Organic Warfare
Dad and Mongo live next to a nice couple who have an aipiary in their back yard. Dad respects their efforts to raise bees, and aside from occasionally visiting Dad’s kitchen uninvited, the bees don’t cause any problems.
And the bees help pollinate Dad’s tomatoes, so they are generally welcomed visitors. However, once again unwelcomed visitors, aphids (BOO!) had taken up residence on Dad’s tomato and basil plants.
So to do his part in helping his neighbors safely raise bees, and combat CCD (Colony Collapse Disorder), Dad decided to try organic pest control this year. He reasoned that it was better for the environment, and better for Mongo, who is known to eat anything he can fit down his gullet. Dad was sure that pesticide coated vegetables would go down just as quick as anything else.
Walking on Alki, Part 2.
A week after their last trip to Alki Point, Dad had another errand to run on the North End of the peninsula. Mongo looked bored, so Dad plopped him into the back of the pick-up and off they went. After dropping off some things at the depot, Dad thought it might be nice to stroll on the Alki trail again. Read More…
Walking on Alki, Part 1.
Mongo and Dad decided to take a walk down to Alki Point. It’s a nice stroll along the Alki Trail in West Seattle’s beachfront neighborhood.
They usually park near the Seacrest Ferry Docks and walk North towards the point and then onward towards Alki Beach.
Alki Point is the spot where the first white settlers to Seattle spent the first winter. Val over wedgwoodinseattlehistory.com, has a short history of that winter. ( Click here for Val’s History of Street and Place names in Seattle)
When the weather is nice, Alki is an exceptionally scenic place to walk. Read More…
What’s the Point?
Mongo is a pointing Labrador. That means not only does he retrieve, but he will find birds and hold a point over then too. But how many people had actually considered the impact on dogs when people point. Mongo is pretty good at interpreting human finger pointing, which seems easy. But according to the article below, the ability of dogs to interpret human finger pointing is a major accomplishment.
Kachess Ridge Trail
It was now noon. Dad needed to figure out how to burn off some of the massive amounts of sugar Mongo had recently consumed. (Click HERE to read about Mongo and molasses.) Poor Dad had run errands for Mom-mom all morning as penance for leaving the molasses and corn syrup out where Mongo could find them.
Now he needed to get Mongo moving before all that sugar turned to pudge. He studied his copy of “Best Hikes with Dogs”
“Kachess”, he said aloud to Mongo. We’re going to hike the Kachess Ridge. It was exceptionally warm for the first day of May, but that shouldn’t be problem thought Dad. There was plenty of water along the route and he would carry some extra water and doggie nom-noms just in case.
The various guides Dad had consulted promised,
“The trail to Kachess Beacon is steep much of the way, but it is easy to get to, well-shaded, and less than three miles long.”
It seemed like a good choice. It was a bit closer than Dad’s favorite hike to Snoquera. And since it was already noon, they did not have a lot of time to spend in transit. It had a 1500 ft climb, so they would get a good workout, and it looked like a fun hike… Read More…
Today’s Science Experiment
Dad is all about efficiency. He measures the time it takes on various routes around the city to make sure he is always on the fastest route. And he often tries to multitask around the house to save time also. This time, his multitasking led to a new scientific breakthrough.
Mongo’s gallery
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