and Whispered in the Sounds of Catasauqua

Did you ever listen to the sounds of Catasauqua; especially in the early morning hours.  Before the weed wackers and the lawn mowers start.  Just the sounds of Catasauqua.

My view

This morning I joined Petey (my dog) outside on the back porch for about 15 to 20 minutes with my cup of coffee.  A must have, brewed by the Keurig - a caramel Starbucks with caramel creamer.....ahhh. 

Oops I started to drift away there for a moment.

Anyway, if you live in Catasauqua you know the one sound well, you might even be so use to it that you don't hear it anymore; and that is the sounds of airplanes.  In the quiet morning they don't have to compete with the sounds of cars and people.  It almost sounds like a majestic roar that builds up until it is overhead. 

Mix the airplanews with the far off train sounds from down below Front Street.  The horn blowing as it crosses the intersection at Race Street and it almost sounds meditative. 

And more view off the back yard

And let us not forget the sounds of the BIRDS - can they chirp or what.  They chirp, whistle, squawk and peck the tree, if you have a woodpecker in the neighborhood.  Thanks to being "Tree City USA" we are also Bird City.  I sometimes hate the early morning chirping when you are trying to sleep and they are singing at the sunrise - who knew such tiny little creatures could be so loud. 

Along with the occasional dog bark and
the sounds of cars made up my morning.  It was nice.  "And the vision that was planted in my brain. Still remains within the sound of Catty" take a moment to stop and listen to........ another day in Catasauqua.

The Stare Down in Catty

I started telling this story to Parke and he said "Why don't you blog this story, you haven't been blogging?"  What a good idea, that's why I keep him around.

Anyway, the story starts this morning early AM.  I was  going to breakfast with a bunch of bff's from church and I wanted to quickly walk the dog.  We were doing good until Petey started a staring match with a certain large gentleman across the street.

I have learned a lot about dog behavior from Petey's Obedience Classes at Chaar.  Dogs will stare especially at each other.  The first dog that moves determines the type of behavior.  Example, the dog on the one side of where I live came forward with a low growl, she was showing aggression and they started a barking match.  On the other hand last weekend a new dog was visiting on the other side of where I live.  His name was Harley and he was a large 7 month old.  They did the stare down, but Harley went bouncing up the yard which showed playful behavior.  Harley really tired out Petey last week, he ended up napping all night.

But this morning's stare down wasn't friendly, the man didn't move, he just keep staring, and Petey started with a low growl, warning the man to look away, but the man didn't, so Petey started barking, which started me laughing, because you see, the man was blow up Santa.  Yes, Petey was barking at blow up Santa and I couldn't get him to stop.  I had to tell him "leave it"  which is the command to walk away but he was sure that this man meant trouble.  I had my hand over it mouth the one time, but he kept trying to bark. It was muffled by my glove and he cheeks would puff out in effort to make a sound.  I had to pull him for about a half a block until we were away from the Jolly Elf.

Oh poor Santa, I better make sure I have Petey is in his cage Christmas Eve.  I shudder to think what might happen if Santa bent over him to say Merry Christmas.

Oh my, and that's another day in Catasauqua.

I'm Back!!!

Hi everyone.  I guess you might of wondered what happened to me.  After the passing of our beloved dog, Digger, I could't find the inspiration to write.  THEN we decided to adopt a dog from the Lehigh County Humane Society.  We adopted Petey and he is more work than I remembered a dog ever being.  He is also more work than having a baby.  Between Vet visits, Obedience School and training I haven't found the time to think, let alone write.  Besides whenever I tried to get on the computer he was sitting right by me being a pain in the you know what.  Usually chewing something to get my attention.  He is a little better now.  More settled and only seems needy 23 hours a day now.

This is what I see when trying to write

 Mind you, his 60 pound plus body is sitting on my lap while I am trying to type.

So what do I owe the inspiration to blog again to.  Well, a lady sitting out on the curb.  No, she wasn't begging, she wasn't hurt - she was painting our fire hydrant on the corner with a picture.  A while ago I featured a blog on all the painted hydrants in Catasauqua.  The project is called "Catasauqua Hydrants, Revitalization through Art".  You can read that blog here:  http://dayincatasauqua.blogspot.com/2011/07/catasauqua-hydrants-that-are-work-of.html

There it is - my house!!! How cool!

Anyway - the real exciting news about this picture on this hydrant is that IT IS MY HOUSE.  It is an inspired work of art featuring the first four houses on the block.  WOWSERS, my house has been immortalized; and you can bet that I won't be letting Petey pee on this fire hydrant. 

I am excited to be back.  There has been much I haven't written about.  The mural in Catty is done, we have had a lot of events and even about Petey.  So I will try to write a little more often.  Time to open my eyes and ears to Catty again. 

I better go - Petey is acting suspicious - I better see what kind of trouble he is in.

So watch out, you never know where me and my little dog will show up.....and that's another day in Catasauqua.

Saying Goodbye to a Our Best Friend

I was on vacation for the last three day's with some of my bff's at Hershey, PA.  We went to see Joyce Meyer along with shopping and chocolate.  It was a very spirit filled three days and I was very uplifted.   But today, when I got home I went out in the yard to greet Digger, our dog.  Digger is usually happy to see me after I have been gone for awhile.  Heck he was even happy to see me if I went out the back door and came to the front.  You would think I was gone for weeks.  But today was different.  You see, Digger was born with a congenital hip problem, he had no ball and socket joint at his hips, which we did not find out about until 3 years ago.  When the vet told me, I couldn't believe it.  Since I have had Digger all he has ever done was run.  He ran grooves into the back yard.  He was King of the back yard watching over the neighborhood and barking at strangers and just about everything else.  .

We had Digger since he was 9 months old, we got him in September of 2000 so Parke figured we would call him the millennium dog and celebrate his birthday every News Year Eve.  Every year we would yell Happy New Years and then Happy Birthday Digger and he would run circles around the house.

Winters were steadily getting harder for Digger.  We would have to make an annual visit for pain medications  and about 3 years ago I started walking him every day so I could monitor his hips.  Every morning once around the block.  Digger loved other dogs, we would stop to see several of them sometimes.  His buddy Bandit down the street would wait for us every day at the fence.

A few weeks ago Digger started to stumble and fall.  At first I thought he was just not watching were he was going.  We found out he was blind in one eye.  But it got worse and we called the vet.   I thought maybe there was something wrong with paws, maybe his nails were too long, but after many tests they told us his hips were worse and there was nothing to do but keep him comfortable.  We  got some pain pills and after a week or two we had to stop walking him around the block, even though every day he would still stand at the door waiting. 

Today when I got home though something was different, I called and he didn't come, he was just sitting, his eyes said to me "Mom, I can't make it right now"  I went out to him and he stood then and made it just barely into the house.  I wanted to believe he was okay but he had really gone down hill in the last three days.  Parke didn't want to tell me while I was away. 

We went food shopping and them when I got home he had not eaten, I changed the food in his dish and called him but he wouldn't step into the kitchen.  Even though we had rugs covering the floorhe would slip out there. So I took his food into the living room.  I watched him and my heart broke, he got his front paws up but drugged his back end over to the food. 

I called Valley Central Emergency Veterinary Hospital in Whitehall.  I told them it was time to say goodbye. They were caring and compassionate.  They explained everything over the phone and I took him right over.

  Digger got up one last time, because I had the leash in my hand.  That dog was determined to go for a walk, but I lifted him into the car.  They came with a gurney to get him out because he would not have been able to walk on their floor.  They took him in the back and took us to a special room. I cried so much I could hardly breath.  I thought I was at Brubakers.  Big wooden chairs and lots of tissues.  They brought Digger in and I took his muzzle off.  He wanted to get up, he kept lifting his head up as we talked to him, and then it was time, and it was quick.  I cried some more while I petted him.  He looked like such a rag-a-muffin, he would not let me brush him these last few weeks. 

But that's not what I am going to remember.  I am going to remember the dog who like to herd things into a circle.  Who liked cats, bunnies and birds, but not opposums.  The dog that, like his name suggests, dug holes all over the yard - even up to last year when I saw my bushes in the backyard leaning to one side because he dug a huge hole behind it.  The dog that was  scared of squeaky toys and thunder.  The dog that would put his head on my shoulder when I was outside trying to read and his paws on my lap when I was trying to watch TV.  The dog that loved toast with peanut butter.  The dog who never let me eat pretzels alone.   The dog that drooled every time he would smell another dog on me.  The dog who use to run and greet me, running circles up and down the yard when I would come home, sliding to a stop and rolling over to pet his belly.  The dog with crazy eyes who would always got so excited about anything and barked at everything.

Yes, I will remember my "world's best dog" and I told him so tonight.   Run with big dogs in heaven sweet Digger, I will see you again.

Digger, the dog.

I told him, he was in trouble now, he was going in my blog!

Digger is my 12 years old Border Collie Mix and he is on my nerves today.  Did you ever have the hiccups in the morning and then have them all day.  Well, if the oil man comes in the morning - Digger barks his head off and then barks at everything all day thinking it's the oil man.  Now if anyone should bark, growl or even hiss at the oil man it should be me.  I am the one who gets the bill.  But for some reason the oil man drives Digger nuts.   Why, I mean, he doesn't come in, he doesn't knock at the door?  Why the oil man?  He doesn't bark at the Jehovah Witnesses and perhaps he should. 

Anyway Digger, and by the way, yes he does dig, (I just found out he has been digging in the arborvitae again)   has Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome; which is Doggie Alzheimer's.  This is what the vet says, but he has Seasonal Affective Disorder, because it mostly happens in the winter months.    This winter has been good to Digger, not much snow.  Last weekend's snow sent him into CDS land for a brief time.  He limped, he stared into the corners of the room, he paced around.  Snow covers up smells which is the last sense Digger has that works well.  Parke told him last week, Digger snap out of it, the snow is going to melt tomorrow.   We had to put a rug down in the kitchen for him because he didn't want to slide on the kitchen floor and refused to come in.  When he was young, he got a static shock once from the carpet and wouldn't go into the kitchen for days.  I finally figured out that at one time he must of came from a home with an electric fence (he was adopted from the Northampton County SPCA by some other people, and I got him from them).  I finally took off his dog collar and he then went into the kitchen. 

Every morning you can catch Digger and I going for our morning walk around the block.  We do the same walk every day and we keep the same schedule everyday, that seems to help him the most.  I just got done yelling at him and brought him in a few minutes ago - he was barking at some people going by, it was the bezerk bark he uses on the oil man.  Today everyone is the oil man, included me.  He was barking at me when I went to take the garbage out because the garbage can is right by where the oil man delivers the oil.  But hey that's my digger.

and that's another day in Catasauqua