26 June 2009.

We have visitors again.  They are some friends of mom's.  They are traveling from some place called Pennsylvania, and they are going to some other place called California.  Mom said they had lots of trouble with the cars on the road, and they needed a break.  So they are staying overnight in the bunk house where I was born.  Boy - lots of people use that bunk house!  I heard dad say he wouldn't want to live in Pennsylvania, but he thought it was better there than in California.  I think dad likes Texas just fine.  I have never been anywhere but Texas and New Mexico, so I don't know.

The visitors have pets with them.  3 dogs and two birds.  We have a big bird. His name is Buddy, and he lives in a cage on the patio all summer long.  But their birds are lots bigger than buddy.  They are green like dad's army equipment.  They have long tails, and they are very noisy.  The dogs are a black Great Dane, a Labrador Retriever, and an old Golden Retriever.  They also had a human puppy too, a little one just like Bobby.  I wanted to play with the human puppy, but I wasn't allowed out.  Oh-well....  I barked at the Great Dane that I was a Great Dane too.  He laughed and barked back that I was just a pup.  Humph - I am over 120 pounds!  What does he know?

Mom cooked dinner and served it in the human garden - no dogs allowed.  It sure smelled yummy.  Mom calls the human garden the Winter Garden because when the sun shines on the walls in the winter it stays warm there long into the evening. It is a nice garden.  I get to go in it sometimes to get my picture taken. Anyway...  They sat out there in the Winter Garden and talked about all sorts of human stuff long after dinner was over.  When it got dark - everyone went inside to get ready for bed.  Mom and dad made our doggie-dinner.  Was it ever good.  I like our dog food.  Dad stayed up a while working on some of that new radio equipment he has.  I stayed on my doggie-bed in his radio room and watched.  Dad was getting his new radio ready for some contest called Field Day.  When he was done he went to bed too.  I got to sleep next to my dad.  It was another fine doggie-day.

27 June 2009

I Graduated.
When we woke up this morning the visitors were still sleeping.  So I got to go outside to pee first thing early in the morning.  When I came back in dad was getting my training bag ready.  Dad always checks the green training bag before we go to training.  Dad always checks everything - I wonder where he learned that. The visitors got up a bit later.  They let the dogs out again, and I watched them through the door.  Them dogs better be good in my yard!  They were.  Mom and dad talked the human visitors for a bit, then it was time to go to dog training.  So I got in the dog-show van with mom and dad, and we went to class. Yes - I graduated from my third dog training class.  This last class was the STAR-PUPPY class.  I told you about it in the 23 May 2009 Dog-Blog.  Well - the class is over and I graduated.  Dad gave me lots of hugs and some cookies too.

I made some friends in the class.  I always do.  This time it was Pearl.  Pearl is a German Sheppard  pup that was taking the class with me.  She was very friendly and we liked to play together in class.  Pearl graduated too.  Since this was a special class, I don't think I will ever see Pearl again.  But we had a good time while it lasted.

In the other two dog training classes dad took me to, dad got some papers when I graduated and I got some cookies.  I don't care about the papers - I liked the cookies.  This time dad gave me some cookies, and dad didn't get any papers.
But I got something special.  I got a MEDAL!  How cool is that?  A STAR-PUPPY MEDAL!  It says AKC STAR PUPPY on it.  I'm a lucky dog - a lucky lucky dog - I got a Star Puppy medal.

When we got home the visitors were out to breakfast.  Dad put my training bag away and said we were done with training for the summer.  He says it is too hot now for much of anything.  That made me sad.  Well - it is just for the summer.
It is hot, and we can train more when it gets cooler I guess.  Dad started getting his radio stuff gathered together.  He was going to set up in the Winter Garden.  He wanted to be ready to start operating right at 1200 noon.

The visitors came back from breakfast.  The visitor dad was working on their cars, checking them.  I guess my dad isn't the only one that checks everything.  So my dad jumped in to help.  Then the visitors packed up the rest of their stuff and after some hugs and handshakes and pats on the head to us dogs, they were on the way.  It was right at 1200 noon.

Dad grabbed his radio stuff and started setting it up right away.  He was already late.  He set everything up and got on the radio as soon as he could. It took dad only 16 minutes to get on the air, and his first contact was with someone in San Diego California.  Mom brought out iced tea and food to dad.  Dad stayed in the garden the rest of the day and into the night talking on the radio.  I came out to visit with dad a few times, but I only got a kiss and a pat on the head.  It was so hot outside dad was wetting his T-shirt and putting a wet washrag on his head to stay cool.  The radio contest rules say dad had to run his radio from a battery.  But "other equipment" could run on regular power. So dad got a fan out to help stay cool.

One time mom came out to tell dad that one of his friends far far away died. Dad was sad.  But there was nothing he could do about it, so he stayed on the radio.  Soon dad forgot the bad news and he kept talking to more and more people all over the country.  Mom and I would come out with more tea sometimes.  Mom sat out on the swing for a few hours with that nasty yarn stuff.  I didn't want to get attacked again, so I stayed away from that nasty yarn. About 2300 it started to rain.  I heard dad running in and out with his radio stuff.  He finally came to bed about midnight.  I was sleeping in my doggie-bed by his bed.  I looked up when he came in.  I got a quick hug, and we both went to sleep.


28 June 2009

Dad slept a whole 4 hours.  When the alarm went off at 0400 dad was back up. There was no more rain, and it was cool and dry outside.  By 0430 dad was back on the air.  His first morning contact was with Alaska.  That made him happy. Dad stayed on the radio all morning, stopping only at noon.  That was supposed to be the end of the contest.  But the rules say if you do not start setting up until noon, you have 27 hours to work.  So after a quick break, dad got back on the radio again. 
This time he was using that Morse Code thing on his leg again. There was lots of beeping going on for a while.  Then at 1500 it was really over. My dad was on the radio for 22 hours over the 27 hour period (he was rained out at 2300 and was back out at 0400).  My dad talked to people in AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, FL, HI, ID, IL, IA, KS, LA, MO, MT, NM, NV, OK, OR, TX, UT, WA and WY.

He also spoke Puerto Rico, Alberta, British Colombia and Mexico.  That is 23 states and 3 radio countries.  Dad was busy.  Overall, he made contact with 168 different stations. Mom made more iced tea while dad put all the radio stuff away and entered his score on the computer.  Then dad took a nap on the couch.  I took a nap on my doggie-bed right near dad.  Another great doggie-day.