No Tomatoes for Cabana

All summer long, we've had a bounty crop of tomatoes in our backyard--overflowing the sides of my planter box as they got heavy and ripened. All summer long, Cabana never touched them. She showed no interest, never looked at them, never sniffed them.

BUT about two weeks ago, my little cherry tomatoes got to that overripe stage, where they burst through their own skins, exposing their juice and seeds. All of the sudden, the tomatoes became the focal point of Cabana's attention in our yard. I caught her eating one of these overripe guys--and that was the end of undisturbed tomatoes.



Since that time, I don't think Cabana's eaten many more ripe tomatoes. Instead, she likes to find hard green cherry tomatoes and hold them in her mouth. I can see her rolling it around in her mouth like a marble. When I catch her with one, she spits it out, whole and unsquished. Still, tomatoes are so acidic, and I don't think it's good for her tummy to be eating them, whatever color or degree of ripeness.

In order to keep Cabana away from the tomatoes, I haven't been letting her roam in the backyard off-leash. This was okay for a while because it was rainy and wet, and I didn't want her walking through mud and dirt anyway. But now that the weather is nice again, I'd like to give Cabana some of her freedom back.

So today, I'll pick what I can, then the rest of the tomatoes are going in the compost. I think my family has had their fill of tomatoes for the season anyway. I've fixed tomatoes and/or zucchini in some form just about every night for the past couple months! Thank goodness that all good things must come to an end.

Dog Bloggers of Bygone Eras

As a kid, I never read Lassie or Rin Tin Tin books, although as a big fan of Beverly Cleary, I did read Ribsy. Now, thanks to Cabana and my growing interest in dogs, I have started to search out books on canine subjects.

I am currently reading (listening to) Shaggy Muses, by Maureen Adams. It's about the role of dogs in the lives of 5 famous women authors: Emily Bronte, Emily Dickinson, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Edith Wharton, and Virginia Woolf. These women had rather bleak and tumultuous lives--but they all derived great comfort and companionship from their dogs. Many put their dogs into the stories, poems and letters they wrote. And their diaries contain many references to their dogs, which struck me as being the pre-internet way of blogging their dogs!

It's gratifying to think that we are following in the footsteps of some very talented and renowned women. And I'm so grateful to not be living in the Victorian era--what a horribly limiting and misguided period that was!

Tuesday Topics 10 - Bloggin' the Dog

When I first started this blog, my purpose was to keep it as a journal for myself. I didn't expect anyone else to read it, although I did hope to be able to share it with Cabana's future partner someday as a "baby album" of her puppyhood.

As a mom, I know how easy it is to say, I'm always going to remember when my baby started crawling or first walked up steps or had her first haircut, etc. But 14 and 15 years later, I can't remember worth a darn! Thankfully, I have it documented in scrapbooks and baby record books.

Along those lines, this blog was a place to keep a record of when Cabana's baby teeth started falling out and when she stopped eating every piece of tanbark (not to imply that these are related phenomena). And of course, I wanted to witness Cabana's physical growth by taking pictures often.

But along the blogging way, I became acquainted with the fabulous resource of fellow dog bloggers and puppy raisers! A supportive network of people who love their dogs and take the time to give advice (and sometimes correction, which as a first time puppy raiser, I gratefully receive), and ALWAYS share encouragement and camaraderie.

For today's Tuesday Topic, I'd love to hear about why you blog. (And if you don't, then why NOT?!) If you are a puppy raiser, do you ever tell people you meet who take an interest in your puppy about your blog? Has anything out of the ordinary (good or bad) happened as a result of your blog? Do you sometimes feel like you are slightly addicted to blogging? (Who me? No way!)