New Friend, Beautiful Hike

What a beautiful day! We hiked the lush forests with our new buddy Weatherby! A super cool Bernese Mountain dog, just a few months old and already sooooooo good! The thing I love about this breed is the way they seem to flow when they get excited...legs go everywhere in a fluid motion of stoke and it is soooooooo funny to see! Weatherby was not sure if he was allowed to rage with the others, so he spent time next to me, then playing a little ways ahead before a look-back, then trotting right back to me. I kept saying '...go on boy, let loose!' and he replied each time, '..well I will have a little dance, but I'll be back in 2 seconds as this is all rather new...!' Kayla, Theo and Jayda...our other hounds played really well with him, and he watched in amazement at Jayda's typical moments of sudden energy where she gallops round and round and round just for the fun of it! I laughed hard many times today...the vibe was chilled, fun, and it was another great day on the trails. Life is good, dogs are awesome...here are the shots!!

Pleased to meet you Weatherby!

off we go!

into the forests...lovely

Ha ha - a split second before the shutter clicked they were all looking at me! C'est la vie...still love the shot and the fact that they all trotted across the woodwork, and sat nicely when asked, even if it was only for a couple of seconds!

time for a drink and a dip

LOVE this shot of Theo...our oldest, most lovely boy!

weeee! on we ran

The last time I hiked this section of the trail it was barren and open, with only a few Skunk Cabbage poking through (check out some of the April blogs) now look at the lush green Devil's club, skunk cabbage and other foliage! I love how it changes...knee deep winter wonderland, barren looking stick-like wasteland, lush green...it's a spot in between old growth where creeks converge...check out the woodwork! Momentum is the key for these parts. It's always fun to change trails now and then!

Jayda mid-gallop!

Once we had wound round the trails it was time for a climb...

Weatherby takes a look at the valley below

At our high point we took a rest and the dogs gathered round me for licks and wet noses in the face as they do; it was a lovely moment that I tried to capture but missed everyone except Kayla, who looks like she is listening to me! I was probably chattering away to them as I do...or saying rude words to the mosquitoes!

Doing the look-back, what a good boy! It was time to head down to the truck...so off we jogged!

 Love this...this sums it all up today: Kayla with stick in mouth happily chewing on it somehow as she runs and breaths and barks at me! Theo loping along grinning, coming back every now and then to say hey, Jayda tail up with her dainty trot mid-pack, and Weatherby just makin' sure I am still there and that I know he's a gooooooood boy!

Final shot: the crew wait patiently for their treats and cuddle..gotta get a quick photo first! See you next hike...ArooOOoooOooOooOooooooooo!