More postcards from Camp Barkaway!

Hi everybody! Daisy Jones-Klein here, starting a holiday message for y’all just before I head off for the cushy confines of Camp Barkaway. My Peeps are leaving tomorrow for vacation. I wanted to go with them, but when we learned that Hawaii has a 120-day quarantine period for us finer critters, I said “Take me to Camp Barkaway!” 

So this morning, it was my job to wake Mom up: 

After that we gathered up my things, and set off for Camp. Good thing I’ve got a laptop with wi-fi to finish this blog, huh? Truth is, if you wanna stay on top as the Internet's favorite dogblogger, you gotta work at your craft.

So now I’m back at Camp Barkaway with the other doggies, where we can nap and yap and bark our brains out all day long, and never get shushed even once. How cool is that? It ain’t home, but it really ain’t so bad, either.

Can you believe another year is about over? I remember when I was a younger pup, time just seemed to crawl. But after I hit 6 or 7, the years just seem to zip by. Has it been like that for you, too?

Here in Santa Fe, the pace slows down as the days grow shorter. The summer rains, gratefully abundant this year, continued well into the Fall and have brought us early snowfalls.

And down at the Plaza – the heart of The City Different – people stroll along and admire the trees all lit up and sparkly.

Have you been thinking about New Year’s resolutions? I sure have. But since my resolutions are pretty much the same as they were last year – most every year for that matter – I thought I should at least review how well I’ve done. So, looking over last year’s set of resolutions, I can report to all of you Gentle Readers the following:

• Be bath-free. Pretty good batting average this year. Except for the four or five times my Peeps tricked me into the shower, I feel I’ve truly lived the meaning of “smelling fresh as a Daisy.”
• Not get eaten by a coyote. Excellent news here; I wasn’t eaten by coyotes even once, extending my personal best by yet another year. Not that such things don’t ever happen, though. FUN FACT: if you Google “was eaten by coyotes", you get 140,000 hits. That’s a lot of coyote snacking! But if you add “Daisy” to the beginning of the search phrase, the hits drop all the way down to 45, and those were all for Jessica Simpson’s dog Daisy, who actually was eaten by coyotes in 2009. So according to the Google, I’m not yet eaten by coyotes, and Jessica Simpson’s not my Peep, so those are actually two good things right there.
• Lick lots of plates. Mmmmm …. Special thanks go out to Grandpa Bob and Lucille, Lindsay, Matt and Suj. I loved having all of you visit, but nothing got my heart a-racing and my tail a-wagging like hearing you say “I’m so full ….”
• Stay away from the vet. Mostly pretty good. A couple of teeth less than last year. Also, NOTE TO SELF: Stay away from the raccoon poop; it's really not worth it!
• Wag more, nap in the sunshine, get lots of belly rubs, and let my inner puppy play. Check, check, check, and check. If these aren’t on your list of resolutions, they should be.
• Catch many bunnies. Well … umm … that first one is coming soon; I just know it.

So all in all, it’s been a good year to be Daisy. I hope it’s been a good year to be you, too. And if by chance it hasn’t been – and I know for some of you there’s been some sadness – may the New Year bring good things to you. Here's to treats and bunnies for all!

Daisy Jones-Klein

Camp Barkaway, Santa Fe, NM

December 2013

Fall ici, Travelocity, and Balloonacy

Hi everybody! Daisy Jones-Klein here, settling into Fall. Here in Santa Fe, Fall is a terrific time of year. The summer crowds have thinned out, and days are getting shorter. The temps have cooled at night, with even a couple of dustings of snow further up in the mountains, but are perfect in the daytime. And while the pinions and junipers remain green year-round, the oaks and aspens and cottonwoods are turning, bringing a blaze of yellows and oranges. 

Yep, Fall might just be my favorite season here. But I’ve got a question for you: What do you think is the worst time of year here in Santa Fe? You think you know the answer? Go ahead; take a guess. I'll wait right here ....

Hah!!! Gotcha! That was a trick question. There isn't a worst time; it’s pretty sweet here year-round. Consider this FUN FACT: If you do the Google thing and type in "Best time to be in" together with "Santa Fe", both in quotes, you get 4,260,000 hits. That’s a lot of Best Times! But if you Google "Worst time to be in" together with "Santa Fe", you only get 119,000 hits. So Best Time beats Worst Time by 35 to 1! Take that, Poughkeepsie!

And for you scorekeepers out there, here are updates on two other networthy stats:

• I'm still the Internet's “favorite dogblogger”. (It’s true because the Google says so! Check it out here.) Another Russell Rescue alumni success story!
  
  
• Google hits for "Lovable Jack Russell Terrier" are well over 100,000, more than twice as many as “lovable cat”. True dat! But more importantly, there still hasn’t been a single instance of "Unlovable J--- R---- T----" anywhere across all the Internets. What can I say? We JRTs are good at what we do.

But back to here. We’ve had visitors!! It’s great to have visitors -- twice the hugs, twice the bellyrubs, twice the plates to lick -- what’s not to love? First, Mom’s Dad (Bob Perry) and his new bride Lucille came out here from North Carolina. It’d been a year since I last saw Granddad, and my first time meeting Lucille. They got married in April, back in North Carolina.

It was nice having them around. So many plates to lick! And when they weren't spending time with me, all the Peeps walked around the Plaza, lunched at the Bell Tower on top of the historic La Fonda Hotel, shopped the stores and galleries, and lots more. And at the Farmers’ Market, the air was filled with the smell of yummy freshly roasted chili peppers.

 

Then, my big brother Matt and soon-to-be sister-in-law Suj came in from Virginia. I hadn’t seen either of them in over a year, not since we packed up and left our Forever Home in Virginia to begin our Excellent Adventure here in the Land of Enchantment. 
 

And there was lots of fun stuff to do! I'm thinking that of all the Best Times to be here, Fall just may be the Bestest. Not all of it was Daisy-suitable, but the Peeps recounted enough for your Humble Correspondent to do her job here.

We drove further up into the Sangre de Cristo mountains behind us, up towards the Ski Basin, where the aspens are all turning color in preparation for winter.

 

 

There was a visit to Tesuque Glassworks just up the road, and Matt & Suj got drafted to be glassblowers.

 

 

 

There were lots of funky shops and restaurants and galleries and sculpture gardens. 

 

And then there was the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta!!! It’s the world's largest international hot air ballooning event. It happens that Albuquerque has some great ballooning conditions, especially in October when cool morning and evening temperatures are just right for a balloon launch. Plus, it's got a combination of weather patterns and geography known as the "Albuquerque Box" and this gives the pilots great control over their balloons. And for nine days, hundreds of balloonists from all around the world gather to fill the skies. And the people! Crowds average nearly 100,000 people a day. That’s nearly 200,000 tasty, juicy ankles! mmmm ... ankles! But as I said, a certain Jack Russell Terrier was not invited to this particularly tempting outing. Life ain't always fair.

Because the balloons launch around dawn, you have to get there pretty early.

 

 

But as it begins to get lighter, more and more balloons fill up and take to the skies.

 

Soon there are hundreds of balloons drifting lazily overhead.

With lots and lots of special shape balloons.

And there was even an Elvis sighting! And later, about the time Elvis "left the building", it was time to head back to Santa Fe to catch up on lost sleep. 

And when the Peeps weren't all out and about, we simply chilled, watching the clouds move in and out, enjoying the kick-ass sunsets, admiring the bright moon when it was out, and pondering the dark night skies when it wasn't.

Whew! That was a lot to do! I know I sure could use a nap, and I know just the sunny spot for it. But my nap may have to wait, since Halloween’s just around the corner, and both tricks and treats are two of my favorite activities. 

I’m still trying to decide what to wear for my Halloween costume, but I’m thinking about going as Joe Camel. So what do you think? Would you recognize me if I backed up to your door?

Daisy Jones-Klein

Santa Fe, NM

October 2013