Biggest present EVER! My Master got this for my Mrs. Master and we couldn't wait to see what it was. I was hoping for the largest box of dog bones in the world. Well, it wasn't that and it wasn't for me anyway, so what was I thinking?

But it is an amazing dresser from Atelier in Eastsound sold by Nicole Kraayeveld and we all love it. When we sell the Blue Heron, it will be a piece that definitely goes with us.

Hey, wait a minute! Who is that about to pounce on the new dresser? ALABAMA!! Pesky cat!

Is is possible that I have not blogged since October?? My masters want me to start again. They said that since the Blue Heron Bed and Breakfast has NOT sold, it means that I am NOT retired as Pet Host yet. 
I don't have much to report. It has been windy...a little rainy...not too cold. There have been very few guests. However, my masters decorated the B&B more than I have ever seen it! We even got a cool white tree that will last longer than we will.

Not much to report about the bothersome Alabama either except that she sleeps and eats all day. It must have been a lot warmer in the ditch where she came from in the south. She's a Pacific Northwest Cat now and will need to adjust. And if she doesn't quit eating she will outweigh me. Actually she did stop eating for two days awhile back and my anxious, doting Mrs. Master took her to the vet. Good grief! Do you know what the vet said? Alabama wasn't hungry because she was feasting on mice during the night. Disgusting! Who can put up with these killers??

I couldn't sleep in the bedroom last night. Alabama was nuts! She was chasing around, leaping into the air, and I was afraid of getting whiplash from her tail. I went into the hall and slept. I found out why she chose to stay in last night. Why go out in the rain, when you can kill a mouse right in the house?! UGH! She is unbearable...all proud of herself...

The weather is still nice here on Orcas Island!  We are having a beautiful sunny September!  I have been enjoying my extra month of summer by lying in the grass soaking up the sun.  I know that my Masters enjoy watching the boats in the sound, so I have included some pictures of the sound that my Master took from the Blue Heron.  I hope that you are enjoying this lovely weather, too!

Did you know that my masters are selling the Blue Heron B&B? There goes my pet host job! I'm not sure about my retirement plan, but it better include lots of milk bones.
Here is the information about the B&B (MLS#677312)
Orcas@Windermere.com

Last week, I had to go and have my teeth cleaned. Aren't they pearly white?

Boy! Was that expensive! The worst news was that I have gained 9 pounds. Now they are trying to figure out how many Weight Watchers points are in each milk bone and counting how many I get each day. Good grief! Shouldn't a senior dog be allowed to gain a little weight?

My masters want to sell and try "retirement" whatever that means. They better not get a puppy. The annoying Alabama, who is almost 1 years old and stays out all night (the little tramp!) is all I can handle.

It's been awhile since I have written. I will be 13 years old in October and I think I just don't have the energy I used to have. Actually, that's the same reason my masters put the Blue Heron Bed and Breakfast up for sale. They say they want to experience retirement. Geesh! I think they will drive me crazy! Since it will probably take a while to sell, they are moving forward with new ideas. Today was the first day of the enhanced Continental Breakfast instead of making guests the same thing at 3 different times. The breakfast gives guests a lot of choices and it worked perfectly! Everyone was having different things. They still served a hot dish...Almond-Crusted French Toast. Yum!!

It's time again for the annual Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival!  If you love music you should definitely check it out.  I am going to tell my masters to go so that they can tell me all about it!  The Festival features a talented collection of professional musicians.  We are so fortunate to host this wonderful event here on Orcas Island!  I hope that you can make it!

To find out more about the Festival check out the website:  www.oicmf.org

Artistic Director Aloysia Friedmann

The Summer sun on West Sound Bay Orcas Island - Pulaski watching the fun

Just sitting on dock of the Bay - just ignoring time
Pulaski and friends at the Blue Heron B&B

My Masters and I went to KindlingsFest  and I got to go last night and eat some of the ice cream from Bogdan's Root beer float after the speaker. They showed a Sundance film last night and had Phil Madeira and Ross Hauck performing. Graham Kerr got the last word in on "Care" relationships.

Check the link for next year's program and schedule, as KindlingsFest  might be back on Orcas next year.  www.thekindlings.com/kindlingsfest/

I liked the ice cream so much and it got me interested in what else went on at KindlingsFest.  I checked out the website and it described the event as "a celebration of art and ideas and where they intersect with the spiritual."  I don't know exactly what that's supposed to mean, but the ice cream was delicious!

Last night we had a beautiful, big moon here on Orcas Island.  We had a wonderful view of it from the Blue Heron.  I love spending cool summer nights enjoying the beauty of my little island.  The weather has been idyllic!  It has been nice and sunny and perfectly warm.  I like to lounge out in my yard and soak up the sun and the ocean breeze that we get in from the sound.  I hope that my master will take me across the street to the beach soon, it is the perfect weather for a swim!  I sure hope that you and your pets will love it on Orcas Island as much as my masters and I do!

Last week, we took a very scary walk in Moran State Park. I was so glad when we got out of the path of the evil wood fairies!

 

See the monster at the top with his hand reaching out to grab me? Noooooo...

This one eyed monster watched me the whole way. Help!!

When they catch you, they put you in the dungeon.

 Oh, oh! I have to save my master. He's falling into the evil wood fairies!

I hope this won't gross you out, although it certainly did ME! My Mrs. Master has a worm bin. It's so odd when she says, "Want to help me feed my worms?" Is she kidding? Well, last week she dumped her worm bin. What is she thinking? She said she was trying to separate the worm castings (oh, you mean worm poop?) from the scraps and put it in the garden. Peweee...when she dumped it, it was a mess with rotten food and mildewed newspaper scraps. I may have my smelly moments, but this was terrible! The next time she decides to separate worm poop, I will be as far as away as possible!

After weeks of sunny weather it has cooled back down on Orcas Island.  It's crazy to think that in a week we will have our annual Summer Solstice parade in Eastsound! If you stop by the parade you should go and see my masters.  They will be at a booth in the Farmers' Market passing out water as a fundraiser for World Concern.  Donations will help provide water to people who need it.  I like to drink a lot of water and I cannot imagine what it would be like if my masters did not provide me with fresh water every day.

Even when it rains it is still beautiful here and there are still lots of fun  things to do.  I hope that my master takes me for a good long hike while it is still nice and cool!  Actually, I think that I will go and bug him right now to see if he'll take me out!

The Farmers' Market is open every Saturday in the summer on the village green in Eastsound.

The Summer Solstice parade will take place this Saturday, June 21st.

 

My Masters took me to Lummi Island for a little day off. Boy! Did we have fun! The weather was perfect and I got to ride on a little ferry.

We went on some cool walks. The only one I couldn't go on was at the beach. Darn! That's my favorite walk, but we were in my Mrs. Master's small car and she doesn't allow wet, stinky dogs in her back seat. I don't really understand that, but she didn't want to take the truck. I'm proud to say it always smells like me.

 

Lunch was at place called the Beach Cafe. Check out the chickpea sandwich my Master had. YUM!

Now, it's back to work at the Blue Heron B&B. There's a 2 year old Lab coming in Thursday, and as Pet Host, I need to be ready. I remember when I was two. Could this Lab be anything like me? If so, I better get rested up!

The annual Orcas Island Garden Tour is coming up this month!  The event takes place Saturday and Sunday June 28th and 29th, from 11 AM to 5 PM.  This self-guided tour features six beautiful local gardens.  The theme this year is "Garden Rooms" and according to the Orcas Island Garden Club website,"although the gardens are unique expressions of their owners' aesthetics, they have in common the concept of "garden" as a series of rooms in which to linger and explore."

I wish that I could go to the gardens but my masters say that I am not allowed to because I am a dog.  Too bad!  I guess that I will just have to wait to hear about it from my masters!

This is me in my yard!  We have a lovely garden here at the Blue Heron.  I hope that you can come and enjoy it with me sometime!

See the little yellow finch on the bird feeder? They are starting to come back. For awhile, all we saw were pigeons (I guess people call them "rats with wings" in New York City), but now we have some of the other birds including a Stellar Jay and the fattest Robin I have ever seen. It's probably not a Robin,but I'm not really up on my birds like some of the guests at the Blue Heron B&B. It's amazing how they will rattle off the names of the different birds. My owners call it the "morning bird show" 'cause they put out bird seed and you can see all the birds (including noisy crows) from the dining room dive at the bird feeder. It will get real interesting when pesky Alabama starts hunting birds. She's still young, 7 months old on Saturday, but learning to be a fierce hunter.

This is a very exciting weekend on Orcas! There are going to be many fun things to do.  Tomorrow on Saturday we have the Bite of Orcas in Eastsound.  Restaurants from all over the island participate to provide lots of delicious food.  The annual Pet Parade is also tomorrow.  A lot of island pets and their people walk in the parade, but I don’t.  I like to just watch or, even better, hear about it while relaxing at home at the Blue Heron, with a Milk-bone in my mouth!

My masters also enjoy just relaxing at the Blue Heron.  Here they are eating dinner with a friend outside on a beautiful Orcas evening.

My friend Molly came back from college and is working here again.  It was really good to see her, but my masters seem to think that she is here just to work, they don’t understand that she obviously came back to take me on walks and give me belly scratches!

Alabama was wise to stay out of the way today. A very nice couple with two Bull Mastiffs checked into the Blue Heron B&B. They are just two big babies, but to Alabama they seem like giants. Heck! to me, they are giants! The female was acting interested in me, but that is not really a good thing. I decided to come in the house with Alabama.

                                                This gal thought I was pretty handsome!

Is that a cat?

Does Alabama really think she is sneaking up on me? Like I don't know she is there?
She is getting peskier by the day!
My masters keep trying to show her to guests that come to the B&B, but she goes berserk and scratches and lunges into the air and out the door! I, on the other hand, stay around and get petted and sometimes, extra dog bones. It is so worth it!

Happy Easter! The bunnies are out in the yard. I leave them alone on Easter, even though Easter really has nothing to do with bunnies. I was watching Alabama outside this morning and wondering if she realizes the rabbits on Orcas are bigger than she is? I've never heard of a cat-eating rabbit, although I have heard of a rabbit-eating cat. It is amazing how my Mrs. Master adores this vicious predator-by-nature creature that will soon be old enough to attack everything in sight!

Looks like she is hugging this zebra. Actually, she is pulverizing it with her back paws and biting its neck. Watch out, bunnies!

Alabama gets stranger every day. Now she is going outside and thinks she is a real threat! My Mrs. Master insists that Alabama wear her harness: calls it a coat, "You can't go out without your coat on." Really? It has a bell so we can keep track of her. So who has to hunt her down last night? I DID! She got out without her "coat" on. So, no bell. I found her and chased her inside. It was dark for heaven's sake and she is still only a little over 5 months old. Look at how full of herself she is!

Exhausted after a few hours outside!

Now where is that little nuisance, ALABAMA?! How did I get this job?

My Mrs. Master found these cow creamers in Texas and went gaga over them! "Oh, look at the cream coming out of its little mouth!" She ordered more after seeing them in action. Here is a picture of three of these creatures who spit cream. If it wasn't bad enough, another delivery of two more arrived while I was writing this. I hope the guests at our bed and breakfast are as thrilled as she is with these weird looking creamers!

My Masters are getting the Blue Heron Bed and Breakfast ready for a busy summer season. Somehow they talked my Mrs. Master's grandnephew and his fiancee into coming all the way here from Apple Valley, California, to help paint, clean, and do landscaping. You should see the energy they have! Of course, I had lots of energy when I was three (21 in people years). Now, I am in a supervisory role. You'll notice me in one of the pictures keeping a close eye on the work.

My masters are attending a conference on technology and faith. They are saying it is awesome! The speaker asks thoughtful questions and has very funny pictures that help him make the point and keep you constantly entertained. They said this morning was really interesting about the history and vision of Google. I'm so glad I'm a dog. I don't have to worry about Google consuming me or becoming my iGod. I just have to be sure I don't allow the need for dog bones to rule over my life.

I wonder if that little squirrel knew that only a pane of glass separates it from sure death from the ever-menacing Alabama. My Mrs. Master keeps taking Alabama outside on her leash, encouraging her predatory ways. I went outside to train her on how a dog will chase her. Good grief! Alabama panicked and almost got away. Can you believe that I got yelled at for training her to run from dogs? It was "Pulaski, stop that!" and "Oh, poor baby, it's ok. Let's go inside. Your big brother is not being nice."

We are finally getting some sun and the flowers are starting to bloom. I have been forced to post another picture of Alabama in the flowers. Oh, so cute! Yeah, until she starts doing her business there and digs them up. A couple of more months and Alabama gets to go outside. Then we will see how she runs from dogs! The fun begins...

My masters are always getting emails and Facebook stuff with silly or annoying things. Sometimes, though, the pictures or thoughts are profound. One picture made my masters sad, because they thought of me.

I am old and grey, but sometimes I can still act like a puppy and my master takes me on 3 mile walks. I guess they thought getting Alabama would make me young. Really? Today she arched her back, her fur went straight up, and she hopped sideways.  Does she really think I was intimidated? My Mrs. Master tried to get a picture, but all you can see is a little of the fur still up. What a pest!

Four months old and she thinks she is soooo tough!

It snowed! I am one happy dog! I probably shouldn't bore you with another picture of me frolicking in the snow, but my Mrs. Master insists on putting little twerp Alabama's picture of her first pee in the snow. Honestly! Is this really an important event?

Ahhhh...cold, fresh snow!

Do you think she knows she is being photographed going to the bathroom?

It doesn't snow that often on Orcas Island, but it is sooo beautiful when it does. My Masters took a drive and took some amazing pictures.

Blue Heron Bed and Breakfast

Crow Valley

Crow Valley School Museum