Different Times for Food

We never get food at the same hour and minute every day. It is not that I normally care. Wolves in the wildernes do not have fixed times for their meals, they eat whenever they have hunted some game down. Today, however, we had to wait until it was almost nine o'clock in the evening, before we got our main course for the day. This is a little to late, in my humble opinion. Fortunately, the late hour was an odd occurence. we usually have our main meal much earlier than this. All is well that ends well.

Exo-moon

The first moon in orbit around a planet orbiting another star than the Sun may have been discovered.

There are many planets by other stars already accounted for. These are called exo-planets, exo meaning it is a planet outside of the Solar system. Consequently, a moon orbiting an exo-planet is called an exo-moon.

This is an interesting discovery, but not surprising. The more exo-planets we have found, the higher probability there would be also to find an exo-moon. In this case, it seems to be a moon the size of Neptune, orbiting a planet much more massive than Jupiter. The size of this moon is probably part of the cause it was discovered, if indeed it is. More observations are needed in order to confirm the discovery. I hope the exo-moon turns out to be there.

Night Guest

Paula's nephew Arvid has a sleep over at our house tonight. He is a sweet little child, one of the humans who belong to my granddaughter Soya. He remembered me from last time we met. We had some fun together in the evening.

Arvid is and a half years old, which is equal to being a puppy in dog terms. Humans are children for a much longer time than dogs are pups. This is equal to the average longer life span of humans, compared to dogs. Sometimes, I wish I could also have such a long life.

I am sure I will see Arvid many more times. It will surely be fun.

No Rain

I could have guessed, there was no rain today. The forecast yesterday said it would be rain today, but we never get rain this summer, or so it seems. Perhaps I would have put a bet on it, but I never do. I guess the odds would have been low. We want rain.

Rain?

Once again, the weather forecast says it will be rain tomorrow. We have had many forecasts lately promosing rain in a day or two, but when that day s come, the weather conditions have changed and no rain has fallen. I guess we will just have to see if the forecast is correct this time. I hope it is, but I still doubt it. We need rain, but we do not seem to get any.

Wedding Cake Eaten by Dog

A Labrador Retriever in England started the wedding festivities early for a couple of humans. Bella, which she is called, lives with close relatives to the couple who were getting married. Her humans had baked the wedding cake. On the morning of the wedding, Bella ate it. Every wedding guest was told the story and appreciated it as funny. The humans got a replacement cake, so the party was not spoiled.

Bella did the right thing, I believe. If she was allowed near the cake, of course she had every right to eat it. This is the right of dogs vis-a-vis food.

There is a short video on the story.

Good Day's Sleep

We had a good day's sleep today, once Paula came home from her night shift st the hospital, We sleep with Paula during the days and with Daniel during the nights. I could really get used to this lifestyle!

Working at Night

Paula is working tonight. There is need for nurses around the clock at the hospital, so Paula does the night shift once in a while. It was long ago now, due to her long illness. She likes working at night, however, so I am glad for her sake that she has been able to resume this habit. Meanwhile, we stay at home with Daniel. It is nice to sleep at night with him, and sleep at day with Paula,

Waffles

We had waffles tonight. It is very tasty. I really liked that we had jam and whipped cream as well. Jam and whipped cream is a Swedish tradition, whenever waffles are served.

It is not that I got to taste a lot, but even a little bit of a waffle is great.

Pre-history of Dogs

Science is making progress, when researching the pre-history of dogs. This is good, not only for all of us dogs. It is also good for all humans. If there is any animal living in near symbiosis with humans, it is dogs. Dogs and humans are very important for each other. Civilisation is our common culture.

A Giant Step for Mankind

It is the anniversary of the first Lunar landing. On this day in 1969, the Lunar lander called Eagle landed on the Moon. Its two man crew of Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin were the first humans who ever sat their feet on another celestial body than Earth. They were followed by a few other men until December 1972. We are still waiting for the next manned Lunar landing.

The first Lunar landing is worth celebrating. It was a great feat and every human may be proud of it. It truly was a great step for mankind, as Neil Armstrong put it.

The Lawn

One good thing about not getting much rain, is that the lawn is not growing very fast. For the first time in many weeks, today, Daniel mowed the lawn.

The lawn mower has not been functioning properly. Daniel has managed to repair it, however. This is good. A well mowed lawn makes it harder for ticks getting at us. The lawn is well lowed and nice now.

Hamburger

I got a hanburger this evening.

Do I need to say more?

Floods in Cornwall

There are floods in Cornwall in England, due to heavy rainfalls. This is not as far away as Fukuoka in Japan, where there were floods the other week.

We still have a draught in Närke, Sweden, where we live. There were some millimetres of rain over the last couple of days, but this is nothing in the big scheme of things.

I wish we could have a lot of rain. Our well needs it.

Darkness

We are getting dark nights again. We are getting further away from the summer solstice, and nights are getting darker. There are advantages, it is easier to fall asleep. Not that I have ever had trouble falling asleep, but still. Life goes on. Autumn is here soon, when no bugs will bug us.

Snowfall in Santiago

Snow has fallen in Santiago de Chile, capital of Chile, for the first time in two decades. A lot of people have lost electric power.

Santiago is situated on the southern hemisphere, so this is the right time of the year for winter and snowfall. Still, the city lies way up north and not up in the Andes mountains, so snow is rare.

I hope the cold weather and power shortages does not cause dogs much harm.

Late Night Snack

Paula made some sandwiches late at night. I love a late night snack. I also got to taste a little.

Snacks are always good, but there is something else about eating just before you will go to sleep. It makes you very satisfied and you go to sleep with a nice and warm feeling in your stomach. This is great. Late night snacks should be more common.

Dual Citizenship Makes Australian Senator Resign

An Australian Senator will resign, since it was discovered he is a citizen of New Zealand as well as of Australia. Under the Australian constitution, you are not eligible to hold such a public elected office, if you have another citizenship as well as your Australian citizenship.

Apparently, the senator was born in New Zealand, gaining citizenship there at birth, but moved to Australia with his family when he was three years old and became an Australian citizen as a teenager. He claims he thought he had relinquished the New Zealand citizenship when he became an Australian citizen. He had not, and has to relinquish it now or resign as senator. He resigns as senator

I believe this is a good rule. Dual citizenship does not have to be a problem, but if you will be a legislator, your loyalty to the country cannot be put into question. A legislator should only be citizen in the country where he legislates.

Warning for Heavy Showers

We watched the news on TV tonight. They issued a warning for heavy showers, a lot of rain could fall tomorrow. We were happy, since we have a draught. The nature and our well needs rain.

It turned out, however, that the warning was for a lot of rain in the northern parts of Sweden. This is far away from us. There is no chance we can get any of this rain. It will be sunny here tomorrow, too.

Weather is nothing we can control. It is a chaotic system. No matter how much we wish for a certain type of weather, it is out of our control. In a way, this is comforting, because nobody can blame anybody else for bad weather. It would still be nice if we could wish for more rain.

Best Prescription Ever

A veterinarian has given me a prescription to eat a slice of blood pudding every day. This is the best prescription I have ever heard of. It is so tasty!

Over the last days, I have not felt really well. I have been more tired than usually and I have breathed more heavily. Paula, Daniel, and I discussed this and decided I needed an appointment with a veterinarian. This is not a thing I usually like, bit the results can be good.

Daniel and I went to the veterinarian today. There were nothing wrong with the way my heart and lungs sounded, no lumps or scars, and I am flexible and allert for my age. They got a blood sample from me and ran some tests. It turned out there was just one thing that was not really good: I have a lower count of erythocytes (also known as red blood cells). These cells transport oxygen to the cells of the body and carbondioxide from the cells. With a low level, there is less oxygen reaching the cells, less carbondioxide leaving the cells.

The veterinarian said there were a couple of different possible causes for my condition. She said this required further investigation. Part of the investigation was to help my body produce more erythocytes. I would achieve this by eating blood pudding. the high level of blood, and thus iron, in blood pudding would probably boost the production of erythocytes in my bone marrow. We will then return to the veterinarian in two weeks.

On our way home, we stopped by the supermarket and purchased some blood pudding. This is a prescribed medicine I look forward to taking. It tasted great today and will taste great in the days to follow.

Shrimp Sandwiches

We went out to a summer cafe by Lake Hjälmaren today, at Ässundet a few kilometreseast of Örebro. They make great shrimp sandwiches there. It was a beautiful day and great company. This really made our day. It is a great way for having a holiday close to home.

Name Day

It is Paula's second name day today. She has the names Paula Andrea Johanna, all of which is in the official Swedish calendar as name days, Today is Andrea. Thus, we celebrate her.

Dogs seldom have name days. Hailey is not in the calendar. I am not that disappointed, there are always other reasons to celebrate, anyway.

Another Bottas Victory

Valteri Bottas, from Finland, in his Mercedes, won the Austrian Grand Prix in Formula 1 today. It was his second victory of the year and of his career. He is now not far away from the two leaders of the championship, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton. It would be great if he could compete for the title. He has certainly showed he is good enough to do it, his first victory was not just luck. It would be great if a driver from our eastern neighbour would win the title.

Road Trip Rain

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Paula, Daniel, and I went on a road trip today. It was raining a lot, while we rode the car. This did not bother us. It was a lot of rain, bit not so heavy that the sight or the grip on the road was impaired.

We were disappointed when we came home, though, there was not a single millimetre of rain in the rain gauge. We want to get more rain to water our garden and fill our well. Now all we got was a cleaner car. Oh, well, I guess this is a little thing to be happy about, anyway.

Floods in Fukuoka

There are floods in Fukuoka, due to heavy rains. We have draught in Närke, Sweden, because we have had so little rain. Life is not always fair.

Well, at least this should be ecidence against the draught being an inevitable cause of the climate changes.

Eino Leino Day

It is the day of poems and summer in Finland, or Eino Leino day, after the Finnish poet Eino Leino, who was born this day in 1878.

If Finland would not have ceased to be a part of Sweden in 1809, perhaps we would have celebrated this day here too. Poems can be exciting and invigorating. Summer is warm and nice. I believe it would be nice to have a day for summer and poetry in Sweden as well as in Finland. Perhaps we can import the celebrations?

Just a Little Rain

We read in the news paper this morning that the water in the ground is at a very low level. We are a bit worried about the amount of water in our well. There was a little rainfall this afternoon, bit we only got 1 millimetre. We are a bit annoyed about the lack of rain, but what can we do?

Mum's National Holiday

It is the 4th of July, and we celebrate the national holiday of Mum's home country, the USA. Mum always celebrated, as long as she loved with us. Calvin celebrates too, of course, he was also born in the USA. I celebrate mostly because my Mum was American. The USA seems to have been a great country to live in. Long may the USA remain!

Europeans in America

The first confirmed European settlement in America is in what is now northern Newfoundland. Vikings from Iceland and Greenland settled there around the year 1000. They lived there for about a decade, then went back to where they came from.

It is interesting to imagine these settlers, travelling in open viking ships across the North Atlantic Ocean. I wonder what dogs they had. They must have had dogs, I think.

History is interesting, About this time, Shibas only lived in Japan. We have spread across the world in the last century. Dogs have always acompanied humans, though, at least since we teamed up with one another many millenia ago. Exploring new lands is exciting for us too. I still have more to explore in my life

Germany Won

Germany won the Confederations Cup. My bet would, therefore, be that Germany will not win the World Cup next year. As I wrote the other day, no country has went on from winning the Confederations Cup to winning the World Cup as well. It is also very rare that a winner of the World Cup can defend the title.

I hope Sweden wins the World Cup, or that Japan does. I do not think this will happen, though. It is not yet clear which countries will participate in the World Cup, so I will wait until I may make a prediction. One of the best things about football is that it is not easy to predict results.

Celebrations

Paula, Daniel, Morran, and I went over to Paula's parents this evening. We celebrated the 45th wedding day of Paula's parents. It was great that I got to come.

Celebrations are also due this day, because it was the birthday of Dad. He knew and loved Paula's parents, just as I do.

We had a great time today. There are no bad reasons to celebrate, but we had great reasons today.