It's not green, it's see through

Humans are very confusing, even those in our pack. Mom and Dad did all this talking about a little greenhouse, and today they took it out of the box. Guess what? It's not green at all. It's clear. I can see straight through the sides. 

We had a sort of lazy morning. There were coffee and scones for breakfast - I got a bite from both Mom and Dad. I snoozed while they watched some videos on YouTube, and then we went outside to put the greenhouse up. 

It was pretty easy. I rested in the shade while Dad read the instructions and told Mom which piece went where to build the frame. Then Mom had to get the plastic shell put on over the frame. It looked hard to me, but Mom didn't seem to have any trouble with it. The instructions don't call for it, but Dad's going to add a few screws to make it come apart and go back together in bigger pieces. 

Mom says she's going to plant seeds inside the greenhouse. She sure is having fun with this gardening stuff. I don't know if I like that so much. It's time she could be spending with me, you know. 

Then again, she gave me a bath after the greenhouse was erected. I needed it because I'm really shedding right now. It felt good to have all that fur wash out, and now Mom says I smell sweet again. That's important since I sleep on the bed with her. 

I'm going to hang around and watch what Mom does with this greenhouse because I heard the parents talk about growing food in there, and food is a really good thing. 

I'm Deuce, and that's my plan. 

It's vest time again

Deuce is well-dressed for fall

Did you know it's now officially autumn? Mom said something about it the other day. Autumn means hunting season and that means Mom and me will dress alike on our walks! Today was the first day since autumn began I got to go into the woods so I had to wear my orange vest. Mom put on her orange sweatshirt, too. People are NOT supposed to be hunting where we walk, but they sneak in anyway. 

We usually go for a long walk on the days Mom doesn't work. I sure hope she finalizes her retirement soon so we can go every day. Every day! I get all excited just thinking about it! 

What was I going to say?

Oh, yeah. I wasn't sure we'd get to go because it's sort of misty and drizzly outside. My first trip outside this morning, about six o'clock, it was sprinkling. Not a good sign for a guy who's eager to run through the woods. But by about ten-ish, there was only a bit of mist and we decided to go, but make it a quick, short walk so we wouldn't get too wet. 

Mom took a long video of our walk. She likes to do that for two reasons. One, she wants to always remember her time with me, and two, it makes us feel like we can bring Dad along. That's important to us. 

I don't mind wearing my vest because it keeps me safe. But I'm a big guy now, and I was just a lanky pup when Mom got me the vest. It's a little snug this year and I swear it's not because I'm eating too much. I'm still svelte! But I am all mature now. Maybe Mom will get me a slightly bigger vest, or at least redo the velcro on this one. 

What'ya say, Mom? How about doing a bit of tailoring for me? 

Me? Picky?

Sometimes it pays to be a picky eater. I know Labs like me are supposed to be canine garbage disposals, but I'm a very discerning pup.  It makes Mom a little crazy when I refuse to eat. The problem is I can't tell her if my tummy is upset or if I'm just being hard-headed. Here lately, she suspects the latter. 

The other day she found some old ground lamb burger in the freezer and cooked it off. I'd never smelled lamb before, but I was kinda interested. Then she mixed a big spoonful of the lamb in with my dog food and stirred and stirred and stirred until there was no way I could pick out the lamb and leave the chow. I had to eat the whole thing!

Mom's pretty smart. I wonder what I need to do to get lamb all the time?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

**Note from Mom: Dream on black dog. Dream on...

Tractor Time With Deuce

Deuce helps service the John Deere 1023

Dad works hard to keep my yard looking good. It's not easy for him but he's a stubborn guy. He just keeps chipping away at a project until it's finally finished. Mom and I know he works so hard on our yard because he knows we love our yard. Even that skanky Loki likes our yard. 

Mom and Dad have a big John Deere tractor. They call it the 1023 but I'm not sure what that means. There's another smaller John Deere they call a 370 but it can only mow. I'm a smart dog so I know I don't have to know about the equipment, just keep out of its way when it's moving. 

This summer, Dad's been all hopped up about doing something called a two-hundred-hour service on the 1023. I'm not sure what it means, but I know it's had Mom snorting. She's had to crawl under the tractor and that's not her favorite thing to do. A couple of weeks ago they changed the coolant and the oil. Yesterday, they changed the hydraulic fluid. I learned that's what makes the bucket, backhoe, and snowblower go up and down. 

Or something like that. I'm Deuce. I'm a dog. Mom and Dad talk and I hear the words but sometimes it's pretty boring stuff. All this tractor talk has nothing to do with me getting snackies so it's not important. Show me the treats and I'll pay attention. 

Anyway, yesterday it was Dad's turn to get under the tractor. First, Mom set down the outriggers, lifted the back tires off the ground, and shoved blocks under the tires. It was safety first before Dad got out of his chair. 

Well, let me tell you. Dad out of his chair on the ground is not a good thing in my world. Dad on the ground anytime is not a good thing, and this time he did it on purpose. I did not like this. I came over and watched to see why he'd do this. I knew with me and Mom right there it must not be tooooo bad, but I still didn't like it. Once he's down he has to get back up. Not good. It worried me. 

Turns out, it was a good thing he was the one looking at the underside of the tractor. The people sent him the wrong filter (he was not happy) and Mom might not have known it was the wrong one. He put the old filter back on because, he said, the old fluid was still really clear, whatever that means. They take good care of the tractor so I bet that next year, we'll do this again with the correct filter even if we don't have four-hundred hours run time on the 1023. 

By the end of the day, the 1023 was back under the carport, the bucket of old fluid was loaded on the Silverado to go to the recycling place, and Mom was serving BBQ chicken sandwiches for dinner. 

I wonder what's for dinner today? 

I tried to tell them, but noooooo

Last night while we were eating dinner...well, Mom and Dad were eating dinner. I was successfully bumming bites of grilled pork chop, so maybe I was having dinner, too. Anyway, I heard a noise so I did my job and barked. And what did they do? They shushed me!

I'm insulted. I knew a branch had fallen out of a tree. I know what that sounds like. I didn't know it had fallen across the lane but Mom and I discovered that when we went out for a stroll after dinner. 

Mom tried to apologize for shushing me but I wasn't ready to let her make up to me. She didn't have any snackies with her so I very smartly thought I'd wait until we were back inside and she could give me a Griller to officially accept her apology. 

I mean, really folks. Do not shush me for doing my job. Barking to alert you guys to something happening on the manor is what I do, and you know I do it very well. 

So remember this next time.  Just say to yourself, "do not shush Deuce when he's correct." Then repeat it. 

One more thing to remember - don't leave the house without treats in your pockets. 

Where's the frog at today?

Where's the frog today?

I'm a pretty smart dog. Ask Mom. She'll tell you I'm not fibbing. I learn new stuff all the time, and one of the things I've learned is that frogs are sneaky little things. It's true! Let me tell you the facts.

There is a ditch that runs along the lane so that when it rains, the water coming down from the top of the big hill doesn't make ruts Mom's car can't drive over. There's a spot where the water makes a tiny pool and a frog lives in it. Mom says a frog in that spot is a good thing because it eats bug eggs which, sounds really nasty, but I'm not a frog.

Oh, and Mom says not to worry about the frog. It's just a couple of hops over to the spring branch or the creek, so if his little pool dries up, he'll be fine. 

Anyway...I know about the frog. When Mom and Dad take me down to the creek to play in the water, I look for him. I know how to stand really still, too. Mom says I have really good focus when I want. The funny thing is, I know he's there and I still jump every time he moves! How silly is that? 

I'm Deuce! I'm a big, bad, black Labrador Retriever, for heaven's sake. I'm descended from the St. John's Dog! He's an itty bitty frog. It's not like he's bigger than me. The deer are bigger than me and I'm not jumpy over them. 

Some days the frog isn't around. Maybe he's back inside the culvert or under the water where I can't spot him. I get a little disappointed when that happens. It's a lot more fun to sneak up on him and make HIM jump.

I'll try again tomorrow.