Dachshunds Rule - July 1, 2009

Been on vacation, but mom made this great slide show for you. More later.

Dash

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Easter Basket - April 14, 2009

This post is very late, because mom's been busy and I'm down in Bellevue with dad, so I couldn't remind her. Anyway, I hope you all had a wonderful Easter. We didn't have an egg hunt, the weather was too ugly up on the island. Mom wanted to dye the puppies pastel colors before putting them in the basket, but Nana Kathy said "No way!" She tried to colorize them in her photo software, but it wasn't the same and in the end, they settled for this. It is cute though. I'm sure you're wondering where the other three are - mom couldn't get eight in the basket. This is Connor, Houdini, Abby, Bunny and Maggie. It took about 50 shots, to get this one - they wiggle around so. The whole litter are over achievers. They have already started trying to walk and sit up and they are drinking goat's milk out of a bowl already. Mom didn't let me have that stuff until I was 5 weeks old and these guys are only 3 weeks today. Sheesh, some people's children. Oh well, I'll try to tell you all about my adventures with dad when I get back. He's taking me to a field trial this weekend. Hope I see some bunnies.

Later,
Dash

Photo Shoot - April 1, 2009

The weather is really crappy. It's your typical Seattle area spring - rain, rain and more rain. The down side is, we're stuck inside. I could go out in the yard, but why, it's mostly mud right now and mom would just make me wipe my feet when I come in. I hate it when she wipes my feet.

Mom snuck out to Nana Kathy's tailer this morning and snagged a picture of the new babies. They were a week old yesterday, and mom and Nana are obsessed with their weight. You'd think they were ballet dancers or wrestlers or something. Anyway, I guess they're all getting enough to eat because everybody has put on a few ounces since they were born - even the smallest guy, Houdini.


Mom and Nana decided today would be a good day to photograph everyone, so of course we were all relegated to the kitchen behind the x-pen. Elektra and Ganny Mitzi are obsessed with the babies and all they want to do is clean them - go figure. Anyway, we watched while this little sqirmers got their first portraits done. It was quite the production. I felt like we were hanging out at some photo shoot for a magazine or something.


Mom thought you would all like to get a good look, so here they are in the order of their birth - Connor, Mirage, Abby, Bunny, Preston, Maggie, Trixie and Houdini (Harry). I'll try to keep you updated as they grow. Hopefully it won't be too long before they're running around. Maybe they can help me beat up Cedar and Dolly.

Later,

Dash

Island Life - March 29, 2009

This was the crew on moving day. We finally moved up to island house permanently the first week of February after mom got laid off from her job. There was no reason for her to stay in Bellevue, so up we went. She and dad spent 3 days with a moving truck running back and forth and we were stuck "behind bars" so they could leave the doors open to move the couches and stuff in and out. All in all, it wasn't a bad experience and now we get to hang out in the country. The coolest thing, is the quiet and lack of city lights. Mom says it's darker than the inside of her head, but it makes for a wonderful view of the heavens. The whole milky way is sprayed across the sky, like paint splatters on black velvet and the frogs sing to us every night.

We have a new computer room too, with a view of the pond. There's plenty of room under the desks for our special dog bed and Cedar even gets special treatment sometimes. Nana Kathy lets her sit on her desk in a tiny bed and covers her with a blanket.


Watching the weather come in over the Straits of Juan de Fuca has become a wonderful novelty. The cloud formations are so awesome and make some of the most interesting shapes and colors across the canvas outside the windows. Winter keeps cropping up whenever it feels the urge, and though today is sunny and bright, the pond looked like this just 2 weeks ago. It makes life exciting and different. Mom says, "It sure beats sitting in traffic on 148th." Whatever that is.


















Despite the peacefulness of island house, we have had some excitement in the last week. This is Maddie. She's very pregnant in this picture and, like all of us, loves to sit in the sun and bake on the cement of the car port.

This last Tuesday, she went in to labor and gave birth to eight puppies. Mom and Nana Kathy helped her of course and she had the job done in just over three hours. The rest of us were stuck "behind bars" in the kitchen, but it was better that way. I didn't want to see that yuky stuff anyway. Elektra was all worked up, she kept wanting to lick the puppies and help keep them warm. I don't see what the big deal is, they're too little to play with anyway. There were five girls and three boys - six creams and two black and cream. The puppies have all gained weight and are very healthy. I can hardly wait until they're about 5 weeks old and big enough to chase around the yard.


















Well, we gotta go and unload some stuff off the trailer. Mom made a trip down to Bellevue yesterday to bring back the washer and dryer. I'll leave you with another wonderful Whidbey sunset.

Later,
Dash

"Oh, Canada" - January 26, 2009

Well, I got to visit a foreign country. Some people don't think about Canada that way, since it's "attached", but I thought it was interesting. Mom and Nana Kathy took me, Elektra, Maddie, Lisel, and my uncle BJ up to the Ladies Kennel Club show this last weekend. It was my first indoor show and only my 5th time in the ring. I couldn't beat uncle BJ - he's pretty good looking - but the judge did give me the Reserve Winners ribbon on Saturday over 2 other dogs, so I guess that's pretty good. I just liked the liver mom had in her pocket. Maddie made it to the breed ring on Saturday and uncle BJ on Sunday. Mom took him in for Nana and they made the first cut - the top six dogs. Nana was pretty happy about that, but he didn't place in the end.

The indoor ring was way different. It was at a fairgrounds area and we were in a horse arena or something. The floor was dirt and smelled like large animals. It was way cold up there too. They still have snow on the ground and Elektra and I took forever to find the right potty places. We had to search around our hotel - which was really nice but didn't have much grass to speak of. Mom and Nana froze their hands and feet helping us look. The rooms were nice and the next morning we had breakfast in the room. Mom set off the fire alarm making toast and Elektra hid under a chair. No fire trucks came though and they didn't even yell at us.

When we got back to island house on Sunday, I
pretty much passed out and so did everyone else.
Dad and Oppah spent the day chasing mice in Arlington under a crawl space. Lilly was going to help them, but they didn't let her go down because it was too icky. She found a dead rat at island house though, after stalking around the heater vents for a couple of weeks. It must have gotten the special food mom and dad left for it and over eaten. He was totally stiff and dad threw him out so nobody got to play with it.




I should tell you that we had a really fun Christmas and New Years at island house. We still had lots of snow up until the day after New Years and some of the pond is still frozen and slushy. Here's Cedar and Dolly all dressed up under the tree. I don't think they really liked the dressing up, but they looked very festive. We laid around by the wood stove, watched some TV and ate junk food. I think our humans did the same thing, but they played a few games too.


Well, we are home in Bellevue for a few days and have to catch up on a bunch of stuff. I sure wish this house would rent or sell. We want to stay up at island house all the time. Just look at the beautiful sunsets we get to enjoy.

Later,
Dash

Lots And Lots of Snow - December 18, 2008

Holy cow, snow in Seattle. Well we get it sometimes, but not usually in feet. We have at least 10 inches in our Bellevue back yard and more up at island house. It started last Saturday. We were at island house and got about 5 inches there. It was very cold outside and when we weren't running in the yard getting it all over our fur, we were piled on the couch in front of the wood stove, trying to stay warm.


I love to tunnel in the stuff and see if there's anything under there that I need to catch. Mom's been bugging me because I like to bring what I find into the house. I guess I still don't get the
inside and outside toy thing yet. But hey, I think
I should get better soon. Today's my one year
birthday and we're going back up to island house tomorrow. I hope there's cake.

Dad had to run up on Tuesday because our friend
Kathy (you know, Dolly's mom) said the water wasn't running right. There was nothing frozen but we think the pump is messed up. Hopefully we can get it fixed. Mom can't live without her showers.

We were up there a couple of weeks ago for Thanksgiving. The weather was cool, but not freezing. Here's Dolly in her little tie died coat. It's cotton though, so I don't thinks it's very warm.
Mom took gobs of pictures of everything with snow all over it. So here are some pics of the pond and ducks. I gotta run so I can pack and get ready to leave tomorrow.
















Merry Christmas,
Dash

Another Island Weekend - November 1, 2008

Well Kate and I wanted to make sure we didn't get left behind, so we sat on the pillows and crates waiting for mom to load them in the car. We sure love our island weekends, even if they are way too short. Mom and dad ordered a new dog door and made a new area for us just off the car port so we can be out of the rain and have a bigger area to play with our friends, like Dolly here. Mom loves to give her raspberries on her belly and we run and play all day long, inside and outside. She's almost a part of our family it seems, we are sad when she has to go home.




We have a new flock of ducks that are making the pond their home. Mom loves ducks so she won't let us chase them like we did the geese. They don't make as big of a mess in the field and they never come up by the house. The rains have started and we are hoping the pond will fill up more now, it has dropped almost four feet since we bought this new place and I'm worried about the fish. Mom says it's plenty deep in the middle, but you never know.



The quiet is so peaceful and we had a wonderful visitor this weekend. Our neighbors, two properties to the west, have a nesting eagle, and he (she) stopped in to check out the fishing. Mom got some great pictures. He just landed with his feet in the water at the edge of the pond and surveyed the quiet surface - just waiting for anything to jump. Nothing did. I think our fish are too smart. But he sat there for quite a while, then quietly lifted off the waters edge and flew around the field, checking for mice. The resident hawks chased him away, but it was fun to watch him hunt. My ophthalmologist says they have such good eyesight because they have two maculas. That's the area of the interior eye where the optic nerve comes through. I wonder if they have two of those as well. Hmm. I'll have to ask.









Well, I will leave you with another wonderful island sunset. We sure love to sit on the deck and watch old Sol go down. I'm actually staying with my uncle Fred this week, since Elektra's in season. She is my dog mom after all. I'll update you when I get back.

Later,
Dash