Goin to the Zoo

Mom and Dad went to the local zoo on Saturday night for something called "Brew at the Zoo." It was a beer tasting event to raise money for charity. We didn't know who charity is, but mom explained that it's a lot like what we are all doing for Hike N' Howl, but the money goes to sick people.

Mom & Dad said that the zoo is very small but a nice place to bring kids and be outside looking at the animals. Mom says zoos can be neat, but it makes her sad to see animals in cages. It was also grossly hot & humid and no one felt good being outside, except for dad cuz he loves to drink & try new beers.

Anyroo, they saw this a couple of great big kitties and some really cool birdies. They tasted the beers and had some food. The heat got too much for them, so they came home early - we didn't mind - more time with us!

Wonder what those kitties would be like to play with?

Tagged again

We love these games!
Where is your favorite place to sleep?
All of us love to sleep on the pretty pomegranate colored sofa. It sleeps 2 of us very comfortably, so the third doggy needs to swap in once in a while.
Is there a specific trick your humans make you do to get treats?
We go to school and do all sorts of things for treats. Mom & Dad also give us treats when we come in from outside promptly and line up for inspection in the garage before entering the main house
If you could spend an entire day doing anything at all with anyone what would you do and with whom? We huskies would love to spend all day at the dog park playing with loads of doggies there. Guinness would prefer to stay home with mom and dad and catch free bee all day. Or maybe hanging with her handsome Pippa
What is your favorite toy? Guinness has her freebee, Misty has her Kong football, Shiloh has Misty
If you could change one thing in your life, what would you change? We would change all of the sad stories that doggies have into happy ones. We have no idea what Shiloh's days were like to make him so afraid of people when he came to us and Misty knows how stupid some humans could be. That's just not right! Mom, hurry up and be queen of the world so you can change all that, okay?

Hmmmm... who should we tag next? We think many of our blog friends have already done this one! If you haven't, go ahead and share your answers!

Water and the power of planning

Mom & dad have always complained about our back yard being too wet - they had nicknamed it "the rice paddy." It never seemed to dry out, even during drought conditions. Never had to water the garden. So, they did lots of homework on what they could do to fix the problem.

Last year, dad put in a dry well to help the water absorb into the ground better. He only got a foot or 2 down when he hit shale, lots of solid shale. He rented the jack hammer, and even with that couldn't get past it after 5 feet. So, we have this slight mound of shale bits and clay dirt out back on top of the dry well. It's slowly sinking. We didn't really seem to see much improvement in the water situation.

So, earlier this year, mom and dad bought & planted 3 birch trees in the back. They were actually sinking as they dug the holes for these trees. They also decided that the back area would be where to place the new garden. Nature can help out with watering.

Believe or or not, they have had to purchase an extra hose and water the garden and the trees!!!!! Unbelievable! And now, of course, it is finally raining. Mom says buying the hose is like washing the car - that made it rain.

We'll see how the rest of the summer goes. It hasn't been that dry this year, so maybe all that planning and work finally cured the rice paddy and we won't have to get our muddy paws wiped down as often.

Humility

Guinness is a pretty humble grrrl. She has been overshadowed by her brothers for most of her life, with the exception of her puppy grrl days - who can resist a puppy? But soon she grew up, still a good lookin grrl, but over shadowed by her stunning big brother, General. He was a large and especially handsome guy with a personality that was wonderful.

Guinness is a sweet, unassuming lady, always a bit shy and a little nervous. Mom says she has eyes of an "old soul" even as a puppy and stunning "eye shadow" to make an Egyptian queen jealous. She is very protective of her pack, so much so that it's hard to take her places on a leash.

Then came Shiloh - the stunning white husky, very shy and with the lightest blue eyes. One look and he has you wrapped around his tenderly uplifted paw. Mom calls it the "Paul Newman Effect." Misty's sparkling personality and multiple kisses are hard to beat too.

So, when mom took this picture, she knew it was time to give Guinness her own post to show how bewootiful she really is. She's a humble lady and wouldn't do this herself. What do you think of this grrl, Pippa?

Cake for Echo

We heard that Echo wasn't feeling very good. We were concerned for him, so we thought we'd ask mom to make him some cake. The pan in the back is brownies. the one in the front is called Coke-a-Cola Cake cuz it's made with - you guessed it - mini marshmallows! Yea, there's cola too - hee hee.

Mom had to bake for a program at work tomorrow, but she always shares. We hope this helps Echo feel better.

Books with dogs for little bipeds

Okay, Sitka, we warned you. You didn't tag us, but mom got wind of that booklist and now you've gotten her started on a booklist! This one will be about dog books for little bipeds.

This first one is for Guinness. Once I Ate a Pie, by Patricia MacLachlan. It has 13 dogs and 13 poems. the one about the GSD is Guinness to a T and the painting looks very much like her. No huskies in this one, sorry. But the poems are great and the art work bewootiful.

Puppies! Puppies! Puppies! by Susan Meyers. "Puppies big and puppies small, puppies short and puppies tall." More than 125 adorable pups frolick through the pages of this jaunty, rhyming celebration of puppiness. This is a perfect book to read aloud to a young dog lover-kids can point out their favorite pups and also follow the journey of one particular pooch from snuggling newborn to proud parent of his own litter. Dachshunds, shepherds, Dalmatians, collies, poodles, terriers, hounds, and ever-popular mutts are "cuddling, kissing, napping puppies, yowling, howling, yapping puppies." We think that there may be a husky in this one too.

Dog Train: A Wild Ride on the Rock-and-Roll Side (Book & CD) by Sandra Boynton. This one is a really silly book & music selection that makes mommy laugh and giggle. She likes Sandra Boyton's artwork and sense of humor.

Puppies, Dogs, and Blue Northers: Reflections on Being Raised by a Pack of Sled Dogs by Gary Paulsen. This guy knows all about us northern breed dogs cuz he's raised them and raced them.

The Dog from Arf! Arf! to Zzzzzz is a silly book with those crazy pictures of doggies wiff big noses.

There are loads of doggie books for little bipeds and bigger ones too. Shiloh reminds everyone to read to their doggies cuz we like stories too. But don't leave the books around were puppies or bored doggies can chew them up. We know you only chew up the one's you don't like, but we computer savvy dogs could write them a bad review instead.

The 500 Game

Okay, you asked for it! So, here we go:
Name 5 things you would like to have 500 of!

We shall start
1. Shiloh says he would like 500 sponsors to each pledge $1 for Hike n Howl; Misty does too, so we'll count that as one
2. Misty says she would like to kiss 500 friends - and extras for handsome Pippa
3. Guinness says she would like someone to throw her free-bee for her 500 times every day
4. Mommy says she would like 500 days off every year to spend with her puppies (okay, mommy didn't say that - we did - hee hee!)
5. We all say that we hope to help over 500 doggies be rescued through the great folks of the Hike Alliance! HaROO!

Tag! You're it!