12/9/06 - How to keep Cali entertained: put her toys (including her favorite water bottle) inside a box and let her attack! She has a great time tearing open the box and extracting her toys. She seems to have taken over the massage chair lately as home base for playing with her toys (fortunately, she doesn't know how to turn it on - yet!).
11/28/06 - "I haven't been playing in the mud - what are you talking about? I don't know anything about that hole in the backyard!"
10/15/06 - What a dirty mouth! Cali loves playing with sticks, digging in the dirt, carrying rocks, but no matter how dirty she gets, (and this picture is NOTHING like how dirty she can get), she miraculously sheds all the dirt and grime. Of course, getting in the pool helps some, but even without the pool she ends up amazingly clean (she's actually never had a bath yet, although she always tries to get in the shower).
10/1/06 - Cali likes to hang out in the screen porch with us. She jumps on the swing by herself (usually with a running start) and doesn't seem worried at all about it swinging wildly back and forth! If the swing is occupied, she has to settle for sitting in one of the camp chairs.
9/16/06 - "Now where do the spoons go again?" It's nice to have a border collie around to help with the dishes since I hate doing them!
9/13/06 - The girls are actually playing together again! I think Angel has decided that Cali's pretty fun after all. She plays so gently with her, and they both have a great time. Sometimes it takes Cali a little bit to convince Angel that she wants to play, but Angel gives in most of the time and then they play longer than I've ever seen Angel play before! Amazingly, Josie totally ignored both of them and left them alone the whole time they were playing.
9/9/06 - Have you heard of the new raw food diet? Cali has made up her own version of it - CACTUS! She's decided that she loves cactus (fortunately she only chews on the spineless variety). She seems to only like the cactus pads that have roots in the ground - she pulls them up and chews on the root end.
9/9/06 - The happy sisters - Angel & Cali! I had picked Cali up and put her in my lap while I sat on the couch when Angel came into the living room and wanted to join me (yes, we let our dogs on the furniture). She came up and stuck her face right in front of Cali, which I thought could be a problem (Cali's not usually on the couch). I was ready to put her on the floor, but Cali wanted to play with her and started licking her face and then in her ear. Amazingly, Angel was fine with it! She let Cali put her paws on top of her head, lick her, and Angel would nibble on Cali's legs and chest. They took turns playing "bitey face" by chewing on each other. It was nice to see Angel wanting to play with Cali!
9/4/06 - Now Cali has 3 sheep to herd! Kevin stole the toy that Josie & Angel were playing with, and they had a fun time chasing him around the yard. As usual, Cali enjoyed chasing all of them.
9/2/06 - Hanging out on the deck. If we go inside the house for a minute without Cali, she likes to sit in one of our chairs until we get back. It doesn't bother her a bit that they're rocker chairs!
9/2/06 - Cali still loves her sheepskin! While I was working at my computer desk, Cali was laying behind me on her sheepskin mat, kneading and sucking on it. She hardly does it anymore, but when she does, it's still very cute. It looked like it was helping her fall asleep - I guess it's like a kid sucking her thumb.
9/1/06 - Both Cali and Josie enjoy their adventures on the trail with us. Angel, on the other hand, doesn't really see the point unless I have treats with me, so often she stays in the house on the couch. Treats don't interest Cali while we're on the trail, but sticks are another story! She's very good at keeping track of me and if she gets too far ahead of me and I take a different trail, she comes and finds me almost immediately. I'm always ready with a stick to throw and as soon as she brings it back, I'm ready with another (although she's getting very good at dropping it at my feet or in my hand if I ask her to). Even if I don't throw her a stick, she almost always has one in her mouth. Sometimes I hide behind a tree and when she finds me, I shuffle my feet in the leaves and invite her to "Dig!" which is another favorite activity of hers.
9/1/06 - Some of Cali's very favorite toys are two plastic milk cartons hanging from our maple tree. She has LOTS of "bought" toys, but just like with kids, they seem to prefer the boxes that the toys come in instead of the actual toy (you'd think I would learn, but I like to buy toys!). Most of her toys are put up until I get them out to play with her, and she loves the milk jugs so much that I've started doing the same thing. I bring them down out of the tree and play with her and get lots of sits, hand touches, and eye contact for playtime with the milk cartons. Although occasionally, if I'm feeling lazy I let her entertain herself with them. She keeps busy for quite awhile, attacking them, growling, jumping on them and trying to wrestle them to the ground (they don't quite make it). She's hysterical to watch! She then races away from the milk jugs either to jump in her pool or to race in a huge circle up on the deck and back to the tree where they hang. I now carry a "portable" toy like the milk cartons but it's a water bottle on a rope. She goes crazy over it!
9/2/06 - Hanging out on the deck. If we go inside the house for a minute without Cali, she likes to sit in one of our chairs until we get back. It doesn't bother her a bit that they're rocker chairs! 
9/2/06 - Cali still loves her sheepskin! While I was working at my computer desk, Cali was laying behind me on her sheepskin mat, kneading and sucking on it. She hardly does it anymore, but when she does, it's still very cute. It looked like it was helping her fall asleep - I guess it's like a kid sucking her thumb. 
