First It Was Rain...

then snow! We had our first snow flurries yesterday. We were on the fringes of a storm that caused a lot of snow to fall to the East of us. Nothing stuck to the ground...yet. But, it won't be long before the snow will be so deep that Daddy and Aunt Pat will have to shovel paths in the back yard so we can have a spot to do our business.



We've been helping Daddy and Aunt Pat get the house ready for winter. Every time we go out, we nibble on the grass to keep it short. A girl needs some extra fiber, you know. We're fed wonderful dog food, but everyone needs a little help now and then. We've also been moving some of the leaves around with our noses, and making sure they're in a good spot so Daddy can get them with the mower. When he was up on the ladder, painting the gutters, we went out every so often to make sure he was safe. Sure, it looked like we were doing our business, we were, but we were on the look out in case anything happened.

We've been helping Aunt Pat inside, too. It can get pretty cold in the family room, since it's partially underground. You can see us here, making sure the sofa stays nice and warm for Aunt Pat when she comes back to sit on it. We still have to make sure there's enough room for her. We won't get up on the sofa until after she's sitting there, but after she gets up, sometimes we shift our positions a little. Chloe will stretch out a little more if she's been snuggling up to Aunt Pat. I'll move my head down and shift a little too, and Katie will flip onto her other side. Aunt Pat hasn't had a problem moving Chloe or sneaking in beside Katie when she wants to sit back down. Other times, I'll get up to see where Aunt Pat is, if she's out of the room for more than a few minutes. If she brings a snack downstairs, well, we all move pretty fast!

Just Another Rainy Day

Today's a rainy, gloomy day, and we aren't spending a lot of time outside. Although I must admit I love to smell what's in the air during a good rain storm. Chloe and Katie will generally walk around or under the bushes to stay as dry as possible.

That doesn't mean we don't get wet...or muddy. Aunt Pat puts a towel down in the laundry room so we can walk across it to clean our paws off.

Then, if we're wet, she'll dry us off with a towel.

I'll sit and wait by the door because I love my tummy rubs! Chloe isn't so fond of getting cleaned up, even when she has to. This morning, Chloe decided to get Aunt Pat into a game of Keep Away. Aunt Pat noticed a leaf stuck in Chloe's tail, so she tried to get Chloe to stop long enough to get it out. Chloe ran away, and then would run back again. She was very excited and happy, and ran into the garden and started to dig! I think it was a diversion to get Aunt Pat over so Chloe could run away. Aunt Pat was able to get the leaf out, but Chloe got so muddy!

Chloe tried to clean herself by jumping on and off the sofa and rubbing herself on the sheet, and on the dog bed. Once Chloe tired out a little, and once Aunt Pat gave her a treat, she was able to clean Chloe off as much as possible. Chloe's paws still look a little dirty, but she's not as bad as before. The washcloth and towel were so filthy, Aunt Pat threw them in the washer with the other towels.

Welcome To Fall

and we're doing our part to help get things ready for what Aunt Pat thinks will be a cold winter.
She's noticed the squirrels are taking a lot of small branches and leaves to their nests, and a lot more of the smaller branches on the ground. I've noticed it's getting dark earlier, and it's already getting colder outside. We're not staying outside as long as we used to, especially in the morning and at night. The afternoons haven't been too bad, though. Chloe and I have been helping Aunt Pat put the garden to bed.

No, I don't mean this type of bed, although I was a little confused at first when Aunt Pat told me what she was doing. Chloe and I made sure that all of the strawberries have been picked. Chloe learned quickly what to look for in a good berry. Yes, we ate many of them...well, most of them. But, there weren't that many to begin with, and there's nothing like fresh produce straight from the ground. Unfortunately, a couple of the plants got trampled, but I'm sure they'll grow back.

Aunt Pat picked the lettuce AND the carrots, so she shouldn't be too upset about a few strawberries.

Katie Took a Little Trip...

to the Vet today! Daddy saw her scoot on her bum in the back yard this morning. Since she's had so many problems with this area before, he called the Vet's office. Aunt Pat took her over this afternoon and the Vet said her anal glands were fine. She's eating, drinking and enjoying her snacks as usual.

Aunt Pat finally figured out how to add a video clip! I think you'll enjoy it!

I Can't Believe It's Been a Week...

since our last post! Aunt Pat has had a few migraines, plus she had a lot of appointments last week, so she wasn't up to sitting at the computer for very long. It took her a little while to figure out how to edit the footage from the videos that she and Daddy took. But, she got a couple of DVD's made and Daddy mailed one to Mommy on Friday. She tried to upload video here, but kept getting some error messages. She'll have to change the format and will try again this week.

I must say, I'm feeling much better after going to the Groomer! I got a snazzy Halloween bandanna, but the Groomer told Daddy that I need to lose about five pounds. Personally, I think it was just all the hair I had, but the humans are making sure I stay at a healthy weight. Fewer biskees for me, darn it! They've been trying to tempt me to play fetch- Aunt Pat bought a new flying disc that I prefer to chew than chase.

Chloe's been very excited this week! She's chased several birds, chipmunks and those nasty squirrels out of the yard. The squirrels have been dropping a lot of dead branches off of the crab apple tree, and Chloe's watching out that they don't hit any of us. She's also been helping me get more exercise. If she thinks I've been laying around too much, she'll come up to me and start barking, wanting to play. She'll also come around when she sees me snacking on the grass in the backyard, and will come running when I do the biskee bark.


Katie's feeling much better. She's been chasing the squirrels and birds along with Chloe, and generally acting more like her old self. We're very happy to see that she's feeling better.

We're In the Movies!

No, we aren't going to Hollywood. Darn, I wanted to meet Lassie! Daddy took a bunch of photos of us and when he went to get them developed, he saw a single use video camera for sale. He thought about it for a while, then asked Aunt Pat to get it when she went to get the photos. Well, the camera was very easy to use-for the humans that is, and he and Aunt Pat got some thrilling footage...I hope Aunt Pat hit the stop in time during our first "fetch" video...I didn't bring the ball back right away, because I had to answer nature's call. As you can see from the photo above, Katie is ready for her close up!

I am, however, happy to report, that there is another fetch sequence in there. There's also a little play time, too. Daddy dropped the camera off this morning, and he'll pick it up tomorrow. I just wish he'd have waited until after I went to the Groomer. I've been licking myself to look presentable, but it's not the same as a professional.

Aunt Pat is hoping she'll be able to post some of the video to the blog, or somewhere else online.
I'll make sure she lets everyone know where to see us. Aunt Pat also sent photos of us to Channel 10! They're making a weather calendar and want photos of people enjoying the weather. If you click on "view photo gallery" you can hunt through the pictures until you find ours! We could be famous!!!