the paw paw trail

Hello, it's me, Baxter, your roving rover reporter reporting to you today from my walkies to the park. Now, I have to tell you this walkies wasn't anything like I thought it was going to be, cuz mom said something about how when we got there, we'd be picking up somebody named Nick, and I was like, what, who's this guy named Nick and who'd pick him anyway? Pick Nick? That totally sounded like a campaign slogan, and I'm too young to vote. Anyhoo, I tried my best to look for him, but I never did see this guy Nick. Still we managed to have a very fine time without him and I got to see like a jillion and one squirrels. Mom n dad had a fine time too, eating lunch at one of Nick's tables. Me, I was way too distracted by all the squirrel action to eat, especially since we walkied on a new trail - one that sounded like it was designed just for doggies like me, but boo hoo, the paw paw they were referring to was actually a plant or sumptin. It was still pretty nice so I can't complain. We must have walkied like a good three miles!

Well, I have to cut this report short because Duk Duk just told me he overheard mom talking about giving me a bath. If any of you can recommend a good hiding place, I'd be most appreciative. This is Baxter your roving rover reporter hiding out.

jet carrier landing

wheee! i'm all clear to land on the uss enterprise!

the craft fair

Well hello there, it's me, Baxter, your roving rover reporter reporting to you today from the crafts fair. It's early morning so luckily it's cool out and the foot traffic isn't too bad. Which is great for a little dog like me.














What's not so great though? All the art and crafts are waay up high so there's not much for me to check out down here where I am. I'm a little perturbed about that, cuz all I got to report about is the pavement. Oooh - I spy some chalk. Hee, I'll show them.







Yeah that's right. Baxter was here. And here, too! Um, yeah, so anyways, don't feel too bad for me because even though I can't enjoy looking at the stuff everybody made, I get to enjoy all sorts of little kids who come up to say hello. And you know what that means. That's right, sticky fingers that taste like ice cream and food!





So letting little kids pet me and shake my hand isn't too bad a gig for my meal. Nothin like the hoops I usually gotta jump through anyways. Plus you know what? Even big people come up to say hi. Mostly it's people who have doxies of their own, so I totally love meeting up with them. Speaking of which, hi lovely ladies from Georgia! Yeah, that's right, I'm talking to the three lovely pups I saw on your mom's phone. I can't believe your moms read my blog and that one of your moms actually ran into me here!








So anyways, that's it here from the craft fair. A lot of fun even if there is no popcorn on the floor and no squir - whoa, what's that I spy over there?


















A tree!


















Pardon me, I must cut my report short so I can free this tree from squirrels. This is Baxter, your roving rover reporter wishing you the happiest of Sundays.

Oh wait, what? Oh yeah, mom got a really cool cuff bracelet. Okay see ya!

into the rodent hole

Hey, it's me, Baxter your roving rover reporter reporting to you today from a field on a farm. That's right, a farm. You see, today I am going to try this thing called earthdogging. I don't really know much about it, so how bout we learn together?

Now, I'm standing here in front of a sign that says IQ and if you're thinkin what I'm thinkin, fuhgeddaboudit. This ain't no smart test. IQ means Introduction to Quarry. Not like where you dig for rocks, but like, stuff you hunt, like bunnies. Or more precisely, rodents. Rats. In a cage. And this introduction ain't no meet n greet with everybody wearin nametags, if ya know what I mean.






So these rats I'm talking about are in a cage at the end of a wooden tunnel that is buried on three sides, with the top being mostly covered in hay and plywood. In Intro to Quarry, the goal is for a dog like me catch the scent of the rats, go into the 10 ft long right angled tunnel to reach the cage, and stay interested in the rat cage for like 30 seconds, all in under two minutes. Moms can talk but they can't touch, and really, they should stay behind the stick line though at this stage in the game, if encouragement is necessary, the judges allow it, cuz u know, at this stage it's all about the learnin.





I'm seventh in line so I have some waiting to do. Lucky for me there are some doxies to mingle with - these wirehaired minis came from 6 hours away just to be here, can u believe it? But there are also other sorts of dogs here, mostly terriers like westies and cairns, but there this one dog that looks like a lamb. Everyone wants to call him a bedlington but me, I just wanna bark at him, which is why there's no picture of him.









Well that was fast! It's my turn now and I've just been informed that I must do this in the buff. So, uh, ladies and gents if you would just ignore anything you don't usually see, let's go inside the pen, shall we? Ahh yes, there's the hole, but there are soooo many interesting things to smell around here in this small fenced in area, who cares about that hole?





Whoops well I guess my mom does so, let's check it out, shall we?






Well, it's dark in here..no bunnies...and i dunno what rats smell like so i can't say for sure if they're in here...yuck i think i just ran into a spider web...ya know this tunnel would be a lot more interesting if there were rawhide in it. good thing i know how to shimmy backwards cuz there's not much here to see, nosirree. i dunno why anyone would really wanna go in here, sheesh...






Ahh fresh air. I guess we're done here then, right? What's that, Miss Judge Lady? Do I wanna sniff the rats anyway? Yeah sure I guess...
















Ooooh, is THAT what was at the end of the tunnel? My spidey senses are tingling all over! Maybe next time I WILL go thru that tunnel all the way to the end! I totally gotta go to the next practice event.

This is Baxter your naked ribbonless roving rover reporter wishing you a happy earth and earthdog day.

my new doxie treasure + i heart randy and john

So many goodies at the flea market on Saturday, thanks in large part to appearances of my favorite vendors, Randy and John, two buddies whose paths sometimes intersect as they each travel the country selling their tarnished treasures. It's always a treat to run into them, catch up with all their travels, and of course score all sorts of goodies!

First, a collage of pictures of the things didn't manage to make their way into my trunk, though I certainly wished they could have. Most are tempting treasures from Randy's booth, though the radiators are from a different vendor. Ooo the old radiators... the pair should be married up with an old narrow door to make for an extremely coolio sofa table or tall desk. I didn't even ask the price for fear of being tempted.



No pictures yet of my entire haul, but a peek at the palm sized doxie treasure I scored from John. Tiny chumley wasn't particularly impressed with this inedible thing, but he was happy nevertheless with his own scores for the day. As always, tidbits of popcorn snitched off the ground, and a fine time relaxing on the bench under the shade of an old oak tree with his dad.

apron strings and other things

Some cheery finds from this weekend's flea market foray. Vintage aprons for a dollar each, in colors that make me wonder what the rest of the hostess's outfit looked like when she greeted her guests wearing apron and all. Tarnished religious medals, that I always find so infinitely cool in their detail and workmanship.






And swell piece of doxie art, the image of which I show here because tiny chumley was way more interested in standing on the picture than standing by it.

"Why look at him when u can look at me?," Baxter wanted to know,"And more importantly, when are we going back to the flea market again??"

to market, to market, sniffety-sniff

2010 marks the start of the third year of Baxter's life with us. So many things that were once novel for the little kielbasa are now part of the habits of his life. Tanning his tummy. Hanging with his homies at the dog park. Posing, for yet another picture in his very well documented life. In all these things and more, Baxter happily engages as part of the familiar life into which he has settled.

So it came as no surprise that Baxter immediately recognized where we were when we pulled into the parking lot yesterday. The flea market, or as tiny chumley apparently remembers it, the magical place with an abundant supply of food to find on the ground.

Tiny chumley jauntily made his way across the asphalt as we wandered from the parking lot to the market area, nose twitching with excitement while he held his tail upright, letting it bob back and forth in unison with his bouncy walk. So many things to smell, so many opportunities for tummy fortunes.

The closer we got to the market, the closer his nose moved to the ground, where it stayed for most of our time there, save for the occasional distraction at a higher level.

Top on Baxter's sniff list, two friendly doxies. Charley, a deep rich red handsome mini a year younger than Baxter who was also a rescue, and Abby, a long haired sweet red mini maybe a mix who was doxie shy, whose original owner never came to pick her up from the lady who was sitting her. And who now lives happily with two cats and her new mom.

Baxter also spied a fire engine in which he would have fit perfectly, had we not already gotten him last year's rusty treasure. A project still on the to do list, though both of us are happy admiring it where it currently sits, above one of my many fabric shelves with a vintage Baxter license plate leaning against it.

Of course, by the end of our visit it goes without saying that Baxter did make a few scores of his own while I made mine. Tiny bits of popcorn for my satisfied pup, who must surely have pigeon in his ancestry, whilst I made off with a few delights that I'll share in tomorrow's post.

All in all, fine way to spend a Sunday, I do declare.

nyc diary

Another double header day, thanks to the fact that I had taken enough pictures that my camera's file numbering system rolled back over to zero and the last series of Baxter pictures I took before downloading appeared at both at the beginning and ending of the folder. Yeah, probably TMI, but at least this means the little kielbasa does make an actual appearance in today's post, and what's not to love about that?

So here it is, my trip, in a nutshell. And believe me, I get it if you don't read on. Too many words, not enough pictures of the little kielbasa. But hey, it's fun for me and Baxter's post comes after this anyway so fly if you need to, or read on.

Day 1: Drive to Robin's, continue driving with her and her daughter, scoring fine buffet sushi dinner and spending the night at a motel in Jersey.

Day 2: Drive into Brooklyn, passing by the empty parking lot where the flea market would have been if it was open this time of year (doh!). Forge ahead into the Manhattan flea markets where there is as always, cool stuff to be had, including a vintage coat pattern that later had us scouring the garment district for wool and lining to turn the pattern into reality.



Day 2(cont'd): After check-in, mosey into Chinatown via the Union Square subway, making sure to drool as we pass the inspiring windows at ABC Carpet and Home. Take a moment to acknowledge Baxter withdrawal by loving the French Bulldog whose owner parked him outside the cafe where we consumed a fine lunch and cupcake.



Day 2 (cont'd): Haggle in the evening rain with the numerous Chinatown vendors who were all selling basically the same thing - fake cashmere scarves, ear muffs, t-shirts, belts & buckles, sweatshirts. Find a cool knitted headwrap, which certainly deserves to be made in finer materials than acrylic. Love the fact that there's a Baxter Street. Dinner at some noodle shop in Chinatown.

Day 3: Wake up ready for breakfast at Le Pain Quotidien. A sort of chain but consistently simple and good. Dry packed capers. Now that's what I'm talking about. Not the yucky wet stuff I've had in the past. Who knew capers like that could really transform plain ol egg salad. A jar of that, plus some jars of chocolate spread in dark and white, and the Le Pain cookbook, please.

A double doxie sighting on the way back to the room where I leave my purchases and quickly ditch my jacket liner for the day. I never really needed my hat on this trip after all, though all the serged stuff came in handy. Then a walk up to the wholesale accessories and garment district to focus for hours on crafty business purchases, stopping by a few favorite thrift stores along the way. Score much needed rhinestone pins and other embellishment, some pearls, trim, dyeables, shirting, and green woolen coating. The search is on for suitable and - I never thought I would be saying this - cool poly print to use as lining to prototype the vintage pattern jacket.



Day 3 (cont'd): Drop off fabrics at the garage. Grab a fine maple and bacon biscuity cookie and others at a bake shop on the walk to East Village. Abort plans to eat dinner at Momofuku, as the place was packed. Eat instead at a fine Japanese place whose name I forget across the street. Mmmmmm. Unaju, I will always love you and this time you were even in a box set with tempura and shumai keeping you company nearby. Lament that more Japanese restaurants need to offer unaju. Grab a late night showing of Leap Year. Debate to myself whether or not it is fair to consider Amy Adams a low budget version of Nicole Kidman, but give the movie an ok thumbs up for easy watching.

Day 4: A morning stretch to ease my aching muscles. Drop into Dylan's candy bar for Robin's daughter's benefit, before engaging in the touristy act of sharing a frozen hot chocolate (Oprah, businesses across America will cry when you are no longer able to plug their stuff). Savor the artery clogging BLT with brie I ordered. Reflect on how savvy marketing makes all the difference in the world. A frozen hot chocolate frappucccino thingy for nine bucks? The same candy you can get at the drugstore, marked up tons? And people lined up to get in? Pure genius.

Spend more hours in search of beads, metal findings, and fabrics. Carolina Herrera wool. I'm not sure I believe that it's wool she actually used in anything, but the wool is nice and will make for a fine coat whenever I get around to making one. Robin is making the green vintage pattern one, for me, reportedly soon, but we all get busy so we'll see.

Eat beef chow fun for dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant near the garment district, lug big blue bags of fabric around Daffy's, til finally we head for home and catch a subway back to our room for the night. Gossip. Pack. Mix boohoos with the excitement of seeing family again.

Day 5: Goodbye city life, hello green acres of Pennsylvania and the Amish. One last buying excursion for more trim and a bit of fabric before heading back to Robin's house.



Day 6: So good to be home, but who's gonna help me unpack? Oh yeah, the little happy hound.

border doxie

dear diary,
today was my last full day here at jasper's house and i think we're finally gettin our groove on. i mean there was this one time on our walk when i was trailin behind and he gave me the the stink eye fer goin too slow, but his dad snapped him out of it before he could do anythin more than lock eyes with me. that was unsettling enough, really. but i just froze in my tracks and let out a worried uh-oh whine, instead of aro-arooin it. my mom said that was really good progress. and once he snapped out of it, things were fine. so fine, in fact, that i finally couldn't stand watchin mom play with him when we came back to the house and i joined in on the fun. i'm not sure i'm gonna quit my day job as a wiener dog, but it wasn't too bad bein a border doxie fetchin stuff. i don't see how he can stand doin it all day, though. me, i'd rather chase squirrels.

well i better get some rest so i can help mom n dad tomorrow with our trip home. do u think they'll let me drive?? i sure hope so. goodbye jasper!

toodles!
b

grandma's house

dear diary,
guess what - jasper doesn't like rawhide! i know because i snuck around in his toy box and took some out. he had like, four bones in there and can u believe none of them were even chewed on? his mom says he doesn't know what to do with the stuff and so she let me have it. let me tell you, now that i know this, i'm totally okay with lookin like bangers n mash if it means i get all his rawhide. i sure hope we come back again soon.

anyways, i had a fine time at my other grandma's house. it was nice to get away and be an only dog again, even if i did have to dress up in my new duds to go over there. this is me, hangin out in my snoozer while everyone was havin dinner.

tomorrow maybe they'll let me have more of jasper's rawhide. i can't wait 2 find out.

toodles!
b.

my cousin jasper

dear diary,
this is my cousin jasper. he is a rescued border collie and i have been staying at his house. i wish i could tell you more about him but i've been kinda keepin my distance. yeah we go on walks together and most of the time everything is fine but sometimes when we are home inside, well sometimes i can't help but feel like he's givin me the stink eye and i get a little worried. i even embarrassed myself and ran away aro-arooing a few times when he got too close to me. boy what a mistake that was. that only made him MORE interested in me, can u believe it?









thing is, mom says border collies are natural born herders. mom says when he looks at me all he sees is something that should be herded. like i'm a sheep or somethin.




but, c'mon. he's biggern me and that mighty stink eye of his? well, i really think he's sees me more as this.




yeah that's right. dinner. a tasty sausagey dinner. i would eat that, too, really, if it didn't have my head on it. so, that's why for now i prefer runnin off, thanks, spectacle or not.

i think things will be fine, though. today mom and jasper's mom have been keeping an eye on both of us. and let me tell you, their stink eyes beat out both our stink eyes any day. it's a good thing we love our moms so much.

well that's is all for now. tomorrow i'm goin to my other grandma's house and i can't wait! she seems to really like me so maybe i can get some extra lovin.

toodles,
b.

o the places i have gone

dear diary,
mom says i've travelled quite a distance thees past two days but i sure couldn't tell ya since i spent most of my time under blankies. it was really kinda boring for me. so boring pretty much all i did was sleep or yawn. oh, and kack on water that time i drank from my cup in the car. sometimes it just goes down the wrong way, doesn't it? that's me kacking in the middle picture of the bottom row. i look kinda fierce there, huh?

but anyways, at least i am with mom and dad cuz i can't even imagine what i would be doing if they didn't take me with them. even if there my cousin dog jasper is trying to herd me. i'll have to tell ya about that tomorrow.

toodles!

hugs,
b

cribs & crunchies

hey everybody! baxter here, your roving rover reporter reporting to you today from a very special place. my home!

now some of you might know that i usually work for my meals and so mom and i practice all sorts of tricks i know. but that's only phase one. i get to eat my yummy phase two right here, and i don't have to share it with anybody like i did in my original home. my food bowl is here on the left and my water bowl is on the right. i wish they were both filled with food, though.

anyways, u may notice that even though i don't have to share my food, i still have some company when i eat. being surrounded by art helps food taste even better, don't you think?

well that's my tour for today. sometime i'll show you what's in my treat n toy drawer. maybe you can help me take some things out, know what I mean?

tiny adventurer

Even though Baxter loves the company of his buddies, he seems equally content to follow his nose wherever it may take him. While we played hooky from the wiener festival, his wiggling wandering nose took us here, to a wonderful little garden graced by the presence of its mosaic mistress. Another fine lap discovered and conquered by Baxter the Explorer.

love is a battlefield

I sometimes wonder what Baxter thinks of all my picture taking. Most of the time, he's pretty easy and goes along with the plan, letting me snap away and even throwing an occasional Tyra glance my way to sweeten the results. Most of the time, I found out, unless he is at a civil war battlefield.

Acres and acres of open land and the scent of freshly mown hay captivated Baxter's senses while we roamed the battlefield park after our time at the doxie festival. Where soldiers once fought, now a little wiener dog happily trundled with nose glued to the ground in search of bunnies.

With so much to smell and so little time to do it in, Baxter threw me a Tyra only once, by the gigantic statue of Stonewall Jackson. Enough, he hoped, to get mom off his back so he could get on with the hunt.

mid-atlantic doxie fest: epilogue

New experiences are always an interesting test for our little kielbasa. Baxter had never been in a wiener dog race before, and we were tempted to see how he would do at this festival's race. Surrounded by fellow doxies, we knew he would be at his bravest, but the enclosed starting box for the wiener dog races could prove to be a sticking point. Would Baxter mind being crammed into a wooden box by a stranger, or would the experience ruin his otherwise happy day? We figured it was best not to find out, and instead, watched the races by the sidelines.

Luckily, a break in the racing schedule gave us the perfect opportunity to let Baxter have his fun. Go, Speed Racer, go!

Later in the day Baxter's nose also ferreted out some irresistible smells that lured him away from snarfable floor food and the company of his fellow wieners. The seductive smell of rabbits called him to this deserted part of the fairgrounds where he patiently waited for somebody, anybody, to unlock the gates so he could get a better whiff of stale bunny. All in all, truly a perfect day for our little wolf.

mid-atlantic doxie fest: fashion and food

Hey, it's me Baxter, your roving rover reporter reporting again from the Mid-Atlantic Dachshund Phestival. Now, between you and me, dressing up isn't always what it's cracked up to be, especially when the pictures leaked to the internet are taken out of context, but here at the festival everybody knows that dressing up is purely for fun. We're back inside to watch the costume parade, and let me tell you there were a lot of dressed up doxies!






I really liked all of the costumes but I gotta give a high paw-five to the human who dressed up as The Cat in the Hat and pulled along his double dapple doxies in a wagon who were dressed up as Thing 1 and Thing 2 and I think a green turtle - my mom thinks maybe that was Yertle. There were pumpkins and lobsters and hot dogs and sharks and even a skunk! Thank goodness he didn't smell like one.



Doxies in costume weren't the only dogs in disguise at the festival. Some doxies here bore a striking resemblance to other things without even trying. They were everywhere. One fella's mom was carrying him like he was a big stuffed toy that she just won at the carnival. At the races, I sat next to a "short haired" black and tan who was really a long hair, only his mom had him groomed short. I also played with a long haired red who reminded me of a golden retriever. All throughout the festival I ran into piebald doxies who looked more like spaniels because of their markings, and a wirehaired doxie that mom said looked more like Buck the Shaggy Briard Sheepdog from Married with Children. And every once in a while we would see doxies who didn't need a costume at all to be reminded of why we are called sausage doggies.








mmm sausage. That brings me to the topic of food at the festival, or fair food to be exact, like funnel cakes and hot dogs n french fries n lemonade. Mom says if all the fair food was similar to the steak n cheese sandwich that they did not share with me, then "fair" pretty much describes the food. No hot melted provolone and fresh baked italian bread for this sandwich, just cold liquid cheese and soggy peppers covering lukewarm steak on a stale bun. So my tip for this trip, pack your own food cuz there is plenty of open space and seating for a picnic. Or break away from the barking and explore the surrounding town for good eats. There are definitely better options only minutes away.







Speaking of tips, mom says humans should wear comfortable shoes because there are a lot of lines worth standing in. The time goes by fast with all the doxie watching and butt sniffing. I don't even remember how long it took before it was my turn to get blessed, but you can see the waiting was totally worth it.






Now, the Mid-Atlantic Dachshund Phestival is more than just a day of fun for doxies like me. For some doxies, this is their chance to be adopted. My mom and dad and I spent some time with this little girl, Jasmine, a four year old long haired e-red doxie, while her foster mom took a much needed break from representing her rescue group. Everyone liked Jasmine because she was an absolute sweetie, the kind of dog that doesn't mind being held for hours on end. I also met doxies in wheel carts, old doxies and young ones in every color and shape and size. Like me two years ago, they are all in need of a good home. I hope they find their forever families soon.



So whether you're interested in going for a run, dressing up, adoping a doxie, or even just hanging out to doxie watch, the Mid-Atlantic Dachshund Phestival is one happening place to be. I hope you'll have a swell time at your next doxie festival. It may not be the same as this one, but I guarantee you it will be fun!

This is your tuckered roving rover reporter Baxter signing out. Woof!

mid-atlantic doxie fest: the fast and the curious

Hey everybody it's me Baxter, your roving rover reporter here with part two of my report on the Mid-Atlantic Dachshund Phestival. Today it's all about wiener dog racing. The races here are open to everybody and no registration is required, so you can imagine how many wieners get to race! I have never raced before so my mom thought it would be a good idea to check out the action as bystanders for the first block of races. Let's all walk to the barn to see what's going on, shall we?










Okay, here's how it works. Eager doxies and and their humans line up on one side of the course and run in groups of five. Racers are put into a wooden cubby by volunteers while their owners walk to the finish line to cheer on their doxie. Open the gates, and out come the hounds, right? Only sorta, as it would turn out.

Some of my buddies were fast to figure out that they needed to run to the finish line, but most of my brethren were just curious once the gate was released, and so they either meandered about or wandered around the racing box to see if their owner there. It was really cute, but I gotta say after the first few races, I was ready to take off my roving rover reporter hat and find the source of whatever tasty aroma was wafting up from below the bleachers.









Finally, the first block of races was over, and almost everybody went inside to catch the next event. Stragglers like me stuck around to race at a much quieter pace. And that is when my roving rover reporter senses tingled. This is my new friend, whose real name I don't remember but whom I will always remember as Holly Hobbie. She is really old and sweet and has a really cool snaggle tooth. Somebody left her at the pound til she was rescued by her new family.









Holly was already most of the way down the empty course when my mom noticed her. Sure there were fast doggies out there today, and doggies much younger than her that couldn't make their way down the course. But there was Holly, making do with what she had, crossing the finish line all by herself. Without a doubt, my girl Holly Hobbie won the wiener race that day.

This is Baxter your roving rover reporter signing out til tomorrow when I talk fair food and fashion.

mid-atlantic doxie fest: commence au festival

Hi, it's me, Baxter, your roving rover reporter. I'm standing here in what appears to be dimly lit building in a place I've never smelled before, surrounded by - guess what - wiener dogs! My mom just told me we are at the eighth annual Mid-Atlantic Dachshund Phestival. How cool is that? Last year this festival attracted over 1200 attendees. Let's see what's going on while the people and hounds start pouring in.






At first glance this festival reminds me of the flea market cuz there are all sorts of cool vendors here selling stuff for your doxie and stuff with doxies on it. These are two of my favorite finds. The black patent doxie is actually a purse that mom admired for its construction, but she said didn't get it because she already has me as her doxie accessory. The aqua blue disc with the retro round doxie on it is a key ring coin purse, though I think it should hold snacks instead of coins.












Now, if you've never been to a doxie festival, let me tell you, there are plenty of things to do here. Today I want to share with you my experience sniffing butts. It was WON-DER-FUL! Everywhere I turned, there was a butt that needed sniffing. No craning my neck, no straining to catch a whiff from way high above with those big scary kinds of dogs. None. All these butts were just at the right height for proper greeting and they greeted me right back. I spent a LOT of time doing that and met up with all sorts of new friends. These were just the fellas whose pictures were halfway clear. I sniffed a lot of butts, oh yeah.




I could have sniffed all day! But, tomorrow let me tell you about the wiener dog races cuz they were fun, too. For today, this is Baxter, your roving rover reporter signing out.