Don’t worry, I’m sitting on my leash and I have no intention of going anywhere except to mom for a treat!
Mom is busy doing stuff that doesn’t involve me so I stole her laptop. I don’t think she’ll even notice unless one of you snitches on me. Which I’m sure you won’t.
This is a kayak launching dock. Pretty cool! Mom says we aren’t going kayaking though. Bummer.
So anyway, it hasn’t always been this way with her being so busy. She’s been taking me to a lot of parks lately.
Uh oh! That feather moved! I don’t think I like it!
She says the weather is just perfect, a little cooler, but sunny skies and the trees are just starting to change colors.
Yep, most of the color we found was on this limb. I don’t think that counts as fall color, mom.
She says we can’t waste days like this, so she’s been taking me to a new place almost every day, and I thought you might like to see.
This was at a different park on a different day.
Mostly she’s been training me to pose for her. I wasn’t so sure of this concept at first.
Mom thought I’d never sit on this log for her, but I can channel my inner diva just fine. When I want to.
But eventually I figured out that after I pose I get a treat, and that big black thing in front of her face isn’t really scary after all.
A girl and her shadow.
Plus I talked to my Angel Sister Katie who told me that treats were an integral part of park visiting and especially posing. I think I’m getting it!
My sister sat right here a couple years ago. Mom smiled when I didn’t argue. I think Katie smiled too.
But I could always use more practice, so I’m bugging mom every day to take me somewhere. I find that poking her hard in the knee works pretty good. If you have any other suggestions let me know.
Well. You may have noticed that I was not included in any of mom and my Auntie B’s adventures.
I don’t know how they could have left me out!
I would like to point out that I am a big girl now and I think I should be included in everything my people do! Don’t you agree with me?
Don’t you like the way my fur is starting to flow in the wind?
After all, I will turn 9 months old next week, and that’s pretty old if you ask me. Don’t ask my folks, they still treat me like a baby.
Well, OK, sometimes I DO still get a little bit scared.
Anyway, once mom and Auntie B returned home, with plenty of great smells on them I might add, I insisted on going with them everywhere, and a couple of days that everywhere included a local park next to our town’s small cemetery where my aunt could practice her bagpipes for an upcoming competition she will be in.
This is my Auntie putting in her ear protection. I noted I didn’t get any ear protection.
She said she hadn’t played in way too long and she needed to practice somewhere. I guess you can’t play the bagpipes just any ole place.
Wait a minute, mom! What’s she doing?
At first I wasn’t sure about the bagpipe sound, but mom urged me to come with her for a walk and we left my aunt to play in the park while we explored the cemetery next door.
I found out there were lots of whirly-gigs and flags flapping over there and I wasn’t too sure about all that at first.
Hmmmm….this stuff moves!
Then I found this little dog and I tried to talk to him, but he was more the silent type.
Hey buddy! Wanna play?
And then I saw this little boy and tried to play with him, but he wouldn’t move and suddenly that scared me so I went and hid behind my mom’s legs.
Maybe YOU will play with me?
That’s ok, right mom? Whenever I get scared I can hide behind you, right?
I’ll just rest a moment back here, OK mom?
Anyway, I practiced sitting pretty a lot, and getting my picture taken. My sister, angel Katie, says that’s just part of the game plan when you live with our mom.
OK, mom, I’ll sit here. But I’m not going to look happy about it.Unless you have cheese?
I’m getting pretty good at it too, though Katie says I need to be more insistent on getting my share of treats for the work I do modeling.
Sometimes mom gets kinda close, but I’m not afraid of the camera any more.
I’m getting prettier and prettier by the day now, so I don’t mind showing off.
Mom says it’s all about the light, but I know it’s really all about me!
Meanwhile my Aunt played on.
She played way on the other side of the park. It sounded cool!
And the resident cranes listened too.
Mom wouldn’t let me go say hi to them.
We all had a very good time, both days we wet to this park, and I guess I’ll call this a mini adventure, but I’m telling you, I’m up for something truly epic.
This was not really adventurous, mom. Try to do better, OK?
I was making cornbread for dinner. The kind that has creamed corn and sour cream and butter and eggs and cornbread mix. Talking to my sister who was busy making Brunswick stew, I pour the mixture into the prepared 8×8 pan and pop it into the preheated oven. My work is done. But as we chat and I casually clean up bowls and measuring cups I pick up the cornbread box to toss it into the garbage and realize it’s heavy. Heavy with the cornmeal mix still inside. Which means it’s not in the cornbread that’s in the oven. I quickly haul the pan out of the oven, scrape the creamed corn, sour cream and egg mixture out of the pan, stir in the Jiffy Mix, pour it back into the pan and shove it into the oven.
I’m not telling anyone and I hope you can keep a secret.
I’m vacuuming the house in preparation of visitors coming tomorrow. Working my way across the living room I stop to roll the big long red and blue tunnel to the other side of a carpet runner so I can vacuum up the rolling dog fur hiding underneath. It occurs to me that maybe most people don’t have an agility tunnel permanently affixed in their living room.
I kind of feel sorry for those that don’t.
Penny the sheltie-girl is whining to go out. We figure she has to poo so I hook her up to her leash and my sister and I head out to take her for a walk up the street. She puts her foot down at the end of the driveway and refuses to go further. Apparently she only walks up the road if we’re practicing her heeling, including appropriate treats. I have two dusty pieces of kibble in my pocket and that gets us almost to the next driveway but she’s not going further without rewards. My sister picks her up and we carry her past another driveway to the lawn where she likes to do her business. We begin to laugh, because who carries their dog to a neighbor’s lawn in order to get her to poo? We laugh so hard our stomachs hurt, then my sister puts Penny down and she proceeds to do her stuff, which we promptly bag.
Hey, hey hey! It’s me, Penny, your adventure girl!
Want to go on a walk with me?
Well, I haven’t had many adventures lately but I’ve sure been having fun! Mom took me to the park last week and I wasn’t as afraid as the other time.
I didn’t even notice this snake when we walked by it. Mom kinda screamed though. Mom is a wimp.
Mom is noticing I am happiest when I’m out in the open where I can see the sky and not so happy when we’re in the woods where it’s dark and there are strange sounds.
I think I can handle this, mom!
But this is the second time we’ve been to this park and I liked it a whole lot better this time. I ran up and down the hills and explored lots more and mom says she was very happy with my ‘progress,’ whatever that means.
I even stopped to take a peaceful little breather on a big hill.
Then over the weekend my friend Lance and his sister Payton came to visit me! They brought their folks too and we all sat out on my deck.
Lance and I discussing our photo/treat ratio requirements.
I guess if I was honest there wasn’t a whole lot of sitting for me and Lance. We mostly chased each other around the deck. We had sooooo much fun! I’m as big as he is now and I can play just as hard!
We raced around and around that deck!
I tried to play with Payton (she’s my angel sister Katie’s half sister) but she told me off, so I went back to jump on Lance. The folks had to make us stop and rest cause we were all about the game.
Payton wasn’t in the mood.
I had so much fun with them that I had to sleep for an entire day after they went home. I think Lance and Payton probably slept too. Mom calls that recharging. I wonder what she’s talking about?
Aren’t we all just adorable?
Anyway, I know you like to hear what’s going on in my world, so I thought I’d stop by and give you an update. My Aunt is here right now, and I’m pretty busy entertaining her.
What’s your favorite toy today Aunt B?
Play, play, play, a sheltie-girl’s got to keep the fun coming all the time. It’s such a big responsibility, but I’m up for the task!
I get lots of hugs cause I’m so cute.
Talk later, people, I have to go get a toy for my Aunt so she doesn’t get bored!
Oh, and thanks to Lance’s parents for driving so Lance and Payton could come and play! We had so much fun.
Company is coming and I’m trying to do the last minute dusting and picking up and organizing food and checking the bathrooms and Penny is weaving between my feet, grabbing at the dust cloth, barking hysterically at the plastic wrap drawer.
Everything is harder with her.
I am frustrated and decided to take her out for a walk, maybe she needs to go to the bathroom, and she’s jumping and playing with sticks and tugging on her leash and nipping at my feet. She doesn’t go to the bathroom.
Everything is harder with her.
Walking back into the house I am hit out of the blue with the memory of the last time I walked Katie back into the house.
I begin to cry.
Penny stops tugging on her leash and stands on her hind legs, front paws on my waist and cocks her head. I pick her up and she licks the tears from my face then snuggles in for a hug.
Change Is Hard 