Happy Howlidays!

Dakota here, after making sure that everyone was tucked in to bed.
It's been a long time since I've been able to blog, what with The Mom and the school thing and all of the time she spends at that work place. I've advised her to stop both of those horrid things and spend more time with me. It seems that it's the best idea all the way around. I get to blog more because she's on the computer less and I get to see her more because she's home.

So, what did everydog get for Christmas? I got a new squeeky moose, a very sharp bandana from the nice people at the humane society and one of those delectable filled bones to chew on. Did I mention that the people here had crab imperial? And that I got a perfectly yummy cracker full of crab imperial? I do love my seafood. The Mom got some thing that makes those Jimmy Buffet tunes that she likes come out. It's real small, but it sure is cool looking. She has it where I can't reach it. I told her not to worry about me, it's Bandit that chews everything.

I must admit, I am a bit sleep tonight. Waiting up for Santa is tiring, and I fell asleep before I saw him. Sigh. I would have liked another of those chew bones.

To all of my blog friends........... Happy Howlidays! May your snow be deep, your food be warm and may you have a family you can curl up with after a hard days play.

Dakota

LET IT SNOW!!!!!!

Dakota here.............. it's snowing and blowing in my little corner of the Catoctin Mountains. What a beautiful sight, it's snowing tonight!!

I'm hoping for a winter wonderland in my yard!!!

Score one for this proud HULA member!!!

While everyone was distracted by the persistent banging on the gateway to freedom, I managed to snatch the better part of a delectable roast beef sandwich!!!
I don't know if you are all familiar with Roy Rogers or not, but I highly recommend the roast beef!!
I also managed to get a few pets from the lady that was at the door. I promise that I only belched a little bit, and I did not belch in her face as The Mom said!!

Back to normal

A long week here. I'm happy to have booted The Mom off the laptop to blog for a few minutes. You would not believe how much time she spends in front of this darn thing for 'school'. Well, she needs to spend more time with me, let me just say. The darn woman wouldn't even play ball with me yesterday, she spouted some stuff about how 'wet' it was out in the yard. A little mud bath wouldn't hurt her nasty dry old people fur, that's for sure.

Lots of guests on the TURKEY day. There was leftovers..... yummy turkey parts that Nana made just for me and Bandit. We've enjoyed a little nibble every dinner since then - The Mom could be a bit more generous in the turkey department. Bandit even managed to snatch something called pumpkin pie. He did mention it was mighty tasty - the old guy didn't share though. The kids were here, and I am happy to say a good time was had by all.

Particularly us, as we also managed to sneak off with a good bit of cheese before anyone noticed. I'm sure Bandit will be all eweey and yucky soon (he's allergic to cow, which means that if he eats anything cow related he gets bad fur), but that didn't stop him from helping me with the big sneak.

As I recall, after TURKEY day, they put the fake tree up and start putting a bunch of stuff in the house that we're not supposed to sniff. I ask, if I can't sniff it, how am I to approve it?

Weather report

Exciting news from the Catoctin Mountains.............. I heard it is supposed to snow tonight! The Mom says maybe just flurries, but that's enough to get me excited. I am happy enough to chase snow flakes and have some fun in my yard.

The Mom came home with lots of bags today. It's that time of the year when she starts buying lots of stuff - including stuff for me - and they get together and give things to each other - and to me. Today, she came home with two of those things that they hang on the fake tree.

I personally think she's taking this husky thing a bit too far. Really, why does she have all these fake husky things when she has me. She didn't say a whole lot when she found out about the bids I put in on eBay. I suspect that's because I bid, but didn't win! Oh well.

I'm going to go stare out the window and wait for the snow!

One wet husky

Today has been particularly fun. I started my day by nagging The Mom way before the light came in the windows. I knew that darn opossum was outside, and I did my best to see if opossum is anywhere as tasty as oatmeal.
But I didn't get him. He made it in to a tree before I could grab him. Sigh.
Then I refused to come in, even though it was raining and nasty outside. I'm not coming in for just any old reason.
I topped of my day by trying to get one of Bandit's favorite toys from him.......... running in front of The Mom while she was bringing in those bags of yummy food from the store place. I had the briefest scent of some yummy beef roast (which, you may recall, is a special treat around here).
The weekend is shaping up nicely. I heard talk that they are going to an 'Oyster Feed'. Now, for those who don't know, oysters are these little nuggets of ocean goodness. I'll be seeing who brings some home for me!
If you have not already done so, find your human's money card and do a little shopping on eBay . Those really great humans at Harnessed To Hope are selling lots of nice husky things to help support our northern brothers and sisters who aren't as fortunate as us. I know The Mom won't mind if I am spending her money on such a worthy cause.
And if she's going to drink that nasty stuff in the morning (even I won't go near that stuff in the mug), she can at least drink it out of a fabulous husky mug!!
Bid early folks, and bid often.
But not on that mug.

Saturday Night Fever

Well, not really.
It's been a difficult week here. First, that darn beta fish died. Mickey had been around for about four years, getting coos and tank pets and stuff. I had to attend the burial at sea.... The Mom was crying, so I had to dry her face off and remind her that there's still those in need of love here.
Then, I heard today, that I am now officially an AUNT. Yup, the kid went ahead and adopted a ...... kitten. Apparently it's a young (tasty?) version of a cat. She gave it some sort of a goofy name too - it's Wilma of Wilma and Betty. I think Wilma is coming over for that day soon where there's lots of food and they all act like absolutely none of it can be fed to us. I'll scope her out then and let everyone know if she is, um, tasty.
The other kid is home for a few days. What that really means is that there's three or four people sneaking me good stuff today. Tonight's special treat..... chicken, gravy, a little corn, some mashed potatoes and some cheese. I see where they snuck in some of that dry stuff that usually ends up in our bowls. Hey, even that stuff isn't bad when you put gravy on it.
Is there anything tastier than gravy?

Friday musings

The Mom is at work, so I decided to sneak in and blog a bit. I've been more or less locked out of the office - some stuff about homework laying all over the place. Looks more like The Mom is either too lazy to file and do things properly, or she's spending a lot of time on addictinggames.com . I suspect it is the latter.

I did notice a digital camera for human idiots type book though. Perhaps she'll finally get the digital hooked up so I can post some of my pictures. That would be cool. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only Husky blogger who doesn't post pictures............... I feel so left out.

The weather is awful warm here. The leaves are on the ground, and it's HOT. This is not right.

Dakota

Howl-o-ween

Dakota here.
I just want to know if I am the only pup who participated in trick or treat. You know, where they throw the treat in the bedroom to trick you in to staying there so you can't run rampant through the neighborhood getting all that stuff back your humans hand to those little kids.

At least I have been spared the indignity of a costume. I've been reading blogs when I can, and it appears that some have not been as fortunate. My sympathy. As retribution, may I suggest either a good flop on their lap where you leave a pound of husky fur or perhaps a good shake next time you are out playing in the rain?

So, in between papers and what not, The Mom had time to check in with the Danamaniacs group she belongs to. This picture is from Alaskaauthor1. I don't know how she feels about huskies, but I think she's quite passionate about snow.

I think it's time we consulted HULA and discussed a snow machine..........

Family outrage!!!

Dakota here.
Well, it's not like I don't have enough problems getting to the computer, with The Mom in school and just making a hog of herself when it comes to computer time.
No, she just tried to shoo me off so she can do...........................CAT RESEARCH!!

It seems one of the kids decided to switch to the other side and adopt a cat. A cat. How embarrassing is that? Who knows how many huskies, or how many dogs, need a home, and my kid adopts a cat. I'm beside myself. I already live with one cat, Sadie (also known as Satan), and I just don't know that I can even tolerate another one.

Really, I don't know what The Mom was thinking when she raised these kids. A cat. I just don't know what to say.

On another note - The Mom was all wet eyed this morning. Tomorrow, it will be 7 years since I arrived here. Trust me Mom, there's days where it feels a lot longer than that. Now, I have it pretty good here, but lately............... It's also The Mom's birthday. Those kids usually get me a card to sniff and lick shut, but with the cat on the way, I'm sure it's forgotten about.

Wait until she finds out that I didn't forget about the Shrimp Scampi in the fridge...............

Lessons Learned

Dakota here.......... Finally.

My Husky friends, if your humans ever utter the words 'back to school', you may want to do what you can to dissuade them. What that phrase actually means is:
1. They will no longer have time for you.
2. They will hog the computer.

Now, I can't really complain. I am getting fed on a regular basis, and it's not like I've been kicked off the bed at night. But there's no fun. No extra belly rubs. No extra ball. It's bare bones (no pun intended) in the attention area here. I had to resort to acting like there's something under the shed, then run in to the house when The Mom came out and jump on to the computer. How dignified is that, I ask you? I'm sure she'll be in any minute to reclaim the laptop, undoubtedly muttering something along the lines of 'damn instructor'. The only plus I've heard in all this is apparently when she's done, The Mom will be working in a restaurant. That means leftovers............. yum. She's also surfing the net looking for jobs in places NORTH of these Catoctin Mountains (No snow here yet, but there was frost the other morning.)
For the record, I am totally sick of Colorfest . People at the house all weekend, not sleeping in my own bed, noise, people in and out and not one of them dropped a tasty treat. Not one. The Mom made sure that everyone knew that Bandit could not have anything related to a cow, so everyone assumed that I couldn't either.
You know what they say about assuming, humans.
I think I taught a lesson when I went outside, rolled in the weekend frost and stuck my nose in Nana's housecoat for some yummies.
Ha!!

"And now, back to you, Biff...."

Dakota here, with a weather report from the Catoctin Mountain area...........

The thermometer on the deck reads 42 degrees. Not that I can read this confounded thing, I overheard The Mom muttering something about cold feet this morning and she checked it out.
42 degrees. It's comfortable, it's breezy and I'm planning on spending my day outside. How far away can snow be? It's a great day to be a Husky!

(It would be a better day if The Mom shared her bagel with peanut butter on it. Not that I'm complaining, but...)

Doggie friend tag!!!

The Army of Four tagged me! I'm supposed to list five things that make a great doggie friend. Hmmmm...........

1. A good doggie friend shares. Not just their old chew bones either. Bandit and I have two big toy baskets, and we share everything. When Chip was here, we shared with him too.

2. A good doggie friend keeps their Mom/Dad/family safe. Bandit does better than I do with this - he's a barker, let me tell you - and if anyone comes close to our house or our yard, he lets The Mom know.

3. A good doggie friend knows when it's time to take a nap. Sometimes, it's all you can do. You have to lay down and be quiet and let everyone else sleep. (This one's real important on those mornings where The Mom doesn't hit that talking box thing three or four times before she gets her lazy butt up.)

4. A good doggie friend helps you dig a hole! If you think digging alone is fun, try digging with a friend.

5. A good doggie friend tags his or her other doggie friends to let them know that we're having fun and they need to join us! So, I'm tagging...........
Poesidon Koda and Ronak

Saturday night

Another Saturday night, and The Mom is sitting here doing absolutely nothing. Really, do these people have a life outside of that place they call 'work'? I don't think so.
They could be doing all sorts of fun things - and taking me along. A car ride. A shopping trip. A park visit. But what did they do? They trimmed the bush out front! They did not use the bush dog................. which seems to be a perfectly sensible product that you put down before you trim bushes. No, they did it the old fashioned way, then complained and limped when they had to rake and pick up everything and put the bags by the side of the house.
Do you think I should tell them that the garbage guys don't pick up stuff like that anymore? Nah. That will teach them to stop doing boring things.

On being seven

Dakota here.
Now that I have turned seven, I feel so much more mature and forgiving.

NOT!!!

Ha! Before bed last night, The Mom came over with a bowl full of cake and ice cream. Yum. Bandit and I played with the new squeaky toy, and I showed off my new collar to the neighborhood huskies walking on the perimeter of my yard. They were jealous.

I must admit to being a bit tired last night. We turned in after watching Kayne get aufed from Project Runway. Sigh. Now I won't be able to chew on some crazy, fru-fru pagent dress designed for The Mom.

Not that she would wear anything all sparkly and flowing anyway.

Just one more nap.....

Dakota here.......finally.
Yup, one more long sleep tonight, and tomorrow will be my birthday! I've been waiting for a long time. I'm not supposed to know, but I saw The Mom put a bag in the closet - it's got a fish squeaky toy and a new collar in it. I also sniffed out a birthday cake. Smells like banana to me. But, I'm getting off track here.

So, I haven't posted for a while. That's because The Mom packed up that ugly box on wheels and left me! Yup, she was gone. I watched her pull out. We slept without her two times, and then she came back. Not that we slept alone. When The Mom packs up that box on wheels, it means that my sister is coming! It's the older kid, the one that always shares her food and spends all the time on the computer when she's here. I tried to tell her that I needed to get on and update my husky friends, but she was having none of it. Something about planning for the week and tests for her kids. Now, I don't want to give anything away here, but if she has kids, The Mom doesn't know about it. She doesn't even have a dog where she lives. I'm not sure what she's talking about, but I do know that she comes here sometimes and smells like LOTS of different people. I also know that The Mom spends money on books about cold places for her to take to her 'classroom'. I also know, because she told me, that this place she goes to with these other people has something to do with huskies. And that I can't go and play with her kids.
At any rate, I am usually very irritated when The Mom goes away. Mostly because she doesn't take me! This time, she went to a place called Canada. She told me all about a big waterfall, and lots of cool weather!!! It sounds like a place I'd like to go. I was going to chew on the stuffed husky she brought back, then she opened another package and gave me the most delectable treat that a husky can imagine....... salmon jerky. I can't begin to tell you all how wonderful salmon jerky is. I'm hoping that she bought another package of it for me as a special birthday gift................

Catching up

Dakota here.
It's wet and soggy in my area of the husky world. We're not doing a whole lot on this end, well, Bandit and I aren't doing a whole lot.
The Mom is another story.
She's going to 'school'. Which is apparently the same as hogging the computer and using all those words she really shouldn't expose my delicate ears to. I suspect that she'll peter out, but who knows, maybe she'll surprise me.
Speaking of surprises, my birthday is in a few days. I wonder if anyone will remember this year. Last year, The Mom remembered about two seconds before I nodded off for the night. The kids didn't remember at all. No tasty yummies, no cake. I plan on taking cue from Meeshka and clawing until they beg for mercy.
Or offer me birthday cake.

The Crocodile Hunter was killed a day or so ago. (No, I didn't have his name in the pool.) Some goofy fishy thing stung him. A sad day when a true animal and outdoor lover passes on.

Monday, Monday

Dakota here.
I can tell you that there's absolutely no snow in the Catoctin Mountains. It's still hot here, and my winter coat is coming in. Really, I think Mother Nature must have a very sick sense of humor.
So, I heard from Patch and Kirby today. They are my friends who live in Mississippi. They spent an entire week at the Doggie Spa - which I understand is probably not exactly what their mom told them it was - while their people were in a place called Myrtle Beach. Having not been to either of these places, I can't provide an opinion - but I'm sure it's hot there too. Any way - Kirby has those dreaded worms from fleas. I think she's having some sensitive tummy issues, but other than that she's OK. Help me think good thoughts for Kirby. She's not a member of HULA - we really should have a HULA auxiliary or something for dogs who don't have the good fortune of being born Huskies - but I think she would appreciate the good thoughts.
I did hear that the good part of not being at home was there was no sign of the noisy thing her mom pushes around every day.
There's lots of talk around here about the first day of school. Both of the kids had their first day today, and The Mom has her first day later this week. All I know is that I can't go and when they go, they have their snoots in books all the time. Which leaves very little time for me.
Since it's supposed to be good 'in the long run', I guess I can be patient. I'm all for a long run.
And while these people are at school, I'm hoping they learn how to post pictures. What is the sense of keeping them in that little box?

Not much going on

Dakota here.
Not much going on here. The kid is home, and the house looks like they hid an entire box of yummies somewhere, and Bandit and I couldn't find them. Really, I don't know what these people are thinking. I can't even get to the toy basket in my room. That kid has stuff everywhere.

Have I mentioned the new loud thing that chases us and sucks up my valuable fur? This one stops every few moments, and I hear The Mom using 'those' words while she empties my fur and some dirt. It's difficult work leaving all that beautiful white fluff laying around, but, since I can't get to the toys, I have nothing better to do.

I did overhear The Mom discussing my groundhog with someone. I am sad to say that as we speak, the groundhog is riding on a big truck somewhere to some big pile of delectable garbage. Sigh. Meeshka was right, it's gone with the mole.

I'm going to go see if I can drop some more fluff. The Mom just put away the loud thing.

I've been tagged!! Twice!

Dakota here

Well, had the Mom been home this weekend, I'd have found out about this earlier. Instead she was gone - and she'd closed the door to her laptop. (I need to follow up on my laptop when I'm done this.) Thanks Turbo and Dusty! (And I was a yes for the opposable thumbs poll!!!)

So, here it is.
When you play this game, you get tagged. Then you write in your blog five weird or crazy things about yourself. You also get to tag five other dog blog friends so they have to tell five things about themselves. You need to list the five dog blog friends in your blog, and you need to leave them something in their comments to let them know that it's tag, you're it! time.
Here's my five funky things:

1. When I first came to live with The Mom, there was another dog living with them. His name was Lindsey's Sherlock Holmes. He was a very large Chocolate Lab, and a very good big brother. He taught me all about The Mom, and the two kids in the house. He's across the Rainbow Bridge now and I miss him.

2. I live with a CAT! Sadie the cat came to live with us when Bandit and Momma B did. We don't really get along that well, but I don't bite her as much as I used to. She has a very good left claw jab. (Ouch!) There's also a cockatiel and a beta fish at my house. (The Mom likes to tease my by having those tasty treats right in the house!!!)

3. I don't eat my treats right away - I like to hide my biscuits and come back for them at my leisure.

4. My very favorite food is anything with fish in it. I am particularly fond of fish sticks, which make a more than acceptable alternative to biscuits in my book!

5. I am usually called either 'KB' or 'Koda Bear'. The kids that were living here when I got here wanted to name me 'Bear', but the Mom decided on 'Dakota Moon Twenty'. Go figure.

I tagged Floss , The Rascals , Bosco , Dusty Dog (check out that yummy recipe) and Bond.

Tag, you're it!!!!