Winter Snow Portraits

Here are our Winter Snow Portraits.

Am I not very beautiful? I am meant to be in the Snow.

And I guess Ojo is okay-looking too. Even if she is from Alabama. Where there is no Snow. It is nice of me to share my Snow with her, is it not?

Oh Snow, how I love you!

We are in our Little Home on Mountain. It is a yucky-long-boring drive in Car to get here, BUT our Little Home has made much Snow for us!

(And do not worry, Regular House is not alone for Christmas. Auntie Jahnet is keeping it company!)

The Sun is very soft. The people say this is because it is only just passed Solstice, and the sun does not get very high in the sky at all.

But that is okay! We don't need much Sun to ZOOM in the snow!

One of Ojo's nicknames is Crash. This is because she does lots of crashing. Like this.

I am almost eleven. I am much more dignified. I do not crash.

But sometimes Ojo can be very dignified and beautiful too. (Don't tell her I said that, okay?)

We climbed a biiiiig hill.

And this is what we saw from the top. Our Snow Place is very beautiful!

Happy Christmas - Santa brought SNOW!! (and treats!) (and toys!) (and turkey!) (by Ojo)

Hi hi hi! Ojo here!

Today is CHRISTMAS!

So many wonderful things happened! I don't even know where to start!!!

Stockings! Treats! Chew sticks! New toys!

(What do you mean when you say the chew sticks were to keep us out of the way? But we're never in the way! We're very helpful!)

Cobi needs help opening her presents.

But not ME! I do it all on my own! (I even tried to help the people open their presents!!)

And another one! I wonder what's in this one?!? (TREATS!!)

And now there is TURKEY in the oven!

But the best part of all is that I got all day with my people!

And the second best part is that we also got to play in the snow!!

I hope all Dogs had a warm place with people who love them. And treats. And turkey!

Merry Christmas, friends!

Goodbye Jack The Cat

A few days ago our people said goodbye to our Cat Named Jack.

Jack was kind-of Old. He was fourteen or maybe just turning fifteen. He was older than me! And I must admit that I am getting Old too. This is our third Cat I have helped to say good-bye to.

Jack the Cat was already in our house when our people brought me home as a little puppy. Even recently, Jack and I played together like this: He would sit on a chair and I would stick my nose into his belly. Then he would whap my head with his paws. But he never used his claws! I would dance away, and then I would come back and we would do it again.

Jack the Cat was very chatty and very friendly. He loved all people, and he loved all Dogs except for Ojo. He was also very naughty and liked to eat things that should not be eaten.

Jack had a Bad Thing in his throat. Up to Wednesday morning of last week he was zooming around the house chasing kitty treats. But the Bad Thing took over. He could not meow. He could not swallow. And by Friday afternoon he could not drink and he was hiding under the lamp behind the couch and did not want to come out.

The people took Jack somewhere very safe and he became an angel.

Here is a picture of Jack the Kitten when both he and our littlest person were very little indeed.

Good bye, Jack the Cat. Our people miss you very much.

Winter sunshine

I sit

Upon the rock

With moss and grass and happy dirt

My fur

Warmed by winter sunshine.

I listen

To winter birds

In branches bare in crooked trees

My fur

Warmed by winter sunshine.

Ojo sits

Watches, listens

Her fur warmed also by winter sunshine.

I sit.

Beautiful pose

Waiting for cheese

My fur 

Warmed by winter sunshine.

Lights

These things appeared in our house. They are full of lights. And smells from long, long ago.

These are more signs that Santa will be coming. I am working extra hard to be Good.

Wait, does this mean I can no longer sneak on the people's Bed for a winter nap?

Ojo is also trying very hard to be Good. She is either very, very Good, or very, very Bad. For Ojo there is no in between.

Me, I'm just kind of Good most of the time.

Are lights appearing in your house too?

Our stockings! (by Ojo)

Hi hi hi! Ojo here!

Something very exciting happened! Our stockings came out!

This means that Santa is coming! He is coming in exactly one month! He will fill our stockings with treats and toys! And look how much bigger my stocking is than Cobi's! I will get MORE treats and MORE toys!

But this is also very worrisome. I have not been entirely Good recently.

You see, I chased the Neighbor Cat. I keep sneaking onto the people's bed for a warm winter nap. I barked at the tree the other night, for ever and ever. And I rolled in something stinky.

Does this mean Santa will not come for me? I am worried about this.

Cobi is very wise. (She is much, much older than me, you know. Even though I'm the one with the white face now. Cobi is still the Old Dog around here!) And she has had her stocking for many, many years. And she tells me that Santa always fills it.

I hope this is true. Sometimes I am very Good! But sometimes I am also very Bad. I hope Santa remembers how Good I am too!

Do I not look Very Good today?

Our forest

Leaves under paws
Smell of rotting wood
Wet soil
And wood smoke

Sniff closer -
A squirrel ran here
A deer, last night
Two Dogs, and their people

Speckles of sunshine on our fur
Wind in trees
Crow song
And a frog
Why do we hear a frog?

Belly down
Cool and soothing
Moist ground under fur

Our person holds up cheese
Says, look over here, please

We lie still
We eat cheese
We stand again
Walk continues

In our forest.

Happy fall days! (We are not lost!) (by Ojo)

Hi hi hi! Ojo here!

We are not lost! Our person, who helps us make the keyboard go, has been very busy. And in a different country. Two different countries. And has damaged her foot.

But we are good! And we are here! And our Fall has been great so far!

Tomorrow the rains start. But up to today we have had fog and sunshine! And more fog, and more sunshine! It has been glorious!

(Cobi, your butt is in my running-in-fall-sunshine picture!)

Here is my Fall Portrait!

I am going very silver. My person calls me Silver Toes these days. That is okay. She can call me anything as long as she's not calling me late for dinner!

Here is Cobi's Fall Portrait!

So as you can see we are very well!

We hope you all are well too! And that Fall has been good to all of you! Big wags to you all!

The sun is sleeping in! (by Ojo)

Hi hi hi! Ojo here!

The sun is sleeping in longer and longer! When we went for Walk this morning the sun was barely awake!

The cooler air this morning was fabulous! The gentle sun on my fur felt so cozy! The dew in the grass held so many interesting smells!

And my breath made fog in the air!

It was a very good morning!

Cobi wants to know if the sun is sleeping in more where you are too?

Fall means fog (and rain)

The rains have started. This is very good. Nature is taking a deep breath and all the plants are sighing with relief. Also all of the smells are so strong after rain, so sniffing is very interesting right now.

This morning we climbed to the Top of the World. But the world was GONE!

We could still smell it, but we could not see it. This was because of the fog.

But this was okay, because the fog meant no hot sun. It meant very interesting smells lingering in the wetness of the air. It meant a cooler morning so we had more energy for zoomies.

And it was not raining. So we were all very happy. Because even though rain is good right now, we still do not like walking in it.

Hurray for foggy Fall mornings!

Is Fall happening where you are?

Good morning, Beach! (by Ojo)

Good morning, Beach! I am happy to share this morning with you!

Oops (by Ojo)

Hi hi hi! Ojo here!

I had an oops.

This happened last week. Those of you who know me know that I like to eat things. I eat everything! (Except for lettuce and uncooked peas. But everything else!)

Did you know I used to live on the streets? This is how I kept food in my tummy! I ate everything!

I like to find tasty things on Walks to eat. Things like apple cores and dead squirrels. Yummy!

Sometimes my person and I disagree. I think my finds are perfect for eating, but she thinks she should take them away. I do not like this part. She offers me cheese instead, but sometimes the things I find are better than cheese. Like dead fish! That is waaaay better than cheese!

So sometimes I hide, or I gulp things down really fast so my person cannot tell me she disagrees with what I am eating. If I am lucky she doesn't even see me with my snack!

Last week I ate something I should not have eaten. It was very tasty! But then later that night I felt a little... weird...

And my body was weird, too... I leaked pee everywhere! Twice! And more when I was walking. It just kept coming out!

This was very weird! I did not like it.

By the next morning I was feeling better, but my person took me to Vet anyways. (And it was a happy visit, because Vet only looked at my eyes and ears and, ahem, girl parts... And then I got lots of treats! No needles! No weird things stuck on me! Just a very quick exam and many treats!)

Here is what Vet said: Ojo probably ate marijuana. She is fine now.

Apparently this is what the people called "being stoned"?

Sunshine

Hello, sunshine. I am happy to feel you today! (The smoke is gone and I can feel the sun! Hurray!)

Stick!!! (by Ojo)

Hi hi hi! Ojo here!

This is my stick!

Oh Stick!
When I roll in the grass
And chew on you
I feel very silly!

I love chewing on you!
And I love feeling silly!

I love you
Oh Stick!

I am an amazing Thing Finder! (by Ojo)

Hi hi hi! Ojo here again!

In all of our training for our new job, which is called Nosework, my person almost forgot what an amazing Thing Finder I am! But then one of her people-friends asked to see me work and so a few days ago she made a video!

Here is my video!

My job is to find whatever the people lose when they are on a walk!

In this video you see me find the same thing twice. My person is clearly very clumsy. I found the Thing for her, and she lost it again almost right away! It is good that I was there to help find it!

The first time I find the thing you will see me on a narrow path, and so I am moving fast! The second time I am looking in an open area, and my person had walked all over this area a few minutes before. By walking all over my person put her scent all over the place, so I had to do big loops to make sure I didn't miss anything.

It is good that I am such an amazing Thing Finder! Otherwise that black, soft, whatever-it-is would have been lost forever!

Snoozing with my paws (by Ojo)

Hi hi hi! Ojo here!

My paws worked very hard today! They propelled me after a bunny! They shot me in a giant leap over a creek! They pranced me through the tall grasses!

Now my paws and I rest. I love nap time. Zzzzzzzzz.....