You are Invited

This 4th of July the Busch Family is hosting a gathering in Red Lodge. Red Lodge has it all, parades, rodeo, and fireworks. A couple of years ago we even went sledding on the 4th. Ang and her family and my mom and dad are planning to come. We have stadium seating for the spectacular fireworks. We will have a fire pit going and a Smore making contest. Everyone is welcome to spend the night but you might want to bring a sleeping structure or at least a sleeping bag. We have plenty of room for campers or tents.

The Energizer Bunny Lives at Our House

Living with Stratus is like living with the Energizer Bunny, he just keeps going and going and going. (Notice in the pictures, he even runs like a bunny.)

At our house, we have a couple traditions for Memorial Day Weekend. One, boat the Lochas River in the Idaho. Two, ski on the Beartooth Pass. This year Bryan and Kim decided to divide and conquer. Bryan and two dogs when to Idaho. It sounds like Bryan had a good time. The verdict is still out on the dogs. Lucy seemed really kind of crabby about the whole thing. When she found out we (Kim, Stratus, and I) went skiing, she was even crabbier. I guess that she and Walla spent a lot of time on pickets.

Puppy and I had a great weekend. We went up to our favorite hiking spot on the Beartooth Pass. It was still covered in snow so Kim put on her cross-country skis and away we went. She was fast on the downhills, but a little slow on the uphills.

Saturday when we got home, Kim and I wanted to take a nap but puppy was still ready to go. He spent a lot time bugging us. Sunday, Kim decided that she would take that "dog whisper" guy's advice and put a pack on the puppy. That guy might be on to something. Sunday night puppy went to bed (all by himself) before Kim and me.

"Tired puppies ARE good puppies!"

Yuck! Yuck! and more Yuck!

The weekend, YUCK! I might complain about mushing season but I think the off season is YUCK. This weekend would have been perfect for nice hike or at least freesbee practice, but NOTHING.

The most excitement was when "we" (Lucy, Walla, and I) convinced puppy to chew up Bryan's prescription sun-glasses. He is such a dork, he did it. Then he got the peroxide treatment. Yuck!

Kim and Bryan fiberglassed the top of the camper van. Yuck! It smelled bad and they did NOT spend any time with us. I heard Bryan telling Kim about how bad of a job it was going to be, so I got a good seat for the "show". I figured the words and even maybe some hand tools would fly. I was so disappointed, not one bad word or flying object.

Sunday was another beautiful day so the sled dogs and I got to hang out in the van while Bryan and Kim went boating. Yuck!

What I want to know is what happen to "Tired dogs are good dogs" because we are NOT tired!

A Hunting I Will Go, A Hunting I Will Go

I love springtime! Our whole neighborhood turns into a hunting range. I know this is not a big deal to those of you who live in the country but I live in the largest city in Montana. Since I am a city dog I have to be flexible and ready for anything. Most mornings I focus on rabbits but I have to be ready for deer, ducks, cats, or pheasants.

When hunting in the city you will want to follow these tips: Be very, very quiet and remember just because it looks like a rock doesn't mean it is a rock. (Those bunnies try to pretend they are rocks but they can't trick me. )

These hunting expeditions have only two small problems, the pinch-collar connected to a too-short rope and my hunting partner, Kim. I don't want to complain but she has really been slacking on our early morning hunting expeditions (I heard her saying something about being tired or she gave blood or something). I think she is just lazy. I don't know if she has noticed but neither one of us is getting any slimmer when she is lying in bed.

A MOM Moment

Okay, I will admit that on occasion (rarely) I am jealous of all my MOM friends and their MOM club. I don't really fit in the club. Just this weekend I faked being a member by pushing my friend, Lacy's daughter, Eden, in the jogger during the Montana Women's Run. Out of the 7,000 women, I probably only hit one or two with the front wheel. Those things (joggers) have a mind of their own. Who knew? MOMs just make it look so easy.

But today, I got to experience that MOM moment. One of my students made me a "Mother's Day" gift. She made me a little pouch to keep my dog treats in. I got a tear in my eye. It was just sooo sweet. Other people's kids can be really great. My dogs are pretty great, too. Happy Belated Mother's Day to the mothers of dogs and kids.

Yard Work with Dogs - It is an Adventure

Take four unexerisced sled dogs (okay one is not a sled dog, but she is a butthead), one shovel, and one woman who has decided that the back of the Red Lodge yard needs some landscape work. I dig, everyone digs (wherever). I pull out trees, Willow and Stratus grab tree play tug-of-war. I move rock, Stratus pees on rock, Lucy pees on rock, Walla pees on rock, Willow pees on rock. Who needs weed killer when you have dog pee. I take a break, Stratus takes a break on top of me in lawn chair. I drink some pop, Stratus drinks some pop. I go back to digging. Lucy goes back to digging, creating a new hole in middle of yard and fills my can of pop with dirt. I cut weed mat, Stratus steals scissors and plays RUNNING WITH SCISSORS (a teacher's worst nightmare) Willow doesn't want to be left out so she grabs weed mat and start playing keep-a-way from who knows who. Finally, I gave up. I imagine it is a lot like working in the garden with young children.

The Season That NEVER Ended

Let me tell you, this mushing season just goes on and on and on. Last weekend, when I thought it was finally safe to get in the dog truck, we loaded up and head to the "mountain"(Red Lodge Mountain Ski Area). My first thought was perfect, free running, animal chasing, and losing puppy, it doesn't get any better then this. But to my dismay out came the stupid harnesses and skijore lines. My second thought was(Kim will not type what my second thought was because she says this is a family blog). So... my third thought was there is NO way I am pulling anyone up this mountain.
Well, things started out great, for two and half hours we free ran and Kim and Bryan skinned (You wear your skis but they have skins on them so you go up the hill) to the top of the mountain. Then we skied/ran down the backside. As you can tell from the picture down is fun. I think Stratus is half snowshoe hare. I was thinking this is good stuff, one of my best ski day ever. Then out came the lines. We had to pull those lazy bums out of the bottom of Coal Creek. Will this sled dog stuff ever end?