| General Fiction posted August 23, 2017 | Chapters: |
...11 12 -13- 14... 
|
  |
...camping with the folks
A chapter in the book 2018 Bernie and Howie Stories
Howie and Bernie's Adventure
by Mustang Patty
Howie was exhausted. He had no idea how Bernie had the energy to follow the Mistress around. Howie's feet hurt, his back ached, and excuse the pun, he was dog tired. Resting with his feet stretched both fore and aft, he tried to remember why he was so tired.
It had been an exciting few days. On the first day, the Mistress and Man kept telling them they had a surprise for them. Someone named Barney was coming to play. How on earth would Howie keep the names Bernie and Barney straight? How would the Mistress? And worse, how would the Man?
Eventually, there was an exciting sounding knock on the door. The knocking was accompanied by human voices, "Open up in the name of the eclipse! The big camper is here. The fun starts now!"
The noise was enough to make Howie wish to put his paws over his ears. When the Mistress opened the door, loud shrills were emitted as the other woman and her hugged and oohed and ahed. The other man simply shook hands with the Master as he ushered them in. Tagging behind on a leash was 'Barney.'
Hardly believing his eyes, Howie took one look at the over long ears and tail that wagged like a whip. Though this dog wasn't much bigger than Bernie and him, he was much more hyper. He jumped; he wiggled, and he barked—a lot.
So, they all trekked into the big camper. It was a huge room pulled by an equally big pick-up truck. Howie was surprised to see a couch, a chair, and even a bed. A tiny bathroom was at one end, and it looked like someone had shrunk the Mistress's kitchen and put it in the very middle of the camper.
Howie and Bernie took up their spots on the couch. With ears attuned, Howie watched to see what Barney would do. Since Barney considered this part of his home, he simply jumped up on the couch and climbed over Bernie to get to his 'spot.'
Bernie was used to being submissive to Howie, so he simply moved aside. Howie, on the other hand, was perturbed. He raised his lip and started to growl.
The ever-watching Mistress called out to him, "Howie! This isn't your house. You have to ask permission from Barney."
Howie was confused. Ask permission? He was the alpha dog. Why on earth would he ask permission? He glanced towards Barney and was surprised at what he saw.
Barney was giving him a peace offering. He nudged a chew bone towards Howie. Tentatively, Howie took a sniff. Oh my! The aroma was alluring. Gingerly, Howie nipped the end of the offering and pulled it towards him and took it to the opposite side of the couch. Peace between the dogs was made, and the whole room started to move.
----------@>>>
Living with two dogs and four humans had its challenges. It seemed much more difficult to keep out from under peoples' feet, and there was always another dog to contend with. Bernie had caught the attention of the Mistress's friend, so he was busy being petted and cuddled.
Howie had to deal with Barney on his own. Barney thought it was funny that Howie and Bernie usually did their business in the house on a pee pad. He was used to checking out the landscape and marking his territory. He felt it was his duty to teach Howie to do the same. He even managed to coax Howie to lift his leg to a tree or two.
By the second day of the trip, Howie and Barney were fast friends. They made constant fun of Bernie, and enjoyed the pleasure of the men. The Master was much freer with food outside, and his friend constantly dropped food while he ate.
Life was good.
----------@>>>
After the second night of sleeping on the smaller bed with the Mistress and Master, Monday morning arrived and everyone was super excited. The dogs caught the mood from the humans, and wagged their tails and lolled their tongues accordingly.
The Mistress handed out special shirts for everyone, and the Master pulled out some black strips. They all folded them and put them over their eyes. Laughing and cheering, everyone went outside and found a good chair. Instead of sitting in a circle, like they usually did, they all faced their chairs towards the sun. Howie didn't know why, and he really didn't care. The Mistress had her hand to her side, and he pushed his head up under it. She stroked his ears absently as she talked with the others.
"Here it comes. Put on your glasses. I can see the first bite of the sun."
"That is so cool! I don't think we have to keep watching it though. Totality won't be here for another fifty minutes."
"Does everyone have something to drink? It sure is hot out here. Must be close to sixty-five degrees, and it's only nine-thirty in the morning."
"Yeah, but it’s a perfect day for this. Totally blue sky and we are all here together."
"Can't beat that."
Howie thumped his tail as the humans talked. He could tell they were all happy. There was no undercurrent of unhappiness running through the place, and the Mistress was smiling all the time. Looking over at Bernie curled up in the other woman's lap, Howie was even happy for his little brother.
Barney and Howie stretched their leashes to find things to sniff. They were happily exploring when they suddenly noticed a change in the atmosphere. The light was changing and the humans were all wearing their glasses. Looking up at the sky, they were talking excitedly.
"There it goes."
"Hey! What happened? I can't see anything."
Laughing. "Take off your glasses, goof. It's in totality."
"I can't take off my glasses! I'll burn my retina."
"No. It's okay. Really. It can only hurt you right before or right after totality. We have about a minute or so."
Howie could hear the joy in the Mistress's voice. "Oh! This is so beautiful. I'm so glad we live here. The path of totality and seeing this in person is unbelievable."
----------@>>>
The rest of the trip was all about the food and the games, so Howie was surprised when everything was cleaned up. The humans seemed subdued as they made the camper move again. All too soon, Howie and Bernie were home. Back to the usual routine of their days. The consistency of their nights was nice, but the adventure had been wonderful.
As he snuggled on the familiar couch, and listened to the Mistress start another load of laundry, Howie smiled to himself as Bernie tugged at his ear. Yup, life was back to normal.
Howie was exhausted. He had no idea how Bernie had the energy to follow the Mistress around. Howie's feet hurt, his back ached, and excuse the pun, he was dog tired. Resting with his feet stretched both fore and aft, he tried to remember why he was so tired.
It had been an exciting few days. On the first day, the Mistress and Man kept telling them they had a surprise for them. Someone named Barney was coming to play. How on earth would Howie keep the names Bernie and Barney straight? How would the Mistress? And worse, how would the Man?
Eventually, there was an exciting sounding knock on the door. The knocking was accompanied by human voices, "Open up in the name of the eclipse! The big camper is here. The fun starts now!"
The noise was enough to make Howie wish to put his paws over his ears. When the Mistress opened the door, loud shrills were emitted as the other woman and her hugged and oohed and ahed. The other man simply shook hands with the Master as he ushered them in. Tagging behind on a leash was 'Barney.'
Hardly believing his eyes, Howie took one look at the over long ears and tail that wagged like a whip. Though this dog wasn't much bigger than Bernie and him, he was much more hyper. He jumped; he wiggled, and he barked—a lot.
So, they all trekked into the big camper. It was a huge room pulled by an equally big pick-up truck. Howie was surprised to see a couch, a chair, and even a bed. A tiny bathroom was at one end, and it looked like someone had shrunk the Mistress's kitchen and put it in the very middle of the camper.
Howie and Bernie took up their spots on the couch. With ears attuned, Howie watched to see what Barney would do. Since Barney considered this part of his home, he simply jumped up on the couch and climbed over Bernie to get to his 'spot.'
Bernie was used to being submissive to Howie, so he simply moved aside. Howie, on the other hand, was perturbed. He raised his lip and started to growl.
The ever-watching Mistress called out to him, "Howie! This isn't your house. You have to ask permission from Barney."
Howie was confused. Ask permission? He was the alpha dog. Why on earth would he ask permission? He glanced towards Barney and was surprised at what he saw.
Barney was giving him a peace offering. He nudged a chew bone towards Howie. Tentatively, Howie took a sniff. Oh my! The aroma was alluring. Gingerly, Howie nipped the end of the offering and pulled it towards him and took it to the opposite side of the couch. Peace between the dogs was made, and the whole room started to move.
Living with two dogs and four humans had its challenges. It seemed much more difficult to keep out from under peoples' feet, and there was always another dog to contend with. Bernie had caught the attention of the Mistress's friend, so he was busy being petted and cuddled.
Howie had to deal with Barney on his own. Barney thought it was funny that Howie and Bernie usually did their business in the house on a pee pad. He was used to checking out the landscape and marking his territory. He felt it was his duty to teach Howie to do the same. He even managed to coax Howie to lift his leg to a tree or two.
By the second day of the trip, Howie and Barney were fast friends. They made constant fun of Bernie, and enjoyed the pleasure of the men. The Master was much freer with food outside, and his friend constantly dropped food while he ate.
Life was good.
The Mistress handed out special shirts for everyone, and the Master pulled out some black strips. They all folded them and put them over their eyes. Laughing and cheering, everyone went outside and found a good chair. Instead of sitting in a circle, like they usually did, they all faced their chairs towards the sun. Howie didn't know why, and he really didn't care. The Mistress had her hand to her side, and he pushed his head up under it. She stroked his ears absently as she talked with the others.
"Here it comes. Put on your glasses. I can see the first bite of the sun."
"That is so cool! I don't think we have to keep watching it though. Totality won't be here for another fifty minutes."
"Does everyone have something to drink? It sure is hot out here. Must be close to sixty-five degrees, and it's only nine-thirty in the morning."
"Yeah, but it’s a perfect day for this. Totally blue sky and we are all here together."
"Can't beat that."
Howie thumped his tail as the humans talked. He could tell they were all happy. There was no undercurrent of unhappiness running through the place, and the Mistress was smiling all the time. Looking over at Bernie curled up in the other woman's lap, Howie was even happy for his little brother.
Barney and Howie stretched their leashes to find things to sniff. They were happily exploring when they suddenly noticed a change in the atmosphere. The light was changing and the humans were all wearing their glasses. Looking up at the sky, they were talking excitedly.
"There it goes."
"Hey! What happened? I can't see anything."
Laughing. "Take off your glasses, goof. It's in totality."
"I can't take off my glasses! I'll burn my retina."
"No. It's okay. Really. It can only hurt you right before or right after totality. We have about a minute or so."
Howie could hear the joy in the Mistress's voice. "Oh! This is so beautiful. I'm so glad we live here. The path of totality and seeing this in person is unbelievable."
The rest of the trip was all about the food and the games, so Howie was surprised when everything was cleaned up. The humans seemed subdued as they made the camper move again. All too soon, Howie and Bernie were home. Back to the usual routine of their days. The consistency of their nights was nice, but the adventure had been wonderful.
As he snuggled on the familiar couch, and listened to the Mistress start another load of laundry, Howie smiled to himself as Bernie tugged at his ear. Yup, life was back to normal.
It had been an exciting few days. On the first day, the Mistress and Man kept telling them they had a surprise for them. Someone named Barney was coming to play. How on earth would Howie keep the names Bernie and Barney straight? How would the Mistress? And worse, how would the Man?
Eventually, there was an exciting sounding knock on the door. The knocking was accompanied by human voices, "Open up in the name of the eclipse! The big camper is here. The fun starts now!"
The noise was enough to make Howie wish to put his paws over his ears. When the Mistress opened the door, loud shrills were emitted as the other woman and her hugged and oohed and ahed. The other man simply shook hands with the Master as he ushered them in. Tagging behind on a leash was 'Barney.'
Hardly believing his eyes, Howie took one look at the over long ears and tail that wagged like a whip. Though this dog wasn't much bigger than Bernie and him, he was much more hyper. He jumped; he wiggled, and he barked—a lot.
So, they all trekked into the big camper. It was a huge room pulled by an equally big pick-up truck. Howie was surprised to see a couch, a chair, and even a bed. A tiny bathroom was at one end, and it looked like someone had shrunk the Mistress's kitchen and put it in the very middle of the camper.
Howie and Bernie took up their spots on the couch. With ears attuned, Howie watched to see what Barney would do. Since Barney considered this part of his home, he simply jumped up on the couch and climbed over Bernie to get to his 'spot.'
Bernie was used to being submissive to Howie, so he simply moved aside. Howie, on the other hand, was perturbed. He raised his lip and started to growl.
The ever-watching Mistress called out to him, "Howie! This isn't your house. You have to ask permission from Barney."
Howie was confused. Ask permission? He was the alpha dog. Why on earth would he ask permission? He glanced towards Barney and was surprised at what he saw.
Barney was giving him a peace offering. He nudged a chew bone towards Howie. Tentatively, Howie took a sniff. Oh my! The aroma was alluring. Gingerly, Howie nipped the end of the offering and pulled it towards him and took it to the opposite side of the couch. Peace between the dogs was made, and the whole room started to move.
----------@>>>
Living with two dogs and four humans had its challenges. It seemed much more difficult to keep out from under peoples' feet, and there was always another dog to contend with. Bernie had caught the attention of the Mistress's friend, so he was busy being petted and cuddled.
Howie had to deal with Barney on his own. Barney thought it was funny that Howie and Bernie usually did their business in the house on a pee pad. He was used to checking out the landscape and marking his territory. He felt it was his duty to teach Howie to do the same. He even managed to coax Howie to lift his leg to a tree or two.
By the second day of the trip, Howie and Barney were fast friends. They made constant fun of Bernie, and enjoyed the pleasure of the men. The Master was much freer with food outside, and his friend constantly dropped food while he ate.
Life was good.
----------@>>>
After the second night of sleeping on the smaller bed with the Mistress and Master, Monday morning arrived and everyone was super excited. The dogs caught the mood from the humans, and wagged their tails and lolled their tongues accordingly.The Mistress handed out special shirts for everyone, and the Master pulled out some black strips. They all folded them and put them over their eyes. Laughing and cheering, everyone went outside and found a good chair. Instead of sitting in a circle, like they usually did, they all faced their chairs towards the sun. Howie didn't know why, and he really didn't care. The Mistress had her hand to her side, and he pushed his head up under it. She stroked his ears absently as she talked with the others.
"Here it comes. Put on your glasses. I can see the first bite of the sun."
"That is so cool! I don't think we have to keep watching it though. Totality won't be here for another fifty minutes."
"Does everyone have something to drink? It sure is hot out here. Must be close to sixty-five degrees, and it's only nine-thirty in the morning."
"Yeah, but it’s a perfect day for this. Totally blue sky and we are all here together."
"Can't beat that."
Howie thumped his tail as the humans talked. He could tell they were all happy. There was no undercurrent of unhappiness running through the place, and the Mistress was smiling all the time. Looking over at Bernie curled up in the other woman's lap, Howie was even happy for his little brother.
Barney and Howie stretched their leashes to find things to sniff. They were happily exploring when they suddenly noticed a change in the atmosphere. The light was changing and the humans were all wearing their glasses. Looking up at the sky, they were talking excitedly.
"There it goes."
"Hey! What happened? I can't see anything."
Laughing. "Take off your glasses, goof. It's in totality."
"I can't take off my glasses! I'll burn my retina."
"No. It's okay. Really. It can only hurt you right before or right after totality. We have about a minute or so."
Howie could hear the joy in the Mistress's voice. "Oh! This is so beautiful. I'm so glad we live here. The path of totality and seeing this in person is unbelievable."
----------@>>>
The rest of the trip was all about the food and the games, so Howie was surprised when everything was cleaned up. The humans seemed subdued as they made the camper move again. All too soon, Howie and Bernie were home. Back to the usual routine of their days. The consistency of their nights was nice, but the adventure had been wonderful.
As he snuggled on the familiar couch, and listened to the Mistress start another load of laundry, Howie smiled to himself as Bernie tugged at his ear. Yup, life was back to normal.
 Recognized |
|
photo taken by the author
I think the dogs had their own perspective of the trip to see the eclipse. We really didn't travel far; we simply stayed at an RV park about five miles away.
The past tense of 'ah' is 'ahed.' Hard to believe, but I looked it up on Hippo.com.
Pays
one point
and 2 member cents. I think the dogs had their own perspective of the trip to see the eclipse. We really didn't travel far; we simply stayed at an RV park about five miles away.
The past tense of 'ah' is 'ahed.' Hard to believe, but I looked it up on Hippo.com.
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