Thursday, July 29, 2010

Poetry, a pinch of God

     My mom read an article in the Eugene Register Guard the other day and it included a poem by Alicia Suskin Ostriker, a poet from New Jersey.  How someone from the east coast can capture my life in the West is just one miracle of literature, I guess.  She wrote a poem that includes a dog's point of view.  The poem, The Blessing of the Old Woman, the Tulip, and the Dog made my mom smile.  Here's the part she said made her think of me:

    "To be blessed
    said the dog
    is to have a  pinch
    of God
    inside you
    and all the other
    dogs can smell it"
.

  See, we were given these great noses...I think mine is rather attractive, don't you?  We sniff history with our noses and check other dogs out and assess everything:  "Can I eat it?  Will it hurt me?"  The two big questions of life.
    Anyway, I sniffed out a problem in the yard the other day.  I had all three little dogs in my life hanging around, running up and down the yard, barking and laughing  (that's Caesar, Charlie and Toby) when I realized the danger.  Not far from where I'm laying in this picture, I smelled then heard then saw the rattlesnake, all coiled and ready to strike.
      Well, I knew enough not to try to jab at it, not to get to close.  I barked but it didn't slink away.  It stayed to mark its territory I guess but not in my back yard!!!   I started to bark my steady, warning, get-your-butt-out-here-now!- sort of bark.  And before long, Matt, my brother, came out with the pistol and took care of the snake.  The little dogs all danced around me, happy, happy and Matt and his wife Melissa gave me lots of pats and hugs for being the guardian dog that I am.  I knew they'd tell my mom and dad when they got home and they gave me even more hugs and pats.  I had a pinch of God in side me that day and all the other little dogs could smell it!
    I hope you have a pinch of God in your day too!  Keep sniffing!  Woolf!  Woolf!  Bo

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Humming birds and Bat man

Look close.  That' a hummingbird being held by my cousin Norm as he's known to his friends.  He's in Minnesota and his family has a greenhouse.  This hummingbird flew into it when the door was open and got caught in a spider web.  Norm and his mom helped him out and he was a bit dazed but before long he headed off into the Minnesota summer.  Kinda of a cute photograph don't you think?  That big bat man shadow behind him makes him look like he's being protected.  Norm is interested in law enforcement so being protective is something fitting for him too.
     Norm has three dogs when he comes home to visit his family.  Hairy, Josa and Gertie.  His family are Packer fans though they live in Minnesota.  Last year with all the hoopla about Bret Favre becoming a Viking, they taught Josa a trick.  They'd say, "Would you rather be a dead or a Viking?" and Josa would roll over and play dead!
     I don't know any tricks at all.  Oh, I can tug on a toy with Caesar at the other end.  Not much of a trick in that.  I can carry around the green garden pitcher that is now mine because of the holes I chewed in the spout.  When my mom waters the plants with the new watering can she lets me drink from the spout.  I like that but it isn't much of a trick.
    My most favorite thing to do though is play in the river.  I jump in there four, five, six times a day when it's 105 degrees here as it was last week.  Oh, and this week, before the cows got here, I jumped in their watering trough.  I guess that's a trick getting in and out of it.  We long-haired dogs in hot weather need water to relax in.  I bet those of you with swimming pools know just what I mean!
    Anyway, I hope you're staying cool this summer.  Don't get caught in any spider webs unless you've got a big friend to help you out.  Woof!  Woof!