I'm Officially A Good Boy

Yep. Me. Fenway....aka Fenzie or Frenzy .

I've been deemed unruly, disrespectful, having a screw loose and unschooled. But that was a loooong time ago when I was Puppy Fenway and life was all about having fun and being loved.

Well, I still have fun, am loved, but I've got a new attitude, as the song goes.

Ms. Alpha took me to obedience classes and we diligently did our boring homework, week after week, and improved my focus, manners + rules. In class, I have to do a sit/down/stay for an awfully long time.

And get this! I even had to learn Self Control and Sit Like A Good Boy when we greeted other owners and their dogs. Let me tell you, that was painful 'cause Mr. Fen can start a play group as quick as a cricket.

This past weekend, Ms. A. took me to a fun match. I got to strut pretty and look awesome. The judges were duly impressed and not only gave me Best of Breed but a Group 2. That means I came in second in the entire herding group!

Ribbons = Rib Eye for Dinner!

Afterwards, the kennel club held Canine Good Citizenship tests and Ms. A signed me up right on the spot. What a piece of cake that test was. I have a vague memory of failing it in style last spring when I went Cujo on a lady with crutches and a little pug dog. That ugly! But all of that was a distant memory and I was Fenway the Affable, the Model Citizen, the Best Boy.

My official test form proclaims me Officially Good!

But I wasn't good enough to sit still for another photo session. That's when Ms. Alpha called on my stand-in Mini Me to pose with my ribbons.

Hmmm. Let me sniff this little guy and see what's up!

I can't forget to give the hinders a once over!

I think the little guy is trying to own my ribbons!

Now I've got the upper hand. His head's in my mouth!

Mmmm.....tastes like chicken.

The Sorcerer

You got questions? 

Fenway's got the answers!

Boo to you and 

Happy 

Howl-o-weenie!

A Cautionary Tale

I have to tell you about something awful that happened to Monty, my dear lab friend. And I tell you and all your followers this sad tale so that you can learn and spread the word.

Monty was playing bitey face with his pal who got his lower jaw stuck in Monty's choke chain collar. Both dogs reacted by pulling and twisting in a frenzy of fear. I don't think I need to go any further with this story. All I can say is that my dear friend Monty, who is only 2 weeks younger than I am, is waiting at The Bridge.

Please, all dog owners: NEVER, ever use a choke chain collar except for training. NEVER leave a dog alone with one on or let your dog play with another dog who is wearing one. Also, don't EVER let your dog play with a harness on or let your dog play with another dog wearing one. Paws & legs get stuck in them.

Deep Thoughts

I'm in a contemplative mood these days.

It all began with Ms. Alpha enlarging Fenway's Park, my personal agility stadium. It's conveniently located in my own back yard.

You see, I'm in training and we're working hard to do well in agility trials. I am a great student on my own turf, but tend to lose focus when we go to a contest. It's just so exciting—lots of dogs, noise and running, running, running. Nothing gets a border collie riled up like the sight of anything with a heartbeat that's moving. So I yip, yap, scream and shriek, thus losing composure. I have a lot to learn and a lot to think about.

So I am now enrolled in more classes than your average college student! Plus, Ms. Alpha is a volunteer teacher's aide so that I can sit in a crate and learn to relax while that class is in session. Boy, so I have a different agenda. I wonder who will win that round?

My biggest lesson is to learn how to focus.

Actually, I think I have a pretty intimidating stare—

just ask any sheep!

But that's not the kind of focus Ms. A. is after.

She wants moi to pay attention to her!

After focus, I need to learn about my body parts.

Yep...those are my hinders! I knew that all along.

Actually, I've been learning to control and power with my rear section without realizing it. That clever Ms. Alpha made me think all I was doing was playing and dock diving this summer. Actually, she was giving me lots of cross-conditioning with running, swimming, biking a quarter mile, leaping and jumping. It all seems like play to me!

You just can't convince me dock diving is a workout!

It's fun!

Hmmm....looks like I'm using the same muscles

when I go over my agility jumps.

I think Ms. A. is a clever coach.

So, stay tuned and follow my agility career. I have a lot of promise and a whole lot that I have to learn. But (tee hee) Ms. Alpha has waaaay more homework than I do!

And here's something totally fun to leave you with:

This is a photo taken with the new iPhone.

There's a great app that makes any picture look

like it's a miniature set.

Doesn't this look like a Little Fenway Land?

A Private Moment with Martha's Vineyard

My family is getting ready to go home. But we couldn't leave Martha's Vineyard without making some beautiful memories of the island to take us through the long winter in suburbia.

The Alphas took me to Lambert's Cove, which is a private beach that is only open to the public after September 30. It's a lovely and wild place and we had it all to ourselves.

The day was warmer than expected so I just had to get in one last swim. My Alphas are sad to take me home and away from the thing I love most: swimming. I found my own little beach to celebrate. It's a bit of sand cut off from the main beach by a tidal pool. Naturally, I traversed the little channel and claimed it for myself!

Fenway the intrepid explorer!

We didn't bring any of my 1,000 toys

so I fashioned a new on from an old camp fire log.

I can fetch something out of the water all day!

I am formally naming my new land Dog Beach!

There are too many places that say No Dogs Allowed.

On Dog Beach, Mayor Fenway proclaims that

no humans are welcome!

Come watch my final moments of supreme bliss:

Yo Mama!

And go check out my buddy b13's blog celebrating my Mama Devon, the reigning Queen of All Border Collies!

Road Trip!

Did someone say, "Road trip?" Now you've got my attention!

Fortunately, yours truly loves riding in cars, being with my peeps and exploring new sites.

Woo hoo! We're going up-island, as they say on Martha's Vineyard. That means we are leaving to eastern part of the island, where all the quaint towns are, and heading west to the hilly part of the island where there are vegetable and sheep farms.

Did some mention sheep? I am all ears!!!

Of course I was the designated co-pilot

and I took my job as seriously as a good border collie.

I scanned the horizon for those sheep and let my nose loose.

Nope, none are swimming in the pond today.

First, we took a side trip from Edgartown over to Chappaquiddick via the On Time ferry. The ferry is a 5 minute ride across the harbor and runs continually. That's why it's always "on time": when it gets there...it's on time. Do you think those 4 guys in the front seat of the truck are legal?

We eventually rode all the way across the island to Menemsha. That's the place where the old salt named Quint went down with the ship and into the mouth of Jaws. Here's his fishing shack!

Yup! No lie. This is the REAL deal, the very one that was used in the movie. Not everything is a movie set or a Disney creation!

I learned that Menemsha is a real-life working fishing village. Many people make their living from the sea and it looks awfully hard. But I have to say, that's a nice place to have an "office".

I think the trawlers, draggers, netters and sword boats are really romantic looking. The Unicorn is my favorite!

Along the way, on South Road, we found some interesting stone structures called "pounds". At first, my alarms went off when I saw the signs. But Ms. Alpha patiently talked me down from a frenzy by explaining that these "pounds" were not dog prisons and actually had nothing to do with dogs. (sigh of relief). The Martha's Vineyard pounds are actually early sheep pens and the settlers used them to corral the woolly ones! There are quite a few still standing and are evidence of the love affair Martha's Vineyard had with sheep farming. Oooh...I just knew this place was magic!

Can't you just hear the centuries of baa-ing in here?

Now, I have to weigh in on these sheep pounds. It seems to me that if the farmers had a couple of good border collies, all this imprisonment of the sheep would be totally unnecessary. A good sheep dog can do the work of 3 men, keep the peace and be ever watchful. For us border collies, tending the sheep is not work at all, but a labor of love!

We drove further on and found a bread oven smack in the middle of nowhere! It's called the Orange Peel bakery and it's in Aquinnah (formerly Gay Head) and sits by the side of the road. Nothing fancy...but when Ms. Alpha studied the oven her heart started beating as fast as a hungry hummingbird's.

This is no do-it-yourself ordinary bread oven. This baby came all the way from France! The owner/baker had it installed here to help bring the sparse community together so they could literally "break bread" together. Her family enclosed the oven with local stones & rocks and even embedded it with beach glass and shells.

I wish I could show you some of the bread that came out of the oven, but it didn't last long enough to get a picture. The Alphas declared it the BEST bread they've ever eaten, complete with the perfect wood-fired taste and a texture only achieved by a true artisan!

Next, we headed off to Aquinnah. The local Wampanoag Indian tribe, who own a lot of land here, got the name formally changed recently from Gay Head. I learned that Aquinnah means High Land. And they are not kidding! Just look at this expanse!

These are the famous clay cliffs. They are eroding and continually present new layers of sediment from six glaciers and are over 100 million years old!

I am only 2 years old, yet I think I can grab the spotlight from the clay cliffs!

Four Letter Words

There are certain words I've learned that can instantly get my motor running. And, they are all four letter words:

• Swim

• Pond

• Dock

• Ball

When Ms. Alpha said the "S" word at sunrise, my brave little heart set to racing and I knew we were in for a treat.

We go to a very, very private yet public pond here on Martha's Vineyard. Absolutely no one is ever there except us, some Canada Geese (who like to watch!) and a swan or two. It's a magical place for us where time stops and the rest of the world falls away. Just me and her.

It's so magical that I get a sense of peace and oneness with the world. I am Zen Dog. That's because I've discovered what I was born to do and I have a new sense of happiness and peace.

I like to stand very still and watch things....patterns in the water....geese paddling and honking....the pond grasses waving in the breeze....the patterns in the clouds.....dragonflies lazing on the water's surface. Imagine that! Me—a border collie, aka Perpetual Motion Machine, getting contemplative!

There is a rhythm to our special mornings on the pond. She throws. I bound, leap, swim and fetch. Then I give a mighty shake to dry my fur. Over and over. I think swimming & fetching is my Most Favorite Thing in the world. It is a form of work and I have been bred to work.

As the ancient Greeks said, "Know thyself". For me, a border collie, I have discovered the joys of watching and working: I am Zen Dog.

Oh, and before I forget, the most important four letter word is Love. I love to do what I'm meant to do. And I love the Alphas for giving me the opportunity to do it.

First I watch and survey my pond.

Then I go to work.

I must fetch the floating bone

that Ms. Alpha keeps throwing away.

Then I watch for when and where she throws it again.

Then I work, bounding into my pond

to save the floating bone.

I always get the floating bone back to shore.

Then I shake dry.

Come watch me and play the video!

The Celebration Continues!!!

Yesterday was so much fun...a little advance mini-party for the Real Big Deal that's taking place today. That's because my "official birthday", as far as the AKC is concerned, is today. That's when the rest of my 9 brothers and sisters were born.

Since I was the first to pop out of my Mama Devon, I was a tad early for today, by a mere half hour. I was obviously born with the need for speed and ever since then I just want to get going where I'm going.

I spent yesterday catching frisbees, swimming, dock diving, chasing my floaty bone in the water and then sailing over the agility jumps in my back yard. I feasted on rare beef and even go to ride around in the car doing errands.

Mr. and Ms. Alpha stopped by Good Dog Goods, a lovely boutique on Martha's Vineyard. They bake special cookies for us doggies and I must say they are a delight to behold. Check out their website...the place really looks like that!!! And they back only certified organic, certified kosher and use ingredients that the humans would want to eat. But puleeze....DO NOT expect me to share, okay Mr. and Mrs. A???!!!

My cookies were boxed up like little treasures!

I got two large cookies:

a Martha's Vineyard island and,

of course, a baseball.

After all, my name is Fenway!

Always lick the icing first!

Last night was the best.

After feasting on the baseball,

I laid down with Mr. Alpha

and watched the Red Sox win!

Here I am cheering the last inning runs.

After such a busy day

it was lights out for Mr. Fenway.

I had to get some rest for the Real Big Birthday Day.

It's total celebration time.

We went out today and foraged

for some more birthday bounty.

Lo and behold...Frosty Paws!!!

I am so active that I could eat the whole box

at once and not gain an ounce. I swear!

Then my superior cognitive skills told me

to check out the dining room table.

They must have been hiding this from me!

Hmmm... I know they're saving this

for after my birthday dinner.

But just one sniff wouldn't

spoil the surprise, would it?

Here's a little Birthday video Ms. Alpha made for me and all my brothers and sisters. Please watch and enjoy how I spent my second year!

Double Shot of Birthday Love

Two years ago, (minus 8 weeks) this was me!

Just two years ago, I was born very very late, near the stroke of midnight...but not quite. The rest of my bro's and sis' took their time, so we all share the same birthday which is tomorrow, September 17.

But by now, you all know that I will find any angle to make myself special, and this one's a doozy!

I get to have TWO birthday days!!!! Yay me!!! Woo hoo!

And do I have some fun lined up. I'm going to:

1. Fly through the air for about 50 frisbee throws

2. Go to the beach to herd waves

3. Fling myself off the dock

4. Jump through hoops

5. Swim and paddle (the most fun of all!)

6. Play with 3 toys at once

7. And when I'm done with all that,

I will eat myself sick on stolen people food!

Stay tuned....tomorrow is

ANOTHER BIRTHDAY DAY!

And I honor my grandpa Kapper,

Japanese Champion

Amaranth of Sky Dragon Farm,

who celebrates his

13th birthday today, too!

It Ain't Over 'Till It's Over

Yeah, fellow bloggerini's. I'm talkin' 'bout SUMMERTIME!!!

Even up here in New England, the skies remain blue, the water warm and the beach as compelling as a rabbit or meaty bone.

I'm asking in the most respectful way possible,

"Please find a stick and throw it about 500 times!"

Fenway is officially extending the summer season until the first frost hits. And with my double coat, I can bob in the waves and enjoy swimming like a polar bear, long after the humans refuse to dip their toes. Throw a stick....heck, even fool me with a rock, and watch me head into the waves.

I can easily morph from a pretty show dog to a sea dog.

It's better to just jump in,

but take care not to slurp that salty water!

I've heard now and then that border collies are not water dogs. Here on Martha's Vineyard, people favor the trusty labradors, the ocean liners of the waves. Fortunately, I've inherited my Mama Devon's Swimming DNA. I'm biologically outfitted with submariner skills and I even don't mind dunking my head underwater to search around for an errant stick. I think I might be able to swim circles around the labs and even maybe manage to herd those waves some day.

Swimming is at the top of my To Do list. What's not to like? You've got a great stinky beach with all sorts of interesting detritus and new stenches to investigate.

There are usually some hidden gems in the seaweed.

There is sand to dig and it's even fun to roll around in it. And the water is the coolest thing around. I can float, paddle, ride the waves and never get hot.

The only bad thing is going home!

Put that leash away right now!