I'm back, sorta

There wasn't much news this summer. Except about Alizé. But I mean important news. News about me!

Here's an example of what I mean. Notice who's in two photos, and notice who's in only one!

Me in a relaxed mood

Alizé outside the doggy den

The biggest important news this summer was when the Human Assistant left me in my crate too long one day. Then he put me in the tub and washed my legs and tummy and stuff. That really wasn't a fun day.

The Human Assistant wouldn't help with the blog even by making up stuff because for a couple of months he wasn't feeling all that great. He said he was Le Thargíc. Is that French? He thinks changing his medicine might have been a problem.

Then he felt better. But instead of helping with the blog he's been paying too much attention to stupid human news. Grrr!

Well, here's one thing. Today is Leif Ericson Day. Again. H.A. says it snuck up on him. Again. No, Leif Ericson didn't have Siberian Huskies on his boats. So who cares?

Well, the H.A. is half Swedish. He says there wouldn't be Russians if it weren't for Scandihoovians. And if there weren't Russians, there wouldn't be a Russia. And if there weren't a Russia, then Americans wouldn't have had anywhere to go for sled dogs to bring to Alaska and call Siberian Huskies.

Or something like that. If he doesn't come up with something better, I may be too disgusted to write another post. So we'll see.

But thanks everydoggy who stopped by to say hello! It was nice! It made H.A. feel guilty! I got to post again!

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Blue Wubba blue Wubba boo Blubba

I wanted to write "Woo Bubba"!  But the Human Assistant wouldn't say it that way.

One time he let us play with these really neat toys. I can't link you to the exact page. But go to products then NEW PRODUCTS. Check out the dog in the picture! Then go to KONG Wubba.

I loved chewing the red one! But H.A. said they weren't chew toys. He took them away!   ☹

Then a few days ago he got them out again to take pictures. Just to show that I'm destructive. How rude!

Gremlin's interested.

But Lucy takes it.

The other doggies gathered 'round. But H.A. shooed me away. Then very carefully and politely Lucy took the blue one. She had played with that one before.

So H.A. figured, what the hay. He didn't have pictures from the other time.

Hey!  Come back here, Wubba!

Hmmmph!

He threw the blue one for Lucy a couple of times. And he let her chew on it a little. And he threw the red one for me. You know, neither one of us wanted to go chase the danged things!

Nuh-uh.  Mine!	Hey!  Quit throwin' it!
Must. Hide. In. Den.	You called?

That was a few days ago. Today he put the blue Wubba in a sack. And some other toys that only Lucy plays with. And some food and treats. And Lucy's medical records.

I was a good boy! I didn't take the papers out and chew them! Or the food! Or even the treats! I just took the Wubba out. Then the H.A. distracted me with food. And took the Wubba again.

Then he took the sack and Lucy and got in the car. I know he went to the shelter cuz he came back smelling like Vasha and Caesar.

But H.A. came in the house with ... no Lucy!  He got rid of Lucy!

WHAT HAPPENED TO LUCY‽‽‽

Goin' to my new home!

Bye!

Oh.  Lucy got adopted!  Finally!

Maybe you remember that H.A. first met her seven months ago!  Then I met Lucy in the yard at the shelter.  Then she came for a weekend visit!

Since then she's been in posts on my blog about 50 times! You can see them all if you click on the label Lucy underneath this post. Or just her photos if you click on photo: Lucy.

If you feel like it.

More on Wubbas later!

(Why did H.A. give her that blue one? She's just gonna chew it up!)

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Lucy the ghost tracker

We have lots of pictures! But we  ​::ahem::  ​haven't been getting them posted. These are from last Friday.

Awhile back Lucy was looking for something under the patio. I never saw it.

Since then, she's been looking in these bushes. I've looked a couple of times and I never see what she's so interested in!

I'd think she was trying to fool me. But she does it whether I pay attention or not.

Lucy:  Hey Tucker!  It's back!	Tucker:  Dog give me strength!
Lucy:  Do you think it's Oswald?	Tucker:  I think it's your imagination!
Lucy:  Is not!	Gremlin:  Give up, Lucy!

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Gremlin:  Arguing in the snow - sheesh! Lucy sure is interested in those bushes!

A couple of times she even went into the doggy den to look from behind.

In fact, she even got me to go in the darned place!

It's too low for me. My tail got snagged.

And I still didn't see anything!

Next time ... pictures of Lucy taking this invisible Oswald thing too far!

If the MaxFund shelter had been open today, I think she would've found her furry backside back behind bars!

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Houseguest III

Sunday was a pretty good day. Even though we had a doggy houseguest. Lucy is actually not a bad guest.

Lucy investigating by the gate	Lucy investigating by the storage shed

Saturday night it snowed a bit. The snow was still on the ground Sunday morning. But it was gone after a couple of hours of sun.

Then Sunday afternoon it snowed a very tiny bit. Enough to show up on our coats. Like in that first picture. But not enough to make the ground white.

Lucy decided to explore the yard. Like the doggie den, which I've mentioned before. The Human Assistant took a picture of her coming out of that. But it was too crummy to be saved.

I've checked all these places out. I've been here over a year! So I didn't need to follow Lucy around. But then she found something on the patio!

Or under the patio! Which is just these flat stones lying on dirt. So you can dig under them. I never have! I'm a good boy and not a digger! Honest!

But something really got Lucy's attention! So I had to go see. She dug and dug, and I watched and watched. The H.A. took lots of pictures!

Too many to get them ready for this blog. So we'll have to show them next time.

Lucy investigating by the house	Watcha doin' Lucy?

So it wasn't bad having a houseguest. We weren't pals or anything. But we only had one argument.

Lucy wasn't eating her food. So I stepped up to take care of it. Only she was piggy and didn't want to let me.

Well, we discussed it for a second and a half. Not even long enough for H.A. to reach in his pocket and get the citronella spray, which I have mentioned a few times.

Lucy changed her mind and let me at her bowl. But H.A. had the spray out. Funny thing, though. It didn't stop me. We were having Cow In a Can. Couldn't let that go to waste!

H.A. took it away from me. He explained that it had five different medicines and powders and things in it that MaxFund gave him to give Lucy. She needed to have it.

Well, all right....

He thinks maybe she could taste the stuff mixed into the food. She wanted to eat the cow but not the medicine. So she was kinda picking at it.

I think whatever! Eat it, don't eat it, but don't let it go to waste!

Lucy actually finished that meal. But not the next one. We had rehydrated beef on rye. Dog, that's good stuff! But H.A. gave up when he finally got about half of it in her.

And of course I couldn't finish it because it had her medicine stuff in it. I didn't care! But no.

He had already tried wrapping her pills in pieces of deli-sliced turkey. That's the way Gremlin and I get ours. But Lucy spit them out. He went to the store for hot dogs. That's how MaxFund gives medicine. But we've never had them before.

Quarter-pound koshers! Wow! Great stuff! Lucy thought so too after she spit out the pills.

For another meal we had Deer In a Can. Same deal. Lucy no like. With medicine in it, anyway.

She does like the new kibble we're trying.​¹ Snarfed it right up when H.A. didn't try to mix anything into it.

Anyway. We got along fine except for Lucy wasting food. And it was important to find this out because her MaxFund description says, "I didn't get along with the other pets in the home."

So now MaxFund can tell people that she does get along with other dogs. Even ones that have reputations for not getting along with fosters!

Of course, things could change after a month or two. Lucy might go off her good behavior and decide to fight with me. Which would be dumb. But she might do it.

But she won't get the chance. She'll be going back to MaxFund Monday afternoon. And that will be that. H.A. will tell me I've been a very good boy. So of course I'll have to get treats for that! ::Big Husky Grin!::

Well, this has been a long blog. H.A. can't blame me for that. He's the one who wanted me to tell lots of stuff about Lucy! But it's taken a long time to get it all down.

I know he has at least a couple more subjects he wants me to talk about. So he won't pull the plug just yet.

I don't know what else to say ... so that's it for now!

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​¹ This new line is made by Diamond Pet Food and stirred up some controversy when it came out. So far we're doing okay with this first bag.

S'no joke

Saturday night it rained, Sunday morning it snowed. Not a whole lot. And lots of it melted pretty fast, leaving mud.

We don't get Oswald or his cousins in our yard. But in the first picture, I'm checking to be sure. The Human Assistant thinks that cats or 'coons might visit us sometimes. I'd better sleep in the garage more to keep them away!

Also, here's the cart that the H.A. uses to haul apples up the hill. I guess that makes it an apple cart. Why do people say, "Don't upset the apple cart?" I've marked on it. It doesn't get upset.

Remember the doggy den? It's there behind the cart. It looks like it might be snug in weather like this. But the back is chain-link fence. I think the wind would blow through.

The garage is better, really. Or the kitchen. In either place I can block Gremlin from getting out. Yesterday she peed by the front door three or four times and the H.A. ran out of paper towels and clean regular towels.

Sunday he kept the back door closed so the furnace could run. I got too warm a lot and wanted out. Gremlin wanted out a lot too. H.A. had a hard time concentrating on his computer.  ::Big Husky Grin::  I'll bet we get a doggy door this winter.



In the next group are the same dead sunflowers that I was looking under. Just a little different direction and an hour and a half later. The sun is out, yes. But yesterday H.A. sat here in warmer sunshine reading Red Square. Another Martin Cruz Smith Arkady Renko novel.

I've been sorta good and not chewed any of them up. Tiny Terror Tippy, the paper fiber is good for you so keep it up! But even with excellent humans like you have, don't push it too far. I think Maddox crossed over the line!

Be careful! In a little over a week it'll be one year since I got here. I'm trying to make sure the H.A. doesn't have any really, really good excuses to get rid of me! Maddox has a good home, so I think he's safe. You probably are too ... if you don't get Minky too upset.



The wet snow really bent down the branches of the apple tree. It still has apples on it. And under it. And no snow on the ground under the tree, so we picked up apples. (H.A. moved one so it was next to the cart. I don't know why.)

Gremlin and I made the H.A. share the ones he cut up for himself. But I had to have my own apple, too. Then he told me I had to come inside so he could shut the door. Usually he leaves the door open and I leave the apple outside. This time I brought it with me. I wasn't ready to eat it just yet. But I had to keep it close so Gremlin couldn't sneak out and take it.

She's never tried to take my apple. I've heard that vigilance is the price of peas. Well, apples too.



By the way, I'm not trying to grow extra freckles to compete with "Pickle Nose" Dave. I just brought in some extra mud and hadn't wiped it off yet.

The Human Assistant didn't put a time on this picture of me because he says it's "timeless, like his humor."

He's reading Havana Bay now. I'm thinking the next book in the series, Wolves Eat Dogs, needs to be changed slightly to Dogs Eat Books.

Just thinking about it, is all.

Picture magic

Tucker:  Here are more pictures from the garden. They are 10 days newer than the first set. But they are still two weeks old. The Human Assistant doesn't want to believe that two weeks have gone by. But I checked.


The first picture is Mystique peeking out from the doggie den in the bushes. She is standing up but hard to see. The first piece of picture magic is to make her easier to see. Just click on the picture and it gets bigger!

You can see Mystique better and you can see little plums. (The plums are on the ground and in the bushes. Mystique is only on the ground.) H.A. says the plums are ornamental, which means they taste bad. And he knows.

The second picture is Mystique lying down in the doggie den. It's dark in there! Compared to out in the sunshine anyway. And the picture didn't come out very well. Another one where you couldn't see her.

But H.A. did picture magic on the computer. It makes the picture look brown, but you can see Mystique. First her doggie tags. Then her shiny eyes. Then her ears standing up. Such big ears for a little doggie!


There is no special magic in these two pictures. Except that I'm in them, of course!

This is another one from when H.A. took my "portrait." Sitka said I look like a beagle in that one. I didn't think so, but....  ::shrug::  In this one I'm keeping an eye or two on my apple.

And here I am looking to see what's so neat about the doggie den. (I still have my apple.) H.A. says about half of the eight doggies who have lived here in four years have used the den. I don't. I don't think Mystique did either. This is the only day I saw her in there.


Here is more picture magic. The bowl of grapes are one color in the sun. And another color in the shade! Also they look kinda big. They weren't that big. H.A. just got real close. He said he used a wide angel on the camera lens. I thought angels were for Christmas trees! And I've never seen a wide one.  ::shrug::  H.A. has seen more Christmas angels than I have.


I don't see anything magical about this picture. (It's a little confusing though. The only grapes are near the bottom-right corner.) Anyway, H.A. says it shows the fascinating drama of the garden.  ::snort::

The bushes with the black berry thingies (which taste icky, he says) are expanding to the south. That's to the right. The grape vines are moving to the north. Here they meet. The perennial clash of the bush and the vine. Can they both survive?

H.A. says there used to be raspberries there. I think they're all gone now. The berrythingies and the grapes must have crowded them out. "Война и мир в саду," says H.A. - War and Peace in the garden.