The longest days of the Year!

I guess this is the normal thing here in June, the days are very long, a dog sure can get tired out. There is just too much to do. Chipmunks and squirrels are everywhere. The birds sing like crazy in the wee hours of the morning. And those pesky ducks, they just don't let up. A dog really has it's work cut out. We spend lots of time on the dock these days except when it is raining, which it did a lot this month. Used to be I could wade in the water and actually have chance with maybe catching a duck or 2 but oh no, this year the water just keeps on getting deeper giving the ducks a big edge. And the loons, they swim in pretty close too. They can get kind of noisy and then they disappear in the water. Where do they go?

One day, even though the sun was out, the wind blew all day long, like 50 mph! We went over to Mary Lou's house and all the people who live there had their boats swamped. Some people even lost their docks. It was scary because trees were falling down all over the place. While my Mom was driving us to Mary Lou's, a big tree fell down right in front of us. If we had been a few seconds earlier, it could have fallen on us! Whew! Hopefully we will get some sunny warm days without wind and storms. Meanwhile, I will keep watch on the dock. Those ducks may just try to move into the cabin! Stay tuned, the suspense is building!

May! Back to the woods!!!

What I love about spring, warm sunbaths, eating outside, dipping in a cool lake on a hot walk, and spending more time at the cabin in the woods. City life is ok, but in the woods, the place is crawling with little critters. Just about every night mom has to pick the ticks off but it's worth it. And there are so many great smelling things to roll in! Wow! My favorite is rotting fish flesh washed up on the sand. You can really grind it into the fur and skin with the help of the sand. My mom and those other humans just don't get it! They drag me off after I have gone to such lengths to smell good and they find stinky soap, lather me up, wrap me in towels and dry me off. Geez I will never understand the strange behavior of these humans.

Now we are back to standing guard on the dock. Friends from Wisconsin showed up, Doug and Janice. They were fun, I got to sit on Janice's lap lots. But there are so many things here to watch out for, these giant birds were everywhere for a while, pelicans. They could swallow me whole, but they spend too much time with their heads in the water sucking up fish, so I guess I'm safe. Oh course the ducks are back, and the humans continue the odd ritual of feeding the enemy. Since I really can't get them, I've decided to lick up all the cracked corn that is spilled on the dock. It's not bad, really. And of course we go back to the dome, Deer Lake Charlie's. Timmy Haus played one night, he was great to listen to, this is a dog friendly bar. It's really Mary Lou's hang out but we are part of her pack. Quincy likes to howl once in a while and I thought maybe he would join in with the singing. But he just listened.

We get to go on walks in different places. This place was particularly great, we were on a peninsula with tall trees and lots of smells. At the end of the walk was a dog with his pack. We exchanged greetings, mom always has goodies for other but we get 'em too if we sit and do other things they gets us more pets and kisses. It's really ok that people everywhere give me hugs and pets, that's important in life. That's May...maybe my mom will get the next months logged in, because so much has happened! Stay tuned....

March Madness, Pixel vs. Quincy, Couched in Red

A video speaks a thousand words! I win half the time! Got him last, this time! Enjoy, Pixel

A New Year of Pixel Puppy Adventures!

Winter showed up one day and my mom spent a day trying on my "clothes", the ultimate embarrassment in the dog world. Then, to add to the indignity out came the booties...UGH. So I did my dog gone best to subvert this. I simply collapsed in the doggie water bowl, knowing full well that I would not be forced to wear wet clothes. When that didn't work, when we got to Cedar Lake, I immediately ran into the marshes and fallen trees which enabled me to strip the clothes from my body, thus allowing me to hunt and sniff for things in the naked state I am supposed to! When I lost the double wool lined hand made Santa outfit (which Quincy found the next day in the reeds) Mom conceded. We wouldn't stay out too long in the cold weather, I would keep running while outside and she wouldn't take me out for long walks on days that were below zero or windchills below -10. It has been a good compromise, mostly. I did get really cold a few times, but my Mom would always get me back to the car where I could curl up in my wool blanket on my cushion bed in the back seat!

Everywhere we go people want to hold me and pet me. Sometimes they take my picture too. My mom says when she wins the lottery she'll figure out my exact DNA, for now everyone agrees that I am part rat terrier, chihuahua, a touch of weiner dog and maybe a fox. Who cares? I am just a happy, perfectly spoiled lab dog who can also hunt with the best of 'em! But I like when all those folks ooo and aaahh over me. It gives me a chance to take a little nap.

Had a good time over the holidays, lots of lap time as it was really cold and everyone wanted me to sit on their laps! I got into my presents a bit early, Quincy, my always starving beagle brother seen next to not one but two empty bowls, found them and I helped him dismember the stuffed animals we were supposed to get on Christmas. We had fun, but of course we got caught! Mom and dad laughed a lot, then we got doggie massages. Life is good here. After all the decorations were put away, life sort of returned to normal, my brothers and I like to nap together on the couch while we wait for the next doggie adventure! Stay tuned for more, they happen every day!

Hunting Time!!

November was the new October, I don't think it snowed once! It was great! It was warm, the lake was open and there were more critters to catch and roll in! We spent most of the month at the cabin in northern Minnesota because my mom was in a weird Beckett play. They don't let dogs into the theater, so we just had to listen to her practice her lines, who is she talking to, me? The other dogs? I don't understand. We had to wear blaze orange stuff around our necks the whole time so those folks shooting deer didn't shoot us too! We ran into lots of hunters on our walks. They were wearing lots of gear and they were too hot. Some hunters let us check out their catch, Quincy was nuts for it, and he kept running over to check out all the bucks and does. It sort of scared me though. Quincy doesn't understand why mom doesn't hunt too, think of the dinners. We did get some raw venison and that was yummy!

We said goodbye to our great friends Mary Lou, Rocky and Pepper then we headed to the cities. The people in the pack went to friends' home for turkey dinner, but we got leftovers! We got home to the city just in time, the weather got cold, and it started snowing. I am not sure what to to get for Christmas, I think I have just about everything. I have lived here a year now, and it has been an exciting, fun, and snugly year in my forever home.

Oh No! It's getting cold again!

My big brother Togo is much better now. He runs very fast and I can hardly remember when he was hurting, he's so happy now! Jim came up for 10 days so we had an all family vacation. I got to go to Deer Lake Charlie's lots. I tried to get a drink, all I really wanted was water, but someone stuck a beer in front of my face, yucky! There was no water for dogs siting at the bar, the water bowl is under the sink! Silly me! We went back to the cities for a couple of weeks. Because my mom is in 2 plays up north, we headed back there. It was really pretty, all the trees were changing colors. Then it snowed and got cold again! The ducks and geese are pretty much gone. The loons are gone too. One day the trumpeter swans fell right over head. We still take walks every day and we get lots of pictures. The squirrels keep us pretty busy. They can't get in the cabin after my mom put metal and aluminum screening up. They are angry and make that awful noise. We caught lots of mice, they really want in! It's night more now, so I have to wear a blinking red light in the dark. At least I don't have to wear those silly dog sweaters yet! But I have learned from Quincy that burrowing under blankets is warm and cozy, so I am busy growing fur for the upcoming winter. It's rough life but somebody has to live it!