Degrees

My degree of tolerance has reached it’s limit.  That Zoe has pushed the envelope a bit too far for me this time.  Or maybe it was just the absolute frigid temperatures that engulfed us the last few days that have made me less forgiving.

This weekend things were fine.  Lots of snow for Zo’ and I to play in and temps in the 20s-30’s (F) or so which meant we still got our walks in the morning and at night…although they may have been a bit shorter once we got down to 0 degrees F.

Then the polar vortex hit us in the greater Chicago area (and most of the upper midwest) right in the chops – which was not a good thing for our pack.  Well that isn’t completely accurate since our parents work was shut down for two days due to the “wind chill” dropping down to historic levels.  The bad side of this meteorological phenomenon was that our walks were cut off and our access to the backyard (our non-walk restroom, if you will) limited since, as our parents related to us, the deleterious effects of extended exposure to these conditions could cause us irreparable damage…so we took up refuge on the couch.

Where things got on my nerves was when Zoe barged in ahead of me after one of our quick romps outside – I have to admit I was a bit concerned for my precious toes.

So I took matters in my own paws whose toe nails do NOT get trimmed and etched a reminder to Zoe as to who is the original founder of this locale:

And when she persisted with her negative attitude I added even stronger language to my sign:

You may have noticed that my “nail-writing” looks a little different between the “Tempi’s Room” and the “Zoe stay out!!!!” but that is only because I wrote one with my left paw and the other with my right.

According to the weather guessers this deep freeze is supposed to break soon and they are guessing that early next week we may be close to 50 (on the plus side) degrees F!!!!  This may even clear off the snow from our solar cells – not that the sun is doing any good.  It may even rain followed by snow.  My Mom promises this will be disgusting, but what do I care?  As long as I get a walk!  As my Grandmother says… it is all about me!  LOL.

Stay warm,

The Tempest

 

 

Trial Runs

Saturday, 12:13 PM

As is typical for a Saturday afternoon, my parents geared up to go run some errands.  Usually during these outings both Zoe and I start in our crates and then I am released to my couch where I get my kong while Zoe is locked into her cozy den with her treat.   However, on this occasion we were both encouraged to head to the living room, me to my couch, Zoe to our Big Barker bed we share.

Apparently, since they were only planning on being gone an hour or two, this was a test to see what state the house would be in when we both had free reign of the downstairs.  To their great delight, upon their return, they found the house as they had left it and neither of us appeared to have suffered any traumatic injuries.  In other words, Zoe (with my tutelage) had PASSED!

Sunday, 11:45 AM

Same situation as on Saturday – but this time the ‘rents were headed to another shrimp boil at the Bluegrass….still wondering when we will get invited.  Anyhow, same result as the day before.  Zoe and I were perfect angels.

Sunday, 6:47 PM

This was a bit out of the ordinary.  Usually on a Sunday evening my parents are holed up in the house – or in summer the backyard – waiting for the weekly phone conversation with our New Mexico Grandparents.  This week was a bit different however as mom first disappeared for 45 minutes or so and then returned with Kristin – who we graciously greeted into our abode even though we had never met her before.  She was: 1) a dog person; 2) a co-worker of Mom’s which we had been told about before she arrived.  What really through us for a loop though was they apparently only came over to get The Scribe in order for them to go have dinner with other members of the work team.  Again, we weren’t invited along AND we couldn’t believe Dad was actually going to stuff his face again on this day that he gorged himself with shrimp, sausage, corn and potatoes!  Before they left we once again went through the “Kong Routine”.   And as Kristin noted, Zoe seemed really proud of herself that she was permitted to be outside her crate.  This was something I had noticed on the previous two occasions but maybe forgot to mention.

Monday, 5:17 PM

Our parents arrived home from work and for the first time were greeted by both myself AND Zoe at the front door.   Since she had passed (thanks to me) the previous three challenges, the pet sitters were given permission to let her out of her crate after their visit…seems my parents were satisfied with Zoe’s progression the last few days but were unwilling to give her the freedom to destroy stuff in the mornings as that would put the onus of the cleanup on our sitters (which didn’t seem fair).   Once again, the Angels of Fairoaks Ave passed the test with flying colors.

Postscript, Monday, 8:14 PM

You may be wondering where the pictures are in this post.  There are two answers to this question.  1) The Spybot is still out of service as people in our neck of the woods are still not sure it would survive for the duration of those same people’s absence from our abode. 2) The lack of destruction in and of itself was not photo worthy.   (FOR PREVIOUS SPYBOT STORIES: https://montanamomentstrn.wordpress.com/2017/04/30/nightstalker/https://montanamomentstrn.wordpress.com/2017/05/26/best-served-cold/; https://montanamomentstrn.wordpress.com/2017/06/05/live-and-let-die/)

So I will leave you with this still-life of the current state of our backyard:

And one with how we are dealing with the above wintry conditions:

Best,

The Tempest

Best Behavior

This past weekend (starting on the evening of the prior Thursday and continuing through a bit more than half of MLK day on Monday), our parents took off for lands unknown.  We of course knew something was up the night before as they were packing their suitcase and setting up the bed for what we suspected was the pet sitter.

Then there was the other less obvious clue…doing laundry – something I chipped in to get done.

Zoe and I also worked on modifying this wine bag as we thought it would be easier for them to pack in their suitcase, in case they were interested in buying lots of good duty-free spirits on their trip.

This helpful behavior we were exhibiting before they left apparently had them (mom in particular) worried that the pet sitters would fire them upon their return.  A lack of text messages from the sitters – something they normally would have gotten packed with cute pictures of us (ahem.  Tales of Mayhem.) – further fueled their acute paranoia.

However, upon their return home I greeted them at the door, thus signifying that I must have been well behaved.  See, when I am a scoundrel, I get relegated to my crate so the damage is kept to a minimum.  Surprised, and feeling a bit proud of my advancing maturity, they texted the sitters to get the low down.  This was the response:

I am assuming the “actually” was tongue-in-cheek.

The picture frame is a different story.  But before I share the state of the frame when my parents returned home, I thought I should give you the backstory.

This was a picture that was shared with my aunts and other relatives in Michigan:

The name of the text group is apropos – I have met them all – which is why I got each of them this card last time I was at the Papyrus shop:

The winner of the quiz accurately recognized the image as “a dog paw on the wall”.

My parents decided to put a frame around Zoe’s “art work”.

Thus, you can understand why I took exception to them framing her, when they NEVER put my work on display.  Thus, they came home to this:

The Tempest

Cat on a Hot Pizza Box

Or maybe rather, Cat on a Cold Glass Roof.

Either way, we were none too happy to see that this feline, while we were on a short stroll around the parking lot at one the supercharger stops in Colorado, had alit upon our car.  Not only did s/he have the nerve to get close to our ride s/he sat right on top of our pizza box that we picked up from the Hut (also in the parking lot) not moments before!

Despite our vigilance and valiant attempts to rescue our deep-dish pepperoni pizza, our parents kept the bounty for themselves.  I thought for a minute they were going to try to coax the little furry thief into our car, presumably for Zoe and I to snack on – but apparently it was to rescue it from the cold!?!  No pizza and No cat?  After all we did, we almost walk off the job.  I mean, it isn’t fair to have someone work without compensation, right?  That can’t be the American Way, people, right?

Okay, when they were finally done, we did get a nibble or two of the pizza but our real payout were the bones stuffed with cheesy bacon bits!  YUM!!!!

 

The Tempest

(with some small credit going to Zoe for crafting the video)

Mountain Snow: New and Old

So I have patiently been waiting for Zoe to put one of her movies together showing us up in the deep New Mexico snow, but she has been spending all her spare time studying her lessons from class – aside from the time that she is eating, barking at the neighborhood, fighting with me, etc. – which means her spare time might be, at best, the time we are on one of our walks with our parents.

I decided in the meantime I would share a couple of photos from our limited time in the mountains and a time from long ago when Banshee and Sammy first visited the original cabin on the land.  Oh, I should mention that despite the promised plan of staying up in the new cabin this time around, the deep snow prevented us from making it there as there were not enough snow shoes for all of us to tromp the 2+ miles of unplowed road to get there – and even if we made it up there was no place to plow the snow from the narrow roads so we’d of just had to turn back around if we did make it.  AND snow shoeing would not have brought our food, toys, bones, treats, bed and other necessities (NOT creature comforts like my heated seats, this was serious).  So, that was out.  Luckily, there is a dog run behind our grandparent’s place and a dog park in town so we had a blast running off leash.

Speaking of snow shoes, I have a little story that Sammy related to me before he headed off to college – a lesson for me in case I ever got up to the land when the snow was deep.  The first time he and Banshee got up to the land it was a winter before the drought.  Thus the snow was quite deep.  This also happened to be the first time off leash in the “wild.”  As soon as they were let out of the car they both took off down the road and around the bend apparently never to be seen again…they were very fast.  But once they realized their parents and grandparents were not as fast, they about-faced and came running back to the pack.  The road having been plowed and packed down they had no trouble running despite the deep snow.  However, this all changed when they started breaking a trail on the walk up to the cabin and on the land.  The going was much tougher but in only a few moments (of great exertion) they realized it was much easier if they dropped back from the point position and stay a step or so behind the man in the snow shoes who knew what he was doing.  Even though he was not proceeding as fast as they would have liked, a few instances of passing him and leading the way again made them realize snow and steady in second was the preferable way to go.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

We didn’t have the luxury of following anyone in snow shoes when we were finally released in the dog run…but we did have a similar finding – deep snow, although a blast, is not always easy to navigate:

As I previously mentioned, we did get a chance to go up towards the land and did our best to re-enact the classic photo of Sammy and Banshee from that first trip (one our grandfather recalls with fond memories):

There were also these similar pictures from that trip:

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Here is Zoe striking the pose:

And myself sticking close to my pack but still investigating my surroundings:

This was definitely a fun trip with all the deep snow and bright sun shine.  Absolutely beautiful!  Even back in town we were the Queens of the Mountain Snow.  Winter isn’t coming…it’s here!  If only the show would catch up…

 

The Tempest

Creature Comforts

This Saturday we had another torture session with the dog trainer out at Tops.  As is typical of these excursions, it started snowing on the way there – nothing near the white-knuckler we experienced in New Mexico, but a bit more than a flurry which is what the weather-guessers said we should expect.

I took up a post in the back seat where I could watch the road but still be in a spot where I could quickly duck into the trunk area should things get to hairy.  Zoe alternated between her normal spot by the feet of the passenger and on the lap of the person riding shotgun:

She was not being very vigilant on the way to the class…which I found inexcusable giving the driving conditions.  However, after an hour of being told to sit (or lay down

 

) followed by a stay command, a come or two, etc., the trainer shook a treat bag near our noses, pushed a broom around us and flaunted what seemed like a million toys – some that squeaked, some that flew past us…or landed between us, or looked like little critters – while we were supposed to not pay any attention,  I say “supposed to” not because we didn’t understand the “game” but there were a few occasions that we may have lost our attention.  For instance, there was a point in time that she accidentally dropped a beggin’ strip not a foot from my mouth.  Well that sucker was pounced on by “a cobra-like strike” (the words of another chap who was working on training another dog).  I was starting to enjoy this morsel of a treat before Dad rudely grabbed my jaws and made me drop what I rightfully had obtained.  He claimed it was a foul as I was suppose to remain stationary to which I responded by saying that I did not really move from my spot (my rear end was in exactly the same spot).  My rebuttal was not appreciated – apparently my super-fast snatch and grab was still against the rules.  This had the teacher laughing though as she didn’t think I had it in me… she literally said “I did not expect that of HER!”  Her laughter increased when my parents reminded her that last time we were there she tried a similar trick with some treats no dog has ever been willing to eat…until Zoe and I both scarfed them down (a bonus for us since we then got to take the treat bag home with us!).

After all this that we had to endure, it was no surprise we were wiped out for our ride home.  Despite the continued wintry precipitation, I couldn’t help but nodding off on the ride home due to the fact that my Dad turned on the seat warmer where I was sitting.  This comfy chair, combined with my post-training exhaustion (and the realization that our car rocks in the snow – even when Dad is driving) resulted in a most satisfying siesta.

Why I didn’t have this comfort our entire trip to and back from New Mexico is something I’ll have to reflect upon.  And perhaps take action on.

More soon,

The Tempest

White Knuckler

End of 2018.  Can you believe it?  Our last few days were spent driving across the country to see the mountains of New Mexico… and our maternal grandparents.  ETA was New Year’s Eve.  However, Mother Nature (MN) had a different idea for our itinerary.   We left Nebraska as planned but our Mom decided to rouse The Scribe a bit earlier than planned based on the weather conditions…which were down right blustery, and she said might make for a longer day than planned.  Little did she know at the time that this would be the best of times, not the worst of times.

Since we were in our electric car (Khaleesii)- which does not necessarily care for cold temps – we stopped more frequently for recharging as my parents were not keen on the idea of running out of juice in the middle of nowhere.  More stops are just fine with us since this means we get more opportunities to get out and get all new sniffs.  However, it can add a few minute to our travels.  But not nearly as much as what the greater power (MN) had in store for us.

After leaving Ogallaga, NE, our first stop was Brush, CO.

Pretty darn wintery, eh?  (the extent of my Canadian vocabulary 🙂 )  Well it gets worse…it always gets worse (that is the extent of my understanding of what my uncle G says).

Next, we stopped in Colorado Springs where the chargers were indoors…but only slightly so.   We still got out in the elements (17 degrees F) for a quick tour of their downtown.  Here we found an outdoor skating ring in a park, a statue of a rather large dog (at the same park) and to our parent’s great relief a Starbucks!

Then we all piled back into the car and headed further south in Colorado.  Trinidad…a place I had been before.  I remember it like it was yesterday even though it was more like 18 months ago.  Sammy and I sweating it out in the hot July afternoon.  So much so that our Mom took us to the only shade in the whole place.

 

Dad, upon returning from his rest stop, noted that we were actually huddled under the overhang of a marijuana dispensary…which I thought was exceedingly funny.

This trip was a bit different.   No heat wave here.  Rather the start of a considerable frigid snow accumulation.  Not that we have any problem with deep snow (a story for another night) but it was something that concerned my parents…something about difficult driving or conditions that aren’t ideal for cross country travel,   Whatever, us dogs thought, they’re always whining about something.

Only a few more stops and we’ll be reunited with our grandparents!  Oh what joy.  Almost as exciting as Christmas Eve!  The next stop, a mere 127 miles away.  With a speed limit of 75 MPH, it should only take us 1 hour 43 minutes.   Therefore, Zoe and I decided we had plenty of time for some good rough housing in the backseat.  This was not ordained by our parents…so much so that Dad climbed into the back to separate the two of us – which provided me an opportunity to take the shotgun seat!

Fortunately for Mom, she now had a Marvel Superhero Navigator!  See, the weather went from bad to worse.  75 MPH turned to 40 MPH.  Then 25 MPH.  Then 15 MPH.  Visibility was shot.  An interstate turned into one meager lane one could find only by mental calculating the middle of the road from the markers on each side of the road.  Too bad they couldn’t drive by scent as that would have been where I could have really exhibited my Powers.

If you think this looks bad just take a look at the radar from the area we were driving through (Springer):

No precipitation in our area?  So why the slow going?  We continued to sleep.

After many hours of crawling through these miserable conditions (or so they told us when we arrived – we were sleeping given it was dark and there were no good smells or places to run) we arrived at the next Supercharger.  After much discussion between my parents and a phone call to my Grandparents, they opted to hole up in the super-metropolis known as Las Vegas.  Remember this is New Years Eve.  I never expected to spend a night like this in VEGAS!  Zoe and I looked out our hotel window to see if we could see the famous strip from our room:

Nothing exciting to see.  This is when our parents informed us we were in Las Vegas NEW MEXICO.  Apparently this is not the place where tawdry things you may have committed stay once you return home.  In fact, no Starbucks or Coke Zero to be found!  Good thing the car was loaded with enough dog food for the next millennium!

Our parents were wiped out from all the stress of snowy driving.  Apparently, this 13+ hour driving in snow “white knuckle” event was trying for them.  Something which I can’t understand as I always have white knuckles and I never behave that way.  Just saying.

The Tempest

PS – Zoe wanted me to point out that she too does not act so erratically and she also has (at least some) white knuckles.