Morning Murder

photosource: unknown

Every morning the alarm clock goes off just before 6am
This doesn´t mean I go to bed early – it only means I get up early!
It also means that I’m deprived of sleeping time.
So the first thing I do when I seat myself on the train is put by backpack on top of the air-conditioning, lean my head to the side and catch up on my snooze…
43minutes of nap time is crucial for me to arrive at work in a good mood, so why is it that some morning I get off the train wanting to strangle every living thing around me?
Chickens!!!
I call them chickens because of their annoying cackling!
Unlike normal people who talk quietly on trains – these loud hens have to make sure that everyone on the train carriage knows that they prefer the train to the bus because it´s safer and because there is no traffic to scare them, or that they can hear their neighbour making noise after hours…
Not only do they enlighten every living soul condemned to be sitting in the same carriage with them to knowing this useless piece of information, but they also take 43 whole minutes elaborating on these two pieces of very interesting information to make sure everyone got the picture…
Road Rage?!!! Foul mood?!!!
One morning train ride with these blabbermouths and you´ll also develop homicidal tendencies!

Kalash´s Adventures

Photo source: Luis Sardinha

This page has been temporarily taken over by the dog… Kalash… that’s me…. The cute furry thing in the photo above.
My owner has been quite busy as of late and I decided that she wouldn’t mind me loaning her space while she concentrates on other things…
It’s not like I have anything better to do: I eat, I sleep, I play with my toys and I spend the rest of my free time waiting for my owners to come home and dreaming about our next outing!
I love outings! I love it when they take me to new places and I get to run around and sniff new things!
The last trip we went on was awesome!
We went to a village up north called Leomil and stayed in a self-sufficient tourist lodging. The place was awesome! Plenty of space to run around and lots of new people to pet me! Hehehe…
You can´t please everyone though – there was a nasty bitch that seemed to like everyone but me! Nina, the Portuguese shepherd crossed with an Alsatian was ready to pounce on me anytime I got close and she really had a fit when my owners took me to the picnic spot where she likes to sleep… as far as I´m concerned she´s just jealous because Boris, the male, prefers darker and shorter hair such as mine.

Boris - Photo source: Luis Sardinha

I couldn´t make friends with the cats either – none of them would even come close and even Toby, the only one that did come closer, wouldn´t let me sniff him. I reckon that he wouldn´t even stick around if it weren´t for the fact that he was enjoying my owner´s lap! He´s pretty cute when he sticks out his fur and nails and makes funny sounds everytime I come close by – my owner wasn´t impressed though, I don´t think she enjoyed the scratches Toby left her on her neckline. Hehehe… and that´s how you get your owner to divert her undivided attention back to you – better luck next time Toby!

Toby - Photo source: Luis Sardinha

Boris was an awesome buddy though, we went for a walk up a hill to look at the wind power generators and he came along. After an hour I could barely lift my paws but Boris was still ready to go another few kilometres. He only showed a glimpse of weariness when we eventually got to the generators.

wind power generators - Photo source: Luis Sardinha

My owners let us have a rest and it was all downhill from there which was great news because at the rate that my paws were hurting me, I was considering making my owners carry me the rest of the way!
I couldn´t believe my eyes when we finally got to the end of the walk! Green grass, a pool of fresh, cool water and best of all… children to pet me!
Of all people, I love children most of all – they play with me more and pet me longer than adults!

The drink before the fall - Photo source: Luis Sardinha

I was having a drink of fresh cool water from the make-shift pool when I caught a fright and did something silly… I was so concentrated on filling my hump with water that I didn´t notice my owner getting ready for a dive into the pool. I was caught by surprise and instinct kicked in… as I began to run way I forgot that the opposite direction of the wall was a big fat nothing and before I realised it I was falling into thin air and landed on rocks.
It wasn´t too longer after I landed that my owner was next to me feeling me all over – she looked like she´d seen a ghost! I reckon she was checking for broken bones but all I really got was fright, a couple of bruises and a scratched nose. You couldn´t tell that I was bruised though – another advantage of my luscious black coat!
And don´t let this episode fool you into believing it was misfortune – moments later a van pulled up filled with more children and everyone got a turn at giving me some tender loving care! TLC baby! I´d scratch my nose all over again for some more of that! hehehe

TLC!!! Photo source: Luis Sardinha

By the end of the night I could barely move so sore I was from the day´s activities! Not even the smell of barbecued chicken for dinner got my tail wagging! I was grateful when my owners finally let me sleep on my pillow!

If you think I spent the rest of the day resting, you´re sourly mistaken. When my owners go on an outing, they go everywhere!
Early the next day we were off to Sever de Vouga, there we stopped at Cabreira cascade where we were met by fresh water, beautiful scenery and… more people to pet me!
I soon forgot about my aching paws as I splashed around in the small pool where the water poured. My owners first occupied themselves taking photos but soon they also rendered to the fresh water and put on their swimming gear.
Aveiro was next on the itinerary; we had lunch then drove around some more. We stopped for ice-cream just before going to Barra Beach… and ended the trip with a beer at a charming café with a mini golf course. Thankfully my owners decided it was too late to play mini golf, because at this stage my paws were so sore that I needed a little help hopping back into the car.

There´s no place like home and by the time we were on the freeway I decided that I could finally lie down and rest… I wonder where we´re going to next time!... I hope there´s children there!


Exhausted! Photo source: Luis Sardinha