Little Willow is growing and changing so fast! Her body has grown long and soon she will be all legs. In these photos she looks serious and thoughtful. She’s still a puppy in that lanky body though.
Yesterday it was twenty below zero. Fahrenheit. It was hard to do anything outside like breathe. It was perfect to make bubbles and watch them freeze and quickly photograph them. They are ephemeral, coating themselves with ice crystals and then slowly, or quickly, deflating.
It’s Christmas Bird Count (CBC) season. Last week, I joined three other birders and one dog to count the birds in southern Okanogan County. Winter came early and it seems that many birds left for places where they can find food more easily. I’ve done this count many times before and have never seen so much snow. One of our counters broke trail with snowshoes but it was still a slog. Lucky for us, it was not too cold with the temperature hovering around freezing and endless blue skies! While we did not see a lot of bird life, we did enjoy studying tracks in the snow and wondering about the tales those tracks told. We saw lots of beaver sign and watched one across the river. There were many bobcat tracks too. Our favorite unexpected bird species was a small group of Chukars!
At the end of the day we had 38 bird species for our section of the count. Last year, with just two of us counting, we had 56 species in the same area.
When I set out to see if and when lab puppies might be available, I never dreamed it would happen so fast. I sent out inquiries Thanksgiving morning and had two responses that day! I was looking for a female dog that would be on the small side for Labrador retrievers. One respondent said they had two males that would be 70 to 75 pounds. Hmmm, not what I was looking for at all. Sky averages about 63 pounds and I was hoping for less than that. The next person had a twelve-week-old chocolate female that she thought would be about 55 pounds, full grown. Twelve weeks is not ideal. Most puppies go to their new homes at seven or eight weeks. The breeder had considered keeping her and changed her mind. When she sent a photo, I was smitten. So cute. We made the grueling 36 hour trip across two mountain passes and back to pick her up. As you might imagine, Sky is not always happy with her and sometimes has to tell her what’s what. On the other hand, puppy loves Sky and wants to do everything she does. I do expect them to be good friends as time goes by.
Her name is Willow. She is confidant and smart and affectionate.
Sky and I went to an agility event in Skagit County recently and we found ourselves with some extra daylight Sunday afternoon and Monday morning so we went bird watching. I have always wanted to see the huge flocks of Snow Geese that winter in the area and I was not disappointed! The images I made are lovely but they don’t fully convey the spectacle of 1000’s of white birds constantly shifting around the landscape. They feed in the rich agriculture fields (formerly the Skagit River estuary, now diked and drained) during the winter. Flocks lift off and fly around, seemingly at random, forming bigger and smaller flocks during the day. I highly recommend a trip to see these birds on their wintering ground. I was lucky to have nice weather. That’s not always the case. In addition to the geese, you can see a variety of raptors (I saw a Short-eared Owl and a Northern Harrier hunting at dusk), Trumpeter Swans and a wide array of water birds.
My Everyday Photos 