Know Whey: Heidi

Meet Eiger!

What's better than one Berner? Two.

Eiger's handsome and astonishingly smart.

And he's been brought up right. His mom was such a loving mother. It shows.

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Mother's Day

A little less than a year ago, Libby became a Mom. And motherhood took her a little by surprise.

But Libby took her job seriously. She was patient..

Playful, and Kind.

As little Heidi began to grow, she made Libby proud.

Now Heidi is one year old, and while she towers over Libby, she still looks up to her Mom.

Happy Mother's Day, Libby!

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Monday 3/21/2011
The Snow Dog

This evening, we came home to several inches of soft, wet snow. It was perfect snowman snow.

Heidi took to this immediately, and concentrated on learning the snowball-making technique.

Her first efforts lacked a certain je ne sais quoi.

But persistence paid off, and soon she was a snowball jedi master. Heidi can't wait to tell everyone at the doggy daycare.

Sunday 3/6/2011
The Package

Heidi discovered a mysterious package in the front hall. She doesn't read well yet, as she is only 10 months old, so she called us in to investigate.

So many labels! Do we know someone named Strasbourg? They've sent us a box of Fragiles. Then they tied them inside with a rope; this could mean Trouble.

Heidi has seen the bomb-sniffing dogs on Animal Planet.

She gave the package an extra sniff, just to make sure it was ok..... pretty sure this stuff is not from Vermont...

So what's inside?

some wrapped-up stuff

A Fragile, with a metal thing on it

Another one, a little different

What's the point of this?

Maybe food could go in this one.

Another food dish.

No idea on this one.

Thank you Heidi. It's lunchtime.

Sunday 1/9/2011
SNOW!

When it snows in Vermont, it's important to get out there and start shoveling at dawn. Heidi went out to assist. First, though, there was some time to play in the snow, and act out scenes from White Fang:

And then, like Balto, Heidi takes lead dog position to bring the mushers back to the house.

Just in time to inspect the shoveling job done by Mr. Know Whey. Tactfully, Heidi makes no comment on the three different plaids he is wearing; this would be a fashion faux pas anywhere else but Vermont.

Happy New Year

Party like it's 1999! Biscuits all around!

From a true party animal,

Heidi

Waiting for Santa

Christmas Shopping

We took a trip to Brattleboro to do a little last-minute Christmas shopping.

As always, bringing Heidi along presented both challenges and rewards. But, as she was the cause for many of the items on the list, we thought she should come along.

Where were we?

Oh yes... Brattleboro.

There were a few items on the list:

1. A new Armadillo

2. (Another) pair of new slippers for Mr. Know Whey

The people make such an issue out of the slippers. But Yes, there could be a problem here.

Oh, that. Well, if I just casually drape a leg over that slipper, they probably won't notice.

3. Seven or eight pairs of non-torn-up boxer shorts and other unmentionables (not shown)

4. A functioning Squeaky Ball

5. Dog training books.

And I should point out that Brattleboro has great bookstores, well worth the trip. As usual, Heidi said hi to everyone and had a great time. She had a particularly nice conversation with some people outside the bookstore, revealing a literary side I hadn't suspected.

Shops in Brattleboro have that Vermont-hip quality that is so appealing. There are also some excellent coffee houses, bars, and restaurants in town, so we are frequent visitors.

6. And last but not least, Guinness Pajamas.

Oh! You better watch out,
You better not cry,
You better not pout,
I'm telling you why:
Santa Claus is coming to town!

He's making a list,
He's checking it twice,
He's gonna find out
who's naughty or nice.
Santa Claus is coming to town!

He sees you when you're sleeping,

He knows when you're awake.

He knows when you've been bad or good,
So be good for goodness sake!

So...You better watch out,
You better not cry
You better not pout,
I'm telling you why.
Santa Claus is comin'
Santa Claus is comin'
Santa Claus is comin'
To town.

The Spa Treatment and Hunting Safety

We gave Heidi a bath in the whirlpool tub today, which went fairly well, considering. I used half a bottle of shampoo and some Marine conditioner from Back to Basics. Heidi is nothing if not Basic.

She dried quickly and fluffed up dramatically. There were some dreads on her ears which I combed out so that they wouldn't dry that way. I think that is from the puppy daycare, where she is mouthed all day by casual acquaintances.

After that, it was time for a walk down the back field, wearing her new orange hunting visibility jacket.

Because of hunting season, which goes on and on here, Mr. Know Whey delivered a lecture on hunting safety to the dogs. The gist of it was, to take it seriously and not do anything rash. The corgis are sharp, and quick learners who hang on his every word. Notice who is not in the picture:

Because Heidi was off pouncing on things in the grass, rather than listening.

She did a bit of heckling, from the top of a rock above the corgis.

But she listened to the part about what happens to dogs who look like bears, who don't wear their jackets.

Lecture over, time to bound back into the house to finish the blow dry and comb-out.

Heidi goes Leaf Peeping

On Columbus Day weekend, we started Saturday by visiting the Orvis store in Manchester, VT. (Heidi needed a dog bed, as she has outgrown all the dog beds in our house.) She was very excited to visit the beautiful Orvis store, and was reminded to be on her best behavior.

Then we headed off for the foliage drive up Rt 100, ending in Woodstock. We strolled around the town, stopping every ten feet or so for another Heidi petting session. She adores everyone, so it went very well.
She was also clean, having visited the groomer on Thursday, and was showing off her puppy clip.

We ran into Maverick and his owners, whom we have met once before. Maverick is a large, handsome fellow, who goes for that sporty kerchief look:

He dwarfed Heidi, although she now weighs 50 pounds; she immediately dropped to the pavement, either: 1. playing 2. flirting, or 3. pleading for her life. It drew a crowd..

We finished up the day back in Chester at the farm market, where Heidi posed with the heifers from Jersey Girls Dairy. I think she enjoyed her day of touring.

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Heidi at five months

Heidi is five months old today! Happy Birthday Heidi!

She is over 40 pounds now, and has learned quite a bit about life. For one thing, the constant blandishments of the paparazzi have made her somewhat camera-shy: