Birthday

I have been out Christmas shopping 4 times already!  This has to be a new record for me this early in the season!  And I have only bought two things for myself so far, and the most amazing thing is that I have not been in a bookstore yet! 
That will probably change soon.

Gus had his first birthday last week.  We have survived his first year!  All in all it hasn't been too bad.  Although, our yard looks more like a landfill than a lawn.  Living in the country on a farm, has made it possible for him to find all kinds of dead things in various stages of decomposition to add to his collection.  He has his dehydrated squirrel he likes to fling into the air, his hog leg to chew on, a coon carcass, and various bones that he digs up from the compost pile or the "graveyard".  Yesterday he found a rat and deposited it in the yard.
There are the towels (bedding from when he was a puppy) and the leather swatch (from Klopfensteins) that he wrestles, the frisbee with the rim chewed off, and his broom with which he tears around the yard dragging behind him, and then stops and chews off the bristles.  There are tennis balls that are used to play keep-a-way because that's more exciting than fetch.  The plastic watering can that he confiscated from the garden is also a favorite chew toy/ keep-a-way toy.
He chews on water and pop bottles, a chunk of firewood, large branches that fall out of the trees, ears of corn and corncobs, empty feed sacks, rope, and packages that the UPS man leaves sitting out.  When he goes for walks with the old farmer's lovely wife, he helps clean up the trash (beer cans , wine bottles, fast food containers) from the ditches and brings it all proudly back to our yard.
Fortunately he hasn't chewed on any of our boots or shoes, and he hasn't destroyed anything of value. 
He chases cats only if they run away from him, otherwise he rambunctiously plays with them (totally annoying them).
We think the neighbors are even learning to like him.
He does look a little like a coyote at times, so we hope he doesn't stray too far from home.
And he has discovered that he can bark. 

And at evening let them return; and let them make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city.
Psalm 59:14