Codie

Snow Times

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Ash

We had some fun snow here the past couple of days. Me, I love snow.

Mom likes snow too. She says it’s magic. She wakes us up to play in the middle of the night. We run around outside and leave crazy patterns of paw prints everywhere.

We had the big snow in 2009. The drifts were over my head.

Codie was fifteen that winter. It was hard on her getting through the snow, but one time she forgot how old she was and ran with me.

Codie

When mom sees me playing in the snow I know she can’t help think about Codie.

In 2009 it snowed faster than we could shovel. One night Codie went out to do her business and couldn’t make it back to the house.

Codie started to panic and wail. Mom was afraid Codie was gonna have a heart attack and yelled for dad to come help.

Dad had just got out of the shower. He didn’t even wait to put on his shoes but ran right out in the snow and picked Codie up.

He carried her into the house and put her down real gentle on her favorite chair. Codie was scared but she fell asleep right away.

Codie

It’s funny how the past and present all run together. One minute you’re having fun in the snow and suddenly you’re feeling sad missing your best pal.

That’s when I grab a stuffie and jam it into mom’s backside. I can’t stand to see her sad and my stuffie trick brings her right back to the present. That’s where we need to live. In the present. Mindful of the past but grateful for the moment. Try it. You’ll see I’m right. Gotta run!

 

Asher

Girlfriend Troubles

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Ash

Oh I’m in big trouble now. Tess saw the bark from yesterday and she’s mad as a hornet.

Tess said the picture of her on the couch was awful. She thinks it makes her look fat.

Tess didn’t like me calling her a lazy border collie and my remark about losing her girlish figure put her over the edge.

Good grief. Don’t girlfriends have a sense of humor? In my guy brain I thought she’d see that I was teasing her because I like her so much. I wouldn’t tease some girl I didn’t like.

I quick asked dad how to get out of this mess. He laughed and said, “Ask your mom.”

So I asked mom and she laughed too. When I started towards Jack he looked the other way. Tess, of course, was not speaking to me.

Eventually Jack took pity on me and suggested I call some helpline. Now that’s going too far. I’m not paying a therapist because Tess took my teasing the wrong way.

I decided I’d better run the fence line to clear my head. Tess passed me in the yard and wouldn’t look at me. I thought about giving her a little nip on the butt like any good herding dog, but I figured that would just make things worse.

As Tess was going in the house I barked at her. “Hey Tess, I’m sorry.” She stopped and looked at me. “Really?” she said.

“Yeah, really,” I barked. “Tess, I was making fun of you because I know you so well. I love your silly self.”

Tess stood real still. I was afraid she was gonna cry. Then in a flash she gave me a full body slam. We started rolling around in the snow playing the mouth game. Tess made horrible growl sounds, but when she grabbed my neck she was real gentle.

When we were done playing rough, Tess kept me company running the fence line. On the way back to the house Tess grabbed my collar and gave it a yank. When we walked through the door she slammed me, just like she usually does.

I think Tess is over her mad. Next time I’m gonna think twice before I bark silly stuff about her. Gotta run!

 

 

 

 

Tess

Couch Potato

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Tess

When Tess came to Asherpark you couldn’t talk her into getting on the couch. Somebody must have taught her it was bad because she’d get real agitated if you asked her up.

After a few months she’d sneak on the couch when she thought mom wasn’t looking. When mom came into the room, Tess would jump off the couch and pretend it wasn’t her that left that white fur on the cushions.

Soon Tess got feeling more comfortable and invited her own self on the couch. Now you can’t keep her off.

Tess was crazy when we brought her home. She ran around in circles foaming at the mouth. She was one nervous nellie. She’s not so much fun now that she has calmed down.

She’ll still chase a goat when she can and I’m not sure I’d let her around the chickens. But mostly, she just wants to hang with her pack.

This is a picture of Tess right after she ate dinner. Notice her eyes are almost closed and she crossed her back paws. Sweet, huh?

Tess is kinda lazy for a border collie. She likes to watch me run the fence but she never joins in. Her favorite pastime is being a couch potato. I hope she doesn’t lose her girlish figure from all that nap time.

I gotta go. I don’t spend much time on the couch. Too much to do. Smells, barks, balls, swiping laundry. See ya!