Invader! Intruder!

INVADER! INTRUDER!

This is Cyrus! He is a teenaged boy! He is stinky! He runs around silly! His food smells better than mine!

And apparently he LIVES HERE NOW!!!

How did this happen??!??

Okay, he's not actually all that bad. I get more treats and more kongs when he's around, and we spend much more time in the yard. And he's mostly pretty polite, for a teenaged boy.

(My person says to tell you that I'm doing AWESOME, and I'm being very tolerant and patient.)

(Does that mean I get more cheese?)

Cyrus is 7 months old, and he is these kinds of dogs:

• Silken windhound
• Cocker spaniel
• Italian greyhound
• Shetland sheepdog

He is 25 pounds. (I am 32 pounds!)

We have been on many Walks together, and also had many Snacks together.

So I guess I will say welcome to Cyrus!

* Photo credit for this last picture goes to Elska's person!

Front Yard

Hi hi hi! Ojo here! 

I am only allowed in Front Yard when my person is with me. She says this is because there is no fence. I'm not sure why I need a fence. I wouldn't go too far. Maybe.

Anyways, I love it when we get to hang out in Front Yard. It is a very good place for watching squirrels and birds and people! It is a very good place for chewing sticks! And it is a very good place for rolling and then napping in the grass!

Do you have a Front Yard, friends? Do you get to go in it?

We are beautiful (and the flowers are kind of okay too)

Today we did a Spring photoshoot with our person. This is because we are very beautiful.

Wait, why did Ojo's picture get to go first?

Here is ME:

Our person thought the flowers in our Yard were very pretty. The only thing prettier than the flowers is US! So she put us the photos too. Clearly this makes the flowers even more beautiful.

These pictures were taken after our Walk. Actually it was a zoom with Balls at the Beach. So I was rather tired. But I'm still very beautiful, don't you think?

Ojo did not entirely cooperate. (I still don't know why her picture got to be first.)

She thought it was no fun to be sitting with the flowers when there were far more interesting things to do. Like eat the grass.

But then our person brought out Leftover Chicken, so we agreed to share our prettiness with her and the flowers. We are gorgeous, don't you think?

I catch the Rake!

Today I was Very Helpful!

Rake came out to play in the Yard!

When Rake comes out, my job is to catch it!

And bite it! And chew it!

This is very helpful. My person says so. She says things like, "Cobi, stop it." I'm sure she means, "Cobi, stop that Rake!"

This is one of my favourite jobs, and I am very good at it. Ojo not so much. She does the thing called "staying out of the way". Silly Dog, it's so much more helpful to chase the Rake!

That was so much fun! I love you, Rake! Please come out to play again soon!

Rolling! (by Ojo)

Hi hi hi! Ojo here!

I love to roll in the grass!

Do you love to roll in the grass?

Nature made this! (by Ojo)

Hi hi hi! Ojo here!

We are back! We were not missing! It was just that our person had something bad happening with her neck! We are pleased to say that she is feeling better, and so our Walks are more fun again and also we can blog again!

Look at what Nature made last week!

Carrots! Isn't that amazing? I always thought that the Grocery Store made carrots, but it turns out that Nature can make them in our garden too!

They were crunchy and delicious!

Has Nature made you anything special recently?

I did it!!!

Friends, I did it! I caught the Rattie! Me, Cobi!

Yes, this is very serious business. We have crazy-birds called Chickens living in our yard. With the Chickens live Ratties. The Ratties like to live with the Chickens because there is much free food. And right now the Ratties are busy making babies, so their numbers are growing!

We have been on Rat Patrol all week.

Our total count this week is Five. Five Ratties! We're awesome.

Okay, so it is mostly Ojo who catches the Ratties, but I am the helper! I stand at one end, and Ojo at the other, and if the Rattie comes out on my end I chase it into Ojo's mouth. So as you can see I am still a very important part of this!

This morning, however, I was amazing! I was stupendous! I was clever and swift and fast!

This morning the Rattie came out on my side, and instead of chasing it into Ojo's mouth, I chomped down with my own mouth instead.

I caught the Rattie! Me! Cobi! (This is my first Rattie ever!)

I had it by the tail and the back leg. It was fighting very hard, and I did not know what to do, but I didn't let go. I hung on!

Then Ojo came over and grabbed it from me and finished the job. (Okay, so I admit that she is useful... sometimes.)

We are a team!

And this wasn't any Rattie, but a big fat Rattie at that! After that Ojo caught another one all on her own, but it was a little one. Mine was bigger. So there.

Aren't I amazing??

UPDATE: Ojo caught another Rattie! We are now up to THREE Ratties today, and six in total this week!

SQUIRREL!! Bark bark bark!

Squirrel! Squirrel!

Bark bark bark bark bark!

They call this bird feeder "Squirrel Buster". Indeed Mr. Squirrel cannot get the seeds! And now we will chase him out of our Yard! 

Bark bark bark bark bark!!!

There you go, Bird Friends! The Squirrel is gone! You can come back now!

(We like our Bird Friends because they are very messy eaters. They drop many seeds. Then we get to eat the seeds... as long as the people don't notice. Go away Mr. Squirrel, we need the birds to drop seeds for us!)

Intruders! (by Ojo)

Ojo here! We have intruders!!!

Bark bark bark! Grrrrrrr! Bark bark!

Get down here, you furry fluffy rascally intruders!

This is OUR tree! In OUR yard! Yeah, you'd better climb higher because I'm coming after you!

Bark bark bark! Grrrrrr! Bark bark!

I'm coming up there! I'm coming up! I'm -

...okay, so maybe Dogs can't climb trees.

(What do you mean you think they're cute? They are evil, fluffy, furry invaders!)

Bark bark bark bark bark! Grrrrrr! Bark bark bark!

Grrrrrrr!!!

Whew. That was hard work. But I chased them away.

My job is done! Hurray for me!

Sunshine on my belly (by Ojo)

Hi hi hi! Ojo here! I love lying in the grass in the sunshine, don't you?

Oh sun,
You feel wonderful on my belly!
Warm and soft and nurturing!

Oh grass,
You feel wonderful under my back!
Cool and tickly and silly!

Oh yard,
You are wonderful!
With sunshine and grass
And squirrels and birds
And berries and apples and acorns!

Oh happy day!

What is THAT?

What is that? Can you see it? No? It's pretty camouflaged. Well then, can you smell it? I can smell it!!

What is it? That thing? That creature in our Yard??

There it goes!!

Oh! It is Marvin the (girl) Hedgehog!

Hello Marvin! What are you doing outside? Are you enjoying this sunny, late summer day?

My Hole (by Ojo)

Hi hi hi! Ojo here!

I have perfected my technique for cool summertime napping!

This is a trick I learned in Alabama, before I came to live in Canada. But it has been very Hot here recently and so this trick has come in handy!

Here is how you do it: First you need to find a cool spot under a tree or bush. I recommend the dwarf Japanese maple trees in our Front Yard (they hang all the way down to the ground - perfect!), or the raspberry bushes in the Back Yard (pictured here).

Then you dig a hole. The hole must be as big as your body when you curl into a ball-shape, and deep enough to reach the cool, damp soil.

Do not let the people notice you digging a hole. Usually they say things like, "Stop!" or "Bad Dog!" So you must be very stealthy.

Once the hole is ready you can climb in and go to sleep.

And voila! That is how you keep cool in the summer!

I'm going back to my hole for another nap now... Zzzzzz......

Oh Sun. (by Ojo)

Oh Sun.

You feel very nice on my fur. 

Oh Grass.

You feel very nice on my belly.

I will just close my eyes... and go... to sleep...

Lake in the Yard! (by Ojo)

Hi hi hi! Ojo here!

Our littlest person made a LAKE in our yard! Isn't that amazing?

She's magic!

I would like to share the lake with you, my littlest person! I am good at sharing!

Oooh, please let me go into the lake!