Herding Toys

I don't have any sheep to round up, so I make sure that my toys are where they should be -- in the middle of the hoomins' bed!

These are three of my favourites: BigBall, Maui, and Tug Toy. I would have a tennis ball here too, but my hoomins know better than to keep them where I can reach them if they want to get any sleep. (Tennis balls bounce really well off Mom's forehead at four in the morning!)

I'm pretty good at herding cats, too -- or at least Zaph, when he decides to make a break for it and escapes to the OUT.

A Trip Around the Block

Please don't tell my cuzzins, Ella and Kiah, the Great Danes who want to eat me, but I was in their daddy's zoom-zoom today!

Nunkle Stephen came over to see Daddy (his brudder) and Mom (his partner in geocaching) and I made such a big fuss over him! I barked and danced, and when it was time for Nunkle Stephen to go, Daddy wanted to see if I'd go with him!

So Nunkle Stephen opened the door, and it was a long way up into the truck, but I hopped right up there! And Nunkle Stephen took me fur a drive around the block! Once he put down the window so I could stick my head out, I furgot all about Mom and Daddy! I was having fun!

(And I hope my evil cuzzins smelt me, too!)

Dog is My Co-Pilot

We went fur drives again today! I'm really liking the fact that both hoomins have new cameras because they're always looking fur new things to take pitchures of! Today we went to a place called Black River (where the water was blue) and another place called Gardner Creek (but there were no gardeners in the creek, either).

Mom was looking for geocaches, too, of course, and at the beach at Gardner Creek, she made us walk FUREVER to get one. But it was okay because there were lotsa big rocks for me to zoom up and down! I like to pretend I'm a wonderdog sometimes and see how fast I can go up and down. (I'm much faster than Mom! She's pretty quick going up the rocks, when she's looking fur a cache, but then she can't figger out how to get back down! wagwagwag)

St. Andy's, Pocologan, and Nice Cream!

I knew today was going to be a funfunfun day because Daddy didn't go to work! It was a work day for him, but he took the day off to spend with me! (Oh, and Mom, too.)

When I saw him getting my travel water bottle ready, I was so excited that I couldn't keep still!

We got in the car and drove down to St. Andy's, and walked on lotsa beaches there and in Pocologan. I got to sniff all kinds of wunnerful stinky things, and I rolled in all kinds of seaweed, too. I helped Daddy look for driftwood, and we both laughed at Mom who couldn't find as many geocaches as she wanted.

And the best part of all? We stopped in St. George and I GOT NICE CREAM!

I'm furry tired now, but I hope Daddy takes days off work more often! I like days with my Daddy. (Oh, and Mom, too.)

Learning a New Trick

I'm trying to learn a new trick. Not fetch (because Mom says I'm a Fetch Machine!) but something furry different. I'm learning to become invisible!

Look! You can hardly see me at all!

They Say It's My Burpday!

Hello, everydoggy! Today is my burpday! I'm officially two years old now.

Mom and Daddy helped with the sillybrations. We played fetch in the backyard 'til I got really, really wet, and then Daddy said he had a T*R*E*A*T for me. Well, I was hoping for nice cream, but burger mixed in with my suppertime is pretty good too!

Hope your burpdays are as good as mine!

Hello, everydoggy!

Last night, Mom and Daddy tricked me a little bit. You see, Daddy got all smiley and said, "You wanna go to the VET?!" Well, that sounded like fun, so I tore down the stairs, we all got in the zoom-zoom and headed out.

Well, doggies, I have to tell you something. "VET" is not the same things as "PARK", "BEACH" or "CACHE". "VET" is hoomin-speak for TED (The Evil Doctor). So if your hoomins ask you if you want to go to "VET", just bark "NO!"

Now, acshully, my TED isn't all that bad. He's furry gentle and kind and I can tell he likes me. But he keeps poking me with things. Last night he boosted me with limes. I don't know what that means, exactly, but Mom says we can go romping in the woods now without worrying about being ticked off. Or something. I dunno. Hoomins are weird.

Yesterday I pulled a fast one on Daddy, too, so I guess we're even. On the table behind his pooter seat in his office, he had left some nummy clucky bones! Well, since he was busy looking at his pooter, I saw my chance! I furry quietly snuck up behind him and snatched the bones right from the plate! He never even noticed until he picked up the plate to throw them out! Mom's got a "stubbed-ub-node" (she says), so she didn't smell it on me, and thought it was my chewie she saw me carrying in my mouth.

Well, doggies, I ated the nummy clucky bones. And Daddy and Mom got mad at me and furry worried. TED said last night that I was probably okay, but I guess clucky bones are a no-no fur us doggies because they can splinter, or choke us. Too bad, because they tasted good! But I'll prolly never have them again because Daddy is being furry careful from now on, he says.

So that was my fun yesterday! Oh, and if the nice lady from TED's office is reading this right now, I'm sorry I wasn't furry friendly to you when I was leaving, but I had to get out of there! I was afraid TED was gonna boost me with lemons next. (wagwagwag)

There's a fine line between "brave" and "stoopid"...

Mom has a new camera!

Daddy sprized Mom with a new camera! You know what that means! Even more (and better) pictures of ME! (wagwagwag)

Some stoopid hoomins ...

Dear Piper,

I write to you haven taken cognizance of the sensitive nature of this deal and thought carefully of a confidant that will assist me in the transaction. I have deemed it pertinent and appropriate to contact you directly for a prospective business deal in the tune of GBP34.3 million.

I am a Portfolio Manager with UBS financial services Inc, and I am ready and willing to work this deal out with your sincere assistance and cooperation. It will be unwise to jeopardize the success of this transaction at this point by releasing the details as I cannot confirm your exact stand till I receive your response to this email.

I will give you the full details of the transaction and how to go about it as soon as I confirm your positive response. Honesty, confidentiality and effective communication is highly needed to ensure prompt conclusion of this deal as this is risk-free and profitable.

Regards,
Stephen Spammer

---

Dear Stephen,

I am a dog.

Regards,
Piper

My Big Adventure! Part Four!

After meeting the chief, it was time to leave Annie-go-fish and go home. I wasn't really looking forward to a long time in the zoom-zoom, but I knew my hoomins would make sure I didn't get too bored.

The first place we stopped was a cemetery at Glen Bard. Daddy took lots of pitchures of the gravemarkers, and Mom went looking for a geocache. I couldn't decide which hoomin was having more fun, so I ranranran back and forth between them.

After Glen Bard, we went to a place where they have another cairn. This one is to 'member a big battle in Scotland. We parked on the side of the road, walked around a gate, and then walked through the woods for a little while.

We got to the cairn and Mom stayed there to take pitchures, while Daddy decided to go down on the beach to look for driftwood. I decided to go with Daddy because the cairn wasn't exactly doing anything fun.

Well, I am so glad I went with Daddy! I found a BigBall! A souvenir all my own! MINE! I proudly carried it all the way back all by myself, and when I hopped in the zoom-zoom, it was in my mouth. (In fact, I haven't really let it go too far from me since we got home!)

The rest of the trip home was mostly uneventful.

I said "Mostly". When we got to a place called Oxford, Mom made us stop for a geocache. Well, it was right next to a giant man-eating blueberry! I did not like that thing one bit! I barked at it to go away, but it refused. Finally Daddy had to take me up to it so I could show it who was boss.
All in all, I had a really great adventure with my hoomins, but I'm glad to be home now. It was a very tiring trip to Annie-go-fish!

My Big Adventure! Part Three!

Today was a furry busy day! Furst, we all got up early. Mom and Daddy put on their Maclean clothes, and I thought, Here we go again. Hoomins see the Chief, but not me. But then Mom did something really cool! She put some Maclean clothes on me too!

Mom wanted a family portrait at the brand-new Maclean cairn in Annie-go-fish, so that's where we went! Mom put the camera on a big spider-stick-thing, pressed a button, and ran to join me and Daddy.

In this pitchure, Daddy and I are wearing the Maclean of Duart Dress Tartan, and Mom's wearing the Maclean of Duart Hunting Tartan (although you can't see it furry well). Daddy's jacket is actually older than he is -- it was his daddy's!

I was hoping that the chief would be at the cairn when we got there, but no such luck. I was beginning to think I was never going to see the chief.

When we got back to the Not-Home, I was really kinda sad and happy all at the same time. Mom and Daddy started packing things up, and once I saw my travel bedtime get put into the zoom-zoom, I knew that we were going to go Home! No chief for Piper, I though to myself. But it turned out that we weren't quite done in Annie-go-fish yet.

First, Daddy and Mom took me to the Fetch Park for one last time. Even though there were people walking and kids playing, I only had eyes for Daddy and the ball!
After that, Daddy and I took Mom to get a couple of geocaches, then we all went to a food-place. Mom and Daddy went in and had cheeseburgers for breakfast, sitting in a window seat so that they could keep an eye on me in the zoom-zoom. (Daddy brought me out some hamburger bits again.)

After breakfast, we then went to a house. I thought it was a weird place for a geocache, but it turned out that Mom had other interests in Annie-go-fish!

There was a man, and a lady, and a little girl, and a Schnauzer named Sparky. The lady kinda smelled like Mom, and I found out it was cuz she was Mom's cuzzin, Wendy. That made the little girl (Morgan) and Sparky my cuzzins! I love meeting more family!

Cuzzin Wendy said that Sparky wasn't always friendly to other dogs, but we got along okay. I think he might've been a little jello-ous because I was getting along with his hoomins. After all, we're family!

Daddy said it was time to go, though, so Mom had him take a few more pictures and then we got into the zoom-zoom again. I settled in for what I thought was going to be a long drive, but next thing I know, daddy's stopping the car again.

Mom put on my Maclean clothes and we went back up to Cairn Park. At first I thought that maybe we were going to see the chief after all, but we were the only ones there. Not only that, but they must've been expecting rain, because the Maclean cairn was all covered up. Daddy and Mom were just kind of standing around, not doing anything. It was furry weird.

And then I heard them. Bagpipes!

The Macleans were coming!
All kinds of Macleans! All kinds of flags! All kinds of tartan! It was furry exciting! My entire body was wagging and people were pointing at me and saying, "There's Piper! She's so pretty in her Maclean tartan!"

And then I saw him! I saw the chief!

All the people came and gathered around the cairn, and it was uncovered, and then people took a lot of pitchures! There was a Sheltie there named Killie wearing the green Hunting tartan, and we chatted for a bit, and then Mom and Dad took me over to the cairn.

The chief came over. He patted me on the head and said, "I usually do not pose with dogs," which made me feel even more special!

He seemed like such a furry nice man.

I met the chief! And now my hunger strike was over! It was time to go home!

My Big Adventure! Part Two!

Well, this morning was a furst. I got mad at my hoomins.

Fur months and months, they've been talking about going to see the Chief of Clan Maclean, and been sayin' that I'd get to see him, too. Well, I heard them talking this morning and they saw him last night. Without me!

So this morning I, Piper McLean, went on a hunger strike.

Daddy was worrying because I wasn't eating anything, so I decided to seize this opportunity to get him back fur not taking me to meet the Chief. I decided I wasn't going to eat anything until I got to meet the Chief. Take that, hoomins!

It was hard to stay mad at Daddy. After all, he did keep taking me to the park to play fetch.

He threw the ball over and over, far away for me to runrunrun and get, and then "way up" for me to catch on the first bounce. I love playing fetch! I just wish that Daddy unnerstood that when I flop over after Throw #37, it doesn't mean that I'm tired. I just need a little pause!

Today wasn't really furry exciting. Mom and Daddy were out all morning, then came back at lunch time. Daddy saw that I still hadn't eaten anything, and that was good. But when they came back from lunch, he got sneaky. Daddy put little pieces of hamburger in my dish. Before I knew what I was doing, the hamburger was gone!

Amendment: I, Piper McLean, am on a hunger strike, and will not eat anything until I meet the Chief of Clan Maclean. Unless it's hamburger. So there!

Mom stayed at the Not-Home with me fur the afternoon and we got in our usual nap. When Daddy came Not-Home at suppertime, he stirred up my kibble to see if that would make me eat. Nice try, Daddy.

Then Mom and Daddy got in their Maclean clothes and went out. I stayed Not-Home with Tug Toy and napped some more. Aside from the Fetch Park, Annie-go-fish is kinda boring.

Day Two of the Big Adventure to See the Chief, and I still haven't seen the Chief! But Mom and Daddy spent all day with him today! This is so unfair!

Not eating. Not eating! Nope ... unless there's a crumb of hamburger I missed ...

My Big Adventure! Part One!

Life around here has been pretty boring. Mom was really busy, and Daddy's always really busy, and so nothing out of the ordinary was happening. I was still getting to the Bark Park to see my friends, and going for the occasion geocache with Mom, but nothing that would make for a good blog post!

Boy, did that change!

I knew something was up last night, when I saw that both Mom and Daddy were packing bags. When I saw Daddy take my travel bedtime to the back door, I got so excited, my entire body started wagging! This was it! The Big Adventure to see the Chief of Clan Maclean!

So this morning, Mom, Daddy and I all got into the car and set out for Annie-go-fish, Nova Scotia. Mom was wearing her beeping necklace, so I knew that we'd be stopping for some geocaches along the way. I really like geocaching because it means I get to go somewhere I've never been before, and sniff new things!

The first geocache we stopped at was kinda boring for me. It was just a bunch of rocks. And they weren't even good rocks. I like rocks that are round and easy to carry, like a ball. These rocks were sharp and pointy and boring. Mom and Daddy were all excited about the rocks, though. They kept saying that the rocks in the hill were really trees. Silly hoomins. There is a big difference between rocks and trees! Then they started looking at the sharp, pointy rocks on the ground. And then I saw what they were saying -- the rocks had pitchures in them! That was inneresting, but still ... I like rocks I can carry.

The next place we stopped was a fun place! I got to get out and run-run-run in the muddy grass and make Daddy worry about how dirty I was gonna get! There was a bridge there with a roof on it (or a house sitting over the river, missing two walls? I'm not sure) and I got to help Daddy take pitchures. (By the way, Daddy -- I know you don't like having your pitchure taken, but you'd do just about ennything fur me, right? blink-blink--blink-blink)

I didn't like the next one at all! Mom and Daddy have this weird fascination with big things that are going to eat them. I just don't unnerstand. I bark and bark and warn them, but they still get too close fur my comfort. But these ones were okay. I checked them out to make sure.

Mom said I looked like I fit right in. I dunno what she meant.

We stopped a few more times along the way to Annie-go-fish, like in Am-merst, where Mom wanted to go look at rug stuff, and a few places where Daddy wanted me to pee. I got a few French fries, too, but nothing too exciting. It was just a long drive that took furever.

Finally we got to Annie-go-fish and got settled into our Not-Home. It was kind of a weird place. There was a big bed, and a room with a bath in it, and that was about it. But Daddy had heard about a place to play fetch, and so I was happy. It was a really big park and Daddy would throw my ball as far as he possibly could, and I could runrunrun to get it.

After fetch, though, Mom and Daddy get dressed up in their Maclean clothes, put "At the End of My Leash" on the non-smelly-pitchure-box, and left me all alone in the Not-Home. This really bothered me fur about thirty-seven seconds, until I fell asleep.

They came home again after not too long, and then they went out to get get food at one of Daddy's fave-rit places from when he was in unifurcity.

After they brought it back and ate it,and they gave me a little bit too, we all went to bed. The big bed was nice, 'cuz there was room for all three of us to not touch if we didn't wanna.

It was a furry long day!