Telluride Dog Blog: Bye bye Christmas

I thought they were never going to get up on Christmas morning. I waited and waited to see if we could open our gifts. Only one item was on my list, and yes folks it was in a bag with my name on it. I am now the proud owner of my own camera…it attaches to my collar and I can take photos as I wander around. However, I’m not good at it yet.

This was taken as we head out on my first walk. I’m not sure if I can fix up the angle of my shots or not. Red walls on their own don’t do much for me, but you can see stray bits of fur…guess I really do need a good grooming because it all looks a bit ratty.

On my way to my food bowl I got a shot of life at my level. Getting good at manipulating this thing properly will be difficult since I have no fingers, as I’m sure you remember. However I’ve never met a challenge I’m not up for…..this will be fun. The main thing I need to remember is to get the camera out of the way when I’m going in for a sniff; dog behinds are not high on the list of things many humans want to view up close and personal, so to speak. Humans are so squeamish! I guess crotch shots would go on that list as well; my behaviour is going to have to become impeccably ladylike now that I am on constant photo alert.

Do people find Christmas as exhausting as dogs do? It seems to be a mad whirl of shopping, hiding (I like that part because I can nose around looking for things I’m not supposed to discuss -- as if I can talk?). Then there is the wrapping, the cooking, the eating, the eating, the cooking and did I mention eating? I’m always watching my waistline so I only had a small portion of gizzard on Christmas Day. I savoured every mouthful. Of course the fun part is the unwrapping and the spontaneous trying on of the new items….people were stripping down everywhere to try on their new wool sweaters, cross country ski pants…I was a bit embarrassed by their immodesty. Note to self…curly haired does not like photos that emphasise anything to do with hairline…..practice cropping!

We got up and went for our morning walk and fed the birds as per usual. These birds are the best fed birds in Telluride. We have a large bag of suet in our freezer that we chop up every day…owner learned a long time ago from Mrs. Barry in Haileybury that birds need fat to survive the winter so we are putting that tip to good use this year. Today the flock got leftover Cindy bread…do you know how much that stuff costs? Sometimes we smear it with with a bit of peanut butter if curly-haired isn’t looking. Cold corn from our turkey dinner rounded out the menu and may I add everything was well received. These mockingbirds are the meanest things in creation. At first owner was sad we were only feeding the large black crows and not the pretty little birds but now she feels bad because the mockingbirds do not allow one bit of food to slip down the gullet of a crow until they have eaten everything of value! Very strange indeed this survival of the fittest!

SURPRISE…I went back to work. Ann needed a break from her store so she could spend a bit of time with the grand kids. this means we are back at The Bounty Hunter. No one remembers me of course but I have had a few pats and also one tiny piece of popcorn that fell on the carpet. I’m glad I snagged that before owner decided to vacuum. It is nice to be back in the store, even if only for a short time. It is a great place for me to work on my theories about human nature which I hope to share some day. If any of you need a gorgeous Italian leather jacket, shearling coat, custom boots or hats Ann is the woman to call. She’ll happily take photos for you. Her stuff is one of a kind. I bet it is absolutely delicious to gnaw on Italian leather but I’ll never get to find out. They pretend but I know they keep a close eye on my snout as it passes by the leathers and furs! As if I would? Well, I wouldn’t!!

So Christmas is over for another year. A few moments of tears took place during the holiday. Owner always wishes everybody and their uncle were at our place for the big day or the big week. David is off in China but at least he had a fantastic dinner with Melissa and all the Chau’s as they gathered in Shanghai. Jon and Kim had their pot roast and enjoyed hours and hours of The Wire as they relaxed during their break from work, study and job applications. Poppa prepared for his long trip to warm his bones in Florida and indulged in a little karaoke and some good meals with Margot and her family. Karen and Jim did the big family Christmas, church service and traditional gatherings with friends. Jackson and Katelyn called to tell us the gifts were nice, the jacket didn’t fit and they had tons of Lego! Something always goes wrong and I guess the jacket was it this year. At least I had nothing to do with picking out the sizes.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night. The New Year is looming with some snow shoe jaunts and perhaps some skijoring (uh what? you say) with a Husky called Blazer and a friend called Doug. Rockband will rear its ugly head again on Monday night when a band of French citizens, a Polish girl and other friends of the family get together to try their hands at being rock stars. Now why on earth did I ask for a camera? I should have demanded some ear plugs! See ya later.