hello adoring fans! it’s me, bella. mom finally gave me some computer time of my own. i begged and begged and said please please please can i use the computer. now i can tell you what i’ve been up to. this place is really cool. i get to go on lots of walks and i don’t have to be on a lead. mom and dad say i’m a really good trail dog. there are woods with lots of logs to jump over, a little stream to get a drink in and wet your feet, and bestest of all is the beaver pond. well, the beaver doesn’t really live there anymore and daddy says the pond has a leak now, but it’s lots of fun. the minute i saw it i jumped right in! mom and dad couldn’t see me at first but they could hear lots and lots of splashing and they think i was actually swimming. i have swimmeded—i mean really swimmeded—twice. i think it was by accident when i went too far out and lost my footing, but i swimmed anyway and it was okay. i prefer to just stand there up to my shoulders. here are some photos.

here i am painting water pictures in the air with the drops from my tail. way cool, huh?

every time we walk down to the pond i have to go in and do my thing. i’m a water dog at heart. i really am.

look at me—i can float!

i can jump!

i can shake off and make myself look funny!

and here i am on a walk.

onced i saw an animal go down a hole in the middle of the road. mom says it was a prairie dog but it didn’t look like any dog i have ever seen. besides, what kind of dog goes down a hole? i tried and tried to dig it up. i made dust fly everywhere.

it must be down there somewhere ... come out, come out wherever you are ...

can you tell i am having a blast?

here i am still wet from my pond swim with sis hailey. my mom likes this picture a lot.

well, gotta go now. there are walks to be taken and scents to be sniffed! bye for now!

Happy Birthday to Bella! She turned one year old on Wednesday. I like the above photo, blurriness and all because it shows movement. It wasn’t planned. Just what happens when you try to take photos of a moving dog as it’s getting dark. Which it seems to be doing earlier and earlier every night. The seasons they are a’ changin. No doubt about it.

She got plenty of new toys to play with and chew on. Grandma Vicky (her breeder) even sent her a present. She enjoyed a dessert of Frosty Paws too. I think she had a good birthday.

It seems like just yesterday she was a puppy. She grew so fast it’s hard to believe she was ever that little. She had her first bath and blow-dry at the groomer’s yesterday; another rite of passage. And, she left most of her juvenile coat on the floor and walls there. It’s time for that adult coat to start making an appearance.

Next week she gets to learn all about the cabin as that is where we will be by late afternoon exactly one week from today. Dog paradise. People paradise too. Can’t wait. (More on that in another post.)

hey look at me — i’m clean!

After seeing Bella so muddy and dirty after the last entry, you might be wondering what happens next. Certainly they don’t let her in the house that way? Well, here is your answer.

Is she not smart?

LOOK OUT! Here it comes! Don’t let it get near you!!!

Good grief. This has been happening at least twice and sometimes three times a day! I think it’s Bella’s way of cooling off with our hot temperatures over the past five days. This is the downside of having lots of rain and moisture—the boggy part of the woods in our yard stays full all the time.

I can understand that the mud feels good on her feet and legs, but can anyone tell me why she sticks her nose in it too?

eBay is a strange cat. She is always going over to one of the dogs for attention. Bella just happens to be the perfect playmate. (Note: the growling you hear in the background is not coming from eBay but from Pookie who didn’t much like what was going on, or maybe she really wanted to join in?) And just how long ago was Bella that little puppy??

Edited to add:
eBay was raised by our Bernese, so it’s not so strange she thinks she is one of them. For those new to my blog, you might enjoy the back story on eBay. Follow this link.