Turn that Noise OFF!

I think it’s weird how, after all the time I’ve spent in this family, they still don’t believe me when I tell them something strange and potentially dangerous is going on.

“WOOF! WOOF!”

“Oh Stella. Quiet. That’s just a train,” or, “Hush up, Stella. That’s just mom in the kitchen,” or today, “Ssssh! Stella, be quiet. That’s just a helicopter going over!”

Well, yes. It is just a helicopter going over. But it’s doing something dangerous. And it’s doing it over, and over, and over… “WOOF! WOOF!”

“Good grief!” says Elizabeth some time later. “Why does it sound like a war zone out there?”

Good question, two-legger. “WOOF! WOOF!” Here it comes again.

Finally, Elizabeth sees what I’ve been trying to tell her.

Go get your camera, two-legger! I want you to eat crow. Tell the world how I’m not an hysterical Great Newfenees after all.

Elizabeth mumbles something and, finally, does what I tell her. As she’s setting up the camera for the shot, she comments, “Looks like we have some new well-heeled neighbours moving in, Stella.”

Well-heeled? Whatever it is, doesn’t look like it has much choice! I tell you, you’d never get me on a leash way up there like that!

More New Neighbours

Every winter we see a temporary rise in the population here abouts. I’m not crazy about new neighbours, so I’m glad that they usually seem to stay out of my territory, building their huts on the hard water about two miles down the bay from us.

These neighbours are mostly male two-leggers. They spend most of their time in their huts, sometimes alone, sometimes together. Some of them have special panels on their huts that convert the sunlight to something called electricity. This allows them to do some light cooking and to watch sports on their noisy boxes.

They drink beer a lot, too, some of them. Sometimes, when they erect one of their huts in my territory, they leave cases of this beer stuff behind. I hate to see it go to waste, so I bring it back home and enjoy it while I monitor goings on from my watching rock. Until Elizabeth notices…. She doesn’t like me indulging in any way whatsoever. I don’t know why. I figure I burn enough calories chewing through the tin cans to get the good stuff inside… Perhaps its because it makes me burp a lot.

It seems that these hut two-leggers spend more time at their huts on weekends. We were coming home from work on Saturday when I noticed some activity in the village, so I asked Elizabeth if she would go back and take a picture so I could show you. The dwellings are very primitive as you can see. The one that sometimes goes up on my patrol route is actually a tent! That makes it much easier for me to access. It also means I can tell you about one of the other, very strange features I’ve noticed about these huts… They have holes in the floor! The two-leggers who live inside dangle strings that have hooks with tiny fish impaled on them (ouch!). The two-leggers sit for hours watching those holes. Then, when they notice any movement of the line, they quickly go to that hole and pull up the string. And what do you know? The tiny little fish has grown to monster size!

The fish-growing village down the bay from us. It is smaller this year than it usually is. We have been having a much warmer winter and the hard water took a long time to get thick enough for growly beasts and huts, so I think many of the fish-grower two-leggers went north this year. It apparently is colder further north… Notice the hard water path made especially for growly beasts to travel on in the foreground.

Colonization of the Neighbourhood

It’s been a busy summer in our area of Northwestern Ontario. Especially on the weekends.

I don’t know what it is about two-leggers around here. All week long they are somewhere else. Then they come back on Friday nights and Saturday mornings. They bang around, get their wood-eating or grass-chewing whining/buzzing machines going, roar around the river on their floating tin cans and water skimming devices…

GRRRWOWFF! It makes me tired and headachey just thinking about it.

Yep. All week long they’re somewhere else (thank goodness) then on the weekend they come out and say how lovely it is out here.

~:o/=

Don’t get me wrong. I like two-leggers. Most of the ones I’ve met, anyway. And most of them out here get along with me just fine. But they can be so… so… disruptive!

Elizabeth says that when they came here almost 45 two-legger years ago, there were only three houses out this way, and five little cottages scattered further west of us. Now there are more than 50 houses along the road! She says that there have been many environmental consequences to this colonisation. I don’t doubt it. I’ve noticed quite a few in the 28 dog-years I’ve lived here.

I noticed one incredible one this morning on our walk. Thousands of another type of colonist have moved into a new development right here on our estate! And BWOWF! Talk about environmental impact… These guys put the two-leggers to shame!

Unwelcome Colonists Create Reverse Oasis on Campbell Estate