Feast or Famine.... and Goodbyes.....

Hi G-Fans!

It is feast or famine around here!

We had an intriguing, beguiling walk yesterday that tired us out.  Today..... Nothing.

The concierge came home late and almost jumped into the shower without a pause.

And very little pausing for the paws.

I found out after the shower that Jackson's concierge is no longer  breathing her breaths as of this morning.

We are all very sad about this.

We are very sad for our Jackson who will miss her very much.  And his other concierge will miss her too.

And Gabriella's concierge is sad to say goodbye.

My concierge is sad and so is Harry's.

So we prayed.

We prayed for Jackson.

We prayed for both of his concierges.

We prayed for broken bodies and broken hearts.....

May the broken body not hold the spirit back from soaring into God's presence....

May the broken hearts find solace in loving memories, living reminders and blessed assurance...

May you honor your loved ones in all the parts of their living.

In Memory.

-G

We are thinking of you Jackson, and your clan.......

Your beloved mountains...

We are here for you Jackson and your entourage!
We love you and your gang!
We are all sad to say goodbye to your beloved concierge....

Snow sculptures and other things

Hi G-Fans!

Ok, so it is March 29th.  And there is still snow to be shoveled!  The concierge was shoveling out bushes in the front of the house in hopes that they are not totally damaged from all the weight of the snow.

She investigated the possibility of finding crocuses, which was a bust.  The snow in those areas is at least a foot and a half if not deeper still!

The concierge was very discouraged.

Harry's concierge has flowers poking through the soil and bare patches of land so they can be warmed by the sun.

(see photos below)

So, today was SUNNY!

We had an interesting walk.  We went to the forest and walked mostly on bare pavement!

That is a contrast from yesterday.

And it was like walking in some sculpture park.

Yes, I know what a sculpture is, and, I am not a boy, I know not everything is made to be peed on!

I included pictures below.  They don't do the experience justice.

But, it gives you some idea anyway.

The concierges thought they should take a video, but by the time they coordinated we had passed the most intriguing section of "sculptures".

Even we thought it was cool.

So, there were lots of smells coming from the stove tonight for the human dinner.  We had the same old same old.

Theirs smelled intoxicating.

They shared with one another, but not with us dogs!

Such specie-ism!

For concierge personal accomplishments we think her phone is fixed and the faucet is fixed.

On another note, she still has some crucial number crunching to do.

She needs some focus!  She can't keep getting six hours of sleep, that is just excessive and indulgent.

Time to crack the whip!

Ok, I digress....

May you find beauty and intrigue on even the most common of activities!

TTFN!

-G

And so it continues.....

Hi G-Fans!

And the snow continues.  It has been snowing for more than 12 hours.

It wasn't snowing this morning when the concierge and Harry's concierge ate lots of Swedish pancakes, berries, syrup and sausages, wrote their pieces and then passed out drooling.  It was embarrassing.  I wouldn't have ratted them out if they had just made room on the couch for me.  I DO NOT like being excluded from the couch-fest nap time!

Anyway....

It is late, late March and it is snowing!

There is still lots of places that has deep snow.

We went to the forest today expecting to walk primarily on pine needles and soil and we walked primarily on rather deep and unpredictable snow.

Poor Riley.

But, he kept up. 

Raphael kept getting both of us yanked because he kept pulling so much, which pulled on Riley and that is not acceptable to the concierge.

She is the only one who can pull Riley.

I don't think she understands that he is a dog.

She says I don't understand that he needs special allowances and I will understand soon enough....

So, there are many birthdays coming up.

Harry's concierge, two human nephews of the concierge, the helpers friend and then soon enough Harry's other concierge and the helper and my new human uncle have birthdays.  Oh, and my great uncle too.

Just left and right.

Of course, I did not mention MY birthday is coming up as well.

That is right.

I can't even get into how old I will be this year.

It is shocking.

Oh, on another subject....

While the concierge was getting ready to run off after our walk there was a "situation".

Water started squirting out of places it shouldn't.  The plumber wasn't available until tomorrow morning so we are making due.  Or is it do?  I am not sure.

Anyhoo-

We expect yet another service person tomorrow morning which I think puts a crimp in the concierge's plans being Palm Sunday and all.

Oh, and another thing, I stayed up late with the concierge watching an adventure movie.

I slept through most of it, but the concierge was quite riveted and I stayed plastered into her body ON THE COUCH!

So I made up for missing out in the morning.

At one point I had to lie all over bodies (like Tessa)  because there was not enough exposed couch space tonight thanks to Bertie being a hog and a half.  But I made my point and space appeared magically and I took advantage of it and held on to it..... I did not abandon my post for the remainder of the evening!

SO, may you find your inner rhythm amidst contrary conditions.

TTFN!

G

Delayed transmission....

Hi G-Fans!

As I lie in repose upon the royal boudoir cushions I am listening to the torrents of rain pelting the royal domicile.

Because of this I did not walk.

       It was is wet and soggy.

If I had walked I would have been a soggy doggy....

*******

The above was written Thursday night, the remaining tract, below, was written tonight.....

******

I was unable to complete this last night during the storm because the concierge passed out and then the computer shut off and it could not be turned back on and I had no recourse.

So I slept.

And so did the concierge.

I do not know if tonight there will be a walk.

There is less and less snow, so maybe there is a sidewalk with which to access the school tonight?

It doesn't look good though.  The concierge looks pretty wrung out and it is getting later by the minute and she still needs to eat and then there is the drizzly rain tonight....

So, I will let you know.

Until then, may you feel dry and cozy on rainy days...

TTFN!

-G

That is something.....

Hi G-Fans!

Again with another "quickie" check-in because the concierge is so checked out!

I can't complain for the most part though, since she got home while it was still light out and not raining yet and we went to the forest for a walk.

So, that is something.

And, the walk was 100% drama free!

So, that is something as well!

The freezing temperatures of the last several days is suppose to give way to temperatures in the fifties.... That will be NICE!

The rain is a bummer though.

So, may you enjoy each phase of your seasons!

TTFN!

=G

Just want to be sure you know I am not exaggerating on the snow here....!  This was taken Wednesday morning....

Ditto.... just a lttle later in the morning when there was more light.....

Brief Blog

Hi G-Fans!

Well, the concierge passed out on me, so I now have two minutes in which to impart my witty insights and quips.

Not going to happen.

Now I need my royal rest more than "screen time".

But, I didn't want my fans to worry that I was under the weather so I agreed to share an update.

There's nothing of note going on in the royal abode that is worthy of sharing at this hour.

No major excitements.

No phenomenal walks (we bundled up to the school via the royal transport on the late side....).

No mice, repair people, service people, package deliveries or escapes.

I will note that the concierge has reinforced the back estate.

She hasn't finished so I told Raphael it is now or never for another break.

So far he hasn't shown motivation to break out, much to the concierge's relief.

She doesn't like it when we take it upon ourselves to create excitement and adventure.

So, may you find the balance between safe hum-drum and drama in your day to day living.

TTFN!

-G

GOTCHA!

Hi G-Fans!

Well, we started verrrrry early this morning on our activities.

At 4:30 Raphael yelped and the concierge was up in a shot.

She noticed that I malingered at the landing with Sophie while she went down to let everyone out.

When she came back to collect me she suspected something was afoot.

Literally.

So, she grabbed the mouse trap on her way back up and sure enough she caught sight of the little rodent.

Sophie and Snagglepus were having a go at it.

I guess Snagglepus is feeling a bit better!

It ran back and forth between their legs trying to dash under the door into the room the birds have....

But the scatter rug was blocking the bottom of the door.

So, after a few attempts to scoop the little critter into the trap the concierge finally seized her moment while it was on the rug and looking for an escape and she scooped while it scampered.

She then let the door shut.

Problem was the release.

With all the snow the usual appropriate release sites are either inaccessible or too far for this morning as the concierge was going for an appointment that takes awhile to get to and she didn't have the luxury of time.

But, she managed to find an appropriate location away from other homes and gave it a new lease on life.

So, that was the start to our day.

It ended with much less drama as we didn't even get a walk.  I really hope the usual routes we take open up soon, this is getting old.

And I hear it should be getting warmer again.

The freezing temperatures are also getting old.

So, may you find refuge in the strangest of places!

TTFN!

-G

Bertie not getting out of my way quick enough while I do the roll of joy!

Where's the sled when you need one?

Bertie looking left....

Raphael looking right......

Snoozeville.....

Snagglepus sandwich.....

Where to start?

Hi G-Fans!

Where to start?

I could start with yesterday, but I think I will start with this morning.

The concierge got up at a regular sort of time this morning, let us out and then we went back to bed for a few winks.

It was, however, a less "few" than planned.

While the concierge drifted off there was a commotion downstairs.

I was already placed in the Family room and Raphael was in the Royal Boudoir as is the morning routine...

So, I was just an observer....

As soon as Raphael heard the commotion he was a rocket propelled from the bed as he raced down the stairs to investigate.  The concierge was hot on his trail because she thought he was going to steal cat food like Friday...  Four bowls of a combination of wet and dry food was scoffed up by either Harry or Raphael, no one is telling who.....  Anyway, the concierge realized very quickly that the cats and Raphael were all on the trail of an uninvited guest.  And then she saw it scamper along the baseboard.... She was NOT happy!  Out comes the trap that she had set in her closet from the last time a wayward mouse graced our midst.  I will say, this one has been neater than in the past - there have been no 'calling cards' located.... yet..

Alas, still no captive and it getting to be bed time....  The concierge was sure she would have one to release at some point today....

So, that was this morning.

So, to back up to yesterday....

I didn't want to embarrass anyone by mentioning this, but it bears on today, so I will share.  Just don't tease Harry's concierge when you see her, she is a little sensitive on the subject....

So, when we, the royal beasties, leave a load of you-know-what in the woods the concierges remove it from the general area and make sure it is under bushes or something similar so it isn't a nuisance to others.

Well, yesterday Tessa dropped an elephant sized pile.  (I don't know where she stores all that poop!)

Anyway, Harry's concierge was walking me and Tessa so she took on the task of moving the poop.  Due to the snow it is still challenging to find good implements for removal...  It turns out that Harry's concierge moved the poop everywhere, including on her pants and coat.  Even I thought it was gross!  That is pretty bad!

So, the other two humans thought it was quite funny and made all sorts of "clever" comments while Harry's concierge tried to remove the poop with snow as we still had 3/4 of a walk to go.....

Anyway, I bring it up because of what happened today.

We parked in the same location as yesterday for our walk...  On the way we saw a large bird... there was talk that it might be a juvenile bald eagle or a gold eagle, picture below.... what do you think?

Anyway, instead of using the regular entrance the concierges decided they were trail blazers and figured they'd find the trail on their own (in the snow, deep snow, deep crusty snow, just sayin').

Although there was success, eventually, it got a little hairy when we started seeing "No Trespassing" signs (the concierges read them aloud) and no trail signs.  If they just asked us we could have been very helpful.  But, they didn't and they consulted phone apps and maps and triangulated the sun and checked compasses and generally pooped their pants. Well, just Harry's male concierge pooped his shorts.  I know, I am a dog, I am built to know these things, and he didn't deny it when the other two suggested that he did.... Skid marks at least.....

So, he may have had a laugh yesterday, but today he has some nasty laundry to do!

Anyway, between general sense of direction on the concierge's part, the map app and a bold decision the trail was found and we traipsed in the snow on a marked trail and we ended up walking for two hours.  We are tired.  Poor Riley, he is a TROOPER!  It is tough going in the woods right now....

So, anyway, it is now quiet, the bed awaits for the concierge, the cats and myself to retire for the evening, all pre-warmed and toasty...

May you find your true North every day and be assured by the hand who guides you....

TTFN!

-G

Harry on alert....

Raphael enjoying the snow....

It feels so good!

The Raph snow plow....

And shaking it off.....

Wistful Bertie.....

Can you see it?