It's Halloween

And guess who is back. That's right, it's the BOGGLER, the bane of my existence. And who is that with him. Hah, you don't recognize him, or do you, faithful reader? How could you not recognize the slimy eminence of none other than the arch-fiend Mayor Spinalzo, whom we last saw crawling over the patio bench in flight from the law after the collapse of the Snail Heights bubble.

Now what could be brewing, and why is he in conference with the BOGGLER?? Isn't it obvious??? Well???? OK, who the hell knows, eh????? But it is All Hallows Eve tonight, and there shall be a reckoning.

At least I think there will be a reckoning if I can round up the whole gang on short notice.

My Own Ziggurat

That's right, Boggler, the Cold War is over. Yes!!! See for yourself. Thanks to the cooperation of Bigfoot, I have built my own ZIGGURAT.

And you know what - I SEE YOU WORMING YOUR WAY INTO THE PICTURE, trying to look like you are sleeping in his armpit - you know what? You'll never figure out its meaning. Not until you are blue in the face.

You know why? It has no meaning. That's right, NO MEANING, as in MEANINGLESS. It is the product of the random meanderings of the mind of a 3 year old puppy. That's me. Crazy, right. Yep, crazy. Crazy like a fox, or a Maltillon, BOGGLER.

BOGGLED, right? I thought so!!!! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!!!!!!!!!

A Toy Circle?

That's what Bear and Bigfoot think. See for yourself. And tremble, Dear Reader, as I did when I woke up, shook myself, and looked out onto my supposedly private, secure deck to be greeted by this ghastly apparition.

And who is it lurking just on the edge of the picture, admiring his handiwork? That's right, the accursed BOGGLER!!!!

And again using my toys. And again with the frogs and ducks. What can it all mean????

Curiously enough, both Bigfoot and Bear have noticed a pattern. The inner rows of the cross read Frog-Rabbit-Frog-Rabbit-Frog no matter what direction they are read. The two spokes of the wheel read Frog-Duck-Frog-Duck-Frog, although only one complete spoke of the wheel is completed.

Bigfoot believes THE BOGGLER was interrupted, probably by my appearance, before he could complete the design. Bear, on the other hand, suggests that he ran out of ducks and was too lazy to go down into the Well of Toys to retrieve any more.

They are having a big debate about this now, but my own concerns go deeper. How is this demon able to enchant my toys?? MY TOYS, damn it!!! And what does he want, or does he just want to mess with my mind?

I am at my wit's end.

Uh-Oh!!!!

That's right! Oh-oh!! But maybe it is Oh-oh for you, BOGGLER, because it is you who have slipped up. That's right, BOGGLER, you!!! I have found you out just when you thought you had me, THE INDOMITABLE PIP, fooled. Hah, hah!!!!! Who is fooled now?

To make matters short, lo and behold I wandered upstairs after a breakfast snack, une petite dejeunier, as it were, and I found another Ziggurat, this one topped off by the Uh-oh Ghost Toy pictured above. But in the wider-angle photo, what do you notice, Dear Reader, or does it momentarily escape even your eagle eye. Yes, who is that menacing specter lurking in the bookcase, that demented duck-like thing (again the duck motif), multicolored and full of bile if not THE BOGGLER, shown below in close up along with Yours Truly snapped in the act of discovery by "him."

The game's afoot, Watson!!!!!

Another Apparition

I am beside myself, dear reader. Another apparition. This time it again involves that weird white goofy looking thing, blindfolded with a frog on its head. What can it mean? I mean it is mind-boggling, which can only mean that this too is the work of THE BOGGLER!!!

Bear believes there is a message encoded in the objects the fiend chooses. They seem random to me, but then who knows what the message could be. Bear says they are the spirits of little animals demanding compensation because I have eaten them, but this is just baloney. I have eaten cows and fish and chickens, yeah, who hasn't? I mean I am an omnivore, but I have never killed anything except maybe bugs, but I don't see any bugs represented and so far there are no cows or chickens or fish, just sheep and lambs and piggies and frogs, and I swear I would never even bite one of them.

Bigfoot, on the other hand, opines that the objects are totemic in nature, that they represent spirits I should either emulate or learn from or communicate with or whatever. I admit it, my mind is boggled, that's the truth. You win, BOGGLER, you win.

I could ask "him" or "her" for advice, but that would admit defeat, wouldn't it? I will not. I will not admit I cannot solve the problem. You will not stump me, BOGGLER!!! Nobody can stump the PIP, nobody!!!!!!! Hah, hah, hah, hah, hah! Blah, blah, blah. Yadda, yadda, yadda. NOBODY.

The Ziggurat

This is it, dear reader, this is the Ziggurat. This is the infernal construct, or one of them, that is freaking me out. What does it mean? Who is THE BOGGLER?? What does he want??? Why is he picking on me, an innocent puppy who never hurt anyone in his whole life and who just wants to take a nap in peace and play fetch???? What has he got against my toys and pillows?????

Here is another snapshot with me in it, taken by "him" or "her". It gives you an impression of the scale of the thing. Bear thinks the placement and selection of the objects, especially the toys are some sort of code or contain clues to the demon's intentions or message.

The Haunted Duck

Loyal readers, I know you have missed my daily blog posts, but you must be aware that I am in the midst of unraveling a great mystery, a mystery so profound, perpetrated by a villain so dark, that, well, it simply boggles the mind. Yes, that's right this arch villain is none other than THE BOGGLER.

Several weeks ago I was awakened from a midday slumber by the incessant cackling and quacking of one of my many duck toys. This sad creature is pictured above resting in a bowl of fruit, but do not be deceived, dear reader, this duck was once possessed by the most diabolical and fiendish spirit known to mankind, that's right, THE BOGGLER.

After some investigation, "she" was able to locate the source of the manic quacking. He was hiding in the Chinese Chest where "he" keeps his cookbooks. I was able to seize the demented wretch and give him several death shakes, but all to no avail. He kept up the damned quacking.

"She" took him away, though not before I was able to rip the stuffing out of one of his vile orange feet. (Subsequent laboratory analysis by Dr. Monkey T. Frog and Dr. M&M provided no clues, though it must be conceded that these nitwits never provide any useful information and are perpetually stumped). However, he kept up his cackling even when locked back in the Chinese Chest and later placed on the highest shelf of the Red Cupboard. The manic, haunted episodes went on for days before we found the poor creature lying exhausted in a bowl of fruit.

"He" dismisses the whole episode as some sort of malfunction of the things battery. What a load of BS! Ducks don't have batteries. And anyway, how do you account for the mysterious appearance of the Ziggurats. about which more will be revealed in subsequent postings? That's right, I'm not joking here, somebody is seriously messing with my mind. When I wake up I find these bizarre structures built up of pillows and hassocks and toys. I'll take a picture next time and show you. This is driving me nuts. This diabolical, arch-fiend THE BOOGGLER is behind it all.

I gathered together the four sponges and all my frogs for a council. We agree that we must break out into the real world again and hunt him down. But then my adventures in the real world, which have been chronicled in earlier postings, have been a little scary and not very successful. What to do? WHAT TO DO?

I live now in mortal terror. I can't even take a nap without one of these Ziggurats appearing. As soon as I demolish one, another springs up. And that damned, infernal quacking. I cannot get it out of my mind.

HELP!!!!