SAMMY'S ALLOWANCE/ALL SAFE

It is way too bad for all those humans and animals that were caught up in one of Mother Nature's big storms. Sam the beautiful all-black German Shepherd Dog is donating his allowance to the Humane Society's Disaster Relief Fund. That is a great idea. Good on ya, Sammy. While our humans donate to help the humans we can donate to help our buds down south.

My mom's brother and his wife just built a home three blocks south of Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans. Luckily they and their doggie, Goblin, were visiting their son in Austin, Texas when all the bad stuff broke loose. So everyone we know is safe. Hope it is the same for you.

MOM IS GONE AGAIN!/BAN NINTENDOGS!!

I was going to post this last night but the sad news of Spencer's passing kinda discombobulated things.


Mom got home from Alturas late Friday. My job is to help unpack her overnight and snack bag.


No treats left this time. That's got to change!
We've got to talk.

Mom just got home and now she turns around and has to leave for Chester to train more teachers. I just got finished helping her unpack. So NOW my job is to help her repack!
Does she have all her papers and all that important teacher stuff?


Papers, check. Transparencies, check.
What the heck are those? I can barely see them.


Can I go, too? Pleeease, with cheese on it!

I'll be real quiet and I won't get any hair on your clothes. Promise.

Oh, no! She's leaving without me. One more try.


Oh, please. Don't leave me alone with that crazy man.

Well, I tried. Sniff...


So terrier teary eyed and blue

Bye Mom. Call when you get there. ('Call when you find work', as Dad's mom likes to say.) Who's Chester, anyway?

KIBBLE AND BONES

Why do dogs love to stick their heads out of car windows?
Hey, it's darn fun and feels good! But yah, those smells. Love having the wind shove those aromas up my sniffer. And yes, I wear my seat belt CHAMPION Canine Seat Belt System whenever I'm in the car.


Me in my seat belt, rearin' to go

I don't want to go flying through the windscreen if we are ever in an accident. I see that dog in the oil commercial sitting in the front seat of the pickup talking about how good his human is. I DON'T SEE A SEAT BELT. How good can that human be? Please keep us safe!

BBC NEWS | Technology | Cuteness triumphs in Nintendogs

What's up with this? More competition? Cats, lizards, snakes, rats, hamsters and now fake dogs. I don't like this. Now humans will spend even more time on the little magic box and less time on tummy rubs. BAN NINTENDOGS!!

One consolation. At least they have to pick up after those furry little pixels.

HELP SPLASH/GREAT DOG SONGS BY KIRK OLSEN

This morning I got a great big hug from my Dad and an extra long tummy rub. I think I know why. I love him very much, too.

Splash is lookin' for some dog training music. I'm helpin' out. I found some great dog music, trainin', lazin' or anytime music. Check out Kirk Olsen - "Dog Songs" for some great tunes. And check out the "Dog Beach Boogie' video. It's wonderful. We are playing the samples and video over and over as we compose this piece. I would present some song samples here but not knowing if reproducing Mr. Olsen's samples here would make 'Buster' mad you can just use the above link and woof right along.

KIBBLE AND BONES

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Shuttle Discovery back in Florida

The shuttle had to hitch a ride home. Dad got to see that same thing many years before I was born. Weather diverted the flight and Dad rushed to the airport to see it take off.

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Big game 'could roam US plains'

That I would like to see, but I don't know about those big blizzards that occur once in a while where I use to live and where some of you guys live. What fun chasing the big gray things. Guess I would have to keep my eye out for that super fast cat though. The place where Dad use to work has been working on a similar idea of creating a wildlife corridor from Mexico to Canada for the animals already here. It would use federal and private lands set aside to allow the nature flow of animals. There would be underpasses and stuff like that to help animals navigate roads and highways. Wonder if we could use it, too.

curio: R.I.P Spencer

I found Spencer's blog, curio, just the other day. I was so excited to find another blogging dog. I visited his blog today to find that he had passed away very suddenly. I feel very empty and I feel tears rolling down my face. He was a handsome and elegant dog. He will be sorely missed by his humans, by me and all those who shared his life.

SOUTH SIDE CAFE/MORNING MOON

Just to catch up. Dad brought back the best meat loaf I have ever had.
For that matter, he hasn't had better either. The South Side Cafe has great home cookin'. It is presently open most days of the week for breakfast and lunch. Tuesday and Wednesday evenings they are open for dinner (5 to 8) with a two choice set menu. The prices are very reasonable. If anyone ever visits Rio Vista, check them out. They are just half a block south of Main on Second.


Really good doggy bags come from here.

Did anyone in this part of California see the wonderful golden moon this morning (2:30-3 am)? It was sooo big and oval instead of round. Pretty cool.

DINNER TIME/24 HOUR DAY/GONE ALREADY/I WANT MY MOMMY!

YESTERDAY
It's dinner time! While Mom is in St. Louis we get to eat leftovers. YEAH!!
Dad is reheating some of Mom's great stew. With Dad's back turned I sneak closer and closer to the kitchen.


Toes in the kitchen

'What? Who me? I'm just lookin' out the window. Yep, there's somethin' out there. I think that Phoebe is back.' Paws in the kitchen around here is a big no no.


Back to the 'Rug'

'Okay, I'm being good!' If I go to my rug and remain calm I get a tiny bit of my human's food. But only if I comply. Tuff luv, baby.

Tonight Mom comes home. Just around midnight. As the song sings. One of my B-buddies, Pimm, asked what Mom was doing in his neck of the woods. She had a two day training session with the St. Louis school district. Mom and several other human trainers from the company are helping train human teachers to help human students become better writers. Puppy Pulitzer Prize and all that. (I think my secretary needs some writing training, too.)

NEXT DAY(Time travel)
Mom has left for Alturas already. SHE JUST GOT HOME. Last night Dad got up at 11:30 to drive to the Sac airport to pick Mom up at 1:15. Every flight mom was to take home had a mechanical problem. Even the re-ticketed flights. Dad had to sleep at a rest area for two hours waiting for Mom's plane (She doesn't own it.) to land. Poor Mom, up 24 hours! and having to drive six hours today.

Dad said I wouldn't have liked sleeping at the rest area. Some strange humans there and a tiny dog. I would have been frightened of the humans and excited about the little fluffy. He did bring home a good (Not quality-wise) picture
though. If you or your human like Campbell's Tomato (You say tomahto and I say tomato. Sounds better than when read.) Soup, Dad knows where some of it comes from.


Tomato truck place

It comes from trucks.

So now we are alone again. Dad gets to go to the South Side Cafe with the neighbors tonight and I get to wait for a surprise Doggy Bag. Woof! Woof!

P.S. Dad will try to get a shot of the cafe tonight.

SNAKE CHARMER/COLD EVENING

We're on our own again. Mom has flown to St. Louis, so we are in charge of the house. Hope Dad can handle it.

Yesterday on our walk I found a baby headless snake. How they can live without a head I'll never know. Ta dah!


Famous headless snake

A nice aroma. Great mouth feel. A little green grass essence. Maybe some wild fennel and cat tail. Yes, a good year.


A great nose


Let's dive in

I'm getting a bath on Friday. Why not.

When we got home Dad said he wanted to do a little weeding and pruning. Did I want to help? Sure, but we don't have any prunes here. I know, they're just old plums. Ta dah!

Let's see. A little quality check. Has he really been working or just scarfin' that stout?


Anything for the inspector?


Hey, you've got a couple of those slow boat thingys in here.

Being that is was a little warm outside we retired to the house for lunch, treats and a tummy rub.

While inside, our friend 'The Pheeb' came by to check out our plant destruction progress.


Black phoebe

Due to the heat and loss of interest in our project we remained inside to paint and listen to old time radio programs.

After our evening walk we settled down to work on my blog.


Wool blankie already?

By bedtime it had become quite cool. Dad had to pull out his Aussie wool blankie for the night. Hard to believe it can get so cold after it being so hot. Just like the Sahara he says.

BIG DISAPPOINTMENT!/BUMMER!!/BETTER NOW

The next morning Dad looked terrible and sounded worse. He tried getting out of bed but couldn't.


Mummified typist

'HEY DAD! IT'S TIME TO WALK!' 'Yah, right!', I think I heard him grumble. Well, that day we took cart rides instead of walking. That was cool.

While he was attempting to prepare a very late breakfast I stuck my nose in the pantry. Something didn't smell right. Oh, oh! Guess what...

'Hey Dad. Aren't these those little bitey things I find on the voles outside? What are they doing here?'


Ants' picnic

This made him very happy, as you can dream. Everything stopped. Out came the food stuffs and in went the ant bait.


Why do humans need so much food? A good vole, some
bugs and grass. A tummy rub. What more does one need?

My crying (Just kidding) typist said it was time to Tanqueray with Mr. Sinclair but he was too ill to enjoy it.

After the ant parade, I thought I should do something that would make my typist happy. (If your typist is unhappy-no bloggin'. Right?)


Look what I did, Dad. I made little Fredas just for you.

With the high degrees lately I have really been sheddin'. I get brushed every morning (Except the past two days. My brusher has been ill.), but it really doesn't do much good. It feels good though.

During the day Dad took lots of chemicals. He was 'asleep' even before it was dark. That night he was up even more times and sounded even scarier. Those scary movies have nothin' on my guy human when he has been hit with those allegories. Or something like that. He said this is the worst he has ever suffered. I remember my first spring here. With all the new pollens and grasses I really started licking myself. It was taken care of and this year I had very little problem. Knock on bone! So now Dad is taking the same medication I took and it has turned him into a zombie.

Yesterday was another lost day. Several cart rides. By evening the monster was feeling a little better. Kinda like the ol' Heckle and Jeckle: (Don Markstein's Toonopedia) thing. Last night was much more peaceful. He only woke me five times.

The problem is we are suppose to be taking care of the house, besides bloggin' and paintin'. Clean the bathrooms, dust, vacuum, etc. By the time Mr. Zombie feels well enough to clean the house our chance to read more blogs and emails will be lost. What a bummer.

As you can tell, today, he feels better. Now he is going through the cold and hot flashes. Yes, he is a guy. I think. He smells like one.


I think I did a pretty good job customizing. Hard to tell
which is the real one. Guess I should have kept the tail.

While he was still feeling better this moaning (No misspelling), I took my vole buddy out to compare it to a real one we had just caught. Pretty cool!

Please excuse any time continuum problems you may have encountered in this or the previous posting.. My typist is still rather groggy.

See what I mean.

Hopefully my poor typist will get a good night's sleep tonight. Then up and at 'em tomorrow and begin cleaning.

READY TO ROCK AND ROLL!

Sunday Mom left for Susanville. That's way up north and east in our state. As usual I helped Dad detail the car so Mom had a nice clean car to cruise around in. My humans tell me that Echo, their previous dog, use to drink the vinegar water they used to clean windows. Hmph! I don't do such things.


What's next?

Just before Mom leaves my leash carrier and I go for a walk so I don't see her leave and get disjointed. As usual, I put on my walking gear and waited for Dad to get his hat. I began tossing my vole buddy around when he rolled under the car.


Oops!

Remembering what happened to Fluffy, I pondered my options. Leave him there and come back to find a vole flapjack or... I actually crawled under the car and retrieved him!


Come here little buddy. I'll help you.

I felt so proud. Pointer, retriever. What next?

While we were on our walk Mom took off. When we got home we were ready to rock and roll! Time to paint, catch voles, blog, catch voles, catch up on e-mail, the vole thing again, watch Greg the Bunny, watch the shuttle... Well, things didn't work out as we planned. You know, 'the best laid plans of dogs and... whomever'.


Greg the Vole Bunny

We did get to watch Greg. He's sooo funny, but like I said before, he can burn your ears a bit. Well, at least mine. My human didn't seem to mind. Doesn't Greg look like a brown vole with long ears? Hmmm..?

After helping dad detail the car earlier I got an idea and decided to 'detail' my pet vole. I think he looks a little better now.


'Detailing' my friend

Then Dad decided that I was bored and invented a game for me. Ya. Like I wouldn't have done that.


Vole tubing

Later he found a smaller tube and created a 'Vole in the Tube Pop-up' (Pat. Pending). It drives me crazy!


Pop-up Vole

Later that night I told Dad that I wanted to read my friends' blogs and see what they were up to. It had been way too long. He said that was a wonderful idea. We began to cruise the blogs. Dog, there was a lot of stuff going on out there! It was great. Then the ringer rang and Dad had to talk to people and stuff. So we didn't get much done in the way of blog reading after that. Once more outside to check the vole traps and bedtime for me.

Over night the wind came up really strong. Something came into the house and woke my typist guy up. He made all kinds of weird noises. He was up many times while it was still dark. The only time I can remember him being up while it was dark was when he was working. In the morning he sounded REALLY weird...