Blame the Legislature..its Fun and Accurate

 The people of Texas made a deal with their government back in 1876, the legislature could come to Austin and do its thing but **only** for 140 days every other year. Marshall is willing to allow this to involve one of his humans but what extremely displeased when 140 days came and went and his human was still working long hours. He leaves the politics to others, but apologizes for the delay it has caused in getting his blog updated.

Now on to more interesting stuff: Marshall is three. Or 21. It depends on how you count. Once again this year his humans here at Rockwood Lane rewarded him with a cake, this time from a new local dog store, Just for Pets. Here is a nice shot of Marshall doing his one trick which is called "sit on your spot." He knows if he does that correctly, he will get a treat from the food room.
 

The spring is Marshall's favorite season, after the fall of course. Walks, walks, and more walks. Every day as soon as one of the humans are home. Once the summer gets here, Marshall has to wait until at least 8pm for it to be cool enough, but in the spring there is lots of time for walks. He's a few of Marshall's favorite shots: Texas Bluebonnets, behind bars (at Pillow Elementary), taking on something the humans called "a rare, live turtle," and a piano in the park next to Lady Bird Lake.

Wait, what did you say? That's a piano sitting in a park in the middle of Austin? Yep. If you need more information try here. Marshall has lived in Austin long enough to know sometimes you just don't ask questions.

Next up: Batman, or is it Batdog? Or is that a masked dog trying to rob Rockwood Lane? Technically its an art project undertaken by Marshall's human, Lori. Long story short she bought the yard art dog last year on a whim but its original colors faded to a dull yellow so she repainted it to look exactly like Marshall, or so she thinks... you be the judge.
 

Fast forward to June and the below pictures are from the family's recent trip to Denton for Jimmy's Birthday / Father's Day / Hockey tournaments. That's right, the Denton cousins play inline hockey at Lone Star Indoor Sports.  First up below is a shot of Trevor (goalie) and Bethany (yellow pants). Its not the clearest shot but they are both standing up, both watching the puck, and on the same team!!

 The next shot is Paca (also known as Jimmy's dad) as he prepared to enjoy Father's Day at the pool. He looks a little loaded down but that's only because he is carrying all the food down to the pool himself. Marshall supposes someone could have helped but as you can see by the camera angle the pool had already sucked them in. And yes, he does have some SCUBA gear on in this shot. If you don't know Paca that might seem weird.

The final shot of today's blog is of a very proud and very brave beagle. Each year Marshall makes a few more strides toward being comfortable in and around the pool. This year, he sat on the first step by himself and actually seemed to enjoy it. In this picture he is doing a casual check-in on the humans as they float around in the deep end, a place Marshall **never** goes.

 

That's going to do it for now. Adios.

Snow Dog and Winter Fun at Rockwood Lane

Marshall has finally found his way off the couch (he is living like a hibernating bear) to update his blog. His last post was in early December and he has so much activity to share with everyone. The photo below is from early December where he was getting focused to begin his Christmas shopping. His people were both on and off sick all holiday season, so Marshall had to step in to run Operation Presents.

Marshall was very excited to learn that he and his people would be heading back to the Denton area for Christmas fun. Below is a visual of the Christmas fun that Marshall experienced when he arrived. 

He would like to send a special shout out to his cousin Bethany who was his special friend during the holidays. She and Peaches took good care of all of his needs at Gama and Paca's house. Marshall likes to give gifts more than receive them...but Aunt Carolyn and Aunt Lee Ann outdid  themselves this year. As the pictures show below, he loves his two new toys: AKA "red bone" and "blue". They are still around and a little worse for wear, but he still plays with them.

Once he was back at home post-Christmas, he moved into sleepy Beagle mode. The colder weather and shorter days really take a toll on a young Beagle. As you can see, he loves to sleep in the sun and what an angel like glow this picture shows. If he could only be this good all the time.....

Please note that the toys are never far away....yes, this is what is left of "blue" in front of the sleeping Beagle.

Marshal and his person Jimmy have spent some awesome weekend afternoons "watching" movies. One of Marshall's favorites was Hotel for Dogs. He highly recommends it to all of this dog friends. He secretly wishes that Jimmy would move over a bit so he can stretch out his paws.

Marshall also allows his Lori to sleep on the couch too, but she doesn't seem to enjoy a paw to the neck. He is not really sure why that is not enjoyed...since this is just the way packs sleep. They are still working on a couch settlement that both entities can agree on.

Well, February started with a fury this week at Rockwood Lane. It all started with about four nights of temperatures in the teens with highs in the 20's. As many of you know, he really hates his coat. The rule is if the temperature is 40 degrees and below...he must wear his coat. His people think he is very cute, but Marshall just feels humiliated.

Wednesday, Marshall witnessed Lori putting her contact in her eye while the electricity went out. Marshall was very concerned that day because the power did not return to the house until early afternoon and he could have frozen to death....so he says. Thursday night into Friday morning brought sleet and snow which is very rare for Austin Beagles. Please see the snowy environment that Marshall had to endure....

Those at Rockwood Lane experienced a very rare occurrence...Snow Dog. He only visits maybe once every few years, but his is North Central Austin's version of a super hero. Kind of like Underdog. Snow Dog runs as fast as lighting and is the most adventurous dog in the park. Please see exhibit A.

He still leaves tracks in the snow, but they are usually not traceable. The photo below shows the average human what a Snow Dog track looks like. Well, all is back to normal at Rockwood Lane. The snow has melted and this weekend the high was 65 degrees. I guess it is time to walk the neighborhood without his coat. Marshall will close the blog entry for now. He has some walking to do. Until later - stay warm and make sure to always remember your pets!!

Snow Dog Out - MC