I Am Three!

Today is my birthday and I am three years old. I can’t believe how quickly I am growing up – I feel like I am already in my twenties!

It is a beautiful sunny day although it is very cold. To celebrate my birthday, mummy, daddy and I went for a long hike around the Marin Headlands. 

As it is Christmas, and it’s my birthday, I was allowed to wear my Christmas ruff to show everyone that it is my special day!

On the way, daddy found a big stick for me to play with. I love chewing sticks and this one was a particularly good one!  

For a change, daddy let mummy take some photos. Here's Daddy and I posing at the top of the Marin Headlands.

Half way through our walk we stopped to look at the old gun batteries at an old World War II site called Fort Cronkhite. I have no idea what gun batteries are but I suspect that quite a few of my two-legged friends have been there as I could smell their marks all over the place. Here’s mummy and I peeking in to one that daddy was exploring – don’t worry. He didn’t leave any marks.

 

Further along on our hike we came across a super picnic spot.

Our hike was very long but it was worth it as we went really high and could look down on the San Francisco coast. I think that this is what it must be like to fly like a bird – a beautiful bird, that is. Not those nasty crows that I bark at outside the house….

A Merry Milo Christmas!

I love Christmas!! It’s always so exciting because there are lots of new toys, lots of food and I get to spend a lot of time at home with mummy and daddy. This year I got to spend extra time with daddy as he was off work for a while before Christmas. His doctor fixed his elbow as it had been hurting him for a year. I just recently found out that I have a possible tear in my back knee and very early stage arthritis in my hips, so daddy and I can hang out on the TV rug together and get well again.

In preparation for Christmas, mummy put up a Christmas tree. It looked beautiful - all sparkly lights and baubles. It sits on top of the counter so I can't accidentally knock it over or get my tail caught in it. Instead of putting a fairy on top of our tree, we had a silver silhouette of me with a star on my tail! I think I look much better up there than the fairy, although some of my two-legged friends seemed to think I was doing something naughty on top of the tree!

On the morning of Christmas Day, I was allowed up on the bed with mummy and daddy and we had a Christmas cuddle. I love starting the day off that way - their bed is much bigger than mine. I like daddy to wrap me up in the duvet so that I can pretend that I am in a den.

It’s a tradition but every year I take mummy and daddy out for a Christmas hike. It’s great for working up an appetite for Christmas dinner. The weather was drizzly and cold this year but we still had a romp up on Ring Mountain. The view over to the city wasn’t bad either.

When we got back from our Christmas hike, we opened our presents. I had loads more than anyone else!!

I even got a Christmas sweater!! Apparently this is a human tradition at Christmas time. I suspect that humans probably feel much the same about their Christmas sweaters as I did about mine...

Another Christmas tradition is to watch a film and fall asleep. That tradition is not too difficult for me as I always fall asleep on the TV rug! I am off to do that right now, so this is Milo wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!!!

Crash! Bang! Wallop!

The last few months of the year have been spent listening to building. Mummy and daddy decided that instead of moving to another house, we would stay where we are and make the family room/office more usable. I'm not sure what they meant because I used it a lot. Sometimes as a place to sleep or sometimes a place to go if my tummy was upset and I couldn't get outside fast enough. 

The new room took a long time to build. Crash, bang, crash, bang. I haven't been able to find a cozy, quiet place to sleep anywhere in the house. It has also been so dusty that it made my nose itch so much that I had to keep wiping it on the carpet to stop it tickling. Mummy and daddy had no idea about all the noise and dust (or my wiping my nose on the carpet!) as they were at work all day while I was stuck at home. Mind you, I became good friends with the builders and they fed me burritos for lunch, so it hasn't all been bad. In addition, I now have a brand new TV room. There is a huge furry rug that daddy and I stretch out on together. If the film is particularly bad, we sleep on the rug together too.

Summer Holidays - More Camping Fun!

As I was such a good boy when we went practice camping, Mummy and daddy took me back country camping for the first time ever this summer. We went a few times and each time we went further into the mountains and trees. We camped next to the most amazing alpine lakes and it was so peaceful. Just daddy, mummy and me.... 

We spent all our time swimming in the lakes and exploring. There were so many new smells – it was almost overwhelming! I even went mountain biking again.... well mummy and daddy did. I ran along with them, setting the pace.




Daddy and I played hide-and-seek but I kept giving myself away because I couldn't resist the temptation to peek and see where daddy was.














I even practiced my diving skills by leaping off a 5' wall into a lake. I think mummy and daddy were a little perplexed when I launched myself in the first time but then they saw how much fun it was and threw tennis balls into the water again and again so that I could jump in after them.

At night time, daddy made a big camp fire and put a warm blanket down for me to lay next to it. It was very cozy. I have to admit that I was a bit scared at night. Without the fire, it was dark and I could smell and hear a lot of strange animals although I couldn't see them. It didn't bother mummy and daddy but I think that was because their ears and nose don't work as well as mine. I always stayed very close to the tent.




Luckily I was allowed to sleep in the tent, in between mummy and daddy. At first I was cold but mummy wrapped me up in blankets and I was very cozy. I still couldn't sleep at night though because I could hear all the night activity. So I spent most of the time wriggling about and keeping mummy and daddy awake too.









After one camping trip, my Milo wagon would not start! We were in the middle of the Sierra Mountains and there was nobody around to help us. Luckily daddy remembered seeing some lumberjacks the day before and he set off on his mountain bike to find them. It wasn't long before he came back with help. One of the lumberjacks brought a massive digger and I thought he was going to push us all the way home. Instead he connected
the two engines and kick started the Milo wagon. We were on our way in no time. 

Later that same day we went to Donner Lake and played another of my favorite games: fetch the stick from the lake. After a few goes I got a bit bored and decided to swim out towards the middle of the lake with the stick. The next thing I know, a complete stranger jumped into the water next to me and took my stick away! Then another complete stranger grabbed me by the collar and hoisted me up in the air and into a speedboat. I thought I was being dog-napped! When I looked around, I had swum a lot further than I realized. Daddy was swimming out after me and mummy was in a small boat shouting instructions to the strangers. I don't know what all the fuss was about but I sure was glad to be rescued and back on dry land. Boy were daddy and I tired after all that aquatic exercise - he had to have a beer and I slept for a whole day!!

Summer Holidays - Mountain Biking Madness

What a fun day we all had today - mountain biking around a lake!

I wanted to have a go too but while I can reach the handlebars if I sit on the saddle, my hind legs are way too short to reach the pedals.

So instead, I ran around after daddy as he rode on his mountain bike. 

Summer Holidays - Camping Practice

We had a super night camping out in the wilderness with the raccoons and bears. This is the first time that I have been camping and it was a practice run to see if I liked it. And I do!! I was really well behaved – mummy and daddy didn't need to tie me up as I stayed close to them and the tent the whole time. 

I slept in the tent with them and didn't bark once. I spooned mummy all night and took up half her camping mattress so she had to sleep on the ground! This was despite the fact that I had my own little sleeping bag with a blanket to cover me. It was pretty cold last night - the temperature has been dropping to 4 degrees at night up in the Sierras. After all, we were at 6,000'!

I woke up very early this morning and made sure the campsite was still in order for mummy and daddy. 

It was only 7 degrees when we had breakfast this morning. I had kibble and steak, followed by sausages and baked beans. Yum!!

After my one night's camping, we all went back to the cabin for a good nights sleep (especially mummy!). If the weather permits, we might head out again to another location so in the meantime, I am getting in as much sleep as possible in preparation!

Summer Holidays - Reservoir Dog

Woo Hoo! I love road trips! What a wheeze driving along in daddy's car, sniffing up all the smells whizzing by in the air! The air goes by so fast that I have to squint. Not to mention it makes my jowls wobble!

I can't decide whether it is best to hang out in the back of the car and let the air rush into my face or just sit sedately next to daddy in the front of the car, and sniff with sophistication. 

On the way, we stopped to take pictures of ourselves. Mummy and Daddy took turns posing with me.

Eventually we arrived at a great big reservoir, where daddy and I swam after each other. I can actually swim a lot faster than daddy as I have twice as many legs but I let him think he is the alpha swimmer.

When we get tired of chasing each other we just swim around in the lovely fresh water. Sometimes I will pretend daddy is an island and try and climb on top of him. He doesn't find this game nearly as entertaining as I do.

  

At the end of our swim, we sat together on the rocks, sunbathing and drying off before we did a road trip back home. What a fabulous day! 

 

Bodega Bay - A Weekend Away!

In the late summer, we all went to stay at a lovely house in Bodega Bay for a weekend. Bodega Bay is a fantastic place. Our house was right across the road from the biggest and best beach ever.

We spent every day running along the sand, playing in the waves and chasing tennis balls. Mummy and I had a great time digging up the sand in search of old driftwood logs. I also took mummy for a few runs along the beach and through the waves. It was really cold but the running about kept us warm.

After the long days playing on the beach, daddy and I sat and watched the sun go down while we contemplated all the wonders of our life. We also wrestled on the carpet!

It was a beautiful place and we all felt revitalized when we got back.

Picnic Time!

What a surprise! When mummy and daddy got home from work today they decided that we would all go to Pine Mountain for a picnic! It was a beautiful evening and the sun was slowly setting as we played on the hill top. Then we sat in the grass and had dinner. I even had my own picnic kibble!

Mummy's Birthday

June is a special month because it is when mummy was born. This year mummy’s birthday fell on a beautiful sunny day. So once she got back from work, mummy took daddy and I to Blackie’s Pasture in Tiburon to celebrate with a game of fetch. Daddy also spent quite a bit of time taking photos of me. He does love to do that and I always try to be good and let him take as many as he wants to.

Daddy does take good pictures although he really should have taken more of mummy seeing at it was her birthday. Here are some of my favourites from that day:

In the end I had to give daddy a time-out so that we could carry on playing birthday fetch with mummy!

A new favourite thing - Cars

Just a quick blog today to let you know that it’s official…. I love being driven around in the car!

My car - the Milo Wagon - is great as it has its own registration plate and it comes with mummy as a chauffeur.

 When daddy isn't looking, I sneak into the front seat so that I can truly be the co-pilot. Mummy keeps a box of wipes in the car to clean up my muddy paw marks so that daddy will never know when he sits in my seat.

Now as great as my car is, daddy’s car is even better as it comes with daddy as a chauffeur AND it has no roof!!

It is fantastic for driving around and picking up all the smells in the air!!!