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Author Archives: Teri J Pieper

Late November

No snow on the ground here in the valley. It came and went earlier in the month and recently it has been mostly just cold and clear. Good conditions for walks with dogs and watching wildlife. There is some skiing up on the pass but it looks like it will be a while before our local trails have any snow for grooming. Seems like last year there was skiing at Thanksgiving weekend. Maybe I am not remembering right.

Handsome fellow
This one was just across the street
Coyote running away
Hi. Do you need your screen licked?
Cold mornings make for great images
Pipestone Canyon from up on top
This one was at our house
Osprey nest, also used by Canada Geese earlier in the season
No wonder she drives Luna crazy
There were lots of swans around the valley earlier in the week. Most of the smaller lakes are now frozen. This photo is from Tuesday and by yesterday, Sunday, folks were ice skating there.
Downy Woodpeckers are plentiful this time of year
A Clark’s Nutcracker caches seeds in the loose bark for wintertime foraging
I got the stick!
Shiny
I got the bone!
Is that a jackrabbit?
A boy and his dog and a photo bomb
I’m taking my stick and going home now

Puppy’s First Mountain

On Wednesday, the dogs and I hiked to the top of Patterson Mountain. It’s not a long hike or particularly challenging but if you are a three month old puppy, it might be a big event in your short life! According to the hike report it is 1 1/2 miles from the lake to the summit, gaining 1100 feet elevation. Enough to warm you up. Sky was a trooper, staying on the trail and keeping up with no problem. We encountered one other group of hikers on our way up – the Wednesday hiking ladies. We stopped and had a nice visit with them and I was warned that if my puppy went missing that I might want to check in Chris’s backpack! As usual, Sky attracted a lot of attention. We started and ended the hike with a visit to Patterson Lake and Sky almost, inadvertently, went swimming!

 

Sky considers leaving her comfy crate
Following big sister Luna
Look! I got you a stick!
Wait for me
Hurry up youngster
Tug
Finally heading up the trail
Don’t get lost
Magic forest
I was the only one that had to use the stile
Mt Gardner. I love when the snow returns to the mountain
Gardner over Patterson Lake
It was a glorious day!
On the mountain top
No puppy in her pack
Sun Mountain in front of the upper Methow
Luna
Watching Luna swim
I can catch her
Ooops. Maybe not
I’ll watch from here
Now I’ll get it!
Hey! Wait up!

November Walks

The mostly gray weather has not kept us inside at all. We try to get at least one walk everyday. The dogs (and I) would go stir crazy if we didn’t get out regularly.

 

Ken’s friend Bill came up from Yakima with his dog Rani
Black and Blue
Ahhhhhh
Sky wanted Rani to be her mentor but Rani would have none of it. She has become a curmudgeon.
Hairy Woodpecker listening
And looking
Listening
And pecking
Oregon grape in front of an unnamed pond.
Nice fall colors and reflections
Buffleheads and mergansers
Reeds and reflections
Sky makes her way through tall grass
Another view of the same pond
Nice color
Sky keeps up with Mary Ann

Fall to Winter and Back Again

Saturday afternoon Ken and I and two of our friends and a total of six dogs went for a quick afternoon jaunt to Aspen Lake. The morning sunshine was replaced with leaden clouds that made it seem colder. And sure enough, it was snowing when we got to the lake. My new camera was confused by that and instead of focusing on a distant duck, it focused on the snowflakes. It made for an interesting effect.

 

Aspen Lake
An interesting painterly effect, if not exactly what I was looking for
The obligatory puppy photo
Subtle fall colors with a touch of snow
Through the aspens
Lindsey helps one of her old dogs over a log
Healthy sagebrush seed crop this year
Barrow’s Goldeneyes
That old tree looks like something out of a story
Overlooking Moccasin Lake on the way down

Frosty Morning Walk

Oh this puppy is growing! She’s now over twenty pounds and was just ten when we started with her almost four weeks ago! And the cuteness is growing just as fast. At some point she will become a teenaged dog and we will yearn for these days.

A sunny morning was welcome after the last couple of gray days. It was a good opportunity to try out a new ‘superzoom’ camera too. It goes out to 600 mm and is small enough to easily carry around.

 

Mountain Chickadee
Frosty bitterbrush
Following her nose
Oh! What’s that?
Mt Robinson, I think
Hey! Whatcha doin?
Goat Peak
Zoomed out to 600, I can see the lookout
Love the sun shining through the trees
Up the driveway
A boy and his dog
And let’s not forget about Luna.