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Author Archives: Bongo

About Bongo

I am a dog who has lots of mini adventures that I love to share. I live with a cat named Scratchy who sometimes steals my blog, and with two people. When my adventures don't turn out so well I get my person to laugh while she helps me write my blog and then I don't get into as much trouble.

Not Time for Flowers

10 Aug

I just can’t win sometimes.

In the spring we get lots of flowers here and I’m constantly having to hang around while my person gets her camera out and takes pictures of them. And it seems like she takes forever.

Then in the fall when the weather cools down we get a few more flowers.

But in the middle of the summer I’m usually pretty safe. Not many flowers grow when it’s so hot.

But I just found flowers on this little bush here.

Maybe if I water it or something my person will want to leave.

Oops. Too late.

I’ve got to move faster next time.

Oh no!

There were a bunch of these white things in this spot a couple years ago, but I thought I’d gotten rid of them because I didn’t see any last year.

Come on, person. Move along! There’s nothing of interest here.

***

Whew! She went for it.

Hey! What are these doing here? I thought the catclaw were done blooming. What is it with this late bloomer?

***

Finally, we made it back home. I don’t have to wait any longer while my person takes pictures.

What!? Wait a minute! What are you doing, person?

You don’t need to do that.

I’m not even safe in my own backyard.

29 Comments

Posted by Bongo on August 10, 2013 in Bongo, dogs, humor

Tags: catclaw blossom, Flower, Late bloomer, Morning glory, Pets, Photography, trumpet vine

Popular Puddle

09 Aug

There’s really been a flurry of activity around my puddle lately.

First the tadpoles, then the toadies, then those mysterious tracks that I told you about yesterday. You know, the evidence of those strange creatures that took off with my puddle.

So today when we got to my puddle it had come back. Well, at least part of it was back.

I was so excited!

And you know what my person did? She tied me up again.

What now? The tadpoles are gone, and most of the toadies have hopped away.

Yeah, I know there’s still a few toadies around. I won’t step on them. I promise.

But today there was someone else near my puddle.

Butterflies!

And not just any butterflies. We had come across the Arizona state butterfly – the Two-tailed Swallowtail.

And those butterflies seemed to be getting pretty cozy.

Something strange was happening.

I wanted to go home and get my Nature Dog hat so I could investigate – but being tied up put a cramp in my style.

My person says these butterflies are supposed to lay single eggs on plants, but one of these butterflies seemed to be laying bunches of eggs in a mud hole.

I guess the other butterfly thought it strange too.

He started dancing around. Maybe he was nervous.

But I think that butterfly beat around the bush – I mean around my puddle – a little too long.

Because the competition showed up.

And now that my puddle has a butterfly party going on in it, I’m just wondering one thing.

Am I ever going to get to play in my puddle again?

31 Comments

Posted by Bongo on August 9, 2013 in Bongo, dogs, humor

Tags: Arizona, butterfly, nature, Pets, Photography, Puddle, Two-tailed Swallowtail Butterfly

Not the Toadies

08 Aug

A couple days ago I posted about all the mischief that was done to me.

Well, I think I have to make an apology.

It’s really hard for me to apologize. I’m usually such a perfect dog that I rarely have anything to apologize for.

But I think I might have made one little mistake.

You see, I blamed the toadies for taking off with my puddle.

But upon further investigation I discovered that it might not have been those toadies at all.

And now I have a real mystery on my hands paws.

I’m going to need to wear two hats to solve this one.

My Detective Dog hat.

And my Nature Dog hat.

Somebody left behind some evidence. And it doesn’t look like those toadies took my puddle at all.

I even found that the toadies were getting into the evidence to help me investigate.

But if I’m reading the clues right, this has got to be the strangest creature I’ve ever seen.

It’s got two different kinds of feet – one foot is a paw, kind of like mine. The other is a hoof.

And to make matters more confusing, there was a smaller guy hanging around with this creature. Maybe if I find the little guy it will give me a clue about that strange creature.

The only animal around here that I know of with a hoof is a javelina.

Javelinas are strange enough on their own, but half a javelina? Now that’s really strange.

And what’s the other half? Maybe a coyote? So what is that?

A javeyote? Or maybe a coylina?

That settles it then. That little guy I’m looking for must be a jackelope.

32 Comments

Posted by Bongo on August 8, 2013 in Bongo, dogs, humor

Tags: animal tracks, Coyote, jackelope, javelina, Peccary, Pets, Puddle, Toadie, toads, tracks

Food on the Table

07 Aug

I’ve got it all figured out now. All I have to do is convince my person there’s thunder outside and I’m scared to leave the house.

Sometimes I have to get Scratchy to growl – you know that low quiet kind of growl that cats do. And my person will think she’s heard thunder.

Then I get to go.

As soon as I hear the word car I’m out of here and headed for the car door.

I don’t care where we’re going as long as I get to go in the car – well, as long as it doesn’t end up at the dog hotel.

Today I really lucked out. I got to go to lunch.

I really got excited when they brought the food to the table.

I couldn’t wait to see which plate was mine.

I waited patiently. It seemed like it was taking a long time for someone to hand me my plate.

My person got busy talking to our friends who were at the table with us.

I think she forgot all about me. They all started eating and talking.

Hey! Where’s mine?

I finally had to take things into my own hands paws.

This one smells the best. It must be mine.

Do you believe it? They pushed me away and nobody shared even one little bite with me.

They ate all their food, and mine too.

Next time I come here, I’m having my plate served on the ground.

34 Comments

Posted by Bongo on August 7, 2013 in Bongo, dogs, humor

Tags: car, Food, lunch, Pets, restaurant, Scratchy, Thunder

Mischief!

06 Aug

I’ve got a complaint, and I should have posted this for Monday Mischief, but when someone pulls mischief on me, I’ve got to post it when it happens.

You see, my person tried to tell me everything was fine outside. I knew it wasn’t but she made me go.

My neighbor across the street was in on it too. He said there wasn’t any thunder.

But I knew it was coming. The wind was blowing, the clouds were dark, and I knew I would hear that awful noise any minute.

It even started raining. I swear I felt a drop or two.

I took my person into my wash because it seemed like the safest place.

But then it happened. The wind picked up and I heard a rumbly in the sky. Not loud, but it still meant business in my book.

I tried to get my person to head the safest direction, but for some reason she wouldn’t go for it.

More mischief on her part, I’m sure.

Since my person wouldn’t go up that hill there was only one direction to head – and it led straight to my toadies.

And you know what my person did?

She pulled more mischief on me!

She tied me to a tree.

She tried to tell me it was so I wouldn’t trample the toadies.

I’ll trample those toadies alright.

They’re pulling mischief on me too.

They took my puddle.

There were little toadies hopping around everywhere that my puddle used to be.

They seemed to be settling in.

They even had little toad houses.

This mischief has gone far enough.

I’m having it out with those toadies right now.

Those toadies are going to have to move and give me back my puddle.

37 Comments

Posted by Bongo on August 6, 2013 in Bongo, dogs, humor

Tags: dry wash, mischief, Pets, Thunder, Toadie, toads, Trail, walk

Tadpoles and Toads

05 Aug

The other day I discovered that something had invaded my puddle. Tiny tadpoles filled it and they were everywhere.

I wasn’t sure what would become of my puddle.

Notice I said my puddle. I had to convince those tadpoles that it was still mine and they didn’t belong there.

So I watched those tadpoles every day and I tried to talk reason into them, but it wasn’t doing any good.

I kept hoping the tadpoles would be gone, but every day when I showed up to visit my puddle they were still there.

Nothing I did seemed to do any good.

Until one day when I went to visit my puddle I found a tadpole leaving it.

And the next day when I came back I found two of them out of the water.

Now to convince the rest of them.

This one seems a little confused. I don’t think it’s sure whether it’s a tadpole or a toad.

Come on buddy. You’re a toad. You’re a toad.

The next day I was really in luck. There were four little toadies hopping around on the rocks.

They even got stuck in a crack.

And today when I went back – well – there were still some tadpoles hanging out in my puddle.

But the rocks were alive with little tiny toadies!

How many toads can you see?

Click here to find more mischievous pets.

42 Comments

Posted by Bongo on August 5, 2013 in Bongo, dogs, humor

Tags: Pets, Puddle, Tadpole, Toad

Like a Little Child

04 Aug

Puppy in the grass (Photo credit: justmakeit)

You know that fish Peter found last week with the coin in its mouth?

I’m going to go hang out with Peter and see if he’ll share.

What? What do you mean, Peter’s busy?

***

An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest.

***

What? The disciples argued? I thought they were perfect.

You’d think anyone that hangs out around Jesus as much as they did would have Jesus rub off on them and they wouldn’t do anything wrong.

Okay. I’ll listen.

***

Jesus knew what they were arguing about and He called a little child and had him stand among them.

Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

***

Oh. Does that mean I have to be like a puppy again in order to go to heaven?

***

Jesus also said, “And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.”

***

I would welcome a puppy. Maybe you should go out and get me a puppy, person.

I am too listening.

***

“But,” Jesus said, “if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”

***

Does teaching a puppy how to do mischief cause that puppy to sin?

On second thought, maybe we shouldn’t get a puppy. I like swimming, but not if I have a weight around my neck that makes me sink to the bottom.

I’m not sure I want to listen anymore.

Okay, I guess I’ll listen. Are you almost done?

***

Jesus told a story to show how much He cared about the little ones.

He said, “If a man owns a hundred sheep,…

***

Sheep!? What happened to the puppy?

***

and one of the sheep wanders away, the man will leave the ninety-nine sheep on the hills and go look for the one that wandered off. And if he finds it, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.” Jesus said, “In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.

***

Hey person, I’ll be back in awhile.

I’m going to look for that puppy. I think he got lost.

20 Comments

Posted by Bongo on August 4, 2013 in Bongo, Dogology, humor

Tags: Bible, child, Christianity, dogs, heaven, Jesus, Peter, Pets, Puppy, Religion and Spirituality, Sheep

Diamonds

03 Aug

My trails are filled with treasures, and some of them are going to make me rich.

So rich that I will be supplied with treats for life.

First I found a money tree, then I found pearls, and now diamonds!

These diamonds are small, so I’m checking carefully to make sure I’ve found them all.

Diamonds are valuable, so I can trade each one of them for a truckload of tasty treats.

Just look at these diamonds!

They’re scattered all over the ground around here.

Some diamond lover could use these to make a necklace, or a beautiful bracelet, or even a diamond ring.

Maybe I should keep some of these in case I want to give a ring to one of my girlfriends.

No, wait. Never mind. I’m sure any girlfriend that I have would prefer the treats to the diamonds. Besides, it would have to be something like an earring for any girlfriend of mine to be able to wear it.

Hey, what’s this?

I don’t believe it! Just what I was looking for.

A diamond earring!

I can give this to one of my girlfriends and she can wear it.

And it’s even sticky. What a bonus! It will stick right to her ear.

Which girlfriend should I give it to?

On second thought – would anyone like to trade an earring for some treats?

That way all my girlfriends will be happy.

Click here for more great pet blogs.

24 Comments

Posted by Bongo on August 3, 2013 in Bongo, dogs, humor

Tags: Diamond, Engagement ring, girlfriend, Jewelry, Pets, pitch, Treats

Acorns and Insects

02 Aug

You want me to put on my Nature Dog hat again? Already?

I think I’ll just stand by this bush instead.

This looks natury enough for a nature talk. Okay, here goes.

We don’t have oak trees on my trails, but we do have acorns.

They grow on these bushes called Scrub Oaks.

I took my person for a walk in the wash today and the scrub oaks along the wash have more acorns on them than other scrub oaks on my trails. I guess because they get more water.

My person thinks those acorns are pretty. I kind of wish she didn’t because she keeps stopping to take pictures of them.

But acorns aren’t the only things these scrub oaks have.

Somebody must think they needed more decoration so they hung some ornaments on the leaves.

These things hanging on the leaves are called galls.

I think it’s kind of an ugly name for something so pretty.

I don’t know what the official name of this one is, but I’m calling it a peppermint gall.

These galls are made by insects that either hang out on the plant or lay their eggs there and cause the plant to grow over them. Then those insects hang out in their nice, cozy home until they’re ready to poke their little heads out and see what’s out there. They bore little holes in the galls to get out.

This next gall probably explains why they’ve got that name. There are more of these than any other kind on the scrub oaks on my trails.

I call these galls Ugly Galls.

I sure hope I never see one of the bugs that lives in there.

24 Comments

Posted by Bongo on August 2, 2013 in Bongo, dogs, humor

Tags: Acorn, Gall, insect gall, nature, Pets, Photography, scrub oak

Time for a New Hat

01 Aug

I’m putting on a new hat today. This is my Nature Dog Hat so I can tell you about nature on my trails. But this post comes with a warning.

Warning: This post is about spiders and insects. If you’re squeamish (what’s that word?) don’t scroll down to the picture at the end.

It’s really hard to get a picture of these bugs, but we found one walking along on the ground – right in my yard.

Normally they buzz right by us. Buzzing is right. They make a loud buzz when they fly by, and you get a glimpse of black and orange. Maybe they should be called Halloween bugs. Those are the official Halloween colors, aren’t they?

Once you hear what these bugs do, you’ll realize they fit right into that holiday. These bugs are mean.

They’re called tarantula hawks. They like tarantulas, but the feeling isn’t mutual.

You see, these hawk things – which are really wasps, look for tarantulas and when they find one they poke it with their stinger.

That tarantula plops over as if it’s dead, but it’s really only paralyzed.

Then that nasty tarantula hawk lays one single egg on the tarantula and buries the tarantula. When the egg hatches that nasty baby eats the tarantula, while keeping it alive as long as possible by saving the vital organs for dessert.

Then it flies away to do the same thing all over again with another poor, unsuspecting tarantula.

The tarantulas are starting to come out now. My person just saw the first one of the season.