Baby chicks!!!!

Mom just told me that we are going to get our new baby chicks on Saturday!!! I am so excited!
The laying hens were born last week and the Guinea keets were born yesterday. We are getting six of each.
Mom set them up in our guest room cuz that is the only room that the cats aren't allowed to go in. I can imagine that cats and baby chicks wouldn't get along too well together, BOL!!!!!
They have to live in a little box for the first 6 weeks or so, at least until it is nice and warm outside and they are big enough to stay in the pen. For the first week they need to be NINETY FIVE degrees!!! It may be warm here but it isn't THAT warm!
Mom is going to give them one of our dog yards outside. We got a big chicken coop and at first she will put a couple of expens around it to make sure they don't get thru the chainlink and make chicken dinner for one of us. I wouldn't mind chicken for dinner, but I sure don't like to eat feathers!!!!
When they get bigger the Guineas will fly out of the pen but Mom says that is how they work. They will spend their days down in the lab pen eating ticks and their nights sleeping up in the cedar trees. Mom says they are really neat but I am a bit worried...those things weigh as much as us dogs do!!!! I hope they don't think they can eat ticks off of US! I, for one, will not let them NEAR me!

Snow at the ocean...

When we got up this morning there was snow EVERYWHERE! I was shocked when Mom said we were still going to the ocean. So, we packed up the car, picked up Julia and headed East.
The snow pretty much was everywhere all along the way. Julia was not so sure about walking on the beach but Mom said we could go shopping if it was too cold.
Finally, we left all the clouds behind and got to the ocean. Would you believe they had MORE snow there than we had up here in NH??? Mom and Julia got all their Winter clothes on and we headed to the beach.
First of all, two little dogs came running over and we greeted them. They were friendly, so we kept walking thru the snow to the beach. It was so weird...it was high tide so there wasn't much sand showing, mostly just a strip of wet sand and then the snow.
Pretty soon the two dogs Mom came along and got them, and we continued exploring. Mom was pleasantly surprised to find that her back was FINE today, we guessed it was cuz she brought her walking stick with her, BOL!
We had a good time, but poor Toto was racing back to Mom and rather than run over the rocks he decided to run along the water. A HUGE wave came in and COVERED him with water...we all laughed at him!!!
Mom is tired cuz they went shopping at a mall on the way home so she is putting the rest of our photos on tomorrow, and will help us write more stuff!

Off to See the Sea...

Well, it's true, that rumor about going to see the sea is happening on Saturday, assuming all goes well.
Of course, as luck would have it, Saturday is going to be the COLDEST day of this whole week. But, it will be sunny and there isn't supposed to be any wind blowing so it will be fine!
Mom and Julia are going, along with ME, of course, and Toto and Zena.
We are going down to the same place so we can pop in on Piper and Jenny and their Mom at her store. I am pretty sure Mom won't be buying us anything there, BUT, I have high hopes for some shopping on the way home. Especially since Mom promised Julia we could visit a camera store. And, me and Zena are still waiting to visit a Petsmart. We have only ever gone to Petco so we want to see the difference. Toto went to Petsmart once so maybe HE will stay in the car, BOL!
Julia has been saving up her money forever and she finally had enough to get a camera like Mom's so Mom promised her we could go off to the ocean and see how the new camera works!! Mom said we are going to see a HUGE fisherman statue nearby and maybe Julia will take MY photo near that famous Motif place where I went once before when I didn't know it was famous!
Hmm, I wonder if it will look any different now that I know it's famous, bol!
In honor of our trip to see the sea, we all had to go to work today and get new haircuts. Mom is funny that way, she wants us all to look freshly groomed so we won't embarass her cuz she is a groomer. I wonder how in the world she thinks those people that we don't even know have ANY IDEA she is a groomer, hehehe!!!

Snow in March, huh?

After not having ANY snow except trace amounts since the Halloween blizzard it finally snowed Thursday. Us poor dogs were really scared it was going to all melt away before Mom could take us down to play in it, but fortunately, there was still about 5 or 6 inches left today, even though it was pouring rain this morning.
And, I was scared Mom wasn't gonna let me go play in it cuz I caught that stupid kennel cough from Toto. I didn't cough once all night long last night so Mom said I could still go play. Besides, it was really, really warm out there today!!
We had a great time playing in the snow, I forgot how much I missed it! Mom gave us all some of the new colored balls with the faces on them and I managed to play with one before Toto stripped out the squeaker. He is SOOO bad, it's a good thing the rest of us still play with them after the squeaker is killed off.
After playing, I went along upstreet with Mom and Toto. First we went to the chicken store and Mom bought some food and some feeders for our babies. She said they had some babies in the store and they were REALLY CUTE. It's okay Momsie, ours will be ready just TWO WEEKS from today!!!
After we got the chicken stuff we went over to my favorite store, Wally's world. It was really, really busy there today so I got to do lots and lots of people watching. FUN!!!
Now I am all tuckered out and waiting for it to be bed time. I am hoping there will still be enough snow to play in again tomorrow but I doubt it. It was pretty wet and sloppy when we were down there and that was early... it kept melting all afternoon!
At least I FINALLY got ONE photo of me in the snow!!! Check it out!

Diary pick for me (and, my friend, Zaidie!!!)

Hey, all, I want to thank you for your nice gifts, and visits today in honor of my diary pick. Mom did discover it fairly early this morning, but she was busy ALL DAY today. She said she was making up for yesterday when she couldn't get out of her own way, BOL!!!
Anyway, she had to work this morning and the boarding kennel is pretty full cuz it's school vacation. While she was over there along came Julia and her Mom. Our Mom was going to a nearby bigger town to deliver Lola back to her new Mom and to have lunch with Lola's new Mom after work so, she invited Julia to go along so, of course, her favorite dog, Toto, got to go, too. So, they had lunch, did a bunch of shopping and finally headed back home.
Along the way they had to stop at a new Tractor Supply store nearby to get a bigger trap to try and catch Joey. Well, they were looking around there and discovered it is chick week.
Mom is an old farm girl, and, in fact, up until a few years ago she ALWAYS had some hens for their eggs and had been thinking about getting some this year. Well, she and Julia decided it was definitely time to get some chicks again!!! Mom bought a really neat hen house they had, and will be picking up the chicks on Wednesday.
When they got home I helped put the hen house together. I was a BIG help!!! Not sure they could have done it without me, BOL!
Mom is going to put the chicks in the Crested pen outside since all us dogs now go together in the same outside pen so we don't need that one. Mom says she certainly HOPES they will eat the ticks, in fact, she says she may even pick up a few guinea chicks as well.
But, until those chicks are done brooding (see, I even got the terminology right, BOL), they will have to stay in our inside puppy pen. Hopefully, they can stay in the hen house in there cuz otherwise I suspect those kittens will be eating chicks, hehehe!! Hope Mom has realized that, too, and will make sure they are safe!
Anyway, with all that stuff going on all day long we didn't have any time to write any diaries. Sooo, better late than never, I guess!!!
Oh yeah, be sure to congratulate my friend Zaidie cuz he was a diary pick, too!!!!

I am FIVE years old today!!!!!

Wow, I am getting to be an old man cuz today is my FIFTH Birthday!!! Mom says it's a big surprise that I have even survived this long, since I am sometimes not so very well behaved, or so she says, BOL!! Truth be told, I am the BESTEST behaved and the others all set their standards by looking UP to me,hehehe!
Anyway, Julie brought me over to work so I could get plenty of attention and snacks from all the girls. Mom has a ton of dogs to groom so I am just gonna hang out with the others until she is done, then we will take a LONG break together.
Since I went to the ocean, I already GOT my presents, but Mom says there is another surprise for me coming in the mail...maybe today, maybe tomorrow or maybe even later in the week.
Thanks to everyone for your visits and your nice gifts. I am enjoying them all!!!

13,000 Visitors!!

Holy Smoly... Mom just checked my page and I have EXACTLY 13,000 visitors!!!
In the olden days Mom gave us nice treats for a super visitor number. Now I get 13,000, as in Thirteen Thousand, and she helps me write a diary entry. Bahhhh!

The BEACH!!!

Well, we finally got to the beach. It was okay, but there were lots of PEOPLE there, imagine that, on OUR beach!!! We immediately headed over to the corner where the tidal pools are, and me and Toto and Tanner started exploring. Zena was a scaredy cat and wouldn't leave Mom's side!
It was pretty cold there...Ocean breezes felt like Ocean WIND to me!!! Mom said she was warm but Julia was huddled up and so was Susie. Poor Zena was really cold.
We chased a few people (well, not really...me and Toto ran up to them, then Mom would call us back and we would race back to her. There were some boys there and they were really tempting us, BOL!)
We started walking along and then Mom realized that her back wasn't fixed yet, she couldn't walk good on the sand so we headed over to Jenny's Mom's store. Mom was also nervous cuz some cardiac specialist had called her while we were driving down there to tell her that he had her monitor tests and there WAS a problem with her heart!!! She told him what we were doing and he said okay, but gave her a list of symptoms to watch for and said to call him on Monday. Mom said it would have been nicer if he HADN'T called on Saturday or while we were heading to the beach!!!!
Anyway, when we got to the store we all posed for photos outside on a bench. Mom will work them up later but now she is working until noon.
I got a new squeaky ball for my birthday and Toto got a new squeaky toy with no stuffing and a squeaker that is supposed to work even when punctured!!
Zena had to get a new jacket cuz she was freezing!!! We stayed with Jenny and Piper and Mom while Susie and Julia went shopping at the tourist traps there.
All the people were so amazed that all six of us were just sitting there, watching the people and they all told Mom how good we were. She was happy! She was happy also because ALL the kids we saw asked before they petted us!!!
On the way home we got to go to Petco and Mom bought me some more of the little colored balls with the faces on them. Right now I am playing with one in the house while she is working!!
All in all, a cold, but fun day!

The Beach!!!

Wowzer! Mom just told me that we are going to the beach tomorrow!!! She and Susie are taking me and Toto and Zena and Toby/Tanner AND Julia is coming too, I think!
Mom said the Doctor didn't call her about her heart monitor so it can't be too bad and her back is better and NEEDS exercise and the weather report is perfect and it will be low tide when we are there and so we are out of here!!!
Tonight we will have to charge all the camera batteries and get everything ready. We will need our leashes and collars cuz I suspect there will be other people there too cuz it's supposed to be NICE!
We can't leave here until 11 cuz Mom has to work, but that is fine, we will still be there in the early afternoon with plenty of time to explore everything.
Can you tell I am all excited??????

Mom's organ recital...

Soo, the saga continues. Mom went off to her Drs appointment yesterday afternoon. First of all, they took her vitals... weight, EXACTLY the same as last February, BP, high (but, she was also there to get a renewal on one of her BP pills), and she had a FEVER of 100????? Mom says it was a mistake cuz she was FINE.
Anyway, Dr. comes in and pokes her in the back and immediately orders drugs for her back, hehehe, Mom KNEW what she needed from having those Frenchies with bad backs, BOL! He agreed!
But, then he listened to her heart and it was doing some stupid premature beat or dropped beat or something stupid like that. Mom said, yeah, so??? Apparently it has done that every once in a while for almost forever but never at the Doctors! Of course, he was NOT HAPPY, so he hooked her up to an EKG machine and that was even worse! He circled all the mistakes but Mom doesn't know EKG from AKC so it was all gibberish to her.
Next, he made Mom wear some portable recording thingie for 24 hours to see more about it. Mom is laughing cuz, of course, as usual, it stopped last night and is perfectly fine today! Oh well, she can say I told ya so when they do the checking of it.
Meanwhile, her back was MUCH better this morning, only took about an hour to get over to work instead of the usual 3 hours.
She is happy about that and talking about the beach again, assuming the Dr. lets her with that silly heart thing. He DID say walking was PERFECT for her back problem, whew!!! Mom says if the skipping beat thingie hasn't killed her yet it is unlikely to now!