The Girls!!!

...well what a treat! Spanks and Harmony came out to play and we had a good 3 hours romp round the Emerald Forest - we even had a spot of sunshine to complete a beautiful hike. The girls were on fine form and very much entertained human and dog alike as we ran into all sorts of doggy friends en route. Here are some shots :

 ...and they're off!!

 scampering is what they do best :)

 ...after a few circuits around the sports fields at Meadow Park we hit the Valley Trail. We ran into Mika, Axle, Ozzy, and a whole bunch of other doggies and much butt sniffing and yipping ensued...even got a cracking howl out of Mika, so good to see her after all this time, AroooOOOOooOOOo (and her mom too!)

 Peakaboo! 

 lots of exploring

 I LOVE the forests, so beautiful and peaceful in the trees...all you can hear is crunching of snow underfoot and the sniffs and squeaks of the girls investigating every smell and sound. I must admit we wandered off trail a little but soon found our way back, it was fun to explore :)

ha ha haaaa! There little faces look so cute! We leashed up for the end of the hike back on the Valley Trail just for a few minutes as there was a big white (but super friendly dog) that we met who was wearing a large black dog backpack which for some reason terrified the girls, they were so cute...and Harmony even ran the opposite direction for a few seconds as she just did not know what to make of it all. After some coaxing they were fine but you can really see the bemused expressions here, as if they are saying  "...what was that guy...he looked and smelled like a dog, but maaan there was something different about him!" I have never seem them scared so it was heart warming as well as funny. After posing for this shot we had treats and soggy dog cuddles and they soon bounced back to normal...the little sweethearts I just love them.

Well, that's all for now, until next time, arooooooOOOOOOOO!

Deep Winter

What an amazing day! Buddy, Skipper and I hiked together in beautiful deep and at the time still light and fluffy snow. We broke trail, rolled, played and ran together for over 2 hours - doggy heaven :) Here are the shots:

 ha ha they seemed miffed to be called in for a photo...we had just got out the car, but I was so excited to be raging with dogs again!!

Are ya ready.......?

 Dropping in!!! Skipper LOVES the pow as much as we all do; he was bounding along here like a dolphin through the surf, awesome!

 Ooooh is it time to play snowball?

 Yes! Flying ears galore from Buddy...

 Skipper in full flight

 Time for a roll...

 ...then into the woods to explore the deep stuff....beautiful :)

Heading home...tails down, tired out, and stoked....AroooooOOOOooOOOO!

Feels Like Fall...

The air smells fresher and sharper, the leaves are just showing signs of turning, and it's all very beautiful with the sun lower in the sky casting a more yellow light compared to mid summer. Cassius, Ever, Duffy, and Nalla were hiking today. Nice to see you Nalla - it's been a while! Ever's mum came too, and we hiked our favourite loop around Loggers Lake, and played with the dogs, whilst talking about fall type things such as toast and jam (or Jelly...depends where you are from!) and how beautiful the forests are this time of year. Here are today's shots!

Aw Nalla...look at that little face!

...that's better, a big goofy dog grin. The above 'please give me a treat' face was so sad looking!!

Tails swinging, noses glued to the trail...apart from Cassius who was still in his dancing about mode!

mmmm....interesting aromas around this tree, some forensic sniffing going on here - must have been a recent squirrel!

Drinkies at the Lake...

...and still waters produced some awesome reflections..Ever looks pretty cute too here!

Playtime! Nalla swam round and round and round, with Cassius looking on just dying to go play, but not too sure about the depth of the lake. It really drops away right here.

Cassius then hung out with Ever, who after a brief dip spent her time yipping at us humans and galloping about with Cassius...these two are pretty cute together, each trying to be the herdsman..rounding each other up!!

...meanwhile, little Duffy here found himself some dirt..atta boy!!!!

A few more sniffs, Nalla finally came out of the lake much to the delight of Cassius...and on we went!

Moseying on...Ever and Duffy seemed tired by this point, (2 hikes in a row can do that!) whereas Nalla and Cassius trotted on ahead. 

Back at the truck it was time for a sit, drink, treat, cuddle and then home! Cassius looks miffed in this shot...I was trying to get a good shot and he felt like it was high time we had the treat bag opened! Good doggies, they were rewarded as soon as I took this!

Parting shot...nice tongue Cassius! See you next hike, AroooOOOOooooOOOo!

Three Westies, an excited Ever-Bear, and Me!

The Westies were of course Spanky and Harmony, and our new friend Duffy! The excited folks were myself and Ever, ha ha! It sounds like a children's book title. We were both stoked to have three Westies to play with, and the hike was of course hilarious! Duffy slotted right in with us, and is a very very cool little chap indeed. At first setting eyes on each other he, Harmony, and Spanks made Gremlin growls at each other, but literally 2 seconds later they were squeaking and sniffing and the best of friends. Ever, riding up front with me was all eye-boggled curiosity and was dying to get out and play as was I! So here are today's shots, I am still smiling after our hike and hope that all 4 dogs are resting peacefully after a lovely sunny hike around Loggers Lake!

Peakaboo! Duffy left, with his new girl pals Spanks and Harmony

Ready for the off, I just HAD to get another shot of these guys! It was so funny, each small dog kept jack-in-the-box popping up as they waited to be let out to play. They did it one at a time and I was crying with laughter! They are soooo goood, and dear Ever grinning at me waited for the shutter to click before suggesting in her special way that we quit messing with the camera and get on with the hike...

...So off we went!

Duffy was quite excited - look at that cute little nosey, I LOVE Westies!!!

Ever too seemed to be stoked to have another little buddy to run with - she loves Spanks and Harmony and was as stoked as I to have Duffy join us!

Something small and furry made a dash across the trail...much to the delight of the dogs. Looked like a little Pika, but it was a blur! I called them off after 'capturing the moment' here, they get planty of food when they get home!

The pups in full flight! Note Hamony's smart haircut too! She and Spanks had a session at the groomers and they look very smart indeed! Spanks is just out of shot here, that's Duffy, who has a very similar coat. They flew round and round ears flying tails propelling them- awesome!!

Onwards and upwards with the sunshine looking amazing filtering through the trees...

Up at the lake I surprised them mid drink...hey guys, say cheeese!

Off to our second swim spot...

Ever retrieves a very large log!

While the little dudes and I paddle in the shallows!

Then it's time to climb once again! I was a little slow today, had tweaked my knee in a rugby game last night, (but we did win yay!) It meant the dogs had to watch me totter up the steep stuff after them instead of my usual bouncing along in front! The dear things did keep looking back to make sure I hadn't keeled over :)

We had some amazing views!

Ever was busy investigating something here, goodness knows what but I didn't hear any squeaks and she did not smell bad when she emerged from the bush -  so she didn't chase a small animal or find anything gross to eat, must be all good then!

Back down on the lower trails there was plenty more smells to discover - lots of forensic sniffing going on here!

Love this shot of Harmony!

On we go...

Delicate steps..I was trying not to bounce the bridge too much for them!

Lovely view of the Cheakamus! 

Who wants a treat then!!! Relaxing with a drink and a couple of biccy's before heading home. What a great hike! See you all tomorrow, ArOOOoooooOOOOO!