Turkey Tracks: February 26, 2022
AC Doggie Gets New Toys
AC’s current crop of toys has long been reduced to shreds of their former selves.
Thursday when AC and I ran the errands, I stopped by our local Loyal Biscuit to replace his puppy harness as he had chewed the front strap into two pieces when he was a puppy. The strap has been held in place by duck tape for the past 2 1/2 years. It was time for a nice adult harness, since his chewing of inappropriate things seems to have stopped. He will be 4 next month.
I got the harness ok—a really nice one. But I also came home with the three toys you can see leaning against the green bed. The two flat toys (each with two squeakers) were left over from a package of five over a year ago. I hesitate to give him toys with squeakers as I need to be around to retrieve them when he gets them out of a toy.
The green frog is made of a really tough material, stronger looking than a heavy canvas. The tan ”bone” is meant to be chewed. And the elephant has some sort of plastic in the ears that crinkles. I assumed all of the toys would be dismantled in due order.
I set them up while AC was outside and let him in to see them.
It is clear that I am easily amused. He had all but one of the squeakers out while I ate lunch. I think there were 6 or 7 in all.
It is now Saturday, and we had a lovely snow day all day yesterday. I completely quilted and trimmed one of the baby quilts yesterday, and in a bit now I’ll go put on the binding and label. AC hung with me on his bed in the quilt room yesterday, but played with his toys when we went upstairs for lunch.
I think he loves the green frog the best. He carries it everywhere I go—up and down the steps as I move around the house. AC has some sort of rule that if he travels the stairs (up or down), he needs to bring a toy with him. That’s hound behavior I think. Or, retriever of some sort. Terriers don’t really carry things in their mouths all that much.
By yesterday, the toys showed his intense interest. As fast as I pick them up, he drags them out of his play bucket and puts them at my feet. I think his goal is to entice me to enjoy the toys with him—which does happen with his balls.
Uh oh! He breached Frog’s seams.
I’m eating lunch late today, Saturday, as I went out to retrieve my weekly raw cream and some kale for soup. I made the broth this morning—using the package of frozen chicken bones I defrosted over night and the fresh bones from the leg of lamb I cooked Wednesday. I’ve never mixed up bones—but the soup broth is really lovely.
As usual, I packed the developing soup with lots of veggies, and I added 4 chicken thighs as well. The kale almost didn’t fit, so I had to add it a little bit at a time when the liquid level dropped a bit while the veggies cooked. Finally all the kale melted down into the soup pot.
And here is my beautiful bowl of lunch-time soup—with the meat taken off one of the thighs that cooked in the pot.
While I ate, AC played with his toys. Elephant lost a leg, but the ears still crackle. And Frog’s seams have been breached further, and the squeaker removed. I used to restuff toy bodies and sew up the seams, but no more. It’s a total waste of time.
And now AC is taking a little rest in his bed. He was asleep until I walked over there with the camera. If I move, he knows it.
He’s rested now, and is ready ”to go” again. It’s time for me to pull off some of the soup for my dinner and to store the rest in the refrigerator. And to clean up the kitchen and make a cup of coffee to take to the quilt room—after AC and I take out the compost bin to the containers back of the garage.
Slowdown Farmstead, on Substack, has some lovely, lovely writing. Tara’s farm is in Canada, somewhere near Ottawa. Her post this morning was all about making and storing bone broths—a task she does in the summer and where she makes enough for the whole year. I learned two really interesting pieces of information I didn’t know: don’t make the broth in a stainless steel pot because it will leak a little of the metal, which can be toxic if you get too much over time, AND use glass bottle containers with NO SHOULDERS as they can and do break in the freezer—something I’ve had happen many times now. She mentioned a brand name of jars she has found work well.
Tara is a woman after my own heart.
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