Lilacs, Wistiria and Beavers

To be quite honest, I am not sure if this was a great Friday or a very scary Friday. It all started out pretty good. I got to meet with my pal Tucker at the Fort and play with 100 or so kids.

Paulette couldn’t bring Murphy because he has been really sick. But she came anyway and she and Ken taught the kids about wilderness safety while Vickie and I looked on. Vickie does it too but this time she just sat back and enjoyed while Ken taught the kids how to make a tin foil shoe print.

That helps the searchers know what your shoe pattern looks like should you ever get lost.

Then Paulette taught the kids how to meet a dog they don’t know. Now you and I know that I am so friendly you would never have to worry, but sometimes there are dogs who are scared, or angry at life and they could hurt you if you pushed them.

She taught that you shouldn’t stare at a dog by staring at this girl. It made her so uncomfortable, but all the other kids laughed cause she was so freaked out. Paulette is pretty funny sometimes.

After that Tucker showed them how the search dogs work a problem, then I got to finally get off my lead and show how I do a search. I wowed them with my skill.

After that I got to show them how I can swim. Then I got out of the water and shook all over the kids. It was great. They ran screaming and laughing. Gosh I am so much fun.

Then came the bad part of the day, or maybe it was a good part. I am still trying to decide. You see it is my birthday next Friday. May the 15th I will turn one year old. Vickie says she never thought I would live to see my first birthday but it looks like I just might do it.

I mean there is, she say’s, one more week and I could still do something dumb like find a rock to eat and block my tummy again. But what she doesn’t’ get is that I understand that now and I wouldn’t eat one on purpose, though sometimes if I have something in my mouth and I am excited, I still swallow that something. That must be what she is afraid of.

Anyway, Vickie wants to take me up to the top of Sourdough and show me around for my birthday. She said we could spend the whole day together, hiking and riding. I don’t know yet, what hiking or riding is about so Friday she took me to the mountains to introduce me to both.

Now I know what riding means and I am pretty sure that it will take some time for me to learn to appreciate it. We got to this really fun place, stopped the truck and got out. I was busy exploring while Vickie was doing stuff to this big red machine. After a while she called me over and lifted me up and sat me on the machine.

Well that wasn’t so bad, I figured I could do this. But then she pushed a button and the earth started shaking and my butt started vibrating. A loud noise was coming from beneath me but I held my ground cause Vickie was sitting right in front of me and she didn’t seem worried.

The noise and the shaking kept going but I was still ok. Nervous, but ok. Then to my surprise and dislike, we started moving. Well that was it for me. I was out of there. I tried to jump off the machine and get to safety but that darn Vickie had my leash on and had it tightly in her hand over her shoulder.

The machine kept going over the dirt and we slowly moved forward. I finally maneuvered my way out of Vickie’s hold and jumped off the thing. This is definitely not what I had planned for a trip to the mountains.

It took some time and a lot of smooth talking by Vickie before I found myself settled in to the “Ride” as she called it. I wasn’t happy about it but I truly do trust Vickie and she was pretty insistent that I stay on the back of this big red machine.

We went up the mountain very slowly for a couple of miles and just when I was beginning to think this might work out, we turned off the main trail and went up a smaller more bumpy one.

We only went a little ways and then Vickie stopped the machine, told me to stay while she got off, then she lifted me to the ground. Oh precious mother earth, lovely solid matter under my feet. Heaven…..

Now comes the part I really liked. We just started heading up into the trees and brush. She called this “Hiking” I have never been hiking before. Not truly hiking. This was wonderful. I could go where ever I wanted in any direction. I ran through the sage brush, played in the pines and then to my great delight…….WATER……everywhere….water.

There were lovely little springs coming up all over the place and a little stream full to the brim with rushing water and OH MY GOSH, BEAVER PONDS. I never, in my life, ever seen anything as cool as a BEAVER POND. I dove in head first, it was deep and I was able to swim around and around.
Vickie was hollering for me to get out. She was saying something about Beavers being dangerous and I better hope I don’t meet one. It was so great that I chose for the first time today to ignore her frantic calls to me. I figured I would face her wrath after my dip in the pond. It would surly be worth it.

After a bit of screaming she started coming toward the pond with the most panicked look on her face so I decided I better get out. I thought I was in for a good old fashioned “Chewing Out” but I was surprised when all she did was hug me and hurry me away from the pond.

For the rest of the hike she only let me get near the springs and creek. I feel kind of bad that I worried her so much and I still don’t understand why she was so upset but I’ll just have to settle on swimming in everything I see but Beaver Ponds.

Back on the trail again I was thrilled when I found this delectable little brown pile of goodies waiting for me. I was half through with the deligtful little treat when Vickie stopped me, yet again. Man she is wound up tight. She needs to relax more, settle in and enjoy nature at its best and these little morels were one of natures best offerings of the day.

So except for the Beaver Pond, I had a great time hiking and feasting on the little brown tidbits, but all good things must end.

We got back to the big red machine about two hours later. I was pretty tired so I think I was a little happy that I could ride all the way back to the truck, but that doesn’t mean I liked it.

If it means that I can go back up in the mountains for my birthday, well I guess I’ll have to just learn to accept the big red machine and its rumbling climb upwards.

I usually never relax when Vickie is driving, but today I was so tired that I actually curled up in a ball and went to sleep on the way home. I woke up as we drove in to the driveway to the smell of lilacs blossoms from the neighborhood. I know I am just a dog but I really do think I like spring. I mean, I have lived through summer which is ok but too hot, fall which was really nice with all the falling leaves to play in and winter with the white stuff.

But spring seems to be the prettiest. I love the big fields of yellow flowers (Vickie says they are weeds called dandelions) but I like them, and the baby cows and the baby ducks and geese at the park.

Vickie was all excited about a vine she has growing in the front yard called wisteria. She came in all happy the other day to grab her camera and get a picture of it. She was telling her mom how fun it was that after ten years of no flowers, it finally blossomed. Ten years, can you imagine that? It was like a little miracle to her.

Well I guess I’ll go in and wash the Beaver Pond smell off me (of course it was muddy and I am feeling pretty good about myself but Vickie says I stink) and then I am going to sleep for 24 hours because that is what dogs get to do after an exciting day.

Love
Bert