The alarm goes off at O'dark thirty - (actually 6AM) and nobody moves. Not even the resident four can be persuaded that it's time to get up and go outside. I get up, realizing that I never put the top half of the barricade back up last night, and I fully expect to see beagle faces at the bedroom door when I open it. And, I find...no one! I tiptoe down the hallway, followed by my brave beagle boys, Buddy and Potsy - the girls are still in their crate. That is, until Buddy starts sniffing at the barricade. He is absolutely intrigued by these puppies. I pick up Julep to introduce them, and Buddy backs away. I turn to Potsy, and he backs away faster. Then all the girls are up and jumping. I see no big messes that need to be cleaned up, so I go over the barricade, wearing shoes this time, and I clean up where I need to. Then I make coffee, and feed the girls. To accomplish this task without the fighting I put Julep in one crate, Georgia in another, Tara goes in one corner, and Dixie goes in another. Tara keeps leaving her bowl to bark at Julep, who calmly eats. I think it bothers Tara that she's being ignored. I gently remind her where her bowl is, and they finish eating, while I play breakfast monitor. I check them over to see how their scrapes are, and I am amazed that they are so snuggly with each other. I have much to learn about female puppies. I take four kongs, fill them with kibble, and set them down. Then I'm over the barricade, and I let the resident four outside. They come back in, and I feed them. While they are eating, I jump in the shower, and get ready for work. I come back into the kitchen, and Buddy is sniffing at Georgia through the barricade. Daisy has had her fill of puppies, and won't go anywhere NEAR them. I put the top part of the barricade back, turn on the radio, turn off the light, and I'm off to the Metro. It's 8AM, and I'm ready for a nap!