Samson Gives an Update and Says:

Hello Gracie and All My Blogger Friends, it's me, Samson

Because of the upcoming A to Z Challenge, I will be totally blocked from blogging for the whole month of April. Not fair, but at least this year, she let me tell you, my sweet Gracie, and the rest of my blogger friends, ahead of time.

Every year, mommy does this, and I found out that she won't even cover us dogs for the letter D!! She has another critter in mind, I've seen them, they used to live around here, but I guess I scared them away, cause now they are gone.

Yesterday, an older guy was here to install a new satellite dish for mommy and me. Daddy and me listened in on their conversation from the bedroom. Daddy said, he's hitting on mommy and I was about to run in the room and BITE the guy. Guy goes: "Are you Swedish?" Mommy: "No, I'm American." Guy: "But you were born over there, right?" Mommy: "Yep, I guess you could call me a Swedish-American." Guy: "Yea, I really like that accent you have. I've been married to my wife for 42 years, but before that I had a Swedish girlfriend. Her name was Agneta. And, boy she was something else!" Mommy: "I once had a friend named Agneta, back in the day."

Later daddy said: "He was hitting on you." He sounded kind of proud, I guess cause mommy is no youngster. Mommy: "Oh, no, he was just remembering his old girlfriend, Agneta." I said to myself: humans, boy they can be sooo silly sometimes. 

Other than that, the neighbors have two new cows, called Guernsey cows. They are very pretty, I must say for cows, pale light brown and white. The llamas are now allowed in the big field with them, so I can bark. I bark at llamas, they are just too silly looking. 

Oh, that reminds me. The other day when mommy and daddy were going somewhere in the Jeep, I watched from the window and saw two cows close to the main road! Grass must have been greener on the other side of the fence, cause they broke through a gate and were munching away, whilst cars were whizzing by. Daddy drove up to our neighbors' house and then helped the lady wrangle one cow and one bull back home. Mommy told me later she wasn't messing with that bull, so she stayed in the Jeep. At first the cows didn't want to go, but once they were on the way, they took to running. They ran so happily up the hill, the bull kicked his legs straight out into the air, full of joy! It was a sight to see. Just like the video mommy showed me from auntie Madsnapper's blog.

Other than that, my great annoyances are back!! More gophers than ever before. Just to tease me and drive me nuts. I can never, ever catch them! I dig and I dig, but I can't find them. They're making my life extremely difficult as I am a really nice and good and peaceful dog. I don't want to suffer from this gopher madness, if anyone knows what I should do, please let me know.

Then, after I finished writing this, they tricked me and took me to the vet so I could get a needle stuck in me. "Rattlesnake vaccine," they said. "Not until May," said I. "It's been so warm," said they. "A likely story," said I. to myself: humans, full of tricks they are. But then at the vets they told me they already had two snake bite emergencies come in. So, good thing mommy and daddy took me.

I love  you my Gracie and I will read your posts even if I can't write any by myself. Sending hugs, licks, and XOXOXOXOXOs to you.

Have a nice day, everyone!

Posted by Samson, the Samoyed Dog

PS

A to Z starts on Tuesday. Mommy's feeling insecure this year, but I hope you will still go visit her posts. She'll get better once April comes around. 

Mommy says Thank You for your nice comments about that other little dog she had. She will visit you all this weekend after she gets back from CERT training. This is her last day, then she can rescue us. Most likely I will be the one to rescue her if something happens.......

Troika ~ My First Dog

I have been so busy and not inspired to take pictures and write something on my blog. I also haven't visited blogs for about a week. Hughes Net is coming Thursday to install an upgraded satellite disk with a modem that includes a wifi port. I bought a new Kindle, the cheapest on sale, and also a wifi router so I can download e-books, primarily by blogger friends, more easily. And of course all the rest of the books I want to read. CERT training is going well. I now know how to use a fire extinguisher. I know, I know, I should have known.... I'm posting the story below, one I wrote a long time ago. I hope you will enjoy it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When I was eleven and twelve, we spent long summer weeks on a farm in the province of Smaland in south east Sweden. The farm came with a large manor house that the owners turned into a small family inn. The guests, we were perhaps four families, ate meals together at a very long table made of blond wood. On this table appeared lots of good and healthy country food: Eggs, fruits, home baked breads, Swedish pancakes with fresh berries, and much more.

There was a lake nearby where we swam and fished. To get there, you walked through a meadow where a large working horse, named Bisman, grazed contentedly. I remember him being a friendly horse, who liked to be petted. 

There were many cows, calves, chickens, geese, and barn cats on the farm. And a bull we were told to stay away from as he was considered quite dangerous. 

And then there were the dogs. The farmer hunted and had two hunting dogs.  One was a Stovare, a Swedish breed, the other a black English Cockerspaniel, named Troika. I spent so much time with that little dog the last summer we were there, our bond became strong as our love for each other grew over the summer weeks. I was heartbroken when our vacation was over and I had to leave her behind. 

My dad often went on business trips to his company's headquarters in Copenhagen. In the fall of that year, my mother went with him. When they arrived back home, there was a big commotion. A dog came flying in the door! A black dog! She rushed up to me and licked my face and it was Troika. My parents had been touched by my devotion to this dog and since Troika was not the best of hunting dogs, some deal was made. On their way home, my parents stopped by the farm and brought her back with them. 

She was young, less than two years old and she was the sweetest dog. She soon became the neighborhood dog, spoiled rotten by everyone. Her tendency to gain weight didn't bother her. On summer afternoons, as soon as the ladies in our street started dinner, there was Troika at their door, asking for a treat. In those days, we left our front doors open in the summer; there were few cars, dogs roamed free, and children played hopscotch, marbles, and jump rope in our suburban street.

Troika's puppies, my mom and the neighbor's kids.

Somewhere in there, Troika had three adorable puppies. My mother found good homes for all of them. 

Troika enjoying a large sausage.

I took good care of my Troika. She required a lot of brushing and cleaning of ears. We went for long walks together to fight the ever losing battle of her waistline. 

She went with us on the boat in the summers and, as we approached land, she would stand in the bow ready to jump. She loved to swim and when she felt we were close enough to land, she would jump into the water and swim the rest of the way. She had a rich and wonderful life with us kids, we were always doing things, playing, running, biking, skiing, boating and she was always there with us. 

More sausage! What were we thinking?

Troika was my dog, she loved me the best and I her. After I went to England, she missed me. I was so busy having adventures that I probably didn't miss her much. When I came home, Troika was old, but still, she was so happy to see me, she ran her fat little butt around the outside of our house several times before she calmed down. 

I was home when she died of kidney failure. She was around thirteen years old. Troika was my first dog, my first love, and you never forget your first love. Tears as I write this, after all these years......

Troika ~ My first dog, my first love.

Canyon Living

The other day we drove down to Bakersfield and came upon a sandstorm. 
While the Wrangler is good for our rough terrain, it is a bummer in a storm. You can't hear a word, but I heard Canada several times. That's from my hubby's mouth, but that's all I heard. 

When we drove back home, I asked. He said he's been dreaming of going to Canada; he said he's so disappointed in the past two non-winters we've had; he said he doesn't need another two months in the spring and two in the fall to have to worry about rattlesnakes. Of course we are not going to Canada, or anywhere else, but I must admit a fascination on my part with all those shows from Alaska that are currently swamping our TVs. So cool, so crisp, such good air quality, so many rivers, so much SNOW! 

This led me to think about how we adapt. I have come to love this desert landscape, but the drought worries me. Groundwater is being contaminated and will there be enough, how long will this drought last, and how will I be able to survive even longer and hotter summers? What about Samson, this is not good for him. 

I had a busy week ahead, but fortunately, two doctors rescheduled my appointments. Now I just have Diabetes Support Group tomorrow and another CERT training session on Saturday. I don't remember if I posted about my training to become part of a Community Emergency Response Team. I went once last fall and then took that class over again earlier this month. Since we live so isolated here,I think it's a good idea to learn what to do, how to help, and also to meet a few neighbors. I'm enjoying it a lot.  

Dee asked if Samson got baths, or how come he stays so white. He gets baths in the summer. The rest of the year I brush him, more or less every day, a little. He does not go for long sessions and he will not let me touch his tail or rear. Hubby does that -- or not. Right now, it is a mess and I'm picking at it a little at a time. We're having arguments, my boy and I. 

March Morning

Samson Says: Have a nice day, everyone!

Welcome Back, Fishducky and Blogger Friends Roland and Ron.

As some of you know, Fran, aka fishducky, is back to blogging after a major cancer surgery. Coming back so soon would be a great achievement at any age, but at the age of 79, well, it is pretty amazing! 

I wanted to welcome Fran back with a post about her fabulous stained glass art. I know I posted some of it before, but couldn't find it yesterday as I looked through my old posts. The actual photos must be in my old computer, pre-Picasa days, but hopefully saved somewhere else too.  

I found my favorite, the stained glass window from Fran's hall, this morning and posted it below. The pictures of the lamps are new to my blog.

This window is my favorite.

If you want to smile, giggle and laugh, and who doesn't, please go check Fran's very funny blog out here.

Welcome back, my friend. 

Thank you also for thinking of my blogger friends Roland and Ron. Roland is back, both to work and to blogging, which is so great. You can find his blog here.  Roland writes some amazing books, filled with literary and other famous characters doing magical things with time and place. If your mind works well with magical writing, you may want to order one of his books from amazon. I will write much more about Roland's books later, after I get my Kindle up and running. (Not as easy as you may think when you live out in the boondocks.)

And Ron, SophieDoodle's dad, who suffered a heart attack and had stents implanted, is home from the hospital and doing well. I know Jim and Sophie will make sure he has an uneventful, peaceful, recovery. You can read their lovely blog here.

Sunday Morning Reflections

Let nature be your teacher.

William Wordsworth

Random 5 Friday

1.  I played around with this fence line picture, trying for a new effect. I haven't done much with my pictures other than point, shoot, and maybe crop them a bit, but this was fun. Much to learn and experiment with.

2. I was complaining about the new technology a few posts ago, but the part of it relating to digital cameras, and what you can now do with photos, intrigues and enchants me. 

3. My last five years at UCLA were as near perfect as possible. The other day, I remembered the birthday of a coworker I liked very much and sent a Happy Birthday email. She wrote back and sent a selfie of her and our friend Judy meeting up for her birthday. Remembering so many good moments, I want to see them both. 

4. My husband read something about deep fried peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the Joy of Cooking. This was enough to inspire him to try it and then improve on the recipe. I believe he's now dreaming of designing many different kinds of deep-fried sandwiches. OUCH!

5. If you haven't seen me commenting on your blogs this week, blame the IRS. Just kidding, but I have been immersed in income tax preparation stuff. This should not be difficult, with no business to account for, and a good tax accountant. But with advancing age has come a great dislike of keeping up with paperwork, filing, record keeping, and so on.....

Linking up with Nancy at A Rural Journal

Sunday Morning Reflections

We will be known forever by the tracks we leave.

~ Native American Proverb

This Scared Me (For a Minute)!

Last night, the skies cleared, the sun set and then it got dark, suddenly. I looked outside and saw this huge, black, cloud.