Guest poster: Oskar says "I'm 12!"

It's my birthday today -- August 6.  If you look at my birth certificate, it will say August 7.  But my sister Charlotte and I emerged first, on the near side of midnight.  The other eight came afterwards, dragging our "official birthdate" to the 7th.  It's my birthday today -- August 6 -- and I'm just going to stretch out in my chair and enjoy it.

On the occasion of my birthday -- on August 6 -- I enjoy taking a walk, well, anywhere really but I was going to say "down memory lane."  Join me for walkies!

Back in 1998 I flew on an airplane from Canada and came to live with Johanna.  Things were different then.  No digital cameras.  Johanna was a blond.  Still, all in all, life was good.

We lived in Chicago for a couple of years.  We got to go to puppy school so Johanna could learn to give me treats on command.  That was good.  Then we moved to a house with a big yard and when I chased squirrels I could really stretch my legs.  I liked that.  We had a nice neighbor named Billie who would give me the big bones by the boxful.  That was particularly good.

That was where we got chickens for the first time.  The best thing about chickens is they are treat dispensers.  You just follow along behind them and they leave treats to eat!  That was good!

One day Johanna went off in the car by herself.  When she came home we had Ulani.

After Ulani joined us, it was only a matter of time before we moved to Michigan.  Another new backyard, where Ulani learned to climb the fence.  I had a big adventure one night and went deer chasing, but when it got dark I came right home.  But again, Johanna decided we should move.

We ended up here at Busy Solitude Farm.  Now we've lived here five years.  That's the longest I've lived anywhere.  It's pretty good here.  Trucks and tractors and the yellow school bus drive by for me to chase.  Well, inside the fence I can chase, Johanna always says "no chasing trucks" when we're on walkies.  Sometimes there are rabbits to chase, but we do not have squirrels here.  I miss the squirrels.

We have chickens again, and ducks that make funny noises.  I like to stand outside the barn and listen to them.  Now we have our walks in straight lines -- straight away from the house, straight back.  It could get dull but there are always lots of new smells, and different weather, and sometimes people stop their cars and talk to us.  So that's pretty good, too.


And now I am 12 years old.  Most days I feel pretty good.  Sometimes my joints ache, and I take more naps than I used to.  But I still enjoy a good bone, and a car ride, and "brushiness" (even though I pretend to run away when the brush comes out!).  And though we don't wrestle like we used to, Ulani is decent company.


All in all, life is good.