Hi guys! Meet Bailey's new buddy...NOT! He is a big froggie and Bailey is spending all his free time trying to catch him! Ha ha, I just stand by with Old Yeller and bark at him cause he is so stupid. Mom gets mad at him because he has wrecked her waterlilies--they are just starting to bloom and he keeps falling in and crushing them. I don't think the frog is too scared of him because he just sits there while Bailey goes crazy trying to reach him. He's not scared of mom either because she got real close to him to take this picture. Did you know Bailey doesn't swim very well?? Ha, he just flaps around when he falls in. Now he's laying in the sun. Mom yelled at him again for about the millionth time today and told him to get out of the water. I love it when Bailey gets in trouble. He is such a goody-four-paws.

 

So I overheard Mom and Dad talking. Mom is going away again. Bummer. She has to go for work. That means some of us go to the kennel. I think Bailey and I are staying home though, with Dad. Bear, Winston and Bandit are going to the kennel-camp. You wait, Bailey will pout and won't eat. And Dad will feel sorry for him and probly let him sleep on the bed or something like that.

Mom is trying to finish weeding the garden before she leaves so it won't be all weedy when she comes back. She's laying down newspaper and leaf stuff in the paths to keep the weeds down. We have excellent weeds here! And she still has some seeds to plant. But she might not get everything done. She has to make soap too. The other day it was Bunker Hill Day and it was a holiday. Why would anyone celebrate a hill?? Anyway, she made some lavender-teatree soap, it is pretty--just white with dark lavender 'frosting' on top. And she tried to make a coffee salt bar. She used coffee and that irish mocha fragrance and her other stuff. It's different. I guess. Anyway, she needs to make more Citrus Splash and Lavender soap this weekend. And something else too, I forget. She just got some fragrances for fall and winter soap. I smelled one, called Macintosh Apple and it smells just like fresh apples. And she got clove and cinnamon-vanilla and cranberry fig. I don't know what a fig is. I've eaten cranberries when Mom accidentally drops them on the floor. They are kind of tart, unless they have muffin wrapped around them. Anyway, that cranberry fig was not what she was expecting. But who knows.

If I can get the links to work I will send you to a fun game  Hot Dog Bush  helps you earn money for george bush for when he is done being president and needs a job. He is selling hotdogs. You know it's not as easy as it looks! Anyway, Mom made a whole bunch of money for him so she said he can leave sooner if he wants and open that hot dog stand anytime.

Hey I gotta go help my Mom finish the weeding. I will try to get back later and post another picture or two. Love, Me.

Happy Father's Day!!

Happy Father's Day to everyone who is a father and especially to my Dad who's the best one in the world. Sorry to everyone else, but I got him!! Here is NOT the Father's Day gift I got him, it's a gift basket that my mom made for someone who is getting married and wanted a present for her maid of honor. It has Lavender, Tangerine Lavender and Passionfruit-Rose soaps, Lavender body powder, Tangerine Lavender body lotion, watermelon lip balm, a pouf and a soap dish.  Mom always forgets to take pictures of her gift baskets, but I reminded her this time. She cropped me out of the picture, as I was sniffing it--boy it smelled purty!

So today I am going to cuddle up to my Dad and sit on his lap or drape myself across his shoulders, and I will follow him everywhere and make tiger-faces at the other dogs who try to come near him. Hmm. Sounds like every other day. And we will cook burgers on the grill, cause that's what Dad likes on Father's Day. Well, really he likes brisket on the grill but we had that a couple weeks ago so we'll have burgers today instead! 

Well I didn't do much on Saturday. I hung out in the yard and then in the afternoon when it started to rain I hung out in Bandit's crate. He was kind enough to lay on the porch floor and let me have the crate. I was hoping Mom would start the hose sprayer for me but she said no, go out in the rain and play instead. Not the same!! And later she and Dad were watching The Negotiator with Samuel Jackson and I didn't want to watch it. I don't mean that Samuel Jackson was at our house, I mean he was in the movie. English is hard. Anyway in the beginning of the movie he is a hostage negotiator who goes into an apartment where a man is holding his daughter hostage and he has a shotgun. And Samuel Jackson tricks him and one of the things he says is how much he likes dogs. The man has a big dog, a pit bull/rottweiler dog. But later after he catches the man he says he doesn't like dogs. Well then, I don't like him either. So I don't watch that movie but Mom and Dad like it. 

And then later Mom made some soap; she made Spearmint-Lime salt bars. This time they are green, not pale orange. They smell nice! Last time she made them she was making two batches of different soaps and had her colors set out. She grabbed the wrong color so the Spearmint Lime came out pale orange instead of green. FOCUS!! And she also made lemongrass hemp oil soap. Someone asked her what lemongrass smells like. She said it's kind of like a slurpy lemon with a hint of vanilla. It is an essential oil and it is a deep yellow color so she doesn't color the soap unless she is putting some swirls or frosting on it. I can't be around when she is making lemongrass soap, it's very very strong smelling. It is sometimes used in combination with other essential oils to make insect repellent. (I copied that sentence from somewhere else. )Er, do you think it might be a dog repellent too if I don't like to be around it? Maybe later she will let me use her camera and I will take some pictures and post them for you to see.

Today she has to make Grapefruit Salt Bars and Sandalwood-patchouli Salt Bars. But first she has to melt the oils for it and she hates doing that. I sure hope she feeds us breakfast first!  

We have a new rain barrel. Mom and Dad picked it up yesterday at the recycling center. It is so we can save rainwater and use it to water the garden if it decides to stop raining this summer. but before we can use it Dad has to re-arrange the gutter thing that the water runs down. And that could take a while.

I know a secret....there is a bird's nest in our yard, over near our grapevine. I was with Mom when she found it.  She said don't tell anyone or the birds might not come back if they are scared and then the eggs won't hatch. So don't tell anyone. She was going to clip out this monster vine that tries to invade our yard every year. Some of it has grown up into the grapevine so she said she would clip it so it would die, then she could pull it out easier. But when she was over there, she noticed a small nest that had been woven right into the vine and the grapevine. It's only about 3 feet off the ground. It has 5 white eggs with brown speckles.  That's kind of close to the ground for when those babies hatch and start squacking for food. Maybe Bandit will guard the nest from the weasel that lives in the wood pile. Bandit loves baby animals. Yes, we have a weasel in our wood pile. He goes back and forth between the wood pile and the old dog kennel house. There is space underneath there for him to hide. Mom says he is an "urman", no wait, I think you spell it "ermine" but you say it "urman". English is dumb. Anyway, he is brown with white feet and in the winter he turns almost all white. She says there have been ermines in the yard since before I was born, and it's a good thing because they eat mice and stuff. I've smelled something over there so I guess she is right. Bailey says there is something there but he's never seen it. Anyway, I don't know what kind of bird it is yet. Maybe a wren or sparrow. I hope it comes back soon so the eggs don't get cold!

Well, maybe I'll catch up with you later, I am really kind of tired right now. It's only 8:30 or so i the morning but I was up early with Mom. So I think I'll go back to bed for awhile. Love, Me.

Which is the mother and which is the daughter? DUH.

Well here is a picture of me and my mom. I am the cute one of course, the one with no gray hair. I look a little stressed out in this picture because what you can't see is that Bear is trying to take a walnut from the desk and it is MINE. I wanted Mom to re-snap the picture but she thinks I am adorable in it. she said we should have a picture together, and later a picture of me and my Dad, so that you could see the family resemblance. NOT. Well, except I do have my dad's nose, but that is another story for sure!! I have been waiting for it to stop raining but it is still icky outside. Mom made us go outside though, for a while in the rain...something about a spillage she had to clean up. It was pond salt. That's dried up ocean water. It goes in the pond to help the imaginary fish keep their slime coat. I'm not making this up. I think my mom imagines that there are fish in there. i never see them. Bailey does, or says he does, but he sucks up to mom big-time, so he could just be saying that. Anyway, when she came home today there was a box at the door. She had ordered some pond plant fertilizer and some pond salt. And the lid was completely off of the pond salt so it was loose in the box and slipping through the cracks. Salt is bad for dogs. I always thought it was the popcorn but it is the salt, or that's what the vet website says. So no more going to the movies for me, I only go for the popcorn. I'm kidding. I've never been to the movies. I have to watch them on cable. So anyway she made us go outside while she vacuumed and emptied the box of salt into a container. So I was outside in the rain. Ick. My feet were getting wet. I hate that. Do you think Hilary clinton will be the vice president contestant person? did I change subjects on you too quickly? it is supposed to be in it's own paragraph. English has lots of rules.

Okay. So Mr. Obama is going to run for the Big Dog job. He runs against Mr. McCain. And they both need assistant big dogs. I hope Mr. McCain does not pick Mitt Romney. I heard he ( M.R., the Anti-Dog) bought a house in California. He SAYS it is because his wife has horses she rides there or something. I THINK he is establishing his mailing address so he can run for governor of California. Let's all send him a postcard that says, "glad you are there and not here".Well, I hope he does and I hope he wins. And I hope California slides off the earth into the ocean while he is at home. Oh, sorry. Mom says that is not kind. I should think it, not say it. Okay. whatEVER.
Anyway Mr Obama has to pick a Big DogHelper too. And Hillary could be it. Or, who else? I'm not sure. She would be a good choice because she has a dog and he does not. That covers just about everybody then. Well, not the cat people but they are usually independent or something. There's just no telling what cat people are thinking.

Well, it is now time for us to have snackage. And Mom has to figure out something for dinner. I like to help because then I can nibble and everyone else has to just watch and drool. I will update you over the weekend on "stuff" (possibly inappropriate use of quotation marks. I will have my Dad check it for me. He was an English major, you know.) (I posted the links I am using to learn English writing...they are helpful. Also I posted a link to the Bad Dog Chronicles where I read about adventures that other dogs have had. Bear put some stories in there and so did Bandit, a long time ago! ) Enjoy.

Love, Me

Grilled hot dog, anyone? Ha ha my bro Bailey has found a new favorite spot to lounge. (But only when the grill is not being used!) He gets mad if any of us go near it. Why should I care, it seems uncomfortable to me! When I'm outside I'd rather sit in a patio chair anyway.

Guess what we saw yesterday at 6 in the morning? A giant great blue heron came into our yard!! Yup! Dad saw him land...he said the GBH looked just like a helicopter, it came straight down and landed right in front of the fish pond. It hung around for about 10 minutes...it looked in the pond, then it hopped in and paddled around. It was looking for frogs and fish I guess. Hey, maybe that's why our fish hide at the bottom!! Then it hopped out, had a couple sips of water, walked around for a while and left. Mom looked them up on the internet and they can live 15 years. AND, they eat frogs, fish, water bugs, voles, mice, snakes, baby turtles, lizards,,,pretty much anything they can swallow. We're thinking that he's been here before, he seemed pretty comfortable. And Bandit knew he was there and didn't care. But Bandit won't tell me if the GBH drops by regularly. A couple years ago Mom came up from the cellar and saw a GBH standing on one leg in the shallow part of the pond, but he flew away when she made noise. Maybe it wa the same one! We aren't usually looking out the window at 6 am, Mom is either on her way to Boston already or doing other stuff in the house. Me, I only look out the living room window. She wanted to get a picture of him yesterday but she was afraid if she made noise he would leave. Maybe the GBH what happened to the baby snapping turtle that was living in the pond last year. Good thing I am a substantial size so he can't carry me away. I knew there was a reason I liked food!!!

Boy did it rain yesterday. It was a good day for sleeping. I guess it is good for the garden when it rains. I don't know because I haven't been able to squeeze in there to make sure the plants are all doing okay. Mom was mad because something ate the baby melon plants. Perhaps it is time for a new hole under the fence. I'll get Bear to work on that. You know, so we can guard it and all. AND, we can let mom know when the tomatoes are ripe.

It's going to be really hot this weekend, like 90 degrees. Man, I wish I didn't have to wear my fur coat. But I"m pretty sure Mom and Dad are going to let me play with the hose sprayer for a while, they usually do that when it gets hot. I can't wait!! I've been trying to play with it whenever Mom waters the flowers, but she is a poop and won't let me get wet. I have been playing with the pens on the kitchen table and teaching myself to write just like Mom and Dad. That way I can write notes to Aunt Lisa and she will think my Mom and Dad wrote them. I could write notes like, 'do not give anyone cookies except me, I mean Casey, because she has been very good.' Or, 'please spray me Casey until I she is very drenched and then let her go in the house and lay on my her Dad's pillow.' I am still working on sounding natural. So I might have some work to do still. Eventually I could write a check to myself and my only problem would be cashing it because I don't have any identification except my dog license and that is not a photo i.d. But if I could get some cash I could go on a little trip or go shopping for greenies or something like that. And the other dogs would sniff me when I came back and would be incredibly jealous.

I've been teaching myself to write properly by looking on line. I am learning about improper use of apostrophes and when not to use quotation marks
English sure is complicated but I am pretty good at it considering it is my second language.

I think Mom is prepping breakfast, "yummy" for the "tummy"! (ha ha just a joke, there, with the quotation marks!). Bye, Love, Me ("Casey")

Its JUNE--did you take your heartworm medicine yet?

Just kidding...I'm sure you did already. Mom gave us ours this morning. Once a long time ago a neighbor dog got heartworm disease and he had to live in the cellar all summer. What? Oh, sorry. Mom says he just stayed in the cellar during the day so he could rest because it makes you so sick. Some dogs actually have to visit the youth in asia. After she saw that poor dog she has always made sure to get us our heartworm pills. Heartworm comes from mosquitos. Well, that's what the vet says, but I'm not sure. How could a worm live inside a mosquito? And don't give me that biology/evolution stuff, everybody knows that the Big Dog made everything in 6 days.(boy, what was he thinking when he made porcupines????) You don't really want to have a philosophical discussion with me, I've got a lot of pillow time (thinking time) under my belt!

And you know what? Mom was reading a report on some dumb website that belongs the the government that was talking about a new kind of mosquito called an Asian Tiger. It is showing up here and there in New England. It carries some nasty disease. Just another thing for us to worry about. Thank you Asia.

Do you like these pictures? Finally some of our flowers are blooming. Of course you can't see all the weeds in this picture. Ha ha. I watched Mom pull a whole bunch of weeds today. The sad thing is, Mom knows the names of all the weeds!! Now THAT is useless information. I pointed out some weeds she had missed. Boy did that make her grumpy. I was just tryin' to help. And, I wish I had thumbs so I could have taken a picture of her fighting with the big rose bushes. She was mad because some of the branches were so big and heavy they were lying across her peonies that are trying to bloom. Sarah Bernhardt was pissed. Oh, sorry, Mom says no using words like that. Sarah was pee-ooo'd. That's the name of one, no two, no three of the peonies. It's a very old variety named after some famous old actress. They are a very pretty pale pink with ginormous double petals. Usually as soon as they start opening that's the signal for us to get massive thunderstorms that scare me and Winston and knock all the blossoms off. So I'm expecting a big storm later this week, which is about when they will open. Anyway, I think the rose bushes won the fight. They are called William Baffin and they are really Dad's roses. He got them for his birthday about 10 years ago. They are climbing roses and they are about 10 feet tall but are not on a trellis, they are just big bushes. Mom says they are like super duper roses because they always bloom in June even when she forgets to feed them. And pretty much nothing bothers them. They are not like those roses that have to have babysitters. They are tough! In fact, she had to bring a tree saw out there and saw off the extra branches. And she got all scratched up and the branches were so big that when she dragged them back into the yard to get rid of, she wrecked some of her other flowers. She could have just played some Frisbee with me and New Yeller, but oh no, she had to do stupid stuff.

I told her to take a picture of our fish but she doesn't see them anymore. She put 4 fish into the pond a month ago and found one that had died. Otherwise she figured the giant frog ate them, which is why Bailey killed him, 'cause Bailey loves watching the fishing channel. (that 's what we call it when he sits at the pond for hours!) So she got 4 more fish and put them in last night. And guess what, a shoe-punkin, wait, what? Oh. Mom says a "shubunkin" which is a kind of goldfish, came racing over to check out the newbies. He was big. And there might have been two of them. So even though she hasn't seen them and they don't eat the food she was throwing in there (I know they weren't eating it because when it floated to the edges Bear and Winston ate it!)--obviously they are eating something! Anyway she saw two of the new ones this morning and now we don't see any. This is a bad time for the pond every year...all the pollen and stuff falls on the top and it's kind of murky. It'll be better later in the summer. And by then the fish will have gotten used to Bailey sitting there watching them. That's when he starts fishing. He sticks his muzzle in and every once in a while he snags some sushi. I'm not a big sushi fan, but Mom and Dad like it. I like my fish cooked. And no guts, please.

Well my Dad is getting ready to go for a run. I am going to go help him stretch and stuff. See you later. Love, Me.