I didn't mind the cold water

A couple of days ago, Mom and me went on a walk. Mom said we were having a January thaw and it was a good day to get outside. I certainly agreed. I've got den fever! 

Mom put my orange vest on me, and she wore orange, too. We matched! We walked back the old homestead lane and then down to where a creek crosses the path. Mom knew I'd hop right in, so she was ready with the camera to take a video of how it went down.

I had fun. I hope it warms up enough to go do it again soon!

 

Deuce's Day, walking, black Labrador Retriever, dog vests, cold water, good dogs, rural living, dog videos

I didn't agree to this!

Here we go again...

Sadie is here for the whole day. Why? Okay, I know why, but WHY????? What did I do to incur this karma? I'm a good dog! I really am! Mom and Dad tell me all the time how good I am, and yet I'm stuck with Sadie all day. 

Mom is staring at me, and it's not a good stare. 

Okay, so Mom took Sadie back to her office and left me watching TV with Dad. That was a smart thing to do. Mom knew she'd take a nap if she was in a quiet place, and I could have a lie-down, too. I won't sleep until she's gone. I have to protect my food dish, even though it is empty. 

How did my dish get empty? Mom didn't feed me, that's how. She didn't feed me and then Sadie showed up. I bet that can of wet food I had before Sadie got her is all I get until she's gone. 

Hmmm. That WILL keep her from eating my food, so okay! Good going, Mom! 

I guess Sadie isn't really bad. She doesn't jump on my head now that she's older. And she's only here for a little bit. I'm still the Big Dog and she knows it. 

I'll make it through the day.

Deuce's Day, black Labrador Retriever, English Springer Spaniel, a dog's life, country dogs, good dogs, a writer's life, simple country pleasures

That is NOT Loki!

SKUNK

What the hell is that smell?????

I'm not going outside. Nope. Nada. Not gonna do it.

Mom opened the door for me at about five o'clock this morning and BACK THE TRAIN UP!!! There's a SKUNK out there somewhere! I can smell him. So can Mom. 

We hustled back inside before the smell had a chance to cling to my fur. It can do that when there is a lot of moisture in the air. I don't want me to stink and neither does Mom. Even Loki, who I swear looks like a first cousin to a skunk, stayed inside this morning. Mom should have named him Pepe le Pew. 

FIRST COUSIN TO SKUNK

Seriously. Doesn't Loki look sort of skunk-ish?

I'm going to make Mom wait until daylight before I let her take me outside. Hopefully, the smell will be gone by then, and if not, I can at least see whether or not the coast is clear and pee-pee really fast. 

Mom says living in the country is fun, that it keeps us close to nature. <snort> 

Sometimes I think nature gets a little too close to us.

Deuce's Day, Greenbrier Smokey Deuce, skunks, wildlife, Loki, black Labrador Retriever, a country dog, a dog's life, a writer's life, good dogs, rural living, country lifestyle

New Year's again? How many are there?

Mom and Dad told me it was New Year's Day. Did we just have a New Year's Day like, you know, last year? How often does this happen? And if today is the Day, wasn't last night the party night? New Year's Eve? I kinda wonder because New Year's Eve is noisy around here. Humans go crazy with shotguns and fireworks and car horns. Not last night. I heard ONE gunshot. Mom and I went outside to see who was barking and it was quiet and I didn't get to bark and tell everyone to shut up. (They listen to me, don't you know.) And foggy! I've never seen such thick fog. It was weird. 

Mom and I are going over our blog entries for 2022, and I'm not a happy dog. Mom didn't help me blog hardly at all last year. I made her promise to do better in this new year. I know she's right and we've just been doing mundane things, but I'm Deuce! Everything I do is blog worthy!

Get with the program, Mom. You tell me I'm the best dog ever and then you don't keep my blog current. I might start to think you like Loki better than you like me, and that won't do. That won't do at all. 

So it's a new year and I'm willing to give Mom a new start. My birthday is in two weeks, and there had better be a blog. 

Just saying, Mom. Juuuuuust saying.....

Deuce's Day, Greenbrier Smokey Deuce, black Labrador Retriever, hunting dogs, sporting dogs, country dogs, black lives matter, dog blogs, good dogs, 

This is how we do it

I remember a long time ago when Mom and Cousin Dave were splitting firewood. I didn't get to help much with that. Dad was on the John Deere and no one had time to throw the ball for me, so I napped on the patio. I don't think I missed too much excitement. 

Well, I did learn that splitting firewood creates a lot of extra pieces that aren't fit to go in the woodstove. Mom piled them up on the brush pile until it was huge! I've been sniffing around it some, but nothing like a groundhog or a skunk tried to live it - that's a good thing. 

Yesterday morning it started to snow. Snow falling on me and getting me wet is not a good thing. It's cold. I don't like it much. Playing in the snow after it stops falling on me is a lot better. Anyway... Mom said that it was the perfect time to burn the brush pile and did I want to help?

That's a stupid question! Of course, I want to help! I'm Deuce! Helping Mom and Dad is a good thing!

The only thing is, Dad didn't go along. 

Mom and me got into the pickup and drove over to the west forty and parked. Mom got out and started the fire, and boy did it burn! We were all nice and comfy in the truck, but Dad wasn't there. I don't like it when we're not all together. And I got bored. I asked Mom if I could get out of the truck and she took me back inside to check on Dad. 

Even with the snow, and then rain, the fire burned for hours. Mom and Dad weren't worried, though. The ground was way too wet for it to spread. The rain eventually put the fire out but not before almost all of it had burned. 

Maybe next time Dad will go along and he can play with me while Mom watches the fire. That would be much better. I wouldn't get bored. 

Deuce's Day, Greenbrier Smokey Deuce, black Labrador Retriever, a country dog, rural lifestyle, good dogs, companion dog, Chevy Colorado, brush, country living

This is really NOT FUNNY!!

Enough is enough! 

I'm a good dog. I don't pee-pee in the house. I don't chew up anything that has not been given to me for that express purpose. I don't run off. I don't eat cats. I've never ever brought home a girlfriend in 'the family way' and expected Mom to deal with it. And what do I get? I get left home alone in the dark!!

I want to know what is going on here. A couple of weeks ago what did the parents do?  They left poor little Deucie - that's ME - outside in the cold and dark for two hours! Why? I wasn't bad. And last night, they took off in Mom's car and left me home alone! After dark!

What gives? The parents don't go away after dark. Well, Mom goes bowling sometimes, but Dad is home with me. But they both left last night. They went somewhere called City Park to watch some dumb light show! 

They stayed in the car. They could have taken me along, but noooooooooo. 

I don't like this. Okay, it's the holiday season and Mom gets freaky about all the lights, but I've always gone along when they drive around to see everyone's Christmas displays. It's fun and not even some ten-foot tall Santa on a roof can scare me into staying home alone. 

But last night? No excuse, Mom and Dad. I'd better get to go along next year or I'm gonna chew a shoe!!!!!

Deuce's Day, good dogs, Christmas, black Labrador Retriever, a dog's life, light show, left alone, chewing shoes

It's not funny - but IT IS!!

 

Oh, I'm such a bad dog!!!!  Mom let Loki run out of cat food and I'm rolling on the floor! Mom and Loki don't think it's too funny, but little Deucie does! He hasn't said anything, but I bet Dad agrees with ME. 

Okay, let's not judge Mom too harshly. The store didn't have Loki's favorite food, and Mom didn't want to get him something he doesn't like. I can relate. It's happened to me, but I don't prowl around the house screeching about it. I just let Mom put broth over the icky food and then I ate it. 

Mom let him have a spoonful of my canned food to make him happy. That did not make ME happy. That's my meat! 

C'mon, Mom. Let him go outside. He'll catch a mouse or something. He doesn't need my food! 

Mom's going to go to the store as soon as she finishes her coffee. She'll probably get me a bag of Grillers while she's there. That's a good thing. But until she gets back, I'm going to tease Loki because he'd do it to me. 

Yep. I'm a bad dog today (but not really). 

Deuce's Day, Greenbrier Smokey Deuce, black Labrador Retrievers, Loki, cats, cat food, dog food, Grillers treats, coffee, rural living, country lifestyle, pets

I'm a history expert!

It's Sunday, and we try to take it easy on Sundays. Mom and Dad might do a chore if it's really important, or it would be bad if they put it off, but typically we're sort of lazy on Sunday. But today, Mom and Dad decided to take a drive to the Antietam Battlefield, and I got to go along! 

Dad says we live in the middle of a lot of Civil War history. We saw the Burnside Bridge, the Sherrick house, the Otto house, and Bloody Lane. There were a lot of monuments along the roads, too. We stopped and looked at some of them. The parents want to go back with some maps they want to make from Google Earth. They like to do that. They like to have a bird's eye view. 

Personally, I like to have the little Deucie view, but that's difficult when I'm in the back of Dad's van. I can't really see out too well. 

It was still fun to be out and about with the folks. I wanted to get out of the van, but Mom said no. I told her I had no way to prove to my followers and Loki that I was really there, and Mom said she had it covered. She'd Photoshop me in at Bloody Lane. And she did! I feel like I was really there! 

I'm Deuce, and I'm now an expert on the Antietam Battlefield! 

Deuce's Day, Greenbrier Smokey Deuce, black Labrador Retriever, Civil War, Antietam Battlefield, good dogs

What did I do?

Last night was not a good night. I don't know how it happened. I wanted out and now I forget who opened the door for me. What I do know is, my parents left me outside for two hours!! TWO HOURS! BY MYSELF!!!

Okay, so I'm a big boy and I can take care of myself. I don't wander off, not even down to see Cousin Dave and I really like him. 

I was outside for so long that it got dark and there are always strange noises after dark. Those spooky little owls were talking back and forth and I bet the discussion was about how to dive bomb me or some other nasty trick.  

It's a good thing I'm a smart dog. After a while, I got tired of waiting and I went around to Mom's office door and barked. THAT freaked her out because she'd forgotten me. Or maybe Dad forgot me. We don't remember. Anyway, she went looking for me and couldn't find me. 

Yeah, Mom. You misplaced little Deucie, didn't you? 

I really have to get over my dislike of going up the ramp to Mom's office door. If I'd been braver, I would have gotten her attention a lot sooner. That's how Loki does it and it always works for him. Even when Mom is busy writing, like last night, she'll see him and open her door. 

I guess I have to give the parents a pass. That's the first time ever I've been outside on my own for more than however long it takes for me to pee-pee. And one of them is always at the door watching to let me back in right away. 

I suppose I can't use the word "always" any longer, huh? 

If there's one thing I'm certain of it's that Mom will keep a closer eye on me and Dad from now on, and that might not be as good a thing as it sounds. We won't get away with anything.

Deuce's Day, black Labrador Retriever, a country dog, a writer's life, puppy parents, rural lifestyle, screech owls, forgotten dogs

Drat that fox!

 

What's a guy got to do around here to get a decent night's sleep? 

The parents and I were all snuggled down in the big bed this morning when the fox barked right outside the window. Well, I barked straight away because that's my job. Mom was out of bed immediately to check on Loki's whereabouts. We went out the back door and I barked some more! That did the trick and we didn't hear the fox again. 

Oh, yeah. Mom found Loki all safe and sound. I have to admit he's a smart cat and stays close to his hidey-holes where he'll be safe. If the fox is around, Loki won't come out until Mom is standing there to pick him up. And now that the fox is lurking again, Loki won't go back outside. He knows. He's smart like that. 

Anyway, what does a guy have to do to get enough sleep around here? If it's not the fox barking, it's the deer activating the driveway alarm and making the lights flip on and off. All Mom and I want is to sleep until daybreak, but nooooooo. 

C'mon, Mom. Let's go try to get forty more winks. 

Deuce's Day, Greenbrier Smokey Deuce, red fox, tired dog, country living, rural lifestyle, black Labs, a writer's life, Labrador Retrievers