Awesome Creek by Morris

Nobody rocks a brass bell like I do.
She decided I needed this so she could keep track of me at all times.

I guess the few times I sort of got lost in my head and the time I got lost in the Big Meadow sort of scared her.
This thing is loud enough for her to hear me just about anywhere.
I don't think it is that loud though. In fact, I think she is losing her voice. She says she isn't but she doesn't yell MORRIS icky icky! As loud as she used to.
She says I am losing my hearing. Harrumph.
I'd rather she get a smaller ding dong bell though. This one is heavy.

It has been a while since the two of us have gone off to look for adventure, and find deer droppings.
Well, she doesn't care for deer pellets, but I still do. One day her taste buds will awaken, I hope.

She said we were going to check fences and see how the black berry situation was.
I know better.

She wanted to walk around the creek and take pictures.

I must admit, I'm a pretty good assistant.

I do improve photos.

Well.
Maybe not in this one.

I believe she calls this ... Photo Bombing.
I call it, doing what I do best.

After all, this adorable face deserves to be photographed.
Right?

We did have fun together though. It was like old times. Even when I got very sneaky and stood very still in deeper water so my bell wouldn't ring.

She got to spend some time in her special quiet place. And I stood above her on the bank watching.

That is my special duty you know.

Soon enough she pulled out that thing that she does stuff on. Like talk, tell time, tell temperature, and weather. Smart Phone? It doesn't work in the Creek Bottom.
Anyway she mumbled something about the time and how we had to head home.

I may be a bit dingy in the head, but I do know home when she says it.

I turned and headed up the muddy bank. She put her camera away and scampered up on all fours.
I love it when I can show her how to do things.

I rang that bell all the way home. See, everyone thinks I am getting old. But can they keep up to me?

Mostly not. I'm still pretty fast.

Morris Out and About ~by Morris

We love winter. She loves winter. I like going hiking with Her on the days when it isn't too cold. Indeed She once tried a coat for me, but I destroyed after snowplowing and then going through burdock and all sorts of things that clung to the jacket.

Of course there was the 'wardrobe' failure too as I dismantled another coat She tried.

Now She watches the temperatures a bit more closely and we don't go together on really cold days.
Besides,  I can't seem to stay out of the creek. But if my feet get cold, I will leap it.

I am an excellent 'leaper'.

My most favorite activity in the winter time is climbing the Ice Wall. I love scaring Her to death by running up the wall to the top and then disappearing so that She cannot see me.

I do come back when She starts calling me.
It must be terrible to be a human and not have the great balance and dexterity that I have as a dog.

Really? Nothing to worry about here!

Coming down off the wall can be a bit tricky.
But I think I've got it covered. I'm still pretty athletic.

However I do miss my pal Teslin. She is a real athlete and loves climbing ice walls as much as I do.

Another thing that makes Her nervous is the fact that I blend in so well with everything in the creek bottom in the winter.

She calls me Camo Dog.

I hope She doesn't decide to put a huge red scarf on me to keep track of my whereabouts.

But She might. Who knows?

Oh wow, She didn't have to include my ~~~
Whoopsie On Ice Photo now did She?

Someone should invent a doggy cam so I can follow Her around and get videos of when She slips on the ice.
Right?

Dang it all She does use ice cleats while hiking.
Sigh.

A Hike ~By Morris

Here she goes again.  She puts on her coveralls.  I stare at her hard.  
I walk over to my crate and stand.
Is she going out to do chore stuff?  Is she going to leave me?

I have to carefully watch for signs.  If she goes for the camera bag and gun belt I will start to hop around and whine a lot.  I will circle under her feet and jump on her.  
If she allows that, then I think I can go with her on a hike of some sort.

I start to quiver.  She is certainly taking her time with her boots, the lace up kind.  I move in close and whine, and do my very best to look desolate and cute at the same time.  Will she take the bait?  

YES!  She reaches for the red leash she keeps by the back door and tosses it over her shoulder.

OH JOY!  Hike time!  Perhaps I can find things to make her go "Icky Icky!"
I start to race around the small kitchen and keep bumping into her.  

Come on, come on! Let's not be wasting any time!  I don't want you to change your mind!
Let's go, let's go, come on, come on.

What she hears is "Whine, whine, squeak, squeak." It is obvious that she doesn't speak Jack Russell language.

Out the door we go and I race off!  She puts on her snowshoes and I know that we are in for a good time.  The snow is deep and great fun to race through.

She makes a trail and I go off on my own looking for deer pellets and other good smells.  

What a NAG!  She is always keeping an eye on me and won't let me run off too far.
Doesn't SHE know what great smells are under the snow?  There are mice smells, rabbit pellets [yum], deer smells, and today there are no coyote smells at all!
She calls and tells me to stick close.

I am close, I can SEE you!

Let me be!
I need to find some smart pellets, I have such a taste for them.

She ignores my ultra-cool body language and points to her snowshoes and gives me that stern look.  I know, she wants me to stay close enough so that she can protect me from wild animals.
Does she not know that I can detect them much better and faster than she ever could?
Humans, they are so hard to work with sometimes.

I'm a good dog, I obey her and stay with her.  Besides, if I walk in her trail, I won't have snow up to my chin.  

She gets caught up in the "beauty of the snow" she tells me.  "Isn't it beautiful Morris?"

What, I am supposed to talk back at her?  

To me, it is just so much harder to find goodies that have been left behind.  I wander off while she takes photos.  I have to dig deep for Smart Pellets.  I find a few.  Yum!

She is not even looking!

I run up and down the deer trail and try and get her attention. 
Finally she notices me and we head up the hill through the woods.

She asks if I am cold.  I am not cold, I am enjoying being outside.  I have a fur coat on and I am fine. She can be such a worry wart.

If I get cold, I will start to quiver and give her such a look of pity that she will pick me up and carry me.
I've trained her well over the years.

When we get to the place in the trail that comes out on the road, she nearly has some sort of fit.
She is saying things out loud like, "Wow!" "Oh my goodness!" "Beautiful!"

I look around and see snow. And more snow. And a plowed road.  I tear off to the road because the snow is not deep there.

She stops and takes pictures.

I hear a truck approaching and as the sworn duty of a Jack Russell, I must surely stand in the middle of the road and see if whoever is driving will stop and let me go for a ride with them.

Oh, I have this thing for riding in vehicles.  It can be a riding a lawn mower, a tractor, a skid steer, and any kind of vehicle.  I once hopped in the mailman's car and sat on his passenger seat.

All of a sudden you would have thought all heck broke loose. there SHE is on the side of the road screaming my name.

"Morris, Morris, you get your -ss over here right now! Damm-tt you! Get. Over. Here. Now!"

Oh as if I am deaf, really?
A big truck came roaring around the corner. I trot off to the side of the road. They didn't look interested in giving me a ride.

Ho-hum.

I return to her. And she hugs me with a death grip.

Really?  Wow, that seemed a lot more intense than her yelling at me for eating Smart Pellets in trails.

When I got home I was ready to hit the couch for some serious snooze time.

I think She was still a bit excited about me thinking about hitching a ride.

People.  So difficult to train.
But I can get her to cover me up in nice warm blankets when I snooze.
Isn't that nice?

While I was away ~ by Morris

I went on a town thingie vacation.  I sure was confused as to why I had to live in town, but SHE assured me as did Uncle John and Aunt Nancy that this was only a temporary.  

I could come back to the farm and eat icky stuff and roll in icky stuff.

Each day I got to go with Uncle John to work.  I used to go to his office as a puppy, so this was no big deal.

I was home for a week and then went back to town.

Then SHE stopped by the office where John works and visited.  
I know SHE needed me.  SHE had that smell about her and that look about her.

You know of course that dogs can sense these things.  

So when I was supposed to go back inside, I sat by HER Subaru and wouldn't move.
Then I gave her my best 'googly' eyes.  Big sad empty eyes.

She melted and pronounced that she would come and get me that very next day.

...and they say dogs are not smart!

When I got home I noticed that HE was not his usual grumpy self.  I smelled him all over and checked him out.

HE needed my watching.

So I laid down next to the day bed and did my best to watch and take care of him.  SHE was worried and every once in a while I'd have to get up and sit in her lap to let her pet me.  That calms HER down.

Finally it seemed things were better.  I checked everyone out and decided that I would cuddle up tight next to HER. She needed comfort and she needed rest.

They ... whoever 'they' are don't give dogs enough credit. We are smart we have a sense of things.

And I knew where I was needed and what I needed to do.

For I am Morris.
The Incredible.

Trail Blazing ~by Morris

Sure,  I knew it.  She got out her backpack, and got on her other gear.

I was not going to let her get outside again by herself.

No.  I hadn't been out since the blue ice adventure where she thought it was funny when I was sliding around on the ice.

I thought it was even funnier that she couldn't walk on it without ice cleats.

Anyway when she grabbed my little red leash I knew I was going!
She reached down for me and I jumped into her arms and settled into the crook of her arm.  I braced my back legs on her belt and off we went.

I jumped out of her arms when we got into the woods and raced ahead on the crunchy thin snow.  Last year she had to wear snowshoes to get around, this year, well the snow seems to be a bit lacking.

Then she got out the saw.  I don't like the saw very much, it is a hand saw thing that she uses when she works on clearing trails that have briers and other prickly things grow into them.

The sun was shining and she and I made our way slowly up 'Badger's' trail.  It wasn't used at all last year but she had maintained it to a certain point.

I guessed her goal when she started to work on the briers and multiflora rose.  She was re-routing because of a tree that had come down and the washout that was too narrow and deep to cross any longer.

I kept running around smelling and digging for vole nests or mice nests.  I kept a close eye on her and that sharp thing.
Last year I got my nose very close to it and got it cut.

Finally we made it to the creek and she put the hand saw away.  I knew the way home from here and figured we'd head up the creek.

I was right.

But then she pulled out that camera of hers and started to set up the tripod.

Really?  I was tired.  I was cold, I wanted to go home and maybe look for some really icky things to eat.

But ever the patient assistant that I am, I quietly sat on a rock over the creek and watched.

Then she sat on a rock and called me to her.  I was cold so I felt like a nice warm lap would be a good idea.

Then it was time to head home.  I know the trails as well as she does by now and I rarely wander off of them except to make sure a tree is marked properly or find something very yucky to eat.

It looks like we'll be ready as soon as the weather breaks to take Siera for rides in the woods.

I'm glad.
That means I get to go riding also.
Siera is good about me sitting in the saddle as a passenger.

Life is good.
Perhaps we'll go out and work on more trails soon!

Old Dog's Busy Day ~ by Morris

She asks if I'd like to go along with her into the woods for a little walk.

Do I look dumb?  Heck yes, if I don't go with her and show her the way, she could get lost right?

So I start to do the bounce thing around her feet and whine.  
Really I do it so she does NOT forget that she has promised to take me along!

Off we go down to the creek by the big boulder.  She is looking for something I guess.  I'm not sure what.  She walks along quietly looking this way and that.

Finally I climb up a deer trail and stand to watch over her and the rest of the creek.  
You never know what lurks out in those woods.  I will be her alert system and if something frightening comes by, I will rush to stand and growl at it...
right between her legs.

I am good at that!

Anyway, she has the pistol and I am only about 15 lbs of hard core ninja dog muscle.  If she would miss, I'd take care of her.
I don't think she knows this.

After she sets up the camera, she tests it and I trot down the trail and she is able to see me in camera.

All is good.
Then we head back up the hill road towards home and again she is looking for something.
Me too. I am smelling everything I can and making my mark.  I find something disgusting to roll in while she is bent down taking photos of something she calls
puff balls.

Today she seems interested in the little things that she calls fungi... and sort of says she should have brought the camera with the micro/macro lens thingy.
Whatever that is.

I don't know, the fungi doesn't excite me at all.

However, we eventually come out into the Merry Meadow and I see Him driving the tractor around and around cutting weeds down.

NOW that gets me excited!

I love that tractor.
I love to sit on the seat and pretend to drive it.
I like to ride on it.  I got to do it once.
I love machinery.  I think it is a rule that they should make Jack Russell seats on all farm machinery.

After all, I do ride a mule too don't I?

So He stopped the tractor and shut it down, then I ...
I...
well, I begged to get up on it.
Yes, I am ashamed to admit I begged.
But I do love that orange tractor!

And even better was when He picked me up and let me sit at the wheel.

Don't I look Grande?

I was so happy that when we got home and She gave me a bath, I didn't even mind it.

I snuggled up inside her sweatshirt afterwards and took a very satisfying nap.

And dreamt of fungi and awesome tractors.

She needs a break ~ By Morris

What a past few days it has been!  SHE is trying to do some things with this camera group thingy she belongs to.

So she gets all obsessed by wanting to take the exact right photo.  Huh.  
I nagged at her until SHE took me for a walk yesterday.
Time to leave the photo brain behind and relax and enjoy taking photos of me, her all time favorite model.

 

Of course it started to snow right away as soon as we got out in the woods.

The snow is over my stinkin' little head.  If I get off the trail, I literally have to snow swim.

Hey, don't laugh.  It is not easy with my magnificent height of about 12" to my back.  9" to my chest if you need to know.

First off to irritate her I usually need to find something buried in the snow.  We ALL know what I am looking for, especially if you've read any of my other posts.

I am looking for 'smart pellets'.  You know, the kind left behind by rascally rabbits, and deer.

A jack russell delicacy ... they ARE!

Find a prospective spot, sniff.
Then shove your whole face deep into the snow to get a good whiff of course.

Keep an ear out for HER...she may start something quick like hollering ....
Those every famous words that all good dogs will ignore....

ICKY!  ICKY!

Ignore.

But make sure you keep an eye peeled in case SHE comes to push you away from the delectable delights.

Then casually nibble on the forbidden goodies.  Lick your lips and enjoy.

Then when SHE starts getting upset, just sort of saunter away and ignore her for a a bit.
However don't ignore HER too long SHE can get ornery.

I can always resort to pretending to be cold.  I walk up and put my paws on her leg...look sorrowfully into her eyes and emit a wee shiver.

Works every time.
I'm scooped up.

Then I don't have to wade through all the snow!

Despite my best efforts, I think she may have sorta got the photo SHE was looking for.
But I think I really got her to relax and just think of fun for a while.

Let's run and play by Morris

I like to run.
Run, run, run.
Sniff, sniff.

I like to eat deer and rabbit pellets.  That is what SHE calls them, she also hollers ICKY!
ICKY!

I love to hear that.
They are really 'smart' pills you see.  SHE does not understand that at all.
People, what do you do with them?

I mean they don't have the incredible taste buds that we do.  Um, dogs of course.  We can smell things that are absolutely divine to us, but horrid to them.

Never mind.
In the winter there isn't much really good ICK to find.  I mean most things are frozen.
Like the dead deer that was partly eaten by coyotes.  It wasn't smelly but it was very interesting.

SHE told me to leave it alone.
Sour puss.

Instead we hiked through the creek bottom and I watched her take some pictures.  She even tried one of both of us that turned out all fuzzy.

When we got back up into the meadow I did some major 'snow plowing'.  It was great.

I loved it.
Dogs should take their people walking as much as possible.

Maybe one day I can convince her to actually try some of those 'smart' pellets.

After all.
SHE could get smart like me!
 

SHE is up To Something ~ by Morris

All the signs are there.  SHE laid out a backpack that holds all of her camera kind of things on the spare bed.
HER little suitcase thing that she put clothes in is next to it.

SHE has been bustling around the house like a ninny getting this and that done.  Whatever This and That Are!

SHE pats me on my worried little head and tells me that things will be just fine.  Well, they are NOT just fine.
I want to go with HER.  If SHE goes somewhere, I should go too.
I mean, would you want to stay home with the grumpy guy?

Grumpy Guy isn't all that bad.  We sort of ignore each other unless it is time for me to eat and then I nag him.
I miss HER when SHE is gone.  I really really do.  SHE always puts out a sweatshirt of hers for me to cuddle with if SHE is going to work.  SHE makes sure that I am comfortable on my side of the love seat and that I have my pillow and a sweatshirt to snuggle with before she goes to bed.

Grumpy says I'm spoiled.  I say I am not.
I just am an aging Jack Russell who has figured out how to work the system.
Grumpy does say that I'm a good little fella once in a while.  That's because I like the Grandkids.  Little people are my specialty.

So I put a Hedgehog and a Squeaky Frog in HER case.  SHE ignored it.
SHE washed the Jeep.  
I'm getting worried.
I wonder what SHE is up to, and does it include me?

I'm at Wits End by Morris

First HE brings a puppy home and THE puppy gets all sorts of attention from her.  I mean, come on!
I'm the dog of the house, not some black and tan thing that doesn't know anything but how to 'look' cute.
I hear her in the kitchen [we have a baby gate separating us because puppies are not allowed in the rest of the house...] making nicey nicey over this puppy.  You'd think she or he had hatched it the way they carry on.

Seriously.

Okay, the pup is cute.  Her name is Dixie, and I like to run outside and play with her.  But she need not take my person's attention away from me.  Yes, I'm getting old and grey in the face...but I do have that CUTE factor still don't I?
Then I wake up from a nap and find that SHE has taken all of my toys and put them under the tree.
Oh now that is awful!
I know that I cannot mess with the tree or things under the tree.

That is so unfair!

Well I am happy to report that just before I got to 'Wits End' SHE removed them and put them back in the proper place.

I am now resting comfortably on the couch in the glow of the lights of the Christmas Tree.  Now if Santa will bring me something nice.
I have been nice!

I just don't want another puppy!