The Girls

Every time I have a day off the weather tends to be crappy here in Central Pennsylvania, and today is my day off.  Right now the temperature is hovering around 61 degrees Fahrenheit, which is cool for this time of year.  Oh, and it's one of those drizzling, steady rain type of days, too.  This is not a good day for lawn work, and, as a home owner, lawn work is one of those essential chores.  Grass grows faster when the weather is like this, sometimes so fast you can almost hear it.  I'm off tomorrow as well so hopefully the forecast will be accurate and it will be warmer and dryer.

A lot of people would use a day like this to catch up on their sleep, or maybe read a good book, or even watch an old movie on TCM.  I know if it weren't for the girls I'd be tempted to do one of those three things.  But I do have the girls, and they do keep my busy.  They're quite right now, napping; too much playtime already today.  Of course, they will wake soon and playtime will recommence until it's dinner time.  They slow down for that, too.

Who are the girls?  Gertie and Lilly, my Boxers.  Gertie is the oldest at 4.5 years, Lilly will be 10 months old in two weeks.  Every day she reminds Gertie and myself how much of a puppy she still is.

Lilly at 3 months

Friends know her as "The Jaws of Death," because everything goes into her mouth, especially when she's having a growth spurt, like right now.  She has become a voracious eating machine.  At times like this the best thing to do is to keep her fed and wait and see how much she's going to grow.

Boxers come in all shapes and sizes.  Gertie is a full sized Boxer, and tips the scale at nearly 80 pounds.  Females usually weigh-in at around 60 pounds, so she is big.  Her head is about the size of one of those personal watermelons.  Because of this a lot of people shy away from us when I take her for a walk in the park.  She's actually a big baby.  I doubt if Lilly, in spite of her appetite, will get as big.  She will most likely be closer to the average size female, though it's difficult to say.  At 9.5 months she weighs in at 52 pounds.

Is it dinner time yet?

They play a lot and playtime always consists of barking, and growling, and chasing each other all over the house.  For the uninitiated, it can be rather frightening; this is a lot of poundage jumping around.  And of course they do box, which is always difficult to explain, since they don't really box, but they do stand on their hind legs and chest butt each other.  And when they're finished playing they have to take a nap so they can do it all again.  They are a lot of fun.  They are my girls.

Quiet time