We’ve had a series of really beautiful days, warm and sunny, makes a person (and a Sheltie) want to go camping again, even though all the camping equipment had been put away for the season.  So on a whim I put up the little tent because it’s easier than the larger one to assemble.  Of course this little tent doesn’t have a doggie window, and it’s too small to put my inflated mattress inside.  So I dragged out a bunch of pillows and a couple of blankets and we settled in.  The first night we made it until 6 a.m. when I woke up FREEZING cold.  The temp outside was just under 50 degrees.  I reached for my second blanket and found that it had been taken over by Katie who was curled up in a tiny little ball, her nose in her tail, sound asleep.  I tried to go back to sleep but I was too cold, so I woke her up and we went inside.  It was worth getting cold, though, because the stars at 6 a.m. were absolutely amazing.

The second night was forecast to be even colder.  It was already only 50 degrees at 11:30 when I was heading to bed.  I decided not to sleep in the tent, opting for heat and comfort instead.  I asked Katie as I turned off the TV if she was ready to go to bed, then I headed into the bathroom to brush my teeth.  When I came back out she was standing at attention at the back door, figuring we were going camping again.  I laughed and said OK, and we grabbed MORE blankets and settled in, me with four blankets and her with her own pillow and blanket.  We only made it to 1 a.m… she heard something and that was the end of camping out.  She barked and crawled on top of me and kept whining.  So we gave it up.  That might be all the camping for us for the summer.  We’ll see.

Yesterday the neighbor across the street was getting a new roof.  We were alerted to that fact by our Sheltie alarm dog.  They had a truck in their driveway, lifting the new shingles up onto the roof, and she WANTED US TO KNOW ABOUT IT RIGHT NOW!  She and I sat out in our front yard for quite awhile, watching all the work going on over there.

And tonight I spent four hours watching an obedience trial where a few people I know were showing their talented dogs.  I’ve always watched video of excellent dogs and thought that Katie wasn’t ready for trials, but tonight, though I did watch a lot of really great dogs, I saw several in novice and even higher levels that weren’t any better than Katie.  I kept saying, “Well, KATIE could do that!” as I watched.  It inspired me enough to come home and do a heeling pattern with her around the living room sofa!

When I walked in the door tonight she was all over me.  Sniffing all those other dogs, she’s pretty sure I cheated on her.  Silly girl, I’d never do that!