This is the last night of camp and what a meal we had! The hot dog and hamburger scraps were divine. Now for the best part. Who’s bringing the marshmallows? “Marshmallows? What are those asks Willow.” “Hahahahaha silly girl. You will soon find out about the best treat at camp,” said Dallas. We sent Hank to scout for the marshmallows because we needed someone who could climb. Hank would need to discreetly climb thru the window of the mess hall. Nothing is air conditioned out at camp so the windows are always open. They have those big fans going all the time that provided plenty of noise distraction. Hank sees his chance while the kitchen crew was taking their break. In through the window he goes and snatches 2 big bags of marshmallows. He makes off with them like a bandit. Good job Hankster! What else do we have for our campfire tonight? Oh my, Hank jumped back in a second time and grabbed a big pack of gummy worms. Woohoo! Before the sun goes down we need to go out to the edge of the lake and start our bonfire. All the pups scouted for small limbs and brought them back and stacked them. Dallas grabbed small scraps of paper and put them under the sticks. Yay, Felix remembered to pack that little cheap magnifying glass the kids found in a box of Cracker Jacks. We carefully placed it above the paper and waited for the sun to cause combustion. Meaning first there was smoke then we had Bear slowly wag his big fluffy tail to provide enough wind for the paper to catch fire. And just like that we had us a bonfire! Now everyone has to find a stick for their marshmallows. Willow says, “what are we doing? I’ve never seen anything like this before. How do I find a stick?” Hank agrees to help get her situated.

Soon we were feasting on gummy worms and after the fire cooled a bit we roasted marshmallows. My my, this might be our best camp ever says Luke. He always says that every year.

Felix goes first and talks about the events of their hike up the mountain a few days ago. Felix said, “I have to apologize for leading a very dangerous hike. I failed to plan our route and as a result I accidently ventured over into the coyote territory. We promised old Aztec, the head coyote, a few years back we would never do that again. Thankfully the coyotes realized it was all a big mistake and that we meant no harm. We were lucky those wild hogs were in their territory tearing up the place.” Dallas said, “Felix when we go on a hike we have a leader but it’s also our individual responsibilities to speak up if we sense something might not be just right. It’s ok.” The other pups chimed in and agreed with Dallas. The howling of approval filled the evening air. They all howled at the top of their lungs. When it got quiet, they heard ole Aztec howling across the lake. Willow is shaking now and said, “oh no is that coyote coming to eat me up?” The pups had come to recognize old Aztec’s howl. He has a howl when he’s mad and a howl when he is just sending greetings. This night he was sending greetings. No Willow, Aztec howls in peace tonight. We can rest.

I would like to introduce you to our cast of pups in case you’re not part of our family.

I write these stories and send them to my grandchildren every year while they are at camp. The dogs listed in the story belong to them, their cousins and me. I will describe all the dogs for you so you know what kind of dog they are and can imagine their role in the story.

Dallas is my little pup and she is a Jack Russell

Felix is a big Irish Crème Golden Retriever.

Coco is also a big Irish Crème Golden Retriever younger than Felix.

Hank and Willow are Catahoula hound dogs that live with my granddaughter in Mississippi. Willow is only 6 months old

My other older grandchildren live in The Woodlands. Their dogs are:

Luke, a Schnauzer is about 11 years old.

Bear, a huge German shepherd is about 3 years old.

I pretend that when the kids go away to camp that the dogs go as well. These stories are the dogs adventures at camp.

To read more stories you can go to www.thebigchickenblog.com