Last days at the beach...

Well, Mom says we're headed back to New York on Wednesday. (Oh, and for those of you who think we've been on vacation, not quite. We're now just splitting our time between Islands. Not bad, huh?)

But Mom says I need to get back to New York because I've become a bad-ass Marsh Puppy. We were back over at Buddy's yesterday and he and I took turns dropping a rubber ball off the the dock so his Mom would have to scoop it out for us with a net. Great fun. Of course, it was high tide, so no pluff mud, but I still ignored Mom and wandered into the marsh, even took a little dip in the creek...


And look at my tail! It's so overgrown, it looks like a feather. And my ear hairs are so long, I look more like a marsh bunny than a city-slick Cairn terrier. I think there's a haircut in my future this week... Plus when you shake me, enough sand falls off to build a castle. 

Speaking of which, it was wide and flat and empty when we went down yesterday, but we still liked this photo and wanted to share it with you. Pull up a seat!

Here's another one of the little 2-leggeds I befriended. They're all over the place and so happy to throw the ball over and over for me. 

Like this little girl. She played with me for hours. The little Sheltie didn't want the ball, instead, she'd herd me back when I ran off to get the ball, yapping her head off the whole time. 

Here's the dog run we went to this weekend, when it was too cold to go the beach in the morning... Don't you love the name?

Tons of trees to leave pee-mails on, nice muddy mulch, sand to dig in, and tennis balls everywhere. There are even drinking fountains with two basins, one for people and one for dogs.

C'mon Mom, throw the ball already!

Okay - back to the beach....

Mom saw this little sign on the porch at the Iron Fish Gallery and she just loved it. I'm declaring it a birthday greeting for Asta's Daddi George! Good advice for all of us, right?

Okay, this last bit is for Clive's Not-so-little Man who loves dolphins. Mommy had to borrow these photos from Flicker, because she never had her camera with her when these things happened. 

First, on the boat ride over to Daufuskie Island, she saw a wild dolphin leap out of the water and fall back on his back!  It was very exciting and in all the years she's been coming to the South Carolina Low Country, she's never seen a dolphin behave like that. 

Then last night, she had dinner with one of Granny's old friends and Buddy's Mom and another friend. The ladies were all sitting in the sunroom,  overlooking a tidal creek that's right off the deck when Mommy shouted! There was a dolphin just feet away flipping his tail and splashing the water. 

Dolphins in the Low Country have developed a "habit" for lack of a better word, where they strand small fish and shrimp, usually at low tide, by slamming the water with their bodies and tails to stun their dinner, then running it up on the marsh mud where they'll lie on their sides and feast. They are NOT in danger when they do this, although this is referred to as strand feeding. And you only see dolphins do this here in the South Carolina lowcountry. Scientists say it's a learned behavior. Anyhow, the first thing Mommy thought was "WOW! Would Not-so-little Man LOVE to see this!"

Next post: Back in New York City!