Bet you wish YOU lived here!

 

Just so you know the sun on my face is warm for the first time in months. I could lie on this patio all day long but I see long johns coming out and hear talk of cross country.  Oh, I hope it is Priest Lake and not the Valley Floor.

 

This is wintertime patio living…..snuggled up in a comforter in the far corner.  I love to lie out here but need my warmth.  These arthritic bones find it tough if they get too cold. And by the way, don’t give owner a bad rap…I beg to go out on the patio so I can stay in tune with who’s wandering by…could be Zak or Shipper and I need to bark to let them know I’m around too. 

Springtime  patio living only requires a small mat…mine has Santa Claus on it but what the heck, it works.  I’m giving myself a good scratch here.  Sure I can write but I can’t talk so my scratch indicates don’t forget to buy some flea meds for next month.  Doubt she understood my sign language but it is always worth giving it a shot.  Some day she’ll catch on to my secret lingo.

I know the way to the trail so I mosey on over by myself.  Gosh I love the smell of mud in the spring time.  It has a magnificent conglomeration of odours I’d just like to roll around on and wrap myself in ….but I’m no dummy.  Owner would have a conniption if I did that.

 

Owner is obviously a weeny.  Surely she’d prefer to have her toes squelch around in that cooling mud rather than be protected by layers of socks and boots.  I’ll never understand humans.  If they would just go with the flow they’d be so much happier and relaxed.  Boots are a bad invention in my opinion; they keep you from being up close and personal with nature.

It’s four o’clock in the afternoon and this is our view. Can you beat it.  This is just a paltry little shot taken from the car window.  Some people pay a fortune to come and see these views….for us it is view..schmiew!. Can’t help it folks; these photo ops are everywhere.  They still make smiles rise to everyone’s lips however; we are not that blase….YET.

     I may be ten…ouch, is that really seventy? (cripes that IS old) but I still have a spring in my step and joy in my heart.  My new  haircut really makes me feel young and sprightly.  I know we are here for a good hour or more so I’m a very happy camper.  Bring it on….which way you want to go, uphill, downhill, in the track.  I’m good to go guys; in fact to let you in on a secret…at one point I hopped on the back of owner’s skis and skied along with her.  She thought her skis had tons of ice on the bottom and were slowing her down….looking back she saw my paws.  What’s life without teasing, eh?

The snow is soft under my paws. You can hear every stride of the skis. The sun is warm.  Everyone is stripped down to just the bare essentials because otherwise they would get too hot. Thank God for my haircut! Did I mention it was 50 degrees! and it was almost 4 p.m. when we headed out.  My family is worrying the snow will be gone soon and then what will we do?  Hike I guess but gee….nothing beats cross country in the actual country on a sunny day in the San Juan’s.

Love these trees.  Owner uses them as her little mental marker to know she’s on the right path…you know her panic attack phobia about being lost.

Pristine snow as far as the eye can see, don’t get to see that in the city now do you….no soot lining the snowbanks along the trail.

Lacey snowbanks seems to be a hallmark of Spring. Pretty, eh?

Here are curly-haired and I going through some trees that line the trail. We ran into Ulli later but forgot to get the camera out.  Darn! She was as surprised to see us as we were to see her.  She had been rushing home to meet owner and teach her how to sing….CANCELLED!

 

Here I am popping my head up over the snow bank to see where the heck owner is. Of course she took the opportunity to take a candid shot. I hate that….I didn’t have a chance to smile.   We sure had fun that day.  The rivers were melting, the little ponds were open, not one fish could be seen.  Guess they have so much room to swim now that they are away from the trail.  See animal tracks heading down to the water to drink and snack.

 

The local Noridc Centre had a cross country ski race out here on Sunday. Our friend, Midnite, runs that group and he’s always thinking up interesting things for them to do.  WE skipped it because we would hate to come in last….I was actually the big excuse for us not to go out to Priest Lake that day –I’d get in the way of the racers.  Right….I could probably whip everyone’s ass if they just let me run the trail as hard as I can go.  However…..we stayed home. You can see the orange markings in the snow directing everyone on the race course.

 

 

Once we get to this old shack…I  know my time  in the wilderness being a wild dog is almost over for the day.  Me roaming  the forest is likely  going to be my dreamscape tonight. 

  Yup….

back into the car it is.  Off to the Butcher and Baker to get some Chai. I’ll simply lie under a chair and scrounge around for some nice whole wheat blueberry muffin crumbs….my favourite!  See ya later.