catching hell

I was catching hell today. I couldn't do anything right. Have you ever had a day like that?



It was just a relaxing walk through the neighborhood...... The humans have been getting home late so I haven't had a walk for a couple of days. Today "W" was home early and we took off to enjoy the sunshine and warmth.



The snow is going away and there is so much great sniffing to do. There are lots of people outside. Some have dogs, some are on bikes. It is an exciting time.



You must understand that I am past wearing a leash. I run free on my walks and get to explore all I want as long as I don't get too far from the humans. It is a good arrangement.



The first thing that went wrong was a guy walking down the street with a shopping bag. You never know what a guy will have in a shopping bag, so I ran after him, barking my best offensive bark. I caught hell over that one. Next thing you know I'm clipped onto a leash being dragged up the street. How humiliating. I tried to look pathetic and it must have worked because she let me off the leash again.



The next thing that went wrong was a woman with 2 dogs on leashes. I felt sorry for those pups, so I ran up the street to try to free them. Well, I caught hell for that, too. Back on the leash. I was really embarrassed to be leashed up in front of those dogs. Humans have no mercy. I pulled the pathetic puppy scam and got free again later.



I was enjoying my freeedom, when what should I come across but a delightful pile of horse poop. It wasn't frozen or dried out, it was fresh and sweet. I couldn't resist grabbing a mouthful. I barely got it swallowed when I was on the leash again.



So you see, I've been catching hell a lot today. I'm no dummy, though, and I knew what to do when I saw these flowers. Yeah, I'm back in the good books again!

This is me pulling the "cute dog caper".

party

There was a party at our house. There was all kinds of food and special drinks. Of course I didn't get any of it. But I did get a special surprise. My mom, Lola the Goddess, came to visit. I was excited to see her. Did I ever tell you how beautiful and refined she is? She always has good manners and is clean and well groomed every day. We played together and had so much fun. I was beat when she went home.

Some of the kids were over for the party. They got to have the special food and drinks. There was a wheel turning in the living room. It was making fur into string. I'm not sure what kind of dog the fur came from. It must have been a rare dog because the fur was orange and yellow and pink.

sunbeam

Lately I've been having company. It's a sunbeam that comes into the kitchen. It seems to be shy and never goes into any other room. Although I know the kitchen window is always closed, I think that's how it gets in. Maybe it has some kind of beam magic to get through the glass. Anyway, when it comes in, it likes to sleep on the kitchen floor. This is lucky for me. The sunbeam does not mind snuggling, so I can lay down with it. It makes a nice warm spot on the floor and I really like that. I do have to pay attention, though. The sunbeam will slowly and quietly try to sneak away from me. I always fall asleep with the sunbeam and when I wake up feeling cold and lonely, I know it escaped on me. I've been spending time lately sitting and looking at the kitchen window, waiting for the sunbeam. The humans mistakenly think I'm looking at the cookie jar and give me a cookie. So whether the sunbeam arrives or not, I win! I love being me.

remember

What does it mean to remember?

a snuggle makes a memory

a snowbank makes one, too

I remember mountaintops,

chasing after deer

learning tricks from grandma

the sweet scent of my mom, mmmm

snatching meatballs,

I remember a tree growing in the livingroom

and balancing on a log

I've got a lot of memories

I wonder where they are kept

Maybe in a big round blue cookie jar

with a tight lid

Like my dog biscuits,

Where there is room for many more and they are kept safe.

bored

Here is my list of things to do when you are bored-

1. chew tassels off the afghan. My life score so far is two.
2. play "revolving door" with the humans. Get them to let you outside and then inside every few minutes.
3. sniff out the soup bone and see if you can fish out anymore marrow with your tongue.
4. count the cars that drive past the window, "One, two, one, two, one, two"
5. send vibes to grandma for another play day at her house
6. send vibes to Howie to come by for another visit
7. antagonize the cat, eat his food and drool in his water bowl
8. take a nap and dream of a new season
9. crawl under the furniture and get covered with dust balls
10. And my new favorite fun thing to do when I'm bored- look for bugs! If you get lucky enough to sniff out a spider or an ant, show restraint. Do not eat it right off the bat. If you do, you will deny yourself several minutes of fun. First, pick it up gently with your lips and move it to the centre of the livingroom. This way there is no fast escape for it. Then as it crawls around you can "lick it and flick it". It's fun to see where that bug will wind up when it falls off your tongue. Pouncing is fun, too. You can pretend you don't notice the bug as it tries to crawl away, then "Cowabunga!", you pounce on it, for some more lick and flick fun. If you place your body in front of the escaping bug, it will crawl into your fur and you can spend some enjoyable time trying to find it and get it out. Once you tire of this bug play, there is the bonus of having a little snack. Don't knock it until you try it.

Let me know if you have any good boredom busters, especially ones that involve snacks.