Our Swiss visitors!

This weekend, our old friends Sami and Sylvie from our home country of Switzerland came to town! We had not see them since our last trip to the yurt a long time ago. We went for a walk in the hot sun down to Granville Island, and we sat on the patio while they had something to eat.

Then one night they came over to our house for a BBQ. We hovered around the table while they ate (as usual). They were eating those crawly things that Paisley and I often find at the beach - they were apparently different ones called "King crab", but they looked kinda the same to us. After they finished eating, Paisley and I got to eat some of the hard, crunchy shells... they were yummy! I think I like crab now.

After dinner, they sat around the fire when the sun went away. It has been really warm here lately, and even though the evening chills down, they stay nice and warm sitting by the fire.

Paisley and I however, don't need to be close to the fire to stay warm - we've got thick fur coats for that. So instead of lying close to them, we were sleeping on the cool tile patio behind them.

Mischa

The big black (bad) snake

A while back, this new creature appeared at our house. It comes out of the closet about every week or so, and it makes an evil hissing sound. For the most part, I left it alone, and it left me alone. I would have to get out of the way once in a while, but I could lie around and we pretty much got along.

Then one day when I was minding my own business, it came by me and as I was getting up to get out of it's way, it bit me on the paw and would not let go! I squealed and yelped but it had sunk it's teeth further in! It scared the poop out of me - literally! Finally, after pulling with all of my strength, I managed to get away from it!

Now when the big black snake comes out, I give it a wide berth. But I need to make sure no one else gets attacked by it, so I stay close and watch to make sure that it doesn't bite Christine or Richie. They don't seem to be fazed by the snake, and shoo me away when it starts hissing - don't they know how dangerous snakes are?

Mischa

Editor's note: Mischa got her paw stuck in the floor vent just as the vacuum came by - of course, she thinks that the vacuum hose was hanging onto her paw, not the heavy brass grate.

Hangin' at the beach

The other day when Christine came home, we all packed up into the Rover and went for another car ride to the beach! However, this time instead of just a short visit where Christine and Richie stand on the shore and watch me swim, they laid out beach towels and sat down for a while.

I ran around the beach like a crazy puppy, and went to see everyone on the beach. I made sure that I did this just after I came out from a swim, so that I would be able to share the wonderful ocean water with them - how refreshing! Being at the beach also did not change my habit of sitting on people's feet and leaning against their legs - for some reason, people did not want me to do that to them here.

When I wasn't running around or swimming, I was digging! I dug a great big hole right between Richie and Christine - it was so big she almost fell in! After a while, Paisley came over and helped me dig, but then she ruined it by lying in the hole. Poo.

Paisley had a good time at the beach, but did not swim as much. Perhaps it was because she's had a sore leg for a while, and might not have wanted to go swimming with me.

Mischa

A summertime treat

Here's a fun treat that Paisley and I get sometimes. It only happens in the summer for some reason. It's something yummy called "corn-on-the-cob". Whatever they call it, we love it!



Mischa

Road trip!

This past weekend, we loaded up the Rover with some stuff, and we jumped in the back and we went to a new place called Whistler.

We stopped first at a new place and dropped off our stuff and Paisley and I had our dinner. Then we walked into "the village" - what a fun place! Everywhere we went, there were other doggies, and I think the humans thought we were some sort of celebrities or something.

Tourists gather around and take pictures - notice the baby being led up to greet us!

We even ran into our neighbours Heather and Brian in the village, but Tyson wasn't there for some reason. We sat down by a bench while Christine and Richie had lunch with them, and every few minutes a circle of humans would form around us, and they would take pictures and pet us. They would take their small humans and pose them beside us and get them to touch our fur. We went on many walks around the village, and would hop in a creek at every opportunity for a drink and to cool off our paws.

One evening, we got taken to another place where our friends Brenda, Jeff, Ellie and Lily the dog were staying. They all left for the evening and left us dogs inside. I tried to find a stuffy to chew on, but apparently all of Ellie's toys had been put away so that I wouldn't destroy them. The next day we went to the village again to meet them, and we sat outside another place called the Dubh Linn Gate while they all had breakfast. While we were there, we met another Berner puppy!

Then on our way home, we went to a place called "Whistler Olympic Park". It was up in the mountains, and Richie and Christine saw TONS of bear poop on the side of the road. Then they saw a big black bear on the side of the road! Unfortunately, we didn't see him, as we were sleeping in the back of the Rover.

What a fun weekend... I hope we go again sometime!

Mischa

Paisley takes a dive!

Just the other day, we went down to the swimming hole at False Creek. Surprisingly, Paisley seemed really interested in fetching the tennis ball - it's not something that we Berners are typically good at. Anyhow, Christine threw the ball in and Paisley was intent on getting it. After two minutes of running around the edge, she finally dove in to get it - check it out.



Mischa

Another summer vacation!

Ok, yes - everyday for us is like the a vacation, but this is the time where both Richie and Christine spend every waking minute of the day with us, so this is real vacation. We loaded up our travelling house on wheels, and drove up to Kamloops. When we got there, not only were Lupin and Humphrey there, but also Harley!

We went for walks down to that "Peterson Creek" area again, and we'd wade in and cool our feet and get a drink too. Yes, that's me taking a pee in the middle of the creek - something about all that running water makes me wanna go for some reason.

We'd also go for a walk down to the school and run wind-sprints back and forth - after a few of those we'd go lie down in the shade to try and cool off. It's hot in Kamloops!

Then after two sleeps, we got back into the Rover and drove out to Shuswap Lake. We've been out there a couple of times before, so we knew exactly what was going on. Here's Paisley taking in the sights as we rolled into our campsite. When we got there, our next door neighbour had a Berner too... but not just any Berner, it turned out to be a relative of Paisley's, from Enstone Kennels, named Molly.

This year the water in the lake was really high - it made the beach area where we lie around in the sun very small. No problem for us however, as we can make ourselves comfortable pretty much anywhere.

After a tough day at the beach and walking around the campsite, we were tired out! This is Paisley and I trying to get some rest by the firepit one evening. Dog is it ever hard being on vacation!

Mischa

I love squeaky toys

The other day, Christine came home with two new toys for us - I think one is a duck and the other is a flamingo, but who can really tell? Anyhow, as you can see, I love poking and squeezing it so that it makes the noise that bugs Richie.



I already managed to get the flamingo to stop squeaking, but it's still fun to chew on and Paisley and I play tug of war with it.

Mischa

Dig dig dig!

As we have seen in past posts, I am an avid digger, as is Paisley. There was a time where I would frustrate Richie by digging holes all over the yard. Then I would cause further angst by digging in Christine's garden. But what is one to do? I am a dog after all!

So when they take us over to the school for some fun, we are encouraged to dig in the sand. Check out my awesome digging skills!

Mischa

More fun in Point Roberts

We've been back down to Point Roberts a few times recently, and Richie captured some pics that I thought I'd share with you.

This is my new hideout - under the deck in the cool dirt below the patio table. Christine's dad doesn't like it when I go down there, as I have to squirm in there on my belly, and it makes it dusty - I think he's going to fix it so that I can't get under there anymore.

Here I am chilling on the grass with Christine - I normally go lie under the Rover when it is hot, and sometimes Richie or Christine will come join me.

This is one of my new favourite things in Point Roberts! It's a drinking fountain for dogs that one of their friends has on their front lawn! I love to drink right out of garden hoses, and this is much more fun!

Here's some more cuddling on the front lawn - this time with Christine's nieces, Brooklyn and Jaeda. Max is there too (in the background).

Here's one of those things that we find on the beach that Paisley and I like to roll around in, but this one was still alive, so we didn't even notice it. Richie didn't let us near it - apparently it can pinch our noses with those claws!

Mischa

Huh?

Here I am catching some zzz's in one of my favourite locations. If you ever need to know where I am at any given time, this is probably one of the first places to look - the upstairs bathroom floor.

This is my comfy pose... I'm not sure why everyone seems to think this is so funny.

Mischa

New doggie next door

There's a new doggie next door to us now. His name is Dexter, and he's apparently a "Jack Russell". We sometimes chase each other back and forth from opposite sides of the fence, but the other day, he was allowed to come into our yard! I tell you, he's all bark when there's a two metre fence between us, but nose-to-nose, he was pretty timid. Paisley really wanted to play with him, but she was freaking him out with that big bark of hers.

"Hey... you're on my bench."

I think Dexter was trying to keep away from Paisley, and was hiding under chairs and on my bench for a little while. After a while, he started to relax, and eventually got into it with us:

As you can see, I was better at the chase than Paisley, and cut off Dexter at the pass. I don't think he's ever had 200 lbs of Berner chasing after him before!

After a couple of chases around the yard however, we were pooped, and we were content to just hang out. I don't mind this little guy... if only he would stop barking at me from the other side of the fence!

Mischa

Overnight at the Point!

Hi everyone - sorry for the delay posting. Richie has been lazy, and I have a tough time working the keyboard on my own. Anyhow, we decided to go down to Point Roberts again this past weekend, and when we got there, it was low tide!

It was still pretty cool down there (not as cold as our New Year's Eve stay), so Richie and Christine wouldn't wade in the ocean with us. But Paisley and I ran in and out of the water, and chased each other around.



That evening, we were tired from all our hijinx, and I passed out on the floor by the fire. Paisley on the other hand, decided she needed to cuddle with the humans on the couch!

On our way home, we came across this big pile of snow! I didn't understand how there could be all of this snow here, because it was pretty warm during our stay down there. We didn't care however - Paisley and I climbed all over and munched away at the snow.

As always, another fun trip down south!

Mischa

Editor's note: The snow is actually the shavings from the public ice rink in Tsawwassen.