I hope everyone had a good holiday. Unlike most years, Rachel and I actually dressed up and went out to celebrate. It is the first time since our wedding since she has worn a dress! She looked wonderful in it. She will probably post the pictures we took on her site.

On more than one occasion, our beagles have caught a squirrel. Yesterday, we let the dogs out to go the bathroom. I looked out a minute later and Kara and Kelly were playing tug-of-war with a squirrel. I put my coat on and rushed outside to break them up. Kelly had a couple of puncture wounds on either side of her nose. Rachel and I could not tell if the squirrel bit her or if it was another dog. At any rate, we brought them inside. We tried to clean Kelly's wounds, but she would not let us. Instead of continuing to struggle with her, we just took her to the veterinarian.

Last night, shortly after letting the dogs out, Rachel and I heard the now familiar whimpering of an injured squirrel. We surmise that it fell out of one of the trees. The dogs only further injured the squirrel.

We herded the dogs away from the squirrel and back into the house. The squirrel was still breathing, so we were not sure if it would make it or not. Moving closer startled the squirrel. The poor creature tried to squeeze between fence posts probably injuring it further. We left it alone, hoping that it would be able to recover overnight.

When I got home this evening, I let the dogs outside to go the bathroom. Meanwhile, I started my dinner preparations. A few minutes later, I looked outside to see Kelly "playing" with a squirrel. I quickly brought the dogs inside. The squirrel was unfortunately on its last leg. After disposing of the squirrel, I went inside to look at the security cameras.

Normally I enjoy having large trees in my yard. Of course, when the leaves start to fall, then I do not like them as much. Leaves, however, are not quite as bad as acorns. True, the acorns are smaller than the oak leaves. But, when a leaf hits the roof or awning, it does not make quite the same impact as a falling acorn. Similarly, when leaves hit me on the head, it is only a minor distraction. An acorn, landing squarely on the head, is quite different.

I've got a cute dog (Beagle/Springer mix) that just loves to chase the squirrels in my back yard. She'll walk out very slowly. Sometimes she almost crawls on her belly. She only moves when the squirrels aren't watching her. Then, when she's close enough, she pounces! She hasn't caught a squirrel yet. But, it's still very fun and interesting to watch.