What’s Happening

The weather has been absolutely gorgemous here lately, so I’ve been helping Mom get the garden planted. We’ve been to several local garden nurseries–I go along to ensure Mom gets the safest plants (for me) and prettiest posies possible.

Mom’s Peonies

Peony in full bloom

We’re hoping for a bumper crop of tomatoes this year…well, she is. (My thoughts on that subject are not really printable. ) 

All the more for me, Sage! 

Not to say we haven’t had FUN. I haven’t been out to 1000 acres much lately, but the last time I was there, I had to ensure the mud puddles were still good.

Ahhhh, a nice cool mud puddle

Shake it, baby, shake it!

These may be the last mud puddles for a while. The weather person says we are going to have a drier and hotter next 3 months, so I’m going to be spending a lot more time at the river!

Sail boats going by

Playing in the surf

And Mom was VERY glad I’ve been digging there rather than in her garden. OR the new grass….

 

I Must Be Living Right!

Those of you who are my Facebook friends already know the big news–my Sagemobile is fixed! Here’s what I think happened:

The people at the Volkswagen plant way over in Germany read my blog and knew…just KNEW…how important the Sagemobile is to me. So they hurried up and made a new ignition switch, put it on a rocket and sent it all the way to Portland, Oregon. It landed BAM right into my car. And it was all fixed. Just like that!! 

I knew what that meant.

Anticipation was building.

I was pacing the floor…

let’s go MOM, let’s go!!

So off we went to my favorite place ever…1000 Acres.

I had the best time running and playing. There were plenty of mud puddles and I made sure to inspect most of them. I saw this giant bird (a blue Heron) out by a pond and swam over to see it better, except it decided to go somewhere else. I think it dipped its wing at me as it flew over. 

Blue heron taking off

A Mud Bath-Revisited

Today, Pamela, over at Something Wagging dedicated her post to the benefits of mud. Yes, I said M..U..D!  There are some major benefits… I knew it, I knew it!!

So, I thought back to when I told you what I thought about mud (that was waaaaaay back in January 2011, when Toby was still with us) and decided to re-play that post for you.

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They say a mud bath is good for you. It has healing properties and said to be a beauty treatment that revitalizes the skin; gets rid of toxins; exfoliates and nourishes–whatever. I think mud is just plain good–good to eat and good to lay in. It’s suppose to be warm, or maybe hot–that’s what hu-mans think. They don’t know the beneficial factors of COLD mud. Yes, C-O-L-D COLD mud. It’s invigorating.

Who knows how cold that mud was. I don’t have a thermo-meter with me. Mom said it was COLD! 35 degrees COLD, well, not the mud puddle–it was probably colder. Hu-mans are such wimps (except those Polar Bear crazies). They just don’t know good MUD!!

I was sorta a “fountain of mud” here

Rolling is always good.

Shake it, baby, shake it!!

I bet you can’t guess how much dirt was in the tub when I got a bath? Mom wouldn’t even do it in her tub–she took me to this place where they washed dogs. And I scored with a ton of treats!!

When Mom’s Away

I still get to play! My Uncle M and Aunt V took me out to 1000 Acres last weekend. We hopped into the Sagemobile and off we went…M knows how much I love it out there.

I was on my bestest of all behavior…I know M can throw a mean ball!

See how nice I ‘sit’?

I met some new friends

They didn’t like the water quite as much as I do, but, that’s OK. I had my ball! 

There was a point somewhere in our adventure where the urge to dig took hold. I just don’t know what comes over me sometimes, but dig I did. In a mud-puddle. And I couldn’t hear Uncle M telling me to stop. Somehow, my hearing gets turned off when I’m concentrating really, really hard on a job like that. I guess he thought I’d get out and chase that ball, but digging is one of those things that you just gotta do sometimes. Do you ever feel that way? Well, I guess I was in trouble because I didn’t listen. Oops…

Or maybe it’s because I went right back in and started digging again. I guess that’s why Uncle M put me on the leash….

I try really, really hard to be good when Mom is gone, but sometimes when she gets back I have to let her know what I think about it. So, when she took me to agility yesterday, I decided not to listen. Fixed her!!

I can’t quite figure out why, but I just don’t get away with it with anyone. Mom calls it ‘acting out’. Do you ever do that when your Mom or Dad is gone?

Getting Lost is Scary.

Before Mom left, we went to 1000 Acres with my friends Toby, Heidi and Macy for what we thought was a quick trip. The trees were blooming and the sky was blue. I was all set for a racing, chasing couple hours of fun.

I alway stop at my favorite mud hole to cool off, but this is what I found. Was this a portension of what was to come?

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Can you believe it? What’s a self-respecting, mud-wallowing dog to do? But, don’t worry, I didn’t ponder about it very long. I had my friends with me and there’s always the job of looking for balls in the meadow to look forward to.

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We took a new path and ended up at the Columbia River. We (that’s us dogs) took off down to the shoreline, but Mom and her friend decided to go another way. They called us up the hill and we took off down the path. Except Toby wasn’t with us. And he didn’t come. We searched and search up and down the shoreline, but Toby wasn’t to be found. After an hour or so, Mom and I went up the hill to see if he’d come back. We called and called and finally here he came! He didn’t tell us where he’d been, but we were so glad to see him, that we didn’t care. His Mom was very relieved, but she made sure he stayed really close the rest of the way back to the car.

It would be scary to get lost, so I always make sure I can see Mom when we are out and I’m racing around. And she’s glad I do that too!

Pee Ess: I Skyped with Mom and she said she’s sorry we haven’t been to visit everyone. She got a sinus infection and has been very busy getting better and playing with the little Popstar. But she’s almost better now. 

Muddy Monday–3/11

Well, you knew it had to happen. After all, there’s mud EVERYWHERE!

How do you like my mud beard? Pretty neat, huh?

Many of you ask about a bath afterwards. Sometimes that happens, but Mom’s pretty sneaky sometimes. I often get my bath by swimming in a clean pond not too far from this mud-hole (which, by the way, is my fave). This time, I fell down on my job of retrieving a lost ball, so she found a stick and threw it many times out into the pond. Of course, I play along with her strategy, because not only do I get rid of the mud, but even the stink comes off! And I don’t have to have a bath.

And bringing it back is a cinch…I even had help!

Then, today of all days (since it’s Muddy Monday), my bud Oz over at Oz the Terrier wrote a limerick about me! You should go visit Oz…March is limerick month over at his site and he’s got some good ones! Thanks, Oz!!

It goes like this:

There once was a mix of Collie and Kelpie

who obviously needed some help-y.

Loved to wallow in mud

and become covered in crud

then during baths got whiny and yelp-y.

A New Year Day

It’s said that a red sunrise means something. I just thought it was pretty Little did I know what it meant–something about sailors and a warning?

Since we are having a week of little rain, I thought we didn’t have to worry about sailing anywhere. I could just see Mom on a boat! So, we went to 1000 Acres again, even with this warning hanging over our heads. Mom seems to think I need to run.

Uh, yes.

I sure didn’t expect all my favorite mud holes to have this frozen water in them.

 What’s up with that? And then snow started falling.

We stayed long enough for me to run and run and run. Oh, and do a little mud-wallowing.

Then home to a nice warm bathAnd a nap in my condo. I hope your New Year’s Day is as good as mine!

Post-Christmas Fun

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I know I sure did…Santa brought me my very own pillow! (That’s ‘cus Mom says I’m always stealing hers )It sure is comfy! And somehow I know I can’t de-stuff it like I do everything else…

I had lots of fun playing with the little Popstar. She even learned how to throw the ball for me! But now they’ve gone back home and it was time for some much-needed running…1000 Acres here we come! I was a blur over the split-rail fence.Or maybe it’s because Mom forgot her camera and had to use her phone…

For all that we’ve had 22 inches of rain in the last couple of months, it was surprisingly dry. Of course, I can find a mud-puddle anywhere.

It was a tad bit cold, so I didn’t linger.Too much to see and do–like a little amble through the trees.

There has to be a ball somewhere!

And there were some VERY interesting smells down this hole.
Hmmmm. Is there a critter down there?

I came home tired and happy. I can’t wait to put my head on my pillow!

And finally get on my ‘puter to visit everyone.

Burrs Are No Fun

The weather’s been pretty good this week, so we’ve been on the go. Actually, I’m so high-energy, any day I don’t get out somewhere is a prescription for mischief. The other day, we went to 1000 Acres. It’s the perfect place to be…meadows to run in, ponds and rivers to swim in and (this time of year) mud puddles galore.

Don’t cringe, Mom…..

We were walking along, well, I was running along, when we came upon another dog that was ready for a race. Around and around we went. Then I heard Mom’s friend say: ‘look at Sage’s tail.’

Oh, my dogness. The tip of my tail was attached to my back! I didn’t like the feel of this. Mom was quickly on it and found lots and lots of burrs in my furs. Sorta like these.A stranger offered her knife so Mom could cut them out. She got one out that way, but I was too wiggly to do any more and Mom didn’t like using a knife that close to my body. Me neither!

You know, it turns out Mom and I are quite a team. She pulled my furs away from the burr while I grabbed it with my teeth and pulled on it. One by one, we got them out. You’re going to have to picture it in your mind because there was no time for the snappy thing. I’ll just tell you this: burrs are NASTY and hurt. I hope you never get into them.

When we got home, I gave Mom the biggest doggy hug ever.Even a little kiss….

Muddy Monday Mischief

It was a really nice day today…67 degrees F (19.4 C)…with a high cloud cover. AND, no rain. A perfect day for 1000 Acres. Mom must have thought so too, especially after I dug a second hole in the yard….

The meadows are made for racing as fast as I can and I sure did. I know you’re expecting to see me in all my muddy glory, but somehow it didn’t work out. Not that I didn’t see plenty of these.I think it was the timing, but I’m not telling Mom that, so keep it a big secret! She mistakenly thinks I’m growing up (I’ll be 3-years old in 3 weeks) and I’m letting her stay in her delusional state…it’s easier that way.

We made our way out to the Columbia River. I HAD to do some swimming, after all. When we were at this same spot a couple of months ago, it was nothing but beach! What a difference a few months (and some rain) makes!

We walked along the river for a bit and found a couple of funny structures. Branches and sticks were cut up and made a funny shelter. I though maybe the sticks were for throwing out in the water so their dog could go fetch (like I do), but Mom said they were duck blinds. I didn’t know ducks were blind…..

The human who made this one even brought his own seat and left some very interesting smells.

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I was glad no one was there. They might have thought I was a duck!

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I didn’t want to disappoint you with no Muddy Monday picture, so I dug one up just for you! Remember this?
Mom entered me in a Petfinder.org Foundation/Wahl® Dirty Dog contest and they’re picking the top 25 contestants on November 9. If I make it to this level, I’ll let you know and hope you’ll go vote for me. There’s $5,000 going to the Oregon Humane Shelter (where Mom & Dad rescued me) if I win!