Gleneden Beach

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Sage

My Aunt Sally (Mom’s sister) has been here all week and yesterday we went to Gleneden Beach, south of Lincoln City. It was a gorgeous day with very few people on the beach.

That’s always good because I love to run and play ball!

And work on my aerobatics.

Oops, Missed that one.

Splashing in the waves was fun and really refreshing after such hard work chasing that ball.

A bit of a shake.

And a roll in the sand is the best way to complete a dip in the ocean.

I got some on my nose though.Just don’t drink too much of that water….I did. And I threw up. Mom said I wasn’t supposed to drink salt water. It wasn’t good for me and that’s why she had lots of fresh water with her. I guess I need to work on that one….

The tide was coming in and the waves were pushing the swell further up on the beach, so Mom decided to see how cold the water was. I guess she must have thought it was pretty cold and wondered how I could go play in the surf. Doesn’t she remember how I swim in ponds in the winter? I think she’s a big sissy!

We saw a starfish laying on the beach that had one short arm that was just a little bump. We don’t know what happened, but it probably was regenerating a new one. I didn’t know they could grow new arms, did you? And that they are related to sand dollars. Mom says you have to learn something new to keep your brain alert and she’s been stuffing my brain with new stuff here lately.

We saw the starfish move, so we put it back in the water. I hope it finds its home…it looked lonely lying there on the beach.

Mom says we are going back to the beach in a couple of days. This is gotta be the best summer yet!

Monday Mischief: Zigzag Falls

Posted on July 29, 2012 by Sage

I told you there was more to my blogiversary adventures and you’ll have to wait to see what my ‘mischief’ is.

Our next venture on our blogiversary trip was to Zigzag Falls, which is on the Zigzag River up near Mt. Hood.

I was getting a little confused with all the zigging and zagging stuff, so I had Mom do a little research for me. She found out that the river comes from the Zigzag Glacier on the southwest side of Mt. Hood and goes through the Zigzag Canyon and then out to the Sandy River (next to my most favorite dog park in the whole world—1000 Acres). I still didn’t know why it was called Zigzag, but Mom said this is what she found:

“Pioneer Joel Palmer crossed the deep ravine of Zigzag Canyon near the timberline on Mt. Hood on October 11, 1845. He described the crossing in his journal:

The manner of descending is to turn directly to the right, go zigzag for about one hundred yards, then turn short round, and go zigzag until you come under the place where you started from; then to the right, and so on, until you reach the base.

The Zigzag River is no more crooked than adjoining streams, therefore the stream was most likely identified to fellow travelers on what was to become the Barlow Road by the manner of crossing and not for an especially irregular alignment.”

We did a lot of that zigzagging going up to Mirror Lake, but Mom called them ‘switchbacks’. She said they could also be called ‘S’ curves. I’m really confuserated so I checked out the Zigzag River and didn’t think it was very crooked! But in the spirit of adventure, on we went to the falls.

We got to them pretty quickly…just a short hop and a skip from the trailhead…but we were OK with that after all the zigging and zagging we did earlier.

There are a gazillion falls around Mt. Hood and this one is nice. Not as spectacular as some, but how many are full of zigs and zags?

Pee Ess: I hope you notice the cleanliness of my furs. I wanted to present the cleanest image of me for such a momentous event. I think you could even call that a bit of mischief!!

Mirror Lake

Posted on July 27, 2012 by Sage

Today is my Blogiversary! Two whole years and what a fun couple of years it’s been. There have been good times (rolling in the mud, for one…) and there have been some bad (my poor Toby—I do miss him), but with the help of all of you, it’s been worth every minute. My Aunt Sally came to visit all the way from Texas and Mom said “Let’s go hiking!” There’s no better way to commemorate my blogiversary, at least that’s what I say.

Off we went. We stopped at the Ranger Station near Mt. Hood and got some trail maps (are more hikes up there in my future?). Mirror Lake was our destination and is a fairly easy hike off the highway. We started here…a raging river coming out of the forest. I wasn’t allowed to go into it, but I really didn’t want to.

We hiked into a gorgeous forest. It was a little eerie with the fog hanging almost right over us. We saw lots of downed trees that are composting in the forest. Mom says it’s food for the soil. I practiced my agility and did a little rock sitting.

And walking over a bog bridge.

We found a stream where I got my furs wet, even though it’s not hot (maybe 60 degrees F. (15 degrees C.))We finally got to the lake. The fog was really low.

We walked around it and came to a spot where I could go swimming for a bit. The fog was even rising off the lake! If it hadn’t been so foggy, this is what we’d have seen. That’s Mt. Hood. Mom says we’ll just have to go back…

We did see some pretty flowers. We weren’t sure what this was, but this lily was stunning!Mirror Lake is a glacial lake at the foot of Tom Dick and Harry Mountain. That’s it in the distance. Beyond the fog….there’s 3 peaks that are part of a 2-mile long volcanic mountain and is only about 5,066 feet tall. Because of this, it’s considered a foothill of Mt. Hood. On the way back, I checked out a hollowed-out stump. There were lots of stumps in the forest, but this one was particularly interesting. Maybe there was a treat inside!

We finally got back to our car and took off. I thought we were through, but Mom turned off onto another road. What’s next?

Check back for the next installment of our blogiversary hike.

I Didn’t Mean to Eat It–

Posted on July 24, 2012 by Sage

–honest. But first….

You know there are hungry doggies and kittehs living with homeless and less fortunate people. You’ve seen them. On the sidewalks or street corners of your home town. Or they could be the canine/feline members of a family who are having hard times making ends meet.

Your heart goes out to them. Are they fed regularly or at all? What’s going to happen to them? “For families that can’t afford to feed their pets, the consequences are greater than just an empty stomach. Many pets will be surrendered to already overburdened shelters, many more will be abandoned. Finding new homes for these pets are never guaranteed. Families will be torn apart, simply because there’s not enough money to buy pet food.“

I thought this was so important that I wanted to tell you about the Pongo Fund–a food bank for these guys—right here in Portland! It was established in memory of Pongo, an almost 19-year-old canine gourmet who ‘lived his years with zest and insisted on making each and every meal a culinary adventure‘. And now hungry doggies and kittehs will know where their next meal will come from. And, by the way, only quality food is purchased with donations to this fund.

See that brown one? Right there. That’s the one!

So, you want to know what happened. Well, I went to a fund-raiser event last weekend and volunteers were making cute pipe cleaner pets. I picked one out and Mom gave them lots of green papers. Then we went to Uncle Mark’s house to water plants and check out the chickens and bees and apple trees and berry bushes and….pshew, that was a lot!

I guarded the carbut, Mom and Dad took a little too long.

I tried to eat our pipe cleaner doggie.Sorry, Mom.

I didn’t mean to.

Really!!

Pee Ess: It didn’t have any good flavors, so I left it to remind me that I am fortunate.

Not everyone is.

Monday Mischief: Up, Up and Over

Posted on July 22, 2012 by Sage

Some days are better than others, at least that’s what Mom said about the mischief I got into. It all started innocently. A dip in my friend’s pool

Ahhhh, it’s so refreshing after a fun trip to Mt. Tabor

A bit of a shake

Yep, that’s shake water.

And then, Blackie (my friend’s kitty) walked into the yard.

She said: ‘Let’s race!’

And we did.

Across the yard we went.

Blackie led the way, I was right behind.

Over the fence she went

and so did I.That’s the fence I went over.

We were just having fun….what’s the big deal? Oh, right, Mom. I’m not a cat. I’m not suppose to jump over fences. Well…..I do agility. Does that count?

One Happy Kitty

Posted on July 21, 2012 by Sage

You know I live with two kittehs? Thailing’s been clamoring to use MY computer…she even gave me a swat across the snout when I gave her some lip about it. So, I’ve relented.

Here, ‘Linger (that’s what I call her sometimes). Have a go at it!

Gee, what I have to put up with sometimes…what’s a cat suppose to do when that D..O..G hogs the ‘puter all the time. Anyhow, I have to tell you that I think Toby left one of his dragons loose around here. I’ve felt pretty puny lately and started losing weight (I’m down to a not-so svelte 6.25 pounds). Then, indignities on top of indignities, I had to go to the vet. Now that’s something I DON’T like, but let me tell you, it’s been one trip after another here lately. These hu-mans that live with me just kept that dreaded crate sitting there in the living room. Thought it would fool me. HA! Not on your life.

Then I started running a fever, coughing and lost even more weight….more pills. But it wasn’t the pneumonia they thought it was and they quit stuffing things down my throat. I have this pretty yummy chicken-flavored treat they give me now that has my thyroid meds mixed in it.

Tummy rubs, please

But the final indignity was the trip yesterday to get my teeth cleaned/pulled. See, I have this genetic disorder and had most of them pulled when I was a bit of a lass. I thought the rest were goners too, but they weren’t! I hope that crate gets put away now. I’m sick of this vet stuff.

Can I have a bit more food, too?

Pee Ess: I’ve gained a smidgen of weight (0.3 pounds) now! I hide it well under all that fur though.

Mommy’s Home!

Posted on July 18, 2012 by Sage

She flew over these mountains

Dropped down through the clouds

And was here!

At my house!

I gave her kisses and kisses and kisses.

We went for a walk and met my Aussie friend…we like to run & play in his front yard. He told me he was moving to Montana. That made me sad. Then we went to the river where we saw a family of geese.

They must have been very good parents, because one was always leading and the other following all their little goslings. I guess that’s why Mom has always taught me to always know where she is….or is it the other way around? All I know is that she’s home!