birthdays and haiku

Thursday the 26th marked the 4th birthday for the "fire litter". Birthday wishes to Chip, Ellie, Fresno, JoJo, Maggie, Serena, Shuma and Stoker. Almost everyone responded to my birthday e-mail with reports on their dogs activities. I even got some cool photos of several of the pups. It sounds like they are a lively bunch still, but starting to settle down a bit.

I was updating the website last night and realized that Ecko was the only one of our "pack" that didn't have her very own piece of haiku. Haiku is a form of Japanese poetry that combines three different lines and a noticeable grammatical break. The break is often indicated with commas or hyphens in English haiku. Haiku usually includes nature and everyday things and situations. Haiku is written in three lines, the first with five syllables, the second line with seven syllables and the third line with five syllables. Here are my efforts to convey Ecko in haiku:

Bouncy pinto girl
Spirited, self-willed and smart -
She’s our great white hope

and

Ecko, well, echos...
Full of fun and sweetness too
The world - her oyster