See the lions dance

It's that time of the year again...In about 2 weeks time, Chinese all over the world welcome the Lunar New Year. One of the traditions that accompany this celebration is the lion dance - a traditional dance where two performers mimic's a lion's movements in an elaborate lion costume. One performer would hold up the head and be the front "paws" of the lion, while the other would be the hind "paws" of the lion. The performers would dance and perform acrobatic acts on poles, whilst the musicians play Chinese drums and cymbals.



The story behind the lion dance dates back to ancient China. Apparently, a monk dreamt that sorrows and evils would plague the land. The monk prayed and asked the gods how he could prevent these evils from occurring. The gods told him that a lion would protect them and fight back the evils. Since the Chinese people had never seen a lion before, but had heard stories that the lion was the king of all the other animals, the monk combined all the lucky or magical animals he could think of and made a lion. (Source: Wikepedia)

Anyway, my human was at a local shopping mall (without her favourite beagle, as dogs aren't allowed in malls), when she stumbled on the lion dance performance.

This first 1 minute+ video shows the lion dancing on poles, after a short suspenseful pause at the start... These performers' have amazing dexterity and agility!


The second short video shows two playful lions playing "football".


Enjoy!

The "F" word...

Before you gasp and wonder if Kess' blog has gone to the dogs (idiom meaning: it has gone badly wrong and lost all the good things it had), this four-letter "F" word is not a bad word that humans sometimes use when they are angry...

It all began with a car ride. My humans and I had gone to visit her sister for a family get together. Now, mum's sister lives about an hour away. That's not a problem for me as I've gone on car journeys as long as 4 hours. Usually, I would peer out of the car window and check out my surroundings. Once I'm satisfied that all is well, I'll settle down for a snooze. This trip, my human even brought along my bed to put into the trunk/boot of our SUV. So, I was very comfortable.


On our return journey, my humans suddenly smelled something foul. Oh oh...they thought, Kess has done it again...and they quickly rolled down the windows. If you haven't guessed by now, I FARTed, or to use the correct term, "flatulence". Now, in a small enclosed area, such as a car, the combination of nitrogen, carbon dioxide, methane and hydrogen gas (scientific term: flatus) can be quite potent. So my humans, weighing their options of inhaling exhaust fumes from the other travelling cars or inhaling my "flatus", the choice is the lesser of two evils...So the windows came down until the odour was dispelled.

Honestly, I don't know what the big deal is...It's not like dogs are the only ones who fart. Humans do too!

Kess & Her Mama

From the desk of Kess' Mama:



"My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am."
~Author Unknown

The Beagles' Day Out

This beagle could not ask for a better way to start off 1.1.11, than a doggie outing to Central Park, in BU. What made this outing even more special - I will meet my fellow beagle blogger, Sapphire and her humans for the very first time.

As with all canine encounters, introductions took place in the form of butt-sniffing. Humans think it's disgusting, but we canines know better...


Since we were so well-behaved, both Sapphire and I got a liver treat each, after the customary sit and wait.


Of course, after one miserly treat, both beagles were still hungry and went scavenging for food during our walk. We were in for a treat as there was a New Year's party the night before at the park and some kind humans had left satay sticks around the grounds for us. How thoughtful of them! Unfortunately, our humans did not agree and each time Sapphire and I found a stick and started chomping on it, our humans would remove it. Spoil sports!


Sapphire impressed us all with her "peek-a-boo" trick... Isn't she cute? I hope my humans don't get ideas about getting this old dog (I turn 9 this May) to learn this new trick...


Alas, all good things come to an end. Oh well, we'll be back, won't we Sapphire?

The Bone from Christmas

My humans got me a two-in-one Christmas gift - A Chew N Kleen Knot Bone. You can tell from its name that it serves dual purpose - not only is it for a beagle's enjoyment, it cleans my teeth at the same time!


Naturally, before I was able to indulge in my doggie treat, I had to sit and wait until my humans gave the "OK" command.


So on Christmas evening, whilst my humans were pigging out on mum's homemade chinese barbeque pork (char siu) and Aunty Pat's fried calamari...




...this beagle was busy trying to "unknot" my bone.


This continued to Boxing Day...


On December 27th...At this stage, this beagle was not making a lot of progress. I hate to admit it but my mouth just isn't big enough for this bone. My human took pity on me and decided to "unknot" one end to help me out. My goal was to get to the yummy chicken strip sandwiched between the hide.


On December 28th... I was only halfway through.


On December 29th... I was still at it.


On December 31st... Gnawing this knotted bone sure is tiring!


I hope your Christmas treats kept you as busy as mine did! Happy 2011 everyone!

Pre-Christmas bath

"Kess girl, you need a bath. You need to look good for your Christmas photo..." This beagle's reaction's to my human's dreaded "BATH" word was...

That's right...Crawl underneath the car to escape bath time.


Unfortunately my humans are wise to this beagle's trick and has their own trick up their sleeve. They lure me out with a yummy liver treat. Now you tell me, which beagle, actually let me rephrase that...which canine can resist a liver treat?


Once I was out from under the car, I trodded slowly towards the bath area. Sigh...Outwitted again.


Once I'm in the bath area, I'm a model of good behavior as my humans thoroughly clean me.


Towel time is my favourite part of bath time coz I get to play tug of war with my humans. For some strange reason, my humans think it's funny to drape the towel over me me so that I look like Emperor Nero!


Anyway, after I was nice and clean, it was Christmas photo time. Oh well, a bath is a small price to pay. After all, it's the season for giving, right? Have a wonderful Christmas everyone!Save some turkey for me.

A Typical Day in A Beagle's Life

AM

Go for a walk and scavenge for pre-breakfast tit bits


Eat breakfast - 1/2 cup kibble (now you know why I have to supplement my meals with scavenging!)


Dig a hole to China - very little progress so far...


Check for pesky squirrels and cats who hide out in our bamboo tree


Scratch an itch - aahh...feels so good


PM
Laze around in the cool of the house on a hot balmy afternoon


Bark at pesky junk mail delivery boys who clog up our mailbox


Walk again - I wonder what new scents I'll sniff out in the evening...


Eat again - another measly 1/2 cup of kibble


Good night!