Today was the second day of the first round of the men’s NCAA (B)asketball tournament – the first since Dad “retired” that is back to “normal” – assuming masks on some fans, scoring officials, and cheerleaders is normal.
Yesterday was the first day, but given Michigan was playing early in the morning on the west coast, he could not be distracted by any other activities – such as making (B)read.
Today, however, we experienced our first B&B! Basketball and bread.
Of course, the basketball on TV did not really grab our attention, especially when the sun came out later in the morning.
But when the first loaf of sourdough cooled down enough to bring a slice to Mom up in her office, we were now all in on the B (for bread)! And followed her down when she went into the kitchen for another bite or two. If you are interested, the mess in her office we are lying on was our great artwork. We really brought “stuff” to a new level.
Later in the evening, after multiple hours of basketball games, I kinda got into the whole competition thing: 1) browsing the Athleta catalog that came in the mail today, 2) playing a little tennis…ball, 3) Tug-of-war (or sit-and-tug) competition with my sister.
We had a couple of adventures on our pre-lunch walk while the Zoezymes did their thing in Zoe’s kibble.
It started with Zoe absolutely losing it over a dog walking in the street in front of our abode. Not sure why she was so mad at this dog but I decided a few well placed deep growls was appropriate support for my sister. After they passed, and Zoe stopped barking, we headed off in the opposite direction from where the other dog was headed.
We continued on our walk and were nearing home – Zoe starting her tradition of running circles around mom in an effort to get the pack moving faster. Then we heard a man shouting and turned around to see a golden retriever running towards us off leash through traffic. Well traffic might be an exaggeration but there were cars on the road.
We stopped and were put on “short” leashes so our parents could control us better if things went sideways. In the past, dogs approaching us off-leash while we are on-leash is often a trigger for some negative interactions with the other dog and/or between the two of us…especially if Zoe is on the clock and focused on the potential for grub.
In this case, as the dog got close, dad asked it to “sit” and then “lay down” – and the dog listened!?!?! What’s up with that? Zoe and I looked at each other with expressions of awe. Dad was able to grab the guys collar and shortly his owner arrived and put him on a leash. And then they were off and we were off for the Zoe lunch-time dance.
After we ate, our Mom took a bowl of soup up to her office for her lunch and we followed close on her heels…hoping she turned her back on her lunch or at least share some with us.
Dad took the opportunity to slip out to pick up some groceries. When he returned, he found that we had taken some papers out of Mom’s office and left most of them on our double-decker Big Barker bed…
– me taking these two and arranging them on a blanket just in front of the bed!
And dear readers, no lie… no human manipulated the placement of the bottom two. I love me!
First off, it turns out that all those little pieces of wood that on one occasion encircled Zoe…
…did in fact turn into planters with benches between them and our El dog bed fit nicely between one set.
Unfortunately, these 6 little planters did not have enough space to hold all the bulbs and tubers that our parents had purchased.
Therefore, some (the dahlias) were planted in the little herb garden on the side of the house and another larger trough planter was made for the calla lilies and elephant ears. Luckily for me, both were very comfortable spots to take a load off and enjoy the California sun.
Then Zoe spotted me and I thought that the good life was going to be short lived. However, unlike the El, this dirt bed had enough room for both of us to chill!
Turns out that unlike that high maintenance Princess who was bothered by a single pea under all her mattresses, we were not at all put out by all the bulbs in the potting soil in our new dog bed!
And in fact, we are pretty sure by laying on top of the bulbs they will hatch much faster than if we spent all of our time on the benches or El.
So I mentioned in the last blog how I was The Zoomabomber during a recent meeting my mother was having with one of her co-workers. A couple of readers indicated that they were interested in the details of this event and possibly the other times Zoe and I provided background entertainment on other calls.
Unfortunately, our best team action was never captured – at least by either of our parents so I can’t share videos of those occasions. If anyone on the other end filmed us – like that lawyer guy who swore he wasn’t a cat* – and would be willing to share that would be awesome. Without that evidence though, you’ll just have to believe me when I say we were all-stars!
However, since I took a spot on Mom’s lap for my solo show, she was able to take a couple of screenshots of me on the call. It might look like I’m not paying attention but trust me – I was all in for that call!
I might have to start attending more of these Zoom events as it is clear that I am an invaluable help to our mother!
The Tempest
*if you haven’t already seen this video here is a link:
Since we moved to Massachusetts and then California, there haven’t been many times we’ve been left at home alone. However, there have been quite a few times where one or other of our parents leave for an extended time. When they return – after what seems like forever – we are always super excited to see them.
In Carlisle, at first, Zoe would launch herself from the top of the stairs to the door thus greeting the long lost parent with a big hug (not as dangerous as it sounds since the Duck House is a split level so the jump is only down a few stairs). I would wait at the top of the stairs and great them by walking through their legs to get a butt rub…if I was a cat I’d probably be purring just thinking of it. Thankfully I am not a cat, so no purring or drooling – that I save for meal times.
At some point, Zoe modified our routine by always bringing a toy or something that was laying around (shoe, stick, kong, etc.) as a present for the newly returned lost soul. Of course she wouldn’t actually relinquish the gift – it was hers after all. I thought this was a pretty good idea and would occasionally join in on the gift presentation on their arrival.
Therefore, in order to spare their shoes or other objects they deem as “theirs,” (they are so cute), a stack of toys can usually be found around the front door so we don’t have to go looking for something to bring to the homecoming.
But there are times the toys move around the house when nobody is coming through the front door – for instance: when Zoe and I play chase up the stairs, through the bedrooms – maybe Zoombombing a meeting Mom is attending in her office, down the stairs and through the living areas and kitchen, back up the stairs, shimmying under the guest bed, and playing tug-o-war with a toy resulting in lots of stuffing dispersed around a room (or the house) like little snowballs. Mom’s favorite was the other day when we suddenly each grabbed the end of blanket wrapped around the work chair she was sitting in so she and her chair on wheels went zipping around the room (the zoom meeting loved it!). Or we just may use one as a pillow.
But then there are other times where a shoe is the closest thing or easiest to grab a hold of.
That always results in a really fun time for both Zoe and I 😇😎🤣.
This weekend, it was decided we should take another drive to the coast for a stroll. The plan was to go to Devil’s Slide – sounded intriguing – which is a relatively short trail which is a spot to spy sea mammals swimming along the coast. Of course you have to go at the right time of year and have a little luck. On this occasion, the luck was not on our side as Dad drove right passed the parking lot for the trail.
However, just down the road was another parking lot with access to a beach…if you are fast enough to get across the PCH without getting run over. Unfortunately, this was one of those locations with a picture of a dog with a diagonal line through it, which we have come to learn means no dogs!?!?!
Although the beach was off limits to us, there were trails that wound around the hills on our side of the highway which allowed our kind!!!
So off we went – after Mom and Dad ate their lunch that they purchased at Luttickens…our new favorite local vendor of tasty consumables.
The trail started out a little steep, with a few switchbacks, but then leveled off with many views of the vast Pacific ocean.
Then we came upon a contemplation bench which Zoe and I took advantage of – after Dad removed a poop bag that was left on the bench.
As we continued on our way, we had some decisions to make about our route back to the car. Since we did not research this trail at all before we left Menlo Park, we had to pull up a map of the trails on Dad’s iPhone and we determined we were about here (blue dot):
Rather than continuing on to another parking lot (big green P at the bottom of the map – even though this was a dog friendly beach) it was decided to take this path back to our car:
Along the way, Dad spotted a tree all alone on a hill in the distance:
As it turns out, that was where we were headed.
Once there, Zoe and I needed a drink break (our parents have learned to bring water when out on these adventures). While up there with the tree, we also took the opportunity for some photo-ops.
At times, the world seemed a bit upside down at the top
But during the rest, the remainder of our water was used up – which didn’t worry Dad too much since we only had only 0.2 or so miles to go to get back to the car.
Then he saw the “path” down:
Discussions were had whether to go down this steep, gravel strewn trail or take a longer more gradual route. After a bit of back and forth we headed down – sometimes on our rear ends….well not our rear ends – we have four legs for a greater degree of stability in these situations, but our parents may have had to scooch a time or two. Well, really just Mom when Zoe dragged her down. Today we went on a walk and Mom wore the same jeans (face palm). I guess she forgot that she was dragged part way down the hill on her bee-hind and wow did it show on her jeans!
I think this gives another perspective of our decent from one tree hill – the tree being that little spec of dark green amongst the clouds in the middle of the picture.
All in all it was a great little walk – especially since I got a bunch of wonderful sniffs of the ocean without ever having to get my feet wet!
Best,
The Tempest
More on Devil’s Slide can be found at this website:
Montana Moments 