He-e-e-re’s Riley!!  Reporting from Estes Park, Colorado, and loving every minute of being here on vacation!  The weather is perfect, the leaves are changing, and the elk are on the move.  What better time to be in sunny Colorado?!  Reporter Riley signing off to go have fun!

 

My sister, Sunny, and I got to go to Estes Park, Colorado, with Wen and her friend on vacation.  We stayed at a hotel in downtown Estes Park that was right on the river and next door to a public amphitheater with a large grassy area and riverside trails.  We took fun walks along the river by our hotel and through downtown and we got to see and sniff all kinds of new places.  We even took a walk on a trail by Lake Estes and Wen’s friend drove us to the visitor’s center at Rocky Mountain National Park, where the mountain views were spectacular.

The weather was perfect and the scenery was amazing with the trees beginning to turn a golden yellow, so it was an ideal time for us to enjoy a couple of days away from home.  We had a fabulous time, but our vacation days absolutely sped by.  I sure hope that the next time Wen decides to go on a mountain vacation, she’ll take us along again!

Are you ready for some football?! It’s that time again!  It’s time to get out the footballs, the jerseys, and all the fun fan stuff, because it’s finally football season!

We are huge Denver Broncos fans at our house.  We Scotties each have our own Broncos jersey and of course, we have a Broncos logo football.  Out in our backyard, a Broncos flag decorates the fenced-off area and we have a collection of Broncos memorabilia for lucky charms.

The Broncos won their opening day game, so it’s nice to see that football fever is in full force again.  Let’s go, Broncos!  We need a winning season!

Everyone knows that Scotties have big long muzzles.  Whenever it is convenient, we like to rest our noses on something comfortable, like a pillow, for example.  My favorite pillow is literally a doggie pillow:  my sister, Sadie.

Sadie likes to snuggle up next to me on the couch and when she does, I conveniently use her as a pillow.  She’s just the right height to rest my nose on and she makes an excellent comfy nose prop pillow!

 

 

Everywhere you look, you see vanity plates on cars.  Those personalized license plates with names, nicknames, and cute sayings seem to be very popular.

We even have vanity plates on our wagon that we take to Scottish festivals.  Wen thought that it would be fun to dress up tha wagon with “Scottiemobile” plates, since the wagon is used to haul us Scotties around and she couldn’t have thought of a more appropriate name.  Not only does the Scottiemobile provide us Scotties with transportation, but it is usually decorated with Scottie cut-outs, stickers, and advertising for Scottie rescue.  When people see us riding in our Scottiemobile, they like to point and say, “Look at the Scotties!”

The Scottiemobile plates are cool, but I have my very own vanity plate that of course, says “Riley.”  Now, I just need a car to put it on!

 

 

Evidently, it is not easy to take a good picture of a black dog.  The lighting has to be just right in order to see their features and a lot of times, what you think will be a good photo comes out like a black blob with eyes.

Wen has taken many pictures of my sister, Sadie, but she has deleted way more shots than she has saved.  On some pictures, Sadie actually faded into a dark background and on some, her long Scottie eyebrows covered her eyes.  In other words, it has always been a challenge to  get a  nice shot of Sadie in good light with a contrasting-colored background to really make her stand out.

One time, Sadie was sitting on a black chair and Wen took her picture, only to end up with a “Where’s the Scottie?” photo.  This only pointed out how difficult getting a good picture of a black dog really is.  In my opinion, we wheaten Scotties are definitely much easier to photograph!

Today is Labor Day, the unofficial end to summer, so let’s close it out with one last blast!  Everybody have a fun and safe Labor Day holiday and let’s make summer’s last blast a great one!!

 

That ice cream you’re eating sure looks good!  How about you drop a spoonful down here?!  I won’t tell the other Scotties.  It’ll be our little secret!

Every morning, Wen lets us Scotties out in the backyard and we do our daily cruise.  This involves doing our business, watching for squirrels and birds, walking and sniffing the property, and surveying the yard from a spot on the railroad tie wall, which is low enough for us to jump up on.

This morning, I sat on the wall and took a few moments to listen to the other dogs barking in the neighborhood.  A couple of them were really “talking.”  The weather has been cooler the past few days and it has felt as though fall is coming, so we have really enjoyed our time out in the yard in the cool air.  Our early morning cruise is the perfect way to start the day!

My sister, Sunny, turned twelve and a half years old this month.  She is quite the terrier and she loves to race around our backyard and chase the squirrels that run across the top of our fence.

Sunny is always exploring outside and she enjoys digging holes and pulling up grass, much to Wen’s dismay.  For an older girl, Sunny can run fast and if a rabbit somehow got into our backyard, she would make sure that it didn’t get out alive.

Sunny loves chew toys and she also guards them ferociously if any of the rest of us Scotties come near.  Sadie is always trying to steal food out of Sunny’s bowl and Sunny doen’t tolerate it.  She gives Sadie a warning bark and snaps her jaws, which tends to stop Sadie in her tracks.

Sunny knows how to make her desires known, because she has developed an entire language of whines and barks to let Wen know if it’s about time to eat or if she needs to go outside.  You had better not ignore her, because Sunny will “talk” to you in more and more insistent tones until her demands are met.

I’d have to say that even though Sunny is a senior Scottie, she is terrier tough and full of life!  Molly, Sadie, and I should probably consider ouselves lucky that Sunny puts up with us and likes us as much as she does!