Daily Vintage - Easter Postcard, Baby Chick in a Bird Nest

Today's Daily Vintage is a lovely vintage Easter postcard.  It features a baby chick in a bird's nest.  The card is trimmed with glitter, which is now dark (a sign of older glitter - early 1900's).  This is one of those cards that just looks like Spring to me.

Found at Birdhouse Books:  vintage Easter postcard, chick in nest.

Guest Post and Giveaway: Tillie's Tale by by Mindy Mymudes

BLURB:

Who is the mysterious ghosty haunting puppygirl Tillie? And why? George, the magical basset hound familiar is on the trail.

It’s not often a basset hound puppy is haunted by an unhappy ghost, but George’s packmate, Tillie, manages to attract one. George and Tillie need to find out how to help the ghost before she turns into a poultry-ghost.

GUEST POST by Mindy Mymudes:  My favorite dog breeds

Mindy:  I think you’re trying to get me in trouble. I live with a pack of English Springer Spaniels and my muse is a very egotistical Basset Hound. I’m going to make them all very unhappy if I have to choose any other breeds besides them or their friends. Unhappy dogs fart in my face, bring me live squirrels, rabbit, and birds, and steal my food. Oh, wait, they do that anyway.

I love all dog breeds, even though Springers are the breed I’ve lived with most of my life. They are hunting dogs, bred to stay close to hunters and spring (flush) birds out of the grass and retrieve it back to their handler. That means I have Velcro dogs that like to sleep on my head. Or legs. Or chest. Preferable across my head and they like to roll each other off so they can take the spot. Grandmother Chrystal, mother Cera, and Freaky Beak, her daughter, take up more space on the bed than my 6’4 husband. They are very easy to train, very busy (read, they like to play outside and get lots of exercise), and usually settle on the couch or on my foot in the house when I’m doing something that doesn’t include me. Most of the Springers I know have a wicked sense of humor. Or at least think they do.

I’ve been an instructor at obedience clubs for years as well as an AKC judge, and have found a lot of breeds I adore. I take care of Whippets for friends during the day. A smaller relative of the greyhound, they are more catlike than my spaniels. Very active and smart, they aren’t as close working as the Springers, and Whippets aren’t really into perfect competition obedience, either. A lot of fun, and they’re a lot easier to groom.

Papillons are a small breed of spaniel that I’ve always admired. Very sweet and smart, my biggest worry is stomping on them. I always thought they’d make a great retirement dog, as long as I carried it.

The longhaired miniature Dachshund are just plain cute. Short legs, happy faces, they make me smile. I love to judge them in rally obedience.

Border Collies are far smarter than I will ever be. While I think they are beautiful and admire them in competition, it’s likely I’d drive one crazy.

Then there are…

George:  Do you really think this is all about you? I hired you for your hands, not for your mouth. You’re my secret-ary, not my translator. There is simply one breed that is everyone’s favorite, the Basset Hound. We’re perfect, soft, cuddly and smart, with great hair. Well, almost every Basset has great hair. I love my snuggums, but she has had a bad hair day since we met.

Mindy: That’s because Phoebe isn’t a Basset Hound. She’s a PBGV.

George:  She’s alphabet soup? You really are going crazy. I should put an ad in the paper for a new employee.

Mindy: Not alphabet soup, stop thinking with your stomach. She’s a PBGV, a Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen, pronounced "Puh-TEE Bah-SAY Gree-FOHN VON-day-uhn.

George:   That’s just a fancy way to say Basset. I know my sweetlips loves me to bark in French to her. Oh, my sweet Bah-SAY. Shame she can’t do something with her coat.

              

Mindy:<Facepalm>

EXCERPT

         
“Wrrrrttttle.”

Tillie’s tail is spinning in circles. She’s staring at a filmy thing sitting on the steps of an old, rough-brick building. I know it’s really a large Peeps’ den, but since it’s bad to be in the dog house, I assume it’s bad to be in a house. Why don’t they just call it a den if houses are so bad? From the smelltaste of cooking, Peeps, dust, skin, and the other stuff Peeps like, there are many small dens inside. Tillie “wrrrrrtttles” again and adds a soft “wuff.” Her front goes down into a play bow. The thing she’s trying to get to play is shimmery and clear, with thick and thin spots swimming on the surface.

“Snoof. Snuffle” I lick my lips. There’s a disturbing smelltaste of dustmoldlightningozone.

Oh mousefleas.

It’s a ghosty.

GIVEAWAY

Mindy will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway