the campground.  Grrr.  I grabbed her leash and hobbled my way up to the entrance station.

Of course, she had already been there and blasted past it without a second glance.  People turned their heads and marveled at her speed.  Two young ladies ran after her, and a gentleman accompanied me up the hill to try to find her.  We all were just a distant memory for her.  She was no where to be seen.  The girls thought she went up the mountain through the woods.  I would expect that from her.  She is a wild child.

Eventually Stan and Pam had the bright idea to bring George along in our search.  George, the old smooth collie, is the love of Emma’s life even though he won’t have anything to do with her.  Sure enough, she soon came bolting down the road to slurp his face (he absolutely hates that).  I casually walked over and hooked her to the leash as she gave me a look that said, “What’s the matter Mom?  Why are you so upset?  I had fun!”

I was just relieved to have her back on the leash without her having caused too much chaos with folks who either don’t like or are afraid of dogs.  Phew!  It was not the beginning to the day that I had envisioned. 

After that little episode, Pam and I walked over to a canopy in the park where there was supposed to be an activity for making Tobacco Walking Sticks.  It was my idea to go there since I’ve been known to make a few diamond willow walking sticks in my time on the road.  It turned out to be an activity for kids in the park, and lots of kids showed up.  With only one recreation staff person and a few parents, it appeared they needed help with so many kids so I jumped in and helped a couple of youngsters with the task.  Soon after, Pam joined in as well.  We all had a good time, and all of the decorated walking sticks found new homes.

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                                                                    “RIBBIT…” 

I got a kick out of this frog up at the lodge yesterday while we were waiting for our van tour to start.  It appears to be made out of two  wheelbarrows.

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The lodge also has this very cool large quilt hanging on the wall.  You can see Jenny Wiley, Loretta Lynn, and Kentucky race horses depicted in some of the panels.  I’m not sure, but I’d guess that the Northern cardinal may be the state bird, and the state flower may also be represented.

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An appropriately ‘green’ box houses a hand powered crank at the lodge.  You keep turning the crank after pushing one of the buttons, and an audio begins to play talking about one of the four things to see and do in the area.  I thought this was very cool, and let me tell you that it is a great way to build up the muscles in your arm!

Kind of a Hodge-podge of things tonight.  We didn’t do any touring today, but tomorrow we’re off to Pikesville to learn about the Hatfield/McCoy feud.  Confused smile

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

25 comments:

  1. Oh, Emma, you are in trouble now. Willy and Harley have been known to trot off to explore on occasion too. Gretchen is too afraid of getting in trouble so she is more trusworthy.

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  2. A free spirit will always come out once in ahwile:) It figures that true love would bring her home again. It is only more appealing because it is not returned:)

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  3. Sounds like Emma would like a good run at a dog park. Too bad there are not more of them around. At least she is back safe and sound.

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  4. I can imagine the fright you felt and that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach! So glad she appeared ack for the slurp for George!

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  5. One of our dogs is like Emma..she took after a rabbit just as I had opened our door. We thought we were never going to see her again until about an hour of searching all over for her, she came trotting down the lane like nothing had happened.

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  6. Oh, That's just like Buddy. He will be good for a while and then just when I let my guard down, he's off and running again, because he really does have a hearing problem he can't hear me after about 15 feet or so. But he knows he is suppose to be with me and not chasing the birds or rabbits.

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  7. That is scary. Fred has not done that yet, but there are lots of sqirrel's here and I know he would love to take chase.

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  8. I know the panic you felt when Emma took off like that. Somehow my dog Oliver has learned how to wiggle the fence gate open, and he'll get out sometimes on his own. Fortunately he stays pretty close to home and will come back (eventually) when I call him. That's funny that she came back to love on George!

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  9. oh Emma...she just wanted to go for a run!!..I can well imagine the thoughts running through your head as you scrambled after her!..at least she came back..you are the meal ticket after all!..and the ride!

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  10. It has to be in the name. My name is George and women are always chasing me down and licking my face. I just hate that, too. That Emma is just a wild child for sure.

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  11. Would she have eventually come back? Will she ever outgrow this?
    I'm not sure I'd have the patience.

    One of my nieces has always had one dog or another, and a few years ago they had a rather headstrong fellow they named "Patton" (seems it was a fitting name). I don't recall what bread he was, but they are on a fairly large property, and he had a habit of taking off, and it was a bugger to get him back.
    They ended up getting some sort of collar (I think it was a "shock" collar). Seems kind of drastic, and maybe not very nice, but he eventually got the message. When they said "come here", he knew they meant it.
    Broke him of that habit, and eventually the collar was no longer needed. Or at least its use was no longer needed.
    I can't say I'd recommend such a thing though. To each his own.
    But hey, you got some exercise!

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  12. Glad that Emma returned and is safe. You'd think she's a beagle from her actions ;-) We've spent a lot of time in KY.... because of Bill's genealogy research. But we've never gone to that State Park... looks like a good place that we should check out.

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  13. Doesn't your heart just jump right up into your throat when they do that? Jackson did it once as a pup when something scared the bejesus out of him. Finally he stopped because he realized he didn't know where the heck he was and I leashed him. Whew!! Glad yours ended well too.

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  14. She is no different than any other young lady. Bring out a good-looking man and the lady melts every time.
    The quilt looks beautiful. I wish I knew how to make them. Although I have no room for a sewing machine right now. Maybe one day.

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  15. Oh that Emma, causing you such trouble. I'm glad to hear she's back safe and sound. Have fun learning about the Hatfields and McCoys.

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  16. If you could tie her to the front of your MH and have her pull you down the road, it would save you some $$$ by increasing your mpg... :c)

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  17. Smart enough to get away, but dumb enough to get caught again! Glad it all worked out well for you. I'd hate to read she got into real trouble or got lost.

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  18. I guess Emma just had a 'born free' moment. Our muttzo's are weird that way, they'll take off down a trail and won't come back until we say "let's go for a walk", then they race back to be put on their leashes. Not too smart!

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  19. Will Emma now have to stay in the corner for a while as she repents?

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  20. We had beagles for years and they too like to run. Good thing they could do just that whenever they wanted to since they were on the farm and no traffic near. But they, and I bet Emma, do slow down as they get older. Love the story of what brought her back. Glad George was available even if reluctantly.

    I'm looking forward to the great blog I know you'll write on the Hatfields and McCoys. We had the Shifflets and Morris feud in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia and they are actually still at it. A Morris was shot off his porch a year or so ago by a Shifflet.

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  21. That Emma, what a stinker. Grace only does that if she sees a squirrel or kid on a bike. The Hatfields and McCoys should be interesting. Have Fun.

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  22. Too funny how you lured Emma back with her boyfriend. Glad it ended well.

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  23. I recently saw the movie about the Hatfields and the McCoys on a PBS station. It seems it hasn't been too awful long ago that the descendants of the 2 families signed a "peace treaty" of sorts. You will probably find that very interesting.
    Izzy also likes to take off unexpectedly. One way I found to get her to come back to me is to open the door of the motorhome! She loves to go camping!

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  24. Thank wheelbarrow frog is just what I've been looking for for my front garden, something whimsical but on the larger side. Now, to figure out how to make one....

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