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