For the Joy of Winter

I apologize for the lapse in material. The holidays had us very busy, with running to one side of the family to the other to friends. There was quite a bit of car time for us driving around and sometimes, hanging in the car while Mom and Dad went in places. Ayla has some definite issues about being left behind. I tell her, "It's cool, you should use this time to rest before they take us running around some more. They will be back." And she's all, "That's all very nice for you, but I'm going to chew this car apart to figure out how to open the doors and go find them." So Mom had to spray nasty bitter stuff in the car and tire out the puppy more than usual.

Needless to say, all of this activity has kept me away from the computer. My laptop doesn't work in the car, but I've been thinking about all my loyal fans desperately awaiting an update.

We went out to Cape Cod - the top three pictures are from a beach near Hyannis. We also did some local hikes in Freetown and Brandt Island. We had an awesome time with our cousin Kyra who is a beautiful black lab. If I could actually catch her, I would tell her how much I dig her. You all know how I am with the ladies. Kyra really digs me too, she just plays it cool and she can't help running.

I'm sorry that these appear sometimes as a solid block of text. Blogspot has an issue with that and I hate doing it manually in the html. My paws are so incredibly awkward with the keyboard anyway.

We should be back on schedule with the posts from here on. Mom's particularly into hiking in the winter so we'll have more adventures coming in 2008. Unless of course, Ayla succeeds at her attempts to thwart me by chewing through the rest of the laptop powercord (how can that taste good?).

The Snow, The Kid, The Couch

We had our first big snow this week. The Kid went diving right into it, prancing and playing, getting full of the stuff. I politely told her, "Little one, snow is best once it is patted down into a nice cold, flat bed. Do not get your coat full of snow chunks. Do not bury your face in it. Above all, do not act like you like it."

She just gave me a look to say, "Yeah, whatever, Old Man." And took off in a frolicky flounce of fluff.

It was a little challenging to keep an eye on her and keep my paws from getting unnecessarily snowed. Mom has said things to me like, "Don't you know you're a sheepdog, with origins in the Alps? Working with sheep in big snow?" And I'm all, "Don't you know your foreparents slept outside too?" Ha.

The truth is, I suppose I could walk in deep snow if I had to, but I don't have to. There is a perfectly good couch with my name on it when the weather is less than desirable (read: desirable=cold, dry, sunny).

I am glad Ayla enjoyed herself. It made for nice sleepy snuggling on the couch with Dad afterwards. And I have to admit, Ayla is really cute when she's sleepy. There's nothing like a tired puppy.

The Kid

It's been a challenge to post this week, Mom has been taking us to work everyday, and when I am home, I have to keep an eye on The Kid. Ayla is a very sweet little sister, but she can be all puppy all the time. My work is never done. On the one hand, this new responsibility gives me a strong sense of fulfillment. On the other hand, I'm so tired. I'd just like to sit back with some turkey and some sweet time with Big Red. But as the picture above demonstrates, she likes to have all the toys.

This week, Mom took us to Goddard Park in RI which is one of my favorite spots. It's a mixture of woods and beach. It was 17 degrees of perfect dry cold. We were running free. The Kid and I were sniffing and running together. There was no one there in that weather, until there was one other winter lover out with a few dogs. Mom yelled, "Hold up." And I did. Ayla did too for a second but then ran ahead to check out the other dog. So I looked at Mom to say, "Sorry, I've got to do my duty." And I ran after her.

Now, normally, I'm a dog's dog. Big, small, stinky, love 'em all. But this Boxer wanted to sniff The Kid and something came over me. I didn't want that dog to be anywhere near her. I put myself between the dog and Ayla and gave a low growl. The other dog went scampering away and I almost felt badly. He seemed pretty cool but I just can't have anyone touch my sister just yet. She's so young and vulnerable. And, frankly, she's mine.

Mom leashed us after that and we saw not another soul out that day. The Kid is pretty bad on the leash and I just have to laugh watching Mom go through all that all over again. I just don't think Mom realizes that she takes us to lots of interesting places and the excitement is overwhelming. The leash is a total drag.

In an alternate universe, dogs drive cars very slowly so as not to miss a squirrel sighting. The cars are all convertibles. Mom and Dad could rest in the backseat. There would be no highways, just beautiful woods and open spaces with the occasional front porched houses. There are no leashes, just dogs running and frolicking free together, eventually returning home to our people. Our people are always home or with us. Our homes are filled with cool floors, giant couches, and big ol' bowls of cookies.

And all the dogs and people just know that The Kid is with ME.

7 Random Things Including Big Red

Clare from Clare's Sunflower Sky challenged me to write 7 weird/random things about myself. We love the world of blogs and the friends we are making. Clare's blog is really interesting and her dog Moose looks like someone who might really be fun to hang with at the beach.

So here are my 7 things:

1. Turkey. I can still remember my first Thanksgiving. My discovery of TURKEY. I never left the meat platter. It's rich, it's moist, and it's one of the few food items that I really get excited about. Periodically, Mom makes me turkey in the crock pot. Misty and I sit at the door of the kitchen, waiting, waiting, waiting for our special treat. Since Mom is mostly vegetarian, Misty and I have to send deep telepathic nudging messages to Mom to get her to cook for us. And it totally works.

2. Big Red. Big Red is a very large stuffed red dog that Dad bought for me a couple years ago. I have abandoned almost all other toys for Big Red. After dinner, I ask (rather emphatically) for Dad (or Mom if Dad is unavailable, but truth be told, I really prefer Dad for this) to hold Big Red while I (um, how can I say this?) love up Big Red. Ayla has been interfering with this game and it's the one thing that really bugs me about the kid. Big Red is MY love muffin.

3. The Smell of Coffee in the Morning. When the coffee is ready, the morning walk follows. When I see Mom pouring coffee into her travel mug, I know we are going soon which brings me to number 4...

4. Walk. Mom and Dad have taken to just saying "W" so as not to overexcite me with the word, "walk." Come on you guys, I'm 6, you think I don't know how to spell yet? Especially that word. So I now know that they don't say "walk" until they are ready to go. The morning walk is the most important one for me. It doesn't really matter if it is a long or a short one, but I do get extra excited when we turn right instead of left at the end of our street which means we are going for a long one. One of things I really appreciate about Cesar Milan is that he emphasizes the importance of the walk. Everybody needs a nice walk together as a family. It's the best part of every day.

5. Ladies. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I am a Ladies Man. Girly, sweet, flocky Bergamascos, especially Aria, make life extra special. We are going to see Aria tomorrow, so I'm chillin' hard on the couch today, saving my precious manly energy in anticipation of the lovin'.

6. Bedtime. Our family has some pretty intense bedtime routines. Mom goes to bed first after containing the kid next to her side of the bed (can you believe she still thinks it's okay to pee inside the house?), then Dad. Then Misty needs to lay on Dad's chest to claim him. Then I ask very politely if I may join the bed, and I jump onto the foot of the bed and curl up to rest. Then Anna comes creeping in to find the coziest spot to snuggle. And we all relax in contemplative family joy as we gently find our way to sleep. After I rest a bit and clean myself, I leave the bed. A sheepdog needs to protect the family at night, so I sleep in the doorway. Of course.

7. Couch. Some *dogs* are not even allowed on couches, but I am no ordinary canine. It started as a fluke, snuggling on Dad's couch when Mom and Dad were dating. And gradually, the right side of the couch became mine. They put some blankets on my spot to make it extra cozy I guess. I'm a little irritated by it, but they have been letting the kid up there with me. She really likes to snuggle up against me, and I think I'm starting to like it a little bit.

Thanks to Clare for some new inspiration for writing!