A woman's view of hunting…with men
guns, dogs and birds
The dogs and I went for a short walk and found some signs that Spring is finally here.
Orso enjoying lounging in the sun
Charlie likes the playground equipment too
We found a goose setting on a nest
We found another nest sans Mom
Then Mom showed up to let me know not to come too close.
We even found a turtle sunning himself
Photos taken with my Canon Rebel
We had another play day with Eddie and bonus everyone survived.
Eddie waiting as patiently as a puppy can
See how handsome I am
Eddie encouraging Orso to play
Eddie and Orso
I have the drop
Orso giving Eddie the look
I’m a tired puppy
This is the best tasting water ever
Here are some photos from a play day with a new friend, Eddy, and because I’m not feeling very creative.
Eddy and Orso face to face
Orso
Eddy checking out Orso’s pearly whites
Charlie looking happy
Who wants to play stick – come on let’s play stick
Eddy and Orso winding down
Two tired puppies
Photos taken with my Canon Rebel
Saturday afternoon we took the dogs out on the peninsula to run around and burn off some energy.
Charlie running across the peninsula
Charlie running the other way
Charlie giving a really good impression of a Chupacabra, of course it fits him
Charlie getting down and deep going after a promising scent
I hope nothing is attached to his head when he comes back out
Charlie on point, something smells interesting
Charlie intent on something in the underbrush
Charlie going down the rabbit hole
It got away
Charlie still hunting
Orso hunting for frozen goose poop. Everyone has their priorities.
Photos taken with my Canon Rebel
What is it about snow that makes a seven year old dog think he is a one year old puppy again? We had about two inches of snow the other night, but the streets had been cleared making it easy to walk the dogs. I took the dogs on a walk and both acted like perfect gentlemen as we left the house and walked down the street. All three of us were on the lookout for deer or other wild animals in the dark. Charlie and Orso, because they want to chase something anything, me, because I don’t walk to get my arms ripped out of their sockets or knocked off my feet and slammed to the pavement left to freeze in the dark. I know, pretty selfish on my part, but I’m the one with the house key.
Everything was nice and peaceful, a great walk all the way to the dam. On the way back I spotted three deer standing in a yard up on the hill, but lucky for me the wind was blowing the other direction so the dogs didn’t pick up their scent. We walked past them, with the dogs oblivious and the deer stood very still waiting for us to get beyond them. Both dogs sniffed and peed on just about everything they could all the way back.
Just as we got back to our driveway, which hadn’t been shoveled yet, Orso decided that he was twelve months old again and spun around in a circle and jumped at Charlie for a full on tag team match, leaving me on the ground with my feet sticking out in front of me. Luckily I went down on my rear end and not on my face or we would have had dog stew for dinner. Orso turned around looking a bit contrite, not too contrite but a little and when he realized I wasn’t dead he turned back to Charlie for a snow romp. I let go of the leash too late to save myself but in time to not get dragged into a chest bumping dog wrestling match.
It took me ten minutes to get them back under control and into the house. It seems Charlie can still act like a puppy too when the mood strikes him.
Dawn
Morning mists rising from the lake
Soft sounds a bird calling
Dew on the grass
Leaves the trail of trespassers.
The night sky turns red
As dawn breaks
A sliver of light
On the horizon.
Dappled light breaking
Through the trees
Casting shadows
On the forest floor.
Sunday playing in the snow. We got about 3 inches of snow, not bad and the dogs love it.
Charlie clearly enjoying the snow
A frozen lake
Orso on the hunt for frozen goose poop. So gross.
Charlie always hunting.
I must be getting old. I’ve never been a super big fan of the cold, preferring to stay inside bundled up with about a hundred layers. I make the effort to take the dogs on their walks like a dedicated pet owner, but if there was a way to get them to hold it until say, March I wouldn’t complain. Of course that isn’t possible so I put on multiple layers and go tromping outside. But it is definitely not fun, since the temperatures have been bitterly cold the last few days with highs in the teens.
The up side is that both of the dogs are getting old too. Orso is now seven and Charlie is a senior citizen at nine. Neither one of them is too enamored with hanging outside too long. Charlie has short hair and gets cold quick and Orso is just a big sissy. This morning our first outing consisted of running outside after breakfast for a quick trot around the yard to do their business and a mad dash to get back inside where it was warm and carrots were waiting as treats. The second outing was later than usual around ten am, with us holding out hope for a heat wave, (didn’t happen), but at least the snow was very light by then. The temperature had warmed up to a sultry eighteen degrees Fahrenheit.
I had on a tee shirt, a flannel shirt, micro fleece jacket and a lined parka and that was just on the upper half of my body. The lower half I had on sweat pants and insulated wind pants, which work very well for keeping my legs warm and the wind out, I just swish when I walk. I even wore silk glove liners and down leather mittens. I am the bigger sissy here and I’m not afraid to admit it. I think it took longer to get dressed than it took for the walk. We did not dally on the walk, it was walk, get to the task at hand and get back home.
The third outing after they ate dinner was pretty much a repeat of the second outing, with me looking like a chunky monkey dressed in a gazillion layers with a drippy nose from the cold. Why couldn’t they have been litter trained like a cat? More importantly why don’t we live some place warmer?
I took the dogs on an early morning hike or at least that was my plan, but when I pulled up to our regular spot there were other cars already there. That was when I noticed the large letters under the sign that said, “Dear Archery Hunting” and realized that we would be out there with men carrying large high powered compound bows. So in order to protect the dogs and me, we went elsewhere.
Orso looking dapper in his bandanna
Charlie in his bandanna
The sun peeking through the trees
A frosty dandelion
Tall foxtails
Photos taken with my Canon Rebel
Orso has a new habit and it’s a doozy. When I had my foot surgery earlier this summer and couldn’t walk the dogs, we had these wonderful friends that came over every morning and walked both of the dogs for me. Sometime during that time Orso decided that he really liked standing up on his hind legs and giving me a good greeting face to face. At ninety-eight pounds he literally can put his front paws on my shoulders and look me in the eye. What a great experience when coupled with that same ninety-eight pounds coming at you with a lot of exuberance and me being in a walking cast.
I have no idea where he came up with this new “fun” discovery of his. Maybe he picked it up from watching westerns on television in the mornings after I left for work. We started leaving the television on when we were not home for AJ our black lab who had severe separation anxiety issues to help him cope and just continued on after he died. Maybe I should stop this practice; it seems to be giving Orso ideas.
Since then we have been trying to break this new habit without much success. Orso has decided that rearing up like a horse is a great deal of fun. He’s started standing up routinely when we meet other dogs walking during the afternoon. This is his new way of saying hi I guess. The look of terror on the other dog owners faces don’t seem to agree with his idea. If he sees a deer in the darkness on our early morning walks, standing up barking at them and then lunging forward is huge entertainment for him. Couple that with me getting lurched around and jerked almost off my feet and we’re having a great walk.
I figure that in the near future I am going to be paying for a really nice vacation for my orthopedic surgeon.
A woman's view of hunting...with men 