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Tag Archives: snow

Black Dogs in the Snow

What kind of photo situation is the most difficult? I am always challenged with photographing my black dogs and today to make it worse, it was snowing this morning, the light was flat and there was more than half a foot of new snow. But how much fun is this? These dogs like snow and they know how to have fun. It looks like they are fighting and trying to hurt each at times but they never do. Well, when Sky was younger and had her puppy teeth, she did make Luna’s ears bleed more than once. Speaking of Sky, she is now over six months old and weighs more than 50 pounds! How big will she get? Luna is 65 pounds and she has lots of long curly hair. She needs a haircut soon. I know, this is a lot of images of black dogs in the snow but we like dogs.

Here comes Sky
Yes, that is my stick, why do you ask?
Luna’s white beard
Oh look, the neighbors are going to church.
Let the games begin
Break
Luna pushes Sky into a snowbank
Sky explodes out of the snowbank
Shake
Even with all that shaking Luna is still covered with snow
Sky nearly flies down the hill
Why yes, I do have another stick.

Ice and Snow

Another fun day outside! Eight of us – four dogs and four women – travelled with classic skis and waxed paws to look at the frozen Falls Creek Falls. Yes, that’s its name.

Falls Creek Falls. It’s a place that we frequently take out of town guests, even the elderly that can’t get around to well, to see in the warmer months. It’s a reasonably short drive from town and the short trail is paved for wheelchairs and the falls are really a sight to see. In the spring and early summer, the water is high and spray cools the air and keeps the surfaces wet and slippery. Later in the summer, it’s a refreshingly cool spot. And fall is lovely with colorful foliage.

I’ve always wanted to see it in the winter but you can’t drive there. The road is closed and maintained for snow machines but that doesn’t mean you can’t ski to it. So when Jennifer said she wanted to go, I was ready. We thought about taking fat bikes but someone said they are not allowed. That left us with classic cross-country skis. I must say, I have not used my classic skis in at least a couple of years having become a devoted skate skier. This year, with little snow in the Cascades I have not done much of any skiing so I figured I may as well dust off the classics and give it a go. Jennifer’s skis are so old (how old are they?) that they have 3 pin bindings! She bought them used more years ago then she cares to say. We recruited MA to join us and she got Christiana to go too (and drive) and we were set. A sno-park pass is required so we needed to cram all of us into one vehicle to make it not too costly. Four women, four dogs and all the ski stuff and other gear – well it takes up some space. And to top it off, the roads were not in good shape – new snow was covering the old ice.

Not only did we have the fun of skiing with our dogs on a day that went from nearly sunny to snowing hard, we also enjoyed the trail to the falls and its icy beauty and on the way back, we stopped to observe some ancient pictographs. It was another fun day in the Methow.

Frida leads the way
Sky is trying to keep up with the big dogs
Now why would I do that?
The puppy sneak
The puppy leap
No wonder Wyatt Ann doesn’t like Sky.
Treats? Anyone got treats for dogs?
No treats here.
Frida is reasoning with Christiana
Treats?
Treats?
What are you looking at?
Note that her paws are not clumped with snow. They have ‘mushers’ wax on them.
You’ve got something on your nose.
Falls Creek from the bridge
The frozen falls
Lots of water coming down
A small hole in the ice
Cedar tree trunks
Pictographs along the road
Sky found something special
Real winter weather
I like the snow

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!

What Lurks in the Dark

There was a fresh skiff of snow the day before Christmas and no one else was here on our hill to mar the smooth surface. None of the part timers came for the holiday and the few others that live here were off visiting somewhere else. As we drove down our road, we noticed some fresh tracks. They were from a big animal – a cougar. Later Ken found them in our parking area and it appeared that the animal had stopped and looked at our front door. Out for a walk the next day I found clear tracks on our walking trail and at the part time neighbors’ place and more on the road. It looks like two animals traveling together – maybe a mom and mostly grown cub. You may remember a post I made last January when a cougar was captured just downhill from our house. Sure, we know they are out there but to see evidence of them being so close to the house does cause the hair on the back of our necks to raise. Luna seems to be very aware of them and frequently barks in the dark and needless to say, no one is going outside alone after dark, especially the puppy.

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