Really? A thief here at the ranch?

The 4th of July weekend is here and it is the official start of summer in Northern Michigan. I will be participating in the Dancing Hippo Arts & Craft show this Saturday & Sunday. I have been busy with my dye pots, spinning and knitting in order to have some new items ready for the show. Plan on coming out to visit me and see what I have been busy creating.

Yesterday, I washed a hat that I had just finished knitting and I placed it out on the deck to dry in the sun. 

Last evening after coming into the house from doing the chores, I went out to the deck to bring in the hat and it had disappeared.  I had been home all day, so I know no one was here to take it. It was not a windy day, so it should not had blown away.  I looked over the deck railing to check to see if it somehow ended up on the ground.  No, it was not there.  Then I remembered that Meadow (one of our maremma guard dogs) had been here earlier in the day visiting me on the deck, while I was spinning some yarn.  I came into the house, before she had left as she was napping on the deck.  Well, that explains the mystery as Meadow likes to steal things from the deck and hide them in the woods.  I'm now in a panic thinking I'll never find it and all of my hard work is gone. I grabbed a flashlight (as it is now dusk) and headed down to the barnyard, calling Meadow's name.  When I got there, she was laying outside of the hay building.  When she saw me, she immediately got up and ran into the building and out she came with my hat in her mouth! I said, "Drop it Meadow"!  She had this sheepish look on her face, then she dropped the hat. She then laid down next to the hat and put her chin on her front paws as if to say, don't be mad at me.  (I can't be mad at her, as she has such a cute look on her face).  I picked up the hat and examined it. There were no rips or snags, just some dog slobber and a few pieces of hay to be picked off.  I looked down at Meadow and scolded her by saying "bad dog, you are a thief".  She just laid there looking up at me, with her cute little smirk and wagged her tail.  I then just smiled at her and said,  "you are a very funny dog"!  Well, she then got up and walked me and the hat back to the house.  The hat has now been rewashed and it is drying in my basement where Meadow cannot steal it.

Meadow the thief