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Tag Archives: labrador puppy

Sky Goes Swimming

Sky swam a little bit in the river late this winter but just for short distances and not very much. On a warm day this week I took her and Luna to one of the few thawed lakes to see if she really liked swimming. She’s a labrador puppy and indeed she likes swimming and took to it naturally as we expected. She is nearly eight months old and weighs sixty pounds. I had hoped for dog that weighed no more than fifty. So much for that idea. She is all muscle and a beauty of a dog. And a natural swimmer.

Sky splashed a lot in the beginning til she figured out that did not have to work that hard
There were two toys but they always seemed to want the same one
Luna leads the way
Sky is catching her already
There are easier ways to carry the toy
Luna is looking for the toy
Got it.
Sky wants it.
Ironically, Luna did this to Sam for years. It wasn’t til Sam was older that Luna could get the toys from her.
Like everything she does, Sky approached swimming with enthusiasm.
Wagging while swimming.
I can’t find it.
That’s easier
I’m bringing it to you.
On the shore she quivered with excitement.
I had to make the dog wait, throw the toy AND I had to get the picture.
Fun times ahead.

 

Dogs on the Beach

How much fun can dogs have on the beach?

One of many treasures that Sky found
She tried to get the lid off of this peanut butter jar
Playing with Frida
It’s possible she had too much fun. She was incredibly tired but really never wanted to quit.
Sky was so tired she fell asleep on top of Luna
Running out to see Ken
Can’t we just keep doing this?

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.

November is Over

Snow fell last night and turned to rain and now it’s snowing again. Some of us feel that the snow is a little late this year. The pass out of here to the west closed this afternoon and it might not open again. So that brings us to ‘the end of the road’. Winthrop celebrates this during Thanksgiving weekend with Christmas carols, bonfires, Santa’s arrival and my favorite – winter fireworks! We watched last nights pyrotechnics from one of Winthrop’s pedestrian bridges and enjoyed their reflections on the Chewuch River. Friday we went to the mountains to get Christmas trees with our friends and we also found snow. There are few birds around these days. The local wintering species are few and far between and the interesting migrants from the north haven’t arrived. Well not at my house, anyway. And the puppy keeps growing.

She might be a good tumbleweed retriever?
Clark’s Nutcracker
Sky puts the sneak on Luna
Playing
Pygmy Nuthatch
Black-capped Chickadee. Most of our chickadees are Mountain.
Little dog likes big sticks
What was that?
Scott got a lovely tree, not the Charlie Brown kind.
Sky helps. Not.
Ken hauls our tree down the hill. Don and Mary already had theirs.
A successful Christmas tree hunt shared with good friends.

After the dry and sometimes gray November it is time for a change of scenery.

 

 

Frozen Rainy Lake

Once winter really settles in, the passes out of the valley to the west are closed to traffic and we find ourselves near ‘the end of the road’. So far this year, we haven’t had too much snow but it has been cold enough to freeze many of the lakes. On Sunday we took the drive up to Rainy Pass and walked through the snow to frozen Rainy Lake. Ken took his ice skates and I carried my cameras and we took the dogs too. Of course. It was mid-afternoon by the time we got up there and the sun had dropped behind the North Cascades but it was warmer up high than down here in the valley. This is a weather inversion and has caused a bit of air pollution in some places. It was a fun walk and Sky’s first real experience with snow! Nothing seems to slow her down. We did try to keep her from going to far off-trail for fear she would get stuck and we’d have to rescue her. The ice was pretty rough for skating and Ken thought it might be a little soft too but he gave it a try. The dogs loved running on it and I just tried to keep them all away from each other. Walking back to the car, the alpenglow light on the high peaks was amazing.

We are ever so grateful to live in this beautiful place.

Frozen creek along the trail
Frozen Rainy Lake
Ice skating
Portrait of Sky
Looking west on the highway
Alpenglow
Last of the light
Looking towards the big switchback below Washington Pass

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