Terrible Two!

Happy Birthday Murphy! Yesterday was Murphy's second birthday. It's been two incredible years . Murphy has brought so much joy into our lives!

Assorted Video Clips

Just wanted to get some video clips up.
They all pretty much speak for themselves.

Jump Ball

The other day, Murphy's Uncle Reno came over to play ball.

They sure look cute waiting for me to throw it.

They sure go after that ball in a hurry.

Some times Reno won't wait for the ball to hit the ground.
He's pretty good at getting the Jump Ball.

After a few throws, they like to hit the pool.
The black dogs don't seem to like the heat too much.
In this picture, Murphy has the ball pinned under water, and Reno is trying to get it.
Reno ALWAYS gets the ball in the end.



It got so hot that day, I decided I needed to get in the pool.
So we headed over to Reno's house.
He has a nice pool, much bigger and cleaner then Murphy's.
It has fun for the Humans, too, note the diving board at the other end of the pool.
My favorite trick is to get both dog's in the water, then Cannon Ball them.
Will get video of that up soon, Kelly says it is pretty funny.

Murphy sure loves jumping in the pool for the ball.
Reno gets a little frustrated because he won't jump in, so Murphy gets the ball a lot.
Reno tends to just get another ball.

There's Murphy, getting another jump ball.
Yes, I see you have a ball too, Reno.

After all that excitement, Murphy just needs to unwind with a stick!

This is Murphy's Uncle Patrick, Kelly's brother.
(he's not too good with pictures, good thing Kelly took this one!)
He lives in the big city and invited Murphy and us to a 4th of July celebration at his place.

Murphy loves hanging out at parties, especially outside on the deck.

How's that view Murph?

Pretty sweet!

In all directions.

How do I always get stuck with the BBQ??????

Hope everyone had a great 4th!

Pine Cones and Glowing Eyes

So it has been a while since anything has been posted. With moving and Kelly starting a new job, we have been super busy. BUT, I have been taking pictures, so I hope I can get caught up.

Anyway, Murphy and me are up at Lake Tahoe for a couple of days, he wanted to get out of the heat of the Valley.

It is spring time and that means time to clean up the trails from the Winter so we can enjoy the biking all summer and fall. I started with this short section that allows us to avoid a lot of roads to get to the trails. Didn't take that long, but I did manage to work up a good sweat. And then of course, I had to lay some fresh tracks on the fresh trail....

Murphy always gets hot and looks for any water to get into, good thing this little creek flows year round.

and the snow flowers are starting to push up, they're an interesting plant.

Murphy at the Beach

Today, Murphy and I went to his favorite beach in Tahoe. He wants me to throw the ball. Not yet, I have to get some pictures first.

Throw it! Throw it!

It was such a nice day and fresh snow on the ground, I could not help but take a couple more pictures. Although Murphy is starting to get annoyed with me.

THROW IT!

Okay I'll throw it now. But you gotta swim for it! Murphy has no problem with swimming, even in the Winter, he just doesn't care. He's got to have that ball!



He's a pretty good fetcher!

Suddenly, out of no where, dogs started showing up by the two's and three's. Murphy was STOKED! We went on a short walk with Dog Walker Megan and her play group for the day. Murphy had fun. I got to hear about her recent divorce. Not so fun.



So long to Tahoe for now, be back soon!

Later that same day, I was drinking a beer with the neighbor, and a new friend came over to play ball with Murphy.

It was a little cold and snowy, but they didn't care. Here's Murphy and and the unknown dog bringing me the ball.

Now if I could only get them to drop, it I'd throw it again. Neither one of them can get this right!

Ouhhh, if you drop it, I'll take it! C'mon, drop it, I'll get it......

No Way, MY BALL!

Well, he wouldn't drop it, so I had to pry it from his mouth. Good thing I was wearing work gloves! Ewwww. Slobber!
Okay, I'll Chuckit now. What? You don't know what a chuckit is? WOW, I thought every dog knew about chuckit. Better go, Murphy is going to get the ball.....


Oh, he did, good Murphy! Bring the ball! Murphy likes his new friend. Sure wish I knew that dog's name......

Feburary Snow - Finally!!!!!

So Me and Murphy went up to Tahoe today to check out the new snow. No chain controls over the summit...sweet!!!

We had to measure how much snow had fallen, so Murphy suggested using his ball and chuckit. How could I refuse?


Okay Murphy, how much snow is there? Can you estimate? Looks like about 15 inches to me......

Wait, is that my ball in the snow???? I want it!!! Gimmee!!! Ohhh, I have to get it!!!

YEAH, I GOT IT!!!!!!

Murphy is not all that into measuring the snow fall.......

Friends

Murphy's friend Ruby came over the other day. Murphy was so happy! He and Ruby love to run around, chase each other, chase squirrels.




Murphy likes to dare Ruby to take his stick/pinecone/ball. Sometimes Ruby just really could not be bothered. But every now and again, she takes the dare!



They are constantly moving -- so it's hard to get a picture of them. I got a lot of pictures like this one:





And this:


After about an hour of running all over the place -- they finally started slowing down. So I could get some better shots.

Ruby is very gentle and lady-like. Very unlike Murphy.




She often has a slightly perplexed look on her face. I think she would like to understand better why Murphy is constantly crashing into her.


Murphy crashes into her because he loves her.

Same Exuberance -- Different Season

Running through the grass remains one of Murphy's greatest pleasures, be it green or brown. A stick only makes it better.

Is it an Ocean?

For Jeff

Just remember this:

And this:And all will be well.

Murphy's a Bad Speller

Murphy made a special sign, since it seems to be birthday season again.

But he spelled Birthday wrong. So he decided to chew up the sign.

Then he realized there was more fun to be had elsewhere.

Like his rope!

Oh well. Happy Birtday!

Murphy's Got Skills

Murphy has amazing agility. Watching him run through the woods is a treat -- he bounds and hops and sometimes all four feet come off the ground. He's sleek, fast, and sure footed.

So I've been thinking about agility training so he can do agility courses. This past weekend there was a little amateur agility course set up -- so we took Murphy to see how he like it. He was so much more skilled than other dogs (and I'm not just bragging because he's my dog). He had NO problem with any of the little obstacles -- oh, except he wanted to stop and chew on the cloth tunnel. His main problem was not getting distracted by the other dogs. He just wanted to play with them, that's all.

Here's a movie of Jeff running Murphy through the course:



This little course was set up at the National XTERRA Championships (an off-road triathlon). So we also let Murphy show off some of his ball-chasing skills.

Murphy For President!

Only Murphy can effect REAL change in Washington!

Check it out:

Murphy for President!


(all campaign contributions can be made in the form of tennis balls)

Murphy: Bear Hunter

So, a couple of nights ago around 12 am, Murphy started to bark and growl and patrol the front room, concentrating on the back of the house. He has done this a couple of times before, but we were never able to figure out why until now. See the double set of green eyes in the tree? That's right, bear cubs. We had seen this pair with mama out in the woods a couple of times, but never had the camera.

The cubs were making these crazy sounds, almost like talking. Their claws made a sound like the crushing of aluminum cans on the tree bark, so Kelly and I though it might be a person looking for cans and maybe a little altered. So we grab the flashlight and start looking around. Nothing. Head back in and seconds latter, same noises, Murphy barking - What the Hell?!!

Then Kelly spots them with the light - "the babies!" she cries out. "The babies? WHERE THE HELL IS MOM?????!!!!" was my response. I quickly found the camera and got some shots off, then we headed back inside. Mom never was spotted and the cubs climbed down about five minutes latter and were gone.



We credit Murphy going Guard Dog for the cubs heading up the tree. When we last spotted mom, she was injured, so we are hoping that the cubs were sent up the tree by mom and are not on their own.

Here's old footage of Murphy's guard dog behavior.

Backcountry Adventures with Murphy

This was Murphy's first real camping trip -- no campground, no other people, no other cars, and so -- no leash. He had complete freedom for two days. He kept us safe from bears and coyotes. And he had a great time.

The first thing he did was help with digging out a new fire pit.

The game is: drop the ball in the fire pit, bury it, dig to get it out, dig some more, -- repeat.
































From morning till night he was in constant motion. I've never seen him more worn out.

Notice how he blends in with the dirt? That's because he'd been rolling in it for hours.

We were close by Bear Lake on the west side of the Tahoe Basin summit. Here he displays his water skills -- jumping, swimming, finding the ball. It's all about the ball.



The first day was all about swimming -- first in Bear Lake, then on to Miller Lake where Murphy chased a dragonfly for hours. When we got back around 4:00 -- he crashed out for a good three hours.

Next day was on to Ellis Peak -- at 8700' one of the tallest around. The view from the top was SPECTACULAR. The entire trail was three miles (so six miles out and back). I think Murphy's total distance was more around ten miles. He smelled every rock, peed on every tree, and chased every squirrel.



Although more fit for hiking, we decided to try it with bikes. Not so easy. But it was faster than all walking. As it worked out, we finished about half an hour before sunset. Wouldn't have done that if we'd been on foot.


Now that Murphy's old enough to come when we call (or maybe he's just decided he likes us enough to stick around) I think there will be much more camping to come.

Murphy Dog.