The sunny spot

Oh these guys. They are amazing at finding the most comfortable spots. Usually that's the sunniest spot. When I'm at home, Harry asks to go outside to sun himself on the driveway. Of course, I let him out but when it gets a wee bit too hot out there, he comes back in on his own. I close the door, and a few minutes later, he's ready to go out again. I suppose I live for Harry's comfort!

Here are a few photos from our weekend hike around town with Harry.

We all need a bit of sun sometimes. Hopefully we can get to a beach next weekend!

Country living casualties

Thankfully, there haven't been any very serious casualties, but Harry had his first run-in with a skunk! We have no idea what happened as he was left outside, alone, in the dark, while things got busy in the house one day (of course this was all C's doing). When we remembered that he had been outside for a while and ran to the door to let him in, the poor little pup trotted back inside as if nothing had happened, just moseying in, along his way. All the while, the stench hit us all like a ton of bricks a once. His pristine white fur was stained yellow where the skunk had sprayed him. Of course, he was immediately bathed that evening- several times! Though, he still has a lingering smell of skunk along his muzzle. We joke that a dog hasn't quite 'lived' until he has been skunked!

What summer is about

There have been some real scorchers this summer already. During the day, the animals usually keep cool by sleeping, sprawled out on their sides- sometimes on the cool floor, directly in front of the fan. On the more mild days and evenings, we've been enjoying some backyard fun, which consists mostly of gardening and grilling). In general, we try to spend as much time outdoors as possible. 

The Fourth of July was no exception. We didn't enjoy fireworks this year, being out in "the country," but we did go on a beautiful short hike during the day, along the same trail we biked down last year. Harry walked most of the way, though I did bring the sling carrier just in case. And surprisingly, we didn't have to use it much.

We again stopped to enjoy the pond at the end of the trail. Harry was pretty spent by then and wanted to take a little rest on the picnic table.

not sleeping, just resting his eyes

Little did he know, that while he was resting, another dog on the trail came by. She was full of energy and trotted along right up to the table, peering up at him, in hopes that he would notice her. Harry was none the wiser. When we finally pointed out to him that he had a visitor, he was so surprised- almost as shocked as we were at his complete oblivion! Oh did his tail wag and wag. 

A few moments later, another dog came bounding along the wooded trail, into the clearing. This dog's name was Buckwheat. He was running towards the pond, in anticipation that his owner would throw a stick for him to fetch. Harry watched Buckwheat ran and leap into the pond after the stick- all from the safety of the picnic table. To our surprise, he then hopped off the table and ran down to the pond as quickly and carefully as his little legs would take him, straight into the water! He just wanted to meet Buckwheat. 

Harry and Buckwheat. A pleasure to meet you. Yes, charmed.

I do think Harry was intrigued by the stick, playing fetch, and the water, but the combination of all three was just a bit too much for him to want to try. Buckwheat didn't stay long, but did leave behind his fetching stick. Harry's seemed to want to fetch, but each time we threw it (not too far), he watched as it gently floated slowly away. He took cautious steps into the water, but then stopped when it came up to his chest. 

cautiously sniffing the stick. To fetch or not to fetch..

Not to fetch. But maybe you could throw this one too.

We've had a few visitors. Firstly, cousin Carl came to stay. No cat fights ensued, but Gregory was 

cautious…so cautious that he was always a few feet away from Carl, quietly watching his every move. In fact, Gregory likely slept with one eye open the entire weekend Carl was visiting. Of course, Chantal was nowhere to be found and avoided human and cat contact the entire time. 

Gregory, stalking Carl. Do you see Carl under the bed?

Then, we had the return of Frank, the boisterous pug, aka "muppet mouth". Harry enjoyed the company but the cats… well, that's another story. I don't think I've ever seen Chantal as angry as she was when she found out Frank was here. Let's just say we had to keep them separated. We ran Frank in circles in the backyard, pretending to chase him and goodness, did he have a good time!

so, do we play out here?

We've been trying to get Harry to enjoy his custom made, outdoor Adirondack bed. He still occasionally prefers to lie directly on the asphalt- silly dog!

Perhaps we can get the cats to enjoy the backyard as well at some point (on harnesses and leashes, of course), though I don't know if they are entirely ready for it just yet.

hello, world!

Off to the opera

Now that we live in a house where the doors lead directly to the outside world, all our pets have been wearing their collars with their address on it.

I adore Gregory's collar. He needed a proper bow tie to go along with his smart, dapper tuxedo.

He's one classy cat, that one.

Wednesday Morning Musings

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a really marvelous weekend. We have officially moved and Sunday, we took Harry for a little stroll to the "small" town center (as I call it, because there is a "bigger" town center too) to the neighborhood bakery, Quebrada. I love that it is completely walkable and Harry didn't seem to mind, either. We even met a couple of neighborhood dogs on the walk. We walked probably a whole mile in total with Harry, and he didn't protest much at all. Of course, we kept telling him that there would be a warm mushroom and cheddar croissant at the end of the walk for him. A good reward for a job well done. It was a great Memorial Day weekend!

Harry's yard

Well, it's really happened now, hasn't it? I've been talking about it for years, but Harry finally now has a yard! We went to the house last week for the first time on our own and with Harry. He loved it. Everything was a bit much for him, though: the house, the yard, the big steps…and just exactly where were we now, he seemed to ask. 

There was a dog who lived in our house before us. Harry found one of his toys he must have left behind. It is a rubber ball with a bell inside and jingles when rolled. He had a mighty fun time rolling it around the house and pouncing on it! We had to distract him to take it away from him when we left. He would have otherwise refused to leave it behind!

oh, this old/new thing? 

Bath Time

Just too cute not to post. He looks so sad- like a little drowned rat. A look of betrayal. But boy does he smell so good right now! I love this little guy to pieces.

Back to Brooklyn

Two weekends ago, we spent some time in New York. Brooklyn, mostly. Of course, Harry came with us on our trip. He met Carl, his new kitten cousin, for the first time. Harry was curious and Carl was cautious, but I think Carl's first encounter with a dog-friend was a good one. He surely won't meet any other dogs as carefree about cats as Harry is, that's for sure!

Harry is from an animal shelter in Brooklyn (and so are Gregory and Chantal, for that matter). So, Brooklyn holds a special place for us in that respect. Carl was found shivering, outside in the dead of winter. It pains us to think about Gregory and Chantal in similar situations as kittens, as they must have somehow survived their first winter outside. How they did it, I'm not sure!

Harry also met up with Winston and Gunner, two little papillons who live with C's friend. They used to meet up in NYC as puppies and play like crazy, wild dogs, on their roof deck in midtown. We joked that it would be a senior citizen convention at their latest meet up, as it has been 6-7 years since they last met! Sure enough, it was. All 3 dogs sniffed each other a bit and then all got comfortable on the couches and slept as we adults conversed. 

Harry's been doing well and we keep telling him about the big move next month. I hope he's excited to play fetch in his own yard every day, if he wishes.

The sunlight into our apartment has been wonderful these days. Harry basks in sunlight every day when I'm home during the day. We call him a sunbathing pig. I hope the new house will have great sunlight too, so he can continue to sunbathe. 

Maybe they can have their own beds too? As you can see, Gregory AND Harry are under the covers, heads propped on pillows. I was told that Gregory was found in the same location hours later, after C got home!

First Photo: Harry and Carl

Hints of Spring

The weather is just starting to warm up a bit this week, though I still suspect we'll have our cold days here and there, should we dare speculate that we are out of the below-20 degree days? We had to leave the house for a few hours and it was just warm enough to be outside, coat-less, as a dog. The wind was pretty severe and as we were walking, I was nervous that Harry would stop in his tracks and refuse to go any further because he was too cold. Good thing he was too excited about where we were possibly going! I don't think he's been out to "stretch his legs" in a few weeks at minimum!

We walked our usual route to the West End dog run. Once again, Harry and Chelsea were the only ones there. I brought his red ball and Harry had a blast playing fetch. Of course, Chelsea just mosey-ed along the outskirts, sniffing and sniffing- catching up on all the "pee-mail. "

It had rained a few days ago and the entire dog run was pretty muddy. Harry loved it and didn't quite mind that he had flecks of dirt all over his face.

If only he knew that he's this close to being able to play fetch outside everyday if he wanted to, as easily as it is to open the front door!

OH! There he is!

busy...

… and busier!

Harry for President

Two weekends ago, we took Harry and Chelsea to Peters Park. It was the one weekend day in a long while that has been warm enough (high 30's!) to be outside for long enough…at least in Harry's opinion. He is not happy when it gets far below that! Despite how these pictures look, we were freezing! 

Harry very civilly said hello to other dogs (i.e. a lot of quiet sniffing of behinds going on). He even got animated and got involved in a couple of chases. Chelsea also got involved, but mostly found some human friends to pet her, as usual.

I look forward to warmer weekend days. Or days when Harry has his own yard? (a distinct possibility!)

Being chased off the rock

Oh hello there

Harry and Chelsea relishing in the chase

Mr. Busy: places to be and dogs to see

* first photo: Harry's presidential photo. Isn't it just perfect?!

Happy New Year!

We spent New Years Eve at a wedding in Sturbridge and Harry and Chelsea got to tag along. Oh boy does Harry love a good "vacation." Upon entering the hotel room, he hopped out of his travel bag and explored with his jaunty little gait. We could tell he was so happy. At one point, he actually sprinted up and down the room for no apparent reason! We think he appreciated the added traction the carpet gave him.

He also met up with Quincy and met Hilde, pups of our friends! It had been years since he's seen Quincy, and it was the first time Harry had ever met Hilde and goodness, did he acted like a little tough guy! Hilde is probably eight to nine times his weight, but he might have sniffed out that she's still a novice, as she is still a puppy. Every time she engaged him to play, he would freeze, look at her out of the side of his eyes and growl! He would then immediately hop up onto the bed to stay out of her way. It was pretty silly because pound for pound, there's no doubt she could take him. But she had no idea. And Harry wasn't about to give her an inch. It was all pretty darn adorable. 

We had two beds in our hotel room so we took bets on which bed Harry would choose to sleep on. Of course, he chose mine! But he did cuddle up next to C in the morning. So, all was fair.

He loved jumping from bed to bed, playing fetch. 

The flying dog

Looking out the window. Peaceful and warm on New Years Day

One of our New Year's resolutions is to find and do more activities with dog. Hopefully, 2014 will be filled with more bike rides, more trips, and more fun. It's starting out as a good year so far!