We appear to be experiencing a cold snap. Not horrible. Not like the mountains for snow and freezing temperatures everyone on the east coast experienced, but still, for these here parts, it’s chilly. Worst thing about it — it kind of feels like we got fooled. I mean, everything is in bloom and SHAZAM! the temperatures drop below freezing. Not good for the daffodils. Not good for the euphorbia that’s busting out all over the place. Not good for dogs with only a bit of hair.

At least today, we didn’t get any snow flurries…at least not yet…they are predicted for tonight. Sure wish it would stick. I hate the teasing.

I suppose that’s what I find so fascinating about the seasons — each one holds me differently. Summer holds me in soft warmth as if I’m buried in a warm down comforter curled up right next to a glowing fireplace. My muscles relax. My tongue measures the heat by the length it can extend. And my body longs to spread out on the cool kitchen floor — my belly flat, my legs outstretched.

The fall is precisely what the word implies — a slight lean into something less stressful, a slow tumble into quieter days and longer nights. Fall is orange against blue, yellow scattered on the green grass, and this feeling that I must get done whatever I am doing for soon they’ll be no more time left to do it.

Spring, on the other hand, puts a bounce in my step. These past few weeks, as the temperatures climbed in the upper 50s and lower 60s, I felt more alive, more willing to pursue my adventures with a bit more vim, a bit more vigor. Every flower surprises me. Every new scent on the ground requires investigation. There are squirrels popping up everywhere and I must stay forever vigilant lest I miss one crossing my path. Spring makes me feel hopeful.

Which is why this winter has confused me. We never really had winter. We had an endless October in some ways, a November stuck in neutral. There was no snow. There was only one trip to the mountains. Some days, when I’d exercised hard, I even thought about a swim in the lake. I never think about the swim in the lake during the winter months, but not only did I think I about it, I actually did it a couple of times this winter. Yes, it was cold, but it wasn’t anything like what I’d expect for a winter time swim.

So that feeling of hopefulness, that feeling that the grip of cold, of dark days is about to pass and spring about to spread like wild flowers in an empty field has eluded me. Sure, there are squirrels who mock me, but there was never an absence of squirrels, which is what winter is all about. Sure, there are flowers, but the grass never seemed to go dormant, the bulbs never really fell asleep, and so I wasn’t surprised when the forsythia  showed up in February and the daffodils bloomed in early March.

I guess that’s what I miss — the surprise of spring. Winter never really gripped us tightly so I never longed for the brilliance of tulips, the sun’s alarm earlier each day, the smell of warmth on the wind. All those things were kind of all there since the hand of winter was more gentle this year.

Well, until now. I was fooled. So the snow yesterday, the chill this morning — they were like winter grasping at my tender tail one last time and I don’t like it when anyone — winter or human — grabs my tail! I guess that’s why I’m kind of grumpy this week. Not terribly so, but between the seasons thrown into a bit of a reverse, Gretchen’s inability to take me to agility class because of her gimpy leg, and that lack of spring’s anticipation have made me a little less patient, a little more disobedient, a little less willing to do as I’m told 100% of the time.

Much to Gretchen’s chagrin. She tried to get some of my grumpiness out (as you can see from the photos) with a play session with Gemma and Ollie…

A rest at home while Rosie sat by the daffodils and then shook her head to produce a splatter of flattering drool…

Further rest while Saber practiced his patience despite the blade of grass on his nose…

…and his first meeting with Chloe who was rather leery of the big dog wanting to sniff her all over…

And then a walk with Alice who was bored with the posing by the euphorbia, though happy to see me (yes, she’s happy)…

But I’m still feeling a bit miffed — it’s neither a real winter nor the hopefulness of spring. It’s a conundrum, that’s what it is and I’m not very patient with conundrums.

Still, when I look back over the day, I have no regrets. It was a full day — time to play with friends and take a nap — life really doesn’t get much better than that no matter what the season.

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

Yeah, that’s what I just wrote. Flurries. As in snow flurries. Can you believe it? I couldn’t either. I mean, we’ve been having warm, spring-like weather for months now and then all the sudden we woke up this morning to 32 degrees, gray, gray skies, and a forecast that called for snow in the low-lying areas.

What do you know? While it wasn’t anything deep and white and enjoyable, it did snow and as you can see from the backpack to the right, we got caught in the flurries (the white spots on the black…I know, it looks like salt, but it’s snow!).

But not for long. We got caught on the last walk of the day and by that time, we were kind of half hoping it would snow because it was so dang cold out there! And hey, I just got a haircut not too long ago so let me tell you, did I ever feel the brrrrrrr, brrrrrr, brrrrrr of the weather today.

Still, today turned out to be a rather quiet day so I’ve been able to hang out at home with the heat on more than I usually do.

It started with a morning walk, only lately, those walks have been with my other mom, Ann. Gretchen’s still kind of gimpy and in an attempt to save herself from too much walking (only what’s essential) she’s been using the car to travel to school, back home, and then to each walk. She says she feels kind of guilty since she isn’t a big fan of polluting when she doesn’t really have to, but with her slow recovery, driving cuts her walking miles significantly and she’s hoping speeds up her recovery.

I’m hoping so too. I mean, I like walking with Ann in the mornings, but it pains me to watch Gretchen try to get out of the car with her bum leg. I know it pains her too, but as she says, moving (as in walking) feels a whole lot better than sitting so hopefully the recovery will go a bit quicker and soon enough we’ll be back to walking the mileage we normally walk and not driving it.

So after my walk with Ann, Gretchen and I loaded into the car for our teaching job. Today was kind of fun because the students got to watch this video and then participated in an activity that explored the idea of sharing — what we choose to share, what we choose not to share, and what keeps us from sharing our abundance.

Then I got to come home, warm up a bit, and eat my breakfast, which I didn’t eat. I just wasn’t hungry, but don’t worry, I ate some of it for a late lunch. Gretchen bundled up a bit more and headed out to walk Rosie and Tyson. While they walked through the park, Tyson was more interested in heading to the tennis courts for a chilly game of fetch. As you can see, he’s very protective of his ball and Rosie is very happy to run free.

Gretchen’s also playing around with close ups with her camera. She takes lots of photos — 83 today, though we only saved 30 of them. She tells me, “You have to make mistakes and take chances in order to be surprised.” Interesting theory.

So when she came home and we went to fetch Oshi and Perrito, I had a feeling that camera was going to be in our faces. I am a genius dog or what?

The final walk of the day was with Saber. Gretchen’s sort of created a monster because as much as she wants to take a walk first and then play at the courts, Saber has other ideas. He pulls us all over to the court first because frankly, he wants to steal my favorite ball! Let me tell you, this guy is like a shovel. I drop my ball for a second and he swoops in and snatches up so quickly, I often don’t notice at first until he taunts me with it so much, I eventually get the hint!

(I know that last photo is not the best photo of Saber, but if you look closely, you can see the flurries floating by!)

Once Saber is significantly worn out AND I get my ball back, we set out for a walk. Gretchen was going to take a photo of us on the walk, but that’s when the flurries really hit us so the camera stayed dry even if we didn’t.

Oh well, what are you gonna do? I am never one to snub snow, though I sure wish it would stick and get really thick so we could actually play in it! Maybe tomorrow!

Until then,

Rubin

But it’s Friday and to be honest with you, I’m kind of tired. So tired, in fact, I’m going “write” this blog pictorially. Forgive me for what might appear to be laziness, but today the smiles speak volumes and are far more creative than I can be with my words.

Enjoy…

"I'm trying to smile, but this ball is kind of stuck!"

"Spit it out, Rubin. It's easier to smile that way!"

"Hey Oshi. Being up this high makes me uncomfortable. How about you?"

"Well, maybe if we comply with her demands, we can get down from here and get back to business!"

Synchronized running!

"Saber, why must you shovel me around?"

Rock hound!

"Uh, can we go run around some more?"

"I prefer smiling in the shade."

Monty always loses his ball in the tall grass. I have to help him find it!

"Phew! Found the ball! Now back to the shade."

"Now that's better!"

"No Q, smile. That's how you get the treats!"

"Did you say treats, Monty?"

Have a great weekend,

Rubin

Every dog is afraid of something. Really. I’m kind of afraid of tall men who wear hats though I’m slowly getting over it. I’m really scared of new noises and I show my fear by barking hysterically (much to Gretchen’s displeasure). The other night, for instance, I saw something big, round, and brightly white standing by the fence. I threw myself at the sliding glass door making everyone jump out of their skin.

Turns out it was a new wisteria plant Ann bought at the garden shop and the big, round white thingy was the plastic around the root ball.

Oh well. Better to err on the side of caution, I think.

Even Monty, who is the most laid back dog I know, has his jittery moments. Usually, it’s when the vacuum cleaner gets pulled out of the closet. He doesn’t bark, though. He just puts himself in the room farthest from the vacuum and waits.

All dogs do have the jitters, but they also respond in unique ways. I bark. Monty removes himself. Quillette, another friend, runs outside when she sees any cleaning supplies and shakes in the corner of the yard…oh, and drools.

Today started with Ollie and Gemma who both have their jittery moments. Ollie jitters (perhaps with excitement) when he sees any small animal — cat or squirrel — or senses any moment of needed caution — large man in hat. Then he barks, kind of like me. Gemma, she’s not afraid of anything. In fact, she stirs up the jitters in all of us when she decides to spin like a crazy woman at the end of her leash.

All of these jitters can be cured by a good romp with Saber, though. He can wear Gemma out faster than you can say Irish Terrier and that’s what he did today — wear out Gemma and Ollie.

Saber’s jitters? Well, since he’s still a puppy, his fears spring up at random. Once it was an umbrella — scared the pants off him. Another time it was a skateboard. He pulled toward home at the end of his leash. But now that he’s getting older, not much seems to give him the jitters. Of course, he does get jitters of excitement all the time — especially when Gemma comes to play with Ollie in tow.

Rosie has lots of jitters, but slowly they seem to be diminishing. Her biggest fear is loud trucks or even the trolley bus as it whizzes by. Today, Gretchen tells me, it was a truck backing up and rumbling. Rosie jumped out of the way and looked at Gretchen for some reassurance. The good thing is that Rosie is getting over her fears more quickly and always checks in with Gretchen to see if she can earn a treat for staying relatively calm.

The reason I bring all of this up — jitters and fears — was because today we saw a side of Alice we’ve never seen before. We’ve always known that Alice is super jittery, but slowly she’s been getting over it. Where she used to bark and cower in the corner when Gretchen first walked into the house, now she just barks once and then wags her tail and comes over for a treat.

But today, Alice was in her crate. She barked once and then refused to come out. She wouldn’t even take a treat. Okay, so this was going to be interesting. I usually wait outside while Gretchen fetches Alice, but since she was glued to the inside of her kennel and clearly stressed, I was needed. I came into the house, saw Alice in her crate refusing to eat the treats laid on the outside of her kennel, and so I walked up to her, ate the treats, and said, “What’s up, Alice?”

“What are all those noises, Rubin?”

Ah, now it made sense. On our way to Alice’s house, we passed four loud trucks and six guys. Two guys were hoisting themselves up to the tallest branches of some maple trees and with their very loud chainsaws, chopping off some branches. Two other guys were hauling the fallen branches away and throwing into the back of what I later learned are called “chipper” trucks — they make wood chips out of the branches. The other two guys were supervising, making sure no one fell, no one (like us) walked under the falling branches, and everything went okay.

Alice was right. It was really, really loud.

I tried to explain. “There are these guys sawing off branches and buzzing them up in this big, loud truck. We walked by them and yes, they’re loud, but it’s all okay. Really.”

Alice didn’t believe me. She was so jittery she couldn’t hear me. Luckily, after about 10 minutes of waiting for her to come out of her kennel (we sat on the porch with the front door open) the guys with the noisy trucks stopped working and drove off. Sure enough, Alice slinked out of her kennel with her tail between her legs and nuzzled Gretchen’s elbow as she passed on her way to see me.

“I’m so glad you’re still here,” she said. “I don’t know what came over me, but I sure didn’t want to miss my walk.”

“It’s okay. I understand,” I said and with that, we were off on our walk up to Woobie’s house.

Woobie might have jitters, but I haven’t seen any. I think she might get a bit jittery when she’s left alone, but basically, Woobie is happy-go-lucky all the time. It was a good thing, too, because that’s exactly what Alice needed to be around — Ms. Happy-go-lucky!

Of course, Woobie is a bit camera shy. Not sure she gets jittery about it, but she’d rather do something other than have her photo taken…like play in a big grassy field…

…or put her face into the wind (while we look for what caused the loud noise behind us)…

…though eventually, she’ll comply.

We walked both Alice and Woobie home (it’s kind of a big loop) and Alice thanked us for calming her down and we both said, “Not a problem.”

Then it was off for one more walk with Saber. We were hoping to romp it up at the tennis courts, but the weather was so nice and the afternoon upon us faster than expected that the high school tennis players infested the area before we even had a chance to romp. So we went on a nice walk through the park and then headed back to Saber’s house and that’s when Gretchen realized she hadn’t take a photo of us yet. We patiently waited on Saber’s porch while she fetched her camera and snapped a couple of photos.

Okay, Saber has jitters.  The Halti collar he must wear around his nose. He hates that thing. I’m just glad I don’t have to wear it. While Saber tries to claw it off or rub on the rosemary bush outside his house in hopes it will pop off, I’d bark at that silly thing. See, that’s difference in how we each deal with our jitters!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

Spending time with 5th graders ruins your ability to spell well, let me tell you! Today, it took me quite awhile to figure out what the note sent to me said, “Rubin, you are asium!” I looked at it over and over, but still struggled.

“What word is this?” I asked Gretchen.

She laughed. “That’s awesome.”

It is?

Who am I to question such a compliment?

Here’s another of my favorites written by another 5th grader: I am lacktoes tallerent.

It takes courage to spell this way, don’t ya think? I learn a lot when I go to the classroom and teach with Gretchen every morning and though I didn’t go today (I rested after a particularly strenuous agility class last night), I read some of the papers Gretchen needs to grade, but hasn’t yet found time to do so.

Here’s another wonderful spelling: Shdrange. (That’s supposed to be “strange.”)

Luckily, I don’t spend my whole day with the young ones. Instead, I get to go out with my dog friends who I’ll admit are much better spellers than most 5th graders I know.

Today was a special day in another way and that’s because I got to walk with Gretchen AND with Ann (my other mother!). Gretchen sort of hurt herself last night at agility so Ann decided to help us out today and to take care of Gretchen (like tying her shoes since her injury makes it difficult to bend over) and walk dogs.

We started the day with Monty and because there were two dog walkers, we picked up Oshi and Perrito as well. We were worried that the tennis courts wouldn’t be open today, but lo and behold, we got some play time there!

Perrito loves to play fetch, but he requires a special ball. One I particularly like as well and therefore had to stalk him to get it!

Alas, it was time to go before I could wrest the ball away from his greedy little paws!

Monty and I ate brunch while Oshi and Perrito went home and then Ann and Gretchen headed out to pick up Rosie, who was really excited to have another human on her walk! They went to the park and practiced fetch…

…and sit stay…

…all the things Rosie was happy to show-off to Ann.

Next up was Gemma who pulled Ann all the way to Saber’s house and then Saber pulled them all to the tennis courts at the other end of the park where they played and played and played…

…until Gemma’s tongue hung out…

…and Saber flopped to the ground…

Then it was back home for both of them.

Gretchen said she was a tad bit worried that Saber wasn’t worn out enough since it was a gimpy walk on her part, but later, Saber’s Dad sent us this photo (taken from the webcam they have focused on Saber). I think he was pretty tired.

Surprisingly, I am too, but that doesn’t make me regret any of the “asium” things we did today!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

Three…

It always starts with one. One dog on a leash, walking patiently and obediently with his human friend. And then, if the day is busy or even if it’s not, there’s generally another dog on our way to three. Two dogs on a leash trying to walk patiently and obediently with their human friend. But there are also squirrels and cats and strange men in hats all of which can cause distractions. And there is business to be accomplished on the tree, near the curb, at the very end of the extended leash.

On some days there’s another dog who joins the two making three dogs walking not so patiently and not so obediently anymore with their human friend. There are more squirrels and more cats and more business to attend to. There are also places to play, but some days adaptation is called for — no tennis courts, but a backyard.

One dog…and his many faces…

Two dogs begging for a treat…

Three dogs ready for more walking…

Two…

Counting backwards, two follows three, but on some days, two follows one even when you’re counting backwards. It’s generally the same — one dog on a leash learning to walk obediently by his human friend and then the pull as they approach the second dog waiting patiently at home. Then it’s two dogs trying to walk correctly though there’s the excitement of this smell and then that, of the birds flying overhead, and the sound of that little tiny dog from inside her house.

And there are trees the same size as the dogs, and there are smiles ignited by the knowledge they are close to place to play. This wasn’t the preferred place, but some dogs don’t know how to discriminate and they are so big and so strong, you just have to give into their demands (no names mentioned here…wink, wink, wink!).

And there are found toys, which are always better than the real toys, well, until they get taken away and then there’s satisfaction with the real toys. Mostly, though, there’s just happiness and satisfaction of two dogs together.

One…

In the middle of it all, wedged between the two and the three is the foundation of all existence. One dog. One dog by a cherry tree…

One dog feeling the need to shake off all the anxiety…

One dog in the pea patch…

One dog smiling just out of frame…

One, two, three…Tuesday’s dogs by the numbers…and then there’s me — the one and only counting dog!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

I woke this morning to a fragrance I couldn’t quite put my nose on. It was a sweet smell that filled my nostrils with the memories of spring. When I asked Gretchen about it, she said that we were experiencing an early spring and I was smelling the first blooms.

“Why’s it early?” I asked.

“That’s a great question,” she said, “one that many people are debating all over the world.”

“Really?” was my shocked response. “Aren’t they happy about the beautiful fragrance?”

“Well, here’s the thing,” she tried to explain, “that beautiful fragrance of spring isn’t everywhere today. Some people are waking up to snow!”

“Oh,” I moaned, “I so miss the snow. It smells wonderful, too!”

“Yeah, buddy,” Gretchen lamented with me, “I miss the snow, too, but today we have warm temperatures and trees and flowers in bloom so I guess we just have enjoy it!”

And that we did. It started with a morning of teaching. All the students were surprised by my new haircut. Last week, they thought I was getting fat. This week, they worried that Gretchen wasn’t feeding me enough. Kids! What are you gonna do with them?

After school, I was taken home to eat my brunch (though I didn’t eat it until much later) while Gretchen fetched Rosie and Tyson. It was such a beautiful, spring-like day they headed up to the gardens to try to find some flowers to pose in front of. Instead, they found the city!

Of course, mostly the siblings were interested in what was in Gretchen’s pocket so it was hard to get just the right photo in front of just the right plants. Instead, she got begging!

Next up was Gemma who’d had a lively weekend so she was rather subdued today – if that’s at all possible! She walked over with Gretchen to pick up Oshi and Perrito who were thrilled that it was warm outside and NOT raining! They found a beautiful cherry tree in full bloom, but Gretchen said it was like herding cats to get them to pose nicely in front of the tree.

Once the boys were dropped off back at home, Gemma came over to our house and we had a romp in the backyard for a bit before we headed out on our walk! Can you tell we played keep away?

We dropped Gemma back at her house and then meandered over to Saber’s. The only bad thing about warm weather is that the tennis courts are in use by humans playing tennis (of all things) so Saber and I had to go for a walk first.

So up to the gardens we went where we posed under the honeysuckle…

…then down by the tennis club for a pose with the city behind us…

…and finally, we found an unoccupied tennis court where we could play keep away and chase…

The weather report called for temperatures in the 60s today. I’m not sure we reached that mark, but it was sure a lovely day with the fragrance of spring blooming all around us!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

I’m generally a pretty humble guy. I don’t always toot my own horn, but everyone tells me that I get to toot it now since it’s my birthday! Today I turned 3 years old. Wow, where has the time gone? I’ve certainly had a full, rich life for these past three years, but yesterday takes the cake — yes, pun intended!

Yesterday was my birthday party at Heavenly Spa in Fall City. I went their last weekend to check it out, but yesterday I got to take my friends — Monty, Quillette, Colleen, Jessica, and Olivia — as well as meet a new friend — Ben. We got to swim, play fetch, hang out by the pool, and best of all, eat birthday cake! Yum, yum, yum!

The party was wild, but so much fun. Monty ran around the pool like a crazy man the second we got there, while Quillette looked worried that she might have to go in. Once I was let loose, I went straight into the pool because I think swimming is about as fun as it can get and swimming with my friends, stellar!

Here are the photos from our adventure … with a bit of commentary …First, we get to the beautiful location in Fall City and then we get into the pool…

As you can see, I’m all eager beaver while Monty is trying really hard to figure out how to get in and Quillette, who really likes tennis balls, is trying to figure out how to get the ball without getting too wet!

Monty gets help from Ben who is reacting to my splash as I jump in (you just can’t see me) and the eventually, Monty has the hang of it and swims around happily in what everyone calls his suitcase (life jacket!)

Quillette, as you can see, is a very good swimmer. She just prefers not to swim, but with her mom’s help and her little friend Olivia, Quillette showed her 10 year old self off!

And then there’s me! No one has to tell me twice to go swimming. I LOVE IT!

One of the hardest things to figure out at the pool is where it’s easiest to go in and get out. Since I’d been there before (last weekend) I had no problem and since I LOVE to leap off the side of the pool and dive in, I can pretty much go in anywhere. Q and Monty? Well, they faced conundrums often, but eventually figured it all out!

Mostly, we played fetch. Monty found a tennis ball and then found a humungous tennis ball that Ben helped him stuff in his mouth! Go Monty!

Jessica and Quillette brought their little friend, Olivia. Olivia likes to swim as much as I do and she’s just as good at it! She also loves dogs, which made her a perfect fit for my party!

We had our quiet moments, too. Jessica held Q while Gretchen held me. Can you see how happy I am?

And then there was the cake! We all had different techniques for eating. I licked off all the icing, Monty nibbled, and Quillette was so fast at woofing down her cake Gretchen couldn’t get a photograph of it. Of course, Quillette begged to lick the knife that Ben used to cut the cake and being such a nice guy, he gave into her!

We had a great time, as you can see and I must take a moment to thank Teri (the owner of the spa) and Ben from the party and Claire, from last week who helped chaperone us to so much fun.

Eventually, our time was up and we had to move on. We took the leftover cake home and I ate some of it later for a snack, but before we left, we took one last photo by the most interesting animals I’ve ever seen!

Needless to say, we all slept really well yesterday and even on my late afternoon walk, I was still pretty tired — relaxed, but tired.

This was truly a memorable birthday and I’m already scheming about future birthday parties! I wonder if next year we can plan a ski trip with all my friends? Hmmmm, I’m going to have to work on that one!

Happy Birthday to me!

Rubin

Do I look worried? Well, I am a bit. Not because it’s raining…I’m used to that, but because we’re headed up to the groomer. I kind of had a feeling, but when we stopped to take “before” photos, I just knew I was going. Not much I could do about it except look pretty forlorn.

I’m also worried because Sunday is my birthday, and while that’s a fun event, I’ve been a bit stressed about the party. You see, as is our family custom, I was only allowed to invite three friends because I am turning three years old.

I have a lot of friends. Choosing only three of them has proven to be very difficult. Gretchen says it’s the same thing that happens at school with her students. It’s hard to invite everyone in class so often some students get their feelings hurt and the birthday student feels bad. I can’t invite ALL my dog friends and I, too, feel bad about it.

Then things got complicated because my dear friend, Jessica, asked if she could bring a human friend – Olivia — who at seven years old really LOVES dogs and wants to grow up to be a vet. I said, “okay” to Olivia coming, which then limited me to inviting only two others. In the end, I chose Monty and Quillette. I could go into all the reasons why, but mostly I just want all my other friends — Ginger, Gemma, Ollie, Saber, Oshi, Perrito, Alice, Rosie, Tyson, and Woobie — to know that just because I chose Monty and Quillette, it doesn’t mean I don’t like all of you.

If I could have had the party of my dreams, everyone I walk or have ever walked would be invited to my birthday party, but my parents have strict rules and unfortunately it means many of you are left out.

Please accept my apologies. I’m hoping that we can have other special play dates in the future. I promise to bring the cake!

So, on top of being bummed about going to the groomer this morning, I was also bummed because of the difficult choices I had to make. I was bummed as well because I didn’t get to spend the day with all my buddies because I was getting clipped and combed, shampooed and dried all in preparation for my birthday party on Sunday.

But Gretchen told me about the day, and here is how it went down. She dropped us off and then treated herself to a bit of lunch at the bakery before walking to Rosie’s house. It was raining when she walked into Rosie’s house, but five minutes into their walk, the rain stopped an both of them — Rosie and Gretchen — were stuck in their raincoats! Still, they decided to head out and look for signs of spring. First, was Rosie and the single daffodil…

…then Rosie and the blooming bush…

I pointed out that Rosie is by her name her own sign of spring and dressed in that yellow coat, she’s kind of her own daffodil!

Next, Gretchen picked up Gemma and this time, when she walked into Gemma’s house, it wasn’t raining, but ten minutes into the walk, it started to rain.  Can’t win for losing, eh? (I’ve been watching the Canadian Olympics and they say “eh” a lot!) Gemma got to play first with Oshi and Perrito…

…and then got to play with Saber, but her play with Saber started out with a skid (as opposed to a bang!). As usual, Gretchen let Gemma off leash at the tennis courts and she raced off excited to be playing with her true love. Meanwhile, Gretchen got Saber ready with a leash-drag (he’s struggling with his recall command) and Gemma stopped, turned, and skidded on the wet courts. BOOM! And down she went, sliding about 2 feet on her rump. Well, no one saw it, but her rump took a beating with about 2 inches of fur scraping off at her tail. Can you see it in this second photograph Gretchen took of the two of them playing?  Yikes!

It certainly didn’t slow her down any or Saber, for that matter! They ran and played happily for about 20 minutes before it was time to take the wounded Gemma home, though no one really knew she was wounded nor did she act like it in any way!

Saber’s walk was not yet over and just when Gretchen was heading out for a trip down to the lake, the phone rang and Jessica asked if she could join them. Gretchen and Saber turned around, walked up to Jessica and Quillette’s house and the four of them went for a walk along the ridge. In fact, they took this photo RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE GROOMERS! Oh, how I missed them!

But Monty and I survived the groomer and in the end, we both look pretty styling, don’t you think? Oh, and while I might dislike being groomed, I sure love the groomer! She gives us wonderful treats!

I guess that since I wear my birthday suit each and every day of my life, it’s a good thing I got a polish and shine for my birthday party tomorrow. Stay tuned for photos…it’s gonna be fun! Sure wish I could’ve invited all of you!

Until Monday,

Rubin

I wasn’t expecting it to be so green today, but when I woke up, the green assailed my eyes. I actually had to squint followed by lots of blinking. Partly, I think I was tired. I had a sleepover last night. Woobie spent the night with us and all night long I was worried about her. I mean you want your friends to be comfortable and all, so I kind of went out of my way to make certain she had everything she needed for a good night’s sleep.

I gave her my bed with the warm blanket. I tucked her in. And I even told her a bedtime story. She seemed to really appreciate it, but she was a little restless, uncertain of exactly where she should rest and worried a bit every time Gretchen got up to pee (which she does a lot during the night!).

So this morning, when the alarm sounded, I think we were both a little befuddled. On top of which, everything was really green. Gretchen says it gets like this time of year, but somehow I don’t remember it being THIS green before.

“It’s all the rain we’ve been having,” Gretchen told me as we headed out on a walk with Woobie. Usually, we walk to school, but today we didn’t go to school first thing in the morning. Nope, we went for a walk and then piled into the car and drove to school. We rarely drive to school, but Gretchen wanted Woobie and me to wait in the car while she taught her class (something about a guest speaker) so therefore we needed the car — or the rolling dog house as I call it!

When she was done teaching, we piled out of the car and headed up to Ollie’s house and wasn’t he ever excited to see us since he rarely gets a chance to play with Woobie. We all headed out down through the park…

…and then down to the water…

…where Woobie looked out at the lake hoping we’d venture down to the shore. Woobie likes to swim more than I do so she was sort of upset that we never got to go in the lake today.

We headed back up the long hill and dropped Ollie off and then drove home where Woobie and I got to take a nap while Gretchen took Rosie out for her walk.

Rosie was full of beans today so Gretchen walked her over to the large field where they practiced playing fetch. Rosie’s really getting the hang of it…she watches for the toss…

…and then pounces on the treat…

…then races back to Gretchen to watch for the next treat…

…and then smiles proudly and happily!

I wonder if Rosie noticed how green it was today?

After Rosie went home, Gretchen picked up Gemma who pulled her all the way to Saber’s house. Boy, those two sure have a love thing going on. They played hard at the tennis courts…

…and then went for a walk up over the hill…

and then up through the pea patch…

…bumping into each other all the way. They didn’t notice how green it was because all they saw were hearts floating in their eyes. Jeez!

After they got dropped off, Gretchen came home, ate some lunch, and then took Woobie and me to the park by the lake! Boy, was it ever green there! I played fetch in the green grass…

…while Woobie ate the green grass…

…and then we posed in the afternoon sun with the green all around us…

…and finally we walked by the lake where Woobie once again looked at the water longingly while I rolled around in the green stuff.

On our way home, we passed the off leash park, but we were both too tired to go in for a romp. Instead, we met Reno who was coming out of the park. We’ve met him before and we were all glad to see each other. He, too, commented on all the green, which was nice because I was beginning to think I was the only one who saw it!

Woobie goes home tonight, which kind of makes me sad. Gretchen asked me if I liked Woobie as much as Monty and I really had to think about it. Finally I said, “I like Woobie in a much more delicate way than I like Monty. With Monty I can throw myself at him and he’ll play with me. With Woobie, I don’t really want to throw myself at her. I’d just rather curl up beside her and sigh deeply.”

Gretchen only smiled, which I’m not sure I completely understand, but then again, I don’t really understand why today was so much greener than yesterday! I still have so much to learn!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin