Godmother Uschi suggested taking me , "The Pea", meanwhile "Sweet Pea",  to Magetenpad, a short path through a narrow patch of woods,
10 minutes‘ walk from our house. I had no idea where we were going but anything was fine with me! Since I had learned to jump in mud puddles on our walks in the woods, Mummy and Uschi wanted to see if they could get me to go into deeper water, in the hopes that they would then get me to go into the rivers and into the sea. But not too far.

I can be off leash right after crossing the main road. Then there is a path into the woods and a wooden bridge over the brook.  They threw sticks into the brook and I had a fabulous time, dashing down the steep, muddy bank, plunging into the 4-6" deep water and tearing back up the opposite steep, muddy  bank with the stick, galloping over the bridge and then back down the slippery bank into the brook, over and over again, finding different places to go up and down.

After two sticks, they didn't even have to entertain me; I ran up over and down, marched up and down in the meanwhile muddy water and found sticks on my own. They walked me the long way home so that Iwould get dry enough to walk me through the house to the shower.

On the way I met two dogs and some chickens and Mummy saw our  Thanksgiving turkey. 

 I had never been as dirty and no one wanted to pat me!

Mummy took me to my first zoo in Bremerhaven. We started at the polar bears, who just paced up and down and didn’t move me. They don’t have enough room for a Wheaten Terrier. But when we got to the penguins, they pecked at me through the glass and I stood at attention. My next favorite was a big blue and yellow fish in the aquarium, but 1st place goes to the Siberian squirrels, who ran all over their trees and came up to tease me on their fence. I stood still as a statue except for the tip of my tail, which was wagging gently.  Unfortunately, Mummy forgot to take a camera with us.

Two more firsts: An encounter without a fence or glass wall:  Mummy and Aunt Uschi decided that they could now do the route through the fields with me, where they had walked my predecessors daily for years and years and years. I was finally old enough for the 90-minute route.  This is the right time of year to enjoy the fields, which have been harvested and offer 200-400-yard views of other dogs as well as biiiiig, black birds, in all directions. I get fabulous racing stretches and the shower at home looks like it. In the deep grass under the oak tree there was a shape that I had to have a look at. Sniff, sniff. Boiiiinggggg! Out flew a wild beast, scratched me on the nose and dashed up the tree. My first cat.

Now, speaking of the oak tree: It is at the side of what was always a field and I ran my rounds there after it was harvested. Suddenly there were fence posts. THEN a day later Mummy and Aunt Uschi saw electric wire and 8 cows. I had to go on the leash because of both. At the oak tree we turned left as always and headed for the magic woods, our little patch of woods where our wishes come true and I pick up a myriad of sticks in my velcro fur. After about 20 yards in that direction  Mummy decided that I would have forgotten the cows and would head for the woods, so letting me off my leash. 

I don't forget cows!  Zoom! Back to the new pasture and under the fence. I couldn’t hear Mummy and Aunt Uschi calling me, I was so busy doing one of the jobs we Wheatens  were originally bred for: I needed to herd them into a corner of the pasture.  Mummy jumped up and down like Rumpelstilzchen, worrying about me getting hit by horns or hoofs,  while the cows did some dog dancing with me and then followed my instructions. I think they enjoyed it as much as I did. By the time Mummy arrived at the opposite corner I had herded the first group of 5 there. I went back and drove the other 3 there as well. With all eight in the corner, I proudly went back to Mummy.  She was glad I came but not amused about the herding and we have taken our walks in other woods and fields since then.  Meanwhile the herd is closer to 20. Mummy is afraid I would get too tired having to drive all of them ;-)  (Not really; she’s afraid the farmer would have her neck!)

My first birthday:  October 10th

Daddy and Godmother Uschi picked up my best friend Emmy and her mum in Bremen and brought us all to our church’s hostel in Ahausen, where Mummy was on a retreat. We had liver cake and a wonderful run in the woods. Mummy came home the next day and gave me another piece of cake.  Daddy isn’t telling how much I got while Mummy was gone.

My first Gotcha Day: December 10th

A year ago my Ex-Mummy put me into Mummy’s arms in the back seat of the car for the 4-hour trip to my new home. Ex-Mummy and Ex-Daddy soon moved up north and now live near us. I invited them to celebrate my first anniversary in Bramstedt as well as all I have learned in this past year and my youth championship in the national Klub für Terrier and the top German dog club VDH.

My first snow:

This stuff is cool!  I run zoomie rounds in the back yard.  The first time was dry snow so it didn’t form balls on my velcro legs like Gráinne‘s in 2008 (see chapter 29 of Gráinne's Homepage) but Mummy thought I should learn to wear boots just in case we should get „real“ snow. My first impression of socks and shoes was not positive  but I soon realized that I could even run upstairs with them and they didn’t hinder me in my dashing through the fields. The second time we had snow it was sticky stuff, so Mummy put my socks and shoes on for our winter dog club walk. They didn’t stop me from playing with Jo-Jo and Freya. Today she left them off in the fields; mistake!