A Walk in the Forest with Daisy and her Buddy

One of the reasons we bought our house about 15 years ago was because of the stunning ravine forest which is right behind our backyard. We have been going for walks on the ravine's trails since the kids were little. It is truly a paradise for nature-loving people and, especially, their dogs. 

For a few years now I've been meeting a good friend for a walk in the forest on Sunday afternoons. Unless life gets in the way, we escape for about an hour with Daisy and Mustee. It's a great way for us to talk about what's going on in our lives and to get fresh air and exercise at the same time. The bonus is that Daisy and Mustee have a blast together. As soon as Daisy sees Mustee at the front door she knows it means only one thing: Walk! It's all I can do to keep her calm enough to put on her leash. Once we're in the forest though, the leash comes off and they are free!

Daisy and Mustee, best buddies.

Happy dogs. There's so much good sniffing to do in the forest.

The dogs like to lead the way on the paths.

The trees are bare but I still find the forest beautiful in November. 

 I just love the sound of walking on dry leaves. Pretty soon, the ground will be covered with snow. 

The only downside to the walk, is how dirty the dogs get. Not sure if you can tell from this photo that Daisy is absolutely filthy. She's not a big fan of bath time, however it's a must after running around in the forest.

I am not a cat lady!

Seriously, I never thought I would own a cat. I was always firmly in the "I'm a dog person" category. And now, look at me, I have not only one cat, but two.

 Sugar and Kiki. Why do cats like boxes so much?

How we got the two cats is serendipitous. The big guy, Kiki (more on his very feminine name later), showed up under our deck about 9 years ago. My husband was mowing the lawn when he saw a little head peeking out from under the deck. There was the skinniest, dirtiest, saddest looking animal ever. John decided to ignore it at first, but after going by three times he decided he couldn't keep pretending the poor thing wasn't there. He went in to tell our daughter what he had found and within minutes she was on her knees with a can of tuna, trying to lure the little guy from under the deck. 

It took three days, but she finally got him out and into our house. Let's just say that a feral cat isn't exactly relaxed when he is brought into a strange house for the first time. Within seconds he was climbing the drapes and trying to escape. I was ready to give up and tell everyone that it was a nice try but this cat did not want to be saved and we should just bring him back outside. And then, Kiki did something that changed everything. I was lying on the couch when all of a sudden he climbed onto me, snuggled around my neck and purred. Yup, you guessed it, we owned a cat! 

Of course, not knowing anything about cats we assumed he was a she (it's hard to tell, really!) and that's how our big tomcat got the sweet girlie name Kiki. Oh well, I'm sure he doesn't mind too much. Anyway, my husband compensates by calling him the Kikster or Kikiman.

Kiki does not look impressed. He is not a big fan of Daisy.

He has turned out to be a very sweet and snuggly cat. Here he is a with our son who was sick at the time. Kiki just seems to know who needs a bit of extra attention and will hang out with them.

Not only is Kiki a snuggly cat but he is surely one of the smartest cats around. If I can ever figure out how to post a video I will show you how he is able to catch the treats we throw him with his two front paws. It is really quite impressive and I'm convinced that if the Whiskas people ever see a video of Kiki he will become a star!

Kiki is so smart he's probably figured out how to take pictures with that camera he has his paw on. I'm sure one day I'll find pictures of the photos he's taken after we've all gone to bed.

Okay, well, that explains the first cat but what about the second one? Seriously people, if someone sent you a picture of a kitten who needed a home and who looked like this, what would you do?

How could anyone resist those eyes?

So that is how this tiny little kitten who fit into the palm of my hand became a part of our family. Despite her size, Sugar was one feisty little thing right from the start. In fact, within a day she was play wrestling with Daisy. At first I was worried she'd get hurt but we soon realized that Sugar was one tough chick! 

She did need quite a bit of extra care because she had been separated from her mother before having been weaned. Thankfully, I was not working at the time so I could hand feed her throughout the day.

Sugar is now a grown cat but she really does act like the little sister of the family. She follows the other animals around all the time. If one of them goes out, Sugar is sure to be right behind them. We also joke that it's a good thing she's pretty because she just isn't very smart. For instance, we've tried teaching her Kiki's treat-catching trick. We throw the treat at her and she closes her eyes, which means the treat falls on the floor and Daisy eats it. Every single time. Sigh. It's okay because what she doesn't have in intelligence she makes up for in cuddliness. 

And that, friends, is the story of our little menagerie and how I became a dog AND cat person.

Meet Daisy Belle

This is Daisy the cockapoo. She's been with our family since 2004. That means she's now a senior dog, but you sure wouldn't know it by looking at her. People still assume she's a puppy when they first meet her. She's just so full of raw enthusiasm. 

A friend said to me very recently: "You just can't help but fall in love with Daisy." And I agree. She's not the best behaved dog in the world (even though she did get an A at puppy training) but she is most definitely one of the sweetest! 

This is Daisy's favourite spot. From this position on top of the ottoman she can watch over her domain and see the front door. She normally sits and waits until all her people are safely inside the house.

She is multi-talented...Daisy the surfing dog.

Daisy, as a puppy. In this case, the kids were able to tell the teacher that the dog ate their homework and it was true! See, I told you she wasn't very well-behaved. 

Again, here she is showing off her rebel side. She is looking straight at me and seems to be saying: "What? You got a problem with me sitting on the table, lady?" 

Anyone who knows Daisy also knows that she LOVES her ball. This dog would rather go without eating than go without her ball. You don't think I'm serious? Just ask anyone who's thrown the ball 50 times in a row and asked: "Does she ever get tired of fetching that thing?" The answer would be no, no she doesn't!

Sometimes we think we should have called her Houdini because she is quite the escape artist. She figured out a while ago that she could sneak out of the yard to visit her doggy friends by squeezing through the fence posts. I don't know how many times I sheepishly answered the front door to find a neighbour holding Daisy in their arms. 

Recently though, my son and husband fixed her little wagon by lining the fence with wire mesh. Please don't give her any wire cutters, she'll know what to do with them!