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Penny Post

I'm back from a wonderful vacation on Lake Superior, my favorite place. I spent as much time as possible in the water because it was unusually hot up there and I don't like hot. And guess what? I got another wood tick; I'm going for a new summer record (for me)! I got to spend some time with a lot of my Lake Superior friends - Scooby (a Boxer), Murphy (a Retriever, Samoyed mix), and Mac (a Westie like my friend Zaidie). Mac has terrible skin allergies and lost almost all his hair but he's taking some new medicine now and his hair is growing back because he's not scratching so much. Lake Superior is a great place to swim when it's hot because the water is so cold and clear. When I wasn't wading or exploring, I was eating popsicles on the deck to stay cool. Now I'm back and supervising Mom to make sure she follows laundering instructions for getting all my stuff clean. I found some great stuff to roll in on the beach. Although it was not as fragrant as the bear poop I rolled in on our last vacation (and really what could beat that?) I smell really good! However, I've come to learn that Mom and I don't always agree on what smells good so I have a sneaking suspicion that there's a grooming appointment in my near future.

Last weekend was a very educational one for me - my mom's 7-year-old niece and nephew came to stay with us for four days! My two-legged brother and sister were teenagers when I joined the family and they're finally (Mom asked me to type that) gone so I haven't had too much experience with younger children. Things got off to a rocky start when I was helping them unpack and found the present they brought me. Really, it was an honest mistake; how was I to know that they play with stuffed animals too? After we worked through that bit of awkwardness....OK, after Mom pried my jaws open to remove Sprinkles (a little damp but unharmed), my education continued. In addition to the movie theater (which I already knew about), I learned that dogs are not allowed at the zoo or the swimming pool. I learned that I do not like going down the slide at the playground. I learned about some goofy dog named Scooby Doo (Mom said to count my blessings that I didn't get to know Scrappy Doo) and that there is a Hotel for Dogs (very nice!). I learned that the snack bar options are significantly more varied and plentiful when children are in the house. Upon reflection, I must say that the biggest lesson I learned is that chicken bones are great going in, but alas, not so great coming out.

I must say that I almost decided not to write anything, not because I'm lazy - it's just that I had nothing to write about. Absolutely nothing interesting happened to me last week for two reasons outside of my control. The first was that my mom hurt her left foot and her right knee. You would think that there would be some symmetry of sorts there but she assured me that there was not and that there would be no walking until further notice. The other reason was that we finally got some much needed rain here in Minnesota this weekend. The whole weekend, which is usually when we have the most fun, was a washout. Mom attempted to make it up to me by buying me a new toy, a red squeaky chicken that is almost as big as me. If you notice the picture of me with the green turtle you can see that I prefer bigger toys. That green turtle was my favorite until my Irish terrier nephew Murphy took it when he moved out. Finally the green turtle is replaced with the red chicken and I do not have to share it with anyone. But I digress. The really big news is that Mom told me that in a few weeks we will be going up to Lake Superior for a lovely, lovely, whole week. I am so excited that the boring, rainy weekend is forgiven. Mom promises that her knee and foot will be back to walking shape by then. As for me, I must begin practice packing to make sure that there is enough room in my duffle bag for the red chicken.