Gotcha Five for Marcus Again

Micah:  Last Friday we promised to show you how crazy and mixed up last week was for Jan.

Taylor:  You know how we're always telling you how forgetful Jan is and that we are always running late?

Micah:  Well, last week so many things were going wrong, Jan got confused, looked at the calendar, and posted Marcus' Gotcha Day a WEEK EARLY!

Taylor:  Can you believe that? For once we were not late, we were early.

Micah:  So please excuse us, but we are re-posting this for his correct special day.

Taylor:  We tried to get a photo of Jan's red face - yes, it's really, really, really all her fault! - but she hid the camera.

Marcus:  Does this mean I get another day of special attention and extra treats?

Micah:  Not unless you return the undeserved treats you ate last Tuesday.

Marcus:  Okay, but if I ate them last week, where would they be now?

Micah:  I don't know.  I've never eaten treats a week early and had to return them.

Marcus:  I know.  I'll check with Google.  I understand Google can find anything.

 We are participating in Happy Tuesday blog hop. Stop by Comedy Plus to see other posts or to join the fun.

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Cyndi:  Sorry, Jan worked hard on a post for us today but Picasa just would not cooperate last night so after about 3 hours of frustration, Jan gave up.  And THEN it decided to work.  It was already 10 pm and she hadn't had dinner, so we had no post for today.

Percy:  However ... today she discovered this is Marcus' fifth Gotcha Day, so we get to do a post after all.

NOTE: This graphic was created in 2017 by mom Ingrid, Pipo & Dalton. We are so far behind we were unaware their home was broken into in late November and their computer stolen.  (Stop by and let them know their posts and graphics are missed.)  Jan is unable to make any graphics for us because we still don't have Photoshop Elements installed on our computer after Win 10 locked up our old computer earlier this year.  Still much more work to be done with our photos.  We're doing the antsy dance wondering how she can design us a personalized Christmas card without software for it.

Cyndi:  As you are aware, Marcus' ears don't stand up like that any more.  That pup shakes his head so hard whapping Jan in the shins with his toys, his ears collapsed in exhaustion. 

Percy:  I had his energy when I was young but now rest, relaxation and recreation are more in line with a mature furry.

Cyndi:  I'm with you.  Marcus is a bit too rambunctious for me, but he can be sweet when he calms down.

Percy:  And that would be when?

Cyndi:  When he's asleep.  Or today.  He thinks being gotcha'd makes this a special day and special days, in his mind, require special treats.

Percy:  Is he going to get a special treat today?

Cyndi:  Well, he gets this post.

Percy:  Marcus thinks all treats are edible.  I can't wait to see him try to eat this.

Gotcha Five for Marcus

Cyndi:  Sorry, Jan worked hard on a post for us today but Picasa just would not cooperate last night so after about 3 hours of frustration, Jan gave up.  And THEN it decided to work.  It was already 10 pm and she hadn't had dinner, so we had no post for today.

Percy:  However ... today she discovered this is Marcus' fifth Gotcha Day, so we get to do a post after all.

NOTE: This graphic was created in 2017 by mom Ingrid, Pipo & Dalton. We are so far behind we were unaware their home was broken into in late November and their computer stolen.  (Stop by and let them know their posts and graphics are missed.)  Jan is unable to make any graphics for us because we still don't have Photoshop Elements installed on our computer after Win 10 locked up our old computer earlier this year.  Still much more work to be done with our photos.  We're doing the antsy dance wondering how she can design us a personalized Christmas card without software for it.

Cyndi:  As you are aware, Marcus' ears don't stand up like that any more.  That pup shakes his head so hard whapping Jan in the shins with his toys, his ears collapsed in exhaustion. 

Percy:  I had his energy when I was young but now rest, relaxation and recreation are more in line with a mature furry.

Cyndi:  I'm with you.  Marcus is a bit too rambunctious for me, but he can be sweet when he calms down.

Percy:  And that would be when?

Cyndi:  When he's asleep.  Or today.  He thinks being gotcha'd makes this a special day and special days, in his mind, require special treats. 

Percy:  Is he going to get a special treat today?

Cyndi:  Well, he gets this post. 

Percy:  Marcus thinks all treats are edible.  I can't wait to see him try to eat this.

We are participating in Happy Tuesday blog hop. Stop by Comedy Plus to see other posts or to join the fun.

There's A Snake Where?

Percy:  Hey, Marcus, remember this picture of us from a couple of years ago? 

Marcus:  Yes, I remember.  I still had pointy ears then.  I got such a shock yesterday, though, I almost had pointy ears again.

Percy: What happened?  You get chased by a squirrel?

Marcus:  No, silly!  Jan and I take the same route on our walks.  We walked Monday morning without any problem.  In the evening, we set out as usual at a fast pace.  Not fast for me, fast for Jan.

Percy:  I know you didn't trip her.  She returned in one piece.

Marcus:  We didn't get very far before we heard a male voice yell.

Guy: "Ma'am, there's a snake up there!"

Jan:  "There's a WHAT WHERE!"

Guy:  Just ahead of you.  It's a big ole black snake."

Percy:  He was kidding, right?

Marcus:  The guy was sitting in a pickup truck in a turnaround ahead of us on the other side of the street.  Jan and I hotfooted it across the road to the truck.

Guy:  It was over there slithering in the grass beside the sidewalk.  I can't tell from here what it is, but I saw you and your dog coming and I didn't want either of you to get bitten."

Marcus:  Jan's old eyes couldn't see anything in the grass from that far away, but that area of the mill is overgrown and the grass by the sidewalk needs a good mowing.   She really wanted to see and take a picture of that snake, but no way was she going over there.  Whatever it was, she knew it could move faster than she can.  She thanked the guy before he drove off slowly, watching that side of the road.  It was really nice of him to stop and wait so he could warn us.

Percy:  So you turned around and came home?

Marcus:  No, we took our walk on the side of the road with no sidewalk.  I think we're going to be walking on that side for a long time. That really gave Jan a scare.

Percy:  And you?

Marcus:  Not me!  Nothing scares me!   ** leaps onto the swivel chair**  EEK, it's a snake!

Percy:  I thought nothing scares you!  That was Taylor dragging a shoelace through the room. 

Marcus:  Oh ... er, I was just showing you how Jan would have reacted if she had seen the snake.

Percy:  Uh-huh.  Nice try.


I would like to thank everyone who left a comment on our blog (Farewell Merci) or on Facebook, or emailed us.  Merci's passing was not a surprise.  She was 17 years old, blind, slightly deaf (wasn't the least afraid of the vacuum cleaner any longer), and had dementia.  She'd been "in hospice" here for a while.

I nearly lost her last September at the same time Buddy died but she rallied.  I coped these past months by doing what I could for her and not talking about how she was.  Even if we think we are prepared for a death, we actually aren't.

 Thank you, Ann of Zoolatry, and

Ingrid, Pipo & Dalton from Meezer's Mews & Terrieristical Woofs

... for the lovely graphics.

Percy Solves Tech Problem

Taylor: Percy, what are you doing?

Percy:  Just a minute.  I think I figured out what the problem is here.  The right cord is plugged into the left doohickey, which makes the right whatchamacallit too short to work the whateveritis without sparking. I think if I just chew through this wire in the middle, the right and left doodads will stop shorting out and become friends.

Taylor:  They will?  How do you know that?

Percy:  I did what any self-respecting  human would do to solve a technical problem.. 

Taylor:  How did you do it?

Percy:  I used my brain and talked through my ear!

Taylor:  I don't understand what that means. 

Percy:  It means I feigned intelligence and made it all up.

Marcus:  Last Monday was my 4th Gotcha Day (Belated Gotcha Marcus) and our friends over at MeezerMews&FrecklesWoofs sent me this lovely graphic.  Thanks, Pipo, Angel Minko, Mr Jack Freckles and Dalton.  Your mom did a great job helping you. 

Squeaker Speech for Dummies

Marcus:  Jan took my red rubber ball and hid it.  (Red Rubber Ball)  She had better not take my dinosaur away too.  As you can see, I'm watching Jan!

Rusty:  It won't do you any good.  You destroyed that dinosaur not long after that picture was taken.

Marcus:  I did?  Are you sure?

Rusty:  You chewed a hole and tore out the stuffing to get to the squeaker.  Of course, I'm sure!

Marcus:  No wonder I haven't been able to find it lately.  Maybe Jan will buy me a new one.

Rusty:   I don't think so.  She mentioned just yesterday how nice and quiet it has been around here since the dinosaur was dissected.  You need to learn to take care of your toys before you run out of them permanently.

Marcus:  Oh, that will never happen.

Rusty:  You'll never learn to take care of them or you'll never run out of them?

Marcus:  Both.  My mission in life is to de-squeak and destroy.all toys in memory of Buddy, the best de-squeaker and toy destroyer ever - until me!  I just know I'm making him proud.

Rusty: I remember Buddy in his prime.  He used to squeak the toy, then he would stop and talk to it.  I never did figure out what they were saying but they evidently spoke the same language.

Marcus.  Don't worry.  You can learn the language when I finish the book Buddy was working on, Squeaker Speech for Dummies. 

Rusty:  I think you should rename it Squeaker Speech by Dummies.

Marcus:  What did you mumble?

Rusty:  Oh, just that I can't wait to read the dummies book.

We did a post when Buddy passed on Sept. 28th. (Farewell Buddy)  This lovely graphic was sent to us by Meezers Mews  & Terrieristical Woofs. We intended to post  it; however, we were upset about Buddy and other things happening at that time, so it was a good while before we posted again, so we forgot about it until yesterday.

Thank you so much to MM&TW (Pipo, Dalton & Mr. Jack Freckles).  You are so kind to do this for bloggers who lose a furry, and your memorial graphics are greatly appreciated.


We are joining the Pet Parade hosted by Rascal and Rocco, Basil the Bionic Cat and Barking from the Bayou.  At least we hope we are.  Last week we included this and our computer disconnected our internet before we could and we never did get to join.  

Remembering Sam

I would like to thank everyone for their kind emails and comments on our post Farewell Sam last week, as well as on Facebook.  I am also thankful for the lovely graphics received.

Today, I received the lovely graphic above from Pipo and Minko of WeBeesSiameezers and Barks from Mr. Jack Freckles and their human, Ingrid.  They made this as a memento and I love it.

And I can't forget the lovely graphic Ann of Zoolatry created and sent out when she heard the news.  She is so generous about doing this for everyone she knows or knows of who loses a furry. 

Since this is the second time in less than a year that I've had to deal with injuries while taking care of a sick animal, I am not rebounding well.  Sam was about 60 pounds heavier than Cameron and needed a lot of physical care.   At this time, I don't know when - or if - the Funny Farmers will return.

Surprising Update on Cameron

I thought it was hard to bury Cameron on Friday.  It was hard to bury him again on Saturday.  But before I tell you that peculiar story, I would like to thank everyone for the kind facebook and blog comments and emails.  I do intend to thank each of you individually after I recover from the past two days.

Meanwhile, thank you Miss Ann the Zoolatry Human for sending this lovely graphic after our Friday post.

And We Bees Siameezers made this lovely graphic on imikimi for us.  Thank you, Ingrid. 

Just over Marcus and to the right of our logo, you can see the area where I tried twice to dig a grave so Cameron could be buried beside his old Funny Farmer siblings but the Georgia red clay is rock hard and I had to change the plan.

I decided he would be safe inside the pen.  It was not any easier and I could only manage a shallow hole.  Marcus didn't want his friend buried and dug up the dirt as fast as I could shovel it in. After I finished, I half-filled a large plastic storage container with water to temporarily protect the grave.

Late that night all the dogs in our corner started barking. It was more intense than usual. The 2 dogs next door could be heard scratching and beating at their wooden fence.  I had a hard time getting my dogs inside but they finally came.  There was nothing to be seen and I wasn't about to go back near the alley late at night.  And whatever the ruckus, it was out of sight.

I was up with Marcus about 3 times during the night.  Each time he went out to the container and stared toward the corner of the wooden fence.  He didn't want to come back inside.

After the sun came up, I let Marcus outside again and saw this.  It's the shirt I wrapped Cameron's body in before burying him.  There was a small shallow hole dug under the end of the container.  Something strong had dug just far enough to grab the body and pull it out so the grave collapsed on itself.  Something strong had worked an opening at the bottom of the chain link just barely big enough to drag Cameron's small body through. 

A coyote can leap over a six foot pen.  It can climb a chain link fence.  There are coyotes in this area.  I saw one for myself last August or September.  Cameron was gone!

Thankfully, I found his body in the area under our logo in this picture.  This photo was taken after the hole in the fence was boarded over and bricks spread to "fill in" the hole that was dug.  That patch is just out of sight around the corner in the photo below.  That's why Marcus had stood staring.  Cameron was on the wrong side of our fence.

I went next door.  The guy was at work.  When his girlfriend checked, his dogs were missing.  She called and he came home to search.  Fortunately, he found them a mile down the road. I am so grateful those dogs are safe because I really believe they broke out of their yard in time to chase off one the predator(s) carrying off Cameron's body. 

Marcus was so happy to have Cameron back.  I tried to dig deeper but couldn't, so I wrapped Cameron in two plastic bags and tied them closed.  Then I moved the dog house over the grave and perched a container on top to discourage any idea of using the dog house as an entrance or exit aid.  Marcus is quite the athlete.

Marcus became attached to Cameron the last couple of months and is acting out his stress.  He started three fights with Sam (one included Buddy) before breakfast Saturday and two more last night. I hope all the Funny Farmers will calm down soon and there won't be any more midnight raids in the back pen.  And definitely no more grave digging! 

Saint Charley

Rusty:  We're starting to wonder whose blog this actually is.  One way or another, Jan keeps sneaking in.

Micah:  Yeah, even if she has to be punched in the eye by one of us.  Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

Merci:  If you're thinking this is deliberate, I heartily agree!

Sam:  You mean Jan punched herself in the eye just to get on our blog?

Cameron:  Which one of you guys tattled and told Jan I was the one who fell on her eye and then kicked her?

Cyndi:  You did.

Cameron:  I did not!

Cyndi:  Yes, you did.  You were spending a good part of each day on the ice chest on top of the fridge.  You even demanded your breakfast be served there.

Buddy:  And right after you hit Jan on the head with the ice chest and kicked her in the eye, you stopped hanging out there.  When you finally dared to venture back, as soon as you saw her heading for the freezer door, you jumped down and ran to hide in the closet. 

Percy:  You do know that was as good as a signed confession, don't you?

Marcus:  Cameron signed a confession?  I thought we were all going to stick together and protect the identity of the innocent perp.

Percy:  We did protect Cameron.  But he blew it.

Cameron:  I'm sorry, guys.  It wasn't intentional.  I was sound asleep dreaming of chasing a catnip mousie and all of a sudden I was sliding downhill, hit something solid (Jan's face), kicked off to protect myself, and ran for my life.  It was an absolutely Terrifying Hour and a Half.  It takes a while to recover from that kind of trauma.

Marcus:   I don't know why we're discussing this.  I thought we were preparing to auto post this in the morning so we can have dinner before midnight.  It's almost that now.

Buddy:  He's right.  Jan returned from Bible study, went for a walk with us dogs, and then started working on a graphic for her minister.  She said if we post the graphic, she'll fix our dinner.

Cyndi:  Her pastor talked on the first two verses of Ephesians 1 to remind the humans there God calls his people saints.  He often jokes that his wife refuses to call him Saint Charley, so Jan decided to make him an XL "business card".

Marcus:  Here we go, Pastor ... um, Saint Charley.  We understand your church is thankful to have you.  And we will love you and your wife too, just as soon as we finally get tonight's ... yesterday's dinner. 

We are joining Pepi Smart Dog for Thankful Thursday.   Also Thoughtless Thursday co-hosted by Ruckus the Eskie and Love is being owned by a husky.

Green with Envy

Buddy:  Yesterday we posted a snow scene in color and also in black and white.  Sasha, Sami, & Saku from Kitty Korner wrote, The photos are very nice...but we thinks they would better if they were green. Sigh...can you tell we is all tired of winter?

Cyndi:  Well, we know how you kitties feel, so we decided to post a green snow scene just for Sasha, Sami & Saku. It makes us feel a bit better about the weather too.  Thanks for the idea. 

Green-for-spring snow scene

Merci:  We hope all of you in the path of the latest snow and ice storm will be warm and safe!  We saw the Atlanta weather report today.  Snow and ice is expected there this this week and the weather might be worse than the last storm they had.  So far, it doesn't appear their weather will come this far south, however, it seems as if anything goes this winter. 

Cameron:  We want to leave you with a smile so I asked Jan if she could make me green with envy.   She did.

Cameron is green with envy

Miss Pat is Having a Party

Merci:  Today we have a special post.

Percy:  Yes, we have a surprise for a special human.

Cameron:  We do?  How come I wasn't notified?

Sam:  You were.  Didn't you read the memo Jan wrote last week?

Cameron:  No, Cyndi deposited a big hairball on my copy.  I couldn't read it.

Cyndi:  Sorry about that, Cameron.  You could have borrowed my copy.  I left it ... hmmm, where did I leave it?

Micah:  You left it beside the telephone and it fell into the water bowl below.  Jan threw it away.

Rusty:  Mine must have fallen behind the desk while I was napping.  What did it say?

Buddy:  It said: We will be having a special post on Saturday, September 14, in honor of our friend Miss Pat's houseguest, an exchange student from Brazil.  It will be Maria's 16th birthday and Miss Pat is having a party for her.

Sam:  So why weren't we invited to the party?

Micah:  Miss Pat is probably afraid you'd eat all the food.

Sam:  But I'd never!  Oh, maybe I did once when I was a pup but I have willpower now.

Percy:  And you've been hiding that willpower where?

Rusty: Stop arguing.  The question is, why weren't we invited?

Merci:  Because it's in Arizona and  Jan couldn't afford to ship us across the country?

Cameron:  No, that's why we would have had to decline, not why we weren't invited.

Cyndi:  Maybe Miss Pat doesn't have enough room in her house for all of us plus all those teenagers coming to Maria's party.

Buddy:  Teenagers?  Miss Pat is having a houseful of teenagers to the party?  Good thing we weren't invited.  We would never be able to get in our Saturday naps.  Thank you for not inviting us, Miss Pat.  We'll just send the card Jan made for us. 

Old Friends

This has been a weekend of sadness.  Saturday night Jan learned of the loss of an old friend (human) of 25 years. First thing Sunday morning, we read of several deaths and illnesses, and then our old friend Dr. Tweety's mom Madeline emailed that Dr. T is headed for the bridge this week. He has rarely blogged in recent years, but his handsome face and humor have been missed.   R.I.P., Dr. Tweety. 

Dr. Tweety

We stopped posting on sad news a while ago.  We, like many of you, are having a problem handling the steady stream of illnesses and deaths.  But after this weekend, we decided to do this one post in honor of all  those we've lost over the years.  This year alone we said good-bye to old timers China Cat and Willow, Eric, Charmee of DaisyMae Maus, Andy, Au, Skeezix, Thunder, Rose (human) and Marigold, Junior, Grrreta, Abby of Manx Mnews, Homer the Blind Cat, and ... and ...

That's a lot of tears we've shared with other bloggers. So without further comment, we will share this graphic Jan made for her blog Mercy and Percy.