It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy that makes happiness. ~ Charles Sprugeon
The recent weather trend around here has been so-so weather during the week followed by spectacular weather on the weekend. This weekend was no exception.
It was a perfect day to hit the trail.
It wasn’t too hot so the main activity of the day was running.
By the time we arrived at our destination the dogs were ready to jump in and cool off.
While the dogs splashed and played I kicked back and enjoyed the view.
It was pretty much a perfect day.
Our weekend fun was not confined to Saturday, however. On Sunday the dogs had a play date with my friend’s son. My friend’s son loves dogs, but they don’t have a dog so Sadie and Luka were happy to spend the day at their house. I didn’t think to snap any pictures except for this one. It was too adorable to pass up (apologies for the shoddy quality…I took it with my phone).
My friend’s son is learning about different animals. When we first arrived at their house he spotted Sadie and said “doggy!”. Then he toddled over to Luka, started petting him and said “bear!”. It took some explaining, but he was soon calling Luka “doggy!”, too.
Finally, I am enjoying the day off of work, but realize it came at a horrible cost. Thank you.
My formula for living is quite simple. I get up in the morning and I go to bed at night. In between, I occupy myself as best I can. ~ Cary Grant
The weather was shaky again this past week and we missed two of our walks. Saturday made up for it, though.
It was perfect hiking weather.
We missed our Friday night walk so on Saturday morning the dogs were ready to go.
They took off together
and then ran back to get me.
My initial goal of the hike was for the dogs to burn off some energy.
Finally, mission accomplished.
As we made our way through the woods Luka spotted something and took off running. He was out of my sight and didn’t seem to respond to my initial call for him to return. Just when I thought he’d lost his off leash privileges he appeared and was running as fast as he could.
Finally, we reached our ultimate destination.
The reservoir was not the end of the fun. We hiked a lot more after we left there.
Luka gave me his best model pose.
Sadie thinks posing is silly. Why pose when you can run?
Finally, my favorite picture of the day. I titled it “Happiness”.
Forever is composed of nows. ~ Emily Dickinson
The weather cooperated this weekend so we hit our favorite hiking spot again. The weather canceled a couple of our walks during the week so the dogs were in the mood to run.
At one point Sadie wandered off the trail and fell behind. I figured this was the perfect time to get a great shot of her running to catch up. She had a surprise for me, though.
She brought me a dead bird. Yuck!! (She did drop it as soon as I told her to drop it.)
Luka proved that last week’s behavior was not a fluke. He ran ahead on the trail but always waited for me to catch up.
When I stopped walking he came back to get me.
This week I noticed that Sadie waited for me whenever there was a trail junction.
Luka just picked a trail and ran ahead (and was often wrong about which way we were going), but Sadie waited for me to lead the way.
Once I showed the way the dogs went ahead of me.
As always, the highlight of the day was the water.
Despite the wonky weather (fog to sun to clouds back to sun back to clouds) it was another spectacular day (can you spot Luka in this picture?).
Finally, I don’t know when the Sleeping Olympics begin but the training around here is intense.
To climb steep hills requires slow pace at first. ~ William Shakespeare
This weekend marks six months since I fell while hiking and sprained the living hell out of my ankle. I’ve spent the past six months diligently working to first heal and then strengthen my ankle. The first couple of months were rough, but I knew that if I pushed through I would be ready when the 2011 hiking season arrived.
All of the hard work was worth it.
Yesterday the dogs and I hit the trail for our first hike of the year.
A notable difference from last year: Luka is off leash on the trail.
I’ve had him for over a year now. He’s become very obedient and seems to have bonded closely to me. I had a feeling he could handle being off leash and I was right. He always came back when I called and he never got too far away from me.
Best of all: he and Sadie had a fantastic time exploring together. (I love the big smile on her face in this picture.)
They ran around so much that they needed to rest just 30 minutes into the hike.
Then they had to rest again just a short time later.
Finally, we reached our destination (where Luka jumped right in and started swimming).
Sadie swam, too.
They also played together.
Luka explored the rocks.
When it was snack time the dogs kept a close eye on my bag of carrots. (They both love carrots.)
It was a lovely day.
Finally, Milo continues training for the Sleep Olympics.
