All The Small Things (Summer Tribute)

It’s always sad to see summer go, even though I am quite well-adapted to our chilly winter. I always try to make the most of them considering they can be pretty short here.

Mum asked me why I don’t just move to Florida if I like the warm weather so much. I told her I was happy enough to have a vacation home there that I can visit when I please, but I wouldn’t want to totally abandon winter. After all, one of my most favorite things ever is chasing snowballs, and well, you just don’t get that in Florida.

You’ve already seen much of what I’ve done this summer, including my kayaking expedition, the adventures of Captain Crusoe & First Mate Oakley, the wiener dog races, my amazing fishing outing, and how could we forget the sexy ladies wiener dog pool party?

But although those were the main events, it’s all the small things that really make you appreciate how special a time it was. That’s why this blog post is an end of summer tribute dedicated to all the small things I didn’t write about yet on my blog.

For instance, I took up sailing. I didn’t say much about it before because I was still learning, and I never advertise that I am less-than-expert at anything.

Cute Crusoe Sailing!

Don’t get me wrong – I know how to drive a boat being Captain Crusoe and all, but sailing is a lot different. Plus there’s tons of technical sailing terms you need to learn. Let’s just say I got the gist jib of it pretty quickly.

In fact, I became so good at sailing that I felt I needed a persona to go along with my new hobby, which is why I introduced Long Body Crusoe – pirate, buccaneer, and swashbuckler (yes, I can be all of them at once).

Long Body Crusoe - Pirate Dachshund

So what’s the small thing in all this? Well for one, I learned that you can get a quick thirst quench by drinking up the drops from the paddle.

Sailing Dachshund Catamaran

It’s funny how I’m not much of a “water-loving dog”, but I do love water-related activities (fishing, kayaking, boating, etc).

Well, add paddle-boarding to that list.

Dachshund Paddle Boarding

This was nice but Mum didn’t really go fast enough for me to consider it exciting. But what I appreciated about it (the small thing), was that it was peaceful and a great opportunity to enjoy the quiet tranquility of the lake – and to imagine all the fish swimming underneath me.

Paddle Boarding with a Dachshund

I avoided a ride on Dad’s paddle board though, because he was using a racing windsurf board which was really unstable for paddle boarding. One look at his shaking spaghetti legs and I said forget it.

Although, my efforts to avoid being wet didn’t last long when Mum and Dad decided to take me for a swim. We swam to the big rock and back (above), and I’m happy to say I arrived back first.

The small thing: If there’s one good part about being wet, it’s that the back scratches feel amazing!

Dachshund Love Back Scratch

Second small thing: Being wet is a great excuse to laze in the sun (not that I need one) with Mum. Plus, she says I look sexy when I’m all wet and shaggy.

Sexy Lady Wiener Dog Mom

Speaking of things of beauty, I know a lot of my fans liked seeing me in the sunflower field with Mum. The small thing here? I learned how fascinating it is to watch bumble bees do what they do.

Kisses in Sunflower Field

And yes, this photo will be in my 2014 calendar, which will be in store soon by the way.

Boating, kayaking, and fishing all make for a great time, but sometimes it’s fun just to hang out on the dock with everyone around – enjoy a cool drink, the sunshine, and watch the little duckies gobble up the bits of bread underneath your dangling feet.

Dog Feeding Ducks

If it wasn’t for the water, I’m sure I’d dog-bombed them from above (that’s what I call an aerial sneak attack).

I had to get a closer look though.

Wiener Dog on a Log

But you know me, that still wasn’t good enough. I had to go in there after them. It wasn’t that I had an issue with the ducks being in my territory though (well, partly that), but also that I didn’t like the fact they were eating my bread.

And so instead of chasing them off, I beat them to the bits of bread and ate it first.

That’s what you call outsmarting your opponent!

Sidenote: feeding ducks is not good as it can fatten them up too much to make their migration, and I don’t want these guys sticking around any longer than they need to. So we only gave them a little bit (and it was whole wheat).

Taking to the land though, I had a great time apple picking recently.

Playing Fetch with Apple

I never knew that apples made such great fetch toys! (I think it’s that they have a good weight to them).

Plus, I learned that I like the taste of them. I was happy to finish off an apple that Mum had started (discarding the seed of course).

Apple picking is another one of Mum’s yearly traditions that she likes to bring me on – part of the tradition being that I pose in an apple tree.

This year I decided to show off my little bear claws.

Dachshund Bear Claws

So what’s the best way to wrap up the summer?

Well, you read about my Sexy Ladies Wiener Pool Party, but it was just a couple days ago that I released the GoPro video version of the party! So, I guess this isn’t so much about doing small things – we doin’ BIG things up in hurr!

Next year I hope to host an even bigger party – er, “smaller”?

So summer may be over, but there’s still plenty to look forward to. People travel from all over to come see the fall colors here, and winter means snowballs and digging in the snow – a few things I love.

And who knows, maybe I’ll be able to relive a bit of summer on my next vacation? I know I haven’t said much about that yet, but Mum and Dad seem to be keeping quiet on that subject so I’m a little short on details right now. I’ll let you know when I find out more.

See you in the sunshine.

Keep splashin’,

~ Crusoe

Keep ballin’,

Crusoe

Crusoe

shares