My Peanut

I am the proud momma of a two year old Chihuahua/Jack Russel Terrier. Her name is Peanut. We rescued her from the local animal control shelter. Had we not adopted her, she would have been euthanized. I can not imagine my life without her. Although, I do seem to remember life was much more quiet before she became the fourth member of our family.

You see, Peanut believes she must be the protector of the household. She is the smallest and therefore must compensate by being the loudest. She barks at everything. And I mean everything. She barks when I vacuum. She barks when my husband cuts the grass. She barks at the mailman. She barks at the people walking down the street. She barks at the neighbor's dogs. She barks at the spiders on the ceiling. She is constantly letting us know something is happening somewhere. When she is quiet...she's causing trouble.

After work one day I walked into the house to find that there had been a re-enactment of the Boston Tea Party in my kitchen. Somehow Peanut managed to get up onto the kitchen counter and open my tea canister. Five hundred tea bags were ripped to shreds. As I stood gaping at the mess, Peanut ran circles around me. Of course she did. She was high on caffeine.

I've made many emergency phone calls to the vet. Peanut has consumed multi-vitamins, birth control pills, anti-depressants, diabetic and kidney medication. Not once did she ever have any kind of reaction. Her vet is dumb-struck as am I. Of course, now we keep the medication in a locked cabinet so Peanut can't get into it.

Not too long ago, I walked into the house and found that it had snowed. It was 86 degrees outside, but it had snowed in my living room. Peanut had found her way into the bathroom and discovered my package of maxi pads. That's right, I said maxi pads. Do you know how incredibly hard it is to vacuum maxi pad cotton?

Ah, but she is a snuggler. If you're having a bad day, she'll snuggle right up to you. She's so eager to be loved on and give love back. She'll crawl right up onto your chest and wrap her head around your neck. It's like she's giving you her version of a hug. I wouldn't trade those moments for anything. I'll take cleaning up tea bags and vacuuming maxi pads anytime when I know my reward is the unconditional love I get from my Peanut.

Girls Hunt Too!

Last deer hunting season my husband woke at 5:00 a.m. to brave the wind and the cold as he tracked his way out to his deer stand. I woke with him and wished him luck on his opening hunt. I tidied our little cabin and anxiously waited for his return.

Two hours later he arrived home empty handed, hungry and cold. I fixed breakfast and we watched the snow start to fall outside. Casually I asked him how cold it was outside. He said, "Pretty cold. Why? You want to try it?" Mmmmmm...."Maybe." I reply.

Shortly after breakfast, I laid down for a nap. When I woke up, my husband was dressing to head back out for more hunting. He asked if I wanted to tag along. He explained to me there was a deer stand close by that we could both sit in comfortably. I thought to myself, why not? I would finally get a chance to see what all the fuss was about.

We hiked out to the deer stand. It was 20 feet in the air. I looked at my husband and said, "Uh, no way. I have to climb a tree?!" He just laughed at me and said I could use the stairs if I preferred. "Oh," was all I could muster in response.

Once we were settled in the stand, I wondered how long we'd wait to see a deer. My husband was gracious enough to let me use his binoculars so I could look around. As I adjusted to using the binoculars, I realized how quiet and peaceful the woods were. There was a different pace about the woods with squirrels running from tree to tree and birds flitting about. I noticed I couldn't hear cars running, trains whistling, sirens blowing, dogs barking, or planes flying overhead. Instead I heard leaves rustling in the breeze, birds chirping their songs, squirrels gathering acorns, and the sound of my own heart beating. It was amazing. At that moment I had a glimpse of what God had in mind as He set forth and created the earth and life.

As I sat soaking in all God's wonder, something caught my eye. I looked through my binoculars and there she was. A doe. So beautiful. I quietly motioned to my husband. Just as he raised his rifle to shoot, she moved. Swiftly, graceful. From that moment I was hooked. I knew now why hunting was so important to my husband.

This year I'm preparing to be the huntress in the woods. I've got my blaze orange. I've got my rifle. All I need now is my perfect spot in the woods.