More hiking photos

Hi all - I've added some more photos to our Winter Hiking album. See the link below. We hiked up Bass Creek and Sweathouse Creek - only a couple of miles on both because the snow is still pretty deep up there. Mom and Dad are pretty happy about that - hopefully it will snow some more!

Happy Mom's day to all the Moms out there!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone! And Happy Birthday to Handsome Shrek!

It's a White Easter here - we got two inches of snow yesterday morning and another trace this morning, but since it's going to be in the low 50s this afternoon, it's not going to be white for very long. Mom and Dad are happy though - more snow, less fires!

They've been to quite a few fires in the last couple of weeks - lots of folks not too smart about when to burn - one burned about 20 acres of pasture, but fortunately we stopped it before it got to any structures.

Mom is off to Church to sing, and then there's a brunch - I wish I could go to the brunch!

Hope your Easter is as blessed as our is - Alleluia, He is Risen!

Burnin' Down The Field...

(apologies to the Talking Heads)

Dad and Mom did a controlled burn with the Fire Dept for training on Sunday evening. You can see all the pictures at the same link as the last post. Although the pictures look pretty wild, there was no danger and everything went very well. Good training!

Well, sorry it's been a while since I updated my blog - Mom has been very frustrated with our slow connection at home, and I'm not allowed in the Fire Hall (dog discrimination!) - but there hasn't been a whole lot going on anyway.

It's been a very warm and wet winter. We only got to cross country ski three times, and the snow is all gone at our house already. Mom and Dad are NOT looking forward to fire season - it's been quiet so far (open burning started 1 Mar) - and they're hoping it stays that way. Dad is seen here doing his 'fire dance' to the gods of fire to keep them placated. I'm not sure it will work - Dad's dancing skills are, well, interesting.

Dad and Mom have been busy cutting up trees and gathering slash from around the yard - thus the big burn piles. There's still a lot to do, but they put a pretty good dent in it.

Our cross country skiing and winter hiking adventures are shown here: http://picasaweb.google.com/Daphne.ItchyDog/Winter2010?feat=directlink

Our last x-country ski trip was unfortunately very painful for Dad. Blockhead did it again - just as we were getting back to the trailhead and the truck, a big white dog came down to see us. Well, Schultz overreacted (again) and went for the submission hold on the back of that poor dog's neck. So Dad grabbed Schultz around the back end to get him to let go - there was a bit of a struggle - and he finally let go and the other dog ran back up the hill to its owner. Unfortunately, the owner skiied off before Dad and Mom could say more than "check your dog's neck" yelling "it's OK, don't worry about it" and that's when Dad found out he'd been bit. It was just the tiniest scratch, but you just can't take any chance with rabies - it's 100% fatal. We drove around looking for the lady and her dog, but no luck, so off to the emergency room we went. Poor Dad - his butt was pretty sore, because it took 4 shots of the immunloglobulin (sp?) and then a series of 5 rabies shots - he gets the very last shot this week. Fortunately, they're not in the stomach like they used to be!

So, last week we took a ride up to Dog Werks in Rock Creek - when we first got there, I was pretty worried about all those dogs being there, because one Blockhead is enough, we don't need more - but we just got to run around the yard with the dogs, which was fun! Well, it was fun for me - turns out Schultz is a big chicken, that's why he attacks other dogs - who would of guessed a big 110lb GSD would be a fraidy cat! So, Mom and this nice lady worked with Schultz to get him calmer around other dogs, and we're going to go into town for walks a lot more so Blockhead can confront his fears and realize not everyone is out to get him. Of course, that process is pretty painful on the ears - he constantly squeals at the top of his lungs when he get scared or doesn't get his way - he's just embarrasing to be around. I'm sure it will work eventually, but it's going to be humiliating for me! And of course, it's all about me!

Well, that's all the news for now - we'll keep you posted!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all of the friends and family of the Matt+AM pack! We all hope that your Christmas season is as beautiful and blessed as our is.

It's been pretty busy around the den lately. Dad and Mom built a hearth pad for our new wood stove - it only took them 8 trips to the hardware store, and 1 trip to the emergency room. Yup, Mom caught her paw in the circular saw while ripping a board for the trim. Fortunately, she was wearing gloves, so it was a millimeter or so short of the nerve and artery, and while she's got a lovely scar, her left index finger is just fine. Another good thing about living in a small town - no wait at the emergency room!

We haven't been hiking much lately - the weather has been kind of crazy for this time of year. We've had some really cold weather, then it warms up and rains - no white Christmas this year! Just some leftover ice piles that are slippery as all get out. BTW, Mom and Dad invested in some Kahtoola Microspikes this year - a mini-crampon - and they work much better than Yaktracks on ice.

It's also been pretty quiet on the fire front. We've only had one chimney fire call, and that one was an easy one, and a couple of medical calls. Dad and Mom have been busy putting together some powerpoint training slides for new firefighters - since this is an all-volunteer effort, nobody's had the time (or the training) to build a real training plan or a curiculm. It's a slow process of course, but it should improve continuity and make it easier for new firefighters coming into the department.

Mom continues to sing with her church choir. They're doing the Christmas Vigil Mass tonight, with a full 30 minutes of 4-part harmony pre-Mass music, plus a bunch more during Mass, along with the normal Christmas carols. Mom has discovered that she's actually a better musician than she thought she was - the time to actually practice really helps!

Dad continues to work on reloading for his pistols - he makes it to the range every week or so. Which is a good thing, because you may remember that Mom saw a mountain lion a while back? Well, a mountain lion has been creating some minor havoc in our neighborhood - it's taken a small dog, been blamed for running a horse to death, and created all kinds of controvery between the old-timers, hunters and California-type newcomers. Here's an article - if you're interested enough to read it, make sure you scroll down through some of the comments - some of it is really amazing and kind of scary. Good thing Dad and Mom built this nice fence so me and Blockhead can run around on our property safely. http://www.ravallirepublic.com/articles/2009/12/18/news/news91.txt

Talk about everybody overreacting!

Dad and Mom have also been getting out in the evenings for fun stuff a little more often too. They've been to three concerts in the last couple of months - the Bitterroot Chorus Christmas concert (all volunteer choir), an Irish band named Solas (very good) and just last week, Kathy Mattea - she brought just a small acoustic band with her, and they were awesome! They did all of her big hits, some beautiful Christmas stuff, and a version of the Stones' "Give Me Shelter" that knocked our socks off! Next year they'll suscribe to the entire season - they didn't find out about this series until it was too late.

So, that's pretty much the news from here - have a happy, quiet, blessed and fun Christmas!

Matt, AM, Daphne and Schultz

Yummmm - Ham!

I hope everyone's Thanksgiving was good - we got Ham! I love ham, even though it makes me really itchy. We had a nice quiet T-Day - Dad cooked breakfast (Pillsbury sweet rolls) and Mom cooked everything else, while Dad cut up some more wood. So what else has been going on?

Well, the pack has been pretty busy around the house lately - we've been building a hearth pad for the new wood stove. Well, Mom and Dad have been building it - furry paws don't work so well with sticky stuff - it's a 4x5 ft slate tile pad, and it's turned out pretty nice. We'll post a pic next time we're in town.

Dad and Mom have been out on several more fire calls - one was at 0430 in the morning, which is WAY too early - to a very nice house down the road a couple of miles - the fire burned over a couple of acres. The owner of the house said the ash pile that started the fire had been "out" for seven days - but unfortunately, like a lot of folks, he'd left a deep pile of ashes, which held in the heat, and when the wind kicked up, BOOM - off goes the top layers of cool ash, and the sparks start flying. He was lucky that he 1) caught it early, and 2) it burned at a fairly low intensity and didn't get his house or any out-buildings. Lesson to learn: don't leave ash piles - rake down through the ashes and make sure it's all out!

One of the (multiple) reasons it's taken me so long to update my blog is Mom and Dad both got sick with the flu last month. They got their regular flu shots from the VA, and Mom was sick three days later. Then just as she was recovering, Dad got sick. Fortunately for both of them, it was a pretty mild case as these things go - although it was certainly miserable for all of us - we didn't get our daily walk twice! I hate it when we don't go for a walk!

Once they recovered, we went for a nice hike on Mill Creek, which is the same place where we first hiked with Blockhead, I mean Schultz as part of the pack. Last time we were there, he didn't even know how to cross a log bridge - this time, the big idiot knocked me off the bridge! I landed on my feet on the rocks below the bridge, it's only about 6 feet down at that point - but it was a pretty hard landing. For some reason, Schultz thought it was OK for him to break the stay he was on, and go across first - I always get to go first, I'm higher in the pack darn it! So at first, I felt OK, but on the way back to the truck, I was starting to feel pretty achy and I had to walk pretty slow, which is still faster than Dad and Mom, so that was OK. But then Mom noticed (finally) that I couldn't lay down - every time I tried it really hurt - and they took me to the vet. $200 worth of x-rays and drugs (muscle relaxers and pain meds for 5 days) later and I'm fine. Stupid big Blockhead!

A couple of weeks later, we hiked about 4 miles up Big Creek - it's a pretty deep valley, so it was all in the trees and pretty chilly, with a couple of inches of snow on the ground. Lots of rabbit, squirrel, deer and elk tracks to sniff though, so it was good! We only saw two other packs while we were out - of course, stupid Schultz had to try and dominate the only other dog we saw and he got some new scars on his nose for his trouble - big dummy! Fortunately, Dad pulled him away really quick so they aren't too bad and the other dog was fine. You'd think all that testosterone would be gone by now, but I guess not. Blockhead. Anyway, it was a great hike - I love hiking!

So, that's all the news for now. Mom says to add that we're very grateful for all the friends and family we have (even Blockhead, I guess) and that we think of all of you every day - not just on Thanksgiving. Have a great day!

Where in the world is Mom?

Here I am, stuck in the house with Schultz because it's raining out, and Dad doesn't like to get his fur wet, so I'll update my blog. Mom went to visit her brothers and friends in Tacoma, but she didn't take meeee! I wanted to visit my old friends at the Ft Steilacoom dog park, but Noooo - we're stuck here at home. Of course, that means I get to spend more time with Dad so that part is really good, but Schultz will try to take all his attention away from me - he's such a pig. BTW, if you're curious about where Mom is, take a look at the link on the left to Handsome Shrek's Swamp - that's one of Mom's brothers!

Mom uploaded some pictures from our last hike - we went up Blodgett Canyon and got to see two waterfalls - it was really beautiful. Note the blaze orange capes we're wearing - now that it's legal to hunt wolves in Montana, Mom and Dad thought they'd better make sure nobody can mistake us for wolves - Schultz is big enough, and Mom thinks I look like a really big coyote if you don't look carefully. And unfortunately, not all hunters are careful. So now we're safe in the backcountry. Mom thought we should call the capes "NAW" - as in "Not A Wolf" - but Dad says they're "Hunter Protection Clothes" because anybody who shoots at us is likely to not be in the land of the living for very long! Here's the link: http://picasaweb.google.com/Daphne.ItchyDog/SeptemberHiking?feat=directlink

Mom also added some pictures of us working around the house: http://picasaweb.google.com/Daphne.ItchyDog/WorkingAroundTheHouse?feat=directlink

And some of Dad at the Reno Air Races: http://picasaweb.google.com/Daphne.ItchyDog/RenoAirRaces?feat=directlink
Note that only Dad and Patty Wagstaff are brave enough to wear white after Labor Day!

That's all for now - my paws are tired!