Done and almost over

In a few hours the year will be finished. And then a new one begins. Seamlessly. I probably won't even wake up when one is done and the other starts.

I thought about making resolutions. But I am a dog and I am pretty happy about everything I do. Well, getting up on the kitchen table wasn't so smart. And barking at my Best Friend when he was shoveling might be interpreted as kind of dense. And maybe I shouldn't have eaten all that chocolate chip banana bread. But almost everything else I have ever done seemed pretty reasonable at the time. Or maybe I just wasn't reasoning. I was just doing.

It seems to be a good way for me to be. Think a little, do a lot. I can try to remember to be polite, to be patient, to be gentle. I could try and lose a couple pounds but I get lots of exercise and my red suit fits, so who cares? I am appreciative, enthusiastic, somewhat obedient and don't take up too much room on the couch. I keep the kitchen floor clean, Ollie on his toes, don't snore too loudly and prevent the squirrels from taking over the yard. All in all, I am a pretty swell fellow. Or at least tolerable. Well, let's just say I am a good dog.

So, a tail wag to all and a happy new year!

Wild life

Maybe Ollie is right to watch shadows. If I had I would have missed this one though. A sharp-eyed sharp-shinned hawk sailed into the yard and snatched a sparrow who had been looking down at cracked corn instead of up at the sky - the place that danger comes from.

The hawk ate and ate and scattered the feathers and ate some more.

At first I was slightly appalled. After all, it is MY job to decide what goes on in the yard (except when I am asleep and then its everyone for himself). But the sharpie was efficient. There was no sport in his actions, only grim survival. No one hands him crunchies in a bowl twice a day.

The yard remained quiet for a few hours. My Person shoveled away the feathers, feet and beak left behind in the snow. A crow, sentinel of the bird world, made sure the sharpie didn't hang around all afternoon, digesting and scaring the chickadees and house finches that normally populate the yard.

Today a few flight feathers poke up through a fresh dusting of snow and the goldfinches glean the seed heads of cone flowers. Wild life goes on.

Ollie's cave

How often does your cat brother illustrate a philosophical allegory? More often than you might think.

Here is Ollie, seated at the window which overlooks the bird feeder. On this frosty day the birds are coming in to eat, a constant and fluttering crowd, squabbling, eating, seed tossing and jockeying for the best seat at the seed table.

But you will notice that Ollie does not look out of the window. He watches shadows instead. Sometimes the shadow of a bird landing on a nearby branch is cast upon the wall and Ollie stands on his hind legs and taps it with his paw. He cries softly and sits back down to watch the shadows again.

Does Ollie know he is watching shadows? How does he feel about Plato's illustration of the philosopher's role in society? Does Ollie have his own reasons for looking at the shadows?

Well, I am just a little red dog but I know a shadow from a bird. And I might not be of a philosophical bent but I think Ollie just spends too much time asleep in warm places. Or maybe he's a complex sort of little white cat and has turned all his world into a game. And I bet Ollie won't tell us what he thinks so I am not going to ask.

Below zero

I am a dog and I have a bite. I reserve my bite for eating supper and for emergency situations. But this winter weather has a bite of its own and it is not holding it in reserve. It is cold out!

I have been spending a lot less time out of doors - I run outside, and do my business and scoop up all the bird seed the silly birds have kicked out of their seed tray. Then I am ready to go back inside and curl up somewhere warm.

During my walks my little fast feet freeze one by one and I look like an animated tripod running along on three legs at a time. And my Person bundles up into a giant stiff padded shape and she shuffles along breathing out vapor clouds that circle her hat and freeze on her glasses. I would laugh but instead I lead her along safely. My work is never done.

If you have a place to warm up, count yourself lucky. I am happy to be a tame little red dog with a home and a food dish and a radiator or two. It is one thing to be a wild and free guy in the summer but right now I am happy to be inside and all curled up!

Storm watch

Blowing snow, cold wind, fluffed birds, my footprints lost as soon as I've made them - this is a winter storm watch in the North. And I was out in it with the best of them (and the worst of them), trudging through the gloaming, ice crusting my snout and drifts covering my little white socks and snow standing in a long ridge on my back and frosting my ears. The wildest of wild animals, furred or feathered, fanged or clawed, was similarly snow-assailed and searching for food in the late light (I found a wild slice of bread in someone's yard), and thinking about a sheltering place for the night.

Here is my sheltering place, a butterfly chair with a chenille throw, and I suppose the coyote I saw doesn't have quite the same comforts awaiting him. But I do and I won't complain too much and here I will stay until my next fearsome walk. Or supper.

Quietly quietly

Autumn has left and winter has come. The leaves are snowed under and the cold wind blows the snow in hissing waves.

But I am up for a walk anyway.

Our walks are quieter than a few weeks ago. Especially for my Person, who wears a huge hat on her head to keep her ears warm and to amuse the rest of us. The winter robins "chuck chuck" quietly quietly as we walk along and our footfalls are muffled in snow. Woodpeckers rap on tree trunks but few other birds are seen. The river flows quietly quietly under a skin of ice and a blanket of snow. Yesterday the river ice was talking - creaks and hums and strange zings. But not today. An eagle flies quietly quietly over the walking path and down by the river edge a strange wild creature noses quietly quietly along. I bark but not quietly. My Person and I are both pretty sure it was a coyote.

After this I was so excited I made up for the wintery hush by barking at all kinds of things - people, dogs, leaf piles. I barked myself into a great state of almost summery warmth. So much for quietly quietly.

Scolded

It may surprise you to find out how many times a day I get corrected, glared at, tsk-tsked at, or just plain hollered at: "Stop rolling Pico across the floor!" "Don't sit on Ollie!" "That's MY breakfast!"

Sometimes I can't do anything right.

But today I was honored to be scolded - by a peregrine falcon! This demon of the sky was sitting in the tree top by the bridge, hoping to pounce on a nice plump pigeon. And when I walked under his perch he scolded me. At first my Person couldn't figure out where the sound was coming from. It was bouncing off the concrete bridge and seemed to come from all directions. And she couldn't figure out what it was - it sounded sort of like an eagle but not quite. I don't get stuck in all this minutia of who, what, where, why...I just bark. So I did, and big surprise, I got shushed for that. But when we retraced our steps the bird scolded again and this time we saw it.

And why am I so pleased to be scolded? This bird considered me a rival, a fellow hunter and pouncer, and a wild thing. And I am, too. So I trotted away, unchastened and proud, wondering if pigeon tastes as good as dog treats.

Still at Work

The time has been flying by and my person has been too busy working to help me with this account. I finally pressed my nose into her leg so hard she got the picture. And I have a picture for you too. Look at what I have to live with! As you can see, it is the silly season in the cat realm. But it always is, from what I have observed.

While those good-for-nothing fur machines have been snoozing I have been hard at work myself. I got my Person through election season by walking her twice a day to calm her down and letting her run around at my favorite haunt, the river bank. I paid a week-long visit to my other human family where my cousins live and I admit I drove them a bit crazy by trying to rearrange the pecking order and to rid their neighborhood of other dogs, mail carriers and squirrels. I applied for an acting job and though I sat on the interviewer's foot and shed on his pant leg I didn't get the position - can you believe it??? What does it take?? And I have had my usual chores around the home.

So it has been a busy time.

This morning was no exception. I cleared the squirrels from my rainy yard and trotted to the river. The beaver have been busy and have chewed off many saplings. I played for a while with a stick a kindly beaver chewed to the perfect dog-toy length and then thoughtfully removed the bark. Then I chased a bald eagle but he ignored me. The good news is he didn't try to eat me. But I look more like a jawbreaker of a little red treat than a gummy bear. If someone wants to have me for a snack, they have their work cut out for them!

New coat

Life is full of patterns. You think your daily routine is much the same while all around you the world changes. You notice the world is changing and then you realize that change is really part of a larger familiar pattern.

The world around me is changing in a familiar way. The leaves are falling, blanketing the ground and making it fun for running and jumping and crashing through leafy drifts. Soon a thicker blanket of white will cover the leaves but the thought of that is making my Person shudder. We got a little taste of it today - blowing wind and rain and snow all mixed together, making the leaves skip and fly and ears flop inside out if you have flip floppy ears.

It was so chilly on our walk my Person wore two sweaters and a puffy vest and a jacket and a scarf and extra thick socks and she still seemed pretty cold as she pulled up the rear at the slow end of the leash. I could have used some thicker socks myself. My winter coat doesn't come from the closet - I have to grow it myself and I just barely have a start on it. I guess I'd better get busy!

Setting a tone for the day

It's a little after 8 a.m. and the thermometer tells my Person that it is in the 4o's. I can tell that by my frosty breath. So what do I do to get myself started on a day like this? I go swimming wearing nothing but my socks! And my little red suit of course.

My Person needs coffee to keep her eyes open but I think there is nothing as stimulating as jumping in the Mississippi River on an autumn morning. I did some splashing and some duck chasing and then I ran through the tall grasses and got lots of burrs stuck in my wet fur.

When you start your day with this much fun, things are bound to lag later on - it is kind of like eating dessert before your vegetables. Wait a minute, I never get dessert! My Person has some answering to do!

All the world's a stage

The trees continue their costume change for autumn, and the leaves are dropping to the ground. It is almost that time of year when my Person can play Where's Finnegan when she walks with me. It is a sable world for this sable dog.

You could have played Where's Finnegan the last few days and you wouldn't have found me because I wasn't home. I was working! I am officially a working stiff of a little red dog - a professional actor.

I did a screen test and then I acted for a commercial. I had to walk, sit and look, all things I excel at. And then I had to do the thing I am very best at. I had to eat dog food! From a turquoise-colored bowl that was almost as big as me. I got paid to do this!! And of course I did very well.

In fact, my Person says I am exceeding expectations in general, from throw-away dog to star in just a couple of years. Talk about your turnaround stories!

It is great to be a working dog. And now I have a better reason to bark at the mailman. I think my check is in the mail!

So tired

I think I will spend all day in bed. I have nothing to do. My Best Friend was here for a visit and now is gone. The heat is finally on in this cold old house so all my cat brothers are resting on top of the radiators and they will be so busy absorbing up all the warmth that they won't play with me. My Person is tap-tap-tapping away at that stupid and boring computer. The dog park is all wet from lots of rain so I won't be allowed there for a day or so.

So, why bother even getting out of bed? Except for meals....

And that reminds me...it is about time for a meal. Time to get up!

For Tibeau

I like to be a leader but sometimes I am a follower. Can you guess what I am following? A huge persian cat? A giant fluffy rabbit? A walking shag rug?

No to all of those. This amazing creature is a dog, like me. But not JUST like me. This is a sheltie and her name is Tasha, and even though neither of us remembers it very often, we are good friends. She can do tricks and she obeys better than I do. One of the really great things about Tasha was her dog brother, the most wonderful sheltie you can imagine. And what I have to say is almost unimaginable.

I don't know how it happened but he got very sick. And suddenly he is gone from our dog world. Only two days ago I was at the dog park with him, and while I bounced around and harassed other dogs and barked my loudest, Tibeau, for that was his name, walked in his stately manner and greeted dogs, and lovingly watched his Person. I admit I can be a bit of a rube but Tibeau never was anything but a gentleman. He had a quiet husky voice and a sweet expression. He was the kind of dog that gives dogs a good name.

All I can say is I am glad I knew him. And I will always remember him. And no other dog will ever be like quite him ever again.

Nature's Solace

My human Grandmother says that nature is the best solace. I agree with her and like to think I am a little closer to nature than the People I associate with. I will give them credit for trying to be close to nature but it is hard for them. They VIEW nature more than they ARE nature.

I spent a lovely evening with my Person whilst she attempted a nature bond. She likes to paint out of doors, something called plein air, and while she's doing that she quits thinking about nature so much and just watches it and slowly she perhaps becomes more a part of it, or at least less a thinker about it. She doesn't achieve my natural state but she quiets down a bit inside. For a short while.

Meanwhile, I observe and sniff and keen at the occasional deer and pounce and wait silently as the situation dictates, I yawn and scratch and paw and wander, never once thinking about anything! It is great being a dog.

If I could give my Person a gift, not one of my chewy bones of course, nor my squirrely squirrel toy, it would be a the gift of being a little more doggy and less Persony.

Triangulating

Long hours of rain have slowed down my action-packed life. I was reduced to helping my Person stretch canvas on wooden frames for her to make paintings on. It was my job to use this triangle to make sure the corners were all nice and square. I made sure I got some shut eye instead.

I like to think of myself of a paws-on dog, but I don't think precision work is my forté. I like digging holes as fast as I can, bouncing when I run, falling on Ollie from the top of the bed and knocking grocery bags over. I like burrowing under blankets, stealing other dog's toys and making Great Escapes through the fence. I do not like making sure corners are square.

But if the rain doesn't stop I might be stuck in the studio, playing unwilling apprentice. It might be all worthwhile if my Person would let me paint a painting or two. And she might learn a few useful tips from me if she does. If you notice her paintings start to improve check out the signature on them and see if maybe it is "Finnegan."

Wild side

You know me. I am a rustic and hardy type. I climb rocks and trails and run down slopes and jump in lakes. I even have been canoeing, though my Person insisted I not jump out and try walking on walking lily pads.

But I think my wildness got the better of me. I was trotting along, sniffing for scent marks and admiring the leaves for beginning their annual Finnefication (they are starting to turn a nice orangey red) and being thankful my own Finnefication does not require dropping to the ground and being covered by snow half the year (I just shed a little fur instead), when suddenly I smelled a wee smell and heard a wee sound and I Pounced!

I landed right on top of a chubby gray mole and knocked him out and made his elbow bleed. My Person grabbed my leash and dragged me off before I could lend further assistance to the mole by carrying him in my nice warm mouth for awhile.

At least I didn't hunt him down in an airplane and field dress him and brag about it. I was just being a dog and sometimes dogs are a little on the wild side.

Getting along

I am reminiscing about being on the North Shore and so here is a picture of me on the rocks along the harbor. You will notice the tiresome little Plastic dog that my Person is so fond of is along with me.

This reminds me that often we just have to put up with things. Even on vacation! I'd have left that little guy home to monitor Adric the Cat but instead he came along too, riding in my Person's backpack and posing for snapshots.

Since we got back my human family has been putting up with some conditions they aren't happy with and the complications are beyond my comprehension so I try to look cheerful and calm things with my winning ways. It occurs to me that the Plastic dog does this as well. And my Person seems to appreciate him for this so I guess it behooves me to remember this.

So I am going to just be calm and amiable and do what the Plastic dog does: make the people around me smile.

Packed

Long time, no write. But I've been sick and then well again. And then I got to go on vacation.

My Person packed her sturdy shoes and her jacket, and my Best Friend packed his laptop and I packed me! Off to the North Shore we went. It was fabulous.

I think someone changed our bumper sticker from "Dog is my Co-Pilot" to something like "Dogs sit in the back seat only." Did I say the vacation was fabulous? Let me take that back. Other than riding in the backseat, it was fabulous. I tried almost constantly to insinuate myself into the front seat but it just didn't work. Rats!

Some highlights:
1) Adric the Cat stayed home!
2) Pico the Cat stayed home!
3) Ollie the Cat stayed home!
4) I almost caught a wild woodland chipmunk!
5) I got to eat part of a fresh donut at the harbor!
6) I got to use my new expanding dog leash!

I have some great pictures from my trip but you'll have to wait to see them until my Person forks them over. Right now I better go unpack the rest of myself.

Feeling my age

You know I am beginning to feel a bit like a pensioner. Rests, trips to the doctor for more medicine, little gentle walks. No tearing through the deep weeds, slurping pond water - none of the usual joys of youth.

Yesterday I went to see my vet and it left me shaking in my little white boots. One poor old dog had just come out of surgery and another dog...well, all I can say is his collar and leash are hanging in a place of honor at his Person's home and there is much sadness there. Another young dog had just had surgery and wasn't going to be able to play for a week. Can you imagine?

And in the corner a flame point Siamese cat was crying about having his teeth cleaned. Cats! It just makes you wonder. We dogs are made of sterner stuff and we have to be. It is a hard world.

I could be resting up on my back step in the milky sunlight with a blanket over my knees but my Person thoughtlessly decided to water the lawn and my step is all wet. So I will suffer in silence and go throw myself upon the bed. If I were a cat I would just cry!

A journey

I just came back from a trip to the other side of the big river. I traveled for hours to see my human grandparents and wish my grandpapa a happy birthday. It was such a long trip and the sun shone brightly on my seat and I tried to sit in my Person's shady lap and the only other shady place in the car had a birthday cake sitting in it. So it was a little bit of a hard trip for this little red dog, but getting there made it all worth while. (As did the french fries my Person shared with me on the road.)

My human grandparents have a flowery yard with lots of bees and wrens and hummingbirds and rabbits and I was happy to sit and watch all the activity of all those creatures. And I was much fussed over and my grandpapa bought ME a present, a wonderful and large chewy bone. I buried it swiftly under the lilac tree. And guess what? My Person dug it up! I will have to watch her like a hawk because this might be a clue as to what she does all day when I am in the backyard dozing and chasing squirrels. She says she's working but she probably is working on my chew toys.

On our way back home we stopped to see something fantastic and that is what you see in the picture. It is the rare and shy whooping crane! This bird is much taller than I am and lives an amazing life, flying from its summer home in the North Land all the way to Florida! The flock this bird belongs to was entirely wiped out by humans and a very small group of people have been working hard to bring these tall white birds back from the edge of extinction!! I was pretty happy to see this whooping crane and to wish it well.

Then I saw a deer and I forgot all about everything else, because I am a little red hunting dog at heart.

So so

It is very hot and I am resting inside in un-airconditioned discomfort. I got my walk in early, raindrops dancing on my head, and will take another one when the evening light is a bit gentler.

We like to walk in a place that is being returned to native-ish prairie. It is a place where we often run across Mr. Woodchuck and he always gives me a quick look and hides himself away in the bushes. A few days ago the park department sprayed some poison on the plants they didn't want living in that prairie and the workers put up a little crooked warning sign saying "Stay out!"

I am thinking Mr. Woodchuck couldn't read. We found him sprawled on the ground in a position he would have never assumed when alive. I had always admired his sturdy frame and his glossy darkness and I am a bit ashamed of all the times I barked at him.

A nicer part of the day was having a bit of a picnic lunch with my Person. We went to a park and had a falafel sandwich together and we both sat awhile, sniffing the breeze and neither of us had too much to say so neither of us said anything at all. We just sat and stared, something we both excel at.

Census

The population is going up soon. Census figures for this household will now include a few extra bees.

There is so much a little red dog has to learn about people and their ways and much of what I learn is strange indeed. I've learned that domestic honeybees aren't native to this country and they get raised like little livestock, given all kinds of antibiotics and set loose to pollinate specific crops. Sometimes they run out of food and starve after they have done their jobs. And they seem to be getting very sickly and dying out. But without bees, plants won't get pollinated and without plants we are all in some big trouble.

There are lots of other bees that are native to this country, are important plant pollinators and live in things other than beehives. Some lay their eggs in holes and here are some now! My Person is always fiddling and she made this bee nursery to encourage some of those other kinds of bees to hang around our garden. It is an amazing structure and busy as, well, a bee! It is like a huge apartment building, only one in which all the residents are goggle-eyed and can fly.

This makes me think about homes in the wild. I think I am pretty wild but the truth is I like sleeping on a soft couch. Other creatures are truly wild and even though we might help them along with nest boxes and feeders and nurseries, the best thing is if they have plenty of truly wild houses in the truly wild wilderness. And it is up to people to make sure that there are wild places left for wild creatures, places with No People, and it is up to little red dogs to remind them to do that.

Brotherly love

That's not me. I haven't gotten all pale and flabby. (Even though I am still a sick little red dog.) This is Pico, my cat brother. He has been so nice to me the past few days, rubbing against me and purring. Maybe he can tell my little internal candle is burning a bit dimmer than usual.

I am taking a whopping seven medications! Well, since my doctor is almost wholly holistic, all but one of them are really tonics. And they do make me feel better but not well, so he caved and gave me a real bona fide medication. And my Person will attest that if I discover that particular pill in my special homemade dinner, I will neatly remove it and leave it on the floor.

I am still up to my usual activities but in a less spirited fashion. I just went for a little evening stroll and ran into an old acquaintance of mine, Lola. She's cute and spotted, and she's part beagle and part pit bull. That makes her a Pigle. Or a Bit. Am I glad my origins are shrouded in mystery so no one can make up silly names like that to attach to me.

Even though Pico is being kind of a Pal, that Adric has been trying to grab my Person's attention when I am deserving of all of it, and that Ollie has been trying to eat my special homemade convalescent diet! I am all for brotherly love, but as soon as I am feeling better I am going to have to remind them who is the top dog around here.

Dog day

This was a summer day - nothing more and nothing less. What does a dog do on summer days? He naps for one thing.

A summer day for a dog also includes going for a walk, chasing and almost catching a squirrel, eating some bird seed under the feeder, getting a surprise visit from a charming but addled sheltie cousin and napping in the sun after the shady nap is over.

Today I watched butterflies flitting around, bees buzzing deep into flower heads with their pollen sacs on their little legs filled to bursting with yellow powder, and an endless parade of woodpecker parents leading their young to the suet feeder. I also watched my Person read for awhile but that is what got me napping. She is so dull sometimes!

Now it is a summer evening and I have eaten my summery super and I am headed back out for a few more looks and sniffs and an evening nap on the step. Then my perfectly summery day will be done.

The search

Off an adventure again. And this was the most boring one yet!

I am a scientific dog - a bluebird trail monitor and a semi-official loon monitor - and I led my Person and my aunt veecee on an adventure far out west to where the prairie used to live. It is all farm country now.

We searched high and low for loons. We stared long and hard. We were armed with clipboards, sharp pencils, and one of us with unusual gifts of perception. (I don't want my Person and my aunt arm wrestling over this one so I will tell you now that last reference is to me.)

There were no loons! We saw cormorants, and a bald eagle sail in for a catch. We saw kingbirds and killdeer (I hope they don't, and if they do I don't know how because they are tiny), we saw white pelicans and we saw black terns. We even saw a spotted dog with only three legs in working order but that's another story.

All in all we were skunked.

But I got ice cream and french fries and that almost made up for me having to ride in the back seat when I sure we would have done better if I had been in the passenger seat with the map. And I let some friendly ticks hitch a ride east with me. Who knows - maybe they were loon monitors on an adventure of their own.

More magic

Anyone in this picture look familiar? It is me, and the picture was made in the most amazing way. It was made by an oatmeal box used as a camera!

My Person has been experimenting. She does that a lot: with plants, with my dinner, with nicknames for those annoying cat brothers I am saddled with, and this time, with photography. She found out you can make a camera out of just about any kind of box and you don't need a lens or a roll of film or a computer chip. It isn't really magic - it is called pinhole photography. But it seems like magic to me.

It takes longer to expose an image when you are using a pinhole camera, so your subject, me for example, can't move for a long time. I couldn't pant, flop on my side, yawn, scratch, bark or even drool for ten whole seconds! It was terrible. But when the ordeal is over, you get a nifty print like this one that looks sort of like it was taken many years ago, before there were any little red dogs like me. Pinhole cameras take Mysterious pictures.

So if you feel like experimenting, get out your oatmeal box. But get someone else to pose for you, okay?

Home

There are several reasons for taking up residence in my Person's home. One is that you have admirable companionship qualities. That is why I am here.

Another is that you might be a bit ill and need some nurturing. That's the case for me too, recently. However, I did get into the compost yesterday and had some coffee grounds. And guess what? I felt almost completely well after that! Who needs medicine?

When my Person found out what I had done she gave me what she calls her "withering" glance. It didn't work. I am not at all withered. Just a bit tired from all that running around.

There might be a reason for Adric the Cat being here but I haven't figured it out yet.

Another reason for taking up residence here is because you need a little help during a life transition. That is why this fellow you see, the Monarch caterpillar, is here. Birds might peck him or a wasp might sting him and Monarchs aren't faring so well as they used to. Something to do with bad weather and herbicides that keep their favorite foods from growing.

My Person says if there is magic in the world, you can see it by watching a Monarch caterpillar. First it is a little tiny egg. Then it is a little tiny caterpillar. Soon it is a great stripey caterpillar munching on milkweed leaves so loudly that I would say "Excuse me!" if I ate that noisily. Then it becomes a green blob stuck by some silk threads to something. Then it is a green hard shell with golden spots, ever so quiet and stiff. Then the shell pops open and out comes a beautiful Monarch butterfly. How does this happen?

Maybe my Person is right - maybe it is magic!

Getting better all the time

You can't keep a little red dog down. Three days into my regimen of four holistic remedies twice daily as prescribed by my nice and very interesting (that is a common noncommittal midwestern descriptor) veterinarian, I am feeling almost like I should once again.

Not that it did me much good today. My Person lavished all her attention on playing musical plants in my backyard (I bet they feel worse than I did), moving them all around, giving them haircuts and generally distributing torture left and right in the name of creating a "natural" environment. According to her.

I haven't noticed this kind of silliness going on in the real natural environment. Plants take care of themselves quite nicely and if they get old and rotten or branches fall off, a squirrel or an owl moves right in. People are a puzzlement! They aren't happy unless they are messing with things.

But as long as my Person doesn't start playing musical dogs I guess I'll keep my mouth shut.

On edge

How do you feel about heights? You know nothing scares me though my Person was clutching at my leash and looking worried. But here I am on vacation!! Looking at the sea caves of Red Cliff. It was pretty interesting and a pretty big drop and if I had fallen that would have been the end of this little red dog.

My Best Friend came along also and it was a good vacation of hiking and then some more hiking and then some more hiking. I went swimming in Lake Superior and I saw a wood turtle and scared some Wisconsin rabbits. My Best Friend saw a bear but I missed it. And my Person saw a skunk but I missed that also. We all saw eagles hunting for fish and deer prancing across the road and sea gulls flying and I talked to a bunch of vacationers who had never seen a dog like me except in picture books about Dogs of the World.

But now I am home and a bit sick from drinking ditchy, creeky, streamy, rivery and lakey water so it is time for a little rest for a little sick dog.

Suddenly summer

I live in a strange place. Half the year it is so cold that you risk your life by going outside. And pity those who live outside in it - fur fluffed and feathers puffed and beaks stuffed with suet just to keep going through another frozen minute.

And then one day the world is bright green all over and there are young squirrels arm wrestling, butterflies flying erratically, dive bombing tree swallows (jeez, just because I peaked in their nest box), baby starlings carousing, toads snoring dreamily, cats pouncing, dragonflies buzzing and mosquitoes biting everyone including me! The plants seem to grow while you watch them and if you fall asleep under a wee bush it might not be so wee when you wake up again.

I don't know where the chipmunks were hiding all winter but they are at their full strength now and they run from my rain gutter and into my neighbor's yard, somehow getting passed my watchful eye. I am going to stay here and watch for them if it takes the rest of the summer for me to figure out how to catch them!

On guard

Here I wait for the chipmunks to come out of the down spout. Here I wait for a good walk to start. Here I wait, maybe to go see my cousins again.

Here I don't wait for the sun to shine - I do that inside. It has been a deluge around here and not only does that cut into walking time, chipmunk stalking time and other play time but it's been hard on my nerves as well. I am the tiniest bit afraid of storms and it has been storming ever since my Person came back. Maybe I should connect the dots...my Person goes away and the weather is fine...she comes back and its ark time.

Wisely wanting to book passage on the ark is a new arrival in my back yard. A chunky and spotted toad has been creeping around and I would give him a good pounce but he's too slow to challenge my stalking skills. And he's too silly looking to be worried about. Plus he might be eating up some of those mosquitoes that have come along with the rains. I am giving him free passage in my domain out of respect for him as a fellow hunter. He can take care of the bugs and I'll take care of those rodents!

On the job

My wonderful vacation is over. I walked about 7 miles a day, kept my cousins well-entertained, guarded a new area of the city from evil doers, and scared the stuffing out of a family of rabbits who were convinced a cunning fox had moved into the neighborhood. But all good things must end and I am back home with my Person.

What do you normally do when you get back from vacation? A load of laundry is in order and I did mine by jumping into the river and splashing until I was wet everywhere (never changing clothes is so practical). Then I tumbled dry by running madly through the riverside woods. After that I napped.

But today I was back on the job. You see me here in my blue bird trail monitor role. I also got some more napping in as I had gotten a little behind because my cousins needed my attention almost constantly. Mine is a tough job but I am always up to it.

You know what people say about vacations - home for five minutes and it's like you never went away. But I haven't forgotten how much fun I had with my cousins. I wonder if I could book my Person another trip to the land of sea urchins soon?

Wandered away

I didn't. But my Person did.

At least she didn't send me to lock up this time. I am with my human cousins and having such fun I may never go home again. I got to watch their soccer practice and I escorted them to school and it is WAY more interesting here than at home with my Person.

I hope she doesn't read that.

She did call me and said she saw a sea urchin. If she wants to fly across the country to see something that would as soon poke her in the foot as look at her, that is her business. All I know is her vacation is a vacation for me this time!

Summer

Summer is here like I'm in this photo: sort of.

The weather is trying to be summery. There are a few timid mosquitoes about and the plants are getting taller than me, if you can believe it. Down by the river the fisher people have taken up their positions and I visited a few today. I almost managed a complete search of an open rucksack before I was booted from one fishing site. People can be so stingy with their snacks!

Tonight there was a thunderstorm storm. Because this is the Far North this summer storm included falling ice. We must need a touch of winter in everything! I keep thinking I should have held on to my winter coat but it is included in several bird nests by now. My Person insisted on brushing me in the back yard and the chickadees have been flying off with beakfuls of my red dog fur. Maybe next winter they'll lend me a few feathers for my pillow!

Dog of mystery

I'm in my hole, keeping a watch on the world. But the world can't see much of me. Someone passing by might not even know what I am. I could be a red fox in a fox den, or a smallish riperian grizzly in his cave, or a stripeless badger, or a huge red squirrel...who knows?

It is good to have mysteries. For instance, no one knows where I am really from, and most of the time I sure don't know where I am going. I don't know what my Person does all day and why she isn't busy walking me or attending to my needs. I don't know why there are three siamese cats living with us - that's a BIG mystery.

I had some mysterious fun at the river today. I was unusually happy to be running free and I guess I took off and left my Person wondering where I had gotten to. Let's say I was busy.

I finally decided to heed her worried calls and rejoin her and brought along the prize that had detained me - a big and somewhat gory bone! She said it was disgusting, which I took to mean that she was disgusted she hadn't found such a wonderful thing herself. Then she said she'd trade up with me - the bone for two cat treats. Trade up? I didn't roll off the pumpkin cart yesterday! So we wrestled instead and I am embarrassed to admit that she won. She threw my lovely bone in the river.

So I took off again. I ignored her as long as I could but she started to sound frantic. When I ran back to her my nifty walking harness was on sideways! "How did you manage that?" she asked but I couldn't tell her even if I wanted to. We are going to add that to the list of today's mysteries.

But I have bigger mysteries to crack now, like why I haven't had my dinner yet!

More like it

After of few days of being under the weather (don't eat the onions when you are finishing up the leftovers) and being under the weather (the big cloudy kind) today was more of a fun-for-Finn kind of day. After a quick tour of the blue bird trail, dodging golf balls and grinning at surprised golfers who didn't know about my monitor status, I headed for the Mississippi River with my Person in tow.

I had a great time chasing a lab around and showed him that red dogs rule. I got in a big swim and a tromp through the woods and headed home for a much needed nap.

Then a problem arose. My Person spent most of yesterday installing a farm in MY backyard. She is all excited about the prospect of having fresh tomatoes in her salad but I don't care if I ever eat a salad. Back yards are for two things, neither of which is growing salad items: napping in and chasing squirrels around in. Suddenly my favorite sunny nap spot is a field of herbs!

The herb bed is nicely mulched with soft grass clippings and it IS a bed, so I settled in for a nap. Boy, did I get hollered at. So I moved over to where the little milkweed plants are just poking their tender leaves up and the nice soft native grass is planted. And I got hollered at again. So I decided to sit on her lap and she thought her boring old book should be on her lap instead of me.

This is what I call a conflict of interest. What I am interested in is in conflict with her dumb ideas. Finally I curled up in my not so favorite napping spot and gave my Person my most baleful look and my biggest sigh. I think my Person feels just a little bit guilty about being so selfish with my backyard so maybe she'll share her supper with me. As long as it isn't salad or onions, I will be a happy dog again.

Warbling

My Person has been so distracted with other activities and creatures I might as well be invisible. And so I have taken desperate measures. Even though I am the top dog, she pays a lot more attention to birds than she does to me. Especially migratory birds. She explains that they aren't around for long and it is a treat to be able to see them in the spring. I figure I am a treat any time of year.

In order to get some attention I have build a nest. You can consider me an expecially rare sighting - a migratory Finnegan warbler, identified by my beautiful rusty color and white tips and, as my aunt veecee says, soulful eyes. I am not in any field guide, so don't bother looking. And if my Person doesn't look sharp I am going to be as elusive as the Ivory billed woodpecker.

Anyway, I think this might draw my Person's attention back to a more deserving subject: me!

On the trail

You all know I am a very dedicated volunteer blue bird trail monitor. I check the nest boxes of a nearby trail once a week, counting occupants, looking for blue eggs and evicting sparrows with a good scolding. I wear my little red uniform for the task so everyone knows who I am. And I bring my Person with me because of her adept thumbs.

But as with most ventures, there are always surprises. Today there was a surprise for me when I saw a chickadee incubating her eggs in one of the blue bird boxes and she was surprised to see me seeing her. She has a nest made of moss and lichens and soft things and she is so brave she didn't fly away.

I think I am sort of like a chickadee myself, on the small side, dapperly designed and with a stout heart. In fact I might just change my name to Finnadee!

In nature

I am struck by something. Not drops of water kicking up from my flashing feet. I am struck by the nature of my nature and the nature of my Person's nature. To be blunt, she isn't natural. She likes to be outside and she loves birds and trees and rocks. But she isn't at one with nature. It doesn't seem that people are.

People are too apart from nature, living in houses, wearing shoes. They don't know how to find tasty treats in leaf litter or smell what other creature has been walking by. They may like to name nature but they don't really understand nature because they aren't quite in it. Today my Person was naming birds. How silly! One had a fancy name - blue headed vireo. She saw it, pronounced the fancy name, and felt she knew something. Hah! She knows nothing. That name is just a human invention.

She doesn't understand what she sees even if she can give it a fancy name. As we walked a lot of birds were calling. She thought it was interesting, and she stopped to look at them. She was so busy trying to name them she forgot to notice what they were doing. Well, they were trying to scare away that big bad hawk! Finally she began to understand. Later we came across a huge dog. I wanted to scare it away and started barking at it. She didn't understand I was doing the same thing those valiant birds had been doing. She actually told me to be quiet! Would she have told those birds to be quiet?

Well, they wouldn't have listened, and for the record, neither did I.

Hunter or..

...hunted? That's a broad winged hawk giving me the hairy eyeball, and I didn't even notice! There is a little red box around the little red dog and the big brown hawk but can you tell who is what? Click the photo to see more clearly if you dare.

That raptor could have swooped down and carried me away. Or I might have pounced on him and brought home a new toy for Adric. But neither happened. We both went on our merry ways.

And my way today was merry. I got to ride in a golf cart as part of my official duties (yes, I have them) as a bluebird trail monitor, I got to run by the river, and for once my Person brought home a tick and I didn't. She wasn't nearly as amused as I was, but I think we all know who has the better sense of humor in this household.

The river is wide...

... I can't cross o'er. Nor do I have light wings to fly.
Build me a boat that can carry two and both shall row, my Person and I.

Or so the song goes. But maybe I should just leave my Person on this side of the river. She made me walk, as part of one of her patently dubious Fun Ideas, for miles and miles, only to end up across the river from my favorite spot, the dog park.

This particular dog park is a wonder for dogs. It has miles of pristine beaches (okay, I am lying about the pristine part), woods to chase in, an alleged coyote to chase in those very woods, hills and swampy areas, many other dogs to bark at, squirrels, and if you were ever so sneaky and knew the way, it opens into a state park and from there you could head down the Mississippi and if you had your handy raft, you could commence the Huck Finn phase of your life. All in all it is a place where a little red dog can have some real Fun.

So here I am, on the wrong side of the river, listening to happy barks drifting across the water. Next time I'm in charge of the outing!

Hobbies

It is important to have hobbies. Some folks don't know what to do with themselves most of the time. And then they get up to No Good.

I have lots of hobbies and today is a good day for most of them. It is raining steadily, the squirrels are staying home (probably doing hobbies) and the thunder keeps me from my usual guard duty. (I am just a tiny bit afraid of thunder.) I have been, so far, chewing my chewy bone, napping, dogging my Person's footsteps, following Adric very closely so that he makes a funny whining noise and holds his ears back like arrows, napping, watching cars, doing short happy sprints to the door and then changing my mind, napping and every now and again I sigh.

Right now I am going to spend some more time on my napping hobby - I have been making good progress and want to make sure I have all my napping done before it is time to go to bed.

Rumination

Did you think I was some shy ruminant, hoofing it quietly through the woods? Wrong - it is me. Though I am grazing as happily as a deer.

Despite winter's steady refusal to go away and stay away, things are growing. And it is the time of year when dogs eat grass. To put it delicately, it helps with spring cleaning. Plus it tastes good!

You may also notice the faint indications of sunshine too. Still, I am going to keep what is left of my winter coat on for now (though I have left a few bits of it on the couch, on my Person's pillow and spread evenly on all the rugs) because this is not a spring for making assumptions. And I am going to eat all the grass my one stomach will hold because I might be back to eating snow again soon.

White tailed dear

I know I know! That was corny but I couldn't resist. Actually it is more a case of cat got your tail? This poor dove has been hanging around our yard and it is missing most of its rightful tail, leaving these silly white feathers to pull up the rear.

My Person, as you know, is a nut case so she immediately built this dove a little nesting platform. That is thoughtful and all but "building" in this instance means woodworking. If my Person has any strengths they are not apparent to me but I know for a fact that woodworking isn't one of them. To build a home! Talk about sub-prime (and we aren't talking mortgage here).

Well, it is the thought that counts, though after one big windstorm it may all end (as my Swedish human grandmother likes to point out about most things) in tears.

Ephemeral

Well, what isn't when it comes down to it? The madding crowd's taste for the great outdoors sure was. (My auntie veecee was right.) My Person and I pretty much had the path to ourselves today. A steady rain has convinced others of the pleasures of being indoors.

But out we went, and though our way was flooded in places it was beautiful. The tree trunks were elegantly dark with water and a bright green growth is beginning to push through the leaf litter. Spring flowers like this bloodroot emerged in the warm weather that was as ephemeral as the flowers will be. As we walked along the river, brown and still as cold tea, we disturbed a pair of wood ducks. My Person did the disturbing; I am a practitioner of silent sports.

Seeing the beautiful and already fading flowers put me in a pensive mood. We might have sat quietly and watched the silver sky reflected in the endlessly flowing river but our usual perch was under water. So we kept going, our feet padding, the rain falling, the river moving and we both considered the brevity of life, the surprise of change and the enduring cycles of nature.

Privacy

I'm inside having a little bit of privacy and as you can tell by the blur that is my tail I am pretty happy about it.

Just because the weather warmed up and the sun is shining and we aren't expecting a blizzard for at least 24 hours, people (and their dogs) act like they own the outdoors.

All the places I have tromped alone with my Person these past few long, gray and icy months are populated by people in shorts and sandals and by dogs with their tongues hanging out. Where have they been all winter when I have been laying claim to the snowy landscape, sniffing the smells of winter creatures and leaving a few of my own?

I don't mind sharing the path with the wild creatures that have arrived. They have more right than I to the natural world since I am a tame little red dog and have a house to go home to every day. But I wish all the daytrippers would stay out of my favorite private places by the river! It's so noisy down there a loon can't hear itself call. "Young people" as my Person refers to them, are everywhere, standing in groups and talking loudly, playing ball, lounging on my grass, running on my running grounds.

I just had to get away from it all so here I am. Soon enough the skies will darken and storms will come and it will be too chilly for most people and then the world will be quiet again. Just right for the wild animals and a not so wild me.

Left behind

That's not a little red dog. That's a little tree swallow.

My Person left me home today, catsitting, while she went off to a very interesting place looking for sandhill cranes. She didn't find any. She found tree swallows instead.

She could have taken me with her but she was afraid I would bark and scare the cranes. But there weren't any cranes. Therefore I would not have barked. Therefore she should have taken me along with her. This is only logical.

I hope she learned her lesson. And I hope from now on I am not the default catsitter while she goes off on hopeless endeavors.

Working stiff

This is what a little red dog looks like on vacation. I am not on one - quite the opposite as you shall see.

Long long ago when the world was much younger, my Person was not so big and old as she is now. In fact she was just a little girl. She used to go to work with her papa and she thought he was the most important person in the world and his job the most important job on the world.

Now before you think that I feel the same as that about my Person, let me assure you that I do not! Nor do I think I am her child or she my parent. I am my own individual doggie self. And a grown-up little dog to boot. But today, my Person took me to work with her! And it was very exciting. I wore my best red suit. You know which one - it is the one I wear every day. Even though I had to sit in the car and couldn't go into the building, I am sure my role was critical, and my contribution an important one.

After the meeting, the other consultant came out with my Person to the car to see me and guess what? He was a dog also - a Ted dog, and a Yorkie. He actually went into the meeting and sat at the table and I bet the other meeting goers attended to his ideas even as they would have mine. But the most amazing thing about Ted was his size. He is the size of my head! How does an entire dog fit into a space so small?

This was all so exhausting that I had to take a nap when we got back home. I didn't know working was this hard. And I hope my schedule doesn't get too booked up with meetings in the future!

Serious stuff

This was a seriously windy day. The newly thawing ground is getting dry looking already and the branches are blowing around like they are bewitched. The river water was so wildly windblown it had little white caps riding on it and when I jumped in and out I was dry again almost before I got wet.

Some other serious stuff happened today besides the wind. While out for my romp my Person and I came across another Person who had found an injured squirrel and of course my Person wanted to take it to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center to get helped. I personally opposed this plan until she reminded me that someone intervened on my behalf when I was a lost little red dog. And as my Best Friend later pointed out, the only way I will have squirrels to bark at is if there are squirrels around. So off we went with a sad and sickly squirrel to the WRC and I hope it makes its way back to health and its home. But next time I see it I will still bark at it!

No complaints

Someone has been complaining about the weather. I am sure it wasn't me. I am always sunny and the world around me is also. But some People are more gloomy than their dogs.

But today is pretty fine. And what does a boy do on a real spring day? Of course he climbs a tree or two and runs himself silly. And if he's a little red dog of a boy he barks at other dogs and chases them and he jumps in the river and gets wet and runs some more and then falls asleep in a furry damp pile in the back yard.

I think today will be followed by plenty more even better days and I have my schedule ready for all of them: play, jump, climb, swim, bark, run. I hope my Person is ready for spring!