Aroooooo! What busy couple of days! Tomorrow is my half-birthday (Allison says my turning six months old is a big deal), and my humans and I have been celebrating early. On Thursday, I had my very first beach day. We travelled what seemed like a lonnnnng way on a rumbly boat called a "ferry." There were lots of human-pups aboard, plenty of fun salty smells, and enough wind to blow my hair into my eyes and fluff my bum up. I was a little unsure at first - Allison had to carry me up the boat's steps - but I soon began to like the ferry's growly rockings and explored a bit.
A windblown little me peeks over a pile of ferry rope. Ruff!
A few very loud HOOONNNNKS later, my humans and I stepped onto Block Island. It's a good place for pups and human-pups to visit! Unlike Rhode Island, which is something called a state and isn't a real island, Block Island is a place completely surrounded by The Ocean. So you can imagine my excitement at all the new smells and sights! Our first stop was a farm with strange animals walking around. I'm always ready to make new friends, so I padded over to a family of puffy-looking creatures with long necks. I though they were llamas, but Allison told me they were "alpacas" - like llamas only fluffier.
They mostly just looked at me. Silly alpacas. I guess their funny haircuts make them shy.
I had the most fun giving the ducks a chase and licking hellos to the tiniest human-pups visiting the farm. Then a rude, fast-moving emu made me jump back in surprise, and I was ready to move on to explore different places on the island. Next stop: a picnic lunch in front of the Island Free Library. Adventurers have to eat A LOT to explore. Woof!
After a long, hot walk, we finally got to the beach! Sand and rocks and damp scraps of plants called "seaweed." Digging and climbing and waking up humans that were foolishly sleeping instead of playing. Best of all, Allison and Rachel let me off my leash so I could run around like a merry wolf dog! The two of them climbed some tall rocks to get to a mud pit; I led the way, bounding up and loving how fast my four legs could take me.
We all got really muddy from our climb.
Sandy and muddy and salty? Who cares? We had so much fun!!
Loving the sand.
Run run run! See that guy on the blanket? I was happy to wake him up.
My first beach day was a wonderful time, and I didn't want leave! Only when Allison reminded me that we had to go have supper did I happily trot away from the sand. And guess what I had for supper? A taste of "clam cakes" and "oyster crackers"! Yummmmm!
Here's a book about another pup who has fun on the beach and gets dirty doing it (remember Harry the dirty dog?):
Harry the dirty dog returns in this beach book. Unhappy about the heat, Harry pads off down the beach to look for some shade. Unfortunately, when Harry gets soaked by an ocean wave full of seaweed, he walks back down the beach looking like a sea monster! Cool but wet, Harry causes everyone on the beach to panic. Human-pups will giggle at the humans' silly fears; the illustrations show beach-goers running away from a happy green scraggly Harry! Knowing how fun it is to get muddy at the beach, I give this book two paws up. Human-pups will also like the ending - Harry finally gets a cool spot under his family's beach umbrella! It just goes to show that you need to pay attention to others' needs (And keep on the lookout for sea monsters! Ruff!). Best for human-pups PreK-3. Read it on your next seaside adventure!
Friday brought a whole new kind of adventure. Allison and Rachel brought me to get my first haircut! Wouldn't you know it, a haircut is when two very nice ladies cut your fur short after giving you a sweet-smelling bath...ugh! The humans at Canine Corner were nice; they played with me in between cutting my hair, but I was there for five hours. I was a little embarrassed when I got home (though my humans assured me I look very handsome), so Allison decided to read me a comical book about a king who takes one of the longest baths ever!
Personally I don't like baths that much, but the king in Audrey and Don Wood's King Bidgood's in the Bathtub loves them! He loves them so much he refuses to get out of the bathtub - even to eat! How strange! Aroo!
My favorite part. I wouldn't mind baths if I had all that food in the tub!
Anyway, the rest of the humans in King Bidgood's kingdom try their hardest to get him out of the tub. But instead, each of them ends up in the tub with him! Two paws up for this tale. A simple story, the illustrations are some of the best Allison and I have seen (no wonder it was a Caldecott Honor book). I won't give away the ending, but let's just say that a little human-pup is the only one who finally gets everyone out of the bath (with an obvious solution). This one is best for bath-lovers and human-pups K-3.
As for yesterday and today, my friend Lizzie is over. She'll be staying with my humans and me while her family goes to somewhere called "Oregon." She doesn't seem to want to play as much as I want to, but it's okay. I've got a whole bag of library books to read with Allison! Now I'm off for a nap before lunch. Arf!
Yours in beach days and silly baths,
Sam I Am
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