World Cup Qualifiers

It looks like Sweden will be second in its World Cup qualifiers group, after France. This means France will be directly qualified, and Sweden will probably be one of the eight best second teams who will face off on play off games.

I hope Sweden will succeed in the play off games. The World Cup is exciting, but I want all my favourite teams to participate. These are primarily Sweden and Japan. Then there are Norway, the USA, and Belgium, all of which are countries where dogs in my pedigree come from. Unfortunately, Norway is out of the competition. Belgium and the USA will probably qualify, however. Thus, I hope for Sweden, Japan, Belgium, and the USA.

Japanese Grand Prix

The Japanese Grand Prix in Formula 1 is driven this weekend. I enjoy watching this Grand Prix even more than others, because I like seeing views from Japan, the home country of our dog breed.

The race is on tomorrow morning, Swedish time. We just have to get up early on a Sunday morning to watchit, then.

Friday

It is Friday. Great!

You may think that a pet dog like me, who is at home all week, does not care that it is Friday and weekend. You could not be more wrong. At the weekend, the humans working office hours, like Daniel does, are at home. Dogs always likes it better when our humans are at home. Thus, the weekend is great.

Driving Paula

There have been plenty of times when I have come along with Daniel and fetched Paula in the centre of town late at night.  This night, Daniel and I did the opposite: we gave Paula a ride down to the centre. She was going there to work on the night shift at the hospital. I think my participation was appreciated. This feels good, it is always nice to make someone else happier.

Boycotting Cinnamon Bun Day

We did not eat any cinnamon buns today, even though it is Cinnamon Bun Day on the fourth of October. This is just as well. Late Auntie Linni were always annoyed that Cinnamon Bun Day was on her birthday, because she had a cinnamon bun tail, too curled to be excellent according to the Shiba breed standard. In honour of Auntie Linni, we boycott Cinnamon Bun Day and do not eat cinnamon buns.

Italian Songs

Paula likes Italian Eurovision songs. I understand they are often nice, and the language is beautiful. She plays a lot of these songs tonight. I prefer Italian food. Spaghetti Bolognese is great. We all have different preferences.

Cold Rain

The rain is colder this time of the year. I still like it, as long as I am indoors and just have to listen to it. The sound is rather soothing.

Dutch Victory

The Dutch Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen took his first Grand Prix victory today, in Malaysia's Grand Prix. It is fun when relatively new drivers step forward and win races. No sport is fun, if there are always the same winners in every competition.

I guess April's son Botan, who lives in the Netherlands,is more happy than the rest of usAangenaam dogs.

Celebration

Paula's sister with family and Paula's parents came by this afternoon. They spent some time here, then  they, Paula, and Daniel left. Paula and Daniel came back in the evening. They ad a late, special celebration for Paula and her fortieth birthday. Paula told me it was a very nice evening. I am glad she enjoyed it. For me, it was a calm evening that I also enjoyed.

Friday Fun?

Neigher Paula nor Daniel felt well this evening. They both had a cold. They coughed and sneezed.

On Friday nights, you want to hve fun. It is the start of the weekend. It is, however, not that fun, when both your humans are feeling low and cold. We dohelp up their spirits, however, Dogs are great at that.

New Family

A couple of humans were here visiting us tonight. They will become the new family of one of the current pups, probably one of Karen's pups. I studied them thoroughly and came to the conclusion they are nice people. The pup who will get them as his new family will get a good life. This feels good.

It is great when people interested in becoming the new family for a pup come here, so we can get to know them. It is not just about Paula and Daniel getting to know them, the way they act towards dogs is something that the dogs here can, quite naturally, be better judges of. We were today. These humans passed.

Meeting the Grandpups

I met my grandpups of Polly's most recent litter for the first time today. It was not that interesting. Having pups of my own was fun and very rewarding, but I have been there, done that. Polly's pups are very cute, but in a rather boring age. It will be more fun in a few weeks, when they have started to play for real and go outdoors. Until that time, I am fine with just seeing them for a little while, letting Polly do the work. This is a perk of being a grandmother.

Archaeology

There was a documentary on archaeology on TV tonight. Most of it was about human remains, some about horse remains. There was not a single word on dog remains. The excavations must have been made from very poor societies. If a society does not have dogs, it must be a poor society. Dogs are an essential part of human civilisation.

There Is a War Already

North Korea accuses the USA of declaring war against them.

This is silly. North Korea and the USA are already at war with each other. They have been since 1950. There was a cease fire in 1953, but no peace treaty has ever been negotiated, much less signed.

You cannot really declare war on a state which you are already at war with, can you?

It is said that Andorra did not show up at Versailles in 1919 and never signed the peace treaty with Germany after the First World War, so when Andorra followed France and declared war in 1939, they found thenselves fighting two world wars simultaneously. This ended with a separate peace treaty in 1939 with regard to the First World War, while the Second World War was allowed to continue. This is an exception to the rule. The USA and North Korea should both know that there is, actually, a state of war between them. The question is rather who might break the cease fire first. I hope none of them do.

Upcoming Event

The political party that Daniel is a member of will hold a national event here in Örebro later this autumn. Daniel spent part of this day reading documents about suggested policies for the party, suggestions that is up for decisions at this event. Daniel will not take part in the event, but he will be at a meeting before the event where he will discuss the ideas. I still think it is a little waste of time, if Daniel will not be there coting for or against anything, but he thinks it is interesting. We all have our own hobbies, I guess.

Saturday

We have had a cool Saturday today, generally taking it easy. Both Paula and Daniel have stayed at home most of the day (though Daniel took a detour to the grocery store). I like days like his, days when we can just take it easy. It is among the best of days. If we go to a dog show, it is better, but cool days are second best. I hope for more days like this.

Washing Machine

Hello, Karstuhl here!

When I have small puppies, like I have now, I spend my days with them in the bathroom. This is where we have the litter box. I am quite fond of the bathroom. The downside is that the washing machine is here. I dislike the sound of the washing machine, when clothes and other things are washed in it. I wish Paula and Daniel would wait until the puppies are old enough before washing, but I cannot expect them to actually do this. I guess I have to endure this noise, then. It is not nice, bit I can manage. My puppies help me through this, they are so cute.

Karen's Pups

I guess I should mention that Karen has had a litter of pups, parallel to my daughter Polly. Karen's pups were born on Saturday evening. They are cute, like all Shiba pups. As a grandmother, however, I believe Polly's pups are a little cuter.

Karen got three sons, no daughter, in this litter. There are already plans for their future, we have a number of different families who are eager to get a Shiba from here. We have a good reputation. Karen and her pups will benefit from this. I think they will add to it, as well, which is good.

Shiba pups are the greatest, but they are not for everyone. You have to know enough about us and be prepared to treat us with the dignity we deserve. If you do, you will get a faithful companion for eternity. This is great, isn't it?

Vulnerable, but not Endangered

The snow leopard is not at such a high risk of extinction any longer. It is no longer an endangered species, but it is deemed vulnerable. This is not bad, although more work has to be done. The great carnivores are important in the ecology, they need to be preserved. I hope they will survive.

Grandpups

Humans talk about their grandchildren, who are children of their children. For us dogs, it is grandpups. I have not heard or seen this word anywhere, but I am sure it must exist. If a dog has had pups, who have become adult dogs and have pups, these pups are grandpups. It is a splendid word, telling you how grand the pups are. My daughter Karstuhl has newborn pups again now, these are my grandpups. So far, they are too young, but I cannot wait to meet them. It will be great.

Gertrud

Hello, Karstuhl here!

My most recently born daughter will be called Gertrud. This is a fine name. It is a Medieval name, meaning spear and force. Saint Gertrud is the patron saint of travellers.

My daughter Gertrud will stay with us, our family will be her family. This is great. I have longed for having a puppy who stays with us.

She can also be called Gerstuhl.

Sleep

Hello, Orange here!

We had one of these great days of rest. Paula worked night between Saturday and Sunday, then she came home to sleep. We kept her company in bed, and slept when she slept. There are times when life as a companion dog is pretty nice.

More About the Pups

Hello, Karstuhl here!

My pups of the latest litter are doing great. They are a week and a half old now and really cute. It is a boy and a girl.

As is the case with most of the very best Shibas, they are black and tan. If you do not believe me that black and tan comes with being one of the best Shibas, ask Mommy. You could also have asked Daddy or my maternal Grandfather, as long as they were around. Of course, all Shibas are great dogs. We are, after all, the very best of breeds. However, black and tan Shibas are the best of the best.

So far, the pups are blind and dead, but this will not last for long. They will open up their eyes and start exploring the world in just a couple of days. This will be nice.

Twelve Years Old

It is my birthday today. I turn twelve. We celebrated this evening. A lot of things have happened during these twelve years.

Some would say I have passed my peak, that I am old enough that I am on a downward slope now. I know I will not see another twelve years in this life, but I still believe I am on top of my peak. I believe I have been at the peak for a long time. For me, it is an elongated peak, like the top of a long ridge, rather than the tip of a mountain. I can still see this elongated peak continuing way into my future. This feels nice.

I wish to send congratulations to my brothers Jiro and Kiko as well!

Nice Looking People

Paula and Daniel had this strange debate about nice looking people. Humans claim looks are important, when chosing a mate, I have never understood this. For dogs, the smell is most impotant. You can smell if you are in heat and if the male in your vicinity would be a good father of pups or not. Why would you need looks. The smell is so much more decisive. I guess humans go by looks, because they lack the sense of smell that dogs have. It is just that the smell tells you so mich more than the looks do. If you can smell him and find he is good, he is. Kenny was my love, I could smell it.

Tagliatelle

Pasta is always good. We had some tagliatelle tonight, the elongated, flat kind of pasta. Paula made an easily made but tasty sauce. I got a rather huge part of it. Calvin got more than I did, but he is a nice guy and can deserve this once in a while. It was a good evening.

Doughnuts Instead of Flowers

A bride in Australia surprised the wedding party by having bouquets of doughnuts instead of flowers. Everyone was pleasantly surprised, as far as the story goes. I understand them. I would also much rather have doughnuts than flowers, anywhere, in any capacity. Dogs do not have wedding parties, but if I had, this is the kind of bridal bouquet I would want.

The Noise

We figured out what it was that went boom in the night. It was most certainly the sound of Swedish artillery at the military training field at Villingsberg. The sound came from that direction and the army is involved in a big excercise for the moment.

The sound of Swedish artillery is a good sound. It is the sound of our army preparing to defend our land, if necessary. We hope it will never be necessary, but the army is there to prevent the necessity as well as responding to the necessity, if necessary.

We cannot hear any explosions tonight.

Distant Explosions?

Things went "boom" in the distance this afrernoon. None of us knew what it was about. It was far enough away, that I and the other dogs did not react by barking at it. Paula and Daniel did discuss possible origins of the sound, though. Daniel though somebody was causing explosions in projects to build something. Paula was not so sure. I was not either, humans usually do not work on building sites on Sundays. Whatever the origin of the sound was, it was not causing us any harm, however. I guess we really do not need to know what it is, then.

Rain

We have had quite a lot of rain over the last couple of weeks. This is good for the amount of water in our well. It is raining again this evening. As long as you are indoors, and can just listen to the sound of the rain falling on the roof, it is really rather cozy to have rainy weather. I like it.

Anniversary

Paula and Daniel celebrated their anniversary as married today. I do not really see the point. I like it that they live together, and have us dogs, but living together with just one partner like this is not the dog way of doing things. I loved Kenny above any other male dog, but he was not my one and only. Dogs generally do not have any one and only. I guess there are just some differences between us and humans that I cannot quite comprehend. Nevertheless, Paula and Daniel are happy, so I congratulate them!

Good Food

Hello, Karstuhl here!

One of the fringe benefits of having puppies is the extra food you get.

Taking care of your small puppies is, in it self, the best reward there is. They are so cute. Beside this, there are fringe benefits. One is the extra food.

Today, I got smörgåstårta during the day and a hamburger with chips in the evening. I really enjoyed both dishes. This was great.

Puppies

Hello, Karstuhl here!

My pups were born tonight. It is one boy and one girl. They are among the best puppies ever. The only other puppies this great are my former puppies – and myself, when I was a puppy.

Darker Outside

It is getting darker outside. We had the lights on outside, when we went out for the final time tonight. It gives you an additional feeling of autumn. Even though it was relatively warm and almost no rain today, darkness tells us it is autumn. The full Moon rose above the treetops, this was a nice thing to behold.

Cold

Paula is having a cold and a fever. The fever is a reaction to the cold, making her warm. She sleeps to get rid of the cold. We help her, by lying close by, sharing our body heat with her. This is a good way of helping someone with a cold getting better. We all hope the cold will disappear soon.

Giving Paula a Ride Home

Paula worked the night between Saturday and Sunday. Daniel went to pick her up by car, giving her a ride home, and I got to come along. Our humans usually bring one of us dogs as often as they are able to, we are a great support in anything they do. Picking Paula up went very smoothly, I guess my presence was a help. I hope I can come along more times. I am experienced at picking Paula up.

World Beard Day

The first Saturday in September has been named the World Beard Day. It is a day in honour of the beard and bearded individuals, in a humourous way.

We honour the day by paying special attention to our Affenpinscher friend Morran, who has got a beard. Schnauzers and other bearded dogs should also get special treatment this day, we believe.

I am not certain if the humans who started World Beard Day considered paying special attention to bearded dog breeds. We do, nevertheless.

Autumn

Hello, Karstuhl here!

It is. September, and the almanack says it is autumn. The weather is just like yesterday. Humans and their wish to control everything. The almanack is one such way. It is funny..

The great thing about the almanack is that the humans keep track of birthdays etc. Celebrations are always great.

A Nice Trend Is Broken

Ever since 1993, Sweden had managed not to let in any goals in football, when playing Bulgaria. The teams have met many times, bit Sweden has always won without letting the Bulgarians make any goal. In the World Cup qualifier tonight, this nice trend was broken. Bulgaria scored 1-0 against Sweden in the beginning of the game. I am sad they did. I like nice trends.

Sausages

We got sausages for dinner today. It was very tasty. Meat is better, but sausage is a close second. Meat is a main ingredient in sausages, of course.

Oil

The car needed oil today, so Daniel got some. I do not really know what it is for, but it makes the engine going, anyway, along with the petrol. This is good enough for me. I keep going on meat and water, I think this is easier.

Thorax Intensive Care Unit

It is a bit strange, that you are sometimes interested in reading about something you are very familiar with and know a lot about. Tonight, Paula said she was going to read about the thorax intensive care unit. This is the unit at the hospital where she is working. Thus, she knows about it. Still, she reads about it. I guess it is like when I read anout dog shows, despite being a dog show professional, or read about dog behaviour, despite being a dog myself. It is odd, I admit that. I guess it is common, nevertheless.

Future Family for a Puppy

Puppies will soon be born here. both Karstuhl and Karen are expecting pups. We received visitors today, a human family who is interested in becoming the new family of one of these puppies. They were very friendly, interested, and informed for not yet having dogs. These are the kind of humans with whom you want puppies to move in to.

An interesting thing was that this family did not have a car. Most dog families have cars. They told us, however, that they live within walking distance to one of the biggest veterinary clinics in Sweden. Not having a car will, thus, never jeopardise the safety of the puppy. This is good.

If more humans were like these, more puppies would be needed.

The Lawn

In the dry summer that we have had, the lawn has not grown as much as it usually does, The positive side of this is that Daniel dåhas not had to mow the lawn as often as he usually does. Over the last couple of weeks, we have had rain, however, and the growth of the grass has increased very mich. Daniel had to mow the lawn today. It looks better when it is newly mowed. The best thing is, however, that it gives less opportunities for ticks to get onto us dogs. The lawn is mowed now. This is good.

Towards Autumn

The nights are getting longer and darker. Autumn will soon be here. It is getting more damp outside and a little more chilly. There are fewer bugs around. I rather like autumn, apart from the dark mornings that will come. Autumns are cool, autumns are nice. I hope there will be a lot of rain, our well would need it,

Qualified

The small Swedish football club Östersund, from a small town up north, has qualified for the Europe League.

This was very unexpected, a pleasant surprise for all of us from Sweden who have hoped, but have not really believed. It is always nice when Swedish clubs come far in the international club leagues. I believe so about every Swedish team. Daniel does not agree, when it comes to a few teams which he does not like, such as AIK. I still believe it is good r Swedish football. It is even better when the Swedish team is an underdog, like Östersund.

We wish Östersund all the luck in the League. The team will need it.

Happy, Happy Birthday!

It is the birthday of the best human I know: Paula.

Paula has been with me for all my life. She is my idol, my heroine, my human love. Today, she turns forty. She will continue living when I am gone, humans live longer than dogs. I will be with her as long as I can.

Happy birthday, Paula!

Preparations

It is Paula's birthday tomorrow. We have prepared the celebrations today. More preparations will be made tomorrow, but now it is time to rest. The present is ready.

Solar Eclipse

There has been a Solar Eclipse, visible from North America.

I believe Lunar Eclipses are much more important.

Candy

Sunday is always a holiday. Daniel had bought some candy and ice cream, fitting for a Sunday evening. We also continued celebrating a little from the dog show successes yesterday.

There are always some things worth celebrating. Sometimes, you have to think for a while, before you think of a reason to celebrate. With our show successes yeaterday, we did not need to ponder what to celebrate.

Good Results

We actually planned to go to Eskilstuna and the dog show today, to give my granddaughter Soya a chance to get her final CAC and becoming Swedish show champion, alternatively giving Karen a chance to get her first CAC. Soya have injuried her paw, however, and passed, because she would just limp in the show ring. Karen is expecting pups and should not go into the show ring for the sake of her pups.

I was entered in veterans' class, because we would go to Eskilstuna anyway. So was Gunde (a.k.a. Cookie). When Soya and Karen had to stay at home, however, Gunde and I had to defend the colours of Aangenaam. We did it properly. Gunde won best of breed, and I was Best of Opposite Sex. There were other excellent Shibas at the show, but we beat them.

Gunde was not placed in the Veterans' final or the Spitz breeds' final, but he did a great job, nevertheless. We are very satisfied with the results today.

Show Tomorrow

We are foing to a dog show tomorrow. I will participate in veterans' class. It was a while since there was a show where I participated, Going into the show ring has always been among the favourite things I know. It will be so much fun. Stay tuned for results!

Terrorist Attack in Barcelona

A van has been driven into people in central Barcelona, Spain. Police is treating it as a terrorist attack.

Our thoughts go to the victims and their families, including dogs.

It is terrible that things like this can happen. Humans can be so cruel. I wish the war on terror will be won soon.

A New Flower

Scientists have discovered a new flower on the Shetland Islands, which are part of Scotland. It is not just that the flower has been described by scientists for the first time, it really is a new flower. The original species was introduced in Shetland from overseas about two hundred years ago. Since then, a mutation has caused this flower to become bigger than its ancestors. It is, thus, a new flower. Compared to the time span of floral evolution on Earth, this flower has just appeared. It is younger than many dog breeds. This is fascinating.

More Pups

Karen went to the veterinarian today for an ultra sound examination. It turned out she is expecting at least three pups. Just like last autumn, we will have two litters of Shiba pups here. Polly's pups will likely be born before Karen's pups. Polly is my daughter, so I am sure her pups will be the sweetest.

Soon There Will Be Pups

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Paula said today, she believes I will get at least four pups. She said my tummy is that big.

I know what I think, but I will keep this to myself until the pups are born. There are not many weeks left now. I am looking forward to seeing the pups.

Cucumber

Calvin got some slices of cucumber today, but he did not want them. The offer passed to me. I accepted with a wagging tail. Cucumber may be a vegetable, and vegetables are generally neither very tasty, nor very healthy, for carnivores like us dogs. I do like cucumbers, however. I cannot quite describe why cucumbers are tasty. Taste is hard to describe in words, I believe. It is sufficient to say I like cucumbers. Calvin may think I am a little crazy because of this, but that is his problem, I know I am perfectly sane. We all have our personal preferences, when it comes to taste.

No Home Dog Show

Our own regional kennel club, Örebro läns kennelklubb, has its annual dog show in Askersund this weekend. None of us are shown there this year. This is a shame. It is so fun to go to dog shows and there is a point in going to the show of your own regional club. We will have to come back next year instead. This year, Daniel goes by himself, working as a ring steward. He is having fun.

Athletics

The World Championships in athletics is on in London. There are a few Swedes making an impact, one of them got a silver medal. The Americans are doing great. I root for Americans as well, since Mum was from America and I am thus half American. I can also root for athletes from Japan, Norway and Belgium. It is nice being able to trace your roots to many different countries, when international competitions are on.

Chicken

Apparently, cooked chicken is not healthy for dogs. If we swallow cooked bones of poultry or pork, it might split inside us and cut us up. I still do not see why we cannot have more chicken filet, now that Paula and Daniel had chicken for dinner. Life is full of small disappointments.

Birth Control App

There is an app that can help humans not getting pregnant, if they not want to and still want to have sex. It works on measurements of body temperature and algorithms. It has been found to be quite effective in clinical studies.

The app can also be used to pinpoint the time when humans are most likely to get pregnant, if they want to.

I figure it would probably be possible to evolve the app, so it can be used for dogs. This would be a great help, when the male is living quite far away from the female. It would suggest what day would be the best to travel to the male. This could prevent long, unnecessary trips to be mated. I hope such an app will come.

Godzilla Actor Dies

One of the most famous Japanese contributions to popular culture is the giand lizard monster Godzilla. The very first actor who played Godzilla n 1954, and returned to the role in eleven sequels, Haruo Nakajima, has died at the age of 88. 

Horror movies are not my cup of tea. It is still interesting to note that probably most people around the world has at least heard of Godzilla. The Japanese are good story tellers, regardless of how high cultural value the stories may be deemed to have. If the original actor behind Godzilla dies, Godzilla will still survive for the foreseeable future. This is cool.

Partial Lunar Eclipse

There was a partial Lunar eclipse at Moonrise this evening. We do not have a good view of the eastern horizon from our garden, there are tall trees in the way.

I did not look for the Moon, eclipsed or not. After all, I am a full Lunar Eclips all the time, a partial Lunar eclipse is not so much to see compared to this, is it?

Joke aside, I hope there were many people interested in celestial events who took the time to watch the eclipse. It is special, even if it was just a partial eclipse this time.

Rain

At last, this weekend, we have received a lot of rain. We got twenty millimetres yesterday and a lot today as well. It is still far from an annual average, but it is a start.

I have written a lot of blog entries lately about the laxk of precipitation since last autumn. We had just a little rain throughout the late summer and autumn, not much snow in the winter, and just a little rain in the spring. This summer, we have hardly had any rain at all. By the start of summer, experts said to the newspaper we needed to get at least hundred millimetres of rain in the early summer. We never got that. Months have passed with hardly any rain. This is why about forty to fifty millimetres of rain this week is just a start. It is a good start, but we still need a lot of rain in the days and weeks to come.

Let us hope for even more rain, even though it is uncomfortable being outdoors when it is raining.

Upcoming Pups

Hello, Karstuhl here!


Daniel asked me and Mommy why none of us wrote a blog entry yesterday about the result of my ultra sound examination.


The examination confirmed to Paula and Daniel that I am expecting pups. There will be at least two pups, perhaps three.


Well, there is a simple answer to Daniel's question. Both Mommy and I already knew I was with pups. I knew it from the start, of course. Mothers know this, and I have had litters of pups before. My own mother soon suspected the same, and I confirmed it to her. Consequently, the confirming result of the ultra sound examination was not news to us. It was, thus, nothing to write a blog entry about.


It is good that we have ultra sound examinations. They show our humans whether we are expecting pups or not.

Weekend

It is weekend, starting with Friday night, today.

The best weekends are those when we go to dog shows. This is, however, not common enough for my taste. The second best weekend is when both Paula and Daniel stays very mich at home. The upcoming weekend is not such a weekend.

Daniel will be home most of this weekend. Paula wil, however, not. She is working tonight, coming home early tomorrow morning. Then she will work the next night as well, Saturday to Sunday.

It is good that Paula and Daniel are working. They earn money from it, with which they buy dog food, treats etc. Still, parts of me cannot help wanting Paula to be back home. We will greet her with great joy, when she is coming home tomoorow and the day after tomorrow.

Final Teams Decided

In the UEFA Women's 2017 tournament, there were semi finals tonight. Denmark played Austria and the Netherlands played England. Javier rooted for Denmark and England, because he has got brothers who live in those countries. Denmark beat Austria, but the Netherlands beat England. It will e an interesting final game this Sunday.

Romans

Europe may have been founded, culturaly, by the Roman empire. It ruled all of the southern part of Europe, and more, from Rome and then Constantinople. A new, spectacular archaelogical discovery of Roman houses has been found outside of Lyon in France. it is an area of about 7,000 square metres with very well preserved remains.

I wonder if there are any remains showing dogs.

Is This a Boring Blog?

Hello, Karstuhl here!

It happens that I ask Mommy why she writes this blog on a daily basis. The statistics provided by the blog host shows there are not many people who read it. There are very seldom any comments on the blog posts.

Well, the answer I get is that Mommy thinks it is fun. She writes down her thoughts as much for her own sake, as for the sake of her readers. She likes her readers, but could have a journal without them.

I guess this makes sense. It must make sense for any writer. No matter how many readers you have, you must think it is fun writing, for your own sake, as well as for the writers.

So, is this a boring blog? Is this why there are not many followers? I do not think so. I believe there is just so many things out there on the World Wide Web to read, that a blog by a dog is just so odd it gets few readers. It is far from boring. I know, I enjoy reading it.

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.