Signs of Life

It's seems the heat from the weekend has woken up the forest. Everywhere I looked this morning, buds on the trees are starting to open. Some of the flowering trees are already blooming nicely. The forest is waking up from it's winter rest. I think by the weekend the woods will have taken on a decidedly green hue.

It's good to be back. :)

Back in gear?

After dealing with some sleep issues I was up and alert at 6:30 this morning. After making the usual pot o' coffee, I rallied the mutts and got out in the woods for the first time in ages!

We couldn't have had a beter morning for it either. It had rained all night and early this morning, but the sun was out by 7:00am when we stepped out the door. The forest had that marvelous post-rain smell I love so much and the sun gleaming off the wet trees made for a nice effect. Beyla and Zephyr of course paid no real attention to the visual, preferring to focus on the canine world of scent and spent most of the walk with noses to the ground.

With a bit of luck my sleep problems are behind me now and I can get back to my morning routine with my girls. :)

Winter freedom

Today I took the girls out in Maine for the "Circle Island Tour" which simply involves a walk around the island. However this trip we got to tour the island from the OUTSIDE thanks to a good cold Maine January. This was Zephyr's first foray on the ice but for Beyla this us old hat now. Still I love walking this time of year because our world has expanded to include the water.

The girls had great fun running and playing on their long leashes while I took advatage of my new traction thingies for my boots. They make walking on ice a bit easier. Still not surefooted by any means, but a vast improvement over regular boot soles.

Other than a couple of packs of passing snowmobilers out enjoying the day, we had the frozen lake to ourselves. I only wish we'd had more time and slightly less frigid weather for a longer trek on the lake. But alas the light was fading and it was less than 20* with a good 20-30mph wind. The lee side of the island was much more tolerable than the windward side, that's for sure!

Tomorrow it's back home. We'll go teeming another time. Maybe we can squeak in another weekend this winter. If not, maybe on Lost Lake at home instead. :)

Have you ever walked with the dog in the pale moonlight?

I present to you a special evening edition of Mornings with Beyla and Zephyr.

Last night we got in from a Christmas party and the girls were wired. It was after 12:30am but it was a clear moonlit night so I decided to talk them out since I wasn't ready to go to bed yet anyway. Walking at night for us isn't unusual. In fact, it used to be a nightly occurance but I've been a slacker lately about that evening walks. I really need to get back in gear with that.

Anyway, 12:45am, we head out for a walk in the woods. I must say that walking in the woods of New England on a winter night under a full moon (or very nearly full) is really quite amazing. There we were walking toward the pond with only the moon to light our way. I had a flashlight, but with no leaves and the brilliant moon I didn't need it most of the time. Here's a picture I took while we were out there.

I can only describe the woods under such conditions as being sort of etherial. In the moonlight the world surrenders it's color and takes on shades of grey. It doesn't quite feel real, doesn't quite have the substance it normally does. I don't mean this in a bad way though. It was actually quite cool. So much so, I think we'll go back out tonight. Though perhaps not so late.

So... cold...

I can't believe how cold it's been out there the past couple of mornings. Just this weekend I had short sleeves on and the windows open. Now I need a jacket and gloves!

As usual, my canine associates were unaffected by the temperature and went happily along with their morning business while I buries my hands in my pockets and sipped my coffee. How is it their noses and feet don't get cold?!

I don't think I'm ready for winter just yet.

And Then There Were Two

Yes friends, that's right. We now have 2 dogs. It's with great pleasure I introduce our newest addition, Zephyr.

She's a 3 year old mutt that was brought into Worcester Animal Rescue League as a stray. The listed her as a Shepherd/rotty mix but looking at her appearance and behavior I'm inclined to think she's more likel Lab/Boxer. She's a very happy, energetic mooshball of a dog, but she could use some training. Nothing major, just could stand a few weeks in basic obedience class. We'll be signing her up soon. :)

Anyway, this morning was our first time out in the morning as the new pack. Beyla, myself and Zephyr. She wasn't overly thrilled with her new Gentle Leader at first but like Beyla soon forgot about it. She's like her sister and will pull at the end of the leash without it but walks like an angel with it on. So Gentle Leader it is!

Beyla and I have been comeplete slackers lately about our morning walks. Too many late night getting ready for Halloween and thus too many late mornings getting up. Not to mention Beyla is getting lazier in the morning by the day! Yup, she's my dog alright. LOL! Nonetheless we have gotten out from time to time, just not daily as we normally do.

A few observations this morning. Most importantly, it's harder to drink a cup of coffee when both hands are on leashes. O_o also, in the past week it's like all the leaves suddenly decided to jump off the trees. We only had a few down a week ago and now the road has leafbanks along the side from cars passing and blowing them off to the sides. Yup, it's fall for sure now. Leaves are down, crisp cool mornings. I'm going to need to start wearing a jacket soon. It won't be long before I've got to don the gloves and tromping boots. I wonder how Zephyr feels about snow. Well, I'm sure Beyla will get her into it if she's not yet.

I guess I should change the blog title now huh? :D

Fall is coming...

The air doesn't have that fall smell yet, but it's getting there. The mornings the past week or so have been noticably cooler than in past weeks. So much so that the bugs are nearly nonexistent during the morning walk. It's quite nice not to have to douse myself in DEET at 7am, but the flip side is that summer is almost over and the days are getting shorter.

Nonetheless, we're out longer in the mornings again and Beyla has more time to sniff around and do the things that Beylas do while I join her for a leisurely walk and sip my coffee. The coffee part will get more interesting when we get her a sister though. I'll figure that out though when the time comes.

Empty Nest?

In order to give Beyla a bit more social interaction with other dogs and to generally learn how better to function as part of a pack we signed her up for day care a day or 2 a week for a while. At least until we can find her a friend to keep her entertained during the work day.

Tuesday was her first day and she had great fun we're told playing all day with a Golden named Duncan.

Waking up to an empty house however was quite strange. She's been with us almost a year. I've gotten rather used to that cold wet nose in my face after the alarm goes off. Tuesday, nothing. nobody home but me. No dog to walk or to "help" me put my socks and shoes on.

This is going to take some getting used to.

Stick to what you know

And what I know is that DEET works. That being the case, I've finally found a solution that worked! I grabbed a long sleeve shirt and a old baseball hat, sprayed them down with Off before our walk, put them on, then changed when we returned. It kept the mosquitoes off nicely and I wasn't covered in DEET for the ride to work.

Back to business now. We've been much too lazy lately.

The Mosquito Plague Continues

Our morning walks continue to be all business. I tried using these little plastic citronella discs yesterday. I pinned on ot the back of my hat. My neck had a dozen welts on it when we got home. Further proof of my theory that citronella does NOT work. Never has, never will. It's all a marketing ploy!

Anyway, I'm goin to have to just suck it up and dowse myself with DEET in the morning then shower at work. i'll wear a long sleeve shirt in the woods and chaneg when I get home and call it good. Otherwise it's going to be a long boring summer of morning walks.

Damn Mosquitos

Or walks have been pretty much all business lately thanks to the swarms of mosquitos in the woods this year. We barely get past the sign and we're inundated. I'm trying out some alternative repellants but to no avail thus far. I'm really trying to avoid having to spray down with DEET before going to work. And I can't really go spraying Beyla down with it either. I can just wash it off, she can't.

So far the ultrasoic repeller has been a bust, but I've only tried it in "high frequency" mode. It has high medium, and low. I'll have to give the other setting a try. Kari also picked up some citronella disks you pin on your shirt that I'm going to give a try as well. If all else fails, I'll just suck it up and shower when I get to work.

Green!

Ahhhh! The woods are really coming to life now. All the trees have leaves on them now. They're small, but green is now the dominant color scheme. As the leaves fill out the filtering of the sunlight is changing. The effect is really quite wonderful. I love spring.

Beyla is having her own brand of fun with the nice weather. There are lots of fun things running around in the leaves. She loves to chase bugs lkike a cat. It's pretty funny to watch actually. She even pounces and paws at them like a cat. :D

The Air Is Sweet

While making our morning rounds we came across the most unusual scent in the air. It was a sweet, faintly spicy smell I can only describe as being akin to cinnamon and brown sugar, but less intense. I couldn't locate the source but it smelled great.

I love those little surprises Nature throws at you from time to time. :)

Rainy Days

Great day for ducks, as the saying goes, but not so much for dogs. Beyla wants no part of going out in this stuff and I can't say I blame her. Though she does rather enjoy toweling off afterward. nothing like a full body rubdown to make a dog happy. LOL!

Anyway, the last couple days it's just been out in the back yard to take care of business and back in. No sense making her get soaked to the bone if she doesn't want to be out in the rain.

And we're back!

Well, it's been a while. Between dog sitting, vacation and life in general this blog has fallen behind. I've been a slacker. Well, that and I hadn't walked my own dog in nearly 3 weeks between late March and early April. But now I'm back and our morning walks are in full swing. Actually they have been for 2 weeks, but as I said, I've been a slacker.

Since the last post the world is utterly transformed. The weather has gone from chilly and snowy to t-shirts and long walks in the woods. The woods have come alive with a symphony of happy birds chirping away. So much so I can't even count them all anymore. And with the trails being clear, our walks have delved back into the wooded depths for longer periods. All in all life is good! :D

As yet, we're stil unable to walk around the pond though as the water level has the pallets through the marshy section floating at the moment. LOL! So that route will probably be the domain of those on the other side for a few more weeks. But we still have our side of the pond and the entire forest road to ourselves.

And with that, we're back on track. Long walks, coffee in hand, and my trusty sidekick on our merry way into the woods.

Slip-slidin' Away

Our walk this morning was cut short due to the attrocious state of our street. Our little loop off the main road doesn't get the attention the rest of the road does so they don't plow it very well. With the crazy weather the road has turned into a wet sheet of ice so slippery even Beyla's "4-wheel drive" wasn't helping much.

We almost got to the corner and had to finally turn back as we couldn't get up the slight incline as the road rounds the corner. We had absolutely no traction! It's ok though, with a couple days of this weather, it'll be passable for human and canine feet again soon enough.

Despite the road's sad state, the chickadees were out in force "fee-bee"ing their little hearts out in the warm weather. It won't be long before our walks get longer and more frequent as the forest opens up again. :)

Speaking of the weather, today was the day. The unmistakable day when the air changes and you know the seasons are truly shifting. It's an interesting thing, isn't it? You can actually feel and smell the change in the air as the seasons fully commit to the change. Spring is coming, and coming fast.

Not By The Hair of My Chinny-chin-chin

It was a strange feeling this morning to feel the cold air on my chin. But I lopped off the beard entirely and am now clean shaven for the first time in nearly 8 years. Beyla on the other hand is as furry as ever and rather prefers not to shave ever. This seems a reasonable position for a dog to take so I'll not argue with her on that.

Yesterday's warm weather seems to have woken up the birds. This morning I coud hear Chickadees, Woodpeckers, Crows, Blue Jays, and even a few Mourning Doves which I haven't heard in some time. There were also 5-6 others whose calls I couldn't readily identify. I really need to work on that.

Beyla made her usual stops and opted for most of the walk to take the high road, so to speak, and walk on top of the snow banks. Well, what's left of them anyway. A lot melted yesterday. Sunday the driveway was solid ice. Today it's almost entirely dirt again. I think we both appreciated the increased traction. Though sliding down the driveway uncontrolably is highly underrated. I suggest you all try it at least once in your life. :)

Soon enough the snow will have all melted and the forest will be ours fully once again. Walking in the snow is all fine and good, but it can be tiring. I miss the long leisurely strolls along the trails. It'll be good to get back to it in another month or so.

Red Dawn

As we set out this morning the sky above the trees was on fire in shades of red and purple. Within 5 minutes the show in the sky was gone as quickly as we'd noticed it and had faded to the usual dull morning blue.

It's times like this I feel like my human senses still have some small advantage over the heightened senses of my esteemed colleague. It's hard to appreciate such a stunning sky when you're colorblind with your nose to the ground. :)

Walking on Water

One of the great joys of living in New England in winter is the freedom to walk on water courtesy of the ice. With thick ice, the ponds and lakes might as well be land and suddenly you can venture to places that are only accessible by boat the rest of the year.

In the case of Duck Pond, getting to the island probably wouldn't be terribly worthwhile in summer as the pond isn't all that large and would require hauling your boat almost as far on land as the paddle is to the island.

But with a solid layer of ice, Beyla and I set off across the water to visit new places. She wasn't keen on the idea at first, as she has some issues with smooth surfaces, but with a bit of encouragement she joined me. Once she got on the snow covered ice she was happily trotting along checking out this new place. Off we went along the west shore to the far end of the pond. Apart from a few paw prints near our starting point, and the tracks of an intrepid cross-country skier, we appeared to be the only ones who have braved the crossing since the last snowfall.

Our journey took us to a cove near the far end and past a dog who was quite interested in our arrival. No doubt the change of scene and the new visitors it brings must be very exciting. From there it was on to the island in the middle. After much sniffing around and some pawing at the snow (somebody else had come from across the cove with their dog at some point. we then continued to the end of the pond, which proved to actually be longer than originally thought. It seems beyond what I thought was the end, there was actually more pond! :) After rounding the peninsula that we though was the end previously, we crossed back over to land and followed the more traditional trail a bit before coming back to the ice on the east side of the pond.

It's a great thing to be able to travel in such a way. It almost feels as if you're getting away with something you're not supposed to be doing. Like you know you shouldn't be there, yet there you are and there's nobody stopping you. Now I want to head up to Maine and explore Indian Lake thusly. Here's hoping the new roof is on soon. :)

Pushing Back the Dark

As time makes its inevitable march forward, the winter solstice falls further behind us. With each passing day we gain another minute or 2 of daylight at each end of the day. It's nice to go out in the morning and not have to either bring a flashlight or leave a bit later so we can be seen in the off chance a car happens to be coming down our street, which doesn't happen very often on our little loop off the "main" road.

Unfortunately the forest is still blocked by a wall of hard, frozen snow so our walks have been confined to our road instead. Though Beyla still enjoys scaling the snowbank to check things out. Must be nice having full-time four wheel drive. :)

This IS January, right?

Fifty degrees at 7:00am on January 9th?! Thos ewho know me know that this is means no jacket for me! :D

And so off we go, Beyla in her usual OEM garb, me wearing only regular clothes and no jacket. It was a marvelous morning for a stroll. Even the birds were happy about it. I picked up a last four different calls, most in pairs in the woods around us. A nice change of pace from the usual near-silence of the morning woods. I had to keep the walk short since my boss was giving me a ride to work and I wasn't sure when she was coming. Even so, we got in a good 20 minutes along the road.

And to think not two weeks ago we had two feet of snow on the ground. Now it's going to be pushing sixty degrees and the snow is retreating rapidly.

The Winter Wonderland Continues

The trees are still covered in their veil of white this morning, which made for a nice scenic morning stroll. On the down side, the town came through and widened our road again. Their efforts left a decent wall of snow across the forest entrance so we stuck to the road today.

As far as I can tell the pushing back of the snowbanks uncovered a whole new set of smells because Beyla spent a large portion of her time this morning shoving her nose into every holes in the snow she could find. She even dug out a few spots to get to something interesting, though my feeble human senses couldn't tell me what beyond the fact that she smells something interesting enough to warrant excavation. But she seems to enjoy the effort so I let her continue unhindered while I sip my coffee and look around listening to the world around us as always.

Our only company this morning was one neighbor out shovelling out his new snowbank at the end of his driveway, and a solitary bird. I'm not sure who it was calling out to, but I heard no reply. But that doesn't mean he wasn't comminucating with a fellow bird a similar distance in the other direction beyond my ears. Or maybe he just likes the way his own voice sounds echoing through the empty woods. If I was a bird, I might do the same. :)

Back Into the Woods

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2008!

The old layers of snow have finally refrozen enough that we could walk in the woods again. Today we made our way down to the pond in the rut made by previous walkers, though Beyla was all too happy to walk on top of the snow now that she can. The wet snow last night stuck to the trees and left them all covered in white. It's a beatuful sight and one we've been treated to a few times already this year. I'm so glad winter has finally decided to put in a solid effort this year. This is part of what living in New England is all about.

With the changing winter, so changes the traffic in our woods. With some decent snow cover and frozen water out have come the snowmobiles. There were plenty of fresh tracks running across Duck Pond, with a couple of turnarounds on the shore. Of course, being conservation land, they're not really supposed to be turning there, but there's so much snow down now that they'll never leave a trace come spring so I personally don't mind all that much, so long as they don't come bombing down the trail recklessly.

And so, once again, Beyla and I patrol our woodland sanctuary walking amongst a beautiful covering of snow.

Blocked

Our morning walks have been curtailed to some extent by the full arrival of winter. The entrance to the forest is blocked by 3-4 foot snowbanks. And the snow has a 1/4" layer of ice over it which Beyla doesn't like walking through. I can't blame her. I think it hurts her feet and her "shins" trying to push through it. Hell, it hurts MY shins trying to push through it.

So for now anyway, we're doing a combination go outside/walk thing. I put her out while I get ready so she can do her thing, then we take a short walk on the road. It's not great, but it still gets her out for a half hour in the morning.

Maybe once the ice crust thaws I'll look into snowshoes. :)

The Shimmering Forest

Kari took today off. I'll admit it, I tried to pawn off today's walk to get a little extra sleep. But alas, she wouldn't budge on this point, and rightly so. The weekday morning walks are my job and I DO enjoy them. Luckily for me, she stuck to her guns (and her pillow) and I was rewarded with woodland beauty the likes of which are rarely seen.

As we headed off into the forest I began noticing all the pine saplings are heavy with a thin layer of ice. This in itself is a beautiful sight. For all it's treachery, ice has a way of making things shimmer in a truly unique way. But the best was yet to come.

On our return trip the sun broke over the trees across the marsh and set the ice ablaze in golden light. Absolutely amazing. That's the only description I can offer. I managed to snap a couple of decent pictures but they don't do the effect justice. Here's one of them.

It's such a strange thing that the very thing that will bring an end to ice in less than an hour is also the only thing that can set it off with such grand style.

I'm glad we were there to see it.

Snow Keeps No Secrets

Walking in fresh snow makes plain much that remains hidden other times of the year. There's no way around it. As one moves thorgh the snow, tracks are left plain and obvious for the world to see, or at least for other dogs and their humans to see. :)

And so, with a full cup of Ethiopian Yirghacheffe in hand, begin our days observations. Mine with my eyes, Beyla's with her nose. I suspect her nose tells her far more about the comings and goings of those before us that my eyes will show me. But nonetheless I start looking around. You see, without the snow on the ground, it's very easy to amuse myself with the belief that these woods are ours and nobody else's. If I see noone else, and I see no obvious signs of their presence then for all intents and purposes for the time being the forest IS ours. Hey, posession is nine tenths of the law they say, right? In this respect I'm beginning to understand Aldo Leopold's feeling of owning all the land he and his dog traversed in the early hours where boundaries, ownership, and the land clerks files have little meaning, or at least I think I do anyway.

Ah, here's the quote I was looking for:

"One hundred and twenty acres according to the County Clerk, is the extent of my worldly domain. But the County Clerk is a sleepy fellow, who never looks at his record books before nine o’clock. What they would show at daybreak is the question here at issue.
Books or no books, it is a fact, patent both to my dog and myself, that at daybreak I am the sole owner of all the acres I can walk over. It is not only boundaries that disappear, but also the thought of being bounded. Expanses unknown to deed or map are known to every dawn, and solitude, supposed no longer to exist in my county, extends on every hand as far as the dew can reach." - Aldo Leopold

If you love the outdoors and haven't read his work, I highly recommend you do so. The man has a truly marvelous insight into the world around him.

The snow-covered ground alters that perception a bit. At the entrance to the forest we stepped over a fresh set of tire tracks, still in crisp detail despite the relatively warm weather. From the tracks emerged 2 feet and 4 paws. Somebody was out and about even earlier than us it seems. Perhaps we're not so alone as we often think? Tromping down the trail we come upon several more tracks, both human and canine. At least 6 people I can count.

Not only does the snow tell us who's been here, it even tells us a bit about them. There are 3 that were either unprepared for or uncaring about the snow in which they'll be walking. They left sneaker tracks in the snow, many clearly displaying the heel that slid when it should have been firmly planted. Or the toe that instead of pushing off the ground as planned simply slid back before the owner shifted their footing to regain their balance. Then there's 2 more like myself, fitted more or less for all seasons with sturdy hiking boots suitable for a morning walk, but not something one would wear for a longer trek. Still heavy and warm enough for the purpose at hand. Lastly theres' that one person who came out fully prepared for winter with the unmistakable tread of solid winter boots. The snow doesn't however tell me if any others are sipping their morning coffee while they walk. I guess the snow doesn't tell us everything, does it?

All of them freshly planted. Looks like we are not alone at all. And these folks start early! LOL!

Nonetheless, on part of our route we still got first tracks. Why is that so exciting do you think? Even in the most modest of locations, it seems to still have that faint feeling of going where nobody else has yet. I'm not sure Beyla was as amused as I was, but then she was busy in her own world sniffing out what's new and interesting.

But one thing is for certain, the snow keeps no secrets. It tells much to those willing to listen.

There's nothing like trying to walk a dog that LOVES snow and drink coffee in the first big snowfall of the season. She was so excited. She was ALL over the place.

That is all. :)

EEK! A Shrub!

While making our morning rounds, Beyla's attention was noticably grabbed by something unseen in my neighbor's yard. I figured she saw a squirrel or something that had already scampered off, nudged her forward, and continued about surveying our morning domain.

On our way back her attention once again fixed in the same area of the neighbor's yard. OK, this can't be coincidence so I start letting her move in the direction she's looking to see what it is she sees. Being a foolish human of such obviously limited perception I'm of course looking in the yard for this object of canine fascination only to realize she's locked on to the shrub right near the street. They'd wrapped it for the winter. OK, something changed. Big deal, right? Well, she begins to approach her spritely prey with great caution, perhaps for fear it might attack. Who knows, I'm not a dog. I can't even imagine how she must be perceiving this innocently wrapped shrub.

When she gets within 3 feet of it she let's out a soft "Woof!" then runs away a good 10 feet. I start laughing like a fool on the side of the road while letting her once again cautionly, though somewhat more bravely this time, approach this new and fascinating thing. After the usual sniffing she decides it of no concern and hasn't looked back since.

Dogs. What goes on in their minds? I suspect if we knew that, we'd know a great deal more about life and it's meaning. I think they may secretly hold the wisdom that is the key to it all.

First Snow

The first real snow of the season fell Tuesday. Not only did it accumulate, but it was still on the ground come Wednesday morning. It was strange walking in the woods and seeing snow on the ground and on the trees. As we walked along hearing only the soft crunch of my shoes and Beyla's paws it was great to just take in the white world around us. I love winter. The snow, the crisp, cold air... it's the change of seasons and the differences between them that really add that special something to life in New England.

The pond is starting to freeze as the nights and morning gets colder. It won't be long before our walks take us out across the pond for a completely different vantage point. That's part of the fun of winter. Being able to walk on water so to speak. It allows you to travel on foot to places you can't the rest of the year. I can't wait for the lake to freeze solid enough to travel on. That'll open up a whole new expanse for us to explore. :)

Where are we Boo?

Sunday afternoon Beyla and I headed out into the woods. Since we had nowhere in particular to be and nothing in particular to do, we set off to check out some new trails we hadn't been on yet. At the end of the trail we know we headed right to see where it takes us and after a few mninutes we found oursaelves emerging on a right-of-way between the houses of a neighborhood. Interesting. This is the second such trailhead out of these woods. It's actually kinda cool the way Groton has kept the rights-of-way to the conservation areas in spite of newer real estate development, but it makes me happy ot see it.

Well, that wasn't quite as long a walk as I'd hoped so we then took another trail branching off from this entrance and started to follow it into the woods. This was more my style. Not that there's anything wrong with fire road trails, but I prefer the closer quarters of a nice single track through the woods. This was such a trail. Clearly foot traffic only.

The trail meandered through the woods presumably joining the main trail later at another branch I have yet to investigate. Off we go tromping through the woods, just the 2 of us, Beyla busily checking her P-mail (as Kari calls it). After a while we passed what looked to me to be a nice vernal pool. Though not terribly uncommon, they arent' something you come across every day either. I'll have to check the web for more info on wether or not this was in fact one or not. Anyway, it was a cool depression in an open area of the woods with a bit of water still standing in the lowest part. It couldn't have been more than a foot deep. The rest was quickly being overrun by grass.

Further down the trail we crested the top of a small hill that was a large, flat rock outcrop. Cool. This is certainly a rarity around this area. The whole areas trees were different too. Almost entirely young hardwood, only a few pine saplings interupted them. It makes me wonder what happened here to leave only young trees behind. Fire? I didn't see any signs, but then these trees were still a good 15-20 years old. Looging perhaps? Hmmm... noipe, no stumps. This too requires further investigation. Beyla of course was busy in her own dog world with her usual perspective unknown to me. I really wish I could see what's going on in her head. I wonder how she perceives the things I see around us.

Next stop, another interesting rock outcrop. This time a large fractured rock. We did a bit of rock climbing t0 further examine the cracks and such. It turns out Beyla is part mountain goat as she deftly climbed up ahead of me as sure-footed as if she were on the flat trail. Must be nice to have full-time four-wheel drive, huh? :)

Eventually we came to yet another neighborhood trailhead. The nearest mailbox read "Painted Post Road". Hmmm... that doesn't sound familiar at all. "Where are we Boo?" She just continues sniffing. Perhaps she's getting directions. Now we're a good hour from home and I'm not quite sure where we came out. Not lost mind you. After all we DO know how to get home, but it's a long way around. so, I give Kari a call and ask, "Where's Painted Post Road?" After she finished laughing at us, she looked it up. Interestingly, we're not a half mile from the house... that is, if we bushwhacked straight through the woods where to the best of our knowledge there's no trail. By road, we're almost 4 miles from home. Great, an hour or more either way.

We decided to take the hit and ask for a ride home. Kari laughed at us again before responding with, "OK, loser. I'll come get you." She might have even said, "I'll come get your sorry butt." but I'm not sure now. LOL!

We walked to the end of the road to wait and as we approached I saw a familiar house and realized justhow far off track we'd gotten. HA HA HA! Oh well.

Next time out we're going to investigate the trails at the end of Lone Lane though. Looking at Google Maps, I suspect there might actually be a trail that connects to Paint Post Rd, thus giving us a much better route home next time.

That was our Sunday. Always an adventure with us. :D