It appears that the dreaded Covid-19 virus may indeed be zoonotic; in other words, transmittable between Maltese dogs (like Max) and humans (like me).
Gasp.
Never one to sit idly and watch the world pass by whilst quaffing dark beer…wait a minute…that’s my modus operandi for everything. Let’s try again.

Dog Quarantine Facility (DQF), Rancho Cucaracha, CA.
To ensure the continuation of my dark beer quaffing, I built quarantine facilities for Maxwell in the unlikely event the Malt becomes infected.
Nah, nah, nah.
I built a series of wood and wire cages in one corner of the garden to protect our Asian vegetable crop against the depredations of birds, squirrels, rats, possums and just about every other creature on the planet.
Last year we lost fully 30% of our crop to critters. Not this time, bunky.

The tall cage is for the giant tomato plant we intend to grow.
Of course, I couldn’t resist placing His Royal Fluffiness in a cage. I tried to do it to the Alpha Japanese Female but she fought me off.
Max didn’t much care. He was falling asleep in the warm sun.

He was the perfect prisoner. All he wanted was to nap.
As for me, I now know why no one, ever, has woken in the morning and said, “Man oh man, I really want to work with chicken wire today.”
Categories: The Dog From Rancho Cucaracha
Testing comments…
Hey everybody…if you posted any comments, they didn’t get through, so please re-send. I thought you just didn’t like Max any more but it was a glitch on my end. Sorry!
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I hears ya’!
We didn’t comment ’cause we couldn’t!
We still love Max!!!
HUGS!!! PATS!!! RUBS!!! 🙂
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It’s like those old movies where the hero/heroine are in the jungle or the desert and all the noise stops. “It’s quiet out there…too quiet.” I knew something was afoot. Or a hand. Or a nose. :snorf:
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Yes! 😀
Those cages for growing veggies are so cool! Great job! 🙂
Max looks like, “Okay.” (Big sigh) “Now what the heck is Dad up to.” 😛
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I’ve started calling him “my little eggplant.”
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HA! Well I think Max is a “sweetpea”! 🙂
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Sweet-Pee maybe.
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We love you Max! Arf, arf. I was thinking that you should put a lock on your side of the garden gate so you can stay safely inside. Mom and Dad won’t be able to reach you to dress you in silly costumes.
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Max was having fevered dreams. Oh wait, that wasn’t Max. Who was that with the strange fever dreams? Hmmm…can’t seem to recall at the moment. Some lady over at Fighty Log, Tighty Jog, Mighty Frog…something like that.
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Those are beautifully crafted! I can’t even imagine dealing with all that chicken wire. Max seems to have been a good overseer though. It’s a good thing you had his expertise to keep you at your task. 😊
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Finally, someone of discerning taste who appreciates a fine chicken wire craft. Max is a stern taskmaster and puts the “super” in supervisor.
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Just thinking about unrolling it sounds frustrating to me. Well, Max’s sternness at keeping you at your work paid off. They’re quite brilliant! I look forward to hearing how the veggie crop is protected from invaders!
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Thing is, the naked edges poke your skin and make you feel like the Human Pincushion. No tears but plenty of blood and sweat.
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OW!!
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Indeed!
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Critters eating Asian veggies? Must be Siamese cats and Shi Tsus.
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There would be a certain karmic balance if the Asian veggies were eaten by Asian critters but nooooo…just plain old California rats (not politicians, the 4-legged variety), squirrels, and…wait for it….BIRDS!!!!
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Impressive structure. Good luck keeping the neighborhood critters out of the veggie garden. Max provides impressive scale to impressive building skills. The AJF should be grateful you are the Frank Lloyd Wright of garden structures.
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I also re-did the irrigation system and set it up on its own wi-fi accessible valves system. (This is getting ridiculous.) I think we’re changing strategy on the Asian veggies this year. Heretofore we went for a wide variety but with the cages I think we have focus on more efficient use of space and will probably limit the crops to Japanese eggplant, kabu (a turnip), daikon radish, a Japanese bell pepper, Japanese cucumber and a gigantic tomato plant. Outside of the cages we’ll do parsley, miscellaneous herbs, bunching onions, nira (a chive), and some Thai peppers that will fry the tongues off any rats brave enough to sample them.
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Holy cow…next you’ll be telling me you’re hand digging a pond for laps or water lilies.
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Retirement. 😆
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I thought retirement was supposed to revolve around quaffing beers or spirits, not physical labor. 🔨🥃🍺
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“supposed to” …key words.
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Clearly.
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If a robin redbreast in a cage puts all heaven in a rage putting Max there probably makes you responsible for Armageddon.
A great job with that chcken wire…I swear the stuff attacks you as you roll it out.
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Well, I don’t mind telling you that armageddon a little tired of some of the comments on this blog. :snorf:
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Does max have a Four Horsemen outfit?
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Hmmm…Conquest, War, Famine, and Death. Nope, not the Malt. Given his gentle nature Max would likely be one of the Three Mouseketeers at a Disney Park.
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I hope your veggies are safe! One thing I will say about Max is that he never looks high-strung.
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He’s a scaredy-cat type of dog but not nervous. As long as he’s with us he’ll do anything calmly and quietly but take him to the groomers or vet or anywhere outside his circle and he starts shaking like a tree in a windstorm. Or a cat…never mind…you got the idea.
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That’s how I prefer my cats, not stirred.
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Max is so cute! Love your garden fence.
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HI Julia! Max says thanks. He and I both wonder if the veggie cages will stop the evil squirrels from raiding the garden this summer. I noticed those rodents were running on the fence and eyeing the cages suspiciously. We will report back!
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I look forward to you report! Squirrels are a pain in the garden.
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Looks like you have been busy, well done. I bet Max was a great foreman to have around 😁
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