My Thankful Day

I have a lot to be thankful for today–let me tell you why.

You know I get really hot with all that running and stuff and there’s almost always a mud puddle to cool off in.

Or a river to swim inA ball meant to land in my mouthOceans to exploreMountains to be climbedMy friends

Sage & Toby

I’ll play ball with you, Heidi.

Sage & Mr. N

She loves it–really

Sage & Macy

Thailing

And most of all

IT’S MY BIRTHDAY

I’m now 5-years old…Mom says it means I’m supposed to be all grown up. Frankly, I think that’s a bit over-rated.

We celebrated with a fun, fun trip to the coast with Mr. N, who gave me a Tuffy Mega Bone with not one, not two but 10 layers of indestructible material. I looooved it. And it’s still in one piece. 😀 More about this trip later, so stay tuned!!

 

Voting

I asked Mom what this voting thing was all about. She said it’s our right to vote for the person or issue that will be the best for us and our country. And many bi-peds did just that yesterday–voted, that is. That sounded good, so I decided I should run for something. You know I love balls and mud and water and a whole bunch of stuff like that. So that’s my platform: More balls, mud and water.  And I voted!

After all the votes were tallied, I WON.

Um, I guess I should say there was only one vote–mine! 😀

So, I will do my best to fulfill my promises so I can run again. And again. And again.This voting thing is fun!!

WW: A Marathon–Dog Style

                                                             The race is on!

                          Coming thru the back stretch–Mr. N is close behind

                                                             And the winner is……

Algae Smalgae

I’ve been so patiently waiting for Mom to come back so we can go to the river. Right then–right now! The closest one is the Willamette River, only a 10-minute drive from our house. I was even dreamin’ about playing ball there. (One of my favoritest things to do–along with cooling down in a river.)Not that my favorite-sitter-of-all-times didn’t take me for long walks, a trip to 1000 acres and lots of snuggles. She did. And I loved it. But I miss Mom when she’s gone…

And what happened when she came back? She said we can’t go to the Willamette River. Period. So what happened to ‘right then; right now’? Mooooom?

Mom: Unfortunately, the Willamette River is experiencing an unprecedented blue-green algae bloom that was found to be toxic. It is spanning the entire river flow through Portland up to where it meets the Columbia River. And we don’t know when it will clear up. With recent rains and cooler weather, hopefully it’ll be soon! Since there the possibility a dog can die within an hour after drinking water with this type of algae, we are staying far away.

I did get a reprieve from boredom finally with a trip to 1000 acres today. We don’t go there as often as it’s much further away. But when we do? Whoopee!!

So much for that ol’ algae smalgae. There’s more than one river to play in around here, that’s fur sure.

And now I’m happily asleep 🙂But ready to go again at the drop of a ball!

Here’s the Truth

Contemplation is a serious business. There were a lot of things mulling around in my head…I know a lot of you wondered what it could be.

It wasn’t the duck that I thought I could out-swimOr those goslings trailing after their parentsBoy, did they let me know I’d better stay away!

Or the squirrel in my yard that forever taunts me.Or, even Mr. N, who challenged me to a game of Dog Trubble. I thought Finder would be a better fit….

No, it was becauseMom was gone.

To visit the Popstar.

But, then she came home!

I was soooooo happy.

This was my today.

Digging Lessons

While at the river, I met a really nice Golden named Bear. I was minding my own business, but Bear wanted to play. It requires a lot of concentration to dig the perfect hole, so I didn’t pay much attention to him. Bear chose another strategy. Here’s how it went:

Bear: If I can’t get you to play, Sage, I might as well join you in the hole digging game. I’ll dig up here.

Bear: Uh, Sage. Why isn’t my hole getting big like yours?

Sage: Well, if you want a proper hole, that sand has to fly! Would you like a lesson?

Bear: Wow! YES. Where should I stand?

Sage: You might want to get on the other side of me. 😀

Bear: It looks like you work close to the shoreline and let your hole fill with water. Why is that?Sage: The smells are better down here–not sure what it is, but it seems a bit fishy.  And water’s good when you get hot from all that digging. Did you know I like mud puddles?Bear: That has to be one of the best holes yet. I can’t wait to work on one of my very own! Thanks for the lesson, Sage.

Happy is ME!

Rain, rain, rain. That’s all it did last week and I think my toesies were growing webs. But on further inspection, all I found was hair…  🙂The lack of serious exercise was wearing on me and a trip to the river yesterday was just the ticket. I didn’t care that it was flooded. Those trees out there in the water were perfect for a good back scratch!I was one happy dog!

My Week in Review

So what’s been a’happenin’ besides the usual walks and long naps?

Car Adventure: Mom and I took the new(ish) car in for its one-year checkup. I suppose they took its temp and looked in its ears, and all. At least that’s what they do to me! So while we were waiting, we walked to a nearby wetlands, which was pretty boring–Mom made me stay on leash. 😦We saw lots of ducks (see those behind me? There were a whole lot more further along), but not much more than that.Then a short wait for the car–imagine–they have a room just for that! And cookies too. MmmmmmThe car didn’t have any sickies, so we were on our way home in just a short while.

Cormorants: We went to the river the other day and saw these strange birds called cormorants. We usually see them out on the coast–maybe they were doing some sightseeing…I watched them dive into the river and they didn’t come up and they didn’t come up and they didn’t come up. Pshew–they sure can hold their breath a long time!

I thought I’d better go out and rescue them. I didn’t want any drowned birds on my paws.

I was trying to be helpful, you know.

Climactic Armageddon and the Tanning Salon: Dad decided to go to a tanning salon and Mom’s been taking him every day. He said he needs to go 44 times so he can have the bestest tan ever! I think he’s just getting ready for the Climactic Armageddon we’re suppose to have this coming weekend, although he said he still had to work on his tan until the end of the month. I have a very important duty while they are gone–to guard the house and keep the kitties in line. Don’t tell them, but I catch up on my zzzzzzz’s and think about the Armageddon.

Mom? Was that one or two snowflakes that’s supposed to fall in Portland this weekend?

I wonder if the Popstar, who is coming for the big event, and I can make a snowball? I practice all the time at ‘catch’!!

I sure hope these little snowdrops survive.

Jury Duty

Mom was on jury duty the last couple of days leaving me with lots of time to think. What would it be like if I was on jury duty? OR, even worse, I was the defendant. My imagination began to run wild….

 Ball playing. Now, I do a mighty fine job of playing ball (at least I think so), but could someone accuse me of jumping too high and hogging the ball?

So, I thought and thought about my defense:

I, Sage, admit I am a ball-obsessed dog, but if another dog wants my ball–let ’em have it. There’s always more. Or! Believe it or not, I will find something else to do. And, yes, I jump high–I’ve been doing agility for the past 2 1/2 years and little ol’ me goes over 20″ jumps now. Oh, and I catch the ball almost every time. So, I think I’m

NOT GUILTY!

Hole digging: This is a tough one. I dig. And I love it. What if someone accused me of digging too many holes?

What in the world would my defense be this time? Is there a defense?

Aha! Got it!! 

Dogs dig!

Um, Mom said that wasn’t a defense. 

OK, how’s this: I no longer dig up Mom’s yard. I no longer dig under the fence and roll in very stinky stuff. I only dig at the river and ONLY at the shore line (the only place Mom lets me). And, the tide is always out when I do it and my hole is gone as soon as it comes in. A brilliant defense, don’t you think? And think of the satisfaction I get.

I think that gets me a

NOT GUILTY!

Rolling in ‘stuff’: I know, you’re thinking about all the really stinky stuff us dogs roll in. I think I’m probably guilty of this one–THE STINKIER THE BETTER–that’s what I say. And the jury would sentence me to the biggest bath EVER!

But what about just general rolling. Like on the floating dock at the river? With humans with their kayaks or canoes or are kissy-facing?

I have a pretty good defense here–it’s fairly clean and all those bumps feel sooooo good. AND, I don’t get any dirtier! AND, best of all, the humans love me! Yes, little ol’ me. Well, at least they love my rolling….

NOT GUILTY!!

And then Mom came home from her jury duty. She sat and sat and sat, but no one wanted her to be on their jury. I was sooooo glad, because all that stuff I was thinking about

came true!

B&W Sunday: Deep Thoughts

I have the most interesting thoughts while digging. You know, deep thoughts like: How far down can I dig? Where will I end up? How far can I sling the sand? But Mom gets bored before my hole reaches perfection and starts walking off. See me looking? I always have to check and make sure she hasn’t gone.

 She’s good for about a half hour — people and other dogs come by. She talks to the people. The dogs look at my hole in awe. I concentrating on digging. But I know Mom’s only good for that half hour. Then I hear: I’m leaving! Of course, Mom’s my responsibility and I can’t have her wandering off without me. So, I leave my hole and catch up. I know there are lots of holes to be dug, and, I will definitely dig them! And there’s always a fresh palette of sand waiting for me at the river…Mom says there’s something called a “tide” that comes in and fills in my hole. What’s up with that?