Hi there, Ruby here.
I’m not sure that the tag line is a fair representation of my behaviour of late. Apart from a few unfortunate incidents, I have been trying to turn over a new leaf and as a result I have remained remarkably well-behaved. Those of you who are conversant with my more colourful antics will think unkind thoughts like ‘false sense of security’, ‘what is she conjuring up next?’ Stay tuned, I’m sure I’ve got much more mischief in me.
The sad truth is that I am becoming much more trust-worthy. I don’t like getting into trouble. Take for instance the mistakenly open gate. Time was when I took great advantage to explore the neighbourhood, necessitating M&D madly chasing me up hill and down dale. The more they pursued, the further I would range. The last couple of times the gate was left open I just wandered around the property – admittedly out of reach until the promised, luring biscuit was produced for a triumphant return into the back garden. There are so many interesting and alluring smells out there.
One of my favourite capers was to steal cherished items and dive under the bed with them where I would proceed to destroy them – inner soles of slippers, watch straps, underwear. I don’t pretend that I don’t still do this, but the destructive urge seems to have deserted me. My one guilty pleasure that I refuse to give up is shredding toilet rolls under said bed – that gets a suitable response.
Since the overnighter at the emergency vet’s, M&D have been much more careful to put away small items of clothing, although I did manage a hankie last week. They weren’t happy about the result. I reckon that an open fridge door is all the incentive a dog needs to help oneself. Such an opportunity presented itself a while ago and I managed to score half a peach galette from the back fridge and took it up the yard – plate and all. A bottle of canola oil was liberated from the kitchen bench top when M&D were swimming last week. The top proved to be problematic but I finally managed to have a drink. Not really worth the effort, taste-wise.
I wonder if being treated like a grown-up has a bearing on this change of heart. When Aunty A and Rylee visited us a couple of weeks ago we had real ‘girl’ time together. We went on outings such as walk-on passengers on the ferry and lunches at local Kettering cafes. You’ve only got to see the accompanying photo to understand how excited and pleased I was.
The other thing that needs airing is my interactions with the local wildlife. There have been some note-worthy episodes – some of which I have been quite proud, others which seem to have been a source of some mirth for M&D.
My efforts to protect my parents from the constant threat of pesky quolls resulted in me chasing one from the deck into the back verandah area a couple of evenings ago. He/she was a bit too quick for me, which is probably just as well because I have heard they can be rather feisty when cornered. I have no desire for a shredded nose like my friend Mercx. M&D were quite impressed at first, but I’m afraid I couldn’t let it go and woke them several times during the night to check on its whereabouts. This, they did not appreciate. I felt due diligence on the matter was required.
Echidnas have also had a strange fascination since one lives under our house and often shows itself outside the back gate (and therefore, out of my inquisitive reach). I bark ferociously and get precious little response, it knowing that I can’t do much about its presence. So, I was very surprised to come across one in the dunes behind the beach on our daily walk. I investigated in a very agitated manner and proudly announced its existence to M&D. Why didn’t they tell me that my very sensitive nose would not welcome the attention of the echidna’s sharp spikes? I beat a very hasty retreat. Echidna 1, Ruby 0.
I did not find the humour experienced by M&D at all warranted by the next contact with wildlife. We occasionally have birds flying into our house. If they miss the windows and find an open door they panic when they can’t fly out again. That’s nothing to the panic I feel. Am I supposed to deal with this ‘threat’? I’ll certainly try to help by catching it and taking it outside. The last time this happened I managed to catch a very frightened little pardalote in my mouth. It chirped and fluttered in there and I didn’t know what to do. I looked to M&D for help and all I got was laughter and hilarity! It would seem that I appeared to be the one chirping manically whilst displaying total bewilderment. Once they stopped having fun at my expense, Dad opened my mouth and out flew the pardalote, seemingly unfazed and thankfully, unhurt. Sometimes my efforts to keep M&D safe go unheeded and unappreciated. I might just keep to barking at the wallabies from the front deck – apart from being yelled at, I can’t get myself in too much trouble, See, yet another sign of my more mature persona.
Until next time. See ya, Ruby.
An Island Off an Island 