Amherst

3dogs and I are spending our nation's birthday in the quaint little town of Amherst, New Hampshire. We drove up last night, spending a couple hours catching a bit of shuteye in a rest station somewhere in Connecticut. It was a bit cramped, but we somehow managed to all sleep. The lean green kiwi machine is actually quite conducive to snoozing.

My friend and her daughter have been living up here for the past six years. Cocoa is their chocolate lab whom at 1 1/2 years is much calmer than the El Bell. I've been a regular to New Hampshire and Maine for the last 16 years. My desire is to live where my parent's retired...Bridgton, Maine, another quaint New England town. Hmm, is there anything else but quaint New England towns? But Bridgton, unlike Amherst, offers me quick access to the mountains that I love to hike and ski, the shore where I love to walk aimlessly with 3dogs. And being that the town is nestle between lakes, there is no growing metropolis nearby. In the six year years that I've been coming to Amherst the twelve plus miles to get here from Nashua has filled up with Home Depot, Loews, Pet Smart, multiple grocery stores, and of course, the New England favorite, Duncan Donuts.

Now I've been promised that the Amherst 4th of parade will have a few of our next presidential candidates walking the route. Apparently in 2002, they had Kerry, Edwards, and a few other heavy hitters from that "other" side of the political arena. I'm hoping to shake a few big name hands, but apparently one never knows until the last moment who will be participating.

4dogcache?

Meet Booker. The latest to join the crew on 8th Street. He is an inquisitive 11 month old min pin. And though he is very cute, smart and lovable...luckily, he is not mine. 3dogs keep me busy enough without adding a fourth to their mix. Not that it would be impossible, but difficult. But Booker has actually melted into the pot quite well. His bouncing off walls and anything between makes him the perfect tennis ball-esque plaything for Ellie. Maggie too enjoys romping with him now and again.

But it is Andy who has taken Booker's arrival with a hint of disconcerting ire. Being that he was a single dog for an entire two weeks gives him top dog entitlement. He tolerated Ellie's arrival and her constantly hanging onto his neck. Eventually they became soul mates. Maggie wasn't so easy to accept. When she was a puppy he maintained his status, but as she grew in size it took more than a few scrapes to settle top dog position. The Maggot winning out. And now, god forbid, another dog to contend with; and a dog that never stops moving. It's only been a month, but Andy still growls and pounces on Booker as if he is an annoying little insect.

I'm not use to small dogs. I have always had dalmatians, labs or mutts all weighing in over 50 lbs. Mags is the largest dog I have raised, and at 16 months she's still packing weight onto her solid 90 lb frame. So Booker, who at the most probably tops out at 9 or 10 pounds, is quite the novelty for me.

Please let me in...

Poor Maggie Moo. She sat so still and was so quiet with this "poor poor me" pathetic look, but still she was unable to enjoy my nephew's fifth birthday party. And when by mere accident my Aunt (she's a vet and just wanted to say hi to the Maggot) let her in, my step-mother (read anti anything with fur or four legs) gritted her teeth as we all tried to coral Mags back to her spot outside BEHIND the door.

Kiki

3dogs stayed in DC this past week while I headed down to Hilton Head for a week of sun, fun and geocaching. I met this bird Kiki while brunching at The Salty Dog on Sea Pines Plantation. She kept staring at my camera so I snapped this shot of her just before she tried to attack my camera. Ack. Her screeching made me jump.

And I'm not really a fan of the Head since I was there last in 1992 when development and commercialism were multiplying faster than indigenous folks could be displaced. But when a friend of mine invited me to accompany her while she attended a medical conference in Palmetto Dunes. Well hey, why not go. A bit too above my taste, and 3dogs were definitely not welcomed. But because we did a lot of geocaching in parks and out of the way spots, we did see a lot of the island and beyond that most visitors probably do not get a chance to visit. That was nice. As was our day in Savannah following "the caches" all over town.