summer clip

Yippee Skippy! He has a brand new summer clip. Last night was sooo hot for Skippy - he panted instead of sleeping. He's much more comfortable now with his short haircut.

I do have to make a quick comment on the ticks this year. Terrible! Poor Skippy gets so many of them. I hate stop him from running through the tall grasses. He loves this. But even in relatively urban Belmont, he picked up a dozen yesterday. If we walk in towns to the north or west its worse. Also, he often picks them up in our community garden. Seems like its just a bad year for ticks.

hot weather for a long-haired puppy

Skippy is SOO hot today. He still has his winter coat and the weather is up into the 70's now. Skippy is a puppy who likes to sleep on the snow all night when his fur is long.

The good news is he has an appointment for a haircut tomorrow. Its a big deal to finally get a grooming appointment around Belmont. All the groomers are booked up weeks in advance. Thanks goodness people/I don't need to wait so long for a hair cut!

doggie water fountain

Can you believe this cool water fountain! The City of Cambridge installed this one recently at Fresh Pond. Skippy is ready for a cool drink! Looks like the water is not on yet though. We'll definitely come back later.

Does your town care for its dogs so well? Unfortunately there's nothing quite like this in our town of Belmont.... Oh well. Cambridge is right next door.

muddy (happy) dog

... and why is it that Skippy gets a bath so often? I remember now. There's something about the spring that is very very muddy. Today Skippy swam in the lake, then played ball in the dirt. Then he went home and had a bath and jumped up and bed and slept like a puppy.

Skippy runs

I love the way Skippy can run at full speed and still squeak his toy the whole time!

what a day!

Spring in New England is beautiful. This is Callahan State Park in Framingham, MA. Skippy had fun running and swimming and looking at wildlife. He thought it was pretty nice.

easter is skippy's birthday!!!

Skippy is 3 years old today. He was born on Easter (or maybe late on the night before?). Easter was March 26 the year he was born, but we like to celebrate on Easter Sunday.

Happy Birthday Skippy!! He's 3 years old. What a dog. He's very special.

Skippy had a birthday Easter basket filled with plastic eggs, dog cookies, Merrick dehydrated lamb lung (!!!) and a Merrick Flossie (chewy dried beef tendon). He eat all but the eggs and then stretched out on the porch floor for a nap. Aahhh... the life of a dog....

The photos below show the nice new haircut he got on Friday at Laundromutt (by his favorite groomer, Alana).

cool blue spring water

I was admiring the bright blue of the water in the photos of the next post. The early spring sky is reflected in the water. Its a clear deep blue, in the cold crisp air, with no leaves to filter. Skippy is enjoying it. Frost described it perfectly:

Spring Pools
by Robert Frost

These pools that, though in forests, still reflect
The total sky almost without defect,
And like the flowers beside them, chill and shiver,
Will like the flowers beside them soon be gone,
And yet not out by any brook or river,
But up by roots to bring dark foliage on.
The trees that have it in their pent-up buds
To darken nature and be summer woods---
Let them think twice before they use their powers
To blot out and drink up and sweep away
These flowery waters and these watery flowers
From snow that melted only yesterday.

water dog

Beaver Brook runs through Waverly Oaks Park in Waltham MA. Its full to the brim now that all our snow has melted. Still looks pretty chilly.

sunset over the pond

The ice is off the big pond now. I'm watching closely for the trees to bud and fill with leaves. Still the branches are bare. (Fresh Pond, Cambridge MA)