What started out as a fun idea to get me up early has turned into a beloved daily ritual – work for dogs – by Maria and the dogs themselves.

They think it is the most fun in the world to thunder up the stairs, burst into the bedroom, and leap in top of me, showering me with kisses. They are delighted with this new task.

The ritual is evolving. The mission isn’t to chase me out of bed now, but more like making them into an alarm clocking and permitting them to wake me up. I’ll get Maria for this.

There is no reason to ever have an alarm clock when Zinnia leaps up onto the bed and onto my stomach. I am up, no questions asked. Usually, I hear them coming and leap out of bed.

If I am not up, watch out.

Thanks for all of your messages urging me to keep taking photos of the squad. No encouragement is needed.

This morning, I’ve ordered 200 postcards of the squad. I’ll use some as a thank you to people who donate to the Army of Good (P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.) and Maria wants to sell some as postcard packs on her Etsy page.

Like Rose and her Imaginary Squirrel and Bud with his wily chipmunk, these images have joined the Bedam Farm archives.