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Tag Archives: dogs

Pearrygin Lake Walk

We have had quite a few days of ice fog. That combined with no new snow can make a pretty bleak picture. The little snow we have has been softened and frozen into an uneven frozen track that often makes walking difficult. I put ‘yak traks’ on my shoes just about every time I go out for a walk. One day last week there was a hint that the sun might be shining just a little higher up and the dogs and I had a few minutes before meeting our friends for agility practice. So we went up to frozen Pearrygin Lake to see if we could find the sun and to stretch our legs. There were glimpses of sunshine, sucker holes, but by the time we left, it was just gray again.

We saw some folks walking their goats through the state park
A sun spot/sucker hole on the hillside
Sky at five months and 40 pounds.
Sky and Luna playing
Sometimes she looks distinguished
Bubbles in the ice
This bubble looks like a UFO
There’s that spot of blue sky

Pipestone in January!

Most years, it is a long slog to get up to the Pipestone Rim Trail in January. You’d have to park at the bottom of Lester Road and walk, snowshoe or ski up to it and then you’d be tired before you even got to the trail. This year, we can drive to the trailhead. With just a bit of snow it is getting lots of use from hikers, dog walkers and fat bikes. Three women and five dogs enjoyed it yesterday. Snow was in the forecast but the few flakes that fell didn’t amount to anything and at one point the sun was shining. More snowflakes in today’s forecast.

Frida
Luna
Wondering – where is the rest of the group?
Sky
Wyatt Ann. She loves me.
Jennifer pointing out landmarks at the lower end of the canyon
Amazing geology of Pipestone
Juniper, close to the edge
Sky, close to the edge
Looking back from the trailhead
Tired dogs are good dogs.

Fun Times on the Ice

Even without much snow, there is still winter fun to be had. I took the girls/dogs to frozen Patterson Lake a couple days ago along with my skate skis. The small amount of snow on the ice surface is sort of chopped up now but I was still able to skate ski on it. Not very gracefully though. Since this is Sky’s first winter, she is learning about skis and skiing and staying away from the potentially dangerous (to her) sticks on my feet. And to her they are sticks and she just loves sticks. I haven’t even tried using poles around her yet. This was our second ski outing and she did better. A few other folks were out enjoying the ice and bluebird skies too. They were ice fishing, ice skating, classic skiing and playing with dogs. I saw one Great Blue Heron perched high in a snag. I wonder if the bird has learned to steal fish from the ice anglers? Most of them hope to catch perch but trout and kokanee salmon seem to be easier to catch.

Ice anglers
So I learned the easy way to tell the difference between a rainbow trout and a kokanee. The trout has a colored pectoral fin – that fin closest to the gills – while the kokanee’s is clear or white.
And here she comes
Sky watches Luna
Sky puts the puppy sneak on Luna
Great Blue Heron in an old pine snag. In the summer I frequently see Bald Eagles, Osprey and Tree Swallows using this snag
Ice skaters have cleared off part of the ice and made a hockey rink
Benches for changing into skates and a fire pit too!
Luna made a new friend

New Year, New Trail

The new year started with a gloriously sunny day and after we gathered our wits and woke the dogs, we went out for a walk on a trail we have not walked before. It went up and down Bear Creek between Lester Road and the Wildlife Area headquarters. It was a pleasant walk, not steep at all, although if a person wanted she could easily climb lots of hills for more exercise. The creek has aspens on both sides of it and also some nice patches of water birch. These are punctuated with ponderosa pines and there was one deeply shaded area when we walked through some douglas fir. The hills above are covered with bunch grass, sagebrush and lots of forbs. With the low snowfall, the hillsides are brown, waiting for spring already. We heard and saw a few birds. Chickadees were making their spring ‘cheeseburger’ call that I associate with territory claims. A Hairy Woodpecker also seemed to declaring his ownership of the tall aspens.

three deer watched from above
Bear Creek
Sky – how do you get your ears to do that?
Sunshine through the forest highlights the lichen
What caused the damage to this tree to make it lose so much pitch?
pitch
aspens
What a treasure
I saw this eagle briefly til it saw me
We never get tired of the snow covered vistas
lone pine on the horizon
Evidence of past lives
Big rock
Reason with her.

Walking our Dogs

Four women and six dogs got together for a walk in the hills above the valley yesterday. We had a feeble hope that we might get up above the clouds and into the sun but that was not to be. There was an occasional ‘sucker hole’ that almost drew us up even higher but in the end we slipped and slid our way back down to the trail. The low snow accumulation is sad and we will surely hear about it more than we want come next summer if this weather pattern continues. Our region is dependent on winter snowfall for adequate water supplies in the summer.

Lots of hoarfrost from the semi-persistent fog
All six dogs in one frame
Looking back at the valley filled with fog
Wolf lichen provides some color
Catch me if you can!
Trip likes to take a toy on his walks and the other dogs know that it is HIS toy, not to be messed with.
Bree and Sky like sticks they find along the way
Jessi compares little 4 1/2 month old Sky to her full grown Nakana
Sky wonders if Bree will share her stick!
Something is always sticking to Luna
Bree approaches Sky politely
Would YOU share your stick?
High above Aspen Lake
Looking north to the North Cascades
This tree recently fell over
What is remarkable is that it was growing on this rocky ridge top with nearly no soil
Frosty lomatium
Aspen leaves like Christmas ornaments
Jessi said her dog likee to be held as a puppy like Sky does
Lynne with Bree
The two pups are beginning to show signs of friendship. We hope they can get over the barriers between sporting dogs and herding dogs!