Nice girl, not too bright

So yesterday, in preparation for said trip to rat tunnels, I dumped a couple of bottles of oil into my car because it has this teensy-wheensy leak and I didn't want to run out somewhere between Flint and here.

Today, I realized that I forgot to screw the cap back onto the engine. Hm, that would explain the funky smell coming out of the vents, wouldn't it? It also explains the nice oil slick that is covering the entire inside of the area under the hood.

Yeah. How many anthropologists does it take...

Doggie Fun

To continue with the dork theme, I took the dogs to an Earthdog practice session today. The idea is that terriers get to do what they were bred to do -go to ground and hunt vermin. Except the tunnels are made by people and the vermin (usually rats) is in cages behind a barrier, and the dog only gets to 'work' the rat (ie bark at it etc) rather than kill it. Kinda like Gymboree, where kids get to do what they used to do when they actually played outside. Except, as opposed to real vermin hunting, nobody got killed...one would hope anyway.

Needless to say, the dogs don't get much opportunity for earthdogging in Ann Arbor, since I haven'y figured out a way to dig a bunch of tunnel mazes around here. Hence we drove up to this place around Flint, where these people have 22 acres of land and a bunch of fox terriers...and tunnels. They're holding practice session once a month. Today, there were all manners of terriers with all ranges of experience there. First, to warm up, they got to play with a rat in a rolling round cage. That got everyone hot and bothered.



BTW, being intelligent creatures, the rats seem to learn very quickly that the dogs can't really harm them and they appear to get bored very quickly in their cages.

Then it was time to actually enter the tunnels. I was very proud of the boys because they figured out the point of the whole thing very quickly. First, they thought it would be easiest to just run over to the person with the rat cage at the end of the tunnel, but that's not allowed, so finally they managed to traverse the tunnel with all its nooks and crannies and found the rat and 'worked' it, baby!

Ede, usually the more lethargic of the two, had a grand ol' time and seemed to catch on quicker than Atze. He worked the rat quietly, but very intensely:



Atze, of course, was his usual maniacal self by the time he got to the rat and couldn't stop barking:



All in all, a good time. The dogs are all tuckered out from so much excitement and brain work. We'll definitely have to go back next time!

Oh, there was some people watching to be had too. Let's just say, dog people are strange...

And we're back!

I'm not sure what has inspired me to start up the blog again. Maybe an overload of funny (to me -I know, it usually doesn't translate well) experiences/observations. Maybe an overwhelming need to find another way to procrastinate on the big D. Maybe a touch of nostalgia for 2004.

I know, I know, I'm totally out of fashion, keeping a blog. Then again, what's one more index of non-fashionable-Ness? I may as well go for it, right? Right???