If I ignore Boz, he makes his case up close and personal.
Make no mistake, in this household I serve at the pleasure of my two English Bulldogs Boz and Gracie. As pawed partners in crime, they couldn’t be more different. Gracie, the Greta Garbo of bulldogs, ‘vants’ to be alone and is happiest when splayed on a sofa or soaking up sun on one of three porches. My role in her daily life is less top dog and more personal chef, cosmetologist, masseur and Boy Friday. I cook and provide for her delicate palate, keep her ears, eyes and muzzle clean, perform needed butt rubs and neck massages, and fetch her favorite chew toys at the first hint of a whimper..
How could you deny this face a treat?
Boz, on the other hand, rules the roost in a different way; he is master and commander of this vessel called Tall Clover Farm. For example, take a look at our morning ritual. (Who’s the dog and who’s the master?) I get up early, go downstairs, make coffee, pour a cup, sit down, log on to my computer, and wait for the thud–the thud of a 65-pound bulldog trading in the comfort and heights of a heavenly bed upstairs for the company and indulgence of his subordinate downstairs.
Bulldog beauty: Gracie and Boz channel their inner Vermeer
As I sit in the kitchen nook, I can feel the reverberation of Boz’s approach in the wood frame bones of this old house. Gambol, shake, gambol, rattle. His first job is to circle the kitchen and vacuum up any morsels left behind before hitting the water dish on his way to the nook. Next, he sidles up to the table and gently paws at my leg, as if I am unaware of his arrival. Each morning we revel in our heartfelt reunion, a convivial Q&A on how well we slept and if we’re hungry. The answer to the latter question is always the same for both of us: yes!
Once Boz devours his crunchy kibble, he heads back to the table’s edge and resumes the paw-Tom-until-he-responds move. I stop what I’m doing, and reward his persistence (and my weakness) with an apple slice, his favorite healthy after-breakfast treat. Three chomps and it’s gone.
Pausing under the table to formulate his next treat extortion tactic, Boz then heads outside to do his business, well, just some of his business. From the window, I can see my little man trundling about the flower beds searching out the rarest and most delicate of plants to lift his leg on.
But does Boz trot back inside through the same dog door? Uh, no that would be too convenient (for me). Instead, the Bozman detours to the front yard, laps up water from the fountain basin and deposits himself at the front door and barks until I get up and let him in. When I scold him for not using his dog door, I find myself at the receiving end of a look that seems to be the bulldog equivalent of “whatever” or “did you say something?”
Back inside, Boz is back by my side under the table, looking up, beaming like a potty-trained toddler awaiting some praise. He rakes his paw against my pant leg, whimpers, and persists until he gets his good-dog-you-went-outside-to-go treat. Another slice of apple is dispensed into the awaiting jaws of Boz.
“Uh Tom, this hammock isn’t going to swing itself. And did you find our fan yet?”
Back at my computer, Boz retreats outdoors once again. This time I can see he’s finishing up his business down by the barn. Back through the dog (this time), and back to Tom for round two of treats-because-I-poo, Boz is not quite ready to retire to his bed. He trundles back over to the glass front door and awaits his first deer sighting of the day. When Bambi appears, Boz barks until I open the door, and he tears out after the interloper. Deer now gone, Boz circles the lawn’s perimeter in triumph and returns for a victory rubdown and apple slice.
Now content to rest, Boz circles his bed like a lumbering top and settles in for a good snore and a break from eating. Back to the computer before my morning chores, I gather my thoughts. Then, like clockwork, a thud, a new gentler 55-pound thud rocks the ceiling. Gracie is up and heading downstairs.
And so the new cycle begins. Time to slice more apples.
Boz protects Tall Clover from an abominably-built snowman.
How funny! He was totally attacking it! Ha! Thanks for sharing.
Yep, Boz has a thing for inanimate towering objects. I now know I’m safe from a yeti attack. 😉
I always look forward to hearing your tales of Boz and Gracie! They are quite a pair.
Thanks Amy, indeed, Boz and Gracie are their own reality show around here.
Your dogs need to star in their own reality show!
Funny I just wrote that in the last reply — great minds Perri, great minds.
Hello Tom,
I have followed your blog for quite a while and decided it was time to tell you how much I enjoy your farming adventures. You are a gifted writer and I am sure you make a lot of people laugh with your stories of Boz and Gracie, how naps can save one from a remodel project and the value of any kind of pie. I have two friends who moved many miles east of you-north of Colville, Washington. Merry has a blog called The Dancing Tomato and your blog shows up there. Like you, they took a big leap and bought an old farmhouse. And like you, their to do list is constantly evolving.
Thanks for sharing your Tall Clover Farm life. I am looking forward to seeing what you grow in that huge greenhouse though I think you’ll need to take periodic rests in that lovely hammock if Boz and Gracie will share it with you.
Happy spring….
Nancy
Good Day Nancy, your comment makes this reader all warm and fuzzy inside. Thank you so much. Your kind words are so appreciated and I’m glad that life around here is fodder for a laugh or two. I’ll check out your friend’s blog and I look forward to sharing more with you about the hoophouse and farm. Cover layer two goes on next week and the ends should be built (by me) by then. The real challenge comes in amending and improving the soil. Take care and thanks for spending time with us down on the farm. Tom, (and Boz and Gracie)
Tom – your Boz and Gracie are too funny! Sounds like they have you very well trained…almost as much as our cats have us trained!
Ina it’s funny how that works…one day you wake up and realize you’ve been bamboozled by the pets.
I just love the picture and caption, “Gracie and Boz channel their inner Vermeer.” Priceless! Another excellent post, as usual, Tom!
Thanks Stephanie, that was a very artful moment indeed. 😉
This post on Boz and Gracie made my day. It sounds exactly like my life with a (much) smaller French Bulldog who thinks my soul purpose in life is to be at her beck and call. Your photos of Boz are priceless!
You go Boz! Yeah!!
A lovely post, Tom!
[…] Boz the Bulldog: Master and Commander – Tall Clover Farm tallcloverfarm.com/8823/boz-the-bulldog-master-and-commander […]
[…] four-legged friend, Boz. While Gracie and I are faring well, we still sorely miss the farm’s Master and Commander. So please accept these flowers from my gardens, fields and heart as a small token of my […]
[…] pooches–all rescues, all adorable, all loving, and always underfoot. From Maggie to Gracie to Boz and now Buddy, bulldogs have always held a place in my heart; filling it regularly with laughter, […]