The word for Sunday Scribblings this week is wicked. My favorite use of this word is the slang term in the British Isles for "excellent" or "great." My dogs are wicked watchers.I can’t say Shelby and Annie are guard dogs, but they do love to watch. Sometimes we can’t even tell what they are watching. A perfect example of the wicked watchers happened yesterday. They sat at the gate and after about a minute of intense watching, we figured out two of our cats were below in the bushes. They wanted the cats to come and play.
Last night Shelby was watching a tree. She stared so intently at the tree we figured a stray cat was up there. No, she was just watching a pretty little bird. That is all she did was watch and observe. It was wicked. 
Their favorite watching place is on our bed. The window above our bed has the best view of the gate. If JEJ is gone they will watch out the window for hours. They take the job seriously. They will rest their chins on the window sill and just stare. If he is arriving in a vehicle they usually hear that long before they observe him coming down the driveway. This is when I hear the wicked bark. It is an excellent bark that announced that someone is home. I have been told they do the same routine when I am gone.When we travel they once again are wicked watchers. Shelby, being the herding dog she is, always notices animals. Of course it helps that JEJ says, “Shelby, look see. Cows, horses, sheep (fill in animal)”. Annie watches for the destination. She understands when we are close to a place that they will get out for a run. She is definitely a wicked watcher when we arrive at my mom’s house. How do they always know where we are? We may give it away when JEJ says, “ Look! Are we at Mary’s house?” I know voice inflection helps with the wicked watching.
There greatest feat as wicked watchers was keeping four eyes on their dog food. The food used to be in the patio. For awhile every morning they would run out and sniff around and we would discover food was missing. We figured it was a raccoon.
One evening the dogs got excited and wanted out. We figured this was our time to check on the raccoon. We should have figured a bit more before we let them out. The food stealer this time was a skunk. The wicked watchdogs were stopped in their tracks. The wicked skunk did what skunks love to do. 
He left a wicked stench that stayed on the dogs' fur when came into the house.I believe at that moment is when I, Inland Empire Girl used my wicked tongue. Then I mixed up a wicked brew of skunk odor remover.
If you want to see other wicked reponses go to Sunday Scribblings here.
Very early this morning I awoke to the smell and sound of rain. It was not just a drizzle. Relief. Later when the light was peeking through the clouds I could see white fog lifting from the lake. Relief again! It was so pleasant to sit outside this morning in the cool rain.
I walked around the house to see if the rain had actually helped. There had been enough that plants were drooping over from the moisture. Not too many roses are still blooming , but I found a blossom that had gotten a nice morning shower.
The trumpet vines were turned toward the light in such a way that they acted as rain catchers. Birds were using these flowers as little drinking fountains.
Later in the day it cleared, but still stayed cool. I was able to pick flowers that would last longer that a day in a vase because there had been some moisture. Although the hot weather causes hardship, it also helps flowers like the sun-loving zinnias burst into bloom. I was able to gather enough today for a bouquet. 
Today is my niece Z2's thirteenth birthday. The day she was born was as hot as today . I was staying in Kellogg and Dad and I suffered through the heat while Mom went to help out in Meridian, Idaho where my sister's family lived. My niece has many talents. Above she is spending some quality time with Grandma before a family picture. She has always had a way with fashion and been the one that loved frilly clothes and up-dos... right?
She has always been an enthusiastic child, especially when she learned to say "cheese" before a picture was taken. Here my nieces were preparing to celebrate at my wedding reception.
Z2 loves the finer things in life. She is a talented musician, vocalist, actress,and dancer. Here, at an early age she took dance lessons from her Uncle Raymond Pert at my house. 
The outdoors is a place Z2 loves to embrace. A few years ago we went camping and she hiked, swam. and did glamour shots on a log at Sherman Creek. You can't keep her out of that camera lens. 
Z2 is also very helpful. When her father needed the back-end of a cow in the current melodrama he is acting in and directing- she came to his aid. While he is milking the cow, she had a carefully choreographed part with her leg . Have you ever seen a lovelier cow leg and black hoof?
