Higgins Hörna

January 28 2005
The postman

Have you heard those rumours that us dogs are supposed to dislike postmen? We're supposed to bark at them and chase them and I don't know what. In my case that's absolutely not true at all. Personally I really like the postman, who in this case is a nice woman. Now and again mum and I meet her going out or coming in after walks, and I really like meeting her. She is very nice and always stops and pets me and talks to me. She told us a long time ago that she used to have a cocker spaniel, but at the moment they had a flat coated retriever, so I know she likes dogs. Then some weeks ago she told us that they had a new addition in the family, a little cocker girl who is about 6 months old. I really think it's a pity she doesn't bring her dogs with her when delivering the mail to people!! I'm sure they would be a great help to her. Today when mum and I was nearly home from our walk I saw our mailman outside another building, but when we came there she was gone! All that was there was her bike with the big bags on, but no sign of the mailman. I couldn't understand where she was, and I decided I didn't want to move any further. I was looking around all over the place to see if I could see the nice woman, but she was gone so I sat down next to her bike. After a little while she came out from a door, and I was delighted to see her! Mum told her I'd spotted her at a distance and refused to walk any further when we came up to her bike, and that I'd been looking around for her. I got some pets and the nice mailman was talking to me and telling me what a nice dog I am and then I was happy again and mum and I walked home. On the way mum was telling me that the mailman delivers mail to more places than our building?! I thought she only made sure mum got her mail...

January 25 2005
Snowangels

Mum is a bit slow sometimes in understanding things. For a long time she's been wondering over a certain of my behaviours and finally she got it! Since we haven't had very much snow during this winter, you have to make the most of the little there is. Sometimes it's enough if there's a little frost on the ground so when passing open areas like big lawns and other soft places I very often just throw myself on the ground, rolling from side to side and scratching my paws on the ground. Up to now mum has always thought of me as a little bit crazy doing that, but today she finally understood the point of it: I'm making snowangels!!

January 21 2005
Mum wasn't very good at this

Mum was acting very strangely today, getting up really early and just bringing me for a short walk before taking off in the car. Turned out we went to the car vet or something like that. At least I think it was a vet, because while some man took mum's car away to check it out mum and I was sitting in a waiting area which looked almost exactly as when we go to my vet. When the man brought the car back he told mum the check up had gone well and that the car was in good condition.

When we came back from that car vet mum brought me out for a proper walk, and it was still not totally bright outside, but as we walked along it started getting brighter and brighter. It was actually a very nice walk since the ground was frozen and not at all wet as it was yesterday. There was also a tiny bit of snow on the ground! I'm not quite sure it's mum who has arranged the snow, if she did she didn't do a very good job if you ask me! I've been telling her a long time that she has to fix some snow for me, I mean if she can bake biscuits how hard can it be to fix some snow?! All we got now is a really tiny bit of snow and you can still see the grass through the snow!! I want plenty of snow, deep mountains of snow that you can jump around like a kangoroo in and have some fun!

Mum took the above picture of me in the afternoon. I'm actually telling her off here, saying that this little amount of snow she fixed is redicolous and that I want more!!

January 20 2005
A theory

Yesterday mum and I had my friend Rusty here as a visitor most of the day, and that was actually quite fun. Mum and I went out to collect him, and before going back to our place mum took us for a walk in the forest where we had a look at the sheep. Rusty loves going in the car just like I do, so we had a good time riding in the back seat of mum's car in to town. Mum said it probably looked rather amusing when people saw us passing by. I was sitting in my usual spot behind the passanger seat looking out the window, and Rusty sat behind mum looking out that window.I don't really see what's so amusing with two cocker heads looking out car windows??
In the afternoon mum brought us out for another walk, and even though I know Rusty has lived in town before - even here with mum for some weeks before I was even born - I think he was quite impressed with all the things I could show him. I showed him the ducks in the park and loads of other interesting things!

Since Rusty was staying at our place until the evening, mum gave him food at the same time as I got my dinner. As you can see Rusty is a very lazy cocker, lying down while eating! I sometimes lie down while eating too, but that's mostly during the summer when it's really warm and I get tired standing up, but Rusty almost always lies down while eating. He is also a very slow eater, so after I finished my food I was standing watching him eat to see would he leave anything for me. I also had to see if he really got the same food as I did! What if mum had given him something nicer!!??

Today wasn't a fun day at all. It was really wet and rainy all day and I really don't like that. I guess the first walk was OK, since it is pretty exciting going out after a good nights sleep to see who else has been out. Still it's nice coming back inside again and get dried and lying down having a rest. Unfortunately it seems as if you have to go for walks more than once even when it's rainy and wet, so I've come up with this theory. I'm still working on it, but I think I'm getting there. The theory is that when it's raining, if you walk very slowly behind mum you don't get as wet! Mum wasn't very impressed with my scientific work and kept asking me what I was doing and why I was walking so slowly. Normally I walk quite fast and with a bounce in my steps, so mum couldn't understand why I was walking very slowly behind her. I think it was a bit rude of her to disturb my scientific studies, telling me to hurry up! Due to mum interfering with my studies, I'm not a 100% sure my theory works, so I guess I'll get back to you about my results some other time.

January 16 2005
Forest fear or fear of the forest...

Now I had expected that after moving back home I would get to update my journal more often, but mum is impossible! She has been busy with a lot of other things so now I have to tell you about what's been going on since I last got to write here. First of all I can tell you I've been at a place called "Arlanda" and mum told me that's an airport. I've heard that airports have something to do with flying, so I expected to see lots of birds there, but I didn't see even one bird!? All I saw was lots of people, some cars and buses and some buildings. I was not allowed to go in to any of the buildings, so mum and I had to wait outside in the wind. I got bored and tried to tell her we should go back to the car, but mum insisted on waiting. Finally a friend of hers came out of a building, and then we all went to the car and drove back home. The best with going to Arlanda was that I got to go for a long car ride!!

Another thing that happened is that mum's dad celebrated his birthday and we went there to visit him. Mum said her dad now got something that is called retirement, but I don't know what that is. To me he looked just as usual, and I'm sure this retired thing will pass soon. Allthough I've heard mum talking to her dad since then, and then she's asked how this retired thing is going, so maybe it takes a while before it passes. I don't think he has to eat any kind of medicine against it though, so it can't be that bad.

Sometimes mum accuses me of suffering from forest fear. That is not really true, it's just that I don't always fancy a walk in the forest when she does. Sometimes I just prefer to take normal walks in the streets, but if mum gets in to her head we're going for a walk in the forest I don't have much of a choice. Now lately mum has started to wonder if maybe I'm the fear of the forest instead... The reason for that is that about a week or so ago I was dying to go into the forest. I had found a trail I wanted to follow, and mum said I was totally mad! I was running along with my nose to the ground, through bushes, over stones, under fallen trees and I don't know what. It was a bit hard to run like a madman to start with, but eventually when mum said she had a proper view of the surroundings she took my lead off and I could run freely. Mum said later that I was acting totally mad, just running back and forwards, sniffing here and there, barely taking time to lift my leg. I was hurrying along hardly noticing anything, and when mum called me now and again I did come to her but very reluctantly. I had more important things to do!! What really made mum laugh so she nearly fell down in a heap in the forest was when I was - according to her - running with half a pine tree stuck between my back legs. I can't say I noticed that since I was busy following the trail I'd found, so I was sniffing along, tail wagging not really noticing anything. Mum said that normally I refuse to walk one step if there's a twig or something stuck in my coat, but there I was running along with half a tree and most of the forest stuck in my coat. OK, I can agree that maybe it was a bit uncomfortable running around with all those things hanging out of me, but I was busy!! Just as I was having the most fun, mum called me and then she put my lead back on. Since she wasn't running around with her nose to the ground she had seen something at a distance that I'd missed. Some people and a couple of dogs walking over a field... We met them a bit later, and then it turned out it was one of the dogs I'd followed the trail after! It was three little Schnauzer bitches, two daughters who were 8 months old and their mother who was in heat! It was her scent I'd followed!! I must say she immediately fell in love with me and started to fuss around me, but all we got to do was say hello and then the Schnauzer family with humans took off in their direction and mum and I continued our way. Unfortunately mum kept my lead on for the rest of the walk... Silly mum!

One nice thing mum has done lately is baking more biscuits for me! The box was nearly empty so she made new ones. The only bad part about that is that she doesn't leave the box low enough so I can reach it. She is the one who decides when I should get a biscuit. But I guess I should be pleased she takes the time to bake me biscuits. Now there is only one thing I want her to fix, and that is snow! I mean if she can bake biscuits, why can't she fix some snow as well!? I'm bored with having no snow to jump around in and having to suffer getting wet and mucky on each and every walk. I hope mum makes some snow for me soon.

January 1 2005
New Year

Today when we went for our first walk it was almost no one else out! It was very nice and quiet compared to yesterday. The only ones we saw for a long while were the sheep in the forest:

Mum was wondering how they had done yesterday with all the fireworks, because as far as she knows, these sheep are always out. Since neither mum, Rusty or me speeks sheep language we couldn't ask them how their New Years Eve had been, and they also kept away from the fence. Maybe they were discussing the previous days events in there, because they were kind of noisy...

I must say it was very nice to get a proper long walk in peace and quiet after my horrible day yesterday. Rusty and I were sniffing around, checking things out and just enjoying ourselves on the walk. The only thing missing was snow. We did get snow at Christmas day, but it melted away again after a couple of days so for the last few days our walks haven't been that pleasant. We've come home all wet and mucky after almost every walk, and that is not fun! Today was a good day though, because it was a few degrees cold and the ground was frozen which made the walk fun. As you can see on the picture below, Rusty and I like to sniff in the same places, just so we wont miss out on anything!

Just after mum took the above picture, she let me off the lead and I could run around free!! It was so much fun and I was all over the place! While running I kept an eye on where Rusty and mum were so that I wouldn't lose them in the forest. But I made sure to run a lot so I could get all my energy left from yesterday out of my legs.

Mum put my lead back on eventually and said it was time to get home. I thought I could have run some more, but as usual I had to do what mum said. Rather boring but what can you do... Just as she got the lead on me, we heard a firework in the distance, and then I didn't think the walk was fun anymore so I hurried mum and Rusty on to get back home. As I was hurrying along I saw two nice girl dogs that we meet now and again when we're out where Rusty lives. We stopped and said hello, and their owner told mum that one of the girls is just as terrified as me when it comes to fireworks. She had spent most New Years Eve shivering , and she had started to shiver again when she heard the firework just a little while ago. Her owner said he hoped there would be no more fireworks now since he'd planned to take the girls for a long walk. I think they managed to get a good long walk, because I actually didn't hear any more fireworks.

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