Buoy and Girls!..Or the Beached Whale!!!!

Sometimes it doesn't have to be an expensive toy to be amusing. A discarded find, a scavenged item or even a reclaimed, repurposed piece of trash can provide hours of fun! Such is the case with the two dogs that reside here on the Bayou. Bayou dogs obviously have a greater sense of adventure or at least are provided with greater opportunities to explore those adventures! Both of these girls have found a new toy!

It all started with Mark going fishing out on the Bay. Sad to say, he did not catch any fish due to the recent floods but at least he found a most interesting play toy for the dogs. When he came in from the Bay, he towed in a large abandoned buoy. It was about five feet long and a good two feet in diameter! I am not sure just where or how this buoy was used prior its current designated purpose, but now it is the toy of choice for both dogs! At first, Sunny was a bit dubious of something that size probably seems as large as a beached whale to her small self but Ezzy, on the other hand, knew just how to handle this monster! She dove at the large, white whale feet first! Her front paws smacked the buoy and sent it reeling down the hill. Mark stood and stared in disbelief..he had just toted this thing up from the marsh and was not overly thrilled at the prospect of the haul back up the hill. Once the buoy was heaved back in place, we made the dogs sit still while we attached a long rope to one end and fastened this off to an oak tree at the top of the hill. Now the dogs could attack at will and the monster (buoy) would be easily retrieved! Smart thinking by the human counterparts to these fine friends! While Sunny seemed content to gnaw on the knotted rope, Ms. Ez soon learned that she could roll the buoy by shoving it with her nose. She would poke her snout under the buoy and shove. The large white mass would roll with great ease. This kept her occupied for hours! I love this thing! Or I did until I noticed a red smear down the side of the white whale! Blood! Oh, no!

Yep, Ms. Ez's poor nose was rubbed raw! She had no intention of stopping, though! The excitement that had built while overcoming this beached whale, was far outweighing the pain of a sore nose! I tried to make her stop! Nope! Wasn't happening! By this time, Sunny had the knot totally chewed off of the buoy so Michael heaved the heavy buoy up on the wicker settee. Surely Ms. Ez would not attack it any longer if it was out of reach! Wrong again...she bounced at the buoy! This was her toy and she was not having anyone take it from her! No matter what we did, she weaseled her way to the buoy to attack it again and again! No beached, white whale would inhabit her yard! We actually had to bring her indoors before she would leave it be! I am happy to say, her nose is healing well. A few more days and we will let her have another play date with the buoy! One thing is for sure...if ever a white whale beaches itself on the Bayou, I know I will be well protected! Ezzy...the whale slayer!....or buoy killer!