Comet's Blog 2006December 15, 2006 What a month of changes it’s been! Instead of living in a house, we are now living in a travel trailer. Although it’s much smaller than a house, there is a couch for me to sleep on at night and my humans are able to get water from a faucet and cook food just like in a house. One nice thing is that when they put the heater on, mostly during cold mornings, it gets warm much more quickly than the house did. The first week after we left the house, we visited with the humans’ daughters in Sacramento and their two kittens that are turning into cats. I actually came nose-to-nose with the ginger cat they call “Sir Reginald,” or “Reggie,” for short. We were curious about each other and since he didn’t hiss, spit or claw at me, I didn’t react except to wag my tail. We even ended up lying near each other and I was totally relaxed. The weather was foggy and rainy during that time and for a couple of days after we left. We stayed in RV parks next to the freeway but I managed to sleep through the noise. After we kept driving for a while, it became sunny and we have not experienced any rain since, just a couple of really windy days. The downside of this trailer living is that I have to be chained up any time we stay in an official RV park, which is where we are now. Fortunately there are lots of off-leash places not far away with rabbits galore, so I do get plenty of exercise and free time and don’t get grouchy about being tied up the rest of the time. We are a few hundred yards from the Salton Sea, which is a lot saltier than the ocean. One day when my humans were canoeing, I went swimming and after the first mouthful of salty water, I learned to keep my mouth firmly shut. I had to be rinsed off afterwards, which I didn’t like at all, and I was quite growly that evening. Speaking of salt water, the first time I tried drinking the water here, I thought it was sea water and refused it, but when no other water was offered, I tried again and realized it wasn’t near as salty as the sea. Now I’m used to it. Besides rabbits, we hear and sometimes see coyotes and of course there are lots of birds to watch at the shore – pelicans, waders, seagulls and even pigeons. Someone gave my humans a hummingbird feeder and they put it in a tree next to our campesite. We get some hummingbirds and other small birds that compete with them for whatever that stuff is in the feeder. As long as I’m not bouncing on the end of my chain, the birds don’t seem to mind that I’m only a few feet away. There are a few dogs around here that I’ve met. Most of them are smaller than me. I don't pay much attention to them. On a recent walk, I had one come up and start nipping at me and I just thought it beneath my dignity to respond. There’s also a cat that doesn’t have to be on a leash or tied up and she teases me about it, which drives me crazy. Besides walks, we go for drives in the car since the humans have to buy groceries and also go to libraries to use something they call the Internet and WiFi. Usually I have to wait in the car for them. They always find a shady spot for me. They've also been buying stuff to help set the trailer up the way they want it. Yesterday we took our first real hike in a long time. It was a very interesting place with lots of canyons so I was able to run up and down steep slopes to my heart’s content. I do love a challenge and exploring is so much fun! It got quite hot though so I had to drink lots of water. Well, not sure what is going to happen next but I bet we do some more exploring now that the work on the trailer is almost completed. Tail wags to you all till next time! November 15, 2006 Things continue to be strange. The humans have been getting rid of lots of stuff in the house and it gets emptier every day. There have been fewer strange people, except one day when there were lots of people who came to our garage and took away all kinds of things that my humans had carried there. My walks continue to be modified. We did go up onto a mountain one day where I could run up and down slopes to my heart's content. The weather has turned colder, especially in the mornings and at night, and there have been more deer around town. I mostly see them from the car, which drives me crazy. We took a very long drive a couple of weeks ago to a place called Salt Lake City and the humans bought a house on wheels. We stayed in it for a few nights while they worked on it and the car, then drove many hours pulling the thing before we arrived home. At one place where we stopped, the sand tasted salty. Did I ever tell you I enjoy exploring new places and love riding in the car?
Well, I'll keep you posted about further developments. Something's afoot for sure! October 2, 2006 September was a strange month. The humans started out by spreading dirt all over the backyard, throwing some little things on it, covering the things up, then telling me I couldn't go out there anymore! They watered it a bunch. After a while, something started growing that looked like grass. I thought now they'd let me on it, but no! I got yelled at pretty loud when I escaped out the back door one day and tried it out. The humans got tons of wood chips to cover up some areas of dirt where the grass isn't growing. I'm allowed to be on those areas, but they're watching me like a hawk to make sure I don't get on their precious grass. There's been a lot of activity inside the house: cleaning and painting mostly. They've put the cat and all her stuff in the garage (heh, heh). Something about her making the carpet smell bad because she's upset about the changes. Now we've started having strangers visit, who come in and walk all around the place. What's really peculiar is that they come while we're not home! I hope the humans know what's going on since I can't tell them what I learn from my nose. My walks haven't been as regular or as long. Some days all I've done is taken my morning constitutional and played with the Whipwhir later in the day. One evening we went to an old ranch that's near our house. I followed a little furry black-and-white critter who squirted something at me. The humans said I had been skunked. They made me sleep in the garage for a few nights, goodness knows why. They sure confuse me sometimes. A while ago we went for a long drive to a place where we camped for the night. There were a lot of boats. I got to explore an old one and it was very interesting. My sniffer was going a mile a minute. Some of the time I had to stay in the car or on the leash, which was boring. We did explore a town on foot that I'd never been in before and that was fun. Besides our trip and a few walks in a pine forest, the most fun I've had is when the humans hide treats around the house for me. Usually it's pieces of cheese, sometimes ham. They hide five or six pieces and then I go searching until I'm told that I've found them all. I find it really exciting since they change the hiding places each time. Well, time for a nap. More after Halloween. August 31, 2006 Well, we made it back home after lots of driving to all kinds of different places...The first house we stayed in had three cats who weren't used to a dog like me, so I had to be tied up most of the time. They also had a little boy child. Luckily he didn't mess with me at all. We went for walks in woods with tall, mossy trees and blackberries. After a couple of days we drove to a campground that had even bigger trees and ferns. I shared a tent with a human buddy I grew up with. She lives away from us now and told me she misses seeing me every day. My human mama and papa stayed in their own tent next to ours.
We drove off the ferry into a city and walked around some boats, tall buildings and parks. There were lots of good smells, a few other dogs, but no cats. Some of the time I stayed in the car in a shady area while the humans went somewhere.
We visited another family the next day who had two young humans. They pretty much left me alone and I was allowed to wander around and explore the yard. Their cat stayed out of my way but I found a neighbor cat to have some sport with. We all took a good walk in a place where there were only a few trees and lots of rocks plus salty water. I had a short swim but didn't stay in too long because it was rather cold and windy. That night I was allowed to stay in a motel room with my buddy. We did some more walking with the family in another place with lots of boats and airplanes landing on the water. Then we waited a long time in the hot car to get on another ferry. This one was a lot bigger. It didn't bounce so I felt okay. I had to stay in the car though. We went on another ferry after that to what the humans called an "island." It just looked like another place with roads, houses, cars, and wooded hills to me.
We did some more driving and stayed in a few more campgrounds and a motel.
The weather got hotter as we kept driving until we finally ended up at the apartments where the human's daughters live. The two kittens have gotten bigger. The ginger-striped boy cat was quite bold and sniffed my nose a few times. The humans warned me to behave so I just sniffed back. The black girl cat was too scared to get close to me. I really needed some off leash time at the local park after that kind of frustration! Things have been tame since we got back home. My chief entertainment has been hanging out tied up in the front yard to watch the cars, people and dogs go by. Time to go... Happy wags to all of you till next time! Week of August 7, 2006 I can't believe it's been two weeks already. Last week was pretty boring but this week has been better. Got to ride in the car a few times and went to a creek near a lake yesterday. Ran around so much that I was tired this morning! The weather's been a bit cooler so I'm getting some midday walks again, although I feel pretty hot by the time we get home. The humans like to take me to an open space nearby that used to be a ranch. There are lots of trails and even a pool made by beavers damming up a creek. I haven't spotted any beavers yet though. Pity. In the early mornings I've been walking myself in the area next to our house. The humans have been cutting down lots of dry grass outside the fence to our house so they keep an eye on me while I'm out. There are all kinds of good smells to sniff - cats, dogs, coyotes, deer and foxes - to keep me busy. We've had more human visitors than usual, and that's kept me barking and on the alert. Some of them are taking stuff away that used to belong to my humans. I wonder what's up? The dogs that come by drive me crazy. Some of them are taking themselves for walks - this morning there were three of them sauntering by across the street - and sometimes they're on a leash. I always know they're out there and make sure they know I live here! Hooray! It looks like we're going camping because they're putting tents and the food box in the car. Wonder where we're going? Guess I'll have to wait and see and tell you all about it... Meantime, I've gotta get my teeth brushed. The toothpaste's not so bad but I'd rather chew on the toothbrush than let it scrub my teeth. Week of July 24, 2006 We've had a couple of great days on the weekends going to a nearby lake or two. That water sure feels good! Went again this past weekend to a lake in the mountains. The mosquitoes were pesky but the water was great...
Went for a canoe ride
and a hike up a trail. Enjoyed jumping over this log, but then they wanted me to jump on top of it and just stand there - aaagh, humans!
Have also had some nice evening walks in the neighborhood, but it's getting dark earlier so if it hasn't cooled down by eight o'clock I don't get much of a walk. And my humans don't take me anywhere in the car right now except if we go to a lake. So most days have been really boring around here. The only excitement has come from dogs that wander by or people coming to the door. Since our town doesn't have an animal control officer any more, a lot of people let their dogs run loose. Sometimes I'm loose too and can chase them away. Other times I'll run into the backyard and bark as loud as I can. July 1-23, 2006 On the drive home through the mountains, we stopped for a long hike up a butte. The weather was perfect so I didn’t get too hot. All the same it was nice to find a small lake near the top where I could swim, especially since I had run up and down many slopes by that time. There were lots of ground squirrels and lizards to investigate, which always sparks my interest. The following weekend we went out to a lake with the canoe. I rode in it for the first part out, but swam all the way back. Did I tell you I love to swim? I’m really good at it – it looks like I’m running under water but I have some webbing between my toes that makes me swim like an otter. I don’t put my head under the water, though. The first few times after my humans used the canoe, they yelled at me when I swam near them. They were afraid I wanted to climb in, but actually, I just wanted to swim near them and, if possible, take the alpha lead position. So now they relax whether I follow them or get ahead of them and we all have a good time. However, they sometimes get upset when I come too close when I’m shaking water out of my coat. My fur becomes curly when it’s wet and they give me nicknames that they think are funny. That weekend we also went for a hike up a local mountain. After a long, slow drive I was finally able to get out and run. There were still glaciers on top so I had fun skidding around on the snow and biting mouthfuls of that icy stuff. The temperature was just right, which was good because we were above the tree line. My humans were able to spot the area where there had just been a big wildfire. I was too busy looking for critters to care. Another outing we made was actually three places in one day. First we stopped at a grassy park in a small town and I had to stay put while my humans listened to people playing music. Boring. Then we went to an abandoned quarry with water in it. It was a very nice swimming hole and there were lots of fish in it. I didn’t really notice the fish but I had a great swim with my human mama. She was holding me on my leash because the papa human was trying to catch some fish at the other end and didn’t want me scaring the fish. It’s too bad we can’t be out hiking or swimming every day. Some days my humans are tired and hot and don’t even want to take me for a walk, although they make sure I get a really good one at least every other day. We have to wait till evening when it’s cooled down so I don’t burn my paws. I also get an early morning walk by myself to sniff and pee. I usually don’t go too far since it’s much more fun to have the humans along. Somehow I feel better knowing they’re there and sometimes they pick a new direction I haven’t been in lately, which makes things more exciting. The rest of the day I either hang out on my bed ( a big old couch with the dog pad they made for me on top) or run out and bark at people or dogs on the other side of the backyard fence, or I spend time in my favorite place, the front yard. I have to be tied up when I'm out there by myself, else I could cause trouble. I don't always run after dogs passing by, but sometimes I feel like action, and a car could knock me down or I could upset another dog owner... |
We also drove across the mountains to get to Sacramento where we used to live and visited with the other members of my human family. Their kittens are getting bigger. I was nose to nose with the orange one and he didn't hiss at me or try to claw me so I didn't do anything...
The next morning we waiting in the car for a while near some water, then drove onto a big parking lot. When I was taken out of the car and up some stairs, I was surprised to find there was water all around us. The humans said we were on a ferry. It was bouncing up and down. I started to feel awful and threw up. They took me to a quiet, warm spot and I felt a little better, although I didn't want anyone petting me because I still wasn't feeling great.
That night we stayed in another campground with some more big trees and a creek. I had a couple of good walks to tire me out.
The humans we stayed with had no children but did have two big dogs. One of them looked like me, only he was white and much bigger. We had a good time barking at each other. When we took a hike, I was allowed to go off leash part of the time. It was great to be able to get some real exercise and have a good swim!
Along the way we stopped at a couple of beaches where I could get a good run.
