Quinn writes: Summer has begun on an upbeat note with Carole King in concert with James Taylor on the 4th of July! It was hot and so was Carole. I just couldn’t sit still when she sang, “I Feel the Earth Move Under My Feet.” Just wagged my tail in time with the music.

And the heat continues BUT it’s 10 degrees cooler in Lenox and the Berkshires than New York, New Jersey, and Maryland! So come up and cool off!

Quinn says: Wow! We have had some terrific canine visitors recently! There was Gretchen, the dog-shy English Bulldog, who wasn’t wild about having to walk. During Gretchen’s visit, we had five-year-old Welsh Terrier Cory, who was adorable and very well-behaved. A sweet little Yorkie named Phoebe, a real mama’s girl! And lastly, the Prince, a Cavalier, who wagged his tail so hard that his legs would sprawl out beneath him, causing him to slide all over the floor. His big brown eyes were entrancing.  I am so glad that we can accommodate four-legged furry tail- waggers at Birchwood Inn!  Piper and I get to make new friends all the time!

Quinn’s Observations: Piper and I love our mom but we don’t know how to tell her on Mother’s Day. Sometime a wag and a lick just isn’t enough. This year we had a little help from our friend Lynnette in Ithaca, NY. She helped us buy a card (with me on the front!) and used mom’s address as the return address. It was mailed from Rochester, quite a distance from Ithaca. Mom was enchanted as well as mystified. Who could have mailed this? She did think about Lynnette, who is always doing superspecial things for friend. But Rochester? For a moment she even thought that we had become the dogs in the Subaru commercials. Piper and I had fun watching our mom try to figure this out. Woof!

According to Quinn: Nothing smells better than spring in the Berkshires so my finely honed sense of smell is in heaven!

The copious lilacs and blankets of  lilies-of-the-valley. Freshly cut grass. That spring earthiness of tulips and daffs. All combined with the clean mountain air is a most heady, intoxicating experience.

Come up and smell for yourselves!

Please note that this message is being sent from under Ellen’s desk, where Piper and I  are cowering because of a sudden thunderstorm.

Yesterday was a blustery and somewhat soggy day, a great day for a pig. So I decided to emulate a pig and find out about their habit of rolling in mud. I rolled this way, and then I rolled that way. Fun! Cool! Until I came back to the inn. No one was happy to see me as they usually are. It must have been because I was covered in mud and smelled a little gamy. Ellen tried a bunch of old towels, but I had worked that mud in really well.  So Ellen put on my leash and started to go outside. Uh oh. This didn’t augur well at all. I put on my brakes but Ellen somehow pulled me outside and turned the hose (remember it was 40F!) on me. Geez that water was cold! We finally went back inside. Ellen covered me with old towels and left me to ponder the concept of consequences. I hate the bath but boy it really was fun to play in mud!

I know most of you don’t like to shovel snow or drive in snow, but I love snow, especially rolling in it! And with now 16 inches with lots more to come, I’ll be able to make dog angels for days!

I also love ice, but I discovered there can be too much of a good thing. A huge icicle fell from the inn, and I attacked it with a vengeance. Ah, bliss! Like a whole quart of ice cream instead of a children’s portion. I ate the whole thing! Alas, there is a consequence for being greedy — I shivered for more than an hour! The moral of the story — don’t eat a whole icicle. Winter according to Quinn

Quinn: Twenty percent of humans prefer to spend Valentine’s Day with their pets rather than their spouse! Piper, Ellen, and I will be joining in the celebration together. After all, Valentine’s is for lovers and that includes dog lovers. [30% of our guests on Valentine's Weekend are also bringing their furry friends.]

Today is supposed to be the most depressing day of the year but I am in Dog Heaven. We have had a surprise mid-winter thaw, and sitting in the garden just waiting for me were a half-dozen tennis balls! [And Ellen's scarf that I took outside last month.] We are both very happy campers today! Quinn

Mea culpa. The holidays are always filled with lots of joy! Ellen bakes mountains of cookies, and I love the candy cane cookie crumbs that land on the kitchen floor! So many crumbs! So little time! There are always lots of guests to take care of and lots of dog guests to entertain. I love celebrating New Year’s with my friend Sophie Kaplan, the most beautiful collie! And I still must find time to guard my presents under the tree. My favorite gift this year was a blue and white plush square box with a plush white bow. The box says “Sniffany & Co.” Because I’m worth it!

So that’s why I’ve been out of touch! I never did get to the holiday cards this year but had the greatest of intentions. Next year. Fersure.

Meanwhile I hope you:

• had a joyful holiday season,
• have a happy and healthy new year,
• and visit me soon!

I  love chipmunks and squirrels! Thankfully, there are lots of them at Birchwood. For more than nine years, I have spent many afternoons barking and chasing the little critters, but I’ve never been able to catch one. Not one! They love to hide in the stone fences. I know they are there but, alas, they know I’m there, too. Nuts!

Since it is quite well known among my friends that I love bushy tails, my friend Amy gave me a stuffed squirrel. It was so realistic that guests often did a double-take!

Once I took the squirrel with me to an innkeeping conference, but in all of the excitement, I left it behind. No problem, Jim, the inn’s assistant innkeeper at the time, called the hotel. “Mrs. Chenaux seems to have left a squirrel in her room,” said Jim with a straight face. The hotel employee at the other end did not miss a beat and asked, “Sir, could you please describe the squirrel?”

Maybe we’re nuts but the squirrel did make it home eventually.