La La La La La La La Lara, La La La Lara

Just after 5 am. Rough morning for little Westie hips. After a quick trip outside, Lillibeth is back on her magic blanket, and Annie is absorbing warmth against my back.

Who was that 40's movie actress with the flamboyant fruit laden hat?  I can hear her now in one of those movies, intoning a nasal ditty with Spanish or Portuguese lyrics. I think she was from Brazil. The song I am hearing in my head was one of her signature songs. Fruit basket on her head, bared midriff.  Some sort of hand instrument... clackity things in each hand.

Gee, am I ever showing my myopic Southern WASP (White Anglo Saxon Protestant) orientation!

This was way before Charo. Famous actress in that Hollywood wave of fascination with all things South American.  Wait.  Here it is. Carmen Miranda. Interesting facts here. Now, what was the name of that song?

Well, anyway, it is now Lara's song.

Each dog has his/her own song in which I can sing his/her name as often as possible. I sing it when I am alone with that dog, so it is something special between the two of us. It does not take long for a rescue dog to respond with a relaxed, blinky-eyed face to the first few notes. Pavlov's research applied to special loving attention instead of food.

Little Miss Lara has not been pictured as much on the blog since she came to live with us.  She, like the other seven rescues from that dreadful puppy mill, had to grow out her stained hair... stained with years of neglect and disgusting living conditions.

Then she developed a skin issue that caused the hair on 2/3 of her sweet little body to fall out. The hair is back, and the hair around her face has grown out long enough to look like a true Westie.  Lara knows she is looking F-I-N-E.

Tuesday I bathed her and gave her a trim, but before we could snap some pictures of Mama's favorite lap buddy, she had reverted to her true terrier breeding, digging after a mole in the back yard.

We don't have any neighbors way out here in the country, so there are no manicured lawns next to us for comparison. Thus, dogs digging after moles do not bother us. They are doing what comes naturally.

So, back to the attempt to photograph Lara. Wednesday, I tried again. Sparkling, snowy white Lara and I headed to the front yard with camera in the other hand.  I was determined to get some pictures of Lara in the daffodils.

HA! Those Westie ears picked up the sound of a mole digging deep in the earth, and away she went, digging with all the fury stored from the years she lived on a concrete slab in the puppy mill.

Sunny came over one time to offer a hand at catching that mole, and Lara told her quickly that it was HER mole. SHE heard if first, and SHE was going to dig it out all by herself! (read that with an indignant, spoiled child tone, "it's MINE"!)

That's Lara in the first picture, with red sandy soil covering her mouth and face and chest and feet. So much for that bath. At least she is living large on the farm. *LOL*

Elvis is in the second picture, tip-toeing through the daffodils. He has been washed, but I have not finished trimming that squirming little boy. He is such a snuggling sweetie.

Aaaah, 5:51 a.m. The birds have just begun their morning improv. Such exquisite music!

I'm going to bring this to a stopping point and close the computer before hubby wakes up and starts talking about where he can find ink cartridges at the best price! I'm too content and filled with spring fever to think about ink cartridges and timber cutters and prescription drug prices.  *giggle*

Time to roll back over (like Sunny) and catch a little more delicious sleep!

Oh, and the fate of the mole? He escaped unseen and untouched to give a good dig/chase another day!

Comments

[Becky Hopkins]

loved your site. Wish the disappearing Delta picture was closer, would have liked to have copied and framed. So glad the quilts were recued. I am a quilter myself and have wondered what will happen to mine someday.
Thanks for the visit to your site, enjoyed every word and every frame.

[Beth]

Ahhhh! the good dog life! They look like they are having so much fun! Did you get my Rally's picture? the rascally MUTT! HA!