Friday the Thirteenth gets off to a good start...

Got freakin' cold last night. For the first time since we moved into the Lair the temperature on the ground floor was in the thirties. High thirties, but still. Oddly, the Lair's water didn't freeze. Took forever for the fire to get the ground floor temp into a decent place, which is why I've developed the habit of reading in the loft in the morning.

LB went out on his cable and promptly got very excited about something desperately in need of chasing down the wash. Ghost went to look and clearly saw nothing. LB, per tradition, wrapped his cable around a tree. Later he settled down, or seemed to. I unclipped the cable from him, he headfaked toward the cabin door, then lit afterburners and disappeared down the wash, Ghost right behind. I got suckered.

Yeah, I went and looked for them but their tracks disappeared into the brush. It's been half an hour and I haven't seen or heard a sign of them. Hopefully they'll come back. Second prize, I get a call from D&L. Booby prize, my worst fears come true and I never see them again.

Sometimes I feel bad about keeping LB confined all the time. Then he takes the first momentary opportunity to remind me why I do. I do not beat that dog enough.

UPDATE: Well, that's an improvement. Got them back and it didn't even involve phone calls. Ghost came home alone, which isn't too unusual - he always remembers where he lives. He attacked the water bowl and then wanted right back out. Sometimes he narcs on Little Bear, so I paid attention to what he was paying attention to. He went haring off in what turned out to be a random direction, though, and after I followed him for ten or fifteen minutes LB came lumbering up from behind me. Figures.

From the looks of his hairy ass, which is now browner than black, LB had another of his, er, intestinal incidents so maybe I'm glad he took care of that out in the boonies. That dog can really mess up a yard.

Now I can get on with shit-shoveling and (hopefully, if the ground thaws just a little bit) clean up the awful mess LB made of Gitmo before Landlady comes this weekend.