Allred Speaks Up

 I honestly think it is time that everyone in Blogville hears "the Truth".  Honestly I can't beleive you all have been so taken in by that simpleton Bert.

 Seriously...Look at me....Do I look like the Devil..... I mean, lets compare.  Me....

 Dirt.....I mean Bert....

 Don't let this goofy innocent face fool you.  It is I Not Bert who suffers the most in this household.  You have no idea of all the bull I have to deal with around here.

 Every single guest that Bert invites into our house bugs me.  They follow me around, they push me with their snouts, the try to get me to run from them, they drool on me.......they are idiots, I tell you.....k-9 simpletons.

 I have a castle that Berts My Vickie had made for me so I would be safe from the drooling, staring, teasing excuse for a species.  but do they respect that? 

No!!! not a one of them shows any appreciation for my eminence.

 For example.....Murphy....I even smacked him on the nose one day to show him my superiority.  The bugger was bleedin all over the place.  I figured I had really showed him what to.   But the next thing I know.....

The nincompoop was trying to get up into my Castle for another meeting of the claws.  Shees what is with these guys.

 so then he goes for the "Pitty Look" when he realizes he can't get me and that his nose hurts.  Who does Berts My Vickie go to in comforting remisseration?  NOT ME.

 I don't find the little guests near as annoying as I do the big ones.  They do try to stare me down but I find them to be of little interest to me.

 That cold winter night when I first came live with this wild array of creatures, I knew exactly what I was in for.  I came in prepared to deal with a bunch of adolescent k-9's.  Don't get me wrong, I am great ful that Bert's My Vickie took me in, just know that I didn't pick this house without knowing full well what I was getting myself into.

 Of course there is always the exception and that is Sweet Jamie.  For a k-9, she is the exception to the rule.  Gentle, quiet, respectful.....key word here...RESPECTFUL

 But for the rest of them I must be always ready to teach them the errors of their ways.  IF it takes a firm smack on the face or a ripping bite on the butt, well, a cat has got to do what a cat has to do.

 So Bert...FYI....I see you comin dude.....I know all about your "ability to charm" all those two legged anthropodes....but just beware...I am watching and waiting....I will get you my lovely.....hee heee ehhheeeee

All about Jamie

 Jamie was found by My Vickie's niece Becky shortly after her mom (My Vickie's Sister) had died.  At the sweet request of this little girl,  "Aunt Vickie, please take her home" My Vickie made arrangements to bring Jamie into her life.

She hadn't intended to do search work with the little black and white charmer, but as life would have it, the decision was made for her. 

My Vickie had lost her search dog McKenna to a terrible accident and had decided that she would just train other handlers and dog teams but didn't want to start another dog of her own.

However, Jamie had other plans. 

At about six months, Jamie, who had accompanied My Vickie on the training weekends across the country, was sitting patiently by a vehicle as the My Vickie set up a one mile track for one of the older more experienced dogs.

Jamie watched "the victim" leave the campsite and disappear into the forest.  An hour later it was time to bring the SAR team in to try and track "the victim".

While My Vickie was laying out the "Scent Article" for the team, Jamie, who was just trying to be as patient as she could, could hold herself back no longer.

She was off....She ran to the "Scent Article" picked it up and drank in the smell of "her victim" and headed on track, into the forest after her victim.

My Vickie watched in amazement then finally figured out what was happening and quickly followed Jamie into the trees.

Jamie didn't miss a turn, she didn't pause to check out a dead carcass that was lying just to the right of the track, she followed the trail making no mistakes.

She worked it like a seasoned pro.  It took her less than 20 minutes to make her way to the hiding spot of "the victim"

The decision was made.  My Vickie had little to do with the choice.  Jamie was a search dog. 

 For ten years, Jamie gave her heart and soul to the lost and missing, as well as over 100,000 children across the country who she came to schools and parks to teach, How to stay safe in the mountains.

 She searched and found people lost in the mountains from Utah to Canada north, and as far as southern Texas to the south.  Found people who were consumed by avalanches, had drowned in lakes and rivers, and people trapped in rubble.

 Retirement was hard for Jamie to accept but as she reached her 12th year, her big brown eyes started loosing their strength, her ears started hearing less and less.  But her nose..oh that nose....it was as strong as ever.

 Now the eyes are almost completely blinded, the hearing completely gone, but the spirit is AS STRONG as ever.  Her heart of gold would serve to the day she could no longer walk, as long as her nose can lead her, she would work.

It was a terribly hard thing for My Vickie to retire her, harder still to go out and find ME to take up the job she could no longer do.  

Now the Seizure monster is visiting her a couple of times a week, her little back legs can no longer hold her up for more than a few minutes.

How and when do we say good bye.  Many of you know.  Many if not all of you have known or are now playing the "Waiting Game"  now.

Why do I write this now?  Because when that time comes, be it through a choice made by My Vickie and Jamie or by the angels above...My Vickie and I will not be able to talk or write about it.  there will be silence.

But as we wait, we hold on to those big brown beautiful eyes, and the heart as big as Texas, the wild spirit, the concentration, the wisdom, the process of reading the clues and reasoning out the answer, the magnificence of this beautiful dog that I can call my mentor, my teacher, my sister, my light.

“Life is short. Time is fleeting. Realize the Self. Purity of the heart is the gateway to God. Aspire. Renounce. Meditate. Be good; do good. Be kind; be compassionate. Inquire, know Thyself.”



Swami Sivananda

My Vickie goes to Vancouver and Back

 Boy the minute my Vickie got home, we were off again.  The hospital on Tuesday and the VA home Wednesday.  I love the visits but I hate to have a bath once a week.  We use an oatmeal shampoo and conditioner to keep my coat nice but not to harsh for my skin.  However, My Vickie worries about my getting so many baths and wants to know if anyone knows of some real gentle shampoos that we could use that are better than the Oatmeal.

It is true that this is My Personal Blog but My Vickie got to see so much really cool stuff that I asked her to put in a few pictures for you. 
Like these mushrooms.  My Vickie loves mushrooms (not to eat though) she thinks they look like homes for little fairies. 

They are kinda cool lookin.

The Buchardt Gardens on Vancouver Island were very pretty too.  My Vickie was surprised that they had so many flowers still in bloom for this time of year.






Then she and her mom, aunt and sister went to the butterfly gardens.  It was like going to a tropical jungle.  The butterflies would land right on you and they were flittering all around you.  There were many many different colors and species.  VEry amazing


There was even a waterfall there.  Boy would I have liked that


There were turtles, cool fish and these two flamingos.  Certainly a must see if you ever go there.

 The ocean was beautiful even though they couldn't see it for most of the trip.  She had a wonderful time but she is (I am sure) very very happy to be home.



Now we are getting ready for the big "Halloween" day.  We are going to be guests at a school for the day talking about Safety.  So I better go help My Vickie get ready.

So glad to be back.

Love

Bert


PS  My Vickie did a video of her trip if you wanna see some beautiful scenery.  The camera that took the swim still has a hard time giving us sharp focus especially on people, so try to overlook that.

It's Good To Have Her Back

"Reign of Terror is Over" She is Back





She Is Leaving Me (Heaven Help Us All)

Wordless Wednesday Video

I needed cheering up today so I went to YouTube. 

Farewell My Friend

This Post is in Honor of
My Good Friend Gizmo

Words cannot say enough. 

Peace is what you bring. 
Joy is what we see.
Love is what you are.



Photographs by Caren Quast

 Good-bye my friend.  See you on the other side

Bert





All About My Vickie Day

Much to my pain and anguish, this post is All About My Vickie.  She had, as she descirbed is..."The Perfect Day" yesterday and it didn't include me.

She and that John Boy went riding in the mountains looking for that perfect picture of a moose with the perfect back drop of fall leaves.

Now I dont understand why My Vickie would go anywhere without me, especially somewhere where she would be in danger of getting between a boy moose and his girl friend.

I mean does she really think that that John boy person could protect her like I could.  Well.....I was worried sick all day.

She didn't get home till really late and she was on cloud nine.  So I'll just let her explain the pictures since, I could care LESS. 

OK My Vickie....its all yours.

 I wanted to thank everyone for thier suggestions of the bowl of rice for the submerged camera.  As you can see, it worked pretty well.  There are some things on the camera that arent working, like the zoom kind of does what it wants but I can still work the manual and the auto.

So with some hit and misses, I took it up with us on our last fall trip of the year.  (I mean, we can hope it all lasts a lot longer but they say another cold spell is coming)

So if ya have the time, here are a ton of pictures from my favorite fall day of the year.

 The Aspen were turning into deep yellows that we couldn't catch properly on the lens.  The way the light of the sun hit them changed them from moment to moment.  It was breath taking.

 Many of our aspen families were also sending out scores of orange and reds.  They were almost as red as our Maples.

 Then of course was the most exciting part of our day and that was when we came across "The Brothers"  who still hang together.  The guy on the right is one year younger than his brother.  Also in the trees was their mother and their youngest brother.  It amazes me that the four of them are still together during the mating season but it is a pretty tightly knit family.

 Big and oldes brother. 

 Mom

 Our favorit canyon.  It was as gold as can be.  With some red in the far distance.

 Love the berries

 While riding we found a promising mountain side so we took off on foot again to see if we could spot anything.   It was very exciting to find a couple I had never seen before.  He has antlers almost like an elks.  I also noticed he had an eye infection.  I hope he will be ok.  If you look close you can see how swollen it is right below the eye socket.  ( I wish I could have taken him to the vet, but I guess that is just not a possiblity)  Duhhhhh

 We followd them through the forest for a bit until they came out on a dirt road.  By then, they had had enought of us and the bull gave John a stomping warning.  That is all I needed to call it a day.

 I figure it is time to fess up about my camping trips.  If you look real hard, there is a little trailer right behind John.  Yep, I camp by sleeping on a bed and behind closed doors. 

 Isn't it beautiful.  Everywhere we went.

 Also, I kept thinking of you Whisppy whenever I looked into the incredibly blue sky cause you remind me of Whispy clouds dancing across the sky.

 BAck to the little brother from this morning. 

 Big brother with a beautiful fall backdrop.  He was very tolerant of John and I.  The lighting was perfect and again, it was "A Perfect" day.

 John is either braver than me, or just plane crazy.  

 Here is the momma to the three brothers.  She has let her boys stay with her for a long time.  Most moose make their kids move on after a year, but she has allowed them to stay with her. 

 What a good momma

 More incredible color

 A crazy ride up Left Hand Canyon where the Ghost trees are. 

 It is hard to get a good picture of the Ghost trees, but we got a few.

 They are acutally the Maple trees after they loose their leaves.  The ghostly white part is the seeds that settel in winter.

So I'll leave you with the site of a few ghost trees on a hillside.  Thanks for sticking it out with me.  I know there are a lot of pictures, but I just couldn't choose one over the other.

Have a nice week everyone.

Bert's My Vickie