Four Years

I can't believe that I've been doing this blog for over four years now!

In that time our grand kids have grown up, and great grand kids have been born. Carol logged hundreds of calls driving the ambulance, we said sad goodbyes to our dogs Boom Boom and Chewy, said hello to two new puppies Taz and Squeak, had a couple hundred of our weekly barbecues with my brother, weathered wind storms, ice storms, snow storms, power failures, and heat waves. One of the Pine trees in front of the house blew down blocking the highway, and I was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.

We caught Salmon and Trout, went kayaking, and hiking, landscaped the back yard, painted the house, turned an old dock into firewood, and Carol traced our family tree back to the Pleistocene era. I try to walk at least a mile every day, Carol usually walks two or more, but when the weather's stormy we do jigsaw puzzles for exercise.

Writing about our boring lives and trying to make it interesting is a challenge, but it's also a lot of fun.

Teaching Squeak

After just two days Taz has matured from a care free ne'er do well into a mentor and teacher. It's unbelievable how much he's changed since we got the new puppy. Squeak follows Taz almost everywhere, but if she gets too rambunctious she gets a quick warning growl to settle her down.

Amazingly, Taz lets Squeak play with his precious toys, (he won't let the great grand kids play with them!) and he even lets her drink and eat out of his bowls. It's almost as though he's taken on the role of a wise Kung Fu master.

“Follow me grasshopper, and I will show you things that you have only dreamed of!”

“Do not chew on the table legs, or scratch your rear on the carpet. Those are NO!s.”

“If you bite this toy like this, it makes a good squeaky noise! See?”

“Do not worry, you will be able to do it someday. I will teach you.”

“When you growl and whine like this, they will let us outside to do our business.”

“Always do this outside, never in the house. That is a very big NO!”

“Here is a good spot to...Why are you pooping like that? It is very undignified!”

“Here is the very spot where I killed a mole when I was still a pup.”

“Over here is some good tasty grass to eat.”

“In the summer I will show you how to eat apples, too.”

Squeak

The vet called the other day and asked if we still were looking for a companion for Taz. Carol said yes, I said no. Guess who won?

We drove to the little town of Alsea and picked her up. She's supposed to be a full blooded Papillon but I think she's got some Meercat and maybe a little alien from Mars blood in her. Have you ever seen a real dog balance on her two front feet, with her hind legs off the ground to poop?

She's a real ball of fire, Taz just walks around looking confused most of the time. I was afraid he'd be super protective of his toys, food and us, but Squeak is into things so fast Taz can't even keep track of her, let alone protect anything.