Dachshund Laugh

Oregon Coast, Summer 2013

On the footsteps of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - Part One

Right after Mom left for New York City to give her Bryant Park reading, Dachshund Daddy and I caught a train to Davos, the Swiss alpine town where the World Economic Fur-um takes place every year. Can you see me inside my not so humble abode?

In the winter of 1895, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle famously used a primitive pair of skis to travel from Davos to Arosa in the next valley over. Dachshund Daddy showed me this photo of Sir Conan Doyle with his skis, his wife, and Dachshund Sherlock, who bears an uncanny resemblance to the author of this blog. Note that, just like myself, Sherlock also donned a Hug-A-Dog harness from Dachshund Delights.

Dachshund Daddy and I decided to follow in Sir Conan Doyle's footsteps.

Minus the skis, of course, since it's still summer time and the temperature is well in the 80s.

After almost 4000 feet of elevation gain, we made it to the top of Chruebsch Horn, elevation 8500'. Don't try to pronounce that unless your insurance covers tongue fractures. Dachshund Daddy unceremoniously utilized the summit signage to force me to pose for this photo.

I then took a nap in my not so humble abode, which was traveling with us attached to Dachshund Daddy's backpack. The town down below is Davos.

We proceeded to a nearby pass, where I enjoyed another nap and dreamed of Sherlock hiking with Sir Conan Doyle, though apparently Dachshund Daddy's story about Dachshund Sherlock may be apocryphal. Can you see me?

Can you see me now? That's my bowl, whose lid I tried to destroy with my teeth because I thought there was food inside. Can you see the damage caused by my sweet little fangs?

Stay tuned for Part Two, where Dachshund Daddy thwarts my vain attempts at hunting marmots on the way down to Arosa and a warm welcome by a barkaholic committee of border collies.

2013 Desalpe / Alpabzug / Alpabfahrt / Schelpcha Guide

If you're in Switzerland at this time of year, you've probably already heard all about the Désalpe, the Alpabzug, or the Alpabfahrt, those awesome festivals where Swiss cows dress up to come down from their high elevation pastures and you get to welcome them back in town.

For your convenience, here's an ample selection of cow events in the coming weeks, listed by date and canton. It may not be exhaustive, but it's a heck of a lot better than anything else we've found on the Web! We're also providing links to the info page of each event (those are generally not available in English, but you'll figure things out).

Saturday, September 14
Valais: Grône
Bern: Innertkirchen, St Stephan (Lenk), Kandersteg
Zurich: Atzmännig
Uri: Wassen
Grisons: Klosters (Prättigau), Brigels, Savognin, Lenzerheide
Appenzell: Urnäsch AR
St Gallen: Mels (near Sargans)

Sunday, September 15
Schwyz: Einsiedeln (45' by train from Zurich; hop on the Ziegelbrücke train (S2) to Wädenswil and change to the S13)

Saturday, September 21
Neuchâtel: Lignières (above Lake Biel)
Vaud: Gryon
Valais - Val d'Anniviers: Ayer, Grimentz, St Luc, Vercorin
Valais - elsewhere: Obergesteln (Goms), Anzere (Sierre)
Fribourg: Schwarzsee
Bern: Suldtal (near Spiez), Bönigen (next to Interlaken)
Nidwalden: Ennetbürgen
Grisons: Flims, Rona (near Savognin); the Rona event is goat-centric!
St Gallen: Flumserberg

Saturday, September 28
Vaud: L'Etivaz (Pays-d'Enhaut), St Cergue
Valais: Crans-Montana
Fribourg: Charmey (Gruyère)
Lucerne: Schüpfheim (Entlebuch), Weggis (Lake Lucerne)
Obwalden: Kerns, Engelberg
Grisons: Guarda (Engadine) (this one is called a Schelpcha because the cows moo in Romansch)

Saturday, October 5
Jura: Le Boéchet
Fribourg: Semsales, Albeuve (Gruyère)
Valais: Morgins

Sunday, October 5
Glarus: Elm

Saturday, October 12
Grisons: Seewis (Prättigau)

Fur disclosure #1: since most of you are busy mid-week and none of you can time-travel, we're only listing weekend events and we're not listing 2013 events that already took place at the time of writing.

Fur disclosure #2: all the photos in this post are from the 2011 Désalpe in Semsales.

Legal disclaimer: though we did our best to list as many events as possible, it's entirely possible we skipped a few; if that's the case, please let us know.

Prayers for Peace

Our sincere prayer is for peace and wisdom on this September 11th anniversary.

May the wind carry our prayers near and far.

Love, Tootsie

A Church, A Cupcake, And A Dog

Mom's essay "A Church, A Cupcake, And A Dog" has been published in the current issue of Under the Sun! The dog in the title is my fur-brother Truffle, who spent a whole fall looking for America with Mom.

Here's an excerpt from the essay:

If I eat basil, I make a noise like a dachshund with an itch in her throat. Or a lab whose owner pulled the choke collar too hard. Or my hound Truffle after he’s dug a hole and caught a pocket gopher and chomped down. Pick your dog. Pick your herb. Parsley can also be used as an alternate for salsa when cilantro doesn’t suit. Cilantro makes me make my noise. It’s a kind of Mongolian throat singing, my noise. I sound like a Pug using an inhaler. Again. Pick your dog. Pick your herb. Praise Jesus!

You can read the whole essay here. Under the Sun has been published in print for many years. I'd be so grateful if you would click on through to support this wonderful journal's first online issue. Thanks!

NYC Reading: Renee E. D'Aoust

Hi, All, Tootsie's Mom here. I'm taking the liberty of writing on Tootsie's blog today.

On Tuesday, September 10, at 7:00pm, in New York City, I will be reading from my memoir Body of a Dancer. This is a shared reading with Etruscan Press authors at Word for Word Poetry in Bryant Park (behind the New York Public Library). If you are in the area, please stop by. It will be a special event!

Here's the link. (Scroll down to September 10.)

Here's the info:

Tootsie will not be at the event. Alas.

Here's a photo blast from my past as a dancer. Thomas Warfield is the other dancer.

 Photo by Betsy Corsiglia.

In the next photo, Ian Butler is the other dancer. I am upside down.

Photo by Betsy Corsiglia.

I cannot do those dance climbing thingies anymore. Here's a picture of what I do now at readings.

Photo by Frank Dina.

Visit Frank Dina's webpage here and check out his wotten-waven "Motion/Stories."

Wish me luck!

Love,
Renee

Short Legs, Stubby Paws, 9,000 Feet

My short legs and stubby paws take me far. Over the American Labor Day weekend, we visited the Engadine valley in Switzerland. This is a photograph of Mom and me at a 9,000 foot high pass. We hiked up from the lake you see in the picture.

[By the way, the American Labor Day September holiday is not celebrated in Europe. In Europe, Labor Day is celebrated as May Day, which is on May 1st. Maybe the red overtones of May 1st are too much for the United States?]

Here is the lake, close up, where we ate lunch. Can you say, "Carrots!" Notice my Dachshund Delights's Hold-a-Dog harness. It helps take me places!

We also had an encounter with a cowborne operation. That's another story. One cow really liked Mom's bright blue shirt. We have no pictures. Guess why. Yikes.

I really like breathing the air at 9,000 feet. It makes me feel philosophical. Maybe because Nietzsche used to hike around here. But Mom would not let me hunt marmots. Why not? I think Nietzsche would have let me hunt marmots. Don't you?